Is giving advice and sharing the same thing?

Today I found myself at the grocery store in the baking isle looking at coconut oil. I usually buy a large tub of coconut oil at Costco, but I decided I needed more before I could get there later in the week. I was looking over all of the products. I was probably there forever. Hmmm... I started comparing the products as I found virgin, extra virgin, non-GMO, unrefined, refined, kosher, cold pressed, expeller pressed, product of Philippines, Product of Columbia... My head was spinning, trying to make my final decision... then comparing prices... oh my! $3.99 -- $13.99 -- $24.29? Sigh.

Then an older lady approached me. I guess all of my craziness made her believe I was the coconut oil expert! She asked me about how to use it, if I like it and what were the health benefits. I had a conversation with this woman in that baking isle for probably 20 minutes! She was so kind and really took everything I said to heart. "What?", she said, "I can use it on my skin, too?". Yes! She was so excited and went on to tell me how she was going to get healthy now that all of her kids were out of the house. It was really nice giving her advice. I felt great about helping point her in the right direction.

So I come to the question that I have to ask myself, "What is the difference between recommending a product at a grocery store and sharing a product that I use from a company I trust?". In the end, I made my best guess at which brand would have the best coconut oil. I went with Nature's Way Coconut Oil though I really want to buy Nutiva's Coconut Oil (but it was more than twice the price!).

As I left the store I was thinking I don't really know much about Nature's Way. I'm glad it's organic and non-GMO, but is it a company I can trust? I then start thinking of how the lady I met was ready to get healthy. I have some of the best solutions out there to help someone like her get healthy, but I said nothing! How do I not give advice on what I have learned? I have parents close to her age that have been successful. I know I kept my mouth shut as I didn't want her to think I was trying to sell her anything. Network marketing gets a bad rap. It is not all about making money and scamming people with a useless product. I had something to offer, a gift really, and didn't offer the advice. But is it really any different? Can you suggest a product that works, no matter where it comes from? I think so. Okay, I know so! 

I'm just writing today to remind myself that it is okay to give advice and share a product I truly believe in. To recommend a company that I trust. It is okay! Before I started I did the same thing as I did with this coconut oil. I compared products, I looked at ingredients like undenatured whey protein, grass fed cows, and things like non-GMO, organic, sourcing, trace mineral count, high quality botanicals, herbs and competitive wholesale pricing. And I made my decision to start my health journey with Isagenix. That was three years ago!

I am now determined to get better at sharing and giving advice to people to give them the same opportunity to start their health journey -- even if it starts in the isle of a grocery store.