The career move I’ll never regret
July 31st, 2009
It took me three years from the time I decided to leave my career in advertising to when I actually did. I remember the first day I considered a career change – I was in my office with the door closed, searching the internet for nutrition schools.
After all, I had started college as a physical therapy major and got straight A’s. When I changed majors to graphic design in college, it was mostly because I didn’t like the idea of working in a conventional hospital or outpatient setting. But now, here I was deciding that the health field was maybe a better fit after all.
My mom suggested I take a look at a holistic nutrition program she’d heard about: The Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). “Mom,” I said, “That doesn’t look like a real school. I need a degree to be taken seriously. I want to do this right.”
Trouble was, my degree was in art. And to apply to any masters programs in nutrition required a bunch of science courses I had never taken. Plus, these masters programs were wicked expensive and required fulltime attendance. Hmmmm. I looked into the jobs I’d get as a Registered Dietitian and saw that at least in the Boston area everything was a job in a hospital. This was not for me.
I shook off the idea of nutrition and carried on, working in advertising, changing companies and then freelancing. I was looking for something but I really wasn’t finding it. And of course, it’s SCARY to change careers. It’s easier to keep your eyes down and get through the day. And the next day. And the next.
During my yoga teacher training I got to know people who made their living in non-mainstream ways. There were massage therapists and reiki practitioners, acupuncture students and of course, yoga teachers. I guess it got me thinking. These were successful people doing what they loved. So I took another look at IIN.
This time, it was the right time. I read all about the program online and signed up the very next day. I was able to do that because I didn’t need any pre-requisites and I didn’t need to rearrange my life. I simply had to decide that I could travel to New York about once per month for weekend classes. Totally doable! People literally travel from all over the world to attend IIN. All I had to do was take the bus down from Boston. And, the tuition was affordable. I paid in full.
Fast forward to last January. I started school and the very first person I met on the very first day was Laura:
There were tons of people – about 1500 of us in that room! Laura and I sat together and saw Joshua speak for the first time. Joshua is the founder of IIN. He is also the main teacher. Sometimes he’s serious and smart, and sometimes he’s really funny.
Either way, he’s the kind of speaker that keeps you engaged and listening, never nodding off in your seat. I learned so much from him by the way he related to others. I never had a teacher who could talk about death and sex and emotion and food in such a smart, calm way.
But we had lots of other great speakers: Sally Fallon, Paul Pitchford, David Wolfe, Marion Nestle, Howard Lyman, Barry Sears and Deepak Chopra to name a handful. This is world class stuff, people. This is cutting edge information that goes way beyond the political and nonsensical USDA food pyramid.
Sometimes, students became the teachers by sharing their experiences with the group.
And sometimes we got a taste of each other’s talents that went far beyond health counseling.
We made friends. Every weekend, that crowd of 1500 people had more and more familiar faces. We had lunch together in Central Park,
and dinners together at restaurants around the city. Here’s a group of us at Pure Food and Wine on our last class weekend:
We learned a whole lot about nutrition and even more about working with people. I like to say that the school, for me, was 50% about food and 50% vocational training. I really learned HOW to go about counseling others and how to start and market my private practice. Robert Notter runs the business training part of IIN and his guidance was invaluable. I never would have figured out on my own how to get an email newsletter or teleseminar together!
I can’t believe how much learning was packed into this program. We were treated as adults, with many opportunities and very few rules. Do you learn best from reading? Then read. Do you learn best from listening? We got tons of extra lessons via live speakers and mp3s. There was constant support on the online forums – a place to ask questions and talk to other students. In my opinion, the practical assignments were the most helpful. They were the ones that got us out there and doing the work, talking to people, making contacts and doing real work in the world.
Throughout our months together, students did amazing things. Heck, I did amazing things! We watched one woman heal herself from chronic migraines and countless others experiment with diet and lifestyle to achieve better health. An anti-GMO group formed, people started making raw chocolate bars to sell and the GLBT family got together to create Out For Wellness. Everyone started working and making money sharing their love and support with clients.
And 7 months later…we graduated! Many of us will continue on in the Immersion Program – a free 2nd year where we’ll have conference weekends and provide support to the incoming class. In addition to my certification as a health counselor, I’m also certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. Sweet!
I’m really glad I got to experience IIN in person. It was worth the many bus rides to NYC. I made so many wonderful friends and found strength in doing something like this for myself. But the Distance Learning program is the wave of the future!
Many people seem to find me and email to ask about IIN, so I hope you have all found this post helpful. If you have any questions at all, take a listen to my answers to some frequently asked questions and don’t hesitate to email me at michelle@findyourbalancehealth.com.
