Oola (originating from the word “oo-la-la”) is a lifestyle based on the international bestselling book, Oola: Find Balance in an Unbalanced World.

Oo-la (noun): That state of awesomeness. It is when your life is balanced and growing in the seven key areas of life—“the 7 F’s of Oola”—fitness, finance, family, field (career), faith, friends and fun.

Have you seen the bus of dreams—a 1970 Volkswagen surf bus covered in stickers where people have written their dreams? The bus is now 19 sticker layers deep and traveling around the country with two men, fondly known as the OolaGuys, “Dr. Dave” Braun and “Dr. Troy” Amdahl, both doctors of chiropractic. They are on a mission to change the world with a word (#Oola) by collecting one-million dreams in the form of handwritten stickers on the side of a vintage bus. The reason? Because they believe that the way people can achieve their dreams is to first find balance within the seven key areas of life they refer to as the 7 F’s.

The OolaGuys operate on the principle that all of us are “designed for greatness,” and as such, they have made it their mission to help people achieve balance in these seven areas so that they can attain an OolaLife. The OolaGuys are co-authors of the international bestselling Oola book series that started with Oola: Find Balance in an Unbalanced World. Dr. Dave (the OolaSeeker) and Dr. Troy (the OolaGuru) are renowned experts in teaching a proper work-life balance and are committed to changing the world with their simple yet life-changing message. 

These gentlemen began this journey in 1997 when Dr. Troy was working at his clinic in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two of them, along with some friends, met at a hotel to sit around and plan the areas of their life. For each area (each F), they asked, “Where are you, where do you want to go, and how do you want to get there?”

The focus is on balance between these seven areas of your life. Once you lose balance—yup, you guessed it—you lose Oola. But not everyone is unbalanced; not everyone is an OolaSeeker. There are some that are OolaGurus. Back in 1997, Dr. Troy seemed to have it all together while Dr. Dave found himself at his lowest point. He had a failed marriage and was living in a low rent motel, having lost most of his wealth. Dr. Dave reached out to Dr. Troy to see how two men who started out with the same ideas and ideals found themselves at such opposite ends of Oola. 

It didn’t take long for Dr. Dave to realize that what Dr. Troy, the OolaGuru, was sharing with him and their friends—balance and growth in the 7 F’s—at this 1997 get-together was a profound concept that could help the masses.

OolaLife is what is attained when a person focuses on and puts forth the effort to have a balanced life, maybe even an inspired one. The OolaGuys believe that “we are all designed by God for greatness and purpose,” and that Oola is just discovering that purpose and utilizing these seven areas as a guide. While no “F” is more important than another, it is worth emphasizing the importance of family, field and finance, “given that 55 percent of marriages end in divorce, 53 percent of Americans hate their jobs, and 33 percent of the U.S. population has debt,” says Dr. Dave. “That means many of us are spending 12 hours a day at a job doing what we hate and coming home to an unhappy household. That has to change. That is not inspired living.” 

The men still say that all areas are equally important and that once one out-of-balance area is identified and focused on, the other areas will be helped inadvertently. For instance, if you start with finance and pull yourself out of debt, you will find an improvement in your relationship with your significant other because you will be under less pressure. Or, if you focus on family and improve your relationships, you discover that family members can help you figure out how to balance other areas of your life, including rediscovering a cherished dream. Many of the people the OolaGuys meet on the road tell them, “I haven’t had a dream in 30 years.” It’s true that these “dreamless folks” have lost Oola, but it’s never too late to find it.

Visit OolaLife.com and try their free OolaLife tools to discover where you stand in each area. Are you an OolaGuru in the areas of finance and field but lacking in family and faith? Then those are the areas you need to pay more attention to. Are fitness and fun areas that are no longer strong as you age and become increasingly busy? Then take advice from the OolaGuys and make time for both as they will power you through the aging process. 

In the end when it comes to dreams, the guys ask the question: “If you knew it would be a raging success, what would you do?” That is the start. Ask yourself this question, take the online quiz to determine your balance, and then begin the process of attaining an OolaLife.

Oola is a lifestyle brand with a book series (HCI Books); a tour; a motivational event called OolaPalooza; a partnership with Young Living where they have developed Oola oils; and most recently, their attempt to share and give back with their own line of tea, which supports their newest mission to feed one-million people (every bag of tea sold buys a meal for a child in need). For more information, visit OolaLife.com. To order Oola: Find Balance in an Unbalanced World, visit amzn.to/2EC5Pfq; and to order Oola for Women, visit amzn.to/2qobnWB.

Kelly Martinsen is publisher of Natural Awakenings Long Island and author of A Year of Inspired Living (HCI Books), which is available at AYearOfInspiredLiving.com and Amazon.com.