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I think Leola is trying to "touch, move and inspire" us into participating to Landmark because of all the good it brings to people despite some minor drawbacks she said she experienced (as if it was only the "enrolling" part).
LOL. Thanks for the chuckle. I don't blame you for saying that one bit but seriously, I'm NOT an LE plant here to suck you into the vortex.
You are right about the past but not about now. LE did get me for about three years. For about three years I sucked it all up and spent about $1,400 for all the trouble it was worth. I was sincere yesterday. I do think it was a good thing at the time and I do think that overall it had a positive influence [i:92776c7683]at the time[/i:92776c7683]. After awhile I started feeling differently.
What pushed me over the edge was the two things which happened during the final 8 months of my relationship with LE. As background info, I had taken Toastmasters in the past and I understand how difficult it can be to overcome the fear of speaking in public. Soooo, I was invited to the LE Communication course (can't remember the name of the first one) on the pretense that the speaker was working on overcoming her fear of public speaking. Surprise surprise, of course she wasn't and as soon as I got there I knew I had made a mistake. After the intro they started calling me at least once but often 2-4 times a month trying to get me to enroll. No matter how many times I explained that the ONLY reason I attended the intro was to support to the fledgling speaker they didn't listen. Even when I said I thought it was rude and pushy to be calling more than once a month they didn't stop calling.
So I stopped answering my phone when I could see on caller ID who it was. Then one night my son forgot and answered the phone. When we got to the part where they asked, "And can't you see what your probable almost certain future is" I said, "Yes and I'm really excited about it because this is the last call I am ever going to receive from you people. And you Karen are going to make that happen!!"
She got mad at me but did make it happen. After that call I received some mail (offering the course at reduced prices!) and a couple of phone calls from the Seattle Center.
Another aspect of that experience was the "innocent" comment they kept on making about being mere volunteers. That's pure baloney. When a person has to [u:92776c7683]pay LE[/u:92776c7683] $2,000 to be on the TMLP to make these stupid phone calls they are [u:92776c7683]not[/u:92776c7683] volunteers and they DO have a stake in the outcome of the conversation. Not only do they need to get people to sign up for the course, they need to make sure there will be new blood enrolling in the TMLP when their year term expires. It makes me angry that [i:92776c7683]people give LE money to do LE's marketing[/i:92776c7683]. LE makes money hand over fist with that method. I'd love to know LE's net worth.
About that same time a LE 'friend' had started telling me it was time for me to enroll in the Wisdom course which costs $2,000 and I needed to attend an intro the next week. My son was in his senior year of HS and I knew I was going to be helping him through college so I was trying to reduce my bills... like paying off my car. I stilled owed $5,000 but I knew with effort I could do it before school started. I explained that to her but she called again and during the course of that conversation she said the usual LE thing like, "What if you run across $1,000?" I said, "I'd use it to pay down my loan. " She wouldn't give up!! ARGH!! So finally I said, "Thanks but I'd rather have sex with my new boyfriend than attend an intro." She got the message and that was the end except for than the mailings.
Since I'm on a roll now there is one other thing that I'm still just plain angry about. I got tired of spending the money so I started "assisting." I assisted at a LF just one time. In our pre-meeting they said, "You are responsible for your health and well-being." But when I volunteered they made it so I couldn't even get 5 hours of sleep a night over a three day period. When I said I needed to go home early to sleep they said things like, "You signed up for this and you can't go. Get off it. What is your problem. If you'd just get your mind of sleep you wouldn't need it." etc. Needless to say it wasn't worth it and bottom line... when volunteers aren't allowed to get enough sleep they cannot be in charge of their health and well-being. It's a total contradiction (and they also deny deliberately forcing participants to get very little sleep). That's one of the reasons I decided it was a cult.
In the end it felt like no matter what I did LE was always going to make it be 'my fault.' They made me feel like I had to prove myself. Very negative and destructive in the long run.... that's why yesterday I described leaving LE as 'jumping off the LE merry-go-round.'
Sorry this is so long. I do feel better having shared this stuff with you.