Orrin and fellow bloggers, It is good to see everyone is alive and well. Tomorrow I will finish up a busy week at my job. I choose not to work on Sunday so I can go to church. I wanted to express my appreciation to Orrin for posting this article. I have kept up with the legal wranglings as much as possible on other sites as well. Mr. Larsen has shown class and dignity during the latest events. This is my second attempt at commenting about this article. The first attempt didn't survive the editing process. When I went back and reread what I had written, it just sounded very angry. It is difficult to express sarcasm, tounge in cheek humor, or tone of voice on an internet posting. I had hoped by this point in the proceedings that I could come up with something that sounded better than bitterness or anger to the average reader. So I will just give you the highlights. I have been called cattle. I have been called sheep. I am apparently someone elses property. I know some of the folks involved in this situation spent years building a community, and I in no way want to minimize the amount of hurt and pain that many people have had to endure for the past 7 months. I didn't. I think I am the very end of the line. When you hear downline, the very bottom of it, here I am. (waves arms) waaaay dowwwwn herrrrrrre! I signed up for this train wreck just as the wheels flew off. For all of the public blathering about how all of us sheep and cattle were under the direct control of Orrin Woodward, I guess no one told him about little ole me. As he was directing and orchestrating all of this mass chaos and upheaval, he forgot to send me my secret decoder ring to figure out what to do. I heard if you play "The Future of Internet Business" backwards, you get special instructions on when to resign for maximum effect. Maybe it was a beatles Cd. Brady CD? Dangit. Since nobody gave me the secret code, and the guy who got me in quit in disgust, I didn't resign until November. I never even got on .....Monthly delivery....(wouldn't want to get sued for using a trademark) or shared the"bizness" with another living soul. I did, however, sign a paper. A couple of weeks later I got a big book of rules in the mail...PPSSST, hey kid. Look what we signed up for! I couldn't find the "I don't think I want to do this button" and the next thing I know.... JUST, GO TEAM. We all know the rest. Wondering aimlessly in the desert. Hoping someone would tell me what to do. Nobody telling me. Reading as the Leaders of Team were smeared and acused of every sin known to man (slight exaggeration) and looking around for the proof. NOBODY TOLD ME WHAT TO DO!!!!IF SOMEONE HAD, I WOULD BE FREE TO DO EXACTLY WHAT I WANT TO RIGHT NOW. Instead, I have to wait until May the something. And I will wait. I signed the stupid paper. I take responsibility for that. Personal responsibility. I wonder if I am on the list of 31,000 JUST, GO TEAM SO WE DID WHAT WE WERE TOLD AND WENT WHILE YOU BLAMED IT ON ORRIN. or not. Do they put the bottom of the bottom on a list like that. I hope I am on it. I think it said 31,000 TEAM LEADERS. I sure hope to be one. One day. TEAM LEADER. Good company. I REALLY like the sound of that. TEAM LEADER. The horrible people from the Team have forced me to learn stuff about character, principles, honor, courage, dignity, doing the right thing, standing for something important. Terrible things. I may need a personal intervention. God forbid. I have even stopped smoking. I have stopped using profanity. I have started to attend church as regularly as I can. The funny thing is....NOBODY TOLD ME WHAT TO DO. Oh my God. I am being brain washed. I couldn't possibly take in positive information and begin to make better decisions about my life and family. Impossible. Preposterous. I would hate to disappoint you AMWAY, but I am sitting out my six months. Like a man of character would do. I know it must be a shock, but that is how we roll on the Team. Dangit. I just read this and it sounds angry again. Oh well, so be it. Maybe I am a tad bit angry. So let me share a short story. "Ooops, I did it again" by Ian from Texas I have commented before on this blog that I suffer from the habit of talking too much sometimes. Believe me, if it weren't for my lovely wife pointing it out on a regular basis, I might not even notice. I am trying to learn to listen, and doing pretty well, actually, but sometimes I just slip. My very good friend, John, who lives in Ft. Worth sent me an email the other day. I emailed him back and mentioned that I was coming to the Dallas area to attend a "Men's Leadership" meeting on March the 28th. He responded and wanted to know what the heck "Men's Leadership" is. I told him to call me. He did. As we started talking, I told myself, "Easy Does It" just answer his questions and listen to him. That was right before I started pacing the floor, my eyes rolled back into my head, and I attempted to download the entire history of the past 7 months into a 30 minute conversation. "Dude? Are you reading this information out of a book?" my friend says to me, after my 30 minute monologue. I snap back into reality and smack myself in the forehead. My friend has to go to bed and hurridly gets off the phone. DOH! I sit down in my office chair and take a deep breath. I amaze even myself sometimes. Orrin and Chris would be so proud. Randy probably would have smacked me already. I sigh and fire up the ole email and send one of apology to my friend. I didn't hear from him for a week, until today. He called wanting to know if I was on my way. I reminded him it was next weekend. I apologized again of what happened and he said this..... "Ian, I have known you my entire life, and I have never heard you so passionate about ANYTHING. If it is that good, if you are getting that much out of it, I AM IN." John is a project manager for a very large cell phone company in addition to owning his own business. Maybe I didn't mess up. Maybe some of this Leadership stuff is starting to stick. My name is Ian. I pay money for Leadership Development. Yep. I sure do. I listen to CD recordings of successful people speaking from seminars and other meetings. I pay money for the information. I pay for tickets to go to the seminars where the people are recorded when they speak. Those same speakers get paid to speak at those seminars. I also buy these old fashioned things called "books". Yes, it is hard to believe in this day and age, books cost money. I also pay for the occasional dvd. If we can work out a deal with netflix, I might actually start watching tv a little more. Team dvd's are about the extent of my time spent on the guilty pleasure of television. I know you people may find it hard to believe that I actually spend my hard earned money on such foolishness. The fact that my relationship with my wife is the best it has ever been, my relationship with my step-daughter, best ever, relationships with co workers, friends, extended family, outstanding. Pure chance. Maybe nobody cares what the last person in line is thinking or feeling right now, but I appreciate the chance to share it anyhow. I do know this. When you are doing the right thing, for the right reason, because you accept personal responsibility, and someone accuses you of doing wrong, it sucks. It does not feel good. I don't appreciate it at all. Orrin, for you and the Team Leaders going through this, times infinity, with extensions thrown in, you have my utmost respect for how you handle yourself. I can only hope that if I stay on the Leadership Development journey long enough, that I can attain the grace and dignity that you guys have shown. Class. Mr. Larsen has it. We are in good company. I can't wait to be "IN" the good company. Thanks for letting me rant. Ian from Texas