I’ll have the Private Benjamin, hold the Mayo

Network marketing is a very unique and yet also a very misunderstood profession that appeals to all types of people.

I’m going to talk about two specific types of people that are at opposite ends of the psychological spectrum, but who make up a considerable portion of participants in this industry.

Of these 2 types 1 of them actually does succeed serially, but for entirely different reasons than would be ideal, and in many cases the success is short-lived and destructive in it’s result.

Then I’m going to talk about a third type of person that these two are transformed into by which they become the type of success that is actually fulfilling for them and has far greater impact for good in the many lives they influence either directly or in most cases indirectly.

I love the lessons I learn from watching  a good movie. The character’s lives are all about turning points and how they react or respond to them either positively or negatively can set them on a trajectory that can transform them in a powerful way.

The parallels to real life can be profound and inspiring.

There are 2 popular movies from the 80’s where the main characters mirror the participants of MLM almost uncannily.

The New recruit

Or

The deer in the headlights

In Private Benjamin Goldie Hawn plays a spoiled self-entitled, and completely undisciplined woman, who is tricked into joining the U.S. Army by a less than ethical Army recruiter.

This recruiter literally shows her pictures of boats and luxury apartments and informs her that joining would be the thing she needs to turn her miserable life into a dream existence. If she doesn’t like it she can quit.

Wow!

She hasn’t a clue to the TRUTH…

But she’s about to find out!

Switch gears for a moment….

The Heavy Hitting program jumper (MLM pro)

Or

The fox guarding the hen house

In An Officer And A Gentleman, Richard Gere plays a self interested hustler who knows the military game all too well… He has the natural talent to excel, but he also runs a con, hustling his classmates for extra cash. He’s the prototypical charismatic sleaze, not at all interested in anyone but himself.

He thinks he knows all the angles…. And He does, except for one!

He never counted on anyone smarter than himself…. But Sgt. Foley is about to introduce him to the humbling medicine that will forever change him.

So these 2 head into basic training with totally different mindsets, goals, expectations and perceptions about where this will lead.

The exception to the rule.

Pvt. Judy Benjamin has a rude awakening to army life and is none too pleased and whines about everything. Who can blame her?….

She was lied to by the recruiter!

After only 8 days her worried parents track her down and since they have influence they are able to secure her release from this horrible life choice. (If you’re bad at seeing parallels and similarities you won’t enjoy this post.)

At the berating of her father Judy comes to a profound realization concerning her meaningless self-absorbed existence. You can read it on her face, Goldie Hawn acted this scene brilliantly without uttering a word.

The Epiphany that leads to transformation

This was her chance to be a better version of herself… something crystallized in that moment…. she may never be offered an opportunity like this again.

She turned to her captain and simply said she was going to stay.. Gave a salute and returned to her barracks.

She went on to become the independent woman that without the structure and discipline she could have never become.

Most of the new recruits in MLM like Pvt. Benjamin will never stand up to their well meaning friends and family. They will be content to live a life of mediocrity and maintain the status quo.

The farmer skins himself a fox

Zach Mayo decided he wanted to fly jets (make 7 figures in network marketing is the unstated parallel) … the mandatory officer training was just an unavoidable nuisance he would have to endure to achieve his goal.

He exploits his abilities and gifts to take advantage of his classmates breaking the honor code.

He is caught red-handed by his Drill Sergeant and is given an ultimatum.

Quit or endure a next to impossible  training schedule at the hands of Lou Gossett’s character Foley.

By the end of the film his transformation was complete. Instead of easily beating the meaningless obstacle course record he turns back to help one of his team members climb the wall that was previously unscalable to her. Talk about warm fuzzies!

Most of the hustlers in MLM never get this opportunity to amend their unethical ways of running over people to make it to the top.

For those who do, the power of pain and patience has a lasting effect for good.

Of the two profiles described I can see my former self in both the deer and  regrettably  the fox.

I learned that being the fox was the only way to win, because most of the teachers to whom I listened were foxes themselves. But they were foxes to the industry not any single company in which they really believed … I now regret many of the foolish and selfish things I did in my early MLM career. It was a main reason I stopped actively working my business for over 13 years! I was disgusted by my own unethical behavior.

I wasn’t being intentionally malicious, I was just more utility driven and self centered.

Most of the multitudes of MLM deer will never overcome the headhunting recruiters of the industry. They will just become a statistic.

The foxes that really control this industry who know exactly what they are doing have little motivation to change. It would cut deeply into their profits.

Perpetuation of the myths and training modes that contribute to the high attrition are the way to stay in business for them.

The cult and culture of MLM thrives on “the churn”. Mostly the churn within the industry itself. The industry is cannibalizing itself as I am writing this and that is actually a good thing believe it or not.

When the dust settles and the bones of junk companies and gurus have been picked clean, maybe…. Just maybe we will have a direct selling model that the general public can respect as a legitimate way to make money. But until that happens I am going to continue to speak out against the people who are making it difficult for me ( by their selfish and foolish behavior)  to carry out my business in an ethical manner.