JournalSeptember 18, 2005Dear Friends, Below are 15 of my responses to interview questions about the business I'm involved in. My entry will be posted by Qblog's site for his Quixtar Backbone Project: Dear Qblog, Thank you for your response and for posting my letter to you on your site. I would like to accept your invitation to participate in your Backbone Project and as a gesture of good will I have written responses to the 10 questions you asked from your first 2 Entries. I'm gonna cut & paste it below. After you read please let me know how we should proceed and if you want to include any of my responses or if you will be asking entirely different questions or if you could include both. I would definitely appreciate the exposure that could come from having a link to planetibo.com so thanks for the offer and your positive feedback. Peter Here it is: Name: Peter Salzman, a.k.a. Avniel Line of Sponsorship: Teambuilders Current qualifying pin level: Diamond in the Rough >0 How long you've been in Quixtar contiguously: May 2005 (known about it since 1997) Professional or educational background: Graduated with Honors from the Anthropology Department of Wesleyan University. 2 years of Yeshiva/Jewish Studies in Israel. MA Certified Teacher with 4 years of public school experience. Taught web design and have 5 five years of professional work developing a non-profit knowledge project called Dirtroad Cooperative[www.dirtroad.org]. Additional introductions you'd like to include about yourself and your business: I have known about this business for 8 years since before it was Quixtar and was an inactive IBO from 1999-2003. This time around with the help of my new mentors I aim to make it work and have become active, and along with recently becoming an IBO in an Apprentice Leg, I have launched a website to help market & promote my business @ www.planetibo.com. I have worked on making it dynamic & professional looking for countless moments of my waking life now and sleepless nights developing and managing the original content, collecting available resources including ebooks & websites like the Napoleon Hill Foundation, Robert Kiyosaki, & yours, and intend it to be a universal business portal for independent business owners in general, not only IBOs powered by Quixtar. I enjoyed reading the other entries for your Backbone Project and have answered those questions too. I understand and respect how busy you are and how time can be a scarce commodity for us all so it's fine if you can't commit to posting on my site but I would be grateful if you could take a few moments to review Planet IBO and the articles I've written, web pages I've linked, and FAQs I've posted in good humor. For my part, I have responded to your first ten questions from the other entries you posted as best I could so you might have a better sense of who I am and with my site in mind, the kind of questions you might ask of me to make our dialogue meaningful and new. 10 Questions here goes nothing ... The Five Questions � From Entry 1 1.What is your primary source for news? CommonDreams.org & DemocracyNow.org 2.What business (besides Quixtar) do you most admire? My father's professional house painting business and my non-profit Dirtroad Cooperative [www.dirtroad.org] 3.What is your primary criticism of the Quixtar Critics Web sites? Yours is the only one I've found that feels worth paying attention to especially because I think your Backbone Project is a good idea and you have welcomed me by posting one of my entries and saying you would love for me to participate. As far as the critical comments that get posted on your site, I take them with a grain of salt. I saw one entry asking what would stop your upline from stealing prospects instead of helping you put them under or around you and while I could think of many reasons why not, it hardly feels worth my time to address such a person who's so paranoid, they can't think of one good reason [like it's just bad for business] on their own. Also, thereis a lot about how the professional development systems are not worth investing in but I happen to like the tapes, love my mentors, and have gotten a lot out of the Business Development Seminars and Nuts & Bolts workshops for Teambuilders. I can't afford to buy the monthly education program or IBOCS [the communication system] right now because of my circumstances but that hasn't stopped me from building my business or earning PV by buying recommended books through our Partner Store Barnes & Noble, and while no one is forcing me, I do plan to pay for the 8-10 tapes a month that come for $80 as soon as I can because based on the ones I have from the business before and the ones my team has lent me, I find them inspiring, easy to listen to when driving, and since they're all different, you never know when you might meet a prospect who you could lend just the right one perfect for them. Finally, if someone really knew about all the partner stores & services (you can find a list at www.planetibo.com), then they'd know it's not just about a company that sells "over priced soap" but rather an Order Consolidation Site where you get everything short of perishable foods, condoms, cigarettes, and alcohol & keep account of exactly how you spend your money only to be rewarded handsomely for being your own best customer and teaching others to do the same. As an observant & eco-friendly Jew, I happen to appreciate their Kosher-Halal line of biodegradable detergents, soaps, shampoos, and cleaning supplies because you never know with mainstream products whether animal by-products or other harmful chemicals are being used and if it's more expensive for that peace of mind, so be it! Also, I have little patience for hearing disgruntled ex-IBOs or outsider critics complain about a business that is clearly not for everyone and if it's not your way then its just not your way. I wish those people luck in finding their own independent path for wealth & success but as for me, I've tried my hardest and found the job market not just cold and unfriendly but actually hostile & depressing and yet I've found working with my new business partners to be just the opposite and it's been a pleasure that I know will grow and continue as long as I walk this path in earnest with ethical business integrity. 4.How has this blog specifically helped your Quixtar business? It has increased my awareness about a raging, mean, but often times silly debate, examine pros & cons, and while I find some of the comments annoying or ignorant, I find yours and others to be intelligent and useful. I have linked your backbone project from Planet IBO and I'm trying to bring it to the attention of the business partners I'm currently working with or who I will be in the future. 5.Will you encourage your children to work the business when they're older? Yes Why? For the sake of the intergenerational wealth, peace, and prosperity it could generate for the entire family including my children, potential grandchildren, and their future seeds as well. The Five Questions � From Entry 2 1. What is it that you most enjoy about your Quixtar business? I like the people I'm working with a lot, the mentor-apprentice relationships I'm developing, and the new perspectives I'm gaining about independent business and the basics of cash-flow. Besides Kiyosaki (who by the way is NOT a Quixtar IBO), everybody's reading Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" which dates way before even Amway existed as it was published in 1937 based on 20 years of research prior and even endorsed by Mahatma Gandhi as it has been distributed worldwide. I have gotten a lot from that book and think others outside Quixtar could too so I have provided a link to a free ebook version from Planet IBO along with 10 short speeches by the author himself that I hope everyone can enjoy. 2. If you could change any one thing about Quixtar, what would it be? Concerning their lack of understanding about the medium they are working with (The Internet), you said "Its all about the details stupid." I think you're right but that was kind of a mean way of putting it. As a former special education liaison I am sensitive to developmental delays and moderate needs but would never consider my students to be retarded or ever call them "retards". However, as a former teacher of website design, adept at cultural knowledge work, I am also painfully aware of the impoverished quality of 99% of what is on the web in terms of meaningful content and aesthetic design. I would like to see the Quixtar presence on the web become more professional and positive and feel I'm doing my part with the development of planetibo.com to balance the scales. I have been disturbed by the great fear and lack of awareness of "the nature of the beast" demonstrated by some people I am now working with, but I know in part it is based on all the websites you can find that say "Quixtar sucks". But I am a teacher and can work with these attitudes and have the skills and understanding to prove there is nothing to fear enough to remain ignorant even on the fringes of the world wide web where the wild things are because the digital frontier is beautiful and exciting and all about positive changes. Also, to put things in perspective I did some research and developed a funny list to give us all a little sense of general relativity � Top Ten List of Exact Search Term Results For Sites About "Who or What Sucks" 1. Results 1 - 4 of 4 for "mother teresa sucks". (0.20 seconds) 2. Results 1 - 10 of about 66 for "hanukkah sucks". (0.20 seconds) 3. Results 1 - 10 of about 249 for "bob dylan sucks". (0.25 seconds) 4. Results 1 - 10 of about 258 for "the pope sucks". (0.14 seconds) 5. Results 1 - 10 of about 648 for "martha stewart sucks". (0.17 seconds) 6. Results 1 - 10 of about 696 for "elvis sucks". (0.13 seconds) 7. Results 1 - 10 of about 750 for "quixtar sucks". (0.19 seconds) 8. Results 1 - 10 of about 778 for "george bush sucks". (0.14 seconds) 9. Results 1 - 10 of about 952 for "michael jackson sucks". (0.16 seconds) 10. Results 1 - 10 of about 5,310 for "christmas sucks". (0.24 seconds) I would have liked to include my name in the list but: "Your search - "peter salzman sucks" - did not match any documents. Suggestions: - Make sure all words are spelled correctly. - Try different keywords. - Try more general keywords." 3. Did you watch the Dateline show and if so, what were your thoughts about it? I saw the show as it was archived on the Internet when my friends dragged it up as they were trying to find all the dirt they could about Quixtar. It disturbed me but then I found www.quixtarresponse.com and that gave me a different and I feel more balanced & intelligent perspective. I have already discussed my qualms with ex-IBO's or critics who definitely have an axe to grind but in the end actually have no wood to chop and the way Dateline presented that story made it seem more like a tabloid than journalism with integrity. So in light of this I don't really give a $%#@ about that program and take it with a grain of salt and the ton of distrust I have for all mainstream-don't-believe-the-hype-false-media. I say either don't complain or I'm sorry but cry me a river! 4. What is your primary criticism of the "Internet Critics?" The meanness & sarcasm that undermines their own potentially greater intelligence. 5. What is the single biggest misconception about IBOs that you'd like to dispel? Don't let a bad experience with one or even a group of particular IBOs determine your judgment of us all. We are all different. And if you take the time to explore my new site then you will know I'm living proof of the kind of changes the power of one can make. If you're interested, I'd like to invite you to try talking or working with me and my team if only that you are just curious about how I'm choosing to do this even if you tried it before and had problems. I'm not asking you for any money or to register again and you should know that I had problems with my first sponsor too but everything is different now. The future looks very rosy to me and I am just a visionary who chose to see a bigger picture. I do look forward to more questions but in the meantime Peace Out to you Q-Blog and all your readers too. Qblog's 5 New Questions for Salzman's Quixtar Backbone: 1. Have you ever seen a "tool money" contract? No. I thought they only offer those to IBOs who already had too much money to know what to do with! I have done research on problems around the shadow business of selling "The System" and I have some ideas about possible reform. First, I like the suggested changes you mention elsewhere on your site:
I also liked what Rich Devos himself said on the recording "Directly Speaking" from January 1983. It was addressed to Amway distributors but it can still apply for Quixtar: "Some of you have got to ask yourself whether you're really in the Amway [Quixtar] business or whether you're in the tape business. You got to ask yourself whether you're really in the rally business or in the Amway [Quixtar] business. You must ask yourself if everything you're doing is to support your Amway [Quixtar] business or is it really for a secondary motive�" The closest thing I've seen to a "Tool Money" contract is a form they gave me when I registered as an IBO last May 2005. It was for direct bank account withdrawal of $80 per month for the Teambuilders' "System" of monthly tapes and books. I couldn't sign it then and haven't been able to yet as I was and still am living within minimal means after expenses like rent, groceries, gas, and gas! I have been able to borrow tapes and also read or buy recommended books on my own like Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" and Robert Kiyosaki's "Business School" but I do have a brainstorm about a change I would like to see that could make things more affordable and allow for more freedom of choice. I say break "The System" into two professional development programs, one for tapes & one for books with $50 a month for the 8-10 tapes and then instead of sending books as part of the package, allow IBOs to use the other $30 a month to buy titles on their own from a recommended reading list. That way they can receive free shipping from our partner store Barnes & Noble and earn PV at the same time. More people might be able to participate in one or both programs depending their learning style, motivation, interest, or financial situation. When my finances permit I will be buying into "The System" because I like the tapes and can share them with prospects to help my business. I'm not sure what books they send now, however, here's my top ten list of alternative titles from the apocrypha that probably haven't made "The System" cannon yet but could still really help your business grow: 1. Cloak & Dollar � Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones 2. The Diamond Cutter � Geshe Michael Roach 3. Only the Paranoid Survive � Andrew Grove 4. Business @ the Speed of Thought � Bill Gates 5. High Technology & Low Income Communities � Donald A. Schon, Ed. 6. Ethical Dimensions in Marxist Thought � Cornel West 7. The Protestant Ethic & The Spirit of Capitalism � Max Weber 8. Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism � Chogyam Trungpa 9. Manifesto for a New World Order � George Monbiot 10. Don't Worry Make Money � Richard Carlson 2. What is the most exciting thing about Quixtar? Believe it or not my first gestalt response was Absolutely Nothing! But ask any Kabbalist about the Hebrew meaning of "Yesh m'Ayin" and if they don't get excited then they're not the real thing. When I first became an IBO, it was the week of Quixtar's launch in September 1999 and they were calling it a "digital destination". I was registered yet inactive for 3 years and though I did nothing with the business, I did take that idea and ran with it to create my project Dirtroad.org which is still going strong but has never been for profit. In 2005, as a new IBO working with the Teambuilders Organization, it took some getting used to learning how they refer to Quixtar.com as an Order Consolidation Site (OCS). That's true and definitely more accurate than digital destination but I also think there's something more going on than either of these ideas. In "Only The Paranoid Survive" the author talks about taking advantage of a "strategic inflection point" and in "Business @ the Speed of Thought" his friend explores effectively using a "digital nervous system". I believe Quixtar is both these things and I find Interactive Commerce as an Independent Business Owner powered by Quixtar exciting because it's not only like having the new engine of a hybrid Ford Escape that helps me drive with Freedom Fuel, it's also the flux capacitor of the Back to the Future Delorean I believe can help many people fly and transcend space & time. However, to be honest, I wouldn't care so much about SUVs or time machines if I couldn't find someone with whom to share the rest of my life so in the end, besides the fact that Quixtar writes the checks, I guess the most exciting thing would be all the pretty independent women I will meet who will help me go Diamond in this business just by beautifying themselves with Artistry body wash, skin care, & cosmetics as potential new clients, members or better yet as future IBOs in one of my 6 Q12 Platinum profit-sharing legs. Very exciting! 3. Why is it important for new IBOs to learn about retailing products? Why is easy but how takes creativity and good marketing strategies. You can make a lot of money as an IBO by marketing our products retail but how? Here are some ideas and they reflect not just this IBO but the kind of people I'm working with in Teambuilders who are very intelligent and super cool to do business with. Retail XS Energy Drinks by the can or 4pack to regular energy drink consumers or set up bar and nightclub owners as IBO distributors to mix them with whatever and sell as alternative beverages to things like Red Bull & vodka. You could move 100s or 1000s of cases that way as they come in 7 juicy fizzy flavors, all better than Red Bull, and unlike that stuff, %100 Kosher. Retail eSpring water purifiers & iCook ware to restaurants & home kitchens for great PV/BV with a significant profit margin between your IBO price and retail that lets you keep the difference in sales. Of course there's also Health & Beauty with Nutrilite and Artistry, both of the highest quality naturally made free of animal by-products or any kind of inhumane testing. That goes for our entire Kosher-Halal line of original products and it makes me happy doing business at one with Halacha. Retail Freedom Fuel by the bottle or the case to clients, members or anyone you know who is concerned about fuel economy with gas prices well over $3 a gallon. I thought that would be everybody but someone actually told me, "To be honest, these days I don't really care too much about fuel efficiency or cleaner emissions." I didn't know what to say at that point but there is a partner in my foundation leg who wants to set up an account with the local transit line's whole fleet of public buses. Now that's thinking big so it gave me some ideas like since Harley Davidson endorses this product, we could sell it to all the Hell's Angels in North America. Since Ford also stands by it, I'd like to set up accounts for all the Crown Vic yellow taxis in Manhattan and every cruiser for NYPD across the 5 boroughs. How about every limousine company in Los Angels and Los Vegas or all the agency vehicles of the Secret Service, FBI, CIA, NSA, and NRO? It's %100 money back satisfaction guaranteed and my partners are even talking to oil heating companies because the product works its magic with furnaces as well and could be added as a treatment when they come to fill homeowner's tanks. And speaking of tanks, don't get me started about the military cause when I think about all the cars and trucks of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines I don't know if I want to be in the business of helping our war machine become any more efficient but I think this particular war has gone on long enough and as far as business is concerned it's been terrible for our economy but never mind the loss of jobs or money, because I can live with being broke but I can't sleep at night losing count of all the priceless lives that have been lost with casualties so heavy now on both sides and we still don't know for what or why? Pray tell Mr. Bush! 4. How has Quixtar strengthened your faith? In "Cloak & Dollar", a book I mentioned above about the History of Secret Intelligence in America, the author discusses the importance of a Confidence Man, literally a man with faith, in the business of intelligence. His service is priceless but the book basically says that it is understood that a fair wage for such a man would be a modest $100,000 a year. I am not making that with Quixtar today as I have not yet made my pretty penny but my business is growing and I am becoming close to people who are steadily approaching that mark or who have successfully surpassed it and they are the mentors in my upline. Those people in Teambuilders, not Quixtar, have strengthened my faith with a strength of character, integrity, and compassion I believe is rare. But when I start seeing those exponentially larger Company checks with my legal name on it then perhaps I can say Quixtar has strengthened my faith and for them I have a simple poem � I am told Quixtar will write me checks for the rest of my waking life And when I pass away they'll write them to my wife And when we're both in heaven they'll send them to our children And to our children's children First a thousand then a million Then a billion then a trillion Then a zillion till you lose count And that's called a whole fartillion! You say, "I'll believe that when I see it & it sounds for like less than 1 in 6 million" I say, "You'll see that when you believe it's meant for all the earth's 6 billion!" 5. What is your response to the charges made by ex-pins like Bo Short, Don J. Lorencz, Jeff Probant, Eric Scheibeler and Bruce Anderson? Bo Short, the man who made his diamond shine Then just let it expire so they asked him to resign On his old Quixtar tapes he was all about "The System" Then he realized he was lying so he turned around and dissed them I thought he was a hypocrite but I learned he was a jerk When I heard him say he started Passport because MLM really works Seriously, I think he has some good arguments and I like that Passport seminars are free and on the company not out of the pockets of IBOs. I would eventually like to read his 2 books on success and leadership but as for right now I can't even earn PV because Barnes & Noble doesn't carry either one and I have many others on my must-read-again-soon list including "Opposing the System" on the Greening of America and Fritjof Capra's "Web of Life" on Deep Ecology and the natural elegance of systems theory. Don J. Lorencz � I read his letter @ http://donjlorencz.texerta.com/ and I still want to do this business. I heard a pod cast for your Qblog Radio and you were talking to Law Dawg about Mr. Lorencz. Basically the discussion was about how he saw some problems with Quixtar, tried to fix them from within, realized it was impossible, and left the company. Law Dawg then agreed that the whole enterprise was doomed and that the only way he could see Quixtar succeeding is if they reversed their plans to stay online with the Internet's click and order and instead build a chain of stores just like Walmart brick and mortar. Would a real alchemist want to turn his gold back into lead? If I want lead I'll buy a sinker for my fishing pole or a box of pencils for my sketch pad. I'd be happy never to see another open piece of natural landscape be replaced by strip mall brick and mortars again and I feel good about Quixtar cause they let me play my part to offer an alternative. Jeff Probant's website can be found at the following Url: http://www.amquix.info/probst/. I'm still exploring it but I must say neither his nor his host's site www.amquix.info are very professional so it's hard to take them too seriously. They both should hire me to build them a new one. You discuss Bruce Anderson in detail on another page of your site and I couldn't find much else so there's nothing really to respond to. But the one that disturbed me most was what I downloaded from www.merchantsofdeception.com. I read ex-Amway anti-Quixtar critic Eric Scheibeler's free book and it really was a heartbreaking and maddening story but I still want to do this business. I think all IBOs should read it just like I think all Marines should watch Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket". But "Merchants of Deception" is stuck on the horrible scene where the fat soldier really goes off the deep end and wastes his psycho drill sergeant and then turns his weapon on himself and blows his own brains out. I'm like Joker a few years after witnessing that tragedy now in Vietnam with "Born to Kill" on my helmet and a peace sign pinned to my jacket. Yes his story tells truth but not the whole truth because I like how that movie ends with all the men walking in the night through a battle zone in flames and they're all singing "M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!". Mr. Scheibeler emailed me from his personal Yahoo account thanking me for downloading his book with a subject header that said "YOUR Am-Quix Story is Important!" It was clear by his questions that he was only interested in people's nightmares but I wrote him mine anyways even though it does not support his thesis. That exchange can be found on my website Planet IBO in a section under "Stories" simply called "Letters & Emails" accessible to special member readers only but luckily registration is free and easy. By the way, I just saw Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove and Clockwork Orange for the first time this week. Wow! Like a good acupuncturist you stuck those ex-pins into my Quixtar Backbone but your needles are supposed to be sterile and disposable and I think those men have had their 15 minutes of fame that comes when you throw away the keys of life and lock yourself out of your own dream house. Some men will never taste the sweetness of success because their mouths are too filled with Loshon HaRa [the wicked tongue of bitterness] and none of them have offered any positive alternative that's compelling enough for me to quit Quixtar and try making it again in the rat race or worse via negativa by joining any of their angry crusades. Besides, I thought these Quixtar Backbone entries were for non-Diamond IBOs to represent themselves in truth to give voice to the diverse masses of intelligent men and women who make up the life-blood of this business. So please allow me one more paragraph to share where I'm coming from and how I plan to do business. I'm neither Republican nor Democrat as I'm politically independent and eco-friendly Green. Some say I'm left of center but compared to the radical right wing propaganda of Amway's darker past, I'm confident most people will find my views if not moderate than at least progressive and certainly very positive. That said, none of the functions or tapes from Teambuilders have pushed any kind of political agenda, though there are both liberals and conservatives in the organization. Also, while everyone I have encountered has been spiritually aware, I have witnessed a universal spirituality that fosters interfaith acceptance including for an atheist, though I know there are plenty of church-going devout Christians in my line of sponsorship as well. I want to talk with Wise Intelligent, Culture Freedom, WTC and all PRT of the 5% Nation [The Nation's Anthem] I plan to keep this business Kosher like my kitchen with proper weights and measures and I have a vision for equitable prosperity, global justice, enduring freedom, and lasting peace. So far I've only Showed the Plan to Rabbis for their blessings to share this business with the rest of the world including but not limited to 4,000 emissaries of Chabad Hasidim with their global network of community centers, leading entrepreneurs, and hopefully with you as well so please feel free to visit Planet IBO and contact me if you think you might like working with my team or even if you just want to make a connection. I have made some good new friends inside this business but I would also really appreciate having some good new friends outside this business as well. It's like that U2 song, "I can't live with or without you". Get to know me! Eternally Yours, Avniel |