If it's just fear...

I've jumped off of the cliff and am free falling. Am I a little nervous? You bet. Am I exhilarated? Yep, that too, but I've got my parachute on and that's Working Class Acupuncture in Portland, OR. They are showing me the way.

I graduated from school on December 16th of last year and opened my community acupuncture clinic on May 14th. It's a sizable clinic with 1,742 sf and 16 recliners. I jumped into this opportunity despite my fears and reservations. In school sitting in practice management class I kept saying to everyone else, "how's this going to work, how are we going to be able to make money?" I have a strong background in business and just couldn't see how the touted model would work since I myself couldn't afford $ 65 a week for acupuncture. I started creating my own model using auricular and distal points only, in massage chairs in one big room with curtains. I told my supervisor my idea the week before graduation and she said, "that's WCA in Portland, you should check it out." I got on their website and thought wow, someone's already doing this. Two days later I received an email invitation that Ann Mongeau was coming to talk about WCA and the community acupuncture model. Well, how could I not go to that? I listened to Ann, went home, and promptly signed up for the February conference.

We all have the ability to "know it when we see it" with almost everything in our lives; relationships, jobs, clothes, houses, etc.. Usually, the big thing that holds us back from choosing or following through on these things is our fear. The fear of getting hurt, losing money, losing face, or any other fear you may have.

In 1992 my husband and I decided to sell everything, leave Minnesota, and buy a bar/restaurant in upstate New York. Everything just fell into place on the deal, and then we hesitated. We had a long talk and I told him if the only thing holding us back was our fear then we had to do it. We left for NY in 1993 with our 3 children (5, 3 and 9 months old) and were there for 1 year. (The stories I could tell you) It was one of the worst years of my life in many ways, but it was also one of the best for my personal growth. As bad as things got we never hit the bottom. Someone or something always came along just when we needed it. I learned to trust in the universe and give up my need to not accept help from anyone. I was humbled and made to admit that I cannot be everything to everybody. This experience allowed me to believe that anything is possible.

We limped back to Minnesota, and restarted our lives as different people. If we knew then what we know now, we would never have made that move, but we would have lost out on a life-changing experience. Opening a large acupuncture clinic 5 months out of school may seem crazy to a lot of people, and I do have my moments of "What was I thinking?", and there is the money that we've invested. However, I learned that money can be replaced, people and experiences cannot.

If you have a wonderful opportunity present itself are you going to go for it and just do it, or will you let fear hold you back? Remember, if it's just fear then you must push through it and take the chance. I can't promise a smooth ride, but personal growth is guaranteed.