Work Daze

Sick of the corporate rat-race? Under appreciated? Under compensated? Are you ready for a REAL opportunity that will finally pay you what you are worth?

Congratulations. You’re exactly the kind of sucker that we’re looking for.

Because I make a small (very small) fortune trading on the pain and frustration of the working stiff, I’m probably the last person on earth who should refuse to pass the gravy boat. Yet, I do feel protective of the grouchy and disaffected, and hate to see my audience ripped off by anyone who isn’t me.

That’s right, Michael Leroux, I’m talking about y-o-u.

Mr. Leroux is the man behind SuccessByChoice.net, the web site that spewed out the painful questions I pose in the first paragraph, and which offers, as balm to the universal agony of the 9-to-5’er, a success system that “not only allows you the potential to double or triple your income working from home, but also includes wealth building opportunities you normally wouldn’t have access to and will allow you to RETIRE WEALTHY IN A FEW YEARS.”

What exactly the magic system will have you doing, other than making endless trips to the bank, is kept a mystery – a neat feat for a web site that prints out to 19 pages. We do learn what the system isn’t. It isn’t multi-level marketing. It requires no stockpiling of products (Good news! I don’t care how rich I am going to be. If it involves cleaning out the garage, I’m not interested.) There’s no cold calling, nor will it have you “chasing after family and friends.” (So give up trying to get your Bucky Covington CDs back.)

Despite the cloak of secrecy that covers the actual mechanism of the business, we do learn quite a lot about our SuccessByChoice mentor, Mr. Leroux. An ex-federal law enforcement officer, he is pictured on the home page, casually dressed in jeans (rumpled) and a sport shirt (untucked), posing next to a Cadillac Escalade. Though he looks like he’s 16 in the photo, his bio tells us he has been married to wife, Monique, for 21 years and they have two children. He also “lives life on his own terms,” which, in his own terms, means taking endless vacations to “luxury five stars resorts around the world.”

Michael also introduces us to a dozen individuals who, unlike thee and me, have unshackled themselves from the chains of the bi-weekly paycheck to become bi-coastal party animals. One of the people who is not on the list is Jay Kubassek, and that is surprising, since Mr. Kubassak also operates a web site offering an opportunity to escape the corporate world for riches and freedom.

“I am on a personal mission to create at least another 100 millionaires over the next 5 years in the direct sales industry,” Kubassek says from the home page of dream-wealth.com. Though both spokesmodels take the same approach, the same language, and often, the same vacation, Kubassek and Leroux are two very different breeds of con.

For example, Jay has decided to spend a sliver of his wealth on a “custom built BMW” instead of that gas-gulping, greenhouse-gas-belching Escalade. Jay also has a “custom built gold fish pond” in his “beautiful home” to go with his Beemer. I imagine he is also working on some custom built gold fish, but that may take some time.

Jay is also a more open about how we will escape gainful employment and gain admission to world of the rich and the custom built. We will be selling “legitimate stand alone products.” And though Jay also assures us that his plan is not multi-level marketing, he does have us “helping 20 people each make $15,000/month, and this would pay you $40,000 a month, PLUS residual income.”

Heck, if I could convince 20 people to lend me $10 a month, I’d never work again.

One interesting similarity between these two philanthropic individuals is that the exact same people, giving the exact same testimonials, appear on both of their sites. Incredibly, Michael Leroux (AKA “Mike”), the ex-federal Law enforcement office, provides a spirited testimonial for Jay. Jay doesn’t return the favor for Mike, however. I suppose you get a little arrogant when you have a custom made gold fish pond.

If you want to pursue either of these opportunities, fine with me. But I hope some of you stick around at the office, grousing and gossiping. I’d hate if I was the only one left to complain.