The Real Talk About Why Young Living Convention Beats Virtual Every Time

Look, I’m going to be straight with you. The moment I stepped out of that Utah airport and breathed in actual mountain air mixed with the unmistakable energy of pure essential oils, I remembered why I’ve been making this pilgrimage every single year since 2014.

And yes, I said pilgrimage. Because that’s what it is for me—a non-negotiable investment that pays dividends every single time. Time, money, energy? Worth every penny and every minute. But here’s the thing nobody wants to tell you: virtual convention is like kissing through plexiglass. Sure, you get the general idea, but you’re missing everything that actually matters.

Let’s Talk About What You’re Actually Missing

I’ve sat through virtual conventions—during COVID when there wasn’t an in-person option (the horror). Look, I tried to make it work. I really did. But let’s be honest about what actually happened: I got distracted by every single tug of home life. I found myself doing dishes during general sessions, folding laundry while trying to absorb product training, answering texts during the most important announcements.

I’d squirrel off to handle “just one quick thing” and miss entire segments. I’d pause to deal with family drama and lose the flow completely. Virtual convention became background noise to my regular life instead of the immersive experience that actually changes you.

Nope. Never again if I can help it. Immersion is the way to go—mind, body, and spirit fully present and engaged. But being in a room with thousands of people who get why you have seventeen different bottles of Thieves products? That hits different.

When they announce a new product and you can feel the collective excitement ripple through the crowd—not just see excited emojis scrolling by—that’s when you remember why you fell in love with this community in the first place.

Last year when John Whetten spoke for the first time about Gary’s recipe for success, I watched thousands of people hearing this sacred information collectively for the first time. The wave of emotion that swept through that arena—tears streaming down faces, people reaching for each other’s hands, the reverent silence followed by thunderous gratitude—that cannot be replicated watching it on a virtual screen. You can see the tears on someone’s face through your laptop, but you can’t feel the collective heartbreak and healing happening in real time.

That’s the difference between watching history and being part of it.

But here’s what really gets me: the frequency. Essential oils carry God’s frequency (fight me on this, I dare you), and when you’re surrounded by thousands of bottles of the real deal in that expo hall, your body knows the difference. You feel different. You think clearer. You remember why you started this journey.

Virtual convention gives you information. In-person convention gives you transformation.

The Farm Will Humble You

Walking Gary’s lavender fields isn’t just a photo op for your Instagram feed (though your followers are going to be jealous). It’s a reality check. This is where your oils actually come from. This is the dirt, the plants, the process that Gary fought to protect.

No virtual tour is going to give you that moment when you’re standing in those fields, surrounded by your oil family, and you finally get what seed-to-seal actually means. It’s not just marketing copy—it’s a promise that started in the ground you’re standing on.

Your Body Knows What It Needs (If You’d Just Listen)

Here’s where things got really interesting this year. I did something that changed everything for several of my team members. I taught them how to muscle test with a pendulum.

Now, we’ve become so dependent on following protocols and trusting “experts” that we’ve forgotten our bodies have their own intelligence. God designed us with inner wisdom, and essential oils can help us tap into that—if we stop being so afraid to trust ourselves.

Sitting in our Corporate Headquarters right before the neon fun run (benefiting the YL Foundation!), teaching my team members how to ask their bodies what oils they actually needed instead of just grabbing what some protocol told them to use? Watching them discover their bodies were asking for completely different oils than what they’d been using? Life-changing doesn’t even begin to cover it.

The next day, I couldn’t walk through the halls without someone stopping me. “I taught my roommate last night,” one said, eyes still wide with amazement. “She couldn’t believe her body knew exactly what it needed.” Another grabbed my arm: “I tested my whole family this morning. Even my skeptical husband was shocked when his body said yes to oils he’d never considered.”

And speaking of families—there’s something beautiful about watching all the mamas carrying or chasing babies and toddlers around those hallways! Farm day brings entire families together, creating memories that last generations. This is a business where you can chase your dreams and your kids at the same time. Where else can your toddler play in lavender fields while you learn to build financial freedom?

Your body knows what it needs. The trick is learning to listen instead of just following the crowd.

My Kid Gets It (And She’s Smarter Than Most Adults)

My daughter has been to five conventions now—her first when she was six, and now she’s a sixteen-year-old who absolutely loves these gatherings. While I’m over here having spiritual awakenings with essential oils, she’s working the room like the natural entrepreneur she is.

Her favorite part? The general sessions. She loves oils—it’s all she’s ever known—but she’s also obsessed with product marketing and branding. After five years of attending, she’s built actual relationships with corporate executives. Like, real conversations about marketing strategies and brand positioning.

Try getting that kind of mentorship through your laptop screen. I’ll wait.

The late-night hotel room sessions where I explain the compensation plan while she strategizes business approaches? Pure gold. She’s using these experiences as real-world research for her entrepreneurial future, and I get to watch her absorb lessons that will serve her for life.

Virtual convention can teach you about products. In-person convention can change your career trajectory—even if you’re sixteen.

Stop Following Protocols and Start Tuning In

Here’s my hot take: we’ve become way too comfortable being told what to do. Take this oil for that issue. Follow this protocol. Trust this expert’s recommendations. But what if—and hear me out—your body actually knows better than some one-size-fits-all approach?

I’ve been doing this for over a decade, and I’m done pretending that following someone else’s protocol is better than trusting the divine wisdom God placed in my own body. This year, I watched my team members muscle test their way through the expo hall, selecting exactly what their bodies were asking for rather than what was trending or recommended.

That’s the real education happening at Convention. Not just from the stage, but from the amazing people in attendance just teaching what they know.

The Ripple Effect You Can’t Plan For

Here’s something that happens every single year without fail: while I’m at convention sharing my experience, my phone starts blowing up with private messages from people back home. They’re watching my stories, seeing the energy, the community, the pure joy—and they want in. They want what we have. They want to belong to something bigger than themselves.

These aren’t people asking about products or compensation plans. They’re asking about community. They see our weird little corner of the world and recognize something authentic that’s missing from their lives.

And every year, someone new takes the leap and attends for the first time. Without fail—and I mean every single year—they message me afterward to share how massively it transformed them. “I felt like I finally found my people.” “I didn’t know community could feel like this.” “I was changed from the inside out.”

They risked a lot to be there—time, money, stepping outside their comfort zone—and not one of them has ever left regretting a moment. They leave planning their return before they’ve even made it home.

Our weird little corner of the world is powerful and real and authentic. People recognize that energy, even through social media posts. But they can only experience it by showing up.

The Frequency is Everything

Look, I’m going to get a little science-y here. Essential oils have measurable frequencies. But so do people. When you’re in that expo hall, breathing in frankincense and lavender and peppermint all day long, your body is responding to those frequencies. But you’re also surrounded by the frequency of thousands of people who’ve been on their own healing journeys.

Healed people help heal people. The prayer that fills those spaces, the encouragement flowing from stranger to stranger, the genuine love that’s evident in every corner of convention—you can feel it. It’s tangible. It’s real.

You won’t ever feel alone, even if you come alone and know no one. Everyone welcomes you with open arms because we all remember what it felt like to need that community, that belonging, that hope.

You can’t download frequency through WiFi—not the oils and definitely not the people. You can’t experience the energetic shift that happens when thousands of oil lovers gather to celebrate God’s natural pharmacy and lift each other up through your computer speakers.

If you’ve been on the fence about attending in person, stop making excuses. Your body needs this. Your business needs this. Your spirit needs this.

Coming Home Different

Virtual convention ends when you close your laptop. In-person convention follows you home in your changed perspective, your renewed confidence in your own inner wisdom, and your willingness to trust your body over the latest trending protocol.

This year, I came home with something more valuable than new products or business strategies. I came home remembering that my body is fearfully and wonderfully made, equipped with everything I need to know what serves my highest good. I came home willing to be the rebel who trusts muscle testing over expert recommendations.

Don’t get me wrong—virtual convention has its place. But as someone who’s shown up every single year since 2014 whenever humanly possible, let me tell you what you’re missing: the frequency, the connections, the divine downloads that only happen when you’re fully present in the experience.

Some lessons can only be learned when all your senses are engaged and your spirit is open to receive. Young Living convention is one of them.

Stop making excuses. Book the flight. Your future self will thank you.

Ready to experience it for yourself? See all the latest products launched this year and when you can order them, and book your ticket here now for 2026 convention.

See you in Utah next year (because you know I’ll be there, pendulum in hand, teaching anyone who wants to learn how to trust their own inner wisdom).

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