However I wouldn’t characterise those posts as “wasting their time” just because I haven’t changed my own opinion. I mean, who cares if I did change my opinion? Who does it effect? Nobody.

No, I’m much more interested in what happens when someone else comes along from Google or elsewhere and reads what’s written and becomes enlightened. And for that, I have to thank everyone who has contributed to this thread.

Debates like this help to make the world a better place, I think – no matter what I believe.

javax.servlet.ServletException: java.lang.RuntimeException: java.io.InvalidClassException: wicket.LoginPage; local class incompatible: stream classdesc serialVersionUID

Truly some morally bankrupt people at the top there. I felt sorry for this guy, he was only 19. I tried to arm him with some version of the truth. I hope he’s managed to extricate himself from this thing.

So met the guy on a Saturday at a local Starbucks. A female “associate” of his showed up shortly afterward. Both of them were wearing suits — on a Saturday right after New Year’s Day. Across the street was a Hilton hotel where they were going to some “business meeting.” I was invited.

So I went and it turned out to be an ACN rally meeting. GROAN. I had never hear of ACN before that day. As a side note these ACN “reps” actually had to PAY to get IN! The bloe who’d invited me paid the $4 entry fee for me.

So I sat there politely, eagerly waiting for my opportunity to “exit stage left.” This environment was the usual get-rich-quick fare you see on late-night TV hawking real-estate courses with no-money-down, complete with a large video screen playing testimonials of successful nobodies. The last shot of the video is Donald Trump telling the audience, you’re either a loser or a winner and by not jumping on this bandwagon, you’re essentially a loser. Then you had all the clones in suits clapping. After that a speaker comes up on the stage. And though he’s got great stage presence, there’s also something sort of contrived about him as well. He was apparently a successful lawyer who had been able to “reach the same 1,000’s of $$ in 3 years with ACN that had taken him 18 years of law practice to achieve.”

And there are always a few people like this. There are always a FEW people who could sell snow the Eskimos and for f**k’s sake … he’s a f**king LAWYER! Why trust THAT guy?! lol

The fallacy here is:
Just because a FEW people are hugely successful with ACN that ANY and ALL people can be equally successful. This is an incorrect and false conclusion that the bulk of ACN suckers succumb to.

The last time I got roped into an MLM was about 20 years ago. I was really gung-ho about it and failed miserably. Beyond that, and much more importantly, I was asked to “believe more strongly.” And as a result of this, ended up alienating family and friends.

The reasoning goes a bit like this:
“You should really believe in this product/program 100% and if someone in your life doesn’t support you, they are just losers who don’t want you to be successful.”

It therefore becomes not only a religion, but a cult. This causes a person’s mind to create an artificial division between “us” and “them.” The “winners” and the “losers.”

And over what? Some sub-standard, over-priced MLM product that 99% of the population can do without and never miss.

Even while in the presence of these ACN people I felt like I was in the midst of a cult. Just something unnatural about it. There’s something very clone-like about them. And if you really look at the program from the top-down this is actually by design. This is what I might call the Zombie Business Model. Create 1 Zombie and get that Zombie to create 2 Zombies below him. Rinse and repeat.

So upon returning home, I began to research ACN, something I didn’t have the benefit of doing while at the “training seminar.” My suspicions were confirmed.

Beyond that I was vaguely reminded the 2 or 3 encounters (back in the mid 90’s) I’ve had with members of the Church of Scientology. And this lead me to examine what is now available on the web on them and other cults.

Principally it led me to discover the top generals of Scientology, David Miscavige and Tommy Davis. Interestingly they both appear to have the same artificial, overbearing, in-your-face personalities. In fact, I’d almost argue these are not personalities at all, but the absence of personality. Tom Cruise seems to have devolved into this same kind of non-human.

AND — based upon my observations, both recently and over the years, I’d even go so far as to say that cults (both Scientology and MLMs) are all about the destruction of personality. Positive thinking and looking at the glass as half-full is one thing, but only insofar as it is helpful, and doesn’t blind people to a wider spectrum of possibilities.

A simple example is the development and implementation of passenger safety in automobiles. Before this science was invented, it was commonly thought that survival of collision was largely “the will of God.”

Sure, you can go about saying to yourself, “Only people who THINK they will get into a collision WILL, so all I have to do is think the right thoughts.” By doing this you have restricted yourself to one set of eventualities. You don’t allow yourself to contemplate, “What if I get into a crash?” The balanced mind allows for both eventualities. “I don’t expect to get into a crash, but IF I do, I’m preparing for the small chance by 1) buying a safer car 2) using my seat belt 3) etc.” By doing this, you reduce the impact of unforeseen events.

While ACN is not as dangerous or destructive to an individual or his/her family as Scientology, there is definitely a certain amount of overlap. By their very design – recruit family & friends and divorcing oneself from non-believers – a schism is created.

To anyone who is seriously considering “joining” ACN, I would advise you to look deeper within yourself. What are your special talents and abilities? Why were you put here on this planet? To sell plastic video-phones? (yesterday’s technology btw) Or is there something you’d much rather do? What is it that you can share with the world that will give you and the others around you joy and happiness?

There is a distinction between “legal framework” and “operating practices”. What’s more it’s quite clear from my direct interaction with a salesperson that ACN exploits the naivete and aspirations of potential resellers.

Most people aren’t capable of understanding a complex legal agreement, let alone all the ramifications. Particularly people who haven’t been in business before.

Therefore it is incumbent upon ACN to operate ethically, or upon the government to stop them from doing business. This is why ACN was investigated by the Australian Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman for potential violations of the Trade Practices Act because they were behaving like a pyramid scheme.

Say what you like about the fact that ACN avoided conviction – they don’t investigate for nothing. As far as I can tell both customers and resellers have nothing but complaints, or at least apathy, towards ACN’s service.