Happy Tuesday! I hope you are having a great start to your week. Last week I talked about IIN and how it’s shaped the person I’m becoming. Today, I want to talk more about how holistic health led me to holistic design.

In the last few weeks, I’ve been building out my design business! I have several clients (who I LOVE), mainly in the wellness space. I feel like I’ve finally found my stride. I’ve always wanted to run my own business, but was super intimidated by the idea of it. Then while getting my holistic health certification, I realized I could decide what I wanted to do in my day to day, and I dove into learning how to make it happen.

When I was in college, several people told me the worst thing I could do was not niche down. All throughout my college career I felt like I never fit the bill for any job postings. Rather, I thrived when I had several contracting jobs. At one point I had five jobs. Despite being qualified for many full time positions, I never got past the first round of interviews.

In college I pursued a lot of different passions. I enjoyed printmaking, sustainability, and working in the woodshop. I didn’t pick classes all in one niche – instead I explored anything that brought me joy. It felt like it was beginning to backfire on me. When it came time to graduate, I had no clue how to pick one thing or one company, because I was scared of getting stuck doing one thing. My heart just wasn’t in it.

Fast forward to January 2020 and I got sick with Crohn’s Disease. Then the pandemic hit. I stopped applying and let my illness speak to me. Anytime I get stressed and feel pain, I use that as my internal compass. Anything that makes it hurt, I steer away from. Joining IIN and making that investment scared me, but I felt in my gut it was the best thing I could do for myself.

Soon after starting I started preparing for my business. I wasn’t sure if I’d become a health coach, but I did know I was going to work for myself. One month later I met my first client who actually taught at IIN. Her story spoke to me (and we connected over printmaking) and I started working for her. Now I consider myself as an expert designer in the wellness space. Holistic health led me to holistic design.

It’s two months later now and my business is expanding rapidly. Everything that was meant to be has started falling into place and I have full confidence it’s just going to keep getting better. The more I’ve released control and let things come to me, the healthier I’ve felt, the more aligned, and the more clarity I’ve gotten.

I hope this inspires you to listen to your intuition and make aligned moves in the world – go after what lights you up!