Twenty years squeezed into a page and a half….

My name is Jean Hope and I am trained as a school counselor, hold a BLS in Psych and a M.Ed. and Counseling; spent years in the schools with children of all ages; doing all the things that counselors do.  It was both a brutal and richly rewarding job and I loved it.  But because there was such a need beyond what I could do as a school counselor I was also working toward my clinical license for professional counseling. 

Then the unthinkable happened. My husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer and in four months he was gone.  For those who have experienced this, it rocks your world.  After a couple of years, I realized my passion for counseling had died too, it was time to leave the school.  However, I knew that my passion for helping others was still alive.  

Along with being a ‘helper/encourager/counselor type, I also became interested in everything wellness which usually includes somewhat of a departure from traditional ideas to a more alternative way of thinking, living and treating illness. I devoured books on these topics and, guess what, I loved it, but wondering what do I do with this?

At just the right time I found Arbonne, an international health and wellness company. I moved from working with children to working with mostly women.  And, I loved everything about it – the culture, the fabulous women and the high performance pure, safe and beneficial wellness products that were Swiss formulated, but USA made. These products did wonders for me physically and the “building a business” part gave me a new hope and a new passion.  But I got to a certain level in my business and I could go no further.  I knew something was terribly wrong, but I didn’t know what.  I tried everything to find the fix, spent thousands, but nothing worked and it all came to a sad and screeching halt. While I still love, use and recommend the wonderful Arbonne products, my dreams of a successful business are only a memory.  What’s next?

One thing I did know was that I needed to make some money – so where can you do that when you live in a little rural place as I do?  Go to Washington DC and work for lobbyists on K Street and that’s what I did. And I began praying to be led to what God really had planned for me.

At this point, it’s now been years since my husband passed away. I had begun to ask daily about my purpose.  I knew that when the timing was right my purpose would be revealed and it would be the perfect fit. 

I left my job on K Street because of a potentially life-threatening diagnosis I received.  So, through my quest to heal myself and my interest in holistic healing, I learned that pure essential lemon oil was one remedy and I found do-TERRA, a company whose oils are so pure Johns Hopkins uses them in their cancer research.  Suddenly, there were ‘oil’ people around me everywhere.  I enjoyed learning about the beneficial attributes of oils and met the most interesting and wonderful new friends.  On one occasion, I overheard the words, ‘emotion’, ‘emotions’, ‘trapped emotions’, ‘changed life’...WAIT one minute HERE, I thought...emotions, that’s almost like a mating call, I’m still a counselor, and we’re all about an ‘emotion’!! – you know, the old, ‘how does that make you feel?’ question counselors are so fond of.  Well!  It made me feel real excited, that’s how!  So, as one driven like a parched wo-man in the desert, I implored the person to tell me where I could find what she had found – she didn’t, but…