Ten years ago, I began working with clients. Tapping with them. Praying with them. Listening. Allowing. Providing a safe space for them to be wherever they were in this messy life experience. Facilitating relief. Quite simply, I was terrified!
I hadn’t approached this calling lightly. I had started studying both EFT and Spiritual Practitioner skills 6 years before. I dove deep. Hundreds of hours of classes. Thousands of hours reading, practicing, praying, meditating, contemplating…searching for Truth, for answers, for the way out of pain and into joy. And that wasn’t even where this journey began for me. I’ve been asking these questions and exploring since childhood, following a path that looked like a tree with many branches, many avenues. But this is when I got serious. Instead of jumping from workshop to book to teacher, I stopped being a jack of all trades and master of none. I wanted depth, not quick, easy answers.
Finally, tentatively, I entered into this wide coaching world, wondering if I would be able to make a difference at all. I charged rock bottom, sliding scale rates. Business was syrupy slow. Once a month or so, a world-weary person would take a chance on me, that maybe, just maybe this weird stuff I did might be of use to them. I dried tears and applied what I knew. And miracles unfolded before me. Even so, my practice limped along as a part time gig for years.
By day (and evenings and Saturdays), I toiled in a social service career that was no longer working for me. At one point it had been the answer to a most-needed stable life, with its benefits, paid time off, and educational opportunities. I was thrilled. I realized the part of me that silently encouraged people to ask for my advice and reveal their secrets for as long as I could remember was actually a valuable skill. Who knew? I was making a difference!
But if you’ve ever stayed in something you’ve outgrown (job, relationship, location) you already know what I’m about to say.
That which saves you can also skewer you. If you stay longer than you’re supposed to, that blessing can become a nightmare.
And that’s what happened to me. I slipped on ice in front of my office and broke my fibula. (Right after I looked up the building on a dreadful Monday morning and thought, “I HATE this place!” The power of thought and emotion in motion!) I started reacting to the mold in the building and was losing my once powerful memory. All those precious benefits were being eroded. Educational opportunities ended. A new, rigid CEO took over the company and stopped everything that had once made it a wonderful place to work. But fear kept me stuck.
Until an unexpected opportunity came along to work for the Tapping Solution. I was giving up a lot. Health insurance, some much needed income, and all the perks I had acquired after 15 years. But I knew if I stayed in my office-with-a-window-prison, my health and happiness were in jeopardy. I took a chance. Through the company, I met so many incredible EFT practitioners. My people. My tribe.
A couple years later I was officially out on my own, giving self-employment a real shot. I used the extra time to work even harder on my own healing, developing exchanges with a few talented tapping buddies. I did free talks to anyone who would have me. The more I shared, the more I wanted to share. No longer exhausted from juggling multiple jobs, I fell head over heels in love with my work. I woke up excited every day. This was what I had always wanted and now it was happening, for me??? Satisfied clients told their friends. My business grew into an actual, real life business. One that I see continuing to grow in the future. When I sit across from a client, I not only know who they are. I know who I am. This is what I came to this planet to do. I am so grateful.
This weekend I will gather with friends, colleagues, and clients to celebrate my 10-year mark.
Not because it was easy. Not because it was effortless and smooth. It was none of these.
I am celebrating that I stuck with it. That I faced, instead of avoided, all the hurdles that presented themselves. I found ways to heal them. And still do! I am celebrating that I got crazy brave and surprisingly bold. I developed parts of myself I didn’t know I had, not because I wanted to but because the work required it. Courage became my best coworker, pushing me forward when I wanted to step back, stripping me bare when I craved a mask. I celebrate my authenticity and vulnerability. I celebrate every trauma healed, every tear shed, every time I said Yes when I wanted to say No.
I celebrate every single client who has trusted me with their precious hearts. Every tap. Every prayer. Every laugh. Every a-ha moment.
I celebrate possibilities, faith, perseverance and GRACE. God’s infinite, overflowing, eternal grace. Equally available to us all. There are still times this surprises me. Total awe.
I almost gave up, so, so, so many times. But the Universe didn’t give up on me. That “still, small voice” of the Higher Self encouraged and inspired when I was “this close” to cashing it all in.
I celebrate every friend and colleague that has helped. For every referral. For every piece of advice. For every tip shared. Every interviewer and interviewee. For every opportunity given, to talk, to teach, to share, for no other reason than those folks are enormously generous and kind. It takes a village to raise a business too. That these often came when they were most needed brings tears to my eyes.
There’s a lesson I’d like to share. Please, make times to CELEBRATE YOU! Celebrate every single success, great and small. Maybe you finally finished that online class. Or bought your first new car. Or saw your first client. Let me be that voice of encouragement for you. When I shared with a good friend and colleague about my 10-year mark, I said, “Maybe I’ll throw a party the next big milestone” and she encouraged me to do it and do it now. I’m so glad I listened.
Your successes want your acknowledgement. Give them the love and attention they deserve and let others share in your happiness. You are so worth it!
Kris Ferraro is an International Energy Coach, Speaker, and Teacher. She compassionately helps clients transform their lives, specializing in the areas of Self Esteem, Relationships, Anxiety, Spiritual Issues, Grief, Creative Blocks, and Stress. You can find her at www.krisferraro.com.