I was not always so passionate about natural health and well-being. I didn't know about how my body worked or what using harmful products could do to it. I didn't even know what a harmful product was!
I used to eat horrendous food, had cupboards full of all the name brand chemical cleaning products (even if I didn’t use them all that much) and just followed the masses in how to “care/suppress” for my body’s health.
It all started when I questioned the cleaning practices used in the business I was working at when I was about 23 and how they could be affecting my health.
It certainly wasn't trumpet blazing “ah ha” moments that changed my approach. It was a lot of "what if" moments that led me to looking into what we were doing and how it could be affecting me and my family. I started to ask: What if this isn't good for us? What if doing this is causing damage to my body? Could there be a better, safer way?
The passion for a more natural approach to life came through many years of running a pet care business and making big changes to how I did things when I started to question the safety of many practices. I didn’t really do things the “normal” way. Many decisions made were some of the first in the industry and not something that was widely done or accepted.
When we made the decision to start a family everything shifted. I was not only responsible for my own wellbeing, I now had to consider the babies/children and what was going to be best for them. I realised the importance my decisions had for the health and well-being of our children and it changed things dramatically. It just got real and I became a lot more focused on trying to make the best decisions for them and their long term health, and also the world that they would inherit.
I researched and researched some more. I made HUGE changes and big decisions about what we would have in our home. I learned about so many things like the concerns of BPA in plastics, chemicals in shampoos and body products, makeup, air fresheners, toxins in our water, clothes, food and so much more. It certainly opened a Pandora’s box! I made decisions not to use a lot of things. It didn't make sense to put something on and in our bodies that I knew was toxic. I still don’t understand why so many things, which are toxic to us, are allowed and accepted widely.
I was learning about and using all sorts of natural products (some my husband would bring back from America when he was over there on trips for work). I learned how God created the world with pretty much everything we needed around us in the sun, plants, air and water and that we were meant to thrive in this environment. We started eating organic food as much as possible, avoiding certain things I had learned were toxic to our bodies and making informed choices, I certainly wasn’t perfect, I’m still not. I now make informed choices rather than just doing something because that is how it is done. I didn't really have any idea about being able to make my own products and I just thought it was too hard and time consuming – because I had been conditioned to think that way (I was wrong!).
I wase introduced to doTERRA essential oils when our 12 month old daughter Millie struggled with a respiratory issue. Although we had a cupboard full of natural options that we had used for many things, nothing had ever worked as quickly or effectively. It was very impressive to me and made me want to look deeper into how essential oils worked.
This led us to embracing a lifestyle that included using essential oils and learning about the many ways they can be used. I learned how simple it was to make many of the products around our house that I bought elsewhere and could replace them all in our home with simple, cheap and safe ingredients.
During the time I was running my pet care business, my husband was full time in the Air Force and as a pilot he would often leave at short notice for an unknown amount of time to fly in and out of war zones.
I was trying to support a business that was not doing real well financially at the time, mother a young child and try and keep it all together. On top of this I was concerned that one day I would have 2 uniforms turn up at my front door telling me my husband wasn’t coming home. Unfortunately these years were very dark and traumatic for me. I eventually hit burnout and needed hope for a new direction in my life.
As I started to use oils more I couldn’t help but share them with others. I used them in my pet care business and I found great results not only for the animals in our care, but the staff who worked for me had amazing results with their moods and emotions. I had such dramatic transformations using them that I wanted everyone to have access to them as well.
I came up against many of the issues I had in my natural pet care business, where people were a bit wary of something natural. It all seemed a bit out there and was a bit of a stretch for many. I didn’t understand why people wouldn’t give them a try. Many people had no problem with taking a pill for a headache but were so cautious about the safety of using lavender oil to help. It didn’t make sense to me as I had researched natural products for such a long time, I knew they were going to be better than a synthetic option. I realised many just weren’t able to see them as solutions after years of conditioning, or it just wasn’t the right time for them.
doTERRA gave me the vehicle to sell my successful pet care business of 15 years, that I had well and truly burnt out from. I had another job I could transition easily into and I spent many years teaching people solely about using essential oils to solve so many of their problems and as a tool to help them lead a more natural life. Over time, talking exclusively about essential oils took me away from many of the other natural options I had been using before essential oils came into my life, but I never really saw that happening. I loved hearing about the simple and often dramatic results they would have when they turned to oils and it drove me on as I just wanted to help as many people as possible.
One of the other things that I am so grateful to doTERRA for, is the amount of growth and discovery that I have had as I embraced an essential oil business full time. I learned so much about myself as I was pushed out of my comfort zone and tried new things. I connected with God on a deeper level as I went through layers of discovery and most importantly, I found my voice. I used to keep my thoughts to myself and hide, but I have learned to embrace so many things about who I am and share them in the hope they would help others. I am not the same person I was in 2014 when I first started to learn about and use essential oils, the change has been dramatic.
As I was sharing essential oils with my friends and family, I realised there was a lack of places to source products and accessories to use with oils. Being someone who has always loved retail, I started to offer a range of roller bottles, books and accessories for our oil community from our home, and we started selling online soon after. The opportunity came to take over Oils for Life, an online essential oil & DIY ingredient business in early 2019 and my husband and I jumped at it as we saw what an amazing gift it was. We wanted to share with and support others along this journey to live life to the full and embrace a more natural lifestyle.
What I have loved about having this new venture is how I have rediscovered my knowledge of other natural products that can be used alongside essential oils and I can share this knowledge with others. I now get to support people not only using essential oils, but also tapping into the huge range of God given natural, plant-based options that can be used for our health and wellbeing. I love that I can still help people connect with the most powerful and potent essential oils on the planet, while also providing resources and supplies to help support their choices to move into a more natural life.
I have learned so much on my journey and am still learning all the time. I know what it is like to start walking down the natural lifestyle path when it all seems a bit overwhelming, difficult and confusing.
If you are looking to access high quality essential oils, along with products, ingredients and supplies that make a difference not only to your life, but to everyone and our precious environment, I would love to help you.
If you would like to contact me, please call 0403159571 or send an email here
