Happy International Women’s Day! I have wanted to share something for a while, but it never seemed like the right time. Now I know, the universe was waiting for me to share it on this special International Women’s day! There are so many women that I think of today that are on our team, colleagues in doTERRA, women I have met travelling around the world, friends of mine, that I am so proud of! I am so proud of the circle of women around me! Today, I want to share the story of two of the most powerful women in the world to me, that have played a key role, in molding the person I am today in business and in life!
Let me take you back about 20 years, when I started my career in the government, by volunteering as a secretary. My dad always told me, if you can get a job with the government, you have it made! In the same breath, he would also tell me how hard it is to get a job with the government. My mind interrupted this as, “my dad will be so proud of me if I get a job with the government”. As the apple of my dad’s eye, all I wanted to do was to make my mom and dad proud of me. I worked so hard as I volunteered counting keyboards and other computer parts as I wanted them to see what a hard worker I was. After three weeks, they offered me a fulltime position! I will never forget the look on my dad’s face! My dad would have been proud of me no matter what I did, but I knew this was a big deal to him. As I started my career with the government, I did anything they needed. Yes, I was finishing University for my Computer Science Degree, but I knew I had to prove myself, not only because of my age, but because I was a woman, in a male dominant environment. Whether I was in the back-room coding, or answering phones or counting computers, I did everything with a smile and made sure the job was done correctly. Did it bother me that when they needed someone to go answer phones, take notes, clean up the lunchroom, I was always the one told to do it? YES, it bothered me, but I knew if I wanted to climb the corporate ladder that I needed to do whatever task they gave me, to the best of my ability, and no job was beneath me! When I would see powerful women executives, I would look at them with so much respect. I would think how did they go from where I am today, to where they are now? I started thinking that I may never get a chance to move up in my career, as there was not many women in IT Departments 20 years ago.
Then one day a lady by the name of, Margaret, walked in. She had been to my office several times. She would always joke, about how no man on this floor could answer the phones as good as I do. She would always have a comment, that made me feel like she saw me. Like she knew, I wanted more, and almost validated that she sees what is going on, and how I was being treated as a woman. This particular day, she came off the elevator and she told me that she likes the way I answer the phone, the way I represent the office, and how everything she has ever asked me to do, I do it better than she ever expected. This made my day! I thought if she thinks how and what I am doing is good, I am on the right track! I found out the next day I was going to work directly with this Executive, at the Minister’s office. My jaw dropped. I was so nervous, there was no time to think about it, just clean up your things and go as she is expecting me. This amazing woman took a chance on me, she took me under her wings and taught me the skills I needed, to be a woman in business, in a male dominant field, and how to get a job done without compromising myself as a woman. She told me that the technical skills, business knowledge, tactical skills we can always learn, she would say “I can send you on a course to learn that stuff, but there is no course out there that will teach you how to survive as a woman, be respected for the job you do, stand up for yourself when you know you have been wronged because you are a woman, and climb the corporate ladder being proud of who you are and how you got to the level you want to be.” WOW! I was so honoured that the universe aligned for me to be given this opportunity. She was the first amazing role model that I had in my career. I learned from watching how she handled herself in meetings, how she prepared documents, how she thought. In my time with her I had to teach minister’s, judges, executives on how to use the new Model 55 IBM Computer to the position of modelling how the government would roll out IT programs across our province. I learned so much from her. Don’t get me wrong, there were many times I would cry to her as to why I am being treated this way. Here I was this young girl, coming in, telling judges, lawyers, ministers that this is how they can do their job on a computer, do you think they took that very well? There were so many times I wanted to quit, but I knew I couldn’t, and I didn’t want to. I am so grateful, that this amazing woman, took me under her wing, to guide me on business, in life, as a woman. I wish I knew where Margaret was, because I don’t think she truly understands what she did for me!
Now, let’s fast forward 20 years to when we started our Essential Oil business. When I contemplated to start my oil business, you can imagine the hesitancy I had around it. I knew I loved the product, but to make the decision to do a Network Marketing business. There was no way. No way! This is what my mind was telling me, but I had this pull in my heart that was so strong! I am someone who makes decisions with my mind. I need numbers, statistics, proof, hard cold proof! Every time I would pick up an essential oil bottle, my heart would send this message to my head, “What if? What if this is what is meant for your next journey”. I would shake that thought off every time it came up. Something kept pulling me to read anything I could find on the owners, the company, how do you make money, can I be successful, people who were successful and so on. There was nothing my mind could find that would be the proof I needed to say NO. To say to that pull in my heart that it isn’t possible, here is the proof. There was nothing. There were only real people, who had journeys looking for solutions to their health or financial situation. So I kept digging. It was so important to me to understand the integrity of the company, was it something I could stand behind, even though my mind was telling me not to do an MLM, everyone will laugh at you, you will never succeed, everyone fails at MLM’s, it is a pyramid scheme. As my mind started to get the proof it needed with numbers and facts that this company is for real, the pull in my heart got stronger. It came to the point of either I just say no and continue my life “as is” after my cancer journey, or I give it a try. The more I learned about the company, the owners, people doing the business, I truly realized I found my tribe! These are the people who I want to surround myself with. I go to the point that I honestly did not care what people thought of me doing an MLM. I knew the healing properties of these oils, I knew what they did for me on my cancer journey, I knew I needed to share my story and help so many others get oils in their homes. I knew I needed to do something different. I needed something to fill my soul, and to help others in any way I could. I also knew that my experience and knowledge of how I handled myself building my career, would be beneficial for me to share with so many women wanting to build an essential oil business. My 20+ years in government, I moved into a new position every two years. I started in a voluntary inventory clerk/secretary, the lowest paid position, to an Executive Director! The lessons I learned, many of them thanks to Margaret, I can help so many women in this industry of network marketing! As I quickly launched my essential oil business, I found myself in a position, once again, watching and learning from a very powerful woman. As one of the founding executives, the only female founding partner, I watched her grace, her passion, her drive, and everything she did was full of compassion. I remember saying to myself that if I could only be half as amazing as she is, I will be happy. What was so unique about this amazing woman was that she did all the business “things”, but it was with heart, compassion, love! Don’t get me wrong, I loved what I learned in my government career, but not too many decisions were made from your heart! Seeing this powerhouse owner of an international, billion-dollar company, lead from the heart, make decisions from the heart, I was star struck! I knew, this company didn’t fall on my lap just because I needed the oils for my health, this company was going to change my life, and it did!
Early in 2017 I was at a business training. It was late at night, we were sitting around the table, we all had our laptops in front of us, and a Facebook message popped up. It was from Emily Wright. My heart stopped. The person sitting next to me, looked at me and asked me what was wrong. I pointed at the message. He told everyone to stop and look at the message from Emily! I was giddy! When I opened the message she said, “Your name came up at a meeting I was at today, and you sound pretty amazing. Can’t wait to get to know you”! I just could not believe it. The women who I had been admiring for a year or two, who I idolized, who I knew I was meant to learn from, just sent me a Facebook message! Like seriously! Little did I know how much this company called doTERRA would bless my life in ways I never could have imagined.
The first picture below is shortly after I received this message. Darren and I were at leadership with our leaders. Being there with our leaders who locked arms with Darren and I, was joy enough. But when we saw Emily walking through, we were all star struck. Emily hugged me so tight. I could not believe I was in her presence. In every decision in our business, I always do the Emily check, “What would Emily do?” I know how easily I can make decisions based on numbers and facts. The gift Emily and many other women in doTERRA have taught me, that many decisions need to be made with the heart and the mind, not independent of each other! My team all the time says, “Kim, this is what I think Emily would do, what do you think?”. 
Emily is a role model to so many, and I feel so honored to be representing her and doTERRA as I help many build a successful business. To take the business practices I learned in the government from Margaret and combine them with the heart-based leadership that Emily exudes, has helped me create a business that is thriving, and is able to allow women to step into their awesomeness in their own unique way!
The second picture was when Emily asked me to speak at both leaderships for doTERRA, and that same year asked me to speak at the doTERRA convention in China. I still can’t believe till this day, that my story was something they wanted to me to share. That my story could give others hope and continues to give others hope. When Emily asked me to speak, she didn’t give me a topic, guidelines or nothing. She said just speak from your heart. They are having me up on stage, in front of thousands of people, and are just trusting in what I am going to say! I was not used to this. I was used to having each word carefully constructed before I was allowed to speak to anyone in my government job. This was so hard for me, to have a blank canvas in front me, and they trusted me to say whatever was pressed upon my heart! I was so honored. As I started putting my presentation together, it became very clear, and it answered a question I have not been able to answer since my cancer diagnosis. Since I heard those words, “You have cancer”, I always in the back of my mind wanted to know why me? Why me to battle something that was my greatest fear, and why me to face my mortality, why me to be told we don’t know how much time you have, why me! In preparing that presentation to talk in front of thousands, the peace that came over me, the letting go of why me, was so strong! I finally had the answer to why me? Why me was because it took getting cancer, to lead me to where I was, and still am. Getting cancer led me to the blessings of doTERRA. Preparing that presentation, lead me to the peace I needed in my heart to understand why me. To get to where I am today, I wouldn’t change a thing. I am blessed for what cancer has brought to my life and doTERRA being one of them! The picture of Emily holding my hands so tight, against her heart, thanking me for sharing my story, was such a magical moment for me.
When you have been hit with the words you got cancer, it is common you start associating everything in life pre-cancer and post- cancer. I have had so many beautiful conversations with Emily. 
The picture of Darren and I celebrating hitting Blue Diamond, just before that I had received news that my scans were clear. As we walked off the stage, Emily looked at me hugged me and said, “We are celebrating no cancer as well as you hitting Blue Diamond”. Those words touched me to the core. How did she know my scans were clear, and that she would even remember, and that it was important to her? My life mattered to her. I was not used to this in business.
Over the years, as various cancer treatments have come and gone, and the ups and downs of a journey with cancer, you need to celebrate the wins, so you have enough strength to get through the tough times. I am going on 10 years of making decisions that are either saving my life or hurting it. The ever-looming fear that comes with cancer, that hoovers over ever decision you make, leaves you in a state of always wondering, “Is this the start of the end”? Every single conversation with Emily has left me with the drive and love to make decisions that leaves your conscious clear and your heart full of love. My journey with doTERRA has helped me put that fear aside. When I say doTERRA has blessed me, it just hasn’t blessed me, it is the reason why I am here and alive today. doTERRA not only blessed me and my family with the healing benefits of their oils, but they have taught us a way of life that is pure and full of love. A way of life that helps guide you to make decisions from the heart. A way of life that leads you to serve this world in an unselfish way.
doTERRA came into my life, to save my life. doTERRA is not what we do, it is who we are!