Ali and Makkah’s Exhaustive Path to Diamond Notes

Speaker Acknowledgments and Opening Remarks

• Initial Introductions: The session is opened by an unnamed host or moderator introducing Ali and Martha (Makkah) as new Diamonds from Minneapolis. Acknowledgments are made for the presence and service of upline leaders, specifically Conti and Bill, as well as Sveer and Kajal, Kumar and Anjali, and Kankan and Samina.
• Generational Attendance: The speakers acknowledge Ryan and highlight the presence of many second-generation IBOs (Independent Business Owners) in the audience.
• Purpose of the Testimony: Ali states that their story is not about themselves but is intended to provide hope. It is a definitive proof that if they could succeed from their background, anyone can. Ali characterizes their starting point as being "underground," placing themselves socioeconomically below even "skid row" or the incarcerated population in the American context.

Life Philosophies: The Destination vs. The Journey

• The Universality of Problems: Ali argues that no problem is truly "personal." He explains that if any individual's problem were scaled across the US population, it would likely be shared by approximately $50,000,000$ people. This perspective is meant to normalize struggles and reduce isolation.
• The Richmond Metaphor: Ali uses a travel metaphor to explain different starting points toward success:
  • Destination: Richmond, Virginia (representing Diamond status/freedom).
  • Origins: Different travelers come from Minnesota, Chicago, or Nashville.
  • Environmental Factors: One traveler experiences heavy snow, another rain, and another sunny weather. All are valid experiences on the way to the same destination.
• Definition of Happiness: Happiness is defined as the process of solving problems: "No problems, no life."
• Arrival Syndrome: Ali warns against the idea of "catching" dreams. He emphasizes that the goal is to chase dreams, not to finally reach a point of inactivity.
• The Nature of Successive Problems: Moving up the business levels is described as "upgrading" one's problems rather than eliminating them:
  • Marriage Problem $1.0$
  • Platinum Problem $2.0$
  • Emerald Problem $3.0$
  • Diamond Problem $4.0$
• Interpersonal Dynamics and Finances: Ali notes that at higher business levels, conflict becomes expensive. He jokes that a fight with his wife now costs him money because she has access to an account with an $1,800 monthly limit (or similar high balance) that does not decline.

Ali’s Background and the Collapse of Somalia

• Early Life in Somalia: Ali was born in Mogadishu and raised in a country with no stable government. He is the oldest of five family members.
• Family Dynamics and Work Ethic:
  • Father: A former police officer who lost his job due to political instability and never secured another high-paying position; his income was mostly "side gig" money.
  • Mother: The primary breadwinner. She ran a bakery out of the house and Ali sold the goods after school. She also ran a "Garagan" or kiosk (a large wheelbarrow-style shop on the street) selling items like chewing gum.
• Historical Context of Somalia:
  • Independent in $1960$.
  • Military coup took over in $1969$, running the country for $21$ years.
  • Total national collapse occurred in $1991$, leading to civil war and the events known as "Black Hawk Down."
  • Parental Situation: Ali's parents remained in Somalia, while one sister moved to Saudi Arabia (UK citizen).

The "Abdi Muhammad" Education Saga

• Academic Fraud as Survival: Ali predicted the collapse of the country in the late 1980s and saw no point in pursuing a degree in his own name.
• The Substitution: A friend named Abdi Muhammad wanted to go to Ethiopia for $90$ days and asked Ali to attend his college classes for him.
• Completion of Degrees: Because there was no ID system, Ali successfully operated as "Abdi Muhammad" for three years. He took finals, did geography and history essays, and ultimately graduated with a degree under his friend's name, which he eventually considered a waste of time.

Meeting Makkah and the 89-Question List

• The Marriage List: Influenced by a college friend who had a list of questions for a potential spouse, Ali created his own list. It eventually grew to include $89$ specific questions/qualifications.
• The Introduction: Ali destroyed the list about a month and a half before meeting Makkah, realizing it was causing him to miss potential partners.
• The Courtship: They met in November $1993$. Ali told her they would marry; Makkah, who intended to move to Canada where her family was, initially refused. Ali recalls "tricking" her into an overnight car ride where they ran out of gas and talked the entire night.
• Marriage and Skepticism: They were married on March $19, 1994$. Ali's friends made bets on how long they would last; one friend (Bashir) gave them four months and $18$ days, while another gave them only $11$ days. They have now been married for nearly $23$ years.
• Conflict Resolution Philosophy: They delete problems based on a "$5$-year rule": if the issue (e.g., leaving a light on, not saying hello) won't matter in $5$ years, they delete the problem from their relationship.

Makkah’s Story and the Refugee Experience

• Family Structure: Makkah has $11$ sisters and $5$ brothers (one of $17$ or $18$ siblings).
• The 26-Year Separation: Makkah recounts the story of her youngest sister, who was only one month old when a missile strike forced the family to run in different directions. The mother ended up in Kenya and later Canada through a refugee program. The baby remained with relatives for $26$ years before finally reuniting with the family in America in November.
• Immigration Path: Through a sister named Holland, who was already in America, approximately $40$ family members were eventually lifted out of the war zone and brought to Virginia.
• Early Life Hardships in the US: When they first arrived in Virginia in $1997$, they lived in a high-rent ($450$/month), low-quality apartment. Ali worked as a security guard. Their upline, Oded, would occasionally sleep on the floor of their one-room apartment to support them.

Entering the Business and Resisting Negativity

• The Bookstore Connection: Ali met his sponsor, Jode, at Boris Bookstore in Falls Church, Virginia. Ali used to spend $5$ hours there with a single $2$-dollar cup of coffee, exploiting the free refill policy by never letting the staff take his empty cup.
• The Sponsor's Persistence: Jode gave Ali a card; Ali lost it. Jode ran into him again $90$ days later. Jode eventually realized Ali didn't have papers, a job, or many local contacts, but stayed with him due to his mental "sharpness" and habit of reading Forbes 400.
• The Farah Encounter (Taxi Driver Dialogue):
  • A Somali taxi driver named Farah saw Ali going to a business meeting with Jode in Maryland and warned him it was a waste of time.
  • Ali's Rebuttal: Ali argued that he was already "in the business of wasting time" by sitting in Starbucks for $5$ hours every night discussing Somali politics. He preferred wasting time with "happy people in suits" than with angry politicians.
  • The Flashcard Fallacy: Ali dismisses the common immigrant "flashcard" of "I've been here for $19$ years," arguing that the length of time in the country does not equate to wisdom if one lives in a room with four people and drives a taxi.

The Mechanics of Reaching Diamond

• The Fall and Rise: A year prior to reaching Diamond, they had only one qualified leg. They had previously reached Emerald but lost two legs.
• The March 26 Turning Point: Sujit visited Minneapolis on March $26$. After reviewing the numbers, he told Ali they had Diamond potential for the next fiscal year.
• The Sixth Leg Push: Their sixth leg had only two people in January. However, the momentum of the other legs (including leaders in Seattle) and a shared desire not to be the reason Ali and Makkah failed to reach Diamond pushed the sixth leg to reach $7,500$ points. By April, they had six qualified legs.
• The Cincinnati Prediction: Ali tells a story regarding Latta and a leader named Craig. He predicted they would be recognized as Diamonds on the same night despite appearing to lack the necessary legs at the time. He credits this to leaving the "business of how" to God while he focused on the belief.

The Metaphysics of Success: The Unseen Controls the Scene

• The Bill Britt Principle: Ali explains the concept that the "unseen controls the scene." He teaches that the difference between rich people and poor people is not their minds, but how their minds are "arranged."
• Creation is Finished: Ali posits that one's Platinum, Emerald, or Diamond status already exists but is currently excluded from their view. Higher achievement is compared to being on the $50^{th}$ floor of a building versus the $6^{th}$ floor; the view of the city (success) is always there, but it requires rising to see it.
• The Law of Assumption: Ali breaks this down into two specific requirements:
  1. Assume the Feeling: Imagine and feel the dream as though it is already fulfilled.
  2. Deny the Senses: Ignore the current physical reality (empty bank accounts, quitting downlines) if they contradict the assumed feeling.
• Feeling vs. Speaking: Ali clarifies that you do not get what you speak; you get what you feel when you speak. If you say "I am a Diamond" but feel like a failure, the law of attraction responds to the feeling of failure.
• The "Money Clip" Technique: To overcome feelings of lack, Ali would carry cash in money clips even when his account was negative. He would pretend to buy items in shops to trick his mind into the feeling of abundance.
• Thinking "From" vs. Thinking "Of":
  • Thinking of Platinum: Viewing success as a distant object to be reached.
  • Thinking from Platinum: Operating under the assumption that the goal is already a completed fact.

Questions & Discussion

• Audience Interaction: Ali asks the audience to close their eyes and feel their goals. He challenges them to maintain that feeling even when they open their eyes and face reality.
• Regarding Family in the Business: Makkah notes that while her sisters are not in the business, they are supportive, use the products (like G&H lotion), and act as hosts for them in every city they visit, saving them money on hotels.
• The Vietnam Downline: Makkah shares a story of a Vietnamese downline member who was hospitalized in Cincinnati. Despite no biological relation, Makkah stayed with her for $10$ days, telling the doctor the woman was her "daughter" to emphasize the family-like bond of the business.