Total Wellness - A Concept of Happiness

By Frank L. VanderSloot
President/CEO

July 2004

As Melaleuca grows it becomes increasingly more evident that we have only scratched the surface as to what our true potential is in regard to changing people's lives - or more accurately stated - helping people change their own lives.

On an almost daily basis I hear the statement, "Melaleuca has really changed my life." I know what they mean and I love hearing the stories of how their lives have changed, but in truth Melaleuca has never changed anyone's life. At best we have created an environment where people have been able to change their own lives. And it truly is a wonderful thing to have happen and to be a part of.

It's because of the many changes in lives that we hear about on a consistent basis that we decided to start calling Melaleuca "The Wellness Company." First because of all the stories we hear about how our products have helped people improve their health and to live longer and more vibrant lives. And second because of the financial prosperity that comes from building a growing Melaleuca business.

It's important that as these stories are told that they be told without exaggeration and without hype. And in their simplest and most basic form many of these stories are awe-inspiring and nothing short of phenomenal.

As our product line has developed and improved over the years we have observed both the stories of improvements in physical health and financial wealth becoming more and more exciting and impressive. As you hear what is happening in people's lives, it is difficult not to be impressed. In most instances hearing of others success inspires healthy activities by those who want to achieve the same success. That is usually a good thing, as long as we learn to maintain balance in our lives. As the financial achievements of our most successful leaders have become known to others, however, we have become aware that the financial success of these leaders has become almost overwhelming for some to contemplate and to seek after. Focusing solely on financial success is where we believe that things can get quickly out of balance.

As human beings, we are all seeking happiness and fulfillment in our lives. It's strange where we look sometimes. Often, people find destruction and despair exactly where they expected to find happiness. I feel society often sends us seeking happiness in the wrong places. Sex, popularity, celebrities, movie stars, skinny bodies, fancy clothes, big houses, alcohol, money, personal possessions and riches are all things that society leads us to believe that if we had them or could become them, we would be immensely happy. Deep inside, we know those concepts and messages are false, yet we still seek after those things. It's weird, but undeniably true. We seek happiness in places we know we will not find it!

It's the money or "riches" part of this scenario that I feel is our responsibility to address. Because the financial opportunity that we provide is becoming so immensely successful for so many, I think we need to stop a minute and remind ourselves and everyone around us that money will not make us happy, nor will it fix all of our problems. In fact, having a lot of money will only create more problems if we are not careful.

True happiness and true peace of mind and joy come from other things besides money. I do not want to play down the benefits of prosperity. Prosperity brings a whole lot of blessings, but in itself will not bring happiness. When people look to us for money I think it is our responsibility to say, "We can provide you with the world's best opportunity to make money, but you will not find happiness there unless you develop the other areas of wellness in your life." That's why we have developed the "Total Wellness Concept."

It has been my experience that we find true happiness only as it relates to our own inner growth. We find happiness in relationships with others - especially within our own family. We find happiness in gaining knowledge and learning. And we find happiness in creating things and making a contribution to others. In truth, we gain a lot more from giving than receiving. So when society tells people that they will find happiness by achieving prosperity, and they learn that the most sure and successful way to prosperity is with Melaleuca, I feel it is our responsibility to not deceive them into thinking they will find happiness in prosperity by itself. We can indeed help them with prosperity, and prosperity will help with a lot of their problems. But as we put our efforts into building prosperity, it can get so exciting that we can easily get out of balance. It is important to remind ourselves that prosperity is only part of the picture. True happiness comes from achieving total wellness including, and perhaps especially, personal wellness consisting of our relationships with others, especially our family, and from deciding who we are and what we stand for and living within the boundaries of our personal values. It's a lot to deal with, but with society sending us to seek happiness where we will never find it, we all need a reminder once in a while.

I anticipate that as our financial success continues to grow beyond our expectations we will continually need to remind ourselves where happiness really comes from. Perhaps a reminder once in a while will help us keep things in balance.

Sincerely,
Frank L. VanderSloot

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