========================================== You have not loved and lost in an MLM. Those are not the shoes you have walked in. I have. ========================================== But, is not the difference exactly that? Each persons personal experience in any business differs. It comes back to Linda's remarks along the lines of leaving a bitter taste in ones mouth if they have a bad experience. I on the other hand have had nothing but good experiences with my MLM businesses. I hear the stories of those people out there (and they are considerable) who have had a bad experience and are bitter and I have to sit and chuckle. I live by a simple principal. If you are happy at what you do, do it to the best of your ability and enjoy your life. Don't complain about the past, there's nothing you can do to change it. Or as the title of the Eagles song from the Hell Freezes Over CD says "Get Over It"! :-)

Lookey, lookey here! A guy goes to sleep for 5 hours and all the kids come out to play. Heck, that Brown Paper Dan - maybe he deserved his hangin'. Heh... heh... Where do I begin? I'd like to comment on just about every second paragraph but I can't or I'd be here all day! First, Winston - just coz this is fresh in my mind... ================= "I live by a simple principal." ================= I had a stupid headmaster live next door to me once too. LOL. Sorry. You chuck stuff like that in front of me and I just gotta go for it. Linda, fancy YOU creating option (f). I found that so outrageously funny. I do it all the time. Let me digress for (another) moment... One guy came to survey me about opinions once and I think I fried his brain. I just wouldn't answer the standard boxes. I do that on Census forms too - make my own option. I guess we are the folks that are responsible for that box marked "other." LOL! Now David, you don't need help. You are going fine. You put your case well. However, I do know what you mean about all that latent money in your downline. You have one leg cracking along making somebody above you wealthy but because you have one inactive leg (a bit like a pirate - sorry - you have to put up with my diversions) then you can't realize the profit yourself. Let me see. You said you have a leg with no leadership. Heck, I had that too in some of my "legs." You sponsor a guy who talks a lot and does zip who sponsors Dud#2 who sponsors Dud#3 who sponsors Dud#4 and so on until you have a bunch of dweebs who all do nothing. Know why that happens? Each successive person goes for a slightly lower socio-economic person until somebody just happens to break the chain and a leader is found. I know what you mean David. It is frustrating. Just to fill you guys in on my little MLM rug-rip. I was set up for Diamondship in the big A. I had 3 legs at 21% which made me a Direct. I also had one leg almost ready to hit 21% which locked me in, so to speak. I had several others at 15% and 9% etc. So I was looking HOT. In fact, it was a pretty fair bet that it was more of an Executive Diamond set up (ie 9 legs firing). Then, the upline Diamond had a massive ego attack and wanted to have his own train-set to play with rather than ride on the big A Express. He divorced the whole team from the big A to form his own company. Oh, he used a whole bunch of religious explanation from the stage. He was Moses - or he thought he was. When he started that I knew we were in strife. Anyway, to cut a long story short - everybody crashed and burned - except him, of course. Ah well, water under the bridge. The point is, in your own business you can call the shots. MLM is definitely NOT your own business. Upline king-pins call the shots. I will add epexegesis later, if required. Yeah, I know, it's my fave word. Hey Peter, I almost forgot - the Polar Bear. I know you like bears. That little comment came out of a creative moment I was having. Glad you liked it. I REALLY liked your "dog-poop" analogy some ways back too. I've used it many times since. It always raises a laugh. I like that coz it shows people are listening. So, that damn Brown Paper Dan... let's blame this all on him. Let's hope there are no more BPD's around these here parts. But I fear there could be... Rustlin' heh... like it? Gary Simpson

Hi Winston, Now let's not get personal! :-) ================ It comes back to Linda's remarks along the lines of leaving a bitter taste in ones mouth if they have a bad experience. ================ That has nothing to do with my personal expereince. I have had good experience. I have had bad experience with MLMs. To imply that to not cut your traces and leave a seeminly bad MLM program is lacking in good judgement as Linda and Peter have implied is a misunderstanding of the dynamics of MLMs. Now do not attack me personally. :-)

Yeah yeah yeah and all that ;) The point is, as I see it, the money that was referred to is still there, and can one day perhaps, zzzzzzzzzz, become available. So, it was not walked away from, someone just needs to break someones leg, or something along those lines. You all know what was really menat ,so pardon my small attempt at humor. The money can and still might be paid out at least to a level of 66% or some figure. That is a lot different than the way Linda described the sitation that she was making reference to. In her case she could call the bank and say, "Hi, I would like to see all my money please get it ready." It was cold hard cash not something locked into a binary that might one day, by presence of a miracle suddenly show up. I see a vast difference in that. I am not even saying that MLM is a bad thing, I am saying it is not something I participate in. I run my own businesses and they make it or break it solely upon me and what I am willing to do or not do for my businesses. As an example, as a publisher I don't publish everything I see, sometimes people will rave about what someone wrote and they think it would make a good to great book. I might see the work as something that wouldn't even make good toilet paper. So I turn it down, that does not mean I made the right chioce, all it means is I made my choice, as I saw fit, on that given day. Winston Likes the MLM he is in, he works it in a fashion that makes him feel good. Some others tried other MLM's and felt that snake bite. I for one am not saying anyone here is more right than anyone else. But Daivd you made a claim that by "Going inactive", you would have walked away from a bathtub full of money and yet it is still there and might one day fall from the heavens and populate your pockets, I hope it does I really do, then you will have so much you can me some. But by your words it is not lost, it is just not received. I recently read a saying that someones grandmother used to say to them, "keep your dreams in one hand and spit in the other, then see which one fills up faster." I might have gotten that a little wrong it was dreams or wishes, but the point is unless it is your control, you have a hand full of spit.

Hi Peter, ================= I see a vast difference in that. ================= My point exactly. :-) The point I was discussing was whether experience was relevant to understanding the actions of those in MLMs. I say YES I gather you and Linda say NO I see not benefit in analysing my individual situation. You do not know all the details. You never will. I understand that the hope that it will ever be anything now but a dud is a BIG hope. Yet it still is a hope. I loose nothing by remaining inactive. I do not spend anytime on it. (Other than having to defend my actions here because I shared them.)