It's Interview Day!! And today I have the pleasure of introducing you to one of my dearest friends and favorite humans; Casey Zaruba!
Fun fact: Casey and I met online. And we're actually meeting in person for the FIRST time in 6 days. What a funny world we live in, huh?
I could go on and on about why Casey rocks so much, but I think you'll see soon enough! Meet Casey :)
Alright girl, let's chat! Five things that bring you joy?
My relationship with the Lord
My family (Husband and two boys)
Traveling
Reading
Being outdoors
Tell us about your family!
My husband Tyler and I met country dancing in Austin, Texas. We fell in love quick and we secretly ran off to the courthouse to get married 4 months after meeting. A Few months later we started trying for a little one, we thought this would happen quickly because I had just donated eggs to a couple that couldn’t get pregnant and everything was perfect.
For the next 2 years we would try and I would cry because it just never happened for us. In March 2013 (two years of trying later), we watched a movie called “Invisible Children” one night and it changed me. It changed the trajectory of my life, my faith, my family. The film is based in Uganda, Africa. After watching it, God very clearly spoke Africa to my heart. It was so tangible to me which was CRAZY at the time because I had never been out of the country, we were broke and newly-ish married. I thought it would just go away, but it never did. I told Tyler about how I felt God speaking Uganda, Africa and GO to me and he thought I had lost my mind. Keep in mind not only did Uganda sound crazy, but I was new to my faith journey at that time as well. So the mere fact that I said “God spoke to me” was not the normal. That isn’t something I say lightly and has only happened 2 other times since then.
I will spare the novel that this could easily turn into and fast forward some for you.
Well, 6 months after watching that movie in our living room and God speaking Africa to me...we boarded a 27 hour flight to Uganda, Africa to serve in an orphanage for a month. It was one of the best months of my life. We met and fell in love with a boy named Kamoga. He made my husband a dad, he showed him how to love someone that wasn’t a biological child and he changed our hearts. We came home and started an adoption process. We knew God was leading us down a different path and Africa confirmed that. We fought hard for 2 years to adopt Kamoga, but never could (longer story).
We got home from that trip in September 2013, and in September 2014 we got a call on a Tuesday night that there was a 4 day old baby boy in the NICU that was sick and needed a family, they thought that family should be us. That little 4 day old just turned 2 years old in September 2016. His name is Foster and he is the light of our life. When Foster was 10 months old we thought, "okay we will slowly move into adopting again" because we wanted our kiddos close in age and the first time took a while. 10 weeks after having that conversation, our second son was born and I got to be in the delivery room and cut the cord while crying with his beautiful birth mom through it all. That sweet little guy’s name is Murphy and he just turned 1 year old in November 2016. I am blessed beyond belief to get to live this life and be their mama.
How long have you been using Young Living, and why did you get started? What rank are you now?
I have been with YL for 2 years as of December and I am the rank of GOLD (Platinum is oh so close). When we brought our first son home through adoption he was very sick and I wanted to detox his body of everything. I saw Kari posting about essential oils and her love and success with them, so I read up on all the different oil companies and I actually almost ordered from another one because I “knew a girl” but then I read the Seed to Seal...no one else offered the promise of purity, commitment to the product, or humility like Gary Young and Young Living did. I was sold and never looked back.
It was the best decision I ever made for our health. I tried the products from the starter kit and wanted every ounce of knowledge I could get my hands on. It was such a blessing for us and still is. We use them daily for cleaning, bath, calming, energy, balance, pain management, emotional support, immune support, beauty products..everything.
(Kari here! Casey is talking about her rank and income and it's pretty crazy stuff. To be sure you really understand what we're talking about here. She is Gold, which has an average monthly paycheck of over $6,000. The next rank, Platinum, comes with a monthly income of over $14,000. Yes, PER. MONTH. It is crazy fun to watch my friends being blessed in this way, and to help our team each to get there too! Anyway, check out the stats straight from Young Living here.)
Where do you store your oils?
I use a clear nail rack that I snagged on Amazon. I keep them in my bathroom where they don’t get direct exposure and not in constant reach of my kiddos. For my rollers I have a GORGEOUS marble piece that I also got on amazon. The rollers are from Everyday Oil Essentials. All the links are here, here, and here.
You are running a rockin’ business. Did you see this coming? What has surprised you the most?
Honestly, I didn’t even a little bit. I should have believed in myself more than I did. Kari believed in me from day one and I will always be grateful for that. When I started using essential oils I truly only started the business to just pay for my oils, which was $100 a month. I needed to help two friends get oils to be able to place my order because we were not in a position where I could spend $100 a month on essential oils. My YL check in November was my biggest yet and could have paid my mortgage for 3 months. And our mortgage isn’t cheap either. I don’t say that to brag, I say it for people to know that this was truly unexpected and LIFE CHANGING for us. I am surprised how my husband went from being skeptical to grabbing all the oils books to find a recipe for his strained muscle or anything else. He is all in this with me and it is amazing to get to do this together.
What is something you’ve learned about yourself along the way?
That my journey and story is different from the next person. Not worse, not better...just different. To compare it is saying that it is less than, and how disheartening. God gave us each strengths and personalities so we would come alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ and do this life together. I am not the “ruler” of those 1200 people below me, We are just 1200 friends all trying to better our future, gain freedom and get healthier. It is so fun to get to do this life with strangers turned friends and getting to encourage each other daily.
If you could go back and talk to your pre-oils self, what would you say?
Pre-oil self I would say to NOT TRUST EVERYTHING YOU HEAR. I am still amazed at some of the products we all have used that are unbelievably harmful. They are “secret and slow destroyers”. I just wished I would have known sooner.
Pre-oil BUSINESS self--I would say even when others are growing and you aren't, even when you didn’t enroll a friend, even when no one is liking or commenting on a post...don’t give up. There were so many times I almost gave up because I wanted instant gratification. I wanted this insane growth that others had, I wanted a huge paycheck and I wanted it now. But, we can’t live someone else’s story and walk out their journey. We have to do ours and I am so glad I never gave up. I would have missed out on so much more than just a good paycheck. I would have missed out on the most amazing company, encouragers, friends and knowledge I could ever get my hands on.
What YL product could you NEVER live without? And what’s one that just makes you really stinkin’ happy?
Progessence Plus hands down. I grew up in a house that wasn’t always calm and tempers got lost a LOT. So naturally that is what I learned and that’s harder to change than you would think. I started using P+ and could see emotional support like I hadn’t seen before, I found myself being more patient, calmer, more understanding, motivated and focused. I use it every single day and have 2 back up bottles always. I put a roller on it and apply it to my wrists, forearms, lower abdomen, neck and chest. EVERY single day. Also JUNIPER makes me really stinkin happy. I actually didn’t even smell or try this for the first time until Silver Retreat this fall where it was being distilled. It instills confidence, focus, helps with memory retention and more. The smell is a bit strong, but I love it.
How much emphasis do you put on yourself to continue learning and growing?
It’s everything, the second I stop learning from others and learning to grow as a leader, person, friend and wife I am selling myself short and everyone else for that matter. We can never know too much or not have space to take in more knowledge. And the knowledge with this community is given so freely.
What have you always found to be easy within your business?
Sharing my story, just being and honest and vulnerable.
What have you found to be hard within your business?
Time Management. I have a 1 and a 2 year old, a very thriving full time job as an adoption consultant with over 60 clients and I run a team of almost 1200 with Young Living. I am still just watching others and learning what works best for us. Some people might and DO look at me like I'm crazy, but I have a two babies upstairs sleeping soundly that I want to give the world to and I can’t do that if I don’t work really hard to get it. So lots of “after bedtime” work gets done. I was up until midnight last night working on client stuff because I did oil stuff during the day and tonight it’s after 10pm and i'm writing this. Luckily it fluctuates and some days are easy peasy days hanging out with my family all day and some days we hustle all day and a lot of the night. In the end it all even out to the amount of freedom we have.
When you have time for yourself, what could we find you doing?
Oh gosh, If I had uninterrupted time to myself I would be reading. I have about 15 books on my nightstand that are just dying to be opened.
What has been the highlight of your career?
With Christian Adoption Consultants it is seeing families being built through adoption. With Young Living, it is seeing the hopes and dreams of my team members (that are now just my friends) coming to life. Seeing them reach goals and hustle to get them, seeing them get to splurge on something because their check was bigger. Seeing them feel like they have purpose and they have something that is theirs.
To somebody who is just starting their wellness journey with Young Living, what advice would you give?
I would tell you it is a learning curve, it takes time so don’t get frustrated if you ask a lot of questions. I still do! (Kari knows!) But it is the best investment you will ever make for you and your families health and wellbeing. When your body is being detoxed (which will naturally happen with essential oil use) you will feel a new energy, happiness, and just overall feeling good and not sluggish. You will see why so many “drank the water” before you.
To somebody who is inspired and also wants to check out the business side of Young Living, what advice would you give?
I would say DO IT. Learn from everyone you can, ask all the question and be inspired. You picked a good community to get started with. So many people have had to learn the hard way that who you invest in and trust to grab your kit from MATTERS. There are so many people that do not get the support or any that they need. We don’t want to sell you a kit and then disappear, we want to walk right alongside you every step of the way oiling right up with you friend.
To grab oils with me, head to this signup link!
To connect on social media, find me here:
Blog: www.coffeecupofthoughts.com
Family photo session credit: @mistymclendonphotography
