By all accounts, I failed at building an Amway/Quixtar business. Yet in failing, I discovered that I had actually succeeded. Here’s how:

A loyal member to my upline and follower of my Amway Motivation Organization’s System (AMO), I showed many plans during my two and a half years in the business. Yet I was unable to sponsor more than a handful of people, all of whom promptly became inactive. At the time, I wondered what I was doing wrong; after all, I was following all the steps for success prescribed by my System (INA).

It was only after I had left that I came to the conclusion that I failed through no fault of my own. I feel that the Systems and the Opportunity are set up in a way to make it incredibly difficult for IBOs to achieve sustained success. That is not to say that no one is reaching higher and higher pins; Amway’s own Achieve magazine profiles new Diamonds and Emeralds every month. Are these Diamonds and Emeralds, however, sustaining their businesses year after year? Do they continually hit higher levels and/or maintain Founders/Q-12 status? Do they fall out of qualification and/or disappear from stage and the IBO ranks? To new and current IBOs, how is your business doing? Are you continually achieving to larger pins or are you continually telling yourself that success is just around the corner? How long have you have been saying this to yourself?

Contrary to what may be said on stage, quitting does not mean you are a loser. In fact, you may find that you have more to gain by quitting than by staying on. Some of the skills taught within the various AMOs are very useful in your career and personal life. Of course, they are other means by which one can learn these skills than by building a successful — or in my case, unsuccessful — Amway/Quixtar business.

I made the decision to do something different, and for me, that meant quitting as an IBO. Surprisingly, my upline Silver and Direct told me they understood and respected my decision.

Over the years, I’ve built my career and personal life to the point where I can look back and be satisfied with where I am today and where I am going tomorrow. This satisfaction comes from having demonstrable results year after year. I encourage everyone — IBO or not — to have annual goals. Write them down and evaluate them at the end of the year. If the facts say you are not where you want to be, you have a decision to make. Keep doing what you’ve been doing or do something else.

I chose to do something else, and by failing at building an Amway/Quixtar business, I succeeded.