Hard work and building lasting relationships have never been more important than in this current pandemic environment, when face-to-face meeting are at a premium. That’s why USANA Health Sciences CEO, Kevin Guest, was so pleased when country music star, Collin Raye reached out to him and asked him to join his band on tour for a brief stint. Says Guest about the request, “After inviting Raye to perform at our company’s annual convention, I was invited by Collin himself to perform with his band on tour. He saw my passion for music and wanted me to tour with his band part-time. I was astonished, thrilled and terrified all at once.”
Guest is a full-time CEO, but he is also an accomplished musician and author. Says Guest about his love for music, “I had a passion for music from an early age. My dream as a kid was to become a rock star, to play music for adoring fans, maybe even to be heard on the radio. Creating, composing and performing music was my passion”.
The “Piano Principle”
Guest talks about growing up with music in his best-selling book, “All the Right Reasons: 12 Timeless Principles for Living a Life in Harmony”. He tells the story about his father, another music enthusiast, foregoing buying a family car so that he could purchase a piano instead. His father rode his bike to work for months until he had the funds for a car. When his mother needed to go to the store, she’d ride on the back of the bike. Guest says he learned “when you really want something, you make it happen” from his father’s example. He’s dubbed this the “piano principle”.
On Tour with Collin
Guest’s biggest fear after he was invited to play with Raye was that he wouldn’t be good enough to keep up his part in the band and that he’d forget the music. To make sure that didn’t happen, he practiced every night for months, even after putting in full days as CEO at USANA. Says Guest, “I really wanted to make (the tour) happen, so I worked my heart out to be flawless because it was Collin’s career and product I was presenting on stage. I spent hours learning the music and honing my skills. Although I love to play music, that was hard work, and I honestly wondered if I had bitten off more than I could chew”.
Guest’s hard work paid off. He has since shared the stage with Collin and Brooks and Dunn, Keith Urban and Diamond Rio. He’s even played with Collin at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry several times.
Guest talks about his passion for music and his philosophy that you can achieve anything if you’re willing to do the hard work in his book. “All the Right Reasons: 12 Timeless Principles for Living a Life in Harmony” is available from Amazon.com. All profits from the book go to help feed hungry children around the globe. Each book makes it possible to donate 40 meals.
About USANA Health Sciences
USANA Health Sciences Inc. is a leading developer and manufacturer of top-quality nutritional, personal care and weight management products. The most well-known of these are USANA’s Cellsentials line. Cellsentials are supplements designed to help both men and women look and feel their best by promoting good long-term health. USANA Cellsentials contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and additional nutrients. According to the company website, USANA’s philosophy is “if you feed the cells in your body exactly what they need, you can optimize your health. This concept has continued to fuel our endless drive to innovate and advance the science of cellular nutrition—putting a healthy, happy life within reach for all.”
USANA Health Sciences was founded in 1992 by scientist and medical researcher, Dr. Myron Wentz. The Utah-based company has more than 1,900 employees, working in its 80,000-square foot manufacturing and distribution center and its multiple offices around the globe. USANA products are sold in 25 countries via a distribution system of more than 165,000 direct sales associates. In addition to Cellsentials USANA Health Sciences has two other product lines–USANA Diet & Energy line, which includes protein bars, meal replacement shakes and Rev3 energy bars, and USANA Sensé & Celavive personal care products, which includes multiple skin, hair and body care products.
One of the more interesting aspects of the company is Team USANA, a collection of professional and Olympic athletes who use and trust the company’s products for their health routine. To date, USANA Athletes have won 108 Olympic medals, 2449 World Cup medals and 454 world titles. Participants include members of the US Ski and Snowboard team, Luge team and Speed Skating team.
USANA Health Sciences is actively involved in giving back to the community. The company’s non-profit organization USANA HealthCorps was created in 2012 to educate kids about proper nutrition. In 2019, the USANA Foundation’s “Kids Eat” program opened a center to distribute food to children and families in Utah and beyond. To date, the Foundation has donated nearly 25 million meals. CEO Kevin Guest’s donations from his book sales are just a part of this effort.
