The Beginning of Young Living

Have you ever wondered how Young Living Essential Oils began? Where it all started? Back in July of 2015, Gary Young, founder of Young Living, published a series of posts on his blog, detailing the highlights of what led him down the path towards essential oils. It’s a fascinating read and reveals his PASSION for essential oils and the reason why he has made his life’s goal to take Young Living essential oils to every home in the world.

 
Actually, Gary Young’s whole life before discovering essential oils prepared him for the path that God had chosen for his life. Life was not easy for the Young family by any means, and in many ways mirrors that of our forefathers who founded this country. You see Gary grew up in a 16×20-foot cabin with a dirt floor until the age of 4. Then his father, Donald N. Young, built a 30×30-foot, four-room cabin, where he lived with his family and five siblings until he was 17 years old. This cabin was located 12 miles from town- it had no electricity or running water.

I’m sure for most of us its hard to imagine that anyone in modern times would choose this type of life for themselves and their children. However, facing hardships, learning discipline and self-reliance, developing a love for nature, learning how to walk through difficulty, survive and come out successful on the other side was exactly what would be needed in the years that lay ahead for Gary Young. The character building qualities that his early years developed in him are still visible in his life today.

“The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.”- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

LIFE CHANGES IN THE 1970S

Reprinted with permission from D. Gary Young Blog / July 16, 2015

Even though a horrible logging accident on February 2, 1973, temporarily put Gary Young in a wheelchair, he can now be found each winter still logging. However, now he is logging balsam fir, black spruce, blue spruce, pine, and other conifers that are then chipped and distilled for the production of essential oils.

My life changed on February 2, 1973. I was logging and a big tree came back and hit me on the head, altering my life and changing my destiny.

There’s a belief that we get to choose our direction and what we do. That may be true for most people, but for me it was not true. Because of this accident, my life was forced to change directions. I feel that I was driven into doing what I do today; and I know that as long as I was cutting trees, I wasn’t making much of a difference in people’s lives.

I learned about essential oils in 1976 when I was in a metaphysical bookstore, and the owner said, “Gary, what do you know about aromatherapy?”

I replied, “Oh, I have heard the word a time or two, but I don’t know anything about it.”

She said, “Well, I have some oils here; would you be interested?”

So I said, “Well, yeah.” So I bought four oils, took them home with me, and started working with them.

By 1978, two years later, I hadn’t really seen any difference with them; and by 1980 I’d given most of them away, bought a few others, and given those away, too. But I never saw any real difference, no real change.

So by 1981-82, I disposed of the idea and thought aromatherapy was just snake oil, that it was just for those New Agers, and that it had no value because it didn’t change anything in my life.

ROSARITO BEACH YEARS

Reprinted with permission from D. Gary Young Blog / July 23, 2015

In 1982 I opened my clinic in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, and Chula Vista, California. I had a tremendous experience for the next eight years. In 1985, while I was in Mexico doing studies in hematology and nutrition and really working with my clients, a lady came and brought her sister from Switzerland. As we sat down and talked, she said, “Dr. Young, what do you know about essential oils?”

I said, “Aromatherapy? Oh, been there, done it, no thank you, not interested.” I could see by her body gestures and energy that I had insulted her somehow. So I said, “Well, at least in my experience, I’ve seen no value in them.”

She replied, “Dr. Young, do you believe that the herbs that you have down in your apothecary and the herbs that you buy in the health food store are the same quality?”

I said, “Of course not; that’s why we gather the herbs, why I’ve created my own apothecary, and why we make our own formulas here.”

She said, “Well, essential oils are no different.” And the light bulb went on. She continued, “I’ve been coming to the United States to visit my family for the last 20 years, and there are no pure essential oils in the United States. There are perfume oils that they call aromatherapy oils; and, of course, they’re not going to work.”

Then she handed me a 32-page paper out of her briefcase and said, “I translated this for you in case you’re interested. It’s about research on essential oils.” I took it home and read it. She had translated it from French into English and had written the phone number where she was staying with her family in Alhambra, California, on the bottom with a note that said, “If you have an interest, call me.”

FROM MEXICO TO SWITZERLAND TO FRANCE!

Reprinted with permission from D. Gary Young Blog / July 30, 2015

Gary’s phone call with the Swiss lady started an important journey. From Mexico he attended the conference in Switzerland, where he was invited by two of the presenters to go to Paris, France, where he obtained 13 premium-grade+ essential oils.

That 32-page paper was research by Dr. Jean-Claude Lapraz and Dr. Paul Duraffourd, working in a hospital in Paris, France. I was on fire when I read it. I couldn’t even sleep.

I called the lady who gave me the information at 6 o’clock the next morning; and before the phone finished ringing the first time, she picked it up and told me she was expecting my call and asked if I wanted to know more.

I said, “Yes, where can I learn?”

“There’s a seminar at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, in one week.”

“Is it possible I can attend this?”

“Well, it will be in French.”

“Well, I don’t speak French.”

“If you want to go, I will pick you up at the airport, we’ll go on the train, and I will translate for you during this 40-hour seminar.” She did, and that was the beginning.

After the class I was invited by Dr. Lapraz and Dr. Duraffourd to go to Paris to make rounds with them in the hospital where they were conducting research on essential oils. I spent a week with them there and brought home 13 oils. And that’s where it started.

LEARN MORE ABOUT GARY AND HIS EARLY LIFE

 
In 2015, Mary Young published a book, “D. Gary Young, The World Leader in Essential Oils” to chronicle 60 years of her husband’s life and tell the story behind the founder of Young Living Essential Oils, and to answer the questions that have been asked and those that haven’t.

“Gary’s great love is being with God in the mountains on his horse with his family beside him. Were it not for such a terrible, debilitating accident, he would still be in the mountains, the path that destiny has taken him would never have come to be, and the gifts that he has given to the world would never have been given. His instinctive knowing about the essences hidden within the vast web of the life-giving flora that Mother Nature offers to the world and the quest to discover their secrets would never have entered his mind.”- Mary Young

 
D. Gary Young’s life and the growth of Young Living Essential Oils, with its worldwide farms and philanthropic endeavors, are chronicled in this new updated commemorative edition, D. Gary Young Commemorative Collection, written by his wife, Mary Young. Mary Young’s amazing book features an account of D. Gary Young, a man who followed his dreams, persevered through many unimaginable challenges, and shaped a company that impacts countless lives around the world. It also delves into Gary’s triumphs and trials, including his journey to walking again following a devastating logging accident.

Learn about the life, passions, and achievements of D. Gary Young, The World Leader in Essential Oils®. Order your copy of the book today.

 
+Term changed due to regulatory authorities