I remember the euphoria I experienced doing handstands and cartwheels in my first after-school gymnastics class. I knew gymnastics would be a big part of my life immediately. That freedom of expression I found became an inseparable part of who I am today.

My dad worked a lot while my mom stayed home to raise six kids. Since my older brother was born with a mental disability, I became ‘mommy’s helper’. As my dad’s insurance business grew, we started to enjoy weekends water skiing, camping, and snowmobiling with the new toys his expanding business afforded us.

His self-employed lifestyle and ‘residual income’, the new money term I became familiar with, was planted in my mind. A teenager at that time, the thought of working for someone else, confined to the corporate structure in an office every day, wasn’t appealing. I had already planted that seed of entrepreneurship; I just didn’t know what that would look like.

In 1983, I finished my gymnastics career, graduating from the University of Oregon with a Journalism degree. Within months, I married my college sweetheart and followed him to Detroit, MI, where he played professional football for the next seven years.

As a “football wife,” I kept busy with charity work and side interests. Upon moving back to Oregon, I kept busy as a stay-at-home mom with a two-year-old son Bryan and daily outings teaching fitness classes at local clubs.

My life changed forever when I got a call from a girlfriend who was excited about a new skincare line and wanted me to try it. I had never heard of this brand. She told me it wasn’t available on a retail shelf, only from friends sharing with friends.

My skin changed as soon as I tried it, and people noticed. Getting impressive results with the casual sharing of something fueled my introduction to network marketing.

That year was a blur with moving into a new house, motherhood, fitness classes, and the new business that was paying me more like a hobby… $100s a month in the beginning. It wasn’t until I received a check for over $5000 a month that I considered it a real business. It was the newest avenue for that freedom of expression I cherished. This was only the beginning.

The same day my check arrived in the mailbox, I received a phone call from an associate in the company I had never met before, explaining his check increased dramatically because of the team I was building. I told him I was just about to call the company because I thought they made a mistake sending it to the wrong person.

I was assured the money did belong to me… and congratulated for becoming an Executive. Within six weeks, I was at the company convention, where I found the Founders to be sincere visionaries. The leadership was expansive, as I observed by attending many training sessions. I already knew I loved the products, so the last thing I needed to find out was how the money was made.

The turning point came as I sat in the front row of a room with two hundred distributors learning from a guy making $50,000 a month. This company was going into its seventh year of operation. After all the x’s and o’s were crisscrossing the chalkboard, I remember sitting in my chair rocking back and forth.

I could barely contain myself as my mind opened to what was possible for my family if I put some sweat equity into the business by expanding a network of consumers, part-timers, and business builders.

I put blinders on for the next six years, helping many people start their businesses while adding our second child to the family. At the peak of my success, where I reached the top rankings and my income was earned without my day to day participation…my world came crashing down when I was confronted with a husband who wanted out.

My greatest blessing was to get the business in our divorce and find out the income I had coming in every month didn’t stop just because I stepped aside. The product loyalty was easy because these products were results oriented and you couldn’t get them anywhere else.

So I cocooned my children, trying not to disrupt their private schools, sports training, and music lessons over the critical years of their lives. Residual or Recurring income afforded me the ability to stay home and raise my kids through college.

My empty nest feeling went from serenity to boredom when my children moved out, and as fate would have it, I got a phone call from a former colleague encouraging me to check out a new company she was leading a group of entrepreneurs that was growing, We both knew any company we’d align with had to meet 5 criteria and get a 10 out of 10 on each to even consider putting our name/reputation out there. Susan had done her homework and was leading a team of 100,000’s when after year 5 of her calling me….I finally said YES! I did my due diligence and the COMPANY, PRODUCTS, COMPENSATION, TRENDS/TIMING & LEADERSHIP passed with flying colors….. I was in!

I found myself on a plane just two weeks after Christmas, flying out to an annual convention where I fell in love with the people, vision, products, and the compensation that pays brand new people and top leadership in that company. I have since dedicated my life to helping people find their freedom.

With this company, my experience and a supportive team surrounding me….I know I can lead thousands of people away from physical and financial pain and towards a life they design for themselves and their families through BRAND PARTNERSHIP MARKETING. I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing at 62yrs young than empowering other women to TAKE THEIR POWER BACK!