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Perspectives & Innovations
With
Paul Zane Pilzer
June
2005
DIRECT SELLING NEWS
The Next Millionaires
Thzs article is adapted from Paul Zane Pilzer's new book,
The Next Millionaires, which focuses on the central role of
direct selling in the years ahead.
n 1989, at rhe beginning of the worst period
of economic decline since the Great
Depression of the 1930s, most experts were
predicting decades of economic gloom. The most
popular book in the U.S. was titled The Great
Depression of 1990.
That year, at the lowest point of this recession,
I vnote a book titled Unlimited Wealth that
predicted ecacrly the opposite that we were
headed into an era of unprecedented growth and
opportunity, and that those who embraced this
stood to profit enormously.
Few in the financial and business community
gave the book much credence—unril its forecasts
began proving accurate But there were those who
were quick to grasp its significance, like the late
Sam Walton, who got the message loud clear
and immediately responded to it Among
that perceptive vanguard was the direct
selling community
At the rime, I was nor av;are of the direct
selling business. But they sought me our, telling
me excitedly that my theories and explanations
bore our their experience and validated the direct
selling model. Intrigued, I continued meeting
and interacting more and more members of
rhe direct selling communio•. Over the past
responsibility for their own economic wellness,
create long-term financial stability and even
"The best opportunities today lie in working for
oneself as a home-based entrepreneur. Direct
selling offers the most practical context for doing
so, for the largest number of people."
fifteen years, I have come to know hundreds of
direct selling professionals and have had the
opportunity to see how they work
What these have shown me is that
direct selling provides ari unparalleled
opportunity for millions of people rake
realize significant wealth, while enriching the lives
of untold numbers of others.
this has far greater significance today than
ever before Because what happened in 1990 is
happening again today-only to a vastly
greater degree!
The Impact of 9/11
From 1991 to 20013 rhe world economy
doubled in size, enjoying the highest grow,rth rares
ever recorded vhth the lowest interest rares and
low inflation.
In the United Statas, household wealth tripled,
from $13 trillion in 1991 to more thul
$40 trillion in 2001, Over the same ren years,
the number of U. S. millionaires doubled,
jumping from 3.6 million in 1991 to
7.2 million in 2001
Then everything changed on September 1 1,
2001. As the rowers of the World Trade Center
came crashing dovm before our eyes, something
else carne crashing dovm along vhth them.
Millions of people lost faith in their
economic future
Since 9/11, millions of people arid businesses
have begun to accept that their temporary
economic situation could be permanent This
acceptance is the greatest threat to our fun_lre way
of life-even greater than the physical threar caused
by rhe heinous acts of those responsible for 9/11
Forjust "as a man thinkerh in his heart so is he,
in today's modern economy, "as a people think
about their economy so is it
What most people don't realize is that our
economy is already surging ahead In the third
quarter of 2001, our Gross Domestic Product
declined by 0.2 percent, arid everyone screarned
Recession!" But the follovhng quarter, GDP
grew again—in fact, by ten times the amount of
the decline! Our GDP has risen in every single
quarter since. Our economy quickly regained its
headlong rush inro this new era of increased
wealth arid prosperity that had begun in 1930.
By 2004, even the Dow Jones—the widely
regarded arid cracked stock market index—had
fully recovered
T ht direct selling community is in a unique
position to bring about a shift in people's
awareness—because direct sellers are in ari
ectraordinarily good position take
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