What I Learned After 2 Years In Amway And Why I Quit
I’m not writing a book here. But I did read many.
It all started like this:
It was November of 2016. I was working out at the gym when someone randomly approached me and complimented my shoes. We started talking about how busy the gym was and how people often set goals and stick to them when they want them badly.
That led us to his next question, “What do you do for work?”
We had coffee a week later, and he introduced me to a business system that helps you create money in a new way. It was quite interesting to learn for me as a rising senior in high school. Of course, I was interested. I had ambitions of making lots of money one day so that I could do big things. I remained gullible the entire time.
But wait, there’s more.
I got to participate inside the weekly meetings held at a very nice hotel in town, if not the nicest. When I arrived every week, I began meeting more and more people, just like me, seeking a way to fund the dreams we wanted to bring to life. The only thing that was on everyone’s mind was money and success. I started to like hanging out with my new business mentor and the friends I made. It was almost like stepping into a cult and discovering a world of people I never knew existed. Maybe the thing I have always wanted from the beginning of time.
And that’s not even the worst part…
I started attending conferences every few months. And when I did, I began to notice the magnitude of being an Independent Business Owner in Amway. I met people who had a sincere interest in reading motivational books. I started to do that lightly as well. At this point, though, I hadn’t lost all my skepticism about what I was doing.
At first, I had researched online reviews, and most of it was contradictory to what everyone in it was telling me. That didn’t make sense to me. However, I continued to believe I would be capable of making millions of dollars each month, too, as long as I didn’t give up.
What pissed me off was how much debt I dug myself into investing monthly into the business. I would have done anything to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It became harder and harder for me to realize that I was not bettering my life in any way, shape, or form.
Instead of making money, I was losing it. Instead of being happier, I became more doubtful. And instead of learning how to create good habits, I felt more and more misplaced about what I was forced to do.
I remember sitting down with my mentor and being reprimanded for associating with friends that weren’t a part of Amway with me. At one point, it felt like the crucial areas of my life were being controlled away from me. I was not too fond of that. I then found out pretty soon that I was in the wrong for feeling that way. I was more selective about how and who I spent my time with.
I was collecting every dollar I could working as a teller at a local bank in my hometown. I handled people’s finances every minute on the clock. I watched thousands of dollars leave my hand as I wondered when I would ever get my cut from the work I was doing in my Amway business too. I mean, I had to talk to everyone that I saw. I’d go to gas stations and spark up conversations with everyone who had a heartbeat. I tried to ask them questions about their life and convince them to join me too.
I started to become more and more desperate to make money. And this was something very apparent in my relationships with everyone around me.
My life was falling apart. I felt inadequate with myself. And this went on for about a year, and then I realized I had wasted it.
Why?
Because every day since I met the man who asked me to start a business and make money, I had focused solely on the money — not the most essential piece of the puzzle, which was me.
You might be wondering where I’m going with this, but allow me to share with you the one thing I learned that changed everything for me in Amway.
I focused on trying to get rich. I hated talking to people. My heart for others didn’t exist, and there I was expecting them to make a life-altering decision for my benefit first. Everything was out of proportion. I felt misplaced.
Instead, I took a different approach to everything. For the last year, I got pretty serious about my personal growth. It says somewhere in the Bible that if you walk through life aimlessly, just searching for the next shiny object, everything you do will be just an experiment.
And that is precisely what happened for me those two years of my life.
It was all an experiment. I didn’t even know it until it was too late.
But is it ever too late to discover for yourself what makes you happy?
Never too late. Ever.
Why I Quit
And so that was the one thing I took away from Amway.
Most people make money. There are plenty of people making lots of money doing Amway. I have met them, and they are good people walking this earth. Most people create and remember experiences. Some just needed a hobby where they could feel like they were doing something important.
I took away a discovery that has allowed me to find what lies inside my heart. I would argue that is the best outcome for me coming out of that 2-year experience. I never saw it coming when I first shook hands with that gentleman at the gym. I don’t know how to unsee it anymore.
Christian
