Scam Psychology: The Secret's real secret is victim-blaming and reckless thinking

Recently, I came across MLM "inspirational" propaganda that permeated social media. An example is embeded below, along with my reply:

“But all the love in the world won't save a sinking ship. You have to either bail or jump overboard.” -- Sarah Dessen

— Kasey Chang (@kschang777) October 28, 2017

The original tweet is an attempt to reframe sunk cost fallacy as a virtue, when it's really a cognitive bias that leads you into making irrational decisions.

Think about it... Why is "working through" the pain is preferred way to resolve the pain, when it is just as easy to stop the pain altogether?  Yet that is clearly the implication of the original tweet... by implying that your setbacks are only temporary, and as long as you dedicate sufficient effort you will succeed.

This is unrealistic, dangerous and utterly reckless thinking, yet what MLMers call "positive thinking".  Positive thinking was repopularized recently because some author copied a 1910 book and added some pseudoscience to unproven pop psychology. And MLMers ate it up. 

Yes, I am talking about "The Secret".

First of all, the Secret is not new. As I said, it's a rewrite of a 1910 book with some new pseudo-science references to quantum physics that really made no sense. It is basically magical think: if you ask and believe, you shall receive. It's a rephrase of Bible Matthew 21:22, yet somehow this was generalized to anything in life.

Yet there are a lot of stuff you don't know that's in The Secret...  And they are things you won't hear about from the MLMers who don't want to read about "negativity", even if it's in the book that taught them about positivity.

Eric Worre is wrong about Dave Ramsey: or, why MLM advocates only knows truthiness, not truth

If you are in the US, you probably heard of Dave Ramsey, who had been giving financial advice for decades as a radio call-in show (i.e. he goes live on air and lets normal people call him and he gives answers immediately) since 1992. He does not fully endorse multilevel marketing, but instead, advocates caution and realistic outlook, something that is inherently anti-faith, but based on evidence and reality. 

On August 10th, 2016, at about the 7:48 point, a "Sarah from Cincinnati Ohio" called in and asked about joining "It Works!" MLM.  Ramsey urged caution and be absolutely aware what she wants to do going in. His message was "... You will be in the recruiting business. There is nothing really inherently bad or evil about it, Your real job is training salespeople, in a high turnover environment, because most of them don't make it... I have friends that makes 7 figures in that business... But for every one of those, I know a thousand (chuckles) that didn't last 90 days, with six boxes of makeup in the garage they are still paying off on credit card... Is this really your calling if you had lost everything and starting from scratch? ... You ought to really thinking about what you're getting into. But if you want to give it a run, I will support you on it... " 

The MLM sphere went nuts as they reacted with venom. So-called MLM 'leaders' started posting videos 'Dave Ramsey is Wrong'. Here's a typical reaction from Eric Worre of networkmarketingpro.com:

Dave (Ramsey) went on to pour cold water all over the hopes and dreams of this young woman, and pigeon holed the Network Marketing profession into his very limited understanding of what it is all about.

So what exactly is Eric Worre mad about? He claims that Ramsey made multiple mistakes. 

• Risk is minimal in MLM, w/ the buyback policies in place
• It's not recruiting, it''s expanding your network
• Failure? So what? 90% of traditional businesses fail
• Bothering friends? They''re doing it wrong

Mr. Worre's final message is: basically "why don''t you just be honest and admit you hate network marketing? Innuendo doesn't suit you". 

Go look in a mirror, Mr. Worre. Innuendo does not suit you either. 

Let's examine the factors at play... who''s really wrong or right? But with a skeptical attitude and fact-checking. 

Just how risky is MLM?

Eric Worre claims that Dave Ramsey exaggerated the risk involved in MLM, and most people don''t have "6 boxes of makeup sitting in the garage getting paid off on credit card".  He claims that with the 90% buyback policy in place in most major MLMs (esp. DSA members), financial exposure is minimal.

The problem with Mr. Worre's statement is there are NO stats available from the MLMs that such policies have been utilized. Yes, DSA members do have at least a 90% buyback policy for at least six months, i.e. if you want to return all the stuff you haven''t sold within 6 months, you get 90% back. Some even go as far as a year. However, there are various caveats not discussed. 

Is there any stats available on how often such policies had been invoked? How many hoops do people have to jump through to get such returns processed? 

Nope. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Nothing. 

In fact, it's been documented in Mary Kay that any attempts to quit an return inventory would trigger an "intervention" from your upline and other people in your group (because she would be notified as any returns means her commission from your purchases will be clawed back) who will want to meet with you then shame and guilt you into staying in past the refund deadline, or to delay you in order to ensure you will get as minimal refund as possible. 

Mary Kay sales directors and recruiters are notorious for using misinformation or unethical tactics to stop consultants from returning inventory. This includes lying about the program or otherwise delaying the consultant’s return so that less product can be returned under the “last 12 months” rule. -- PinkTruth.com

It's hard to imagine the same does not happen in other MLMs as well. 

There are other tricks that can be done as well, like refresh products at less than 12 month cycles. That way when you try to return product it had already been phased out and thus cannot be returned. 

Sure there's a policy on the books, but a policy that's never used / enforced is no policy at all. 

Mr. Worre's hypothetical "white elephant" MLM only exists in his imagination. 

Vemma update: Vemma / BK Boreyko / Tom Alkazin said it's ALL affiliate's fault

Vemma, BK Boreyko, and Tom Alkazin each had filed response to FTC's case. From here on, it's clear what their strategy is:

To all the YPR Vemma affiliates...

IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT! (you deserved to be scammed)

Why, you thought I was kidding? 

Excerpt from Vemma's official response:

...Consumers represented by the FTC knowingly and voluntarily, and possibly unreasonably, exposed themselves to any claimed losses with knowledge or appreciation of the risk involved...

BK Boreyko's response also contained this section. 

Tom Alkazin's response is slightly shorter, but said the same thing:

...Any consumers represented by the FTC knowingly and voluntarily assumed the risk of losses.

In other words, if you lost money, it's because you are stupid, not because they tricked you. 

But this attitude of victim blaming is hardly unique.  It is a frequent defense by scammers, who basically said "the victims deserved to be fleeced". 

Scam Tactic: Speak in Half-truths, or how Vemma is trying to create value out of bull****.

Speaking in half truths is the best way to scam. You sound as if you are telling the truth, esp. if that's all the truth you know. You can't be lying if you don't even know the other half, right?

That's why you should fact-check any PR claims, esp. those without any links for you to verify the claims, and if the evidence themselves need to be fact-checked.

Let's take one recent example, when a Vemma fan (what I'd refer to as a Vembot) posted basically a cut-n-paste PR speech "how dare you compare Verve to Red Bull". Okay, I made up that title, but that is accurate.  His words in blue, my comment will be in red.

For those trying to do a cost comparison with Red Bull, you are obviously missing the entire concept of Vemma.

Oh, I think we understand you all too well. It is you who don't understand Vemma... 

The clinically studied nutritional supplement Vemma cost about $2.00 per serving, if you purchased the stand alone Vemma product. 

But did you actually read the two "clinical studies"? (NOTE 1)

Verve has the same 2 ounces of Vemma, plus the components of the energy drink. Yes the price is about $2.80 a can, but $2.00 is the Vemma supplement. So the energy drink component is really only $.83.

You set your own prices. You can say it's worth $1000 if you'd like. There's nothing to compare it to. In fact, there's not even any proof that mangosteen has any benefit on the body. But more on that later. (NOTE 2)

You show me where red bull has 12 vitamins, 63 minerals, mangosteen, aloe vera and green tea. Show me where Red Bull paid 250000 to run full clinical studies to see exactly what happened in your blood after drinking it.

You show me what those "63 minerals" are, and what effect they have on the body. Show me how ECGC is not harmful to the body. Show me how two little studies in China, on self-reported results prove "what happened in blood". (NOTE 3 again)  

Until you can show me that trying to compare the to is like comparing a Ford Fiesta to a Ford Mustang. They are both Fords (energy drinks), but they are not the same thing and they dont cost the same thing.

Vemma is no-name energy drink with an unproven secret ingredient. The analogy is bull****. 

Now let's look at the footnotes...

Vemma Lost Injunction Fight. Now What?

If you haven't heard, Vemma lost its attempt to reverse the temporary restraining order put in by FTC when it was shut down. The judge found that the claims and evidence supporting such as put forth by FTC to have merit  and Vemma's counter-argument and evidence insufficient to counterbalance such evidence.

As a result, Vemma will have to change:

...prohibition of the sale of Affiliate Packs, and the linking or tying of an affiliate’s eligibility for bonuses or accumulation of qualifying points to their own purchases of Vemma product, whether through participation in the auto-delivery program or otherwise. 

The injunction will also encompass the “Two & Go” Program, which falls under the above prohibition.

In other words, buying drinks no longer counts as qualifying criteria.

What are the points to take away from this decision?

1. Affiliates are not customers

Affiliates' job are to FIND customers, and be compensated for doing so. They should not be customers themselves, who want product for product's value.

Yet there's no doubt that affiliates are making the purchases in Vemma. That leads us to the next item...

FTC shuts down Vemma for being a $200 million pyramid scheme...

It brings me no joy to see this news, which was a surprise even to me... I expect action, but not this fast. 

But to summarize, Vemma's assets has been frozen and operation stopped based on temporary restraining order as issued by court based on lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission.

Quoting AP / CNBC story:

The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday that Vemma Nutrition has been temporarily shut down for operating a pyramid scheme that promised college students riches if they sold its nutritional drinks, but most ended up losing money. 

The consumer protection agency said that Vemma told recruits that they could make as much as $50,000 per week selling its nutritional beverage Vemma, energy drink Verge or protein shake Bod-e. An initial investment of $600 was paid for products and business tools and $150 in Vemma products had to be bought each month to receive bonuses. The FTC said Vemma provided little help on how to sell its products and instead rewarded them for recruiting more people. 

Vemma earned $200 million a year in 2013 and 2014, according to the FTC.
A representative from Vemma, which is based in Tempe, Arizona, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A full copy of the complaint and the 5 summary points are available at BehindMLM.com:

Count 1 – Vemma is an “illegal pyramid” scheme 

Defendants promote participation in Vemma, which has a compensation program based primarily on providing payments to participants for the recruitment of new participants, not on the retail sale of products or services. 

Defendants’ promotion of this type of scheme, often referred to as a pyramid scheme, constitutes a deceptive act or practice. 

Count 2 – Income Claims 

In numerous instances in connection with the advertising, marketing, promotion, offering for sale, or sale of the right to participate in the Vemma program, Defendants have represented … that consumers who become Vemma affiliates are likely to earn substantial income. 

In truth and fact … consumers who become Vemma affiliates are not likely to earn substantial income. 

Count 3 – Failure to Disclose 

In numerous instances … defendants have represented … that individuals have earned substantial income from participation in the Vemma program, and that any consumer who becomes a Vemma affiliate has the ability to earn substantial income. 

In numerous instances … Defendants have failed to disclose, or disclose adequately, that Vemma’s structure ensures that most consumers who become Vemma affiliates will not earn substantial income. 

This additional information would be material to consumers in deciding whether to participate in the Vemma program. 

Count 4 – Means and Instrumentalities 

By furnishing Vemma affiliates with promotional materials to be used in recruiting new participants that contain false and misleading representations, (Vemma) have provided the means and instrumentalities for the commission of deceptive acts and practices. 

Count 5 – Relief Defendant 

Relief Defendant Bethany Alkazin, has received … funds or other assets from (Vemma) that are traceable to funds obtained from (Vemma’s) customers through the deceptive acts or practices described herein. 

Relief Defendant will be unjustly enriched if she is not required to disgorge the funds or the value of the benefit she received as a result of (Vemma’s) deceptive acts or practices.

But what does this mean to you, the Vemma affiliate, other MLM participants, and so on? What will happen on the hearing on September 3rd?

Here's a few layman's speculations. Remember, I'm not a lawyer, and I have no insider information. (Lack of such, however, has not stopped various Vemma "leaders" from issuing feelings, such as "Vemma doesn't deserve to be shut down" "It's just a complaint, not a lawsuit" "The lawsuit is a joke", "FTC bit off more than it can chew" and so on)

But let's be realistic here... If you want people to lie to you and tell you everything will be alright, go read whatever verbiage your upline put out. You're here for some real analysis.

Scam Tactic: Redefine Common Words / Doublespeak

The term doublespeak was introduced to the world by George Orwell's book "Nineteen Eighty-Four", where it was defined as "using language to introduce ambiguity and confusion to block out facts and aims that does not fit in the program." (slightly paraphrased)  It is no surprise that it is among the arsenal of the scammers.

One such example of doublespeak is the appropriation of the term "sharing" to mean promoting / selling, and "selling" as buying.

According to the Vemma promotional material updated in late 2013, members are no longer representing the brand as "brand ambassadors". Members are instead, "affiliates" in affiliate marketing where member affiliates refer customers to the company, and earn some commission for sales they brought in. And affiliates are encouraged to buy some products as "some to enjoy and some to share". There are special bonuses for those who buy large starter packs.  The following screencap is how it was explained on most Vemma affiliate sites:

Screen cap from a Vemma "affiliate" website explaining what you need to do to get paid: BUY STUFF FIRST!

Did you see the problem yet?

HINT: Your upline (who recruited you) gets commission for the stuff YOU buy, both the starter pack, and the monthly autoship.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Due Diligence: How to Read an Income Disclosure Statement

It seems that people are losing their basic math skills, or even willingness to apply math to simple problems... such as "should I join _____". Today, we are going to pick an example, and show you how to read such an income statement. And yes, this may involve some WORK, so you should probably sit in front of a computer, as you may need to type in some numbers into a computer (one in library should be fine as long as you have access to Google)

Today's... example, Vemma. Their 2013 income disclosure can be access here:

http://news.vemma.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Income-Disclosure-2013.pdf

Any way, first thing you should note about the two bar graphs is... WHY TWO GRAPHS? Looking at the two graphs should make you realize two things:

1) The two graphs have DIFFERENT scales

2) The two graphs both use exponential scale instead of linear, thus de-emphasized the difference in bar heights. 

In fact, if you regraph the same numbers, using a linear scale, it looks like this (go ahead, do this in Google Sheets yourself)

The red line has the SAME numbers as the Vemma graph, but using a LINEAR scale, combined into a single graph. The blue line is the percentage of all affiliates. 

Roughly translated: vast majority of the company make peanuts, while a selected few made much much more... one made like 2.5 million in 2013. 

Why Italy Said Vemma's a Pyramid Scheme; Analysis by TINA

My Vemma Haul! (Photo credit: BenSpark)
But who's actually getting (keel)hauled? 

Truth in Advertising, i.e. TINA, has published a full analysis and translation of why Vemma was deemed a pyramid scheme in Italy back in March 2014.  From TINA article:

The investigation by Italy’s Competition and Markets Authority (AGCM), which sanctioned Vemma €100,000 (roughly $140,000), began in June 2013 after two consumers complained about the Arizona-based company’s marketing and sales practices. During the investigation, Vemma proposed changes to its Italian compensation structure. It also announced changes in its U.S. structure. But a TINA.org analysis has found that the changes to the U.S. compensation plan do not make the plan significantly different from the one Italian regulators found to be a pyramid scheme.

Here are some interesting facts about Vemma's membership in Italy, released by AGCM, where Vemma was given months to cooperate with the investigation, and even presented a defense.

• Only 27% of associates were eligible for bonuses by regularly ordering products from Vemma.
• Fewer than 100 individuals on average generated six-month sales commissions higher than €1,000 (about $1,300 in June 2013), while nearly all the other associates received quite low or even paltry compensation.
• A significant portion of the orders consisted of purchases made by associates themselves, presumably for their own consumption, which in the network are known as “autoship” sales.
• Approximately 20% of the total income generated from product sales was obtained from the sale of expensive Vemma packages called “Builder Packs” that cost €599 or €999 (about $700 to $1,300 in June 2013), and over 60% was generated from autoship sales.
• Only about 16% of the income was generated from the sale of products to third parties.
• Only 24% of associates had a VAT number (European version of "resale license"), which would enable them to sell products to third parties. 

Who Really Decides What Is Safe In your Food (and Nutritional Supplements)?

English: Logo of the . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Obvious fact:  nutritional supplements are considered "food" by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Not so obvious fact: what ends up in the nutritional supplements are often UNregulated
by the FDA, because companies can simply declare some ingredient to be "generally regarded as safe" (GRAS) based on some internal studies, and include them without telling the FDA.

Some ingredients are submitted to FDA with full studies and gains full FDA approval, but most ingredients are not approved by the FDA, and are merely declared to be GRAS by internal studies. A third way, where the GRAS study was submitted to FDA for approval, are often withdrawn, and the ingredient used any way.

GRAS was meant to be used for common ingredients like vegetable oil, vinegar, and so on. But the law, enjoying its 56th birthday recently, is now an anachronism and a loophole for companies to punch through ingredients without formal review by the FDA.

National Resource Defense Council has published a paper where it tracked 56 companies involved in 250+ chemicals declared as GRAS, as reported by Consumerist. Some of which are... troubling. And you need to be aware if you are drinking or taking any weight-loss or energy formulas.

Bad Argument: I follow the leader who made lots of money in MLM (now with more Vemma busting)

One of the frequent arguments by followers of a particular MLM is s/he is following "leader X", who has already achieved rank Y and thus is a proven leader.

Actually by following a "leader" means your own chance of making decent money is WORSE, not better. The higher the leader is ranked, the lower your chance of success. This may sound counter-intuitive, but let me explain. And we'll use a real company's numbers as example.

Here is Vemma's 2013 income disclosure statement. PDF LINK  And here's the graphs:

The graph is extremely misleading, because not only did they split the graph in half with very different scales, you should also note that the vertical axis in both graph is exponential, instead of linear. Which disguises the disparity between the bars.

Here's what it would look like if it were combined and using linear scale:

You're welcome to check out the spreadsheet yourself and compare it to the original linked above.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0Ah3DLelonjNqdFpUWmNwNEJBcFdjYmZudHdTS21rMUE&output=pdf

What's interesting from the data and extrapolation shows...

BREAKING NEWS: Italy fined Vemma, Organo Gold, and Asea 500K Euros for pyramid scheme and false claims

Flag of Italy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Italy's Financial Regulators (Guardia di Finanze) Special Market Protection Unit, Anti-Trust Group, just issued fines to Vemma Italy (100K Euro fine), Asea Italy (150K Euro fine), and Organo Gold Europe (250K Euro fine) for "unfair business practices" (i.e. pyramid sales) of pushing illegal MLM beverage business.

Asea and Organo Gold got extra fines because they also made unsubstantiated health claims. Asea apparently claimed their product strengthens the immune system, promote healing process, and reduce harmful effects of free radicals. Organo Gold apparently claimed that their ganoderma mushroom made it effective in prophylaxis of nerve diseases, vascular diseases, and cancer, without side effects.

http://www.helpconsumatori.it/acquisti/vendite-piramidali-antitrust-decide-multe-per-500-mila-euro/79331

Related articles

• Bad Propaganda: Perpetuating Myths and Misunderstandings to Deflect Criticism
• Evil MLM: Spend Your Own Time on MLM, not your "day job" Time!
• Alarms Raised at Colleges Over Pyramid Allegations of MLM Vemma
• Just what *are* Your odds in Vemma? Is there an "insider's club" in Vemma?

Guest Post: Vemma and Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich", part 4 of 6

Previously we had SlayerofScams, a fellow scambuster on IGN, posting his essay on how people misconstrue Napoleon Hill's advice to coerce the weak-minded sheeple.  Here is part 4 of 6.

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SlayerOfScams, January 8, 2014

Round Four of Napoleon Hill's Smackdown of Vemma/Verve From Beyond the Grave

Hill says that to become successful or rich, one must perform an annual self-analysis/self-inventory. With the New Year just starting, what better time for the Verve reps to do that?

Here are some questions from Hill's self-inventory that are especially pertinent to Vemma reps:

25. If I had been the purchaser of my own services for the year, would I be satisfied with my purchase? 
...
27. Has the purchaser of my services been satisfied with the service I have rendered, and if not, why not?

To help you consider the correct answers, ask yourself: are you happy with having lost and continuing to lose $150+ USD per month in order to buy cans of Verve that you do not want and cannot sell, in the false hopes that Vemma will pay you fat commission checks for the rest of your life off of the recruitment and purchases made by your fictitious, non-existent downline victims - fictitious and non-existent, of course, because real people (other than, perhaps, a few odd exceptions) are not actually stupid enough to sign up for this scam underneath you?

Next, ask yourself if any of the few downline victim suckers who you may have been lucky enough to dupe into the Vemma pyramid scam underneath yourself, and who are (like yourself) inevitably losing money every month to Verve, would be satisfied if they asked themselves the same questions given above.

Bad Propaganda: The Real Story Behind the "Dropout Lambo" Meme

A recent viral meme that was made popular by Vemma sheeple was the "Dropout" Lamborghini Aventador

Hyundai SantaFe with "Scholar" Vanity plate,
and Lamborghini Aventador LP700 (2012)  with "Dropout" vanity plate
via Flickr circa 2013

The intent from Vemma sheeple is to ridicule school, and how Vemma is going to change the lives of the young people participating in it.

But what's the *real* story about the DROPOUT Lambo?

The Lambo is real. Its owner "PK" (who asked not to be identified) contacted me to give me the real story. Yes, I've confirmed his identity.

Bad Argument: When You Comment, You Should Check Your Facts!

Was browsing YPRPariah's website, and found something amusing... Some Vemma noob came and posted some comment about how great is Vemma and how everybody else are losers for doubting Vemma, blah blah blah.

Vemma Product Photography and Ad
(Photo credit: themichaelminer)

Here's a point for point critique.  His stuff is in blue, and mine will be in red. 

Honestly I use to be skeptical about vemma just like everyone here. As a business student I’ve been approached multiple times. but I realized that if I’ve been approached so much times it must be a trend and I put my ego aside and just let my friends explain to me why their so excited

So he just admitted he's a victim of FOMO: fear of missing out.  

 At the end of the day you guys really have to choose who your listening too.

So why should we listen to him?  

For anyone who’s skeptical your choosing to listen to a wordpress blog which has no credibility over people like robert kiyosaki, bob proctor, and eric thomas who are all millionaires who all directly work with vemma.

It's interesting how much credence he puts in "credibility". I wonder if he knew the following:

Kiyosaki was an Amway rep and his book was made popular by Amway's Sager Group. And he advocates screwing over his partners because he got away with it TWICE. He charges big speaking fees to appear at events. 

Bob Proctor basically stole all his schtick from Napoleon Hill (and admitted so), and his wife and daughter are high-rankers in Vemma 

As for Eric Thomas, former NFL player and now "Hip Hop Preacher", he's an inspirational speaker who will come to your event if you pay him enough. Between 10K and 20K per appearance, according to one article, as spoken by himself. 

They work with Vemma because Vemma paid them. They are mercenaries, much like lawyers. 

 Why would such credible people put their million dollar reputations on the line to work with vemma if it was a scam? They don’t need any extra money so the risk of working with a scam DEFINITELY wouldnt be worth it.

The answer is simple: they can always speak for someone else. Kiyosaki is constantly pumping out more rehash of his books and has that stupid "seminar" for pumping people more money. Bob also speaks for various other companies as well as his own "The Secret" related seminars, and so does Mr. Eric Thomas. If anything happens to Vemma, it wouldn't hurt them much, if at all. The damage he *thinks* will happen to them is negligible, and the deterrence he relied on is nonexistent.

This is just "appeal to celebrity" fallacy, or "association with celebrity" fallacy.

Scam Absurdities: When You Say You're Not a Scam, Don't STEAL the Explanation! (Vemma thieves beware!)

It's surprising how many people PRETEND to have ethics, but in reality, shows a complete lack of ethics, and how many of them ended up in MLM. Today, the sterling example of such hypocrisy is... Quinn, who works for Vemma selling Verve (energy drink) even though he calls himself an 'entrepreneur', and claims to work for himself.

In an article on his website, Quinn goes on to "prove" that network marketing / MLM has a reputation tarnished by some people who are not suited for it, failed, and create a 'bad rap' for the system. As I have no desire to give him "linkjuice" I am NOT linking it. However, here's a screenshot of his website.

Quinn's "explanation" why Vemma's not a scam,
but did he write it? 

The problem is the ENTIRE article did not mention Vemma even once. Furthermore, the style of prose is very different from the rest of his website. Yet there is no "by", and thus implying Quinn wrote this.

Highlighting a couple words and search via Google revealed that this is actually PLAGIARIZED from about.com. Not a single word had been changed, but title was changed, and author's name was removed.

Can you say... THIEF?

Guest Post: Vemma and Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich", Part 3 of 6

Previously we had SlayerofScams, a fellow scambuster on IGN, posting his essay on how people misconstrue Napoleon Hill's advice to coerce the weak-minded sheeple. [ Part 1 of 6 ] [ Part 2 of 6 ]

Here's part 3.  Enjoy

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SlayerofScams, January 7, 2014

This seems like a good time for Round Three of Napoleon Hill's Smackdown of Vemma/Verve From Beyond the Grave.

Here is Hill’s twenty-seventh cause for failure at life:

27. INTENTIONAL DISHONESTY. There is no substitute for honesty. One may be temporarily dishonest by force of circumstances over which one has no control, without permanent damage. But, there is NO HOPE for the person who is dishonest by choice. Sooner or later, his deeds will catch up with him, and he will pay by loss of reputation, and perhaps even loss of liberty.

First, a special message to Bob Proctor: You see that, Bob Proctor? Your biggest hero and favorite role model condemns you for your intentional dishonesty in telling countless (tens of thousands? millions?) of people that Vemma/Verve is a great company and legitimate business opportunity. By the same token, Hill condemns you for your intentional dishonesty in bastardizing his words, "a winner never quits," in order to brainwash the Vemma/Verve victims to think that eventually they will get rich if only they keep allowing Vemma/Verve to rob them blind month after month and year after year.

You, Bob Proctor, have said in your own seminars, and in The Secret movie, things like, "whatever you put out to the universe is going to come back to you, whether good or bad." If you really believe that, then you know that your shilling for the illegal pyramid scheme/scam Vemma/Verve is destined to cause the universe to repay you with negative consequences for your evil behavior. Your reputation is already ruined, just as Hill predicted it would be. Was some more money - in the form of ill-gotten gains that BK Boreyko pays to you - really worth forever throwing away your [former] good name and legacy for, Bob?

Guest Post: Vemma and Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" Part 1 of 6

Cover via Amazon

Many self-proclaimed financial gurus are fond of quoting Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich". I have that book around here somewhere, along with Dale Carnegie's "How to Gain Friends and Influence People". Those two books, along with "Rich Dad Poor Dad" sort of became must-have books in recent years, for income seekers.

However, it appears that many people have been quoting Napoleon Hill out of context.

"SlayerofScams", a fellow scambuster on IGN, had this to say about people who wrongly applied the sound advice of Napoleon Hill. Here is part 1 of 6 of his "Napoleon Hill, from beyond the grave", which is reposted with his permission. Content's unchanged except a few bits of editor's note, and slight formatting changes.

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SlayerofScams / Dec 30, 2013.

I have discovered that Bob Proctor is one of Vemma's most notable shills and that his wife, Linda Proctor, has been given a prominent position within the Vemma pyramid. Proctor disgraces his former good name and defecates all over whatever legacy he might have otherwise had by promoting the illegal pyramid scheme that is Vemma. Because of that foolish decision, Bob Proctor will now forever be remembered in history as nothing other than a lowdown dirty scammer.

(editor's note: Bob's daughter Colleen Filicetti, has the same Vemma rank as her stepmom, Linda: Ambassador, making about 15000 per month.)

Over the weekend, I was watching an old Proctor seminar video (it looked to be from the late 1980's although I am not sure exactly when it was released), in which he basically paraphrases the 1937 book by Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, along with a few other books. In that seminar Proctor appears to be a respectable guy. That seminar presents some good ideas (although Proctor admits that the ideas are not his own).

Then I watched a video of Proctor shilling at a Vemma convention from 2013, and presenting those same ideas that he presented in the old seminar, in order to justify Vemma as a great company, and to justify all of Vemma's victims as winners.

Proctor was one of the people behind The Secret which was big about 6 years ago. The Secret is basically a plagiarization of Hill's book, albeit The Secret also cuts out a vast majority of the sensible advice that Hill claims (many times!) to be mandatory parts of his book. That is why reasonable people usually condemn The Secret as crazy rubbish, whereas Hill's book remains famous and popular to this day.

In Proctor's seminar and in his Vemma convention shilling, Proctor directly gives credit to Hill and Hill's book, professes his undying love for Hill's book, and tells all his fellow Vemma shills that they too should get and read Hill's book.

All of that has led me to start to read Hill's book.

Here is some good news: Hill's book is in the public domain and so it is legally free for anyone to get and read. Here is a link to it:

https://archive.org/stream/Think_and_Grow_Rich/think-and-grow-rich-napoleon-hill_djvu.txt

To address the sane readers of this thread: for personal interest, you might want to read that book for some sensible advice on how someone, maybe yourself, might possibly get rich (of course, no guarantees exist). I am sure many of you have read it already. To give a brief summary of Hill's book: Hill interviewed Andrew Carnegie, and Carnegie introduced Hill to most of the richest men in America during Hill's lifetime. Hill spent 25 years interviewing them in order to learn their secrets and find out what they had in common, so that he could present to his readers a sound theory about how someone might get rich.

For the remainder of this post, I will address not the sane readers, but rather, the Vemma shills/victims.

Bad Propaganda: Perpetuating Myths and Misunderstandings to Deflect Criticism

Editor's Note: This is start of a new segment 'Bad Propaganda' where I will analyze bad propaganda used by various MLM promoters who, whether intentionally, or by accident, or perhaps, even ignorance, perpetuate myths, misunderstandings, half-truths, and "spin" to promote their MLM when they don't have to. I've done this several times before, but usually as some sort of rebuttal (for Wazzub, Zeek, TVI Express, and other scams). This will make it a new 'regular feature'.

When a new MLM recruit wants to express their enthusiasm for their new venture, one of the things they do now is create a web page, esp. if they wish to market online. And one of the frequently asked questions asked about many MLMs is "isn't it just a pyramid scheme?"  There's the right way to answer it (explain the Koscot test and why MLM does NOT fit the Koscot test... if done correctly)... and then there is this way... done by a Vemma Rep.

In order not to embarrass him too badly, his name will not be used, and URL will NOT be included (don't want to give him any LinkJuice), but you can see a picture of his web page below...

The title is "Vemma : Scam or a legitimate opportunity for you and your friends" by "Nick".

From here on, his stuff is in blue, and my counterpoints will be in red.

You might be wondering if there is an opportunity to make money with Vemma, or if the Vemma scam allegations are true. Don't worry you have come to the right place seeking answers so look no further.

Wow, he claims to be the ONLY place on the web to offer answers about Vemma, look no further! This guy is full of himself, isn't he?

Nick (censored) is a 21 year old adventure seeker, who went from scrubbing dishes at an old hospital for minimum wage to traveling the Northwest and has built a distribution network of close to 1,000 people in the past 12 months. He has inspired young entrepreneurs into taking charge of their lives, and isn't afraid to challenge the status quo. CLICK HERE to learn about how you can become one of the next success stories on his team, and work personally with Nick and the other leaders of Treasure (censored) Vemma.

The standard rags-to-riches underdog story that appeals to the "rebel youth" crowd. 

   There are many Vemma reviews on the internet that make claims about the company, and for someone who wants to cut straight through the BS you need answers. So lets get to the bread and butter, but know that multi level marketing scams are hard to detect so in this article I will help you swim through the sludge of information on the web.

    In order to confirm or deny if Vemma is a scam you need to understand what the company is. They are a health and wellness business based out of Scottsdale Arizona. Founded in 2004 by Bk Boreyko, Vemma has done over 1 billion dollars in sales over the past nine years. Pretty big for a scam i'de say.

First paragraph is a completely waste of space, as it said nothing. Second paragraph started off wrong. To know whether Vemma is a scam, you need to define what a scam is, not what Vemma is. That comes second.

That was segued into a "too big/old to be a scam" myth, though he did couched it as a personal opinion, bad spelling and all.  Go look up FHTM should tell you it lasted 11 years before being shut down by the FTC as a pyramid scheme. Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme took even longer. Both are much bigger than Vemma. Clearly, Nick had NO IDEA what he was talking about. 

But wait, there's more! Lots more!

Bad Argument: Lion Doesn't Lose Sleep Over Opinion of Sheep

Tywin Lannister armor (Photo credit: paul.hadsall)

Sometimes, when confronted with detailed criticism and lacking a proper reply, a MLMer would resort to sloganism, such as

"Lion Doesn't Lose Sleep Over Opinion of Sheep"

Apparently it had been adopted by Vemma followers as a general psych defense against criticism, as a substitute for "I don't care what you think. Ha!"

But what does this quote *really* mean?

Origin of the Quote

It was recently uttered by Tywin Lannister in "Game of Thrones" in the following form:

"A lion doesn't concern himself with the opinion of a sheep."

The origin of the expression seem to be lost in history. I've seen claims that it originated in Aesop's fables, in Homer's Illiad, and so on. What can be positively attributed was American author Vernon Howard (1912-1992), who wrote:

A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.

The quote is a little on the wordy side, and let's just say Vernon Howard's books leans a bit toward the, uh... esoteric... With such words like "Cosmic Power", "Mental Magic", "Mystic Path", and so on...

It seems Mr. Howard merely rephrased Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) who stated:

Do not look for approval except for the consciousness of doing your best. 

Screen cap of The Simpsons 3e07 "Marge be NOT Proud"
where Bart put a lampshade over his head and is beating on it
with his slipper so he can't hear Marge lecturing him.
Is that you, when faced with proper criticism?

Clearly, the intent of the quote is to explain that if you do something, you should not do it because other people approve of it, you should do it because YOU want to do it.

It is NOT about criticism. It is about approval.

Therefore any attempt to use the quote to deflect criticism, i.e. "I don't want to listen to your negativity", is wrong. It's be like Bart putting a lampshade on his head and beating on it with his slipper so he can't hear Marge lecturing him.

But let's explore a little deeper...