Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cristin McElroy . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Cristin , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?
If you were to meet me for the first time you would think that I was a joyful fun loving person, and I am, but I wasn’t living my best life. It’s because I had scars and wounds in my heart and soul that I didn’t realize was affecting me in my everyday life, my relationships, and my marriage. I only let in a very small number of people to know my true self or know me deeply. My life started in turbulent waters with two irresponsible parents. My mother had just turned nineteen when she gave birth to me, my father older at twenty four. My mother’s abortion attempt led my father to marry her since that what young men of Catholic families did, or so my father thought, when he got her pregnant. Needless to say that is not a good reason to marry and of course in just one short year they were divorced. My father was already a full blown alcoholic and drug abuser with my mother following close in line. They divorced shortly after and decided it was best for her to leave him once the physical abuse and emotional abuse became too much and moved back to her home state of Michigan with me. I was just about eighteen months old when my father decided to kidnap me from her and bring me back to New Jersey to his parents house. A house that was also riddled with alcoholism, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. He thought I would be best there. I can only imagine the terror that infant self of me went through. My mother did not come back to get me…she left me to be with my father and my grandparents and that is the house I called home until I turned eighteen and left and never returned. From my first memory at three years old my life repeated the same sins that house collected, the terrible trinity of abuse…sexual, physical, and emotional. I aspired to be everything my family wasn’t, I was riddled with shame and pain that I buried deep into my being. Each time I go back to New Jersey I drive to the home I grew up in and sit in my car outside that house that bears the original rusty front door that I grew up in that the next owner didn’t care to fix and wonder if it’s because the torment that happened to so many people has literally seeped into the floorboards and has imprinted onto the new owners that they just let it rot. Sometimes I feel like throwing rocks at that house for the sins that occurred there and sometimes I just feel an overwhelming amount of sadness that seems to pour out the windows. That’s the house that built me and as hard as it was it did not break me either! I grew up and got married to my best friend and had four amazing kids, but somehow I let my pain hide in a part of me that would sometimes bubble up into my everyday life. My expectations for my life and marriage were high, remember I didn’t want to be like “them.” Then one day I fell upon a marriage retreat that boasted it could refocus my marriage and heal past hurts. I showed my husband and he agreed to join me. He also grew up in a family with their own problems that he desired healing from as well. I guess misery really does love company. We had hit a rough patch in our marriage that needed attention and I couldn’t have been more transformed than what that weekend did for me personally and our marriage. This program is called LoveRecon and it changed my life and my husbands for the better! This program helped me to truly forgive deep past hurts, and more importantly gave me the tools that I am able to use in each and every relationship I encounter! Most graduates of the program list it as one of the top five things they have ever done in their life and I couldn’t agree more! The week after I attended this retreat my clients noticed a different glow about me….that’s called peace and it was shining bright all over my face! This was so transformative for me I have committed myself to serve other participants that have taken the hardest step in the program which is to just show up. The directors of this program gave me and my husband the greatest gift we have ever received….healing from the past and tools to maintain that going forward. They are angels dressed as you and I and have a gift that is so special and rare I want the world to be able to have this peace and healing as we do. Isn’t that what life is all about… serving others. It’s not about us…want to know what your purpose is and what will make you happy? When your desire is to fullfill someone else’s needs something amazing happens, you fullfill your own in turn. One of our participants from our last seminar stated “this isn’t at all what I expected, it’s amazing, why isn’t this on the TODAY Show? Everyone needs this in their life!” I agree, and that’s why I wanted to share this very personal journey with you today because we are here and ready for your to begin a journey that will change your life and the people around you!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a healer, I’m a helper, I know that I have been bestowed with gifts that resonate with people which establishes trust and well being. Becoming an electrologist was a natural progression to another hat I once wore as a social worker. People entrust me with their skin and much more than that, their deeper selves. Being that this is a process which I will spend about eighteen months to two plus years with we get to know each other really well. I am going to remember your struggles and triumphs and talk about it with you when you come in. I make my clients feel so comfortable that they are able to share their lives with me. This is really what sets me apart from others, I’m a relationship builder. This is the key to be successful in business. Without it you don’t have much. Being able to foster close relationships is what will set you apart from your competition. Again, this is being selfless and putting your clients needs first. Engaging with your clients on a personal level is a skill that needs to be learned if you already don’t possess.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
A great lesson in life that I had to “unlearn” is being a yes person, a perfectionist. When you grow up in the conditions that I have you tend to want to make others feel good at the cost of your happiness and sanity. My house was chaotic so I needed to control everything else around me to feel secure. Something I still work on today is letting others help. It’s one of my greatest faults. When we don’t allow others to help us it can build up resentment because we expect them to just do these things instead of telling them our needs. It also takes away the joy that person will receive when allowed to do something you need. It gives the other person purpose and the ability to feel needed. Another lesson that I learned is to set good boundaries. What was special and unique about LoveRecon is there was another piece to the program called LifeRecon. This piece of the program is where you work on yourself as an individual. This is what makes this program magic…I was able to learn so many things about Cristin and understand that not everything I was doing was working. I learned how to set healthy boundaries. This was especially hard for me to since most of my immediate family broke those boundaries with me as a child. Feelings of hurt or possible hurt from someone would instantly shut me down and turn me off to them. I’m better at not having to control all situations. A great read to help assist with this is called “Boundaries” written by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. This is a wonderful book that you can apply to everyone from family and friends to professional relationships at work and in business. Enroll in LoveRecon or LifeRecon….we are in Atlanta just about every month. For more info please check out www.loverecon.org.
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
If I could go back to the first day I started college I would have become a Nurse. It’s funny that the only reason I didn’t choose that major is because I didn’t think I could give someone a needle. Here I am thirty years later using a needle every day I work. I handle stressful situations extremely well and would have excelled in the emergency department but……I am happy and blessed right where I am. This was the path I was supposed to be on and all of those other jobs shaped me into the person I am today. Electrolysis is in the medical field so I feel I have ended up exactly where I’m supposed to be. I will be celebrating nine years in business this December and I couldn’t be more proud or thankful! I get to use all my skills in one place offering more than just hair removal…remember it’s all about serving others and understanding their needs on a wider platform. For me that’s providing counsel, a shoulder to cry on, a friend to laugh with or someone you just need to lay it all out to. I have received many notes of thanks on receipts from my clients reading things like “therapy”, “I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know”, “thanks for the life coaching, I really needed it today,” “I’m so glad I found you, you have been such a blessing in my life.” Reading these notes fills my cup and confirms I’m doing it right! Thank you for the opportunity to share my story with you! I hope I’ve inspired you to make some first steps today….each new day gives us a clean slate to start over with lessons learned and the drive to do better than the last!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.whiterabbitelectrology.com
- Other: www.loverecon.org