Young Living is no youngin’ when it comes to essential oils. The 18-year-old Lehi company has been an industry leader since its inception, and founder Dr. Gary Young has been researching and experimenting in the natural health world since 1980. “Ever since these oils have come into my life, I’ve felt it’s been my mission to share them with the world,” says Young, who has published books and research papers on his discoveries. “I’ve watched them drastically improve medical conditions and change people’s lives. It just doesn’t get better than that.” Young also has a life-changing wife and business partner, Mary. “I could not have made this journey without her. She kept pushing me when I would have been perfectly happy living a life as a rancher. But she knew I was capable of this.” And now Utah Valley does, too.
I started experimenting with oils back in 1980 with some I had purchased from a health food store. After five years of experimenting with them — and seeing no results — I gave up and deemed it a new-age fad. This was voodoo medicine, I thought.
Then a woman came to my clinic. Her sister lived in Switzerland, and she asked me what I knew about essential oils. I said, “You mean that aromatherapy stuff? Been there, done that, not interested.”
She was offended. I was trying to think of a way to get out of this awkward conversation when she asked me, “Do you believe all herbs are created equal?” I told her they were all created equal, yes — but they weren’t all manufactured equal. “The same is true with essential oils,” she said.
She proceeded to pull out a manila folder with research papers on infectious respiratory diseases and how the oils had killed the virus in the bacteria. She had translated the document for me and told me she wrote her home number on the paper. “If you have further interest, call me at home,” she said.
I finished the paper at 3 in the morning. I started highlighting passages and writing countless questions in the margins. I was overwhelmed by it. It gave me answers to what all people in the natural health world were looking for. I paced the floor. I couldn’t sleep. And so at 6 a.m., I picked up the phone and dialed her number. Deciding it was too early, I was about to hang up the phone when I heard, “Dr. Young! I’ve been waiting for your call.”
Five days later I was in Switzerland taking a class on essential oils. And in 1985, I was doing my first clinical research on cancer. And now look at us! Through Young Living, essential oils are literally changing and saving lives every day — I’ve seen it with my own eyes hundreds of times.
We’ve been here at our corporate office in Lehi for seven years now. It was quite the day when we loaded up the semi to move here from Payson. In each place we’ve been during our 18-year history, we’ve thought we’d never be able to fill the space. But every single time we end up bulging at the seams.
I’ve been called a snake oil salesman and all kinds of other awful names. And those people later saw how successful we’ve been and wanted to buy the company. Interesting, isn’t?
But I can’t get caught up in the lies
and the slander. I have never done anything in my life for financial gain. I always knew if I did things in an honest and right way, the financial gain would come. And it has.
The most rewarding part of our success has been the people we’ve helped. No question. And the more successful we are, the better we can spread our message worldwide.
Young Living is becoming a household name around the world. And for our distributors, it’s not about how much money they’re making. It’s about how these oils have helped them and those around them.
It’s been a fabulous journey, and taking something that had never been exposed to the world in our time — something that had never been marketed before — has been a privilege. Sometimes you have to pinch yourself to realize it’s not a dream.
I paced the floor. I couldn’t sleep. And so at 6 a.m., I picked up the phone.