When I began using the Arbonne line of wellness products I never imagined what it would bring into my life. I just figured I’d give them a whirl, try out the 30 Days to Healthy Living Challenge and see what happened. The science behind the program seemed legit enough and I figured, meh, I’ve spent more money on dumber things before…this could be another one. And when I signed up to be a client, I answered with a resounding NO when asked if I’d be interested at all in the business opportunity. I never thought I would say yes.

And I have never been happier about being wrong in my life than with those two thoughts. Because had I not said yes to the product line, I would not have had the life-changing health journey I’ve had. And had I not finally said yes to the business opportunity…(thank you to my sister-friend Heidi for not taking my first 2 no’s for a final answer!!) I would not have had the experience I had at the Global Training Conference in May.

Yes. The conference was in May. And here we are, just shy of 6 months later, and I am just now writing about it…. there’s a really, really big reason for that. I am STILL not OK. This event was something like I have never, ever experienced before. The only words I can use to describe it: this conference is a living, breathing embodiment of what the Arbonne culture is all about.

But I have to tell you, I almost passed on going. First of all, it’s in Vegas. We went to Vegas, once, 15 years ago, when my brother got married. And we were NOT fans. We do not gamble. We do not smoke. It was hot. It was crowded. It was sensory overload like you cannot even imagine. Nope, not ever going back there. EVER.

And then, THE announcement came in the email. The keynote speaker was going to be none other than Rachel Hollis. I literally shrieked out loud and could not get to the website fast enough to secure my spot at this event. You see, I am a Rachel Hollis fan-girl. I am totally and completely smitten with her. And as it turns out, I don’t know if I ever would have even known about her if it wasn’t for saying yes to this business opportunity in the first place.

For those of you who don’t know, she is a motivational speaker and New York Times best-selling author of Girl, Wash Your Face and Girl, Stop Apologizing. She and her husband run their media corporation together and put out podcasts, host personal development conferences and a multitude of other ventures (these two never stop). And so I was introduced to her for the first times at one of our Managers’ meetings, where a video was played of her talking about her book Girl, Wash Your Face…and I was hooked. I followed her on social media and that is how the love affair began. And literally the ONLY thing that would EVER get me back to Vegas would be to see her live on stage speaking.

Rachel Hollis was the reason I made the decision to go. But listening to her speak wasn’t the only highlight of these few days. Listening to top income earners within the company, seeing so many recognized for their accomplishments, spending time learning and playing with my team, meeting some of my Arbonne Instagram crushes, and immeasurable numbers of precious memories I will carry with me in my heart forever.

Day One

Day One was all about getting the lay of the land, visiting the boutique, and of course, some all-important poolside bonding time.

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We were also invited to go up to our National Vice President’s suite for a “Champagne and Cupcakes” social hour, welcoming us to the conference experience. To get up to the tower where the VP suites were located, we had to walk forever, through throngs of people. And from behind me, I hear a very distinct accent that I recognize immediately from watching videos and stories on Instagram.

It’s none other than Stuey Armfield, whom I have come to absolutely ADORE on line. I *may* have screeched his name. And when I say I may have, I absolutely and totally did. And then I said, “Stuey, would you take a selfie with me?” and without hesitation, completely graciously and sweetly, he replied, “absolutely, love, let’s do it”. And I. Was. Dead.

After enjoying some special bonding time with our VP and others in our Nation, we went off to get ready for Opening Night. We were meeting up in a sister Region’s room for some pregaming nosh, photo ops (of course) and were gifted with lovely Arbonne logo beach towels.

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New Product Launch

And then it was time to head down to the new product launch. An exciting time, for sure. We had no idea what all was going to be announced, but over the past month had been getting little hints dropped here and there and the excitement was palpable.

Not only did we learn about all the new products, but the science behind them and how they would each better the health and wellness of our clients and ourselves. It was exciting.

And then we went on to enjoy a nice dinner out together with 2 other region teams.

To say that we were exhausted at the end of that day would be the understatement of the year. So back to the hotel we went, to tuck ourselves into bed and ready ourselves for a full day of learning from the best of the best in this company.

Day Two

Friday’s morning session was jam packed full of fantastic talks from various business-owners within Arbonne. But first, was the parade of newly-promoted vice presidents–people who had achieved the 3rd and 4th level of management with the company. One by one, they walked across the stage, waving their country’s flag as their name was announced. Our Nation had a promoted VP walking the stage that morning, making it extra special as we cheered her on.

One of my favorite speakersa of this day was another person I have been following on social media for some time, Dr. Tanda Cook, N. D. She is a naturopathic physician and a huge advocate for the Arbonne product line, as it aligns nicely with her practice and her methodologies.

She gave an amazing talk on the definition of health and ways where we can add health into our lives. Because, as she says, health is not merely the absence of disease. According to the World Health Organization, health is a state of complete mental, physical and social well-being. And so she feels there are several things you need to do daily in order to be in full balance through adding health:

• through food
• drinking water
• mindful breathing
• sleeping in total darkness
• move your body
• play
• support gut health

She also discussed the gut-skin health connection in great detail, giving really great information about how our skin is our largest organ and our first line of defense, so it’s imperative to take care of it from the inside out, through taking probiotics (for the inside) and practicing a good skin care regimen (for the outside).

Another of my favorite speakers of that session was Bassamba Sao. He is a former NBA player–(yes, HE…dudes do Arbonne, too!),and an Executive National Vice President with Arbonne. He spoke about how he was raised by his grandmother and her belief in him drove him, even when he didn’t believe in himself. And his closing message: if you don’t have belief in yourself, borrow someone else’s. It was truly inspirational.

We took a quick break for lunch poolside as a team, and managed to do a quick live on our VPs Facebook page to give a glimpse at the beautiful place we were in and talk about our “why”.

Then it was time to head back into the arena for the afternoon session, loaded once again with several high-level Arbonne business owners providing valuable tips and tricks to grow our businesses. But my favorites were the last two speakers of the day.

The first was Ashley Strong. She is active-duty Air Force and in three years’ time grew her business to a Nation. She spoke about creating a vision so big that it keeps you up at night, and to align your actions to get you there. She explained how dedication and discipline need to equal your desire. Then she hammered her points on how to G. R. O. W.

• GRIT. Which means ridiculous determination. Getting Real Intentional TODAY
• REJECTION. Don’t take rejection personally. It’s not you, it’s what you’re offering.
• OWNERSHIP. If it’s to be, it’s up to me. Step forward to growth. Choose what you want most over what you want now. To master something, you need to do it every day. Remove the option to quit and see what happens.
• WINNING the day. We all have the same 1440 minutes in a day. You don’t need more time, you need better time management.

And then she closed with this thought: Do more so you can have more so you can be more so you can give more.

SO. GOOD!!!

My next favorite closed out the afternoon session and she was a surprise favorite. Rita Davenport, past president of Arbonne for 20 years. When they played the video of her years of speaking (she had her own TV show at one point), I could have sworn I recognized her voice from when I was a kid. My mom most likely watched her at some point.

As soon as she came out, I was smitten. A spitfire little Southern belle, came out dancing like everyone was watching and didn’t give a F.

She was humbled by our rousing welcome, and asked military and their families to please rise so we could acknowledge and honor them. And then she really got going. She had us between laughter and tears the entire time.

Just a few of her gems:

• The teacher will arrive when the student is ready–if you didn’t learn something, it’s because you weren’t ready to.
• God created man first. Then he created woman just to correct his mistakes. My husband said he did it like that because he didn’t want suggestions…and I’da had a few… This woman has GENIUS comedic timing!!
• You need to have belief in yourself. The world steps aside for those who know where they’re going. Lead, follow, or get out of the way.
• She was sponsored by her sister, who told her, if it’s good enough for me, why isn’t it good enough for you?
• She’s very good friends with Dolly Parton…and is the REAL-LIFE Jolene!!! We all went completely insane with that revelation!!
• You need three hugs a day just to keep from being weird–and if you’re not getting them, you’re not giving them. Then she had us all hug one another.
• Your mind only knows what you tell it.

She went on to say that this business is a personal growth business. And she is so spot-on.

She was then presented with a trunk full of thank-you notes. In the months leading up to the conference, we were all invited to write a note of thanks and congratulations (she was retiring) and send it in to be included in this trunk. She was humbled and grateful for it, and ended with a standing ovation.

And with that, it was time to head back to our rooms and get ready for the Grand Awards Gala. This is the formal evening of the conference, when all of the top income earners walk the stage and get recognized for their achievements.

It was, indeed, grand, and beautiful. As were we. We got all dressed up and headed back to the arena. So fancy and so much fun. We cheered on all of those top, still rising stars within the company, knowing that one day, that could be us. We closed out the night by heading over to Fremont Street and walked the Strip, and then again, heading back to our rooms to tuck ourselves into bed.

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Day Three

Saturday morning’s session was started off with the CEO, Jean-David Swartz, who unveiled the updated Arbonne manifesto and a business plan for the company going forward.

This provided so much great information with regards to Arbonne’s dedication to the environment and world; maintaining the highest standards and strictest ingredient policy while improving upon sustainability with environmentally-responsible recyclable packaging and responsibly-sourced ingredients, as well as the intention of becoming a B corporation.

Next up was Peyton Scheibner. This. Girl. Holy cow. She began her Arbonne business at the tender age of 19, while in college to pursue a nursing degree, during which she realized she couldn’t stand the sight of needles or blood.

She had attended an Arbonne presentation as a favor to a family member and never really took it seriously at that time. But when she realized she wanted better than a mountain of student debt, she took a more serious look at the business model and income potential. Smart. Girl. In five years’ time, she has become one of the top income earners in the business and is still growing her business.

And then. I just was not ready. First of all, I was in the same building, the same arena as Rachel Hollis. Someone I have come to admire for her determination, her self-confidence, her drive, her wit and her larger-than-life presence on the internet. She came out and immediately began the biggest dance party I’ve ever been a part of.

And then she started to speak. And first, it was jokes and laughter about peeing your pants and childbirth and all kinds of girl stuff.

Then it got real. Fast.

She told us to not sit in that room and not be our authentic selves. And I felt tears well up in my eyes. My authenticity has been getting me into a bit of trouble as of late, so to have someone I’ve come to admire give me some sort of validation was almost too much. She told us, plain straight up, that we were made this way for a reason. She then caught sight of a girl in the audience who was definitely touched by these words. And Rachel climbed down off of the stage, went out into the audience, and sat with that girl. And she changed her life that day. I think she changed all of our lives that day.

One of her standing themes is to not pay any mind to other people’s opinions. That nobody gets to tell you how big your dreams can be. The only person you have a responsibility to is you.

And then she took us through a guided meditation. She had us close our eyes and think about the one person in our lives who means the most to us. I immediately thought of my husband, and once again, emotion took over and I was a complete and utter mess. Tears flowing. He and I have been a team since we started dating at 15 and 16. He is a part of me and always will be. My staunchest supporter, always pushing me and giving me the courage I need to do the thing I’m too chicken to do.

Then she had us dream our biggest dream we could imagine. And then she had us join hands and feel the energy of one another. Holy cow. It’s hard to describe all the feels that were in that room that day, but man oh man, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house and as we all filed out of the arena, we were all collectively spent.

I mean, have you ever cried for an hour straight??? It’s exhausting!! But what an experience…one I will treasure for as long as I live.

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And so, off we went, to debrief and process all that had happened to us, as a team, for lunch.

There was an afternoon session as well, but to be completely honest, there were five of us that felt like we wanted that time with Rachel to be THE closing of the conference for us. And so that’s what we did. After lunch, we went back over to the boutique, climbed into the shiny white Benz for a photo op, spent some time out at the pool and having fun together. Closed out the day sharing the biggest s’more we’ve ever seen in our lives. It was perfect.

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We spent that night, our last, in the hotel lobby bar, dancing to the DJ, enjoying our last hours together before having to leave this amazing experience. As we said goodnight to each other, our team VP embraced each one of us and spoke so much love, belief and gratitude into our ears, again, leaving us in complete tears.

I actually got the opportunity to speak with Peyton Scheibner briefly. Did not get a picture, but did get a hug from her, and I told her that I admire her so much and I totally want to be her when I grow up…(in case you’re doing the math, yes, that’s hilarious, since she’s the same age as my oldest…) She was gracious and sweet and thanked me for coming over to say hello.

And so I have to tell you, during the conference, I tried to take notes. But then I was losing so much of the experience madly writing things down. I chose to stop and just fully immerse myself in the experience. It was easy to do, because I knew that all of it was being recorded for us to access as many times as we wanted.

And I have watched all of the talks again–mainly in preparation for writing this–except for one. Rachel Hollis’ talk. That one has been embedded in my very being since the moments she was speaking it. And I’m still not okay. I don’t know that I ever will be. But that is what’s okay. I never expected this to have affected me the ways that it did–all the right ways! To sit, together, as a community, with people who, for all intents and purposes are in competition with one another, and learn and grow and share, is something really unique and special. No two businesses look the same. No two “why” stories are the same. Also making it really unique and special.

As Rita Davenport said, this business is a personal development business. You learn more about yourself, your abilities and your hopes and dreams doing this than in any other line of work. She is so not wrong.

Whatever business you may be in, I highly encourage you to attend a conference for that business. It will change your business. It will change your life.