We were lucky to catch up with Christopher Missimo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Christopher, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Law school was one of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken. In 2020, amidst the pandemic, at age 28, with a thriving and full therapy practice and a second practice about to launch, I began law school at Texas A&M School of Law. I already completed seven years of college education across two degrees in five years, eradicated $80,000 of student loan debt, and yet I was about to put life on pause to pursue one of the most difficult academic endeavors. To make matters worse, and to be completely vulnerable, I was the very last applicant accepted. I received the phone call a day after classes began and had 24 hours to accept the admissions offer. After speaking to my closest family and friends, I took the plunge.

So, why on earth would I do such a thing? Why give up a stable career, a thriving business, and financial freedom? Why pause life at 28? Purpose and fit. Throughout the now 6 years of my career as a therapist, I’ve felt out of place. While I enjoy helping clients, I do not feel that my therapy style really fits with the expectation surrounding the therapeutic process. In other words, due to my analytical way of thinking, my emphasis on empirical evidence, and my emphasis on being genuine, I often don’t feel that I fit with the therapy community. In contrast, when working on the business components of the practice, I feel my strengths are emphasized. I can definitively say that’s it’s hard to find ultimate peace in life when you don’t feel your natural talents are being emphasized in a way that helps others. And while I was helping others through therapy, I know my real opportunity to make an impact is through law and in particular, through business and corporate functions of the law. Law school was always 1b to my pursuit of psychology as 1a. I wasn’t going to allow the next 40 years of my life to be void of an ultimate career fit. I hope to continue seeing therapy clients after law school, but I hope to be more selective by taking those that I feel I can make the most impact with. With this new path, I’m confident that I will feel that peaceful balance of purpose and fit that I think all people desire.

Today, I’m one year away from being a lawyer. Despite being the last person admitted, let’s just say that’s I’m doing well academically. I don’t want to jinx anything until grades are final! I still have my practices and clients are still being served through them. Thankfully, I will possess no debt after law school. On the flip side, I’m constantly tired, but I’m happy to know that I’m where I’m supposed to be. If you’re in a position where you don’t feel a sense or purpose and fit, I hope that you measure different types of risks that may get you out of that position. It’s not too late! Next year I’ll be a “lawtherapist” and I can’t wait!

Christopher, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As a therapist I’ provide psychotherapy, performance training for athletes, and psychological assessments. In the future as an attorney I hope to provide business and corporate law services.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

Funny enough, my business partner was my supervisor our of graduate school. While I’m very analytical, somewhat brash and assertive, and concise, my partners is very reflective and takes a softer approach to things. I knew pretty early that our personalities made a great fit! We talked about starting a business for years because we shared a passion for therapy, but also for helping therapists develop themselves as business owners.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

You must understand business. Finance, taxes, liability, website design, branding, marketing, and much more. Most therapists dream of working in private practice. Then they arrive and realize they are not prepared for the realities of that world. So, instead they work for someone else and give them a perpetual cut. If they want to ultimately experience the freedom of private practice, they must attack the process of business development. If you won’t take those things seriously, you’ll always find yourself paying a cut to someone else.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.Avantidfw.com
• Instagram: cmissimo
• Linkedin: Christopher Missimo
• Twitter: cmissimo