Warrior Mama Journey

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Optimal Oils

10 Must Haves for Your Company Convention

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Its network marketing convention season! Such an exciting time and I cannot wait to see what each company releases.

Have you been feeling unmotivated with your current tribe and maybe a little lackluster with your efforts?  Are you on the other end of the spectrum and so ready to take your team to the next level with the new products and training’s offered?

Either way convention will leave you motivated to tackle any challenges you have and renew any waning motivation with speakers, new products and industry related training. You’ll leave with renewed vigor.

If you are on the fence about going to convention I can help you right now. Go. Go every year. Meet as many people as you can and soak it all up! With that being said if you aren’t quite sure what to expect or what to bring to ensure your time is well spent I have put together a list of “must-haves” to help you.

10 Must Haves for Your Company Convention:

  1. Business cards! Lots of people don’t think of this because you think you are going somewhere to be surrounded by other people in the same company but you’re still making connections. You still want to keep in touch with people and expand your network (even your support network) and the easiest way is to exchange business cards. Plus, you truly never know when an opportunity arises to talk to someone about what you do. Chances are you will be descending in masses to a city and people who don’t know about your company may ask you questions. Maybe someone at the airport or on the airplane at the hotel etc. don’t miss a chance to share your story.
  2. Snacks! Usually your general sessions are for long time periods and even if you are used to not eating for long time periods there is something about just sitting and listening to speakers that rev up your appetite. Maybe your excitement just burns more energy?! Not sure but quick and easy snacks for during convention like granola bars, any kind of nuts, cut veggies etc. Anything that doesn’t smush or go bad in a bag during the day. You’ll also want snacks for any time spent in the hotel room. Quick tip- if you are flying and don’t want to pack snacks look for a local grocery store with delivery service or google delivery service (usually available in big cities) and have snacks for the duration of convention delivered to your hotel. Or friend someone with a rental and go on a food run! There is of course always rideshare.
  3. Extra power chargers for your phones. You will be taking lots of pictures and/or videos. Like, a lot. This is one I wish someone had told me for my first convention. Those slides go fast, speakers speak fast. Sometimes taking a quick picture of the slide or a video is the best way to capture that information. This will drain your battery quickly. I honestly recommend multiple back up chargers, they range from around $5-$10 for the very basic ones. I bring a 4 back up so I can use two each day and charge two other ones. Its just easier.
  4. Refillable water bottle and Travel Coffee mug. I can pretty much guarantee wherever your convention is located there will be a way for you to refill a water bottle. One that is at least 32oz is probably best and if you like cold water you might want to invest in something like a hydro-flask. It’s also nice to have a mug for coffee to bring from your hotel or Starbucks to keep your coffee warm longer.
  5. Comfortable/Sensible shoes. Though for big portions you will be sitting and listening there is also inevitably lots of walking. Walking to a product showcase, walking to and from a close hotel, walking to food for your lunch breaks. My convention usually has 2 close by convention spaces across the street from each other but they are so big and there is so much walking between the two for the different trainings etc. that I value the comfort of my shoes.
  6. Sweater/Light jacket. Even if you are headed to Tampa! The thing is there are going to be thousands of people packed in one space, the A/C will be on full blast and the temperature inside will vary. It’s no fun to be cold.
  7. Extra bag for your “stuff”. No matter what you think about how much you will actually buy, make sure you have enough room for at least 25% more (or if you’re like me about 50%!). There will possibly be new products to purchase and bring home, a swag store (this is my Achilles heal) and you just never know what you’ll just “have to have”. I personally bring a soft duffel inside my one suitcase for extra space.
  8. Pen/Paper. Usually this will be provided for you but if you’re like me having your own notebook and pen makes me happier. Our company gave us a notebook that had a binding so you couldn’t lay it flat etc-this drove me bonkers. Plus, personally I love any excuse to buy more office type supplies and pretty pens.
  9. Though most things are credit card ready you’ll be surprised that some things won’t! We have food trucks come park by our location (very smart of them) and some take only cash. Some little food carts inside our building only take cash. Lastly- you’ll probably end up dining with people and its sometimes easier to split the bill with cash. It’s much easier to bring cash versus finding your own bank or getting hit with ATM fees.
  10. Personal miscellaneous items that you might not think of. Tissues, there will be tear-jerker stories. There just will. Bring a little travel size package of tissues. Lip balm especially if going to a new and/or drier climate. Head or neck tension- again this could be due to elevation changes or just the massive input of sensory type activities but I inevitably get some episodes of tension and don’t want to buy $8 package of 2 Advil. I use essential oils so for me this is Deep Blue. If you are sensitive to time changes maybe some jet-lag medicine as you’ll probably be arriving somewhere and need to hit the ground running. Travel first aid kit or if nothing else band aids. You’ll be a savior for anyone that gets a blister with their non sensible shoes!

Last on my list is not tangible and more than likely second nature but go with an open mind. They may be teaching things you don’t know if you agree with yet. Pushing you out of your comfort zone. This is good! Massive growth happens outside that fear zone.

#BeInspiredToChange

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What Are Essential Oils and Where to get them

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What Are Essential Oils?

I get asked this question a lot and I totally understand why! When I started my essential oil journey over 5 years ago I had never heard of essential oils. I won’t go so far as to say I thought they were hippie black magic…but… I just couldn’t understand how these oils could be so powerful. Nowadays you’ve probably heard someone somewhere mention essential oils. Seen them on store shelves. Seen the DIY projects on your Pinterest boards for sugar scrubs and the like.  But you still don’t have the answer to exactly what they are?!

I like to explain the oils initially by referencing the world around me. If you think about it, each and every living thing has their own innate ability to protect itself. Their “life blood” so to speak. Those properties which are innate in them are what we can distill and use on us. When the oils are grown in the right conditions, harvested at the right time and distilled properly they support our body’s intrinsic function to be healthy and happy. At a cellular level we share many characteristics with plants. Therefore it makes sense our bodies can readily absorb the oils and utilize them in much the same way plants do with similar outcomes.

Another example is if you’ve smelled a flower you have experienced the aromatic quality of an essential oil. These naturally occurring, volatile aromatic compounds are found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants. There are over 3000 volatile compounds identified to date and the type of volatile compound in the essential oil determines its benefit to us.

Oils & Purity

In this post I won’t debate different company’s oils or their efficacy but I will say a few things on quality. There is one true statement that applies to all oil companies. What is inside the bottle is not overseen by any government agency like the FDA. I think I can also safely say that we don’t want it governed. Thus the onus lies on us to determine the best oils to use. What this means to you is that you can see 100% Frankincense and it can actually have less than 5% of the oil. The rest can be fillers like weeds, additives, chemicals etc.

So, how do you know the oil you are using is pure? Do your own research. I can’t stress this enough. I started using essential oils while I was pregnant with my first son. In short I used them while pregnant, during labor, postpartum and on a newborn. I repeated all that when I had my second son. If I wasn’t 100% confident in the oils I was using I was doing my family a disservice.

Who do you choose?

I chose doTERRA for a few reasons. The main reason was they send every batch of oil out for 3rd party quality testing after they test it in house. This to me ranked highest on my list of confidence in these oils. This level of testing and the quality of the oils is why doTERRA labels their oils as CPTG (Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade). You can also search every batch of oil and the test information via the batch number on the bottle and going to their website and entering it. Like I mentioned earlier, the harvesting process from beginning to end is imperative for the efficacy of the oils.

And though I love their compensation plan and I’ve found personal success with many of the oils and products there is so much more to doTERRA that makes me love this company and every year I go to convention I get connected more and more to their WHY.

Why I love doTERRA

doTERRA coined the term co-impact sourcing. doTERRA is committed to making a difference in the lives of the farmers, harvesters and distillers of the countries that supply us our oils. doTERRA sources from more than 40 countries, half of which could be considered underdeveloped. They contract with the local growers and pay them a fair wage via a sustainable job creating a reliable income for them.

In addition, as a part of their Healing Hands foundation, doTERRA provides funding in some of these underdeveloped countries. This funding helps to provide them getting running water, medical clinics and schools. So knowing that my ylang ylang comes from it’s indigenous country of Madagascar not only makes me feel confident in the properties of these oils it makes my heart feel good about the impact we are having on their lives.

I would love to discuss in more details any questions you may have about essential oils. You can contact me HERE

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How to Layer Essential Oils

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A frequent question I get asked is how to apply multiple oils to the skin. This is called layering. So, How to layer essential oils? Is there an art to this? Should one go before another? Should you wait in between each essential oil? This can all be answered very simply with “yes”.

Blend vs layering?

Quickly I just want to point out that there is a difference in a blend and in layering.  A blend takes time and specific chemical requirements done in a lab to get the ultimate blend of two or more oils based on their cellular components thus creating an all new oil. Layering is applying one oil, letting it absorb then moving to the next.  You will get benefits from both applications and one is not necessarily better than the other. I find layering useful when I have a concern that has multiple components like a sprained wrist.

Cautions

First is please ensure that your oils are properly diluted if necessary. There are two references to applying oils. If an “oil” is hot like Oregano you always want to apply with a carrier oil (Coconut oil, Olive oil, grapeseed oil etc). When not diluted these oils can have a burning sensation on the skin.  If there is no need to dilute you will see the reference to apply “neat”. I personally always dilute when applying to my body as it helps with the ease of application and increases the surface area that I can reach with the oil.

How to Layer

I’ll go back to my reference of a sprained wrist.  There are a few responses your body is most likely having like swelling, pain, and possible strains to the muscles, ligaments and joints. There are oils that support your body’s ability to heal itself.  Here is an example of layering for the sprained wrist:

  • Cypress oil helps your body relax and revitalize
  • Deep blue will provide a comforting sensation of cooling and warmth the problem area
  • Lemongrass acts as an overall tonic to the body’s systems
  • Wintergreen is soothing and stimulating

Each oil can be applied then you would want to wait about 5 minutes and add the next oil.

Enhancers and Drivers

There is some truth to oils and/or carriers being able to help enhance the oil and help further drive it into our skin. Here is a very brief science lesson to help explain what I mean.

Our skin is a waterproof barrier to the outside world. The outside skin our “epidermis” is made of a layer of cells held together by bonds that are made up of fatty acids. Which if you think about it makes sense that our skin can repel water but an oil, any oil,  would be readily absorbed. Right?

It would be great if all the oil we applied got through our epidermis barrier but that is simply not the case. It is still a barrier and it is believed that only around 10% of the essential oil will make it through.

So, how can we improve that? With an enhancer. This enhancer would actually help the oil get through by inhibiting the skin from performing at it’s top barrier functionality. So our oil could cross much quicker! If your enhancer is water based you are spreading the surface area of “attack” and gives the essential oil more movement to penetrate. Paired with a “driver” essential oil that helps penetrate quicker by interrupting that fatty acid barrier and you’ve set yourself up for the best absorption. The oils that have been shown to help with that are citrus oils like lemon and wild orange.

Bringing it all together

To help essential oils get into our skin more quickly you would want your carrier or enhancer to be a water based lotion or cream giving those oils the best playing field to get in. Secondly you would want to pair your oil with a driver, like lemon, that helps it to penetrate deeper.

I do want to say that though there are definitely some tips and tricks to get the most out of your essential oils sometimes the most important thing is getting the oil on! If you have a bee sting just get the lavender and apply it! Don’t run around looking for your carrier and your driver.

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