Orrin Woodward: Guilt, Anger, Greed and Jealousy… An Outsider Perspective.

When I started into this research I did so because I was blown away at all the drama which has surrounded Orrin Woodward and T.E.A.M. aka L.I.F.E. over the last few years.

After reading through lawsuits, Blogs, emails, private messages and live conversations, I narrowed down what I see as the four main destructive forces which have caused so many broken relationships and shattered dreams inside the T.E.A.M. dynasty.

WARNING: If you hate Orrin Wooward and T.E.A.M. and hope this editorial will vindicate your position, it won’t so you can stop reading right now.

If you love Orrin Woodward and L.I.F.E. and have been praying for an editorial which will finally show Orrin as the saint you believe he is, then stop reading right now because this is NOT the answer to your prayers.

Throughout the time I invested in reading and listening to others, I realized that this situation goes far deeper than just another story of a negative distributor who failed at network marketing. Long standing, deep relationships have been ripped apart. Whole families from the father to the youngest son in one case were severed, causing what some might see as the start of a vindictive feud, like the Hatfield and McCoy’s. Why?

I started asking myself this and many questions. Questions I think others are also asking… How did this happen? Who is to blame? Is Orrin the real issue, or is there a deeper force at work? Who stands to gain if T.E.A.M./L.I.F.E. were to disappear?

Although, I can’t answer all those questions, I do realize since the dawn of time, recorded history shows us that guilt, anger, greed and jealousy has been the cause of hate, revenge, mental and physical issues and most of all murder, which are the emotions and issues I have witnessed throughout this research.

None of this happened overnight. Like any type of heart damage, this took years to develop and come to the surface. It was not one action that caused people to feel as they do, about Orrin Woodward, or for Orrin to feel as he does about others.

Funny, how when we start to feel small issues surrounding our physical heart, we usually ignore them, instead going on as if nothing is wrong. And when folks bring to our attention some of our unhealthy actions, we have a tendency to see them as the enemy. We don’t want to hear, we should stop smoking, over eating, eating the wrong things, exercise more or change any of our life style.

We do the same thing when people bring to our attention issues surrounding our emotional heart. We want to dismiss what others see and instead point the finger back at them as having the issues. We do this until sometimes it is just too late. Or at least we feel it is too late!

This is what I am seeing in the current situation surrounding Orrin Woodward and T.E.A.M./L.I.F.E., it is not that these symptoms of heart issues are new, it’s the fact they have hit the highest and closest

relationships. What use to be, brushed aside just as disgruntled, failed distributors, who just didn’t have the belief or tenacity to reaching their dreams, or succeeding in business, can no longer be ignored.

I feel as a community, we must look beyond Orrin Woodward and look at our own organizations to see if we are facing the same heart issues!

See in each organization, we can hear some of the same comments I have read about Orrin Woodward…

“Orrin Woodward is the leadership guru who has built a business legacy, personally manipulating countless, brainless, followers right into financial devastation.” This is said with such conviction that people truly believe it is a fact.

Or the other side which reads like…

“Orrin Woodard, is a leadership guru who has helped to create a business legacy influencing independent home-based entrepreneurs across the globe on how to pick themselves up out of financial travesty to develop true financial freedom for their families using the principles of L.I.F.E.!”

Both camps believe their facts so deeply, they can’t see anything in between. They can’t see that the issue isn’t JUST Orrin, T.E.A.M./L.I.F.E. or Network Marketing. It also has to do in part with their internal issues.

And, I believe it all boils down to four very powerful destructive forces. And until we all deal with these destructive forces, we are bound to repeat the same behaviors. It’s one thing to write or read about leadership, team building, and personal development. It is a lot different to apply those principles to our own lives.

Guilt – I Owe You, so I must stand by you even when I question the method or message. I stand by you even when it violates my own personal values and principles.

When this happens, an emotional conflict starts to emerge inside of us, and we start to feel animosity towards the very person or issue causing us this conflict.

Anger – You Owe Me, this builds as we start to hate the very person who we feel is causing us to violate our values and principles. However, none of us want to hate ourselves, so we point our anger at others, believing we have been 100% manipulated.

We validate our emotions by stating we can’t let the team down, we can’t let our leader down, we can’t let ourselves down. Yet, we are still in conflict with our values and principles. We just want the emotional pain to stop.

Greed – I Owe Me, by the time we have violated our values and principles to this level, we know we should have changed the situation long ago before the heart damage got as bad as it is. However, because we didn’t, we now want the payoff. We want what we deserve, what we have been promised and what others seem to have. Not the money, toys or lifestyle, as much as the perceived emotional

peace. By now the internal anger can be so intense we will do just about anything to eliminate it. Yet, we still do not want to admit, we allowed the pain to take place, and we continue to ignore our heart issues.

Jealousy – God Owes Me – By the time we hit this level, we hate the very people who we once adored as baby gods in some cases. The pain has finally gotten so huge in our hearts that we have finally decided to change our habits, and cut out the cancer that has caused us so much internal strife. Yet, in most cases we still do not admit or even realize we are still our own worst enemy, and are still causing our own heart issues. What we thought would cure the cancer, has now began to feed it. The only pain killer is to hurt others. To make them feel as we do, and to let the world know, they are the reason for our slow painful death.

Dramatic, yes! But this is what I have witnessed from people in both camps. They talk about wanting to end the emotional pain, yet continue to feed the very cancer causing them the emotional and yes, financial devastation.

When I talk to sold-out T.E.A.M./L.I.F.E. members, they are exactly where some of the former members were just a few years ago. It reminds me of many overzealous people I have talked with in church, network marketing, real estate and even the first year or so of their marriages. They are living in a state of euphoria. They see all former T.E.A.M. members as the sword enemy.

And when I talk to those who have become sworn enemies of Orrin and I ask them if they are willing to use the Golden Rule when it comes to Orrin Woodward, they yell, “Hell No, We Want Revenge!”

In both camps they look at Orrin as some kind of god. They either worship him or fear him! And neither position is good for a healthy heart!

Well, I have news for you… Orrin Woodward is just an ordinary man. He is not some self-made guru, who single handedly changed his life, your life or the network marketing world as we know it. No, he is just like the rest of us. When he feels the need to crap, he sits down just like the rest of the human race.

And, even though Orrin has done some remarkable things in business, writing, leading and growing an independent organization, he did not do it alone, and one of these days he will face the same exact God we all will face, and none of this will matter. All that will matter is what matters for all of us…

This does not mean Orrin or any of us get a free pass for our sins on this earth, or the pain we put others through. It does mean, we can’t allow our own heart issues of guilt, anger, greed and jealousy to stand in the way, of what is best for us. If we do, then these destructive forces will drive us into an early grave, and harm the very relationships we say we are committed to saving.

Orrin Woodward, Chris Brady, former executives, current executives and all of the top directors who are part of the decision making at T.E.A.M./L.I.F.E. have a role of responsibility in all that has happened or is perceived to have happened, or is still happening today.

Orrin Woodward more than the rest, because he is the voice of the organization, and the people others go to as the leader.

There is also no doubt that over the years Orrin and others in leadership have violated their own values and principles in the name of the “T.E.A.M.” to preserve what they have built. But…

For any former executive or field director to act as if Orrin is the only one to blame is doing nothing but fueling your heart damage.

See from an outsiders point of view, each of you are as much responsible for the ripped part relationships as Orrin. Either you have remained silent on these issues, after addressing them directly with Orrin and the leadership team in private, or you have hidden behind fake names, trembling in self induced fear, spewing your venom , yet not willing to publically go to an attorney, regulatory agency or even law enforcement organization to save others from the same fate you have been given. Why, because you were all willing participants in the purported illegal RICO activities.

Some of you, who are not seeing red and hating me more than Orrin right this minute, realize the truth in my last phrase. When someone yells RICO at an organization where they were part of the leadership, they are part of the very acts they are now complaining about.

And, although, your complaint of the fact, “you did not have a copy of the agreement you signed” is valid, it doesn’t hold any water in a court of law, because not once did you turn down the checks you were paid after signing the foresaid agreement. Ignorance is never a valid defense for breaking the law, if a law was broken.

By the way, click the links to review the agreements in question. Agreement 1 and Agreement 2

And for those of you who are in T.E.A.M./L.I.F.E. and are saying “amen, preach it Troy!” You are just as guilty as the critics. You run around slamming former members, saying just as nasty things about them as they do you. And then you have the audacity to say “I live by the L.I.F.E. and leadership principles taught by Orrin Woodward.

The most ironic part of this whole situation is the fact, you may be even bigger hypocrites than the former T.E.A.M. members. I wonder what you might say, if you were in their shoes, and had gone through the same emotional and financial devastation they have or are going through?

(See the bankruptcy documents)

Sadly, like some church families, when a member sins and is caught, you are stomping the very life out of these former members all in the name of LOVE!

So, from this one point of view, I do not see any innocent parties. Everyone is guilty of not living up to the very principles and values they claim to believe in. And for some reason everyone is afraid to implement the Golden Rule:

“Treat Others The Way You Would Like TO Be Treated”

There is one part of this situation which only affects a few people, both current and former members of T.E.A.M., it is those who profess to be followers and believers in Jesus Christ.

Based on our faith, you are held to a higher level of responsibility than those who do not follow our faith. Although, we can’t place our Christian standards and values on other, we can sure hold each other accountable, as we are directed.

The one sickening fact I have witnessed is that many on the inside and outside have questioned the very fact anyone is living by the precepts and principles taught by Jesus. And in a few cases, the critics have made it very clear, “if this is how Jesus directs his followers to lead, then count me out!”

Seriously, is this authentic servant leadership, the kind Jesus taught, or just some form of self-righteousness to cover-up our own sins!

And to those of you who profess your love for Jesus, and yet, you have allowed this situation to tear your families apart, it’s time to set aside your pride and repair the divide. I am not talking about kissing and making up, I am talking about asking for forgiveness to each other in private, then publically making it clear the past is dead and buried. And if I can help as an outsider, then I will gladly serve.

I can guarantee you that until this forgiveness is given freely, there will be huge issues in your lives. History has shown churches can’t grow, business can fail, and people will have huge health issues (surrounding the heart) when un-forgiveness exists and the Lord’s reputation is blemished.

I have grown to respect the leaders from both camps. Without a doubt each of you bring to the table valid concerns and arguments on why you are right in your actions. I have read your words, listened to your hearts and have come to realize God still have more for you to accomplish, but like Jonah, if you keep running from what you know in your heart the Lord is telling you, then you may suffer similar circumstances. More than you already have suffered.

This situation is no longer about who is right and who is wrong. It’s about getting rid of the enemies of the heart – guilt, anger, greed and jealousy, which is causing all the other negative emotions and physical health issues hindering the real purpose you were put on this earth.

And for those of you who have read this far, and think I must have been paid by Orrin Woodard to write this article, then grow some balls or ovaries whichever the case may be, and contact the attorneys or reporters I provided!

If you’re not willing to stand up for your rights and fight to correct what you believe are illegal activities, but instead hide behind fake names, listening to people who for all you know are paid to keep you cowering in fear, then in reality you have nothing to cry about. Your decision to NOT stop the purported crimes against others is no different than those who may be committing the so called crimes. And if it is ever proven a crime has been committed, I wonder if you might be charged with “Accessory Before/After The Fact”?

And to you T.E.A.M./L.I.F.E. members who just love to antagonize and point fingers at those who have left and criticize Orrin Woodward you are no better! So get off your pompousness and start living by the principles taught for so many years by Orrin and other leaders you love so much!

And why I am at it, whoever is running the old negative websites about Amway and former leaders of Amway, take them down. Contact WordPress if you have forgotten your login info and tell them you want the sites down. This childish behavior works in high school, not with adults!

And for those who are reading this who are not part of T.E.A.M./L.I.F.E. you are, in some cases just as guilty of the same situations in your own companies and organizations. This is far bigger than just Orrin Woodward and his organization.

Until we as a network marketing community are willing to walk our talk and hold each other accountable for our actions, and act like the very leaders we profess to be, this type of situation will continue… Until one day we may not see a network marketing community!

We love to call the critics, just negative crybabies, but after a while, we must realize, not all of them are negative, some are using critical thinking to provide us with what needs to be fixed.

Living An Epic Adventure,

Troy Dooly