I spoke to a woman yesterday who said that she really wanted to work in wellness but she had a degree in education - not medicine - and her family thought it was a terrible idea. "Why would anybody listen to you?" they said.
The first thing I told her was: Don't let anyone tell you that you can't work in wellness.
The global wellness industry is a $3.4 trillion market, or 3.4 times larger than the worldwide pharmaceutical industry. This includes many different categories such as workplace wellness, weight loss, alternative medicine and organic beauty. If you are passionate about sharing wellness information, you can turn that passion into a career.
Think beyond traditional doctors when you think about possible paths. You may not yet know which direction you want to take, but there are unlimited ways for you to share your healing gifts with the world.
Here are a few wellness careers that take less than a year to complete certification:
Massage therapist
Yoga teacher
Reiki Healer
Health Coach
Personal Trainer
In addition to these professions, there are also countless other ways to get involved in the wellness community such as:
Writing blogs, articles or books
Giving talks and doing public speaking
Planning wellness events or retreats
Hosting parties to sell non-toxic products
Creating wellness youth groups
One of my clients started a successful Farmer's Market in her community to raise awareness of healthy food and holistic living. At first, there were only five vendors and a handful of visitors. Within a few months, there were dozens of booths and a packed crowd of people eager to attend the event.
If you want to work in wellness, do your homework.
Grab a notebook and a pen and go interview as many people as possible who are working in wellness. Ask them what they do, how much money they make, whether or not they are certified, and anything else you can think of. This will help you to plot your course and make the best decisions for your new career.
After you finish your interviews, create a Vision of your career.
A vision is a picture of what success will be at a particular time in the future. It answers several questions, such as: What does my career look like? Who do I work with? How do I serve my clients and community? There are no wrong answers and no vision is too crazy. Everyone has a unique path and purpose. No two journeys are going to look the same.
Once you create the Vision, then it's time for the Customized Career Plan.
This is the part where you set your annual, monthly, weekly and daily goals that best fit your career and the things that you are trying to achieve. Sometimes we may set goals and have every intention of keeping our commitment, but we lose faith, strength, motivation, inspiration, or energy along the way. We fall into old habits. Go back into our comfort zone. That's ok. We're all human. You don't have to beat yourself up if you fall behind or get off track. You just have to get some support.
Reach out and connect with me. I've mentored hundreds of women just like you. You're not alone - you're part of an awesome community of women in wellness.