To say the past couple months have been an internal struggle is an understatement.
Was I confused? Was I dissatisfied? Or is there some other crazy reason why I’d leave the career I was so passionate about and a company I had worked at, for 12 years?
If you’re looking for me to dish up some juicy drama, you’re going to be disappointed.
About 5 or so years ago, my gifted and talented wife, Vanessa, started this website.
Passionate about fitness, nutrition and helping others, Vanessa worked at Life Time Fitness as a personal trainer and Regional Metabolic Specialist. She left Life Time, after several years of struggling with her energy levels, later diagnosed as adrenal fatigue, to focus on regaining her health.
About a year into her recovery, Vanessa found she desperately missed helping people. She will say it was at my insistence, but I don’t recall it that way, she started Healthy Living How To and began sharing healthy recipes.
What started out as a hobby, over time developed into an outlet to reach millions of people looking for solutions on how to live a healthier lifestyle. Something we are both passionate about.
Last year, Vanessa introduced Young Living Essential Oils to her readers and another venture was launched–Healthy Living With Essential Oils, has grown beyond our wildest imaginations over the past twelve months.
This fast growth forced Vanessa to make a decision on where she focused her time and energy. She chose to spend her days, nights and weekends, supporting her essential oil team and let the blogging temporarily go.
As early as last June, she was asking me to join her on this journey. She would ask for my help in the evenings and on the weekends. She actually made it her goal to replace my income, so I would have no other choice but to do this “thing” with her.
And this is when the internal struggle began. I kept asking myself, “do I stay where I am, and know that I have a safe and secure career with my corporate role at Life Time, or do I take a small risk and jump in with Vanessa?”
After a lot of deliberation and soul searching, here’s why I made the decision to leave Life Time Fitness and join Vanessa full-time.
1. I don’t want to regret that I didn’t take a chance.
If you’ve followed Healthy Living How To for the past few years, you may know that Vanessa’s mom, Sharon, has Lewy Body Dementia. She is in a nursing home and requires around the clock care.
None of us know the future, but I found myself asking, “if that happens to Vanessa in 20 years, how much will I regret not taking the advantage of the opportunity to work with my wife when I had the chance?”
Whether something happens to one of us tomorrow, or we’re healthy for the next 60 years, I didn’t want to leave the door open for regrets.
Some might say they “like” going to work to get a break from their spouse. That’s not us. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to work with my wife.
I believe as a team, we are stronger working together than apart. Together we can have an amazing impact on the health of millions of people.
2. I believe in the potential of Healthy Living How To reaching others.
This website is an amazing vehicle for sharing, educating and inspiring others to live healthier lives.
With the growth of Healthy Living With Essential Oils, Vanessa hasn’t had much time to create new content for several months. With both of us working on the business together, I’ll be able to create some new content and she will hopefully be freed up to contribute as well.
While we do see the value in creating consistent web-based content, we also both love to do live education. I know at some point we’ll be doing live seminars and workshops, but we have plenty to get done before we tackle that.
For now, most of our live education is teaching Essential Oils 101 Classes.
3. I’m fascinated by the power of therapeutic essential oils.
I’ve read more than 1000 research papers and articles on nutrition, supplements and exercise, and have read numerous books on those subjects as well. When Vanessa first said she was going to get into learning about essential oils, I had no idea what they were.
I was totally missing out.
Every day I’m amazed by the stories I read of how Young Living Essential Oils have changed people’s lives.
For me, I believe they played a significant role, in my quick recovery from a bicep tendon tear and reattachment last year.
We’ve experienced how essential oils can have a positive effect on sleep, digestion, immune support and numerous other areas of both physical and emotional health.
I’m really excited to share how essential oils can complement nutrition and fitness programs.
4. I’m ready for new experiences and new challenges.
Living is really about experiencing as much as we can in the time we’re here. I love reading biographies and autobiographies of successful business people and athletes.
Though I wasn’t expecting it, Total Recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography, was one of the most amazing books I’ve read.
His life is filled with examples of having a vision, setting goals and breaking through barriers to achieve them. To me, the most enlightening aspect of his story was how many unique things he’s experienced.
It reminded me of how much life has to offer.
I know that owning your own business is never easy, but it can be incredibly fulfilling. Especially when the business aligns with your passions.
We’re planning to take advantage of whatever unique experiences and opportunities come our way.
Sincere Appreciation
Of course, I have a sincere appreciation for Life Time Fitness. Over the years, I was able to work with a lot of awesome people. And, as a fitness professional, I don’t think there is a better place to work.
Life Time founder, Bahram Akradi, had a vision for how much better the “health club” experience could be and has been re-defining that experience since 1992. I have a lot of respect for Life Time: The Healthy Way of Life Company.
One of my recent accomplishments, I am really proud of, are two e-books I wrote, that outline Life Time’s unique approach to health and fitness. You can get them for free, so be sure to download Eat Well Live Well and Core 3: The Life Time Training Method.
Looking Ahead
So what does it mean to work with Vanessa on Healthy Living How To and Healthy Living with Essential Oils?
I’ll do some writing, some teaching, and the general, boring, behind the scenes business stuff.
One of my goals is to help people understand how therapeutic essential oils can play a powerful role in a health and fitness program.
Who knows what things will look like in five years? I never would have guessed five years ago that we’d be able to do this thing together, so I have no idea what to expect five years from now.
Vanessa has built a very unique platform for reaching people and our mission, together, will be to have an even greater impact and to keep on changing lives for the better.
