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[Spellbound]
My Journey Through a Tangled Web of Success
By Robert Morgan Styler
The revealing story of an idealistic ex-Peace Corps volunteer and his ventures into charismatic capitalism ending with spiritual discoveries on a mountain top in Chile.
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This book is not authorized, endorsed, or sanctioned (and possibly not even appreciated) by Equinox International, Advanced Marketing Seminars, or Bill Gouldd.
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Posted with the permission of the author.
Click on his name above to send e-mail!
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[Spacer]Introduction
[Spacer]A good friend asked me, "Rob, if you were still making $20,000 a month, do you think you'd have these ethical concerns?" It's a good question. From the beginning there were situations I chose not to see. They were easier to ignore than acknowledge. Money and power are seductive.
[Spacer]If it were just a few scattered people in the company, I could tolerate the hypocrisy, but I feel it emanates from the core. The attitude is more confused than malicious. Goethe said it well: "Two souls dwell, alas! in my breast." That is how I see Bill Gouldd: his light is blinding and his shadow is deep.
[Spacer]At times I love the man. When he's on stage. he creates fire. I envision we're on a holy crusade to save the planet. My life has purpose. I'm part of a cause. The next minute, he's rude, contradictory, and abusive. His intensity spreads across both poles, the positive and the negative, the yin and the yang.
[Spacer]As the industry of network marketing evolves, Equinox must adapt or decay. Tens of thousands of people have been willing to carry Equinox's environmental banner, but with the price of monthly qualifications, seminars, travel, and offices, they were required to run a four-minute mile. Most people could not survive the pace.
[Spacer]I don't regret the last seven years. I learned more than at any other time in my life. Bill Gouldd was a mentor who showed me a different angle on the world. It was a wild ride and an incredible education.
[Spacer]Bill Gouldd taught me, "People will work for money, but they will die for recognition and appreciation of who they are." We often teach what we most need to learn.
[Spacer]In 1966 Equinox was the fastest growing privately held corporation in America. In 1997, most of the top-money earners, Bill Gouldd's loyal following, left - disillusioned and unappreciated.
[Spacer]At one of Equinox's big events, actor Dennis Weaver said, "Money is like manure. If you pile it up, it just stinks. But if you spread it around, it can make beautiful things grow." Imagine if Bill Gouldd had spread the millions around. Imagine if he had kept his promises. Imagine if he had believed his own words. We could have grown beautiful things.
[Spacer]Mr. Gouldd always said, "There are two sides to every story, and the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle." He and I see the world from different perspectives. This book is my story, my truth.
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'Tis an awkward thing to play with souls,
And matter enough to save one's own.
[Spacer]Robert Browning
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Chapter One