“Discover your weaknesses and turn them into strengths.”
Who would have thought my greatest weaknesses would propel my Arbonne business, but that is exactly what happened. A little over a year ago, I met ENVP Dr. Deanna Osborn through her medical practice. Little did I know that by dealing with my cystic acne, I would be given the Arbonne opportunity of a lifetime!
I have been married to Craig for over 13 years and am the mother of four beautiful children: Matthew, 12; Amanda, 10; Julia, 8 and Lauren, 5. Looking back, it seems incredible that we had four children in six years — but my body sure felt it! I was struggling with hormonal issues, mainly cystic acne. I did not know where to turn. I knew this struggle was also due to the many stressful issues my family and I were facing, including financial problems. Finally, when I could not handle my skin breakouts anymore, I opened the yellow pages and prayed that God would show me where to go. That is when I walked into Deanna Osborn’s office and found myself sharing our financial needs with my soon-to-be close friend.
It was her husband, Chris Osborn, who planted the idea by saying, “You would be great at doing what my wife does,” and then suggesting I give her a call. I did and began my Arbonne journey in February of 2004. I was really interested in how different Arbonne was. I loved the strong stand they took on creating pure, safe, beneficial products, and was intrigued by how cutting-edge the products were. I spent hours absorbing all the information I could from people’s success stories, product descriptions and Presentations. I was new to the area and had no family or friends nearby. But I was thrilled to begin my business anyway. I wanted to go all the way to the top! In fact, I needed to go all the way to the top to help my family’s financial situation; it was a strong and motivating Why.
I promoted to District in the summer and made an attempt at Area. In December, my team was not strong enough and I realized that my business was struggling; I ended up doing the business myself. I was so discouraged.
In January 2005, I was working hard and my team was just me! I knew something had to happen though because I was losing steam. I took a deep look inside myself to see what needed to be changed. I realized that it was me. I had two issues: I was totally me focused — I wanted the Mercedes-Benz, money and promotions and did not focus on others’ wants, desires and dreams, and I was scared of people and scared to lead. I really did not enjoy talking with people and it felt safer to stay isolated. I decided to focus on my weaknesses instead of hiding them.
I needed to focus on others. People want to know that you care about their dreams, their fears and their desires, and that you will be there to help them succeed. I took simple steps toward my goals every day. I began working on me.
That is when I heard about Jenny Johnson’s success story, how at 23 years of age she promoted to RVP in four months. Something inside of me said, “I can do that! I’m not going to let a 23 year old out-do me!” I contacted Jenny and she graciously shared her system with me. I was determined to duplicate it. We dropped off the NutriMinC® RE9® skin care sets, closed two days later, told our Arbonne stories and invited people to join our team. And we did it — we went from District to Region in three months!
My team members are the heartbeat of my business, and the reason I call my team “Stronger Together.” We become stronger people when we “do life” together. Let your fears come to the surface, face them and do Arbonne anyway. Whatever insecurity you have, take the power away from it, conquer it and become who you are meant to be. It is God’s greatest mission for your life.
To my best friend and greatest team player for life, Craig: I was only able to do this because of you. Your strength and commitment to being 100 percent available to our family is the foundation of my Arbonne business. God knows the hours you put into prayer for this to happen. I cannot wait to see what else there is in store for us to do.
To my children: You will never know how much looking at your faces each morning and night touches my heart. I love you! Thank you for believing in me and cheering me on.
To my family and friends, dad, Adrienne, Stephanie, Christopher, mom and dad Taylor, Sean and Jason, Adriana and Dave Jackson, and Jennifer Honea: Thank you for your support and encouragement. Your smiles and abundant love spurred me on.
To DMs, Lisa Dickerson, Christine Buonocore, Lori Yearwood, Dianne Tomaielly, Horte Napoles, Pat Flett, Pollie Brandon, Regina Gibson, Jennifer Campbell, Amy Pitts, Kim Scott (Scotty), Renae Boonstra, Rachel Buonocore, Amy Craparo and Daniela Popescu; AM Sarah Burd, AM Cheri Connor, Janell Powell, Marissa Hayes, Marshay Mitchell, Shelly Wallace, Denise Greene, Tonya Babb, Tamara Ashburn, Stacey Marchione, John Yearwood, Tammy LaForest, Leah Kitchens, Marcel Fogah and Kelly Schnurr: What can I say? This Eye on Arbonne story would not be happening if it were not for your passion and commitment. Thank you for trusting me to lead you to the top. I will not stop supporting you and will help you all get your Mercedes-Benzes. I love you all!
To ENVP Dr. Deanna Osborn: I thank God for bringing us together. Your friendship has changed my life and I will be forever grateful for that.
To ENVP Lisa Voorhies, ENVP Christy Drieling, ENVP Becky Potterbaum, RVP Jenny Johnson and NVP Cathy Epperson: You have been such a support and inspiration to me. Thank you for being transparent and available to me.
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.
