PowerPlayer - The Only Play You Will Ever Need

It is now possible to go anything from Ruby Executive to Black Diamond Executive in MonaVie with just THREE (3) teams.

That is, a weekly income that grows from USD 2,000 to USD 29,000 simply by building numbers in the 3 teams! Go figure.

PowerPlayer cycles develop your first 2 teams so that you can go bananas on team 3.

New enrollees get excited too because they get to have a team built “with them, through them, for them” and they get all the money. The “problem” most of us active leaders have is that we have too many sign-ups that we want to give them away. The GUY AT THE BOTTOM BENEFITS THE MOST.

As for the current promotion, many TEAM members may choose to opt out of it as they are NOT going 20 wide. However, it is great for their friends from other Mv groups who are building left/right/left/right and I am sure we all rejoice with those who rejoice.

As for TEAM, a surprise is coming up for you all! Stay tuned.  

Wrong Again! (Anti-MLM Kingpins Exposed)

Anti-MLM Kingpins are at it once more. This time, it is a new video circulating on Youtube that attempts to discredit TEAM and Orrin Woodward. Obviously, they hope that the average person who just joined Network Marketing will be swayed by their FUDs. Do not be a victim of Anti-MLM-ism.

I wrote the following response.

Hey guys, the video is NOT a very accurate portrayal of TEAM.

If time permits, I will drill in to all the places where the teacher should NOT have replied the way he replied in the video, because those sentences were NOT in line with TEAM teachings.

     eg. Girl: "Is it a get-rich-quick scheme?"
     Teacher: "YES! Who wouldn't want to get rich quick?"

Official TEAM Teaching: "The keys to wealth are 1. LONG TERM vision. 2. DELAYED gratification. 3. Power of Compounding." (cf. "Woodward Videos" at www.the-team.biz)

Do those words sound like, "Let's get rich QUICK!!!" to any of you?
Humour is really great - but only if it is ACCURATE.

This is the reason why TEAM is hardly affected by most of the Anti-TEAM kingpins' websites out there... they fail to reflect the arguments of TEAM accurately. Who wants to get into a reasonable discussion with an opponent who misrepresents your position?    :)


   "I believe in A."
   "You believe in B, and B is wrong, therefore you are wrong."
   "I do not believe in B, but I do believe in A."
   "No, you do believe in B, and B is wrong, therefore you are wrong."
   ("Against MLM" - The Straw-man diatribe of an Anti-MLM kingpin)

James Phang

James Phang has been convicted of crime and the judge might sentence him to a harsh reality in prison by the end of this month. Most of the world thinks that he is a conman and ought to go right into the cell.

The REAL System

Everybody in MLM today claims that he has a "system" or the "best" system.

The truth is that 95% of the MLMers know squat about the System.

The REAL System is NOT:

TEAM Singapore 2010

The Team is moving on and we are preparing for 2011.

A Week With Orrin

Orrin Woodward & Rykel Lim at Dining Table

It is exactly one week since i arrived in Florida and stayed with Orrin Woodward and his wonderful family. (Orrin is TEAM Founder and Presidential Black Diamond.)

To say that it is anything but what I expected is an understatement.

Going To USA

In 48 hours, I will be meeting Orrin Woodward in Florida, and I cannot wait to absorb his experiences and understanding like a hungry sponge!

This was a photo I took with Orrin and Chris at St Louis some time ago...

A MonaVie Home Office

I spent a week with my friend MonaVie Hawaiian Blue Diamond JC and here is a video of his home office.

MLM And Pyramid Selling Schemes

Sunshine Empire is now on trial. This thread will contain some of my thoughts on the case. As the title says, I will also reflect accurate writings on other pyramid schemes here too.

By the way, Multilevel Marketing (MLM) is NOT a pyramid scheme, but in Singapore, MLM is defined by the Multilevel Marketing and Pyramid Selling (PROHIBITION) Act as indeed a pyramid scheme. That is, in Singapore, MLM = Pyramid Selling.

However, in 2000, the Government ratified the law and came out with an Exclusion Order, which allowed SOME companies to be excluded from the Act.

It is in this light that I mention Sunshine Empire as a pyramid scheme, until proven NOT guilty (that is, has fulfilled the Exclusion Order requirements) by the Singapore Courts.

I posted this note on Youtube and it summarises where I think the Sunshine Empire issue is going.

My people, have you not realised that in Singapore, the PARTICIPANTS of a pyramid scheme (aka Sunshine Empire members) are just as guilty as the OPERATORS of the pyramid scheme, and if James Phang gets a fine and goes to jail, EVERY Sunshine Empire member (ie. the victims) should also get a fine and go to jail too? Be careful how much you want James Phang dead. You are putting the uncles and aunties at risk too.

UPDATE: 28 January 2010

There is a new round of "gifting" schemes going on in town, and I refused to be involved!

Sympathy

Today I cannot help but write a short thought about a certain (highly respected) Amway Diamond who has decided to quit his business and help out a certain juice company.

No doubt, this Diamond was one of the most popular, USA renowned, politically influential person walking in the circles of Amway, and his books and CDs have inspired and transformed the lives of many, many, far and wide.

However, at the current moment, distributors of that certain juice company are saying that with this Diamond joining their ranks, it will take their company higher, and help them build a "bigger" business.

System Tools

I have 5 minutes here so this will be a short post!

An aspiring and young individual in Team asked me to recommend some tools for her follow up session with her new Team members, and that is the right question. Team building is so much easier with the tools sold by TEAM - everything a Team member need to know is in the System.

Orrin's Years of Hardwork

In one of his/her latest post, an internet poster asked a few questions and planted a few doubts of Team and Orrin.

1. What is Orrin doing or has done in order to make more than US$3,000,000 last year, both from MonaVie product sales and Team tool sales?
2. Should Team leaders not be scrutinising Orrin more closely to see if his income is justified?
3. Did Orrin receive a deal from Darlin Larsen to move his Amway line of sponsorship over to MonaVie?
4. Is the MonaVie Juice worth drinking, since it is presumably not doing anything curative in nature, such as curing backaches and cancer?

Here is a great response to the post from Rykel. Hopefully, the darkness of the Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) cast by his/her article will be significantly replaced by the Truths and Facts that shall SHINE.


Hi,

Howdy and yet another interesting and humorously worded post from you! I only hope all writers would be as fun to read as you, rather than some of those who refuse to give others the benefit of the doubt (eg. claiming that I was lying when I said I was busy travelling), and think that all of us leaders have all the interest in the world to engage in debates with them. (we are NOT.) *smile*

Frankly, you have asked many questions in your message, and in most respects, perhaps Orrin is the best man to answer them, since you are asking HIM those queries.

Additionally, some books and history reading would help clarify some of the nagging thoughts, such as "how" Orrin makes $3million a year - namely, the MonaVie Compensation Plan booklet, the MonaVie Income Disclosure Statement and how Orrin started 14 years ago with a decision to build an Amway business.

Further details can also be found in the books, The Team Builder's Textbook, Commerce Through Community, The Science of the Acai DVD, and the How To Get Started With MonaVie CD Pack. Collect Them All. :)

To set the record straight, Orrin himself, in an interview with Art Jonak, said that he did NOT take four months to reach Presidential Black Diamond - it took him FOURTEEN YEARS to reach Presidential Black Diamond. Thank goodness he believed in starting, learnt how to and built a solid AMWAY Team.

Like you mentioned, Orrin does rightfully earn $3million+ from the juice consumption of indeed 10,000+ distributors and he has never failed to let everyone know that the Team is his group of customers. As it is written in the Team website, "A team is a group of CUSTOMERS." AND that YOUR downline team is YOUR group of customers too.

Orrin seeks to serve his customers very well - making everyone feel great about themselves (validation), teaching the team the principles of financial management/healthy marriage relationship/assurance of faith in Jesus Christ etc. At this stage, a man can choose to judge Orrin as less than honorable, or a fabulous and holistic leader.

Orrin's positive influence on others' lives is enormous, and unless you know the man personally, it is difficult for you to even fathom the amount of broken relationships/desperate lives he has directly/indirectly saved, not to mention the number of humans whose health have become better thanks to Orrin making public the existence of the acai berry juice.

And I personally know retrenched citizens of Singapore who went into the MonaVie business with Orrin, and, learning the ropes of retailing, now makes a Good living moving 12 cases of juice PER WEEK to Retail Customers, who call them up for the juice via word of mouth referrals. These people LOVE Orrin Woodward, for your information. He has made a difference in their finances!

Does Orrin have a sweet deal with Darlin Larsen to "move" over his Amway downline?

First of all, there is ZERO evidence that Orrin had any deals. Secondly, EVEN if Orrin had a deal, does he not deserve a special offer, since he took more than a DECADE to build up the Team? Just like a CEO getting a BIG deal for switching over to a different company, Orrin is only enjoying the fruits of his labour. (again, Orrin has NO deal, but we are just assuming for the sake of discussion)

So, to answer your questions once again in summary -

1. What is Orrin doing or has done in order to make more than US$3,000,000 last year, both from MonaVie product sales and Team tool sales?
2. Should Team leaders not be scrutinising Orrin more closely to see if his income is justified?
3. Did Orrin receive a deal from Darlin Larsen to move his Amway line of sponsorship over to MonaVie?
4. s the MonaVie Juice worth drinking, since it is presumably not doing anything curative in nature?

Here are my answers for your sincere consideration -

1. Yes, Orrin is earning an OVERRIDE of bonuses from the MonaVie 8-type compensation plan AND profit-sharing from his share of the Team profits;
2. Yes, indeed, tens, if not hundreds and thousands of Team leaders, have investigated Orrin's claims/activities and found his integrity satisfactory;
3. Yes, NO deal from Darlin. If there was, Amway would have found the proof; and
4. Yes, drinking 19 fruit juices a day in and of itself is worth every penny. We are not talking about apples and oranges, but rather, Acai, Aronia, Camu Camu and other expensive, precious and exotic fruits.

* The Hong Kongers have told us Singaporeans that MonaVie would cost MORE THAN US$40 per bottle of we bought the same blend from the juice stalls.

Last but not least, to answer your moral question in a nutshell, "Does Orrin deserve or is he entitled to so much income?"

I humbly submit that my answer is a resounding

YES, YES and YES!!!

God Bless, Rykel from Singapore

Where Am I?

Here is a quick update of my location, as reflected in my comment to a thread below:

Hi all,
Thanks to JC for the compliment… yes, I am thankful for the opportunity to express myself on the internet, and more so for people like him who takes out precious time to offer his point of view and hence engage in a productive conversation.

Len Clements' First Podcast

If there ever was one author in the network marketing industry whom I respect and read, it is Len Clements.

Almost a decade ago, when the internet was still in its infancy, when Networking was a swear-word in Singapore, I was very hungry for information and knowledge on the intricacies of Community Building (Networking).

I would "sarpoo" (swallow up) all the books, magazines and articles I could find about this wonderful Relationship Industry, and some of my earliest Networking reads include "We Create Millionaires" (SUCCESS Magazine), "The Road To Making Millions" (Women At Work [?] Magazine, "Street-Smart Network Marketing", "Q&A On NM" (John Brahmer [?]), "Be The Best That You Can Be" (John Kalench), "Your First Year In Network Marketing" (Mark Yarnell) etc.

I remember clearly that I was VERY fortunate to land my hands on a copy of Len's book, "Inside Network Marketing".

It was a really funny, honest-to-goodness, hard-look at Network Marketing type of book, and I can recall many of the lessons and suggestions in that book till this very day. For example, in a land at a time when Networkers fight tooth and nail to outdo each other (eg. NOP was battling Asayo, Neways was sparring with Sunrider), Len asked, "Why are we NOT prospecting for the acres of gold that is right under our feet?" (He called it the "Land of the hundred thousand unrecruited people" or something).. that made me decide there and then that I would NOT purposefully try to convince a current Leader in a MLM company to switch camp.

Len also gave me my first glimpse into a VERY effective "direct approach" which contrasts with the Curiosity Approach, and that works extremely well till today. He asks, "Have you heard of Network Marketing?" From this simple question, I have enrolled countless people into my Community... it is like Orrin says about MonaVie in Asia, "Have you heard of MonaVie?" (thanks, Len!!)

Now, Len Clements recently launched his first podcast, and it caught my attention because he mentioned Sunshine Empire. As most of you from Singapore knows, James Phang has been charged with multiple crimes and is on bail of $600,000 until 5 March 2009. I was pleasantly surprised that Len would even discuss SE, as I only know of one other Caucasian industry writer who will report occasionally on the Asian Networking news, and that is Rod Cook of MLMWatchDog.

Not only that, I saw that my friend IBOFightBack also heartily recommended Len's new podcast on his TTAA website, and I know that if it is good enough for TTAA, it is good enough for RYKEL Blog. I have taken the liberty to copy IBOFB's posting here, and I hope you my readers, will enjoy what IBOFB has written:

One of my favourite commentators on the Network Marketing industry is Len Clements of MarketWave Inc. Len has been very much at the forefront of defending the industry against anti-mlm zealots like Robert FitzPatrick and Jon Taylor. He unfortunately has had a tendency to repeat some of the unfair generalizations about Amway that are based on the behaviours of some Amway affiliated groups, but his work in promoting a professional view of Network Marketing and debunking myths is in my opinion without peer.

This week Len has launched a podcast, an online radio show, where you can hear Len talk about various industry issues. In this first episode he talks about some controversies surrounding NWM companies Zrii and YTB Travel and the “bias” against NWM that companies like Verizon, PayPal, and eBay have in their terms of service. His segment on the challenges currently being faced by YTB Travel is an excellent coverage of the legal status of multi-level marketing and what makes something a potential pyramid or not. Len is of the the opinion that YTB Travel setup may cross the line, and I’m afraid I have to agree with him.

I heartily recommend you give his Inside Network Marketing podcast a listen. It’s about 1h15m long, but that’s the great thing about a podcast - you can pause it and continue listening whenever you want!

So here it is, Len Clements at his first shot on Podcast:
http://www.marketwaveinc.com/RadioShow.asp


God Bless,

Rykel
rykel.blogspot.com

Art Jonak on Orrin

I was looking for some word on Randy & Tara Shroeder's enrollment into MonaVie (and the alleged million dollar bribe), and was pleasantly surprised to read a highly positive review of Orrin Woodward and "Launching A Leadership Revolution" book from Art Jonak, a veteran in the community building industry. Here is Art in his own words -

Troy,

I had the pleasure of spending two days with Mr. Orrin Woodward this week. A truly amazing and inspiring leader.

Orrin shared with me: “As we grow in leadership, we have more responsibility and less privilege.” We had a full hour-long discussion just on this topic.

With rising levels of leadership, people will take shots at you. It’s part of the process.

I do my best to follow Carnegie’s three “C’s” : Never Criticize, Condemn or Complain (from How To Win Friends and Influence People). I’ve seen the 3 C’s serve many of my mentors and their professions very well. Tom “Big Al” Schreiter always reminded me of the 3 C’s early on in my career.

We should directly put ourselves into somebody else’s shoes, with their perspectives, history, relationships, current circumstances, etc. before we even begin to consider Criticizing, Condemning or Complaining about them or about what they do / did.

For the most part, I’ve found top Network Marketing leaders to be good people who lead based in ways they believe to be best. And once you meet them in person, you start to truly see their perspective.

Mark Yarnell once said:

“We are the only profession who circle our wagons and shoot ‘inward’ when attacked.” (I paraphrase as I don’t remember the exact quote.)

As Network Marketing Professionals, let’s be part of the solution, not the problem. Let’s celebrate the successes (Dallin — I celebrate your success with Monavie! Your success is great for everyone in Network Marketing and direct sales) and let’s do our best to fix the imperfections (there will always be ways to do better).

Troy, I applaud you for reflecting back, looking at things from a bird’s eye-view, for looking at the long-term picture.

“The rising tide lifts all ships.”

I believe we have an obligation to raise the Network Marketing Profession up at every possibility, to bring Network Marketing mainstream. We are all still the “pioneer generation” of Network Marketing. Let’s do our best to give Network Marketing a stellar reputation, so as the next generation of leaders who join, they are joining a profession where the masses say, “Network Marketing? It’s FANTASTIC!”

Troy, thank you for always growing, for always working on you, for doing what you believe is best.

I appreciate you,

-Art Jonak

PS: If you have not read Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady’s book “Launching a Leadership Revolution” may I suggest anyone reading this post to pick up a copy ASAP. . . and read it. I’ve read it twice, I use it as a leadership manual and have even have my 15-year young daughter reading it.

Amway and IBOs

This is a mirror of my recent post on TTAA.

Rykel from Singapore

Jan 10th, 2009 at 18:37

Hi IBOFB,

Really? Well, if Diamonds are responsible for the lack of incentives for newly sponsored IBOs in my market, then maybe it is time for a change of guards. Maybe the Diamonds still think that the cost of living is what it was 20 years ago, Oh Amway Diamonds, be not jaded!! hehe

And yes, you are right on the spot… I have been with Amway since 2002 and todate, there is seriously nothing in the Plan in my market for newly enrolled IBOs except Retail Profit, Performance Bonus and non-cash items such as free products. (maybe if Amway offered free Positrim Shakes and Protein Powder as free products for sponsoring new downlines, we might have at least substituted them for real meals - get the intended meaning?)

All the SIP all these years in Singapore were primarily for Platinums. No Platinum, no SIP. In the last two years, the so-called SQ Plus bonuses were introduced, only for new IBOs to find out that they do NOT have enough time to easily qualify.

I am not sure if what you mentioned about Orrin and pricing is totally accurate, since the price reductions did occur only AFTER Orrin’s departure (9 August 2007) - like the recent Tolsom reduction in Australia (2008), but I for one do NOT like the idea of Employee quadrant gals trying to “control” the System, much less to “merge” or “educate” the Systems. Amway should just retreat into the cool shade and continue the perfect role of product manufacturer rather than “MLM trainer”.

And it really makes me a bit uncomfortable when Amway staff calls their bosses “upline” (yes, they do! In my market at least, but tongue-in-cheek/humorously, of course) and then in the same breath, labeling IBOs as “our salesforce”.

I just hope that this once great company will not go the way of so many others and end up as a “direct sales” company on the pages of history, and possibly “lose all the distributor force” due to a severe lack of leadership (to quote Orrin), and return to the basic principles of serving “Amway distributors first”.

As it is, already MonaVie has reached the US$1,000,000,000 threshold in USA and, correct me if I am wrong, there are only two MLMs that have this turnover on American soil, and MonaVie is probably 2/3 former Amway SYSTEM leaders, such as Brig Hart and Orrin. (the other 1/3 being RS of Agel fame) Which means that if MonaVie plays its card well, the SYSTEMS will take MonaVie beyond her wildest dreams, just like how the System has and still continues to take Amway above its highest peak… and not to mention the slight thought that perhaps the simple juice (like the simple LOC) might buy out Amway Global in a near future.

And this is just MonaVie. I heard that more and more companies are having a heyday picking up the disillusioned IBOs thanks to Amway’s treatment of Team. Of course, whether these other non-MonaVie players can RETAIN Amway System leaders and be good enough to marry them is another matter.

What does the future hold? (To be continued…)

What are you paying me?

Hmmm, interestingly, I received a call from a China lady who claimed that she is from the "Singapore Market Survey" company and wanted to ask me a couple of questions... she started with whether I am using 3G, the brand of my mobile (I forgot to tell her that I own Nokia, Vodafone, Samsung, Sony Ericsson... which one does she want?), my Surname and lastly my Given Name...

I had worked as a telemarketer before, and understand that part of the unspoken "benefit" of calling up strangers and asking questions is gathering fresh data about a person - such as their current mobile phone number, for use in future marketing activities.

So, in response, I asked her, quite a few times, what BENEFITS will I receive if I help her with HER survey. I am most willing to comply and help out, IF I am paid to do so in a form or another. For example, I am most willing to click on Gmail ads because Google gives me a great email product. I buy Amway because I get paid a Performance Bonus for using their stuff. I recommend Amazon because I am an affiliate.

Now, genuine surveys usually come with some sort of rewards for the respondent, so when she could not produce any, and sounded sheepish over the phone, I said Goodbye to her, and that was the end of the conversation.

As an aside, she insisted that I give her my name in CHINESE - which makes the whole call suspicious, because in Singapore, we conduct interviews in ENGLISH, seldom CHINESE.