9 years in business: Something new is blooming

Soooo, I've got some pretty dang big news...

... and it just so happens to be coinciding divinely with the 9th birthday of my business.

9 years ago in early Spring, a beautiful new business was born.

I was in the thick of cancer treatment — waiting on pins and needles for the day my oncologist said “the chemo isn’t working anymore, it’s time for surgery”

Judging by the number of <very well intended> pairs of cozy socks I received from friends I hadn’t spoken to in years —

It was clear that many people thought that since I was going through cancer treatment, then I must have felt very sick

But as the chemo shrank the grapefruit-sized tumor in my lung, I was blooming with new life, new energy, and a newfound purpose

Not only was I feeling physiologically better than I had in years

But just a month prior, I’d also extricated myself from a metaphorically cancerous work environment that masqueraded as “excellent”

One day in the shower I realized that if I wanted to do truly excellent work, I needed to create an environment that fostered my clients’ growth as well as my own

So that’s exactly what I did

For quite some time I’d known I wanted to shift out of the physical therapy industry and into coaching.

But something deep within told me to wait until I was on the other side of cancer to do that.

In the meantime, I had a purpose to fulfill, so I figured out a way to bridge the gap

I opened a PT practice out of a third bedroom in my home.

I was quickly booked up — just in time to put all my patients on hold so I could have surgery.

At first it felt really frustrating — I’d just built this whole thing from scratch, and now, I was shutting it down.

Later I saw that the rest and recovery period was not only essential for my personal health, but also the health of my business.

I’d quickly learn that unlike tumors, businesses aren’t designed to continuously grow and operate.

No, they benefit just as much from seasons of rest, gestation, and re-blooming as they do from seasons of growth and harvest.

Cancer taught me this lesson at first, but in the 9 years that followed, I saw the lesson repeat itself.

I’d go through a period of rapid growth (summer) followed by one of harvest and letting go (fall), followed by rest and recovery (winter) and finally — rebirth into a new chapter (spring)

As I bent into the seasonal rhythms of ebb and flow — I also saw something else unexpectedly evolve.

While the purpose and nature of my mission has never changed — the nature and identity of my work has also constantly ebbed, flowed, and evolved.

I went from physical therapist for female athletes to health coach for teens and women, speaker and researcher and professor to career and life coach, business and marketing coach now to something completely new.

At first I resisted this constant evolution.

I’d given so many years of my life to degrees and certifications, I’d built a respected reputation in industries, and of course — I’d invested so much time, money, blood sweat and tears —

Yet time and time again — I felt complete.

An intuitive tug invited me to let go, rest and recover, and reset for my next horizon.

Most recently, this happened again about 2 years ago — at a time that would have been counterintuitive to the average person.

For three years in a row, my coaching business had reached the million dollar+ mark.

Things were T-H-R-I-V-I-N-G. It had been a three year long summer and harvest.

And as much as I completely loved my clients and felt very adept at what I did … An intuitive tug said “Enough. You are complete here. There’s nowhere else to grow.”

Essentially, if I were a perennial— I had outgrown the bed in which I was living.

It was time to let go, rest, and rebuild a new environment for my continued growth.

It was time for winter.

And so — without a clear vision on where I was going — I let go.

People close to me thought I had legitimately lost my marbles. Why would I give up a MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS?

But just like plants don’t actually die in winter — I never came to a complete stop

I did a lot of things quietly behind the scenes. Clients who were meant to work with me found their way to me.

And in that time, I replanted seeds. I allowed them to germinate and gestate in their own time.

I grieved the life and career I was letting go.

I felt a longing for the chapter I was closing.

I rested. I played. I tended to an actual garden. I became a card carrying Swiftie.

I dreamed and visioned.

Just when I thought I had figured it all out and was ready to re-Sprout into the world, I got another invitation to slow down, wait, and let it gestate a little longer.

So I did.

The very impatient, “go faster, go bigger, do more” conditioned voices in my head had a reeeeeeeally hard time with this.

And slowly but surely … even as I was spending more money than I was bringing in — clarity and purpose re-sprouted.

The mission — given to me from my Soul — has never changed since those early days 9 years ago.

But the form of my work has certainly change.

It’s gone from the literal physical realm to the intangible realm.

It’s gone from something that’s easy to explain to something that is difficult to wrap words around.

It’s gone from something where umpteen certifications and credentials were needed to feel “like the expert” to instead harnessing the intuitive wisdom of my own clients to be their own experts.

I’ve even changed my business name from a physical, tangible one (PRISM Wellness Center) to a touchy-feely intangible one (Illuminate Freedom Coaching)

And as I celebrate the 9th trip of my business around the sun

I did some research this week and learned that across so many religions, spiritual disciplines, and cultural/mythological realms — the number 9 is a number signifying letting go and rebirth.

So how fitting that I’m celebrating my 9th business birthday right at the end of winter, and right at the start of spring.

But, just as new seed starts are particularly vulnerable as they peek up from beneath the soil, I’ll be perfectly frank that this feels incredibly vulnerable to me, too.

I hunch that it’s because I’m as close to aligning my external work with the inner Story of my Soul’s intended purpose as I have ever been.

But, just as when I birthed this business baby in a room in my home 9 years ago — long before I felt fully “ready”

I know it’s time to reveal what the next iteration of this business is going to be, long before I feel fully “ready.”

For years I’ve guided my own clients to see that ready is not a date on the clock, but a decision.

I absolutely do not believe that we need to plow through and do everything with shaking knees and tears streaming down our cheeks.

I don’t believe that we need to ignore the signals of our inner wisdom that tell us to “slow down and gestate a little longer”

But I also know that everything has a divinely gifted birth date.

And it is here at my 9th birthday that it’s time to open a new chapter.

Even though parts of me are like "LFG!!!! Let's DOOOO THIS" -- not every part of me is filled with endless courage and enthusiasm.

This is where you come in.

If you would be so kind — I invite you to send some support and hype to that part of me that feels nervous and scared as she sticks her head up from the soil. It would mean the world to me (and her)!

And PS -- I'll be revealing and unveiling the big news in my next blog post. So stay tuned to see exactly what's coming next.