We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gigi Good a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Gigi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

Even though I trust that everything has happened at the right time, in the way that it’s meant to, I can’t help but reflect on how far along i’d be if i’d found Chinese Medicine sooner and had been cultivating my craft all these years. While I did work for myself as a personal trainer for a couple years before going back to school, I would have loved to start my journey in holistic medicine earlier because the medicine is so vast and there is so much to learn. I also love that young people know being an entrepreneur is a really feasible option. This wasn’t even really a concept for me growing up. Everything was go to school, get a job for a company and work there as long as possible. I feel like the options for people now are endless. There is endless creativity in how you might want to run a business or work for yourself and create the exact life you want doing something you love. No matter how late I am to the party, I wouldn’t change it. I learned a lot coming up the ranks in the Army and working for companies. I would never work for anyone again as long as I can help it!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Gigi and I’m an acupuncturist and herbalist. I was a personal trainer for almost 10 years, and began to realize that fitness and nutrition weren’t going to solve people’s deeper health issues. They weren’t getting solutions through Western medications. The tools are just not robust enough to solve certain health concerns. I’ve always been passionate about health and nutrition and when I had my own health crisis, I realized the problem was much deeper, since I already ate healthy and exercised. I ended up seeing a naturopath who helped me heal my thyroid and gut without medication.

Intitially, I wanted to study functional medicine, and going to school for acupuncture seemed like the quickest path to get there. But after experiencing the medicine, I realized how vast and comprehensive Chinese Medicine is and wanted to tell as many people as possible. I work with any and all patients who are experiencing a health concern that they can’t resolve with allopathic medicine. Lifestyle is a huge part of the medicine so we usually discuss exercise and nutrition and how to support their body on their own without medication. However, I am very drawn to and passionate about issues like anxiety and depression, and how those can actually stem from physiological imbalances. I’m also continuing to study autoimmunity and how to reverse the disease process. Most people don’t realize you can actually live disease free, even if it takes a bit more work. Environment, trauma, and lifestyle all inform these diseases states.

I’m so grateful I found this medicine and get to bring it to people little by little.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My past is 100% based on resiliency. From a childhood trauma, to being a war veteran, to being an MMA fighter. Everything i’ve done leading up to this point has given me the strength to keep going now, when starting a business is incredibly challenging. I know from my past experiences that i’m exactly where i’m meant to be, and that I will continue to grow into the practitioner i’m meant to be. I remember when I first started MMA, I was so shy and lacked confidence. Over the course of six years, I learned to believe in myself with every victory and yes, every loss. I remember my first MMA fight and all I wanted was to know I could go into the cage and not quit on myself or not let my nerves destroy my training. I won the fight and it was the best feeling in the world. From then on, I knew MMA was not about winning, but about cultivating a stronger version of myself. I had no idea what it would lead to but now I can see how it strengthened my to continue growing and help others cultivate the best version of themselves.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Just as I was about to turn to MMA professionally, I got a concussion that affected me for over a month. I knew that I couldn’t keep up the damage to my brain, so I quit even though being a professional athlete had always been a dream of mine. I didn’t realize at the time that MMA was just a path to the next version of myself. It was so heartbreaking to make the decision, but I also knew my daughter deserved a mama who was in good condition. It really scared me, but the universe kept corroborating my decision, so I knew it was right. From there, I started my personal training business and eventually found myself back in school for acupuncture and herbs. I wouldn’t go back and change anything.

Contact Info:

• Website: healthrebelscolorado.com
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Image Credits
Dusty Rose