One of my friends recently ventured into
multi-level marketing. Since he entered that “business”, he can’t seem to stop
raving about it—during lunch breaks, while working, on yosi or coffee breaks...
each conversation seem to ultimately lead to him endorsing the product or
patronizing the capabilities of multi-level marketing in making someone rich.
As a background, this money-reaping endeavor
my friend entered is something like a pharmaceutical company (or at least
that’s what I understood from his endless sales talk). You invest, they give
you some of their products, sell them, recruit others to sell them too, and so
on. More recruits, and recruits of your recruits ad infinitum, more profit. My
friend brags about how the person that recruited him earns as much as 200,000
pesos a month—even more than the salary of a VP-level in the investment bank I
work for.
Sounds good.
But to admit that even as an Organizational
Communication major, one thing I hate is sales talk. Yes, advertising is sales talk,
David Archuleta’s facebook status update on his upcoming TV series is sales
talk, and so are Chris Tiu’s tweets about the heavenly taste of Happy Lemon
drinks. I can bear with those. But when they start to swear upon something
about things that are too good to be true—I lose interest instead of delving
deeper into details. Exactly what happened the first time my friend raved about
his new venture. In fact I became so impatient that at one point I blurted out:
“Are you doing a sales pitch on us?!” Which he denied. Really, now.
After his first ambush endorsement of the
company’s products which I did not pretty much pay attention to, I made an
introspection as to why I developed a strong aversion to these very targeted
sales talks. And I have traced its roots way back in second grade.
I trust
people easily and I lose discernment once the other person gets a hold of it.
That is why I let an upperclassman steal my purse when I was in grade school,
and even got duped by fake insurances (good thing I already had it refunded)
and text scammers. I absolutely abhor myself for letting these happen—for
having to risk a reasonable amount of money by trusting so easily, and even
more for actually believing in things that are too good to be true. So now, when
I sense someone tries to sell me something, I instantly zone out. I stay as far
as I could from free blood pressure check-ups or
spin-the-wheel-you-might-win-a-forlorn-pillow-with-our-company-logo booths as
well.
You might tell me: KC, just because something is too good to be true does not necessarily
mean it is a hoax. You might want to take a shot on your friend’s venture and
retire at the age of 26 (my target age to obtain my second academic
degree, be at least two steps from an
entry-level position, and *God willing please please please* already be with
that person that I’d marry on the church I grew up in and spend the remaining
days of my life with). Aah, Wonderful.
That is, if my life’s ultimate goal is to make
a pool of cash and make myself filthy rich. I’d be a hypocrite if I say that
being able to earn on my own isn’t the reason why I shed blood and tears for a
college degree. It is. But there is more to life than earning six figures per
month. A cliche, you may say, but think of it: when you earned enough to get
everything you need, do you think life would still be as exciting? Well, you
could buy a mustang and drive it at 200kph or build your own theme park.
If you say yes, then I’ll tell my friend to
recruit you.
But as for me, earning 200 grand each month
like that is not really the way to fulfillment. Not that I don’t want to earn a
lot, too—but I want to be able to say that the level of respect that I earn as
a person is directly proportional to the money I make; and that I earned that
respect not because I am rich, but
because I have established a reputation as a visionary leader and a
never-ending learner. Maybe then I’d be able to own (or partly own, I don’t really mind) a company built to last. Or maybe
become the writer I really wanted to be. I may not earn much, but I am happy.
And I want to be able to raise up my kids the way my mother did to me and my kuya: finding happiness in contentment,
drawing strength from faith.
Like a lot of the people that ventured into my
friend’s multi-level marketing business, I also don’t want an 8-hour job until
I retire. I don’t want to age as an employee without having left my own mark in
the corporate world. But I don’t mind staying here for a little longer, rather
than get rich in a snap with something that I myself do not believe in. My road
may be rough and blurry but eventually, I’ll get there—with probably, hopefully, a better story to tell.
Not that I am saying that their way of earning
money is wrong, nor their perspective is distorted. We are the decisions we
make.
During yet another lunch break –turned– sales
talk session, my friend told us about how he regrets being an employee working
his ass off and still not getting anything permanent for himself, when he could
be in that business instead. And that
by 65, either we are dead, or dead broke, if we do not leverage
(again, another way of saying: invest into this business instead). He told us
to aim for self-actualization.
I know a lot of people who are still alive,
kicking, not broke, and even teaching at the University that are past this age.
Those who are dead or dead broke at
65 probably consumed too much alcohol, nicotine and chicharong bulaklak during
Friday night outs and/or never got to master the art of stress management,
probably have never heard of investment or saving up, and/or have irresponsible
children that know nothing but to multiply.
And to tell you the truth, my road to
self-actualization started seven months ago with this job. I may have cursed
this job a lot and contemplated on resigning at least once a month, but how I
inadvertently turned the very things I dislike about this job into an opportunity to showcase my potential (do
not quote me on the latter part, my boss said that) is a sign that I am not in
this job for nothing. Developing my personality is more fulfilling than a pot of gold (again, this is my idealistic self speaking but with all honesty, this is something I don't want the corporate world to take away from me). Still a long way to go, and probably more resignation
letters and rant blog entries will be drafted, but no one ever said it would be
easy. Life is a journey and everyone ends into dust—but those whose inner being
glows with happiness and fulfillment will end up as glitters instead of ash.
Like what one of my favorite Incubus songs
say: “The sweetest things, they burn before they shine.” So just hold on to
what we’ve got. We’re halfway there. WHOOOOA Living on a prayer.
