{"id":456,"date":"2008-02-01T19:06:57","date_gmt":"2008-02-02T00:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/?p=456"},"modified":"2010-11-24T20:20:59","modified_gmt":"2010-11-25T01:20:59","slug":"team-of-destruction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/?p=456","title":{"rendered":"“Team” of Destruction"},"content":{"rendered":"

photo-2-small.JPG<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u201cThe great enemy of the truth is very often not the
\nlie \u2013 deliberate, contrived and dishonest \u2013 but the
\nmyth \u2013 persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

—John Fitzgerald Kennedy
\n____________________________________________
\nNOTE: THIS POST CONSISTS OF MY OPINIONS ONLY
\nAND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED OTHERWISE.<\/p>\n

He stood there at a little table in the foyer of the Vincennes University Student Study Hall building. A large man with side-swept dark blond hair, dressed in suit and tie, his stomach bulging over the front of his pants. He was giving away free phone cards, after you filled out a little paper with your name and address. <\/p>\n

I ignored him the first day. The second day, I returned his smarmy greeting and stopped to chat a bit. He wanted me to fill out the paper and get a free phone card. I refused, but chatted amiably with him for a few minutes. As I moved to leave, he stopped me. He was having a meeting that evening, he said. I looked like just the kind of guy he needed, charismatic, outgoing, and clearly intelligent. A go-getter. Would I be interested in attending?<\/p>\n

I should have known better, but his flattering words swelled my head. So I assented. He gave me the place and time of the meeting, but evasively refused to divulge any more details. Nevertheless, at 7 PM, I showed up to see what it was about.<\/p>\n

There were about a dozen students attending. All of superior leadership quality, of course. The large-stomached man now had an accomplice, a short chunky man with a crew cut who was obviously a superior. The meeting began with the short chunky man introducing himself. He was from Kentucky (the next state south) and ran a successful business helping other people. That’s exactly how he phrased it. He owned two houses, drove a Cadillac, and earned several hundred thousand dollars annually. He was rich. And didn\u2019t mind preening about it. All by just helping other people, he reiterated again and again. It all sounded a bit loopy, I thought.<\/p>\n

Eventually, after talking about every single aspect of the business, after drawing charts and graphs on a little chalkboard about all the products people use and how much they are expected to consume in the next umpteen years, after much discussion about every detail except the company they represented, the truth emerged. These guys were Amway men, and we were their targets. <\/p>\n

My heart sank. All this time wasted, for this. After they opened for questions, I raised my hand. \u201cYou gained all this wealth just by pushing Amway?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

It was an unfortunate question. The short chunky man shot straight up like someone had stuck his butt with a pin. His bristly hair actually stood on end as he glared at me. \u201cI am NOT PUSHING Amway,\u201d he snarled angrily. The transformation was astonishing. From piously talking about helping others to seething rage in less than ten seconds. And he WAS pushing Amway. But I shut up.<\/p>\n

Somehow, before the evening was over (and I could never figure out quite how it happened), I found myself in a room with the large-stomached man and two other students. Large-stomach wanted me badly as a rep. He intoned a five-minute speech, then a dramatic closing statement. At its conclusion, the first student leaped to his feet, grasped the man\u2019s extended hand and said \u201cYES,\u201d he wanted to join. Large-stomach welcomed him and smoothly turned to the second student, who also leaped to his feet with an excited \u201cYES.\u201d <\/p>\n

Large-stomach then turned to me. Two down, one to go. I was the real target. I could feel it. In response to his dramatic closing, I ignored his outstretched, inviting hand and simply said, \u201cNo.\u201d The poor man deflated visibly like a punctured balloon. The other two students looked askance. I looked defiant and soon got out of there. And so ended my first encounter with multi-level selling.<\/p>\n

From that and one other experience I learned what to do when someone approaches and claims to have a “consulting” business and wants to talk to me about working for him. I run, not walk, out’a there as fast as I can.<\/p>\n

I have wondered briefly at times over the years where Large-stomach and the short chunky man ended up and whether they are still pushing Amway. All to \u201chelp\u201d others, of course. I\u2019d guess Large-stomach is not, as he was desperately trying to get his own “network” off the ground when he accosted me. The short chunky man may well be, since he did achieve a measure of success. If the stories he was spouting were true, that is.<\/p>\n

Amway has been around for a long time. And it has always sold quality products, usually at quite inflated prices. Still, I have no problem with that. You don\u2019t have to buy. But I do have a problem with its method of recruiting salespeople.<\/p>\n

From the Amway\/Quixtar foundation (although the connection is deliberately clouded, and technically may not exist), Orrin Woodward spun off a new entity some years ago. It was called \u201cTeam of Destiny.\u201d In the years of its brief but baneful existence and meteoric ascendance, it ensnared and severely damaged the lives of thousands, all single-mindedly pursuing a shifting grand illusion that never existed in fact. The pro- mised land, where milk and honey flows, always over the next hill. Weekly meetings. Tapes. Rah, rah. Work five years and you’ll never have to work again. The money will just roll in. <\/p>\n

It was all a lie, of course. Some lost all they owned. And more. Much, much more. Including some people I know from way back.<\/p>\n

After sweeping through the land like a raging wildfire, devouring the hopes and dreams and tireless efforts of a multitude of entry-level peons, Team of Destiny morphed again. Now it\u2019s simply named \u201cTeam.\u201d And it\u2019s skulking and slithering around out there like an insidious viper, inflicting its mind-numbing poison into a lot of very impression- able but otherwise decent people. The Team version is particularly dangerous because it infuses into its presentation a generous sprinkling of “Christian” teachings.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t claim to know all the intricate details of either organization. But I do know this: Membership involves reading the foundational motivational materials, listening to an endless stream of tapes that must be purchased, and meeting at least monthly with other Team members to discuss what you are learning and how you are applying that wisdom. And one more thing. You must proselytize with all your heart. And soul and strength.<\/p>\n

team.jpg<\/a>
\nThe “Team” Bible<\/p>\n

For all I know, the Team leadership materials have a lot of truths in them, and the concepts applied may be quite beneficial. I will even concede that as fact. Why, then, attack Team as destructive? <\/p>\n

If you are a Team member reading this, you may be turning purple and screaming at your computer by now. Such colossal ignorance, you may be thinking. For any current Team members I have a simple question: Could you spend one evening, or even one hour with me, socializing or just hanging out having a beer, without once mentioning Team in any way? Without trying to recruit me to join? Without returning to the subject again and again, regardless of where the conversation would naturally flow? I\u2019ll answer my own question. You could not. You would not. You know it. I know it. And something about that is very, very wrong. Disingenuous, skewed, weird, creepy, out of whack. <\/p>\n

Are you, as part of the Team, increasingly associating only with other Team members and not so much with old friends you have known for years? Don\u2019t you ever pause to wonder why some of your old friends no longer answer their phones when you call, and why they seem to avoid you or make excuses when you want to \u201cget together?” <\/p>\n

I\u2019ll tell you why. It\u2019s because you are a pest, a blight, mindlessly spewing a perpetual flood of formulaic gibberish. Because your relationships are now based almost exclu-sively on others\u2019 acceptance of your message, you are no longer real. Or genuine. You think you\u2019ve found the truth. The rest of us haven\u2019t. And people can tell. The fakery. The plastic smile. The forced cheerfulness. And always, always, your obsessive insistence on discussing the Team leadership concepts. Trust me, it gets old, fast. You are undermining existing, long-standing relationships. And you are destroying the core of who you really are. Soon there will be nothing left but a hollow caricature of what you were or might have been.<\/p>\n

To really become involved, you must surrender your soul to the cause. With each monthly tape, each monthly meeting, you must get pumped up for the next. You have to live it. Breathe it. Speak it. Keep yourself psyched up. Preach the message, both to gain new converts and to sustain your own faith. It\u2019s one-dimensional. It\u2019s cultish. It\u2019s religious. <\/p>\n

And it\u2019s a shame that good people are losing their friends and their credibility by spout- ing an endless stream of \u201cleadership\u201d psychobabble. They are not leaders. They are brainwashed sheep, pretending to be leaders. People who feign interest in your per- sonal well-being, but who really aren\u2019t, because they are no longer interested if you reject their overtures to join them in smoking the Team leadership \u201ccrack pipe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anything that requires all your conscious efforts all the time, to the exclusion of almost all other aspects of your physical and emotional and spiritual well-being, is dangerous and ultimately destructive. Any scheme that promises “you do not have to work, the money will just roll in” is deceptive, and ignores the most basic of economic principles. And appeals to the lowest common denominator of greed and sloth. That, in a nutshell, is why I so strenuously oppose Team (of Destiny). That, and because I know its source.<\/p>\n

If you are a Team member and absorb nothing else on this post, absorb this: In my opinion, Orrin Woodward is a false prophet, leading you to a place you do not want to go. Sooner or later you will reach that conclusion. Probably later, after you are strand- ed alone in the wilderness, your life and relationships in shambles at your feet, your $65.00 per month, or whatever amount it is, frittered away like so much dust in the wind. It will happen. In a year. Or two. Or five. I have seen it all before. I will see it again. You can choose not to let it happen to you.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the Team version, too, will fade away. Into oblivion, as the last one did. Once its leaders have fleeced their tens of millions of dollars from their na\u00efve and gull- ible flocks, they will be off on something else. Preaching a repackaged message to a new flock, a fresh group of impressionable souls desperately searching to fill a gaping void in their lives. The leaders won\u2019t hesitate. They will close Team down. Pick up and move on. Leaving in their wakes the decimated ruins of thousands upon thousands of devastated relationships and damaged lives, strewn about like so much twisted wreck- age after the storm has passed.
\n_______________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Last Monday evening I watched President Bush deliver his final State of the Union Address. Well, I watched a little of it. Just enough to taste the history of what was his last such speech. Mr. Bush has aged greatly in his seven years as the most powerful man in the world. As they all do. He looks just a little worn. But he defiantly went after Congress on several issues and defended his decision to invade Iraq. While I\u2019m greatly irritated at Mr. Bush for his prolific spending, I can\u2019t help but like the guy. He is who he is, with few pretensions. And somehow, I think history will judge him much more kindly than the current crop of nattering liberal talking heads. In fact, I\u2019d stake a sizable bet on it.<\/p>\n

We were honored this week to host my brother and family, Titus and Ruth Wagler and their active little boys, Robert and Thomas. Elmer and Susie Yutzy and daughter Kayla Joy (and baby whose name I failed to note) traveled with them. They stayed at Steve and Wilma\u2019s while here. As owners of the Midwest Truss Company in Bloomfield, IA, they came to the area to check out a few truss factories for ideas for expansion. Guess things are booming the southern Iowa. <\/p>\n

All pictures below taken WITHOUT permission.<\/p>\n

titusruth.jpg<\/a>
\nRuth, Titus, Thomas and Robert<\/p>\n

robtom2.jpg<\/a>
\nThomas and Robert<\/p>\n

robtomjo.jpg<\/a>
\nThomas, Johann Lapp, Robert and George the dog<\/p>\n

elmsus.jpg<\/a>
\nElmer and Susie Yutzy and Kayla Joy<\/p>\n

They weren’t around long, arriving Tuesday afternoon and leaving Thursday morning. But was good to catch up with my brother, as I do not see him that often. He came and spent a few hours at the office with me on Wednesday morning. <\/p>\n

Happy Birthday to my oldest brother Joseph, who hit the Big-60 Wednesday, Jan. 30th.<\/p>\n

Finally, GO GIANTS. Kick the vile Patriots. We can all dream.<\/p>\n

YOU ARE WELCOME TO POST A COMMENT ON THE LINK ON THIS PAGE ONLY.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie \u2013 deliberate, contrived and dishonest \u2013 but the myth \u2013 persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.\u201d —John Fitzgerald Kennedy ____________________________________________ NOTE: THIS POST CONSISTS OF MY OPINIONS ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED OTHERWISE. He stood there at a little table in the foyer of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=456"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1507,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456\/revisions\/1507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}