PSYCHOPATHY

My MLM Nonsuccess Story

What I know now, looking back at my epic failure

Pink display case of samples

I moved halfway across the country, from a house with a basement to one that didn’t, which forced me to seriously de-clutter. As I was digging through items I no longer needed, I stumbled upon a Caboodles storage case I’d had from the early 1990s.

I instantly remembered a similar-looking pink cardboard case I’d had in 1992. Minuscule compartments greeted me when I opened the flaps, and doll-sized samples of makeup filled the interior.

One of my coworkers had recruited me to be a Mary Kay independent beauty consultant. At eighteen, I was sold on the concept of being my own boss. The sales meetings made the opportunity sound alluring.

Selling products I didn’t use

Funnily, my business venture crumbled long before it ever got off the ground. My unwillingness to be a modern snake oil salesperson may have been the problem. Or perhaps it was my lack of a massive number of friends and acquaintances to convince them to either buy products or become consultants as part of the MLM scheme.

Maybe the fact that I didn’t wear makeup contributed to my failure. I had to be convincing to sell something I didn’t use myself. Looking back now, it was all those things and more.

Convincing people to buy buckets of air

The more I think about it, the more I realize how successful a psychopath can be as an MLM salesperson. An everyday psychopath has the ideal personality traits to be successful; charming, sociable, and a highly convincing liar.

Ironically, other characteristics of psychopaths are feeling grandiose and parasitic lifestyles. Everything a psychopath does to others causes them no remorse.

The ability to do whatever it takes to succeed, even if that means ruining the lives of innocent people, or taking all their money for personal gain, can lead to great success. For example, corporate executives who can look at nothing more than the bottom line and fire people whose families will no longer be able to pay rent or food due to losing their job makes psychopaths successful in leadership positions.

Successful at everything

I am not implying that all succesful MLM leaders, or people in similar occupations are psychopaths. I’m simply pointing out what an excellent fit such roles are for psychopaths and how easy it is for them to be high performers in their careers.

I was too young, dumb, and eager to see that the high-level consultants driving their pink Cadillacs, balanced at the top of the Mary Kay pyramids, made most of their big bucks off the backs of their team members. They pressured those consultants into buying the “hottest” new products which were constantly offered.

I never would’ve thought to make such a connection had I never worked, despite the extreme brevity, in the MLM world. I learned a lot during the time I tried working in that world, most of all what I didn’t want to do. Now that I’m looking back with a different perspective, I’m objectively intrigued by individuals who love this kind of work rather than just disgusted, as I used to feel about it.

Have you ever been pursued by someone involved in an MLM company or pyramid scheme? What was your experience?

I was inspired to write this when I read this story by Michele Maize, who takes the reader through her decade-long experience of being relentlessly pursued by an MLM representative:

Other stories about being married to a psychopath: