The Most Inspiring Week of 2017
I know when most people think of going to a convention, the words "heart-opening" and "life-changing" don't typically spring to mind. But, in the case of this year's dōTERRA global convention, I'm finding it difficult to explain it any other way.
Last week in Salt Lake City we laughed (until we legit almost peed our pants), we danced (duh), we sang (I mean, don't play Spice Girls in a restaurant and expect us to be quiet), we cried (because it's honestly overwhelming to see the positive impact we're collectively having on the world), and we had our minds absolutely blown (for reasons I'll explain below).
Ever since I made the decision to build an arm of my biz empowering others with essential oils I've been proud to partner with dōTERRA, but after this year's convention, I can honestly say that I'm humbled to walk alongside such an enlightened company.
They're setting the bar incredibly high for what it means to run a conscious business, they're shattering the mold of what we've come to expect from executives of multi-billion dollar companies (in the best way possible), and they're going up against some of the most corrupt, powerful industries in the world to provide a better quality of life for the max amount of people.
I'm so freakin' PSYCHED to share all this goodness with you. As you read through, I hope you feel as inspired, hopeful, and lit up as I do.
Now, let's dive into the highlights so I can show you what I'm talkin' about. I'll try to be as concise as possible and put lots of it into bullets for easy reading!
THE PEOPLE
There were so many humans to love at convention that my heart felt like it was going to explode - from our team coming together to anchor into our long-term visions, to the dōTERRA team showing the world how to do business the heart-centered way (for real though), to the wide-awake doctors and members of the medical community who realize they have the power to help fix a broken healthcare system, to the scientists conducting studies and publishing papers showing the effectiveness of essential oils (in spite of the fact that big pharma would rather have them locked up), to the brilliantly beautiful humanitarians who have dedicated their lives to serving people and the planet in their own unique ways - our days were filled with people who genuinely care about creating positive change in the world. And that energy is contagious AF.
THE IMPACT
Oh man, there is SO. MUCH. to share here - where to start? These presentations had me shedding tears, throwing my hands up in the air, and exchanging amazed looks with the babes sitting next to me while our jaws were on the floor.
Healthcare
I don't know how to explain dōTERRA's new healthcare initiative as anything other than a healthcare revolution. I couldn't dream up a better alternative to our current, broken healthcare system, and I honestly could not be more excited or honored to have the opportunity to play a part in this incredibly positive ripple effect.
Their high-level goals:
Penetrate a mainstream market
Establish research partnerships with highly-respected institutions
Focus on evidence-based medicine and the scientific model
Disrupt the broken healthcare system
A mic-drop quote that was shared: "The healthcare system, as it is currently conceived, simply isn't sustainable. Perverse incentive structures coupled with powerfully entrenched third-party interests have created a system that taxes consumers with high, hidden prices, and burdens doctors with an inscrutable bureaucracy." - Cristin Dickerson, MD, Board Certified Radiologist
Our current (broken) medical system functions on two models:
3rd Party Payer / Insurance Companies:
Healthcare provider is incentivized to pile on as many services as they can, and charge as much as possible. Doesn't align with or support natural healthcare alternatives.
Fee for Service:
Healthcare providers are incentivized to increase quantity of services rather than quality. Focuses on amount of care vs. the outcome of the care. Holistic and preventative healthcare aren't incentivized and therefore aren't prioritized.
dōTERRA's answer to these broken models? An entirely new healthcare model, which will:
Eliminate the middle man (insurance), eliminate giant markups, create transparency around healthcare costs
Implement patient-centric, integrative clinical healthcare model that utilizes essential oils and a wide-range of holistic healing modalities
Afford doctors the freedom to determine their own standard of care for their patients rather than 3rd party beuraucrats
Allow doctors to devote more time to their patients, rather than the endless reports and coding required for insurance billing and the required overhead to support it
Significantly lower healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes
Focus on preventative medicine and empowering patients
Make healthcare more accessible, easier and faster access to trusted doctors
You may be wondering why they're so passionate about making essential oils an integral part of our healthcare system (and no, it's not to help their bottom line) - it's because they work, they drastically decrease healthcare costs, and they empower people to take control of their health in ways they may have never thought possible before.
Here are some mind-blowing stats to illustrate just how powerful regular use of essential oils is in terms of overall health. These numbers are based on employees in the same age bracket, and compares the national average of corporate employees vs. dōTERRA Employees (who use essential oils daily):
Annual Healthcare Cost per Employee:
National Average: $13,488
dōTERRA: $6,604
Annual Services Costs per Employee:
National Average: $8,598
dōTERRA: $3,982
Annual Pharmacy Costs per Employee:
National Average: $2,430
dōTERRA: $618
Their new clinics (which will be popping up all across the country) will be:
holistic, and offer western medicine, essential oils, homeopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, etc
accessible, offering same and next day appointments, weekend access, text or call your physicians 24/7, home visits (if needed)
personal, and offer meaningful time with your doctor, include small patient panels, give you access to detailed personal history at your fingertips
affordable, with low monthly membership fee for full suite of services including primary care and wellness coaching, no insurance required
SO EXCITING, RIGHT? I KNOW! Hop on over to this website to learn more and register for updates on the rollout - and prepare to do a happy dance!
Humanitarian Work
The very basis of dōTERRA's essential oil sourcing model (Co-Impact Sourcing) has the welfare of people and the planet at its core, but they take it ten steps further with the work they do via their non-profit, The Healing Hands Foundation, and their partnerships with beautiful humanitarian organizations across the globe.
They go into the communities that our growers and distillers live in and ask what they need and how they can help - and then they get to work funding, building, and providing those things for them so they can have the best quality of life possible.
Executives and Wellness Advocates even fund initiatives out of their own pockets when Healing Hands funds are already allocated because when we see an opportunity to create positive change for others, we can't turn a blind eye.
Here's a high-level look at some of the projects and initiatives they shared:
Enlisting the support of an incredible career environmentalist to ensure that all of their essential oil sourcing efforts are done with the utmost integrity and sustainability at the forefront (a big focus at the moment is on Frankincense, in particular)
Paying Frankincense growers 10x more than any other company, and cutting out the middleman by working directly with the growers so they directly benefit from their hard work
Somaliland: building a first-of-its-kind hospital (where they currently have no access to healthcare services) which will serve 400,000 people
Madagascar: mobile health clinics and doctors offices serving 900 people / 10+ communities, giving them access to weekly doctor's visits
Somalia: funded 2 new schools, regional hospital, health clinic, built new resin sorting warehouse, provided drought relief aid
Haiti: $263k donated, 588 roofs, 3 water systems, new elementary school, new distillery and drying facility
Nepal: funded 3 new schools, new health clinic, disaster relief and rebuilding
Rwanda: Building a boarding school for students who currently live in cramped, infested dorms with no running water (they shave their heads to reduce the risk of lice infestation, and walk through sewage each day)
Partnering with Operation Underground Railroad to sponsor electronic-sniffing dogs that are trained to find things like memory cards and recording devices that child sex traffickers normally can easily hide from the police due to their small size
Day for Girls: Have helped over 800,000 girls around the world to date, on the last night of convention 301 people assembled 5,110 personal hygiene kits in just 36 minutes and broke the Guinness Book's record for the most personal hygiene kits assembled in under an hour (previous record was 1,002).
THE OILS
You KNOW I'll be geeking out on these newly-released oils for weeks/months/years to come (especially via my Instagram Story series, 52 Weeks of Oils) - but I wanted to make sure to give you a taste of the top therapeutic properties of each of these bad boys so you can get a feel for what awesome shizz they're bringin' to the table.I honestly have no idea how they'll ever top this EPIC release of oils (and a new gorgeous diffuser) - these babies have already become a huge part of my daily rotation. I just can't get over how much I love every single one of them. YUM.
The Yoga Collection - This gorgeous kit supports and effective yoga practice from all angles, co-created with world-renowned yoga teacher (and dōTERRA Wellness Advocate), Elena Brower
Anchor (Steadying Blend):
Promotes feelings of completeness, calmness + courage, encourages a steady foundation from which to move forward
Align (Centering Blend):
Promotes feelings of self-acceptance, trust + fluidity, encourages harmony + calm progress
Arise (Enlightening Blend):
Promotes feelings of happiness, clarity + courage, encourages rising to achieve goals + improved performance
Copaiba:
Similar to Frankincense in its potency and versatility, it provides antioxidant, liver, cardiovascular, immune, cellular, skin, nervous system, digestive, neurological, and respiratory support
Rose:
Uplifts mood, balances moisture levels in skin + soothes imperfections, supports healthy immune response, stimulates feelings of happiness and contentment after childbirth, helps body naturally release desire for pain meds, promotes healthy brain activity, supports healthy nerve function,
Jasmine:
Uplifts mood, soothes skin imperfections, promotes healthy, glowing complexion, promotes healthy blood pressure, benefits reproductive health, promotes relaxation,
Neroli:
Soothes anxiousness, uplifts mood, soothes skin, promotes relaxation, promotes healthy inflammatory response, promotes healthy hormone concentrations, increases feelings of intimacy, promotes healthy cellular function
Siberian Fir:
Relaxing, cleansing, cardiovascular, cellular, metabolism, respiratory, tissue, and immune support
Blue Tansy
Antioxidant, immune + skin support, soothing relief
On Guard Sanitizing Mist:
Anti-septic spray for when you're on-the-go
Lumo Diffuser:
2 hr, 5 hr, and 10 hr mist settings, 7 light settings, covers 540 sq ft, maple wood base
Alright, my loves - I'm gonna stop myself before I write a full-fledged novel, but long story short - it's absolutely beyond words to link arms with people who care so deeply about the well-being of people and the planet. These are people who don't just talk about the change they'd like to see in the world, but the go out and create it, because they have such a deep sense of purpose driving them forward.
People like this inspire you to stop caring about what everyone thinks and EMBODY your unique gifts so you can get out there and share them. Playing small isn't part of the vocabulary - it's a disservice to yourself and the world.If you're feeling as LIT UP as I am, and the pull to step into your light and serve in a bigger way, I'd love to connect. We're currently looking for a few incredible people to join key positions within our team of essential oil educators, and if your soul was screaming "YES" as you read through this recap, you may be just the biz partner/soul tribe member we're looking for. Drop me a line here and we'll find time to chat deets. ⚡️