(word processor parameters LM=8, RM=78, TM=2, BM=2) Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501 Sponsored by Vangard Sciences PO BOX 1031 ÿ  Mesquite, TX 75150 July 30, 1990 Pyramids to Get-Rich-Quick In spite of the relatively obvious impracticalities of limitless pyramid schemes, promoters who use this marketing technique continue to thrive. People who fantasize about becoming rich easily make especially attractive targets. These people are easily seduced by opportunities which sound too good to be true. The victim's strong desire to believe the promoter seems to overpower common sense. In most cases, the opportunities promised to potential investors are big bucks from the commission on what is sold, as well as bonuses for picking up new recruits. Also, investors are told that they will earn a commission on what any distributor beneath them sells, even as far down as the ninth level. Pyramid schemes like this just don't work. A few people at the top level will make money, but everyone else will get little or no return on the initial investment. There aren't enough pieces of the pie if everybody is taking a bite out of what the distributors below them are selling. If only people would sit down and think logically about the investment. Unfortunately, the victim has usually been blinded by a slick sales pitch that focuses on the so-called rewards. It sounds appealing to be sitting on your own yacht in three years while you earn money from other people's efforts, but is that a realistic vision? Pyramid scheme promoters often hold large opportunity meetings in hotels, telling those attending that the sky's the limit. One tip-off that the opportunity may be too good to be true is if the promoter spends most of the time talking about big profits and recruiting additional investors rather than talking about the product or service which will be sold. The safest thing to do when tempted by a get-rich-quick opportunity is to find a devi's advocate. Talk over the sales pitch with a third party far removed from the promotion. Chances are he or she will ask the questions you may have been too excited, confused, or afraid to ask. The answers to those questions Page 1 may offer the proper insight to make a logical and thoughtful decision. When you were young, your parents probably asked you at one time or another, "If everyone you knew jumped off a bridge, would you?" Well, now that you're an adult, here's another question to consider: If a man said that you could earn a million bucks by leaping from a bridge, would you? Naturally, the answer would probably depend on how high the bridge was and where you would be landing. Nonetheless, it is doubtful that you would jump off without at least looking over the edge. Well then, why do so many people drop so much money into schemes perpetrated by smooth-talking hustlers? It's not that the con artist's scheme is so complicated or well planned that the average person can't find the catch. The catch in most misleading or illegal schemes is usually easy to find. The scheme generally works because the victim wants to believe in the promoter and what he is selling. So great is the victim's belief that he is afraid he will learn that the "get rich quick" opportunity is an illusion if he takes a few minutes to thing about it. In other words, people are afraid that if they look over the edge of the bridge, they won't want to jump. So they leap without looking. This is a dangerous way to handle money, considering the large number of promoters out there who thrive on making a deal sound so enticing that the victims, overcome with excitement or conf sion, forget to think. Instead, they simply react. Those of us who link to KeelyNet are no doubt aware of how mind control techniques are especially effective with groups of people as detailed in Dick Sutphen's paper called MIND2 (available on KeelyNet at no charge). Consider a pyramid type promotion in which you invest $1,000 to become a distributor for a company. This company could be selling a product or service, it doesn't matter. In addition to selling, you are also to recruit four other distributors, and each new distributor would subsequently be required to do the same. If each new distributor had to find four new distributors, by the ninth level, 87,380 distributors would be working for you. You would then be earning not only a commission on your sales but also the sales of 87,380 distributors which sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Well, consider that you became involved in this program by attending an opportunity meeting with 99 other potential investors, all from Houston. Page 2 If as few as one-fourth (25) of the people at that meeting decided to invest, the total number of distributors needed for all investors, including you, to achieve nine levels would be more than two million. Soon, investors would be recruiting each other. Also, many people who invest in pyramid schemes assume that they are entering at the top level. But think about it. Isn't the person telling you about this program trying to recruit you? Where do you fall in his pyramid, and where does he fall in someone else's pyramid? Isn't' that amazing? By doing some simple math, the opportunity now seems less appealing. -------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have comments or other information relating to such topics as this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the Vangard Sciences address as listed on the first page. Thank you for your consideration, interest and support. Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet -------------------------------------------------------------------- If we can be of service, you may contact Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 484-3189 -------------------------------------------------------------------- FINIS Page 3