Jumping in with Both Feet

Ten years ago, on Tuesday, June 27, 2000, I arrived in Salt Lake City after a 21-hour drive, to attend my first USANA Health Sciences International Convention, five days after enrolling as an Associate. My road buddy, Mario Buscio went to stay with his friends from Quebec, while our sponsor, Deanna Waters, invited me to stay with her group in her two-bedroom suite. My fabulous mentors included Patti Tweed, a Registered Dietician & Andrea Cantin, a Dentist. I knew I did not have to be a health professional to be successful in USANA, but I was definitely in good company! It was interesting to hear that neither of them had learned very much at all about nutritional supplementation in school, yet both had compelling stories of how USANA’s products had made a difference for them & their families. For both Patti & Andrea, USANA was filling a void, because nowhere else, could they find such credible nutritional information, based on latest research.

After making everyone my homemade pasta, I got a call from Lynn, back in Winnipeg. It was our first time speaking since I had arrived. I told her how I was in “USANA Immersion!” We had plugged-in to a fantastic community of like-minded, health-conscious people, who all had positive experiences using the products, the USANA LifeMasters & Dr Denis Waitley audios were informative & inspiring & hanging around with our mentors, Dave & Deanna Waters had many benefits & we were having fun.

Lynn had some exciting news. She said she had felt more energy for the past few days & the only thing she had been doing differently was taking the USANA Essentials, which we began on Friday night. She said she had just returned from cycling to my parents’ place in St Vital & to her parents place in Garden City. Both are suburbs of Winnipeg, at opposite ends of the city. The round trip would have been about 32 kilometres or 20 miles. She was amazed that she did it & she felt great! "You did what?!" I said. This was no small feat for most people & it was especially huge for Lynn, since she usually fell asleep whenever we drove to a friends’ place, during a movie or while reading a book! I was accustomed to her constant fatigue & here she was, being a manic cyclist!

For myself, I don’t know if it was the adrenaline, the coffee or the USANA Essentials, but I was also feeling pretty good, after pulling an all-nighter on the drive to Salt Lake City. Whatever it was, I was now on a mission to learn more about USANA & the new products we were taking. The next day, Deanna was to be speaking at a Women's Conference, to start the USANA Convention, so it was time to power-down for the night. This was going to be an awesome time & I was pumped! We had definitely made a fantastic life decision to jump into USANA with both feet!

Road Trip to my First USANA Convention

Ten years ago, on Monday, June 26, 2000, I picked up my new friend, Mario Buscio, in my 1995 Honda Civic si Coupe & we began our road trip from Winnipeg to Salt Lake City. I got to know Mario pretty good during this time & he shared his story of how he got started with USANA Health Sciences, Inc.

Mario had been dealing with Fibromyalgia for quite some time & when his wife, Sonia Blanchette, & Deanna Waters suggested he try the USANA products, he nearly threw Deanna out of his house! He was bitter, because he thought he had tried everything & he was sure nothing would help his chronic pain. He finally agreed to take the products, just so that he could prove that they would not work! Despite his negativity, he ate his words, as he soon felt better & after about 3 weeks, with the approval of his doctor, he stopped taking his pain medication. Two years later, all Mario had with him on the trip, besides USANA supplements, was a bottle of Tylenol, just in case. During our trip, he never opened the Tylenol & said it was like a crutch he didn't want to use. It was great to hear Mario's perspective as my wife, Lynn, had been on medications for Lupus for several years.

We made the trip in about 21 hours, with the help of the wraps Lynn had made for us, plenty of water, carrot sticks, fruit & USANA Nutrition Bars. I had also packed a supply of USANA Essentials, while Lynn kept some for herself, for the week I would be away. Mario had a nice little stash of USANA supplements, in addition to the Essentials - he said that CoQuinone & Proflavanol were his best friends! We also had an assortment of USANA LifeMasters audios, most of which were interviews with successful USANA Associates & health information from doctors on USANA's Medical Advisory Board & USANA scientists. We also had some good personal development audios from my favourite, Dr Denis Waitley. My Honda Civic was our Rolling University!

After about 12 hours, Mario said he could take over driving for a bit. I agreed & I tried my best to fall asleep quickly, because we had a full day ahead of us. After what seemed like only an hour, I'm not sure what happened, but Mario said he was just too tired to continue. I wasn't ready for that! He pulled into a gas station & I downed a huge coffee, got another for the road & got a big bag of nacho chips to power me through to Salt Lake City! I know - wrong nutritional choice, but I had to stay alert & get us there in one piece! Every year since then, we have flown to the Convention & if I were to drive again, we would either book a hotel mid-way, or ensure we had 3-4 drivers, to do it safely. With Mario conked out, I focussed on the road ahead, both literally & figuratively. This trip, if we made it, could be the first big step forward in our life. I have to say, that Butte, Montana is a beauty, with stunning views of the valley from the mountain-top homes!




Please note that these statements & products are not intended to cure, treat, diagnose, mitigate or prevent any disease. Here is a sobering word on testimonials from USANA Science Information Services at http://www.usana.com/dotCom/difference/science:

In general, testimonials are considered unreliable as scientific evidence and are not a worthy substitute for scientific validity. There are currently hundreds of randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled studies that indicate a strong correlation between diets rich in antioxidants from fruits and vegetables and a decreased incidence of chronic degenerative disease. This significance continues to be investigated through carefully validated scientific research. USANA continually reviews recent scientific literature and incorporates its findings, along with in-house laboratory research and clinical studies, into product development and design. This comprehensive approach to product development provides our Associates and Preferred Customers with comprehensive, balanced, safe, and effective nutritional formulas.

Take a Chance - Break Out of the Box

Welcome to Part Two of my one-on-one coaching session with Deanna Waters, ten years ago on Friday, June 23, 2000.

While reviewing what we would be getting in our USANA enrolment package, I realized we had a pass to the Annual Convention in Salt Lake City. “The Convention is next week?” I asked.

“Yes it is,” Deanna said, “Dave & I fly out on Tuesday.”

For a brief instant, my mind raced to the next week. Two months earlier, I had been among the first to purchase tickets for a long-awaited reunion concert by The Guess Who, international superstars from the 1970’s, as part of their Running Back Thru Canada Tour. The concert was the following Friday night, June 30, 2000 in Winnipeg.

“I’m coming to Salt Lake City - I’ll drive!” I said, without any hesitation. I would be missing a major concert event with two of my closest buddies, but I was breaking out of my self-imposed box & enlarging my territory. From everything we had seen about USANA Health Sciences, Inc. to that point, I knew I had to go to the Convention!

Salt Lake City was about 1500 miles or 2400 kilometres from Winnipeg. Flying would be reasonable for most people, but I loved a good road trip. Growing up on the Canadian Prairies, we measured distance by time. “It’s just a day’s drive!”

Deanna lined me up with a road buddy, Mario Buscio, & we made plans to hit the road on Monday!

She sent me home with a care package of the USANA Essentials, boxes of USANA Nutrition Bars & several audios called LifeMasters, which I would come to know & love. That evening, Lynn & I took our Essentials & over the coming days, we began to realize how important they were.