“While others are out to make sales, I am out to make relationships.”
What dreams have you quietly subdued in the recesses of your mind? What do you dream of in the quiet moments, just before you nod off each night? Or, when you are waiting for your children at the bus stop? Or, when you gaze longingly through your office window? How about when you make a wish upon a star?
Every day, thousands of women and men, weary from the onslaught of reality, quit dreaming and wishing. They give up on themselves and even worse, they give up on each other. How do I know? Until little more than a year ago, I was a woman who had lost the desire to dream and the will to wish for more. Not because I had forgotten the “how,” but because I had forgotten Why.
For 18 years, I worked in a largely thankless job. By all accounts I was successful and performing in the top five percent of the company. Sure, the pay was decent and the benefits were nice, but my work lacked the deeper purpose and meaning I felt I was meant to share with others. So in 2002, I quit my safe, secure job and ventured out into unknown territory: The world of 100 percent commissions. This was a land with peaks so high, and valleys so low, it was enough to induce vertigo in the best of us. Despite spinning with self-doubt and insecurity, I continued to move onward in a positive direction, compelled by what I was learning about myself and about others.
Within six months, I was among the industry’s top 10 percent in sales. I was in control of my destiny, my financial security was assured, and my upward mobility seemed limitless. And while I was riding high on financial success, personal fulfillment continued to evade me and this created a deep sense of dissatisfaction. Was this my dream? Was I heading in the right direction? Was this all I wished for?
Then I was led to discover Arbonne. Oh, make no mistake about it; there were no flashes of lightning, no angels singing and no moment of divine intervention I can point to. On the contrary, it was like a bright star appearing in the darkness, gently showing me the way. I realized what bothered me all along was that I was making sales, and lots of them, but I was not creating relationships. I enjoyed the trappings of success, but without connecting with others, I could never quite fill the hollow spaces in between my dreams and reality.
Then this bright light entered my life, and for 18 months, Cindy Ayers patiently shared the world of Arbonne with me. I never dreamed the power of this one relationship would change the direction of my life and one day give me the courage to dream and find fulfillment again. Cindy’s faith in me gave me the strength to find my own purpose in this world — not by making sales, but relationships. I never dreamed that my reluctant commitment to attend NTC 2003 Nashville would be the point from which I would launch into a world of relationships, not transactions; a world of personal growth, not daily strife; a world of optimism, faith and hope; not negativity, fear and self-doubt.
As I propelled myself along the Arbonne path, I never dreamed my life would become abundant in relationships. In addition to the new relationships, Arbonne gave me abundance in the faith to believe in others and gave me the strength to inspire others to awaken their own, dormant dreams and create new ones. Arbonne did this for me, and so much more.
Thanks to the efforts of my downline, I was catapulted to Area Manager within three months. I could hardly believe it! It required so little effort and I felt more fulfilled than I ever imagined possible, and became surrounded by new friends.
Of course, with every new adventure comes life lessons. It was not always easy to maintain my focus. Shortly after promoting to AM status, I was plagued with self-doubt, which forced me to re-evaluate my support system. I regularly wondered, “Just what the heck did I sign up for?” However, patience, determination and the thrill of a new direction in my life kept me going. And while it took me a full year to reach RVP despite having qualified within six months of making AM, my perseverance paid off. So much, that today I am in the process of realizing not one dream, but several dreams I had all but given up on.
As I write this, I am earning my pilot’s license, building a home in Roanoke, Virginia and traveling the world. I would like to say it just does not get any better than this. But you know what? It can get better and you can bet I am going to be there for this awesome adventure I now call my life! Arbonne is not just another company. It is not simply about creating abundance. It is not just another job or paycheck. It is about believing in your potential, supporting that potential in others and learning to use it to change the world for the better, one relationship at a time. Thank you, Arbonne for allowing me to dream and to dream big!
I would like to thank our beloved President Rita Davenport and Chairman and CEO Bob Henry. Thank you to Dr. Shad Helmstedder, for “self talk,” and to Elise Sargent for coaching me.
To my first DMs, Randall Brunk and Cheryl Dishman; AM Debra J. Aleck and ENVPs, Nancy Wilcox, Donna Weiser and Sandra Tillinghast: Thank you. To my sponsor, Cindy Ayers: Thank you for believing in me. To my mother, Ann Boniface: Thank you for joining me. I appreciate all of your help. To all of my Consultants, DMs and RVPs: Thanks for making “work” less like work and more like fun!
The testimonials on this Web site reflect the actual experience of each individual, are anecdotal only, and may be atypical. The testimonials are not based upon any clinical study.
