My #1 Piece of Advice to Healers, Coaches, Practitioners and Fellow Seekers on the Path
Nobody ever told me this.
In my 15+ years practicing Shamanic work, 12 years practicing Reiki and 9 years owning and operating my own business, not one single person ever gave me this piece of advice.
Which I find hilarious, because it's one of the most common pieces of advice that I'm offering to my Spiritual Mentorship clients.
As I continue to work with more and more people in a mentorship capacity (healers, coaches, practitioners, both those who are new to their practice and those who are well-established but wanting to serve more), one glaring commonality keeps coming up:
"I can't ____________________ until/because _______________________."
I can't start taking clients until I make a website.
I can't start offering sessions because I'm not totally clear on my niche yet.
I can't do healing work for other people until I've healed myself.
I can't take clients until I've practiced more and am really good at ______ first.
I can't _________ because I don't have a certification.
I can't quit my job because my healing practice isn't where I want it to be yet.
I can't shift the focus of my work because I'm known for __________.
I can't introduce this new practice I'm really excited about because it means I will lose clients who are used to me serving in a certain way.
I can't ___________ because the market is saturated and a bajillion people do that.
Do any of those sound familiar?
We humans are really, really good at coming up with reasons why we shouldn't do something that will stretch us, challenge us and move us in a direction of growth and expansion. I'm not sure if healer/coach/service-types are more prone to this (or if maybe that's just who I hang out with), but I can't tell you how many people over the years I have heard give all sorts of reasons why they can't offer their work.
Believe me, I do this, too! I have been through all sorts of my own versions of these statements over the years. They still come up, but I've learned to recognize them and move through them with a smile.
How?
Okay, so this #1 piece of advice actually comes in four parts. Here they are:
1. There is no "arrival."
Many of these "I can't" statements are conditional upon some sort of "arrival" or achievement--the idea that we must reach some sort of arbitrary finish line in order to finally offer our work or service. Here's the kicker: the finish line keeps moving.
The more we know, the more we realize we don't know. (Or maybe that's just me.) We think that getting that certification will finally enable us to do this work, and then once we have it, we think we need another training on top of that, and then we need to go study this supplementary practice, and then go train with XYZ expert in the field...
Guess what: we are never "done." There is no "arrival." There is no "I am finally qualified because I have all the certifications and know every little thing so now I can officially open my practice and start helping people!!"
Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying, or has stopped growing, themselves.
You don't have to have all the answers to be a good healer/coach/practitioner/whatever. And while there might be some fields where certification or licensure is required by law, for the most part, you probably don't actually need to cross whatever arbitrary finish line you created for yourself in order to serve the people you want to help.
In fact, by waiting to offer your work until you've "arrived," you are making yourself unavailable to the people who need you.
Which leads me to...
2. Just do the thing!
Yup. It's that simple. Just start offering your work. Don't wait until you figure out exactly what you're offering, don't wait until you have a website, don't wait until you quit your corporate job, don't wait until you've healed yourself completely (see #1).
...because the best way for you to figure out what you're offering is to get immediate, direct feedback from doing the work.
...because the best way to make your website is once you already have a clear vision of how you are supporting people.
...because the best driver and inspiration for you to leave your corporate job to do the thing you love is doing the thing you love.
...because we are never done our healing journey. It is possible to be a phenomenal healer and still be on the path ourselves. In fact, it is impossible to be a phenomenal healer and NOT be on the path.
By simply doing the thing, eventually you will...
3. Master your craft.
Mastery comes from practice. There is no shortcut. There is no other way around it. Stop looking for a magic quick fix.
...and enjoy the journey of discovery! What happens when we treat the process and practice as the goal itself, instead of any imagined end result?
We allow ourselves to be fully present within the process.
We treat ourselves with more compassion, patience and generosity.
We treat others with more compassion, patience and generosity.
We are able to practice our craft with curiosity and awareness, as opposed to judgement and comparison.
We release attachment to outcome and take pressure off ourselves.
We usually enjoy ourselves more.
We get really freaking good at the thing we are practicing.
When we treat Mastery as a journey of practice, rather than any sort of state of enlightenment, it becomes more accessible to us and to our potential clients. I can guarantee you that anyone would rather work with you, the human who is practicing and mastering their craft all the time, than the all-enlightened-super-perfect-master-on-the-mountaintop. You've got this.
Which leads me to (most important part!!!)...
4. Let your I AM be your Medicine.
In other words, let your most authentic, fully expressed Self be your service. Yes. It's that simple. YOU, yourself, are the best Medicine you could offer.
As long as I'm making guarantees, I guarantee that there is someone out there who needs you, exactly as you are, to support them on their path. Not the version of you who looks cool on Instagram. Not the version of you who seems to have their whole life together. Not the version of you who has finally "arrived." (See #1.)
You, in your I AM, as your fully expressed Self, are ready to offer your Original Medicine to the world. Let that be enough.
Because it is enough.
Because you are enough.
This is one of the biggest challenges I have faced, personally and professionally: the idea that my Self, my I AM, exactly as I AM, is the perfect Medicine for me to offer. That it can really be that simple.
And the more that I have embraced my I AM and allowed my Original Medicine to come through in my work:
I trust myself more than I ever though possible.
I AM supporting myself and my clients through even bigger life challenges and changes with ease.
I have dramatically upleveled my practice and my business to greater degrees of alignment, effectiveness and grace.
My work is even more subtle, even more powerful and more enjoyable for me and my clients.
I AM experiencing more freedom of choice, time, resources and abundance.
I feel more authentically embodied in my life and my practice than ever before.
What would that version of your life be like? What would that version of your practice feel like?
Can you let your Self be enough?
If this advice resonates with you, I would like to offer you an invitation:
Next week, on Monday, August 13, I will open applications for I AM Medicine: the fall iteration of my Spiritual Mentorship work that begins September 4th. There is space in this work for you to explore your own I AM and claim your Original Medicine.
Are you ready to release any sense of "arrival?" Are you ready to just do the thing you have been waiting on? Are you ready to master your craft? Are you ready to let your most authentic Self be enough?
Any good mentor is walking the path with you, and I promise that I AM right here on this journey, too.
