When I signed up to become a consultant for Arbonne, my new partner and good friend Hannah said “You are going to grow so much as a person!”

I laughed. Oh, so smugly.

A proud little smile appeared on my face, my ego grew ten times….

Listen Girl, I AM GROWN. Multi-divorced, mom of a college student, full time employee for  over 2 decades, former supervisor of a 160-employee department, clinical instructor at a college, homeowner, dog-mom, pay my own bills, lived through some Life already… GROWN – ASS WOMAN. 

And yet. I seem to grow despite myself, especially when pushed outside my comfort zone.

 

Last blog I mentioned I’d be writing here about hair shows and meditation…but life doesn’t always go as planned. That used to really make me mad, but with a little work, and a bit of “letting go”… I’ve become OK with life going sideways. Yes, Even wound up tight, super stressed, can’t-handle-a-little-rain-on-a-camping trip me! 

 

The hair show happened, and it was pretty cool. Toby and his team always rock it for The Experience Salon in Mt. Vernon (www.tobyprice.com). My plans the day before to attend a meditation workshop, stay overnight in a hotel, have a girls weekend, see a concert were cancelled last minute. Not cool. I started to get pissed…..but you know what? It gave a whole extra day for Toby to finish hair prep, for me to clean my house, pack my clothes, read my book, relax with my dog.

At 5:40pm Friday I was still sitting with a wet head of hair in a chair at the salon, though I was supposed to be at my house ready for 8 people for my first at-home Arbonne workshop. Super not cool. Yet, guess what? My friends and mom got to my house first, vacuumed, set up appetizers, and none of the guests knew any different.

Earlier that week I found myself stranded on Hwy 20 with a dead clutch in my Jeep Wrangler. Think I had money and time for this? MMhmm, sure. But you can see where this is going….Cassie the Super Dog and I sat in the back of Jeepy, waving at cars passing by.

The sun was shining, and we just happened to have snacks and water on hand, a friend to pick us up, a dad who gives great car repair advice, and SOMEHOW, I had just received a refund from a company to the tune of Clutch Repair. $$$. Boom.

I do not believe everything in life happens for a reason. But I KNOW that I can MAKE a reason out of every situation. I can even choose to see that reason as POSITIVE.

The way I’ve been doing life for years is turning out to be less than ideal. These days, instead of trying to control the uncontrollable, I’m getting comfortable with uncertainty. Just LETTING IT GO. This is beneficial and practical in many areas of my life, and the new business venture has been valuable…. getting comfortable with rejection & hearing “no” over and over again. Or getting no response at all. Making phone calls…to STRANGERS! Do you know how scary a phone call is??? Of course you do! That’s why you don’t do it!!! (text, tweet, post….but CALL? NO.)

Through Arbonne, Yoga, and the courage to dream and participate in life, I’m slowly pushing myself outside the comfy introverted box that I know and love. In the last 45 days I’ve tried a lot of new things, some of which were very scary, and I feel a shift in my outlook. There’s a happy little optimistic space in my heart opening up.

Self-awareness is improving in the process. Funny revelation… I’m NOT punctual. I’ve always thought I was, but after apologizing for my lateness at a third workshop in a row, I realized, hey, this is me. I’m one of THEM! The late guys!

I also procrastinate. Take this blog for example…it was “due” 14 days ago. Shame on me. But I chose to do other important things. Like sleep. And Netflix.

Preparation is important. But if necessary,  I can opt to throw it out the window and go with the flow. Procrastination?….I’ll work on it. Tomorrow. Punctuality….well, that means dealing with the first two P’s, so improvement is in the works! Let’s add another very important “P”  Present. BE PRESENT. Much to the credit of daily meditation, I’m becoming present more often. Forget yesterday, forget tomorrow, and just breathe. 5 minutes there, 5 minutes here. There’s not enough time in the day to talk about the benefits of this. Be PRESENT friends! All you have is this minute, right now. What a beautiful thing. When I show up, late and unprepared to a workshop, I still get to be fully present with a client, with a friend. PRESENCE is a marvelous gift.

That just leaves us with Pineapple. Who would have thought Pineapple could crash a party, ruin your day, and potentially end someone’s life? I’m here to tell you it’s possible!

Picture this… my most recent workshop… where I was actually ON TIME, WELL PREPARED, and READY TO GO…. Things were grooving along, samples of protein shakes and fizzy sticks were passed, and someone asks the question….”Which drink has pineapple in it?”

“None of them” I replied. Of course, I didn’t know the answer. My ego spoke up and answered before I could even process the question. “I already checked. Nothing has pineapple.”

Someone else said…”Yes there is. It says it right here.”

The first voice spoke up again. “I could tell, cuz’ my tongue is numb, my throat….”

Oh, S#*@^. Get the Epi Pen.

Spoiler alert, my dear guest lived to laugh at me another day.

Self awareness grew exponentially that day. The resources were available for ingredients of every product, but I hadn’t taken the time to really learn how to use the online tool. I skimmed instead, with near devastating and extremely humiliating results. Gratefully, graciously, my guest smiled and said “Aren’t you lucky I’m around to teach you a lesson?”.

The Grand Moral of the story is, I’ve grown along this Arbonne Journey. Humbled and hopeful, I’m beginning to know what I don’t know. There’s no magic 8 ball to tell me how everything is going to turn out. There will be mishaps, mistakes, and hopefully no more medical emergencies!

The point of this blog was to TRY some new things. TRY Arbonne as a healthy addition to my life, and as a business. TRY to write a blog. TRY new things that scare me. The verdict is, SUCCESS!!!

Due to my procrastination in documenting the finale, as you read this it’s been more like 50 days from the start instead of 30, but the following were accomplished within the first 20 days of trying….

A happier digestive tract! Brighter, Clearer skin. Pounds and inches lost. The supernova on my right cheek still exists, but I gave out the “Genius Resurfacing Pads”  and “Genius Ultra Device” as samples so often, I personally didn’t get quite 10 days worth of use yet.

(I can’t believe I’m putting this picture here. I’m making it really small, because although I’m proud of myself, it’s SCARY to be this vulnerable!)

In early October I received my first paycheck as a “network marketing professional”, and was promoted to District Manager in just over a month. Not bad for just “trying something out”. I credit my amazing team and newfound determination. Also, credit to the self – improvement books I didn’t think I needed to read, but promised to Try.  Thank you Stephani and Michelle. (On Fire by John O’Leary..life changing read)

Besides an improvement in my physical health and wellness…..I’m learning that even when I feel down, disappointed, & scared, I don’t have to buy in. The feelings can pass, while I get to keep moving forward. I can do big scary things that I thought were impossible, including being vulnerable right here.

I’ve gained the friendship and support of other professionals around the country (and can’t wait to meet them all in Vegas next Spring!!) Cheesiness and all, I can’t say enough about my excitement for the future far and near. I’ve learned to try, try again. Give it the old college try. Fail, Fail better. To sometimes get brave and say “Yes”, when I feel like saying “No Freaking Way!”.

Thank you, all of you, (all 10 of you)? For reading along & giving me a platform to stay somewhat accountable on this journey.

BTW….Did you know a blog is supposed to be less than 600 words? Yes?!?! Why didn’t you tell me??? JK. I wouldn’t have listened. Thanks for reading all my words. Thanks for the support.

Go try something yourself…Try Arbonne in fact, at my workshops. Host a workshop. Even better, join my team.

Whatever you do, whatever you try, have courage. Be Present, & Don’t ever be afraid to Try.

Peace, Until we try this again….

Tiffany