Oprah on Black Diamond Executives Web Site

Update: All the posts from the web site described below have been removed, with the exception of a single post from June, 2008.

Up until the end of last year, MonaVie distributor Anthony J. Soriano had been blogging about his MonaVie experience on Black Diamond Executives. According to the site, on July 25, 2008, he attained the rank of Bronze Executive, no small feat, considering only 2% of distributors ever reach that level. Since November 18, 2008, however, Mr. Soriano has not posted any further updates. Nor does he appear on the MonaVie Field Leaders web page (for Rubies and above).

What’s clear, however, is that as of November 18, 2008, some MonaVie distributors within Brig Hart’s line of sponsorship, like Mr. Soriano, were continuing to use Oprah Winfrey as an unofficial spokesperson for their products. Check out the screenshot below from this page on Black Diamond Executives:

Note the sections highlighted in red. As I wrote in my previous post, it’s not that big of a step for distributors to go from “Oprah loves acai,” to “Oprah loves MonaVie!” at tasting parties, open meetings and Major Functions.

Mr. Soriano’s last post was about how to stay motivated in the MonaVie business. I wonder what has happened over the past nine months to cause his web site to go silent. After all, it was set up in order to document his journey to Black Diamond:

Have you ever wondered how those Black Diamond Executives in Monavie got there? I absolutely love the Black Diamond Documentaries and I was inspired by them. But I wanted to read about them as they started from the bottom and worked their way up. So I thought, “what if I were to document what I had to do to become a Black Diamond Executive in a journal-type format?”

We all have dreams and goals that we wish to accomplish. Many supporters of Amway and MonaVie who read this site and/or leave comments might think that I’m trying to steal their dreams. Nothing can be further from the truth. There are many opportunities and paths to achieve your goals, some better than others. MonaVie and Amway are certainly two vehicles, but they are by no means (1) the best nor (2) the only ones out there.

I wish Mr. Soriano the best in achieving the goals he’s set out for his life; I do wonder, however, what ever became of his MonaVie business.

How Long Before Reco and Shanee McDaniel Become Diamonds In MonaVie?

9/13/2009 Update: Guess they won’t be Diamonds after all. Looks like Reco and Shanee McDaniel have left MonaVie to run their own MLM called Elite Profit Network. What they are selling is the Elite Body Shaper, which helps you reduce your dress size. I guess they figured that running the product business, along with the tools business is better than just being a distributor.

Saw this on MLM The Whole Truth web site. On May 17, 2009, top distributors Reco and Shanee McDaniel broke with the MLM Lightyear Wireless to join MonaVie. Not only that, they are suing Lightyear Wireless for engaging in a classic pyramid scheme (read the lawsuit here). They claim that the signup fees and tools are used primarily to pay off the top distributors in an endless chain scenario. This is similar to many fly-by-night pyramid schemes and even so-called “legitimate” ones like ACN (a.k.a. the one Donald Trump promotes).

Of course, MonaVie doesn’t do any of that. The company currently doesn’t have enrollment fees (nor renewal fees) as part of the MonaVie Economic Stimulus Plan. They proudly proclaim they return 50% of GV (Gross Volume?) back as bonus to distributors. So, if you’re at the bottom of the pyramid, for every $34 you pay for a bottle, $17 is being used to pay other people up the chain. MonaVie has to make money from every bottle, so tack off another 50% from $17 and you’re left with a bottle of juice that might cost $8.50. Personally, I think it’s a lot less than that. The point is that most people aren’t going to see much of that $17/bottle going back into their wallets.

Now that they are at MonaVie, I want to ask readers to guess how quickly Reco and Shanee will be recognized as new Diamonds in MonaVie’s Media Center web site. Another month? Two weeks? Two months? I’m guessing it’ll be a month and a half before their photo graces the media center site. But who really knows, maybe it will be this weekend at the Vancouver Regional?

Dr. Dean Edell Calls MonaVie Worthless

Yesterday¹, Dr. Dean Edell slammed MonaVie on his radio show, calling it worthless and a fad. Here are some choice quotes the good doctor talking to a caller named Danielle, which comes in at the 54-minute mark.

This is worthless. They are breaking the law.

This in response to Danielle’s would-be sponsor, who tells her that MonaVie is a miracle drink that cures from A to Z.

This is simply acai. $34 a bottle. There is no miracle in a bottle here. This is just a fad.

For all the celebrities, athletes, etc. whom MonaVie pays and carts out to promote the juice, I show you someone who has no financial incentive to slam or praise the product calling it worthless.

Berries are very healthy, don’t get me wrong. I would encourage you all to drink berry juices.

Drink berry juice, but spending $34/bottle is ridiculous.

Have your friend call me…. have her tell me what things that this thing cures. I’ll grind her up in very little pieces….

Anyone have Brig Hart’s number? Or Orrin Woodward? How bout we go to the top and get Dr. Dean Edell on the horn with Dallin Larsen himself?

What’s this you say? Dallin himself just calls it a juice while winking his eye? That he’s not responsible for what his distributors say because it’s impossible to rein them in? Dallin… the word you’re looking for is called RESPONSIBILITY.

Who can afford this in this day and age? Okay if it was positive. If there’s data? That this is helpful or better than the berries you can buy in the grocery store, which are a heck of a lot cheaper and better tasting as far as I’m concerned.

It would be a lot cheaper and healthier in my opinion, to go to the grocery store and make your own fruit smoothies and juice concoctions than to buy MonaVie at $34/bottle.

In terms of making money, Danielle. I got to tell you something. There are no rules or laws to warn you and give you the numbers you want to know, which is how many people actually make money in these multi-level marketing deals. And the government is trying to pass such rules and laws. The truth of the matter is, that almost everybody loses money. The people at the very very top, they make money, because they’ve got everybody else working for them.

How many “new” Diamonds have there been in MonaVie who were previously big pins from other MLMs? Robert Dean (Noni). TV Wilson and Steve Branch (YTB). Randy Schroeder (Agel). Orrin Woodward (Amway/Quixtar). Brig Hart (Amway). Need I go on?

These people are constantly being carted out on stage reaching higher and higher levels. You? Everyone else? Still at the bottom. Read the MonaVie Income Disclosure Statement and do the math. Dr. Dean Edell is right; most people don’t earn any money at all.

Enjoy listening to Dr. Dean Edell. If the link above is broken, do a search for Dr. Dean Edell, August 27, 2009 to find another version of his MP3 podcast.

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¹ It’s possible that the August 27, 2009 broadcast was a re-broadcast of a previous Dr. Dean Edell taping.

More MLM Defectors Turn Up In MonaVie

The next set of Diamonds being carted out on the MonaVie media web site are none other than MLM-veterans, TV Wilson and Steve Branch. Turns out TV and Steve recently left YTB, a travel multi-level marketing firm, in April, 2009. Here’s their resignation letter. Bold emphasis is mine:

To Whom it May Concern,

This Letter of Resignation is very difficult for us. We would have never imagined that we would be at this point after 5 great years with YTB, and the Great mentorship and friendships of Coach, Scott and Kim, that we would be resigning our entire “Circle of Champions” Director Positions and Incomes from ID #s 13610, 13611, and 13612. We personally feel forced to make this very tough and heart retching decision to leave one family to make sure we save our families. Even though, we expect various emotional reactions and accept the fact that most of you, our friends, corporate staff, co-independent contractors and family members, will all not understand why we are separating from a company we love, but rest assured with our genuine 20 plus years of integrity on the line, that this decision was not reached easily without much thought, counsel, research and deliberation.

We realize that we must submit our Letter of Resignation due to reasons that were beyond the companies control and or ours, such as the current economy, the California Attorney General lawsuit, the resent audits, the negative YTB press, the drastic cuts in Director pay, low team morale, the principals of momentum, the reversal of some of the leaders 2008 Stock awards, and a few other issues have all combined together that created a very hostile environment for us to thrive at our peak performance level. Therefore, we must seek other means to provide for our families at this very difficult and unbelievable juncture in our lives.

We request that our YTB team stay intact and that YTB will use our Director’s Pay, Stock rewards and residual to be added to the Director’s Pool, repay any outstanding debts we may have with YTB, and contribute in anyway to the survivability of the company and the independent contractor’s that we helped guide and trained for 5 great years. Finally, we will be praying for YTB , its leaders and our many friends to have all the success possible building your YTB business.

For those of you who would like to keep in touch with us for our National Generic Network Marketing Trainings and Success Coaching ,we can be reached thru our assistants

Dallin Larsen must have made their decision to leave YTB a really gut-wrenching decision, eh? He probably showed them a nice check for transferring their downline over to MonaVie to help make their decision “easier.” Four months to Blue Diamond? I guess most of their YTB-team didn’t exactly stay on the U.S.S. YTB after they left.

The letter, email, or voicemail that I really want to see if the one that TV and Steve sent to their downline information them of their departure? Were they encouraged to quit and join them in MonaVie? How exactly are large groups from MLM defectors actually merged into MonaVie’s binary system? One thing’s for sure, other MLMs like Amway, Agel, Noni and YTB must not like MonaVie for poaching their former distributors.

MonaVie Shares Oprah Winfrey’s Concerns over Health Claims… Unless They Are From A Black Diamond

So, the big news from last week is that Oprah Winfrey is suing several companies — including MonaVie — over the use of her name, likeness, and quotes. Oprah states on her web site that she is not “associated with nor endorses any açai berry product, company or online solicitation of such products, including MonaVie juice products.”

MonaVie’s response? Let’s not forget Dallin Larcency’s quote about trying to rein in distributors making illegal claims was like herding cats. Now, CFO Devin Thorpe is saying the following:

We really feel like we’re the victims of these Internet scammers every bit as much as Oprah is a victim of them,” said Thorpe. “Monavie really created the açai business in the United States … And it’s really [Internet scammers] trading on our good name.

On one hand, MonaVie is tooting its horn about being numero uno in the food and beverage industry; on the other hand they are claiming themselves as victims. Sorry, MonaVie, you can’t have it both ways in this case. Victims? Cry me a river. Internet scammers? Why don’t you look at your very own Crowne Black Diamond Brig Hart?!? Check out the SL 130 MonaVie Information Brochure PDF that I discovered in multiple locations on the Internet:

Click on the photo above to see a larger image (pages 1, 2, and 6 from the 6-page document). Note the following:

1. Oprah’s photo and endorsement of the acai berry is used prominently on page 2.
2. The copyright on page 6 is by Global NetMark LLC, which is owned by none other than MonaVie Crowne Black Diamond Brig Hart.
3. Various medical claims on page 6.
4. Note the disclaimer about the Oprah quotes, “Oprah, NBC and CBS Radio are registered trademarks of their respective holders and are shown as news related media.”

Oh, I guess the last bullet item absolves Brig Hart of any wrongdoing? Maybe I should start putting his photo (or Dallin’s) next to all of my posts and see how he likes it?

Admittedly, the copyright on the SL 130 is from 2005. I would strongly wager, however, that there exists promotional material being printed to this day from the Black Diamond Tools Organizations that has Oprah’s likeness being used to tacitly endorse MonaVie. And, of course, tacit approval of Oprah is transformed into, “Oprah loves MonaVie! Oprah endorses MonaVie!” by the hungry and greedy MonaVie distributors across the country and world.

As for MonaVie Corporate? They didn’t give a rat’s ass… so as long as their fat cats were bringing in the money. I hope Oprah comes down hard on MonaVie and doesn’t get paid off like the other celebrities or athletes who are currently pitching this overpriced purple juice concentrate.

The Flip Side of Functional Foods and Nutriceuticals

Read this article on the flip side of nutrient-spiked foods. Here’s a brief snippet:

The industry calls these products “nutraceuticals” or “functional foods.” Critics say they could lead people to consume too much of certain nutrients, plus too many calories and fats.

New York University food scientist Marion Nestle calls them “calorie distractors.”

“Functional foods are about marketing, not health,” she said. “They delude people into thinking that these things are healthy,” and they often eat more than is wise, she said.

Her shame list includes a candy bar pumped with caffeine and B vitamins, marketed as an “energy boost,” and fattening ice creams enriched with calcium and helpful bacteria called probiotics.

Sound familiar? Both MonaVie and XS Gold are described as “functional” beverages. Maybe they are good for you. Maybe they are not. Don’t fall prey to the marketing!

Everyone Looks Like A Nail

Orrin’s recent tweets had me doing several double-takes:

Ask yourself this question with everyone you meet, “What do I admire about this person?” – then share your praise with them.

Of course, after sharing your praise with them, the next set of questions will be to prospect them into the MonaVie and TEAM business.

If the only tool you have is a hammer, then everyone looks like a nail.

A prospecting CD is often in the possession of a MonaVie TEAM member. Watch out, because to them, you’re just another prospect waiting to be nailed onto the “unholy cross” of MonaVie and TEAM.

Jon and Barbara Sims, Black Diamonds, Formerly in Amway

Featured in MonaVie’s newest Black Diamond lifestyle documentary are Jon and Barbara Sims. They didn’t come out of nowhere, however. They are the downline of Randy and Val Haugen, who were originally part of Orrin Woodward’s TEAM-Amway-Quixtar organization before breaking off to form the Legacy Professional Development System.

Here’s what Orrin had to say about Jon and Barbara in happier times:

Congratulations go out to great friends and leaders John and Barbara Sims! The just hit the elite Black Diamond level. The average income for the Black Diamond level is $1,474,502 per year. (Plus a trip to Hawaii, a 10 day cruise in the Mediterranean and a black Mercedes!) John and Barbara are experienced MLM’ers and are making nearly six times more income per month in MonaVie than they ever received in previous MLM’s. More evidence that MonaVie has the best reward for performance ratio in the industry! The right product, the right compensation plan, the right people at the right time! John and Barb are so humble and give all the credit away to their God, their mentors Randy and Val Haugen, and the incredible MonaVie team. But we know that success at this high of a level only comes to people who practice daily habits of success. John and Barb are successful because they focus on helping others become successful. I love spending time with this couple as John is a philosopher of life and a modern day Abraham Lincoln. Barbara is a phenomenal encourager and an incredible servant to others. Together, they are an unstoppable team and are now receiving the fruits of their labor – one more couple who are accomplishing their goals and dreams on the MonaVie Team.

I do wonder how high the percentage is for those MonaVie Diamonds who have never been a part of any MLM versus those who got a head-start in another MLM (like Amway, Quixtar, Agel, etc.).

TEAM EORO Today

Tonight from 8:00 pm to midnight, TEAM is holding its Each One Reach One meeting at the Austin Ridge Bible Church in Austin, Texas. Sometimes I wonder if the term EORO should be EOROTORO, or Each One Reach One To Replace One. In addition, there are several Men’s and Women’s Leaderships occurring in Wisconsin. The entrance fee for the EORO meeting is $10, and it’s undetermined how much it costs to attend the Leadership.

TEAM has been having quite a number of additional seminars and conferences this month. There was the Go Diamond event the first week of August, the monthly seminars the next week, and the EORO/Men’s/Women’s Leadership this week, not to mention the regular weekly Opens happening across the country every week. Finally, there’s this Power Player 2009 meeting on August 23! I really hope there isn’t someone attending all of these meetings just to be recognized as some hardcore and dedicated TEAM member; you’ll be losing out on a lot of money just from all of the travel-related costs!

Orrin’s Goals Are Your Goals

Reposting this entry from August 2009. Our your goals really your own or are they just using Orrin’s goals?

Orrin has a new video up on his site where he explains the importance of goal setting. The only goals that I see being achieved, however are that of being a good, obedient TEAM member. Here are some choice quotes from the video:

1. Don’t let any week go by that you haven’t set a goal for how many numbers that you are going to build into your team.
2. Don’t let any month go by where you haven’t set a goal for how many tickets you are going to move to a seminar.
3. Or what increase in your direct fulfillment CD of the weeks you are going to do.
4. A leader has to have goals. If you don’t have goals, you are just going to accomplish the status quo.
5. What are you going to do as far as building your direct fulfillment counts, your auto-ship counts.
6. Influence is how many people are following you and your goals. How many people have bought into the goals?
7. People do not buy into the goals until they buy into the leader. Are you the type of leader that has bought into your own goals, so that you can help people on your team buy into that goal and then play a part setting their own personal goals to help the overall team hit its goals.

The only goal that I see which has the possibility of bringing in money for the MonaVie TEAM distributor is how many of the distributor’s people who are on autoship. All of the other “goals” are clearly TEAM goals meant to fill the coffers of the Team kingpins.

Sadly, clearly many people have bought into the goals of Orrin Woodward and his TEAM kingpins. I wouldn’t have so much of a problem with his leadership training business if it resulted in more people having success. Yet that’s exactly the problem with most MLMs and most Systems; neither provides the level of financial benefit to the vast majority of people who are involved. Sure, there are a handful of people who benefit tremendously, but most people are left footing the bill.

Orrin closes the video by saying that there is going to be only one team that will be the fastest growing team in TEAM for 2009. He asks the viewer if it’s going to be his or her team. The answer is no; the only team that will grow is Orrin’s team.

TEAM MonaVie Monthly Seminar Tomorrow

Didn’t qualify as a Bronze and get the “privilege” of attending the TEAM Go Diamond event last weekend in Cleveland, Ohio?

Well, don’t worry, as here’s your chance this weekend to give more money to the Supreme TEAM Leader, Orrin Woodward. TEAM is holding their monthly seminars in locations all across the country. No doubt there will be many copies of Orrin and Chris’ new book, “Leadership and Liberty” for sale at the monthly seminar. Remember, not only do you need to have one as part of your TEAM Book of the Month, but you need to buy several for your prospects and downline! Stock up, because we all know if you don’t, America will quickly become a fascist, totalitarian country!

Here’s the description of a monthly seminar:

It has been said, “The key to success is to get the information from the correct source.” And Team leaders understand that in order to be successful, you must first learn from those who have attained desirable results in a specific area.

Monthly seminars are Saturday afternoon and evening events in which Team’s top leaders take the stage. These seminars are designed to teach, motivate, and recognize individual achievements. This is also a great opportunity for a guest to get better acquainted with Team. A ticket is required for admission and is available in advance at a discounted price.

The Keynote Speaker and Ticket Holder Speaker (whatever that means) for the Sacramento meeting are Dan and Lisa Hawkins. I’m not familiar with them, but I am familiar with the STEP 250 Leadership Speaker; it’s none other than former Amway and INA Diamond, Roger Sitcler. I sure hope that STEP 250 doesn’t mean there are now 250 steps to success in TEAM! No wonder no one is moving up in the business and the same speakers are being jetted off across the country each week to speak to the TEAM downline. It’s too bad that these leaders can’t make use of the MonaVie Jet Credits — sorry, they’ll have to pay for their own fare until they become Black Diamonds.

Kidding aside, I do have a thought exercise for TEAM members. I know that you’re probably sick of my “negative” ranting and raving about TEAM, MonaVie, and Orrin Woodward, but stop and ask yourself the following questions:

• How many of these monthly seminars have you attended in your entire time with TEAM?
• Where are you with regards to your business?
• Have the people in your group progressed to higher and higher levels?
• Is your income each month from this business more than the expenses you incur?
• Look around at the people at these monthly seminars — do you see new people? Are old people now missing from the crowd?
• Are you just there for the motivation?
• Calculate the percentage of time devoted at the monthly seminar to teaching, motivation, and recognition. Is there an over-emphasis on motivation and recognition?

For the vast majority of people attending these seminars, I think I know the answers to these questions. Yet, I ask them not to make TEAM members feel bad about their lack of progress, but to open their eyes to the fact that they don’t have to be stuck in the hamster wheel. If you aren’t progressing in the MonaVie business, leave. Take whatever you’ve learned from your experience and apply it to something different. Variety is often called the spice of life… why not try something different?

While I’m talking about TEAM and MonaVie, the same questions and answers can apply to Amway IBOs as well.

Summer Conference 2009 is over, but Free Enterprise 2009 is just around the corner!

Here they go again. BWW Summer Conference 2009 just finished, and they are already advertising the next conference, Free Enterprise 2009. Check out BWW’s latest tweet:

Free Enterprise 2009 dates are now on BWW.com – have you made your reservation?

BWW IBOs probably haven’t even gotten their credit card statements for their travel, hotel, and food expenses from Summer Conference, and BWW is asking them to make their reservations for the next Major Conference. Plus, the time between the two conference is less than three months! Throw in the monthly regionals and the weekly seminars, and IBOs in BWW are continuing to be fleeced by their upline kingpins. Seriously, what new information do you really learn from attending these conferences? Is your business — as the kingpins are fond of saying — really fast forwarded six months just by attending?

In my opinion, your attendance just allows the kingpins to maintain their outwardly luxurious lifestyles for another six months. That’s why they hold these major functions each three months!

MonaVie’s Newest Blue Diamonds, Formerly Agel Diamonds

MonaVie is touting its newest Blue Diamonds, Grant Ferguson and Maria Carreon, on its media site. Did you know, however, that they used to be Diamonds in Agel? Living proof that Agel changes lives as recent as March, 2008, the Grant and Maria are now showing the world that the road to Blue Diamond is a dream come true. How long will it be before we see a version of their Agel Diamond story as told through the purple prism?

Then:

“We have a commitment to our team members to help them reach their goals and dreams,” said Grant and Maria. “When our team members are up on stage as Diamonds, that is when we will feel that we have accomplished our mission with Agel… and besides, we’re having just too much success and too much fun to stop now!”

and now:

“We want to give thanks to our incredible team for believing in us and our decision to make MonaVie our home for life. Also, we wouldn’t be here without our wonderful, loving, and dedicated sponsors, Randy and Tara Schroeder. They have supported us tirelessly and have guided us in making the right decisions. Thank you, Randy and Tara. You are the best!

Grant and Maria are downline of Randy and Tara Schroeder, former Agel distributors who were introduced recently as newly minted Black Diamonds.

I can see how the conversation went between Randy and Grant when informed of Randy’s decision to bolt for MonaVie:

Randy: We are leaving Agel for MonaVie.

Grant: But we love Agel! What are we going to tell our downline?

Randy: You will join us, or we will take your downline. Who will they follow? You’re just their upline. We are their upline’s upline!

Grant: But I told them we were in Agel for life!

Randy: And so you shall say the same with MonaVie.

Grant: Yes, my upline.

All kidding aside, I would like to know the breakdown of growth in MonaVie is due to MLM hoppers and how much is coming from people with no prior MLM experience.

FTC Video on Fraudulent Business Opportunities

Watch this video from the Federal Trade Commission that educates consumers about potentially fraudulent business opportunities.

TEAM Go Diamond Event

This past weekend was the TEAM Go Diamond event in Cleveland, Ohio. Any MonaVie TEAM members care to tell us how it went? Was everyone encouraged to go out and buy “Leadership and Liberty,” the latest book by Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady? Looking at the TEAM web site, I don’t think TEAM members have any choice in the matter. “Leadership and Liberty” is the TEAM Featured Book of the Month (BOM)!

The featured speakers were the same ones at the last one, weren’t they?

• Chris & Terri Brady
• George Guzzardo
• Claude & Lana Hamilton
• Bill & Jackie Lewis
• Tim & Amy Marks
• Orrin & Laurie Woodward

When will MonaVie get some new blood up on stage? Aren’t TEAM members getting tired of hearing these people’s Diamond stories over and over again?

What was the big new thing (aside from Orrin and Chris’ book) hawked at the event? MonaVie EMV of course! Wait, a second, isn’t MonaVie EMV basically an overpriced version of XS Energy, the drink they promoted for years in Amway/Quixtar. Yes, the exact same thing Orrin blasted in his arguments against his former MLM?