We recently connected with Jami Christine and have shared our conversation below.
Jami, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?
My first job was painting backdrops for photographers, and that job has defined my career life ever since. I answered an ad for a company looking to hire an artist when I was a sophomore in high school. At the time I didn’t realize what a risk the company was taking–I was just a kid, and they had no idea if I would be not only talented enough for the kind of work I’d be doing, but responsible enough and serious enough about the job. Of course I didn’t see myself that way–at 15 we’re all invincible right? When I got to the “interview,” the owner pointed to one of the backdrops and said he’d like me to try to paint that, and set me up with a blank sheet and a few instructions about the paint and technique. I’d never done anything like this before, but I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed the sponge and the paint and set to it. Later he told me he admired that–that I didn’t stop, didn’t question, just dove in and did it. I always remembered that comment.
The other defining factor of that job was the fact that I loved it. I never dreaded getting up to go to work in the morning, I never had a case of the “Mondays,” I never got that sinking feeling Sunday night that my free time is over. I wasn’t sure if I’d be at that job forever, but I made a promise to myself that no matter what I did, I’d make sure I always felt this way about work. I’d look forward to going, and enjoy being there.
I’ve kept that promise to myself, too. I’m an entrepreneur, and I love the freedom that comes with it. Not only that, but I love what I do in all aspects (and I do many things!). I’ve been a massage therapist since 2009 and I love helping people and making a difference in their lives, and I’m now also a hypnotherapist and author, both of which have been very exciting and fulfilling for me, though they’re both in their early stages of growth. Both journeys of becoming a hypnotherapist and author remind me of that first comment my boss made to me–that he admired that I just jumped in without question. That’s how I approached these new avenues in my career–just jump in! I wasn’t sure if I’d succeed or fail, but I wouldn’t know unless I tried.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’ve always been an out-of-the-box thinker, and one to march to my own drum. This shows up in my professional life, and I couldn’t be happier with the direction I’m going because of it (but that’s what happens when we live authentically!).
Pursuing massage therapy was inspired by a local massage therapist who helped me with ailments in my teenage years that mainstream medicine wasn’t helping me with. I admired her wealth of knowledge in holistic healthcare, and I aspired to do the same. I always said massage therapy was like my “diving board” and I’d be jumping into a pool of possibilities, and that’s exactly what I’ve done.
I’ve expanded into Touch for Health meridian balancing where I restore balance and well-being to the body’s natural energy flow, I’m a certified life coach, and a transpersonal hypnotherapist.
I’m most excited about where my hypnotherapy career is headed. I don’t offer the standard weight loss or smoking cessation hypnotherapy that one typically hears about. My technique, Expanded Healing Hypnosis, is very client-led and client-driven, where I guide you into a state of connection with your subconscious mind and lead you to find answers for yourself, whether it’s to unblock an area in your life in which you feel stuck, forgive someone who’s hurt you, release negative emotions that are holding you back such as grief, guilt, or resentment, gain clarity on your purpose and direction in life, and also explore the unknown. I’ve had clients travel to past lives, lives between lives, lives off-planet, they’ve connected with spirit guides, spoken with deceased loved ones, and even met a future version of themselves. I always want to add that I am never trying to prove that any of these experiences are real (as many will argue that they’re not, and that it’s just “all in your head”). You are free to believe in your experience in whatever ways feel right to you. MY goal is that you come away from the experience feeling healed, enlightened, comforted, inspired, motivated, or any other positive outcome you desire, and so far those have been the results I’ve achieved. I pride myself in providing a safe space to explore these deeper aspects of yourself, too. Nothing is too “weird” or “out-there” with me, and you will never be judged or criticized for what you share or experience in or out of a session.
All that being said, it may be apparent that I’m interested in all things metaphysical, and that is what has inspired me as an author. My debut novel, The Transcendent, is a young adult fiction about a girl who has the ability to cross souls to the Other Side if they’re dying alone, but when she encounters a soul unwilling to die, she discovers she has the ability to bring them back, but with consequences. It’s a story of self-acceptance and personal growth in the face of life’s challenges, and I hope it inspires readers in their own lives to realize that when challenges happen that are out of our control, we still have the power of our free will to choose how we overcome them.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Follow your joy. Success to me is not defined by how much money I make or how high I climb a ladder, but in my level of joy in my life and my positive impact on others. I have made joy my top priority in all aspects of what I do, not just in my career but in my personal life too, and I use that as my compass to lead my way. If I’m feeling a lack of joy in any area, it’s my cue to pause and reflect: what’s not working for me? What has me feeling stuck or depleted? What am I able to change, and what changes can I make to lead me back on the path I want to be on?
Now, don’t get me wrong, I understand living in constant joy isn’t realistic. Humans come with complex emotions, and it’s important to experience all of these emotions. I’ve definitely had my bad days and low points in life, but when I hit those, I remind myself that it’s only temporary. Eventually I’ll come back up, but where do I want to be when I do? And if I find myself in a prolonged state of frustration or disappointment, I try to look at what’s causing that, and what I can change to improve things. Sometimes those changes come with hard or scary decisions, but it’s always better to face the fear rather than stay in a situation that isn’t working.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
In 2017 my massage business suddenly took a turn toward unexpected growth and I was presented an opportunity I hadn’t planned on pursuing. I had only ever been interested in the solopreneur journey, but when another massage therapist joined me, followed by a chiropractor looking to expand his practice, I found myself with a team that worked well. We agreed that the idea of a wellness center sounded like the next step to take, and at the same time a property was available that offered the perfect location for this idea to blossom. My husband at the time and I purchased it, and The Phoenix Holistic Wellness was born. Since then The Phoenix has been home to other massage therapists, mental health counselors, and yoga instructors, but it’s also been the source of opportunities for me to learn a lot about myself as both a person and a business owner. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned was how to see what works and doesn’t work for me, and what’s most aligned with my visions for my ideal future. This included my home life, which led to a divorce that opened up many doors of possibilities and opportunities for me.
After a successful 6-year run with The Phoenix, the chiropractor who began the journey with me realized his practice had outgrown the space and needed more room, and I was presented with a question: do I keep my position of owning and managing a wellness center, or do we trade places and I rent space from him? If I let go of The Phoenix, did that mean I failed? This brought me back to my core philosophy: that success is defined by joy, not money or ladders. There was definitely a career ladder to be climbed by owning a wellness center, but is that what I truly wanted? There were stresses that came with that, as well as time and energy that I could be spending elsewhere, such as growing my hypnotherapy practice and writing. I realized that my joy lied within the growth of my personal endeavors, and managing a wellness center was outside of that. Letting go of the wellness center was not a failure: the only failure would have been to continue down a path that I knew wasn’t right for me.
I now rent space at Limitless Chiropractic in Red Bud, IL, and I haven’t regretted that decision once. I’m proud of the wellness center and how well it did, and like the bird for which it was named, all of us practitioners who were part of The Phoenix have all experienced beautiful rebirths into the next chapters of their careers, and that’s what I’m most proud of.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.jamichristine.com
- Instagram: @authorjamichristine
- Facebook: @authorjamichristine
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamichristine
