"Hi, Dr. Nick!"
Ok, so you're familiar with the Simpsons' Dr. Nick, so you know all about over-hyped promises from someone with no expertise. Thus begins my journey, with my self-described expertise.
I have no medical degree. I'm a software engineer, working for the past 10+ years on various medical information systems. This doesn't qualify me as an expert. But I'm not Dr. Nick. I won't launch blindly into recommending a solution for someone without carefully considering the impact. I've seen that, and the results are always bad. Besides, I can't lie to save my life; I always get caught.
What I do have inside my noggin is several years interest in improving my own health, while also losing to many, many temptations along the way. Like McDonald's, chicken fingers and Chinese buffet. mmmmm, crab rangoon.... sorry, did I space out again?
So, my first leg of the journey begins around 1997, when in reality I was looking to make a living at home without dealing with stupid people at an office. The stupid people were two or three bosses that insisted I actually produce and not just sit back and collect a check. So, I'm off to a great start here, at age 23 and not a lick of responsibility in the world. Except for an attempt to keep my family fed, which somehow I always did.
During that first leg, I found an ad for a work at home business - and thinking there's little risk, I called and arranged a meeting with a couple of guys. I could always walk out, right? Well, these guys had a great system to show me from a company named USANA, a nutritional supplement manufacturer just a few years old. I sign up, buy some stuff, find 4 friends and family and rinse, repeat, profit. Ok, that's what I got out of it -- remember, sit back and let the world coddle me. So I join the team and start using the products for myself, then tell some family members what a great idea it would be for them to help me out by joining the business... just humor me guys, help me get a bonus. Yeah, that didn't work out so well. I think I got one to sign up that way.
I found out the hard way that you have to really believe in the products before you can convince someone to make a long term investment; this isn't Tupperware where the benefits are visible in 30 seconds. For the average person, nutrition benefits take weeks, months, even years to fully manifest. For me, I noticed increased energy within about two weeks. Hair loss (yes, at 23 - due to extreme stress) eliminated within 3-4 weeks. My cholesterol was still through the roof, but I loved those Big Macs. So, after a few years of using the products off and on whenever I could afford them, I realize I have no sales skills and dropped my associate membership somewhere around 2000. Over the next few years I watched the company grow (stock multiplied by 10, membership by many times that). And then comes my most recent motivation.
I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.
I remember when I was taking the USANA Essentials alone that I had far more energy, was in a better mood, and didn't feel sick all the time. Lately I've been under so much stress that my physical health has suffered and I'm paying more in medical copays and prescriptions than I was for the Essentials. There HAS to be a better way! My job performance suffers when stress peaks, because I'm so tired or otherwise affected by health issues.
So, as of a couple days ago I am officially a new USANA "distributor associate" which means I consume the products, resell them and bring others on board to do the same. My first order consists of a HealthPak 100, chocolate Nutrimeal (think of a Slim-Fast made by Rolls Royce), a 12-pack of Rev3 energy drink (seriously, I have got to see if they can even make a decent energy drink with the nutritional emphasis of their other products), and some kids' vitamins for my nephew. I also got some of the Sense skin care system's Gentle Daily Cleanser because I've never found anything as effective in the last 10 years. My order should arrive April 21. Come to think of it, I didn't order enough and will want to try some new things in a few weeks.
As I start using the products, I'll post my opinions and experiences for the world to see. Yes, I'm biased because I want my resale business to succeed, but if I don't believe in these products, there's no way I can convince others anyway. I fully anticipate that I'll have some form of positive, tangible results, and you'll just have to deal with my anecdotal evidence. If I don't bring you over to my dark side, then so be it. Most of the reason I got into this was that I wanted the products for myself anyway. Worst case, if I sign up as a distributor for all of 20 bucks extra, I get discounted pricing.
There's my long intro to a long journey. Questions and relevant comments are welcome. I say relevant because I'm not really into the whole spam thing, so I hope you won't try and post just to promote a competing product without saying something meaningful.
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