Q: What do you say to your team as words of encouragement?
Q: I’m sure you’ve had ups and downs in the years since 1999. Are there any particularly challenging moments that stick out, ones that caused you to hit pause and reassess your path? A: There was a period of nine years when I didn’t advance, and that was hard. I was constantly telling myself to stop fixating on titles and my own advancement and to try really hard just to be thankful and content. After a while, I convinced myself that I’d grown as much as I was ever going to grow. But something switched in 2015 when I enrolled my friend, Senior Director 5 Lynda Sohal. I’d known her for years and had approached her previously about coming on board, but it was never the right time. Over the years, though, she watched our success story unfold, and she finally sat my husband down and said, “Okay, show me what you guys are really doing here.” It was reinvigorating. I had drifted into a headspace where I believed there was nobody left for me to work with. Enrolling her reminded me that I still had road ahead of me. There was another stretch, closer to the beginning when I first enrolled with Melaleuca, when I just kept getting no after no . And I thought, “This is weird.” I’d been getting basically straight yeses almost every day, or at least I had people asking me to call back another time. But these were hard noes . It started to eat at me a bit. Finally, I took out a piece of paper and wrote this down: “I will never allow anyone’s lack of interest or effort to dictate my success.” I stuck it on the wall in front of me and read it every day. It works when you’re riding high, too, because it’s a reminder that you can only ever really rely on yourself. Without that mental exercise, I would’ve stopped dead in my tracks.
most was Melaleuca’s founder, Frank VanderSloot. He was humble and down-to-earth and had hardworking parents like I did. He earned his way through life. Nothing was handed to him. I still remember when Joan introduced me to Corporate Director 9 Ed Bestoso, her mentor. This was back in 1999. There were no Zoom calls, no cell phones, and very few computers. Ed faxed me a presentation that he had condensed into 15 pages, and he literally talked me through it over the phone. I swear I could hear his posture, his conviction, and his success. I thought, “Here’s a million-dollar earner who wants to help me. Let’s do this.” Q: It sounds like you had a gut feeling you should start a Melaleuca business. Was there any doubt at all? How did you work through it? A: When Joan approached me about Melaleuca, I remember laughing because it was the fifth or sixth time I’d been approached about this company, but I still couldn’t figure out what they actually made. Here’s why: Every person who approached me gave me the exact same lines about how I could be making so much more money, doing so much better for myself, living so much larger, and so on. And I was like, “Huh? Who said I was looking for more money? I’m happy with the business I’m in!” I’ve never been someone who goes after money. That’s not me. Peace of mind comes first. So every time someone from Melaleuca called me and fed me those lines, I’d get turned off. And nobody ever called me twice. When Joan heard this, she said, “Well, that’s a great lesson! Lead with it!”
A: First, don’t doubt yourself. Second, ignore those voices in your head that tell you this is the end of the road. It’s just a speed bump. Don’t confuse it for a dead end. Third, stay focused. Me, personally, I never wavered. I’ve always known this is where I’m supposed to be. Finally, surround yourself with positive people who are making it happen. During that long stretch where I wasn’t advancing, I started meeting up with other successful leaders in Melaleuca to ask them questions: “What are you doing? How are you doing it?” I genuinely wanted to get better, and it paid off. Ultimately, I try to breathe inspiration into my team—to make sure they understand that the life they’ve always dreamed of is possible here. If you’re coachable and you follow my lead and execute what I teach you, you’ll have a great life. I’ve already done it—as have so many people before me—because they followed the Seven Critical Business-Building Activities here at Melaleuca. It’s a proven track record. Q: You’ve talked in the past about how you were almost debilitatingly shy growing up. Do you ever feel like that anymore? How do you combat it? A: I speak at just about every Convention, on that huge stage in front of thousands of people, and let me tell you, I’m a nervous wreck every single time. I don’t eat anything before I go on stage, no matter how late in the day it is. Honestly, I barely even drink water. The nerves are too much. I spend the whole day going over my notes, memorizing everything
12 MARCH 2024 | MELALEUCA.COM/LIA
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