I'm going to reveal to you a big scam I discovered so you can stay clear of it. Let me tell you the story.
Once upon a time...
Recently, a friend of mine introduced me to a business opportunity that seemed to have great potential. I checked out the videos online, made a decision to jump in, and started building my network. Many of my friends and family jumped on board and got going! A few others, however, started to chime in with their words of caution:
Some were open, but skeptical:
"Yes, please send me some more info. Though as a rule,I am skeptical. If something is too good to be true - - "
Some were closed and cautionary:
"... watch out for these different version of the pyramid scheme... I know it doesn't sound like one but they never do. It works if you are one of the ones who do it first but it screws the later joiners."
Some were downright negative:
"... not so sure this thing is something you should be promoting, most likely tons of people will end up being part of spam email lists... "
I thanked them all for their input and proceeded.
Aside: By the way, when was the last time you felt you had the right to email someone and say "Hey, you shouldn't marry that person. It's not going to work out well for you!"? Think about it. You'd think that with a 50% divorce (failure/scam?) rate in the US, for instance, more people should be justifiably referring to marriage as a scam, and warning their friends and relatives away from it! People seem to be more afraid of being scammed in business than they are of being "scammed" by choosing the wrong marriage partner--a decision that has far more serious and potentially lifelong consequences! But I digress!
Anyway, back to my story. Despite the naysayers, I trudged on. With these words of caution and fear, why didn't I back out?
Well, if you think about it, the only logical course of action in a situation like this--that is, if you consider yourself fairly intelligent-- is simply to "proceed with caution." I like to think that I can make sound decisions. I thought about the opportunity. I thought about the potential consequences and risk involved, and I simply decided that it was worth it. The worst-case scenarios of all these dire warnings simply seemed survivable.
Really? Is that all?
For instance, to my friend's warning that I would end up on a spam list, I'll take my chances. I already get 400 (mostly spam) emails a day. Facebook, as well as my internet host company and many companies share my email address with other companies. (I know this because I have certain "private" email accounts that I use for only one purpose, to which I suddenly start receiving emails from other companies).
The fact is, people will find my email address whether I join a "scam" or not. So If the only thing that results from taking this risk is that I get put on a spam email list, I'll take my chances. It'll probably happen anyway.
But, there must be other consequences to being caught up in a scam, right? I mean, what is it that makes people so fearful of taking a chance in a new and untried business opportunity? I thought about it some more, and it seems to me that it must be one of three things: (1) money (2) time, or (3) pride. People agonize and fret over making a decision that could result in them losing money, losing time or losing their pride. I get it. However, here's how a risk-taker (that would be me) addresses each of these understandable concerns.
What about the money???
Well, people lose money in business all the time. You can start a franchise and lose money. You can invest in the stock market and lose money. You can lend a friend money and never get it back. Heck, you could even lose money just sitting at home minding your own business! In my case, I've lost money starting various businesses over the years. You could even say I lost money in the previous network marketing company I was involved in, since I put in more in actual dollars than I got out of it. However, I walked away from that experience with my freedom from corporate captivity, so the benefit far outweighed the "loss."
Companies go bust, crash, fail or lose money for any number of reasons, and their CEOs, partners, investors, employees and sales reps lose money too. (By the way, you're never obligated to spend any money if you don't wish to. If the issue of money comes up and you don't want to spend it, then don't.)
The fact is, losing money is part of the risk of doing any business.
What about the time???
Sure, your time is valuable, and yes, you can't get it back, and yes, you're a busy person. But even so, people always find the time for the pursuits they consider worthwhile, potentially valuable and important. We all do that. We've all got the same twenty-four hours each day that every one else does. We're going to be using it doing something. Why not this, especially if it seems potentially worthwhile?
As someone who strives to better myself, I can't sit around waiting for the "perfect" opportunity. The very nature of true opportunity is that it often doesn't look perfect when it's an opportunity. Did you "waste" the time you spent pursuing your last venture? Did you "waste" the time you spent in your previous romantic relationship if it didn't work out the way you planned? Everything is (or at least should be viewed as) a learning experience that takes us from one level of growth and experience to the next. Once you devote yourself to an opportunity, your time is only wasted if you learned nothing or applied nothing learned from the experience.
The fact is, if the only thing I stand to lose is the time I would be devoting to this or some other worthwhile pursuit, I'll take my chances. Time will be spent anyway.
What about your pride???
Pride? I have none. What I mean by that is I learned long ago from a great trainer that "when your pride is up here (my hand is raised and pointing to the ceiling), your income is usually down here (my hand is now pointing to the floor)" People have allowed (false) pride, their image and concern over their reputations to prevent them from taking risks that could have proved profitable.
Yes, a certain amount of my own credibility to refer my friends to future opportunities may be at risk here, but again, there is no achievement without risk.
The fact is, if the only thing I stand to lose is my non-existent "pride" of being smarter than a scammer, then I'll take my chances. I'll be in "good" company of many smart and well-meaning people who were, nonetheless, scammed by scammers (Think "Madoff scam," and we're not talking about anything that huge here!)
What about lawsuits???
What if you discover that the company you're considering, or its founders, have some lawsuits filed against them. Well, before you go running away screaming in horror, do a Google search for "Facebook lawsuits," "Twitter lawsuits" McDonalds lawsuits, and you'll find, among other things, well-respected companies being accused, caught and even convicted of violating user's rights, selling private user information, even knowingly poisoning their customers, etc. (At the time of this writing, Facebook has been accused of censoring the accounts of people who are protesting GMO food giant, Monsanto.)
I have a good friend who worked for a company, then quit that company to jump out on her own. In retaliation, her previous employer filed a frivolous lawsuit as a way to punish her. So today, when anyone does a search for my friend's name, news of that lawsuit is forever part of her internet identity.
If accusations or the existence of a lawsuit were sufficient reason to throw in the towel and abandon every company or opportunity, then we'd be living in a barren desert with no Facebook, Twitter or McDonalds, etc. (though that might be a good thing, actually, come to think of it).
The fact is, the existence of a lawsuit against a company is not, by itself, an indication of anything except that there's a lawsuit against the company. The existence of claims of fraud or shouts of scam are what we referred to in elementary school as "name calling."
Don't let other people's accusations and name-calling define your reality and rob you of an opportunity.
The bottom line:
The bottom line is this: Some people are just not wired to see and seize an opportunity when it's presented in raw, uncut, "rough around the edges" form. Some people are not able to decide on the merits of an opportunity without the validation of the masses (by which time it's usually too late). Your job, if you do catch the vision and see it, is simply to find and sort through the buckets of non-believers in search of those who get it the way you do. I learned long ago: "never let anyone talk you IN to something you don't believe in. By the same token, if you believe in an opportunity, never let anyone talk you out of it, either! This resolve--to stick to the opportunity despite the protestations and fear of others--is sometimes what being in on the ground floor of an opportunity often requires.
So, what IS the biggest global scam of all time?
Oh, yes! I promised I'd reveal the biggest global scam of all time! In my opinion, the biggest scam of all is the scheme that's sold to millions and millions of people every day that they should "get a job, work for forty years, and retire on a pension and live happily ever after!" It seemed like a scam to me when I first heard of it and signed up, and it seems more like one now that I'm free of it! The biggest global scam of all time, in my opinion, is the concept that being someone's employee is a ticket to prosperity and happiness!
Now, none of this is meant to imply that EVERY speculative venture is worth getting involved with. There are different levels of risk. There are warning signs that should rightfully have you think twice about getting involved in any opportunity. However, sometimes, opportunity presents itself a little shabbily at first, a little chaotic at the beginning, a bit undefined and rough around the edges. Sometimes, that is what being in on the "ground floor" of a new company often looks like.
However, here is the bottom-line mindset of a risk taker that makes all the difference in the world: If, at some point in the future, say a year from now, the naysayers are proven correct, then I may--to make them feel better about themselves--say, "Yep, you were right about that one. It was a scam!"
However, if a year from now, it works out that the naysayers are NOT correct, and this opportunity takes off, skyrockets and benefits the masses and even makes a few people wealthy, then if I listen to them now, I WON'T be able to come back to THIS moment in time to take advantage of the opportunity!
So, when presented with the opportunity to take a little risk, pass a little time, risk a little pride, and lose a little money... for the chance to be free, I say this: It's all survivable. It's all retrievable. Pride is retrievable. Money is retrievable. Even time is "retrievable" based on what you learn from the experience. Opportunity, however, is not.
I'll take my chances.
EPILOGUE:
So, who was/is right? Were my fearful friends right? Was I right? Well, the jury is still out. The story is actually still being written, but the fact is, the question has two very real answers: We all are "right!" They are, in fact, right. For it definitely is not an opportunity for THEM. And I (and hopefully you) are "right" too. Risk takers like us understand that like all speculative pursuits, a business venture is an opportunity for those who see it as such regardless of time spent, money lost or pride bruised. Success is not measured merely in the currency of time, money or pride. The real rewards outweigh them all!
Stay tuned.
