Archives: An Unexpected Journey
My doTERRA business has been an unexpected personal development journey. When I started my business, I wanted to help families care for themselves naturally. Besides earning a side income, I didn’t expect anything else.
I originally wrote this post in December 2016 and stumbled upon it recently. It’s pretty wild to transport myself back to that point in time - life was so different. Some of my long time goals are the same and some of them have changed slightly. So much of what I wrote then applies to my life now. I just attended my 5th doTERRA global convention this past weekend (virtually) and I am more grateful than ever for this journey I am on while I grow my business. Enjoy!
An Unexpected Journey (originally published December 28, 2016)
I’ve never really felt I’ve lived a life of purpose. Up until very recently, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I still don’t, to be honest, because it evolves — note I did not say “changes” –everyday. But the point is, for the first time ever, I have a long term goals. Yes, some are Doterra related but most aren’t. Doterra has become the vehicle for me to work towards a better version of myself.
My Doterra business has brought purpose to my life that I was missing as a 28 year old, unemployed, expat wife. I have made friends and created a community here that wouldn’t have existed otherwise. My days are filled with phone calls to old friends in the US, coffee and lunch dates with new friends in Hanoi and a desire to learn as much as I can about treating my body with respect and supporting it through nutritional food and intentional healthy habits.
I was doing my business a bit before we left New York but not really — we were in the process of moving halfway around the world, after all. We arrived in Hanoi and within 5 weeks I was in China for 10 days with a dear friend from the Netherlands, training with the top earner in the company! No one was in Hanoi during the summer months so it was really slow. I was doing a little work each week but I was never busy, spent a lot of time alone in our apartment and did my best to keep a smile on my face.
But then August hit. I went from depressed, doubtful and unmotivated to days packed with friends, work at a preschool, visitors, travel and a flood of expats friends returning from holidays. Despite telling myself I didn’t need them, I had spent a lot of July listening to personal development podcasts and books. I didn’t realize it then but I really was laying the ground work that I would need to have a successful fall.
And what a fall it has been! I was just going through my calendar as I reflected on this past year and realized that I started planning my days on August 5th and thats when Hanoi really felt like real life. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that as soon as I started being intentional with my time — planning each day to reach certain goals — was when life started to feel real. It makes sense! By setting 90 day goals and chipping away at bettering myself and growing my business some truly miraculous things happened!
I didn’t realize it then but taking that teaching job, which I worked at from August through the end of October, brought structure and clarity to my life. I would wake up, get on the phone with people in the US (either for a wellness consultation, a follow up call or to teach a webinar or business training), teach at school from 8:30-11:30, eat lunch, take Holly for a walk and then spend the afternoon responding to emails, prepping educational series or webinars and meeting clients around Hanoi.
It was a great balance until my Doterra business took off and going into school everyday pulled me away from doing the work I was passionate about. Teaching every morning also made me realize that I didn’t want to be working for anyone else. I wanted to do something that brought me joy and didn’t leave me depleted at the end of the day. I wanted to be happy and live by my own rules.
So what exactly does all that mean? I am now in charge of my own days and have to be super intentional with my time. I’ve never worked for myself and it has been a challenge! I’ve realized I am not great at sticking to a schedule when I have complete control over it. This is where my personal development journey comes back into play.
I’ve learned that I can’t support others without taking care of myself. Instead of hitting the ground running everyday on social media and emails (things that honestly stress me out more than they bring me any happiness), I now start with meditation, yoga and quality, device-free time with Nick and Holly. I don’t even look at email or social media until 10:30am (I’m still working on this but I notice that the days I do this lead to more productivity and overall happiness). I have added daily disciplines that will lead to a better version of me — physically, mentally, spiritually and financially.
I used to write off personal development as a cheesy thing people needed in really hard times. I never could have guessed what adding in 30-60 minutes of personal development a day would do to my life. I guess my point is that there is something to goal setting, new years resolutions or whatever you want to call it. I have big dreams for 2017 and I know it is going to be a year of growing and big things! Get excited!!
And just so they are written somewhere, here are some of my long term goals:
1. Get certified as an aromatherapist.
2. Go through Yoga Teacher Training.
3. Hit the rank of Diamond in Doterra organically.
4. Grow my financial knowledge (learn tax laws, take seminars on investing in real estate, understand how to manage wealth, etc).
5. Do 1 pull up by my 30th birthday.
6. Run a half marathon (I am currently signed up for one in September 2017 but I may be in the US for the run… only time will tell)
7. Find balance in life — learn when to put my phone down and be present, spend QUALITY time with my family.
8. Focus energy on relationships that bring me joy.
I am happy to say, 4 years later, that I have made strides with goals #4, #7 and #8. We’re paying off our debt, have money in savings, savings for Charlie’s college and I have money in a retirement fund that my doTERRA income contributes to each month. I am in a flow with mom life and work that allows me to be present with both at the right times. My relationships continue to evolve and I no longer have an issue setting boundaries on ones that don’t serve me. It’s freeing!
My first two goals have shifted from becoming an aromatherapist and yoga teacher to becoming a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (probably in a few years) and a doula (further down the road). Similar but much more aligned with me. I am still working my way to hitting Diamond in doTERRA. I wrote that goal as an Elite and I am now Gold … I am well on my way. I love that I added in the word “organically.” That’s how I run my business to this day - organically. I am trusting the process and I know I will reach my goal in due time.
I’m still working on #5 and #6 and my 30th birthday is long gone … Can’t have it all, right? My fitness goals are now much more simple - move my body and get my heart rate up 3-4 days/week and feel strong after having a baby. Baby steps…
As you can see, I am all for personal development and goal setting. It’s what keeps me on track and working towards becoming a better version of myself. I’ll be excited to come back and read this four years from now and see where I am!
