Hold Up

I'm presently working on overdrive to finish my current screenplay project. Final draft is due tomorrow, so all updates to this blog are being pushed to Monday (since I don't update on the weekends). If this is an inconvenience to you, I don't care ;)

Jump Aboard!

Hey kids! There's a new ride in town!

And it's coming to your house soon!

It's the Deny Axiom Carousel, complete with your favorite excuses, like That's not how you spell it, I'm going to completely ignore everything you just said, and the ever popular I may be a pot, but you're still black! Climb on board and watch your worries spin away as we take you on a fantasy ride to the world of utopia, where the fun only stops when it's time to go home!

That's right, kids! The Deny Axiom Carousel offers immeasurable ammounts of unrealistic fun! And because you're too busy spinning around and around in your own circular logic, nobody can ever challenge you! It's fun, it's easy and it's practically free! Just leave your common sense at the gate and simply pick it up on your way out! ... or don't.

And, for the parents: The Deny Axiom Carousel isn't just a ride. It's a lesson in action! Your children will learn how to combat logical arguements with just the twist of a wrist, from nit-picking irrelevant details such as spelling and grammar, to completely ignoring critical points in the name of reverting back to the initial arguement! Where will these invalueable lessons on every-day thinking take them? The possibilities are endless!

So what are you waiting for? Don't let the mean-spirited harsh Truth ruin your chance of a good time. Get on the Deny Axiom Carousel today!

Personal success is not a guarantee. Side effects usually include cancer of the brain and diarrhea of the mouth.

How To Make Money In Quixtar

Really, I shouldn't even be talking about this. It's not really that difficult of a concept. But first, let's look at the issue.

People are complaining that you can't make money with Quixtar. I honestly fail to see the logic in this. First of all, it's easy. Quixtar is just a website with a bunch of products that you can buy. And when I say "a bunch" I mean a couple million.

Now there's a base price and a suggested retail price. Usually the difference is a couple of bucks, but sometimes it can be a couple of hundred. It's not a lot, but Wal-Mart doesn't make millions by selling one thing of tooth paste. People bash Amway with some stupid phrases like, "I'll never understand the excitement of selling soap." Hah hah hah. Really, now, if I had a nickel for every bar of soap sold in America...I'd be pretty excited. Maybe this guy wouldn't, but I certainly would.

In any case, sales. Mark-up. Whathaveyou. Quixtar's mode of operation is simple. I don't know how many times I have to say that, but it is. You get the items you want to sell, at base price, and sell them at suggested retail price, or whatever you decide to mark it up to. And that's it. Count your money and go home. Or better yet, don't even buy the items. Just let whomever buy it from the Quixtar site, or order it from Quixtar for them, and there you go.

It's easy, see? Make money with Quixtar. And they said it couldn't be done!

Actually, what they're really talking about is how people build up big pyramid schemes and keep profit as in-house buying, meaning you're not really selling anything. You're just getting people in your business to "buy from themselves." While I see no problem in that, others do. But I have to beg to question: Who told you to do that? Certainly wasn't Quixtar. So who told you? Your....your what? Your what? Your Diamond told you? That's what I thought.

Well I won't preach against it, but if you want to make money, sell the products.

Last year, I made a hundred and fifty dollars cash off making gift baskets for Christmas in the month of December. It wasn't anything to boast or live on, but it deffinately helped out a lot come time for me to do my own Christmas shopping. And every other month I sell eighty dollars worth of Carb blockers to my usual customers.

It can be done, people. It's not impossible. As a matter of fact, it's not even hard.

The Truth of The Tyranny: Part 2

Ok, so we've talked about all of the angles one can beat around the bush of Quixtar. We've talked about the religion, we've talked the politics, we've talked the disdain for the disdain of a job. That's all out of the way. Sure, we lightly touched it, I suppose, but the core of those issues is gone. Let's move on.

The final topic is that of the Tools System. I don't know what to say about this that hasn't already been said. Tools are evil, vile, wicked, little devil things that jump at your wallet through the portal of your mind. By convincing you that you need them, they get you to purchase them, again and again and again and again. Some say the Tools System is unnecessary, others say it's downright illegal. But one thing is for certain amidst all of this choas and hooplah: There's a Tools System in every organization. Everybody has one. Everybody has a Tools CD with their organization's logo on it and a book from their organization's library. And you can't sell them back, and to place them on e-bay is laughable. So if you buy them, you're stuck with them like poop from the foo bird for the rest of your damnable and destitute life.

So what's the correlation between the Tools System and Quixtar? What is it that connects Quixtar to the Tools that has everybody all riled up? Where is the relationship? The interchange? Well, the answer is actually, pretty simple and it's right there in the paragraph above: There isn't one. That's right, there is no connection. None. Nada. Quixtar and an Organization's Tools System are exactly that, two seperate bodies with nothing in relationship.

So why, then, the issue? Because it's not that easy to see. When people see Team of Destiny, they see Quixtar. When they see Alliance Net Solutions, they see Quixtar. Qbiz - Quixtar. World Wide Group - Quixtar. People who make this correlation are absolutely unable or simply unwilling to see the plain-as-day line of seperation. It's easy, really. Quixtar is a portal page of stores. TOD is an organization of people with memberships to that portal page. TOD leaders sell their TOD Tools to TOD members who then use those for whatever and there you have it. That's it. There's really no more to be said about the subject. It's a dead subject.

But that's not good enough for some people. People like Bo Short, it isn't good enough for him. After all, if it's not damaging Quixtar, it's not doing his Passport business any good. So keep the smear on, keep it alive, hoo rah to you. What does Bo Short say? Well, Quixtar should step in and tighten the leash! Tighten the leash? What leash? Just exactly what is it that you expect Quixtar to do, Bo? And anybody else out there that thinks the same, the same to you. What on Earth could Quixtar possibly do? How do you enforce something like that? Tell them "no?" Say it's against policy? If you catch them, you'll kick them out?

OK, do that. Now what? What's to keep them from dishing them out under the table? Now you're the evil, diabolical coorporation that's hindering their chances of success! That's what they'll tell their members, and their members will believe it. So what do we do about that? Nothing. Quixtar will be Quixtar. You just be a good little lemming and buy my CDs under the table and don't say a word. That's it! Now what, genius? Now what, Bo Allmighty? What should Quixtar do now? Send out it's elite covert ops team of Ninja spies? Yes, that's it! Ninja spies! They'll sign up as Team of Destiny members and catch Orin Woodward in the act! It's a foolproof plan! A surefire hit! Only one problem, it won't work. I'll tell you why it won't work. Same reason people still speed. Same reason people still download Mp3s. Because the proffit is too great. The payoff simply outweighs the penalty. If you disband one organization for breaking the rules, twelve others will sprout from it like a Multi-Level Hydra. Congrats, you just spread the rash.

Way to go, Bo. Way to go, indeed.

It's really elementary, my dear boy. It isn't in Quixtar's best interests to nanny organizations for two key reasons.

1) The process would only spread the disease
and
2) It would cost more than they have.

Let's not forget that we're talking about adults here. And back we go to the outrageous idea of self responsibility. Oh no, can't have any of that. That doesn't earn freebeebucks. You can't play that card in a law suit and win! Dateline won't report on that! My dreams of wealth without effort would be ruined! By heavens, don't be absurd! No. Blame Quixtar. Even though it's not Quixtar's name on that CD or that Tape or that Book or that Tool, blame them anyway. By the end of the day, you'll feel a lot better. After all, it wouldn't be YOU'RE fault that you're a jackass.

So in closing, none of the mentioned topics were the real deal. You want the Truth of the Tyranny? Look in the mirror.

The Truth of The Tyranny: Part 1

There's this ongoing hatred of the Quixtar business, seething lips, cynical posts, blogs and stories spring up daily. One day, it's a college student, the next day, it's a lonely housewife. I've noticed a pattern with all of them: None of them have an understanding of the real world. All of them have attitudes remeniscent of the common LJer, all magnets for attention, all looking for sympathy. I've noticed that nothing is ever their fault. They are the victims. They are the hapless heroes who can do no wrong. If it's not Quixtar screwing them over, it's their parents. If it's not their parents, it's their friends. If it's not their friends, it's the convenient religion of the day. If it's not the religion, it's the government. If it's not the government, it's the world. Every post is either dreamy, derisive or depressive. Every response is (and I was just talking about this with my girlfriend, last night) "*hug*" or "Dear, I'm so sorry :(" or "I'm here if you need me" or "I love you." And all of these responses are well and good, but the nature of them, the reason for them is the questionable thing. The writers, the columnists, all of them crave these responses. For whatever reason, they need them. They need to see people offering shoulders of sympathy and so they find every reason to play the victim or "the-guy-who's-pissed-off(tm)." And so, whenever I read these nasty anti-Quixtar rants, I have to read them through the eye of the filter. Just who is writing this essay? Who is this person and how do they see the world?

And so, withought anymore sidenote, I present the truth of the tyranny of that which is Quixtar.

When people bash Quixtar, they always write around one solid issue. That issue is either the religion of those within Quixtar, the political views of those within Quixtar, the opposition of a job by those within Quixtar, and/or The "Tools System" of an organization of people within Quixtar. Now, before I continue, when I say "within Quixtar," what I mean is that these people purchased a Quixtar number and sell Quixtar products. That's it.

Now, right now I'm even being lenient because only one of those topics mentioned above should be considered a prominant issue. All of the otheres merely support the fact. Not the fact that Quixtar is bad (actually none of the topics support that) but that these people, for whatever reason, hate it enough to write about why they hate it. There are plenty of these supporting topics that I won't get into because that's not the most mentioned tyranny of Quixtar so let's get the ones mentioned out of the way.

When one brings up the topic of religion, what they're refering to is the overwhelmingly Christian atmosphere. It's not an in-your-face atmosphere; nobody forces their Christianity on you. But often times a business meeting or seminar will open up in prayer and often times someone will refer to the blessings of God in their business. So when somebody writes about this being a problem they have, they are saying a few things about themselves.

1) They have a serious problem with Christianity, to the point that you can't mention God's name in front of them without them being offended.

2) They lack the attitude of respect, caring only about themselves and not those around them. This respect includes someone's religion, even when it is not causing harm to anyone else.

3) They have a perverbial stick up their ass. (This can be equated to number 1)

Now, these are simplified observations that envelope many others. I could list them all but all others would inherently fall into any of these three key observations, so I won't. What I will point out is that anyone in this category deserves neither your time, nor attention. They suffer from spoiled-brat syndrome and should be kept in a cold, dark cellar until they grow up.

When one brings up the topic of political views, they almost always note that everyone in the business is obviously a Republican, and they say it in such a way that this is somehow a bad thing. Ever done a poll on how many Democrats vs how many Republicans own businesses? The answer may shock you! Most businesses are owned by Republicans because Republicans tend to lean to the Conservative viewpoint that states "A worker is worthy of his wages" whereas most Democrats line with Liberal viewpoints that point to the government as the answer to all of your financial problems. (thus the extension of unemployment and welfare) So if you go to a business meeting full of business people, of course there's going to be a great majority of Republicans there. Unlike Democrats, Republicans don't sit on their hands waiting for "get out of work free" coupons.

I don't know what it is, but there seems to be an unnatural, unhealthy hatred of Republicans by Democrats. I'm not saying that Republicans love Democrats. I'm simply saying that if a Republican were to walk into a business meeting about a business opportunity, he wouldn't care what the political stratum of the meeting room was. If the business is sound, go for it. But with a Democrat, heaven forbid there be Republicans in a business meeting! All information is imediately void! Don't listen to that incredibly successful businessman on stage. He's a Republican! It's like a twisted sort of racism or politicism or something. I don't know. What I do know is that the arguement, or the idea of an arguement that Quixtar is essentially bad because it's downright full of Republicans is both silly and irrelevant. And anyone who argues this point not only loses all of their credibility, they should be thrown in the cellar with brat-boy.

The only topic I can sympathize with and understand is the Job arguement. A lot of meetings preach the abandonment or opposition of a "Job Lifestyle." I agree with this idea, but I also understand and support those who do not agree. Not everyone is a business-oriented person. Not everyone can run their own business. It's a mindset sort of thing. It's the same reason as why not everyone is a born leader. Some people follow. That's OK. That's why free-market Capitalism works, because there's always going to be more employees than there will be employers. The problem with using this arguement to slam Quixtar, however, is that there are still leaders and business-oriented people who do not want a job and are doing everything in their power to create their own business so they won't have to work for someone else, under the hours set by someone else ever again. That's not a bad thing. That's a good thing. That's progressivism in the works. That's our God-given confidence in action. Where would we be today if Bill Gates had stayed in College and gotten a job for someone else for the rest of his life? Where would we be today if nobody had the mindset to go out and start their own business for other people to work for and provide for their families? I tell you, it scares me to even imagine America as another Communist Welfare State. So when I hear someone preaching the enterprise of businessbuilding to aspiring employees, I salute them and those who have the heart to listen. The American Dream was never about a job. It was about a business and that's the way it should be.

So knocking those out, only one remains and it is truly the problem everyone has. Unfortunately, it'll have to wait for my next rant because this has gone long enough.

Consider Chaper 1 of The Truth of The Tyranny complete.

Hurray for Dateline!

Because there's so much negativity out there, I need to bring this up.

Dateline NBC has done up a wonderful job of a mock "investigation" on the company Quixtar. Quixtar is an incredibly huge network-marketing business that has been doing very well since 99. In this "investigation" Dateline interviewed a few people who tried the business and didn't make money. These people, rather than putting money into their business, gave it to people who were not Quixtar officials in a blind and sheepish pursuit of riches. And when it bit them in the rear, rather than blame themselves, they blamed Quixtar. They blamed the independents who gladly took their money (and rightfully so) but they also blamed a very innocent company. So Dateline got a few people who had the time to moan and groan about how it "wasn't their fault," and then, to back those complaints up, they interviewed and/or sourced two upstanding individuals. Those individuals were Scott Larsen and Bo Short and both had horrible things to say about Quixtar. Of course, Dateline had nothing but GOOD to say about Short and Larsen. They're saints, after all. By the end of the article, one thing was clear: Quixtar bad. But then again, that was pretty much clear from the beginning, so was this really an investigation? Or was it a vile and biased piece of garbage written by a bitter activist in a position to write it? Bad news is good news, right? And if you settle a score, grind an axe, why, all the better!

There are a few things to cover here, and I'll touch up on each of them in the order that they first appeared.

First off, the "investigation" starts out at this incredibly outrageous meeting where people are insanely fervent and zealously against corporate America. DITCH YOUR JOB! BE A GOD! MAKE ALL THE MONEY YOU EVER WANTED AND ALL WITH THE RUB OF A MAGIC TOOTER! This, of course, is Quixtar's message. This is what was said, preached and indoctrinated at the meeting. 1500 People attended, but not before dishing out loads of cash to the Quixtar organization for books and CDs on how to get rich quick. Now, hundreds of dollars and countless hours wasted later, everyone's broke, sore and in desperate need of divine intervention in their financial life. Having not fulfilled its promise of unadulterated wealth, Quixtar has transformed many healthy families in to horrible, horrible slime houses of despair and torment. Why, those despicable tyrants! And so the story goes and that's pretty much the tune from start to finish.

That's their story. Here's the truth: That's not Quixtar. That's some schmuck who bought a number just like everyone else, and formulated a scam independent of the corporation in which people sign up under him BUT they also pay out oodles and oodles of money to the organization for "tools" which the victims claim they were "pressured" into buying in the first place. Now, here's the way I see it: If you want something, you pay for it. If you want financial freedom, you're going to have to pay for more than a couple of CDs and some books. Try real world experience in the corporate sector. Try hanging out with successful business people. Join Bill Gate's night club and talk to the sleeze balls inside. They'll get you there, I'm sure. But don't go out and buy a bunch of CDs and expect to be financially free in the next three years. It won't happen. And if you thought it did, well then the joke's on you, dumb ass. So, while what the independent schmuck did is downright wrong and he should be slapped, so should the idiot sheeple who followed up to the wolves. Cuff the guy and beat him with a stick, but leave Quixtar out of it.

And why leave Quixtar out of it? Because the dialogue that this guy preaches is not the dialogue that is on the Quixtar site, or anywhere in their literature. Sure, it is conceivable that you can become this super rich person through their business model and I'd like to try it out to that extent because, hey, why not? But that does not mean you WILL achieve that sort of level of income. Quixtar started out as a business to achieve two things: 1) Sell goods and 2) Help someone make a little money on the side. Now I have been an IBO for a little while. Not long enough to make anything substantial, but I have gotten two things from Quixtar: 1) Goods and 2) A little side money. More than once, that side money has saved me a LOT of trouble. But even if it didn't save me anything, even if it came when I didn't need it, Quixtar fulfilled its end of the bargain and has done so for the better part of 5 years with everyone else. It's a simple system. You get people to shop on their website and they'll give you a small percentage of what those people spend on their goods. It's a good system. The people get the stuff they want. The company gets the money from sales and I get some pocket change for referring the people to the site. Everybody wins. Where's the problem?

I won't get into the problem. That's a story for another day. But I will say that it includes, Quixtar's sister company, plenty of people to relinquish their personal responsibility and an eager Dateline-esque media to get out a big story.

Ok, so the first thing down, now to the second: Scott Larsen and Bo Short. These are the primary sources for Dateline's "investigation." When Bo Short wasn't talking, Scott Larsen was citing and when Scott Larsen wasn't citing, Bo Short was talking. These two guys DOMINATED the article with Larsen behind the scenes and Short in front and if I didn't know any better, I'd say this whole "investigation" was a PAID FOR smear campaign by the two of these schmucks.

And why do I say that? Because I know them. I know them and I've spoken to them and I know people who know them. Through the course of my activity in Quixtar, I have dug myself a comfy little social nest of people in the business and outside the business who are looking in. I've got a wonderful little network going and that network has allowed me to see the true nature of many of the people involved. And two of those people are Bo Short and Scott Larsen. Here's the truth: Bo Short is a business man. He's a clever fellow and I respect him for his accomplishments. But that, however, does not subtract from the fact that he is living a questionable lifestyle by slamming and ridiculing Quixtar WHILE founding and operating a Quixtar clone. Bo Short may be a nice guy, I might be able to have a cup of coffee with him on an off business day. But he is still a hypocrite and a self-righteous one at that. He has led many campaigns against Quixtar, spread many rumors and told many half truths with the intention of driving people away from Quixtar and to his own Shortstar. This whole Dateline business is nothing but great PR for him and I see it as free advertisement. I also see why Dateline was more prone to take his stance on Quixtar, rather than Quixtar's stance on Passport. Bo Short is "just one man." People can associate with that. They can not associate with a large company and with the latest thread of Liberal mumbojumbo that has always been against "big business" along with the fact that Dateline is an offspring of the Liberal Media NBC, it's perfectly understandable as to why they would take this angle. But taking a step back, let's see the forest for the trees. Pot, meet Kettle. Kettle, meet Pot. Both of you shut up.

Third up is Scott Larsen. I don't know what there is to say about the man that hasn't been said about Howard Dean. He's arrogant. He's loud. He's vicious and he's angry. Scott is a man who's got waaaaaaaay too much time on his hands. He's got his own website dedicated to smashing Amway and Quixtar. If you have a vendetta against either company, he's the guy to go to. I swear, the guy could form a church, a religion, and it wouldn't surprise me if he already has. With all the time and effort he's put into destroying both of these companies (failing to do so to either, by the way) he probably could have started up his own Network Marketing business, like Bo Short, and made tons of money by now. But alas, his life has been wasted away on his fruitless campaign of hate-Amstar. When he's not updating his website on why Quixtar is the anti-Christ's tool for world domination, he's spamming IBO inboxes with seething hate mail. He's harassed my friend's wife on more than one occasion and left grotesque voicemails on their phone. I honestly have no clue what has him so enraged, so hell-bent on making everyone's life as miserable as he's made his out to be, maybe Quixtar killed his cat or something, but it's no excuse for his behavior. In summary: Scott Larsen is a vile man.

So, when an article is released with a solid message from start to finish with the two most radical individuals as their primary sources, you know something's up. But what is it? I don't know. I haven't gotten that far, but I have concluded that Dateline has brought themselves to a new low. Rather than focus on personal responsibility, they have followed the sheeping masses and taken the fight to the wrong guy. Where Walmart and Costco don't give you anything for bringing your rich friends to their store, Quixtar gave you five bucks. And in return, they're being "investigated." If this isn't the preverbal biting the hand that feeds you, I don't know what it.

All I know is that there is something inherently wrong with corporations, personal growth and achievement outside of government assistance that the media apparently sees and is on the rampage to get across to everyone else. Next time somebody offers me a buck to refer their store to my friend, I'm going to hide them away and never tell a soul. I may not get a buck, but at least the poor guy will be saved from the incessant hounding of the media and fundamentalists like Scott Larsen.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Good job, Dateline. You've made a believer out of me.