“Develop a willingness to move forward, embrace change and take a chance.”
I have heard it said that there is no such thing as a small choice. Small choices eventually determine our destiny. Ten years ago, I was a mom of three young boys, the wife of a teacher and a nurse working in maternal child health. With so much on my plate, I was struggling to juggle my life, but finding it increasingly difficult to do it all. My job was becoming more stressful and I would find myself barely able to recover from my previous day’s work before the grind started all over again. I was living a half-life between nursing shifts, yet quitting was not an option, since we were fairly dependent on my financial contribution to our family income. I was desperately looking for a way out, but it was hard to find something that would meet my base requirements. I had to make decent money to replace the salary I was currently earning. And, of course, I did not want to compromise my family life and wanted to enjoy whatever I would be doing.
It was at this time that I was introduced to a publishing company that marketed educational books through presentations. Because this appealed to the mother in me, I saw the opportunity to make my dreams come true. I made a decision to jump in with both feet and within two years of starting, gave myself a 35th birthday present … I quit my nursing job. This company, however, was fraught with problems, which they could not overcome, and after five years, closed their doors.
Once again, I was faced with a choice. I could re-activate my nursing license, which was the safe and secure route, but I realized that having discovered the world of direct sales, there was no turning back. I loved the flexibility, the women I worked with and the potential to earn income that, for the first time, gave us a bit of breathing room. Once I tasted this lifestyle, it was extremely difficult to dive back into a traditional job.
I decided to take another plunge with a direct sales company that was just starting up. At this time, I was also introduced to Arbonne and their botanical skin care line. I fell in love with the products, even before the introduction of the NutriMinC® RE9 line. For the next five years, I became a loyal Arbonne user. Though I loved my Arbonne skin care line and used it faithfully, even referring others to the Arbonne product line, it never crossed my mind to build a business with Arbonne. For some reason, I just did not see myself as a skin care type of salesperson.
Five years later, I had built a successful organization and was making a great income … but not with Arbonne. Even though I enjoyed success with my second direct sales company, very few of my 2,000 consultants achieved the same kind of success as I did. As a result, consultant turnover was the norm and I found myself having to continually rebuild my business. My business philosophy has always revolved around a mentality of helping others succeed. I find the utmost satisfaction and enjoyment helping others accomplish their goals. That is why it was exceedingly frustrating when, despite considerable efforts, that was not happening. It also occurred to me that I was working with a company that marketed non-consumable products. So, not only would I find myself constantly re-building my consultant base, I was also constantly rebuilding my customer and hostess base. It was a scary day for me when I considered my options, and once again realized I had to make a choice. It was difficult to think about walking away from a successful business and starting all over again. I did not want to start from the beginning for a third time. As I weighed my options, I realized that I could easily continue with this company for a long time, shift into low gear and ride it out. But, I felt I would be compromising my integrity and wasting the talents of the women who were working so hard. So, once again, I made a choice.
It is funny how so often the obvious is staring us in the face. When I finally opened my eyes and my mind to the possibilities of Arbonne, it became my third and final network marketing company. And this time around, the third one proved to be the charm. After all, I was already sold on the Arbonne product line, and it hit me that being a part of a company that produced a consumable product was absolutely the way to go. Not only that, I was amazed with the unbelievably generous compensation plan. But the biggest factor in jumping on the Arbonne bandwagon was the number of Eye on Arbonne success stories I would read. I knew from personal experience that I was capable of succeeding in any network marketing business, but needed to have confidence that others who joined me could do so as well. This is definitely the place that allows anyone with passion and desire — willing to put in the hard work and perseverance — to be successful.
My husband once told me the worst feeling in the world is to feel like you have no choices. I suppose that is called being powerless. What we do not realize is that circumstance is extremely rare. Everyone has a choice. Choices may make us feel uncomfortable, they may force us to change, but a willingness to move forward and take a chance, so often results in a magical outcome.
There is not a day that goes by that I am not filled with incredible gratitude to God for the blessings that fill my life. The greatest of these blessings are my wonderful husband and three almost-grown sons.
I also am extremely grateful to my wonderful friends, who chose to believe in me and seize the Arbonne opportunity for themselves. I want to send out my thanks to AMs, Robin Milbourne, Alesia Foster, Debbie Hurst, Nola Ryan, Chris Fages and Michelle Rodriquez, along with many others whom I wish I could mention by name.
And, of course, I am grateful for my wonderfully supportive upline, ERVP Pam Makey, ERVP Cathy Nebeck and ENVP Stasia Trivison. You all are the best!
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.
