The main attraction

I was recently asked by an IBO what it was that attracted me to the 'opportunity' when I initially signed up prior to the '99 launch. This is a great question and deserves attention.

Absolutely nothing.

"What?" you may be asking. That doesn't make sense. Why would anyone sign up for something if there wasn't anything appealing about it to them?

The answer is simple. Pressure. I was literally pressured into this. No, I didn't have a gun to my head and I am an intelligent adult who can make decisions for himself. The fact is, I was cornered by three close family members and their upline in the middle of a plan 'party'. The documentation was pretty much shoved in my face accompanied by the rapid-fire descriptions of all the benefits of IBOship.

I was pressured in high school, as many of us were, to do many things that were wrong. I am not above reproach as I gave in to some of these things. But none of this compared to the pressure of that evening. I signed up to please my wife. I signed up out of 'obligation' to my in-laws for letting my wife and I live in their home at the time. I signed up simply to get that evening over with and get on with my life. I'm not a weak person by nature. My wife would be the first to tell you that I am in fact very stubborn at times. But this was too much.

And here I am.

Maybe my story is unique, but I cannot help but think about the comments I read from others about IBOs lurking at malls and bookstores. Perhaps the pressure goes both ways though. After reading Eric Scheibeler's book, it's fairly obvious that the pressure to recruit new prospects is just as heavy. It's quite an interesting dynamic.

So is my story unique? Should I simply chalk this up to an unfortunate moment of weakness? I never wanted any of this. Never wanted to get involved in any MLM. Never wanted to spend the better part of the last six years arguing with my wife and growing apart from my father-in-law. Never wanted to be sitting in front of a computer screen telling the world about this stuff. Never wanted to be characterized by fellow Christians as one who spreads hate and contempt. It saddens me to proof-read this knowing that there are others out there who are possibly going through these same situations, loosing money, loosing sleep, loosing relationships. What was the attraction, indeed.