I got sucked into an Instagram story a few days ago where people were sharing their experiences with MLMs (Multi-Level Marketing organizations). Think: Amway, BeachBody, Arbonne, LulaRoe. You know, those companies that has random acquaintances reaching out to you about joining their “team” for a great money-making opportunity where you can “be your own business owner”. The ones that operate like cults?
(I haven’t been in one myself, but my ex was involved with Amway for a time and it was so toxic.)
Anyway . . . I ended up watching an hour and a half YouTube video on Rachel Hollis that was recommended in this story (something I never do . . . I was in a mood). Rachel Hollis is an author (NYT Bestseller), speaker, coach, “lifestyle guru”. She has also been a big-ticket speaker in the MLM community. I’ve actually read both her nonfiction books which motivated me to watch this deep dive on “Everything Wrong with Rachel Hollis” from a woman who does deep dives on MLMs.
It put a finger on what I had trouble with while reading the books: the toxic positivity, unacknowledged privilege, subtle body shaming, and regurgitated advice that wasn’t really saying anything new.
Look I like positive messages and I get pretty wrapped up in hype speeches and mindset and all of that . . . but when positivity comes at the expense of processing your full range of emotion or without acknowledgment of mental health, trauma, circumstance, or any kind of intersectionality it can be incredibly damaging.
Also, I have a very hard time taking advice from anyone who tells you to get a nanny for your kids to give you more time back in your day. No knock on having a nanny, but it’s always presented as if that’s an affordable and viable option for most readers. This isn’t just Rachel Hollis either. I’ve read at least three self-help/time management books that do this without recognizing the privilege you’d already have to be in that position.
(I had an old leader at my company give similar advice while guest speaking at our leadership development program: “I invest $1000 on a coach each month because I know how important personal development is.” Dude, nobody in this room has an extra $1000 to spend on a business coach. Your privilege is showing. Fuck off.)
I’m not going to summarize the whole video but I did enjoy it and I think it began to deconstruct some important things that aren’t exclusive to Rachel Hollis.
So if you want to kill some time on YouTube, worth a watch.
With Love,
Natalie