Opinions on WorldWorks

[adrianblaine]

Has anyone here had experience with anything like WorldWorks? From what I've found/googled, there are several of these kinds of places all over the US and they have a bunch of different names, but they tend to be fairly similar in what they teach and how they operate.

I have a friend who is pressuring me to take some classes and after doing some digging around it is sounding more and more like they just want your money. The reason I've become concerned is that this isn't normal pressure that my friend is putting on me to "enroll".

It started out like it was this really neat opportunity to make my life what I wanted without giving me a whole lot of specifics about what it entails. When he told me how much it was (above $2k) I pretty much said no way. The pressure than built up into something much more to the point where I'm almost being bullied into finding ways to make the extra money so I can go. This has been going on for the last 5 days.

What I'm wondering is, if I should be worried about my friend and what he's gotten into, or if it's pretty harmless and I just need to keep telling him no and that it isn't for me.

Thanks

EDIT: I've become more concerned learning that this is linked to Lifespring.

 

[Sesshi]

It is basically a non-specifically-religious cult by association.

Depending on the current dynamics between your friend and you, there's not much you can do really if your friend has already been hooked - but if you are not interested you should definitely keep avoiding.

Like most cults or quasi-cults, these places put most importance in members recruiting others. Honestly, the more your friend gets into it the more the pressure will increase.

Some people do actually get something out of it, but the cons outweigh the pros and it's not something you can't get elsewhere for much less.

 

[adrianblaine]

Thanks for your reply. I contacted a mutual friend of ours who had also turned him down and he is concerned as well.

We were wondering if it is something serious enough to maybe try an intervention. We wouldn't be so worried except for the fact that he is recruiting others. If he had of just gone to the basic training and then left, this would be a different situation, but it is the advanced and leadership training phases where enrolling people is really pushed.

 

[Sesshi]

or if it's pretty harmless and I just need to keep telling him no and that it isn't for me.

We wouldn't be so worried except for the fact that he is recruiting others. If he had of just gone to the basic training and then left, this would be a different situation, but it is the advanced and leadership training phases where enrolling people is really pushed.

Really? Wised up that much in a day? Nice. Looks like you know the organisation well enough already, so probably don't need confirmation from someone on a computer forum.

When all's said and done, after an intervention you're simply offering a different sense - a reset if you will - of belonging and satisfaction of their neediness. The core inadequacies of the individual haven't suddenly gone away and unless you're family, it's highly unlikely that you're in it for that long a haul... are you? Any intervention has to be carefully planned to work in the long term.

The level of crap you'll take is dependent on how far he's hooked into this already. Are you prepared to put up with that in the course of an intervention? Basically, the question is, how good a friend is he really? He will in all likelihood keep going on and on about it until you go with him.

 

[adrianblaine]

Really? Wised up that much in a day? Nice. Looks like you know the organisation well enough already, so probably don't need confirmation from someone on a computer forum.

lol, I know... When I first heard about it I was a little skeptical, and then when I read about it being a cult I was skeptical of that as well. I've always found the majority of MacRumors users to be level headed and knowledgeable so at the time it made sense to seek a second opinion from here. Once I found the huge amounts of information available from people who had gone through this or knew people that did, I learned pretty quick that my initial instinct was right. I've spent more time reading about Large Group Awareness Training than just about anything else the last day or so and I'm ready to confront him, or at least make sure that he got what he needed and won't keep going back.