We recently connected with Mica Brownfield and have shared our conversation below.

Mica , appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

To me, risk is essential for our growth. I learned quickly that risk is only as skeptical, scary, and uncertain as we allow it to be in our mind. In 2017, I started to consider a new avenue in my professional field as a Mental Health Provider because I didn’t feel that my employer at that time was satisfying my purpose as a Clinician. I began to envision starting my own Private Practice so that I could feel in control of how I served people who sought Mental Health Services- I wanted to ensure people were treated with dignity and respect, and offered quality and appropriate treatment. In 2018, I launched my official website that would land me an ultimatum with the my employer that very next day. I didn’t have anything to go along with it, just a website. This is the day I got comfortable with risk. I resigned from $70k leadership position as Clinical Director to fall into faith, a vital key in risk-taking. If I had allowed doubt, fear, hesitation, and uncertainty ruminate in my thoughts I would not be where I am today. That was my very first business endeavor, and it was that risk that built a new lens in my core beliefs that would change me forever, Since then, I began a non-profit called Peers with Purpose and invested in my newest business endeavor- a mobile gaming trailer, Cruise Control Mobile Gaming. I have a plethora of ideas that I plan to execute as I see fit. Taking one big risk, aligned me with my given ability to confidently take risks by challenging my own negative thoughts and pushing myself out comfort zones. I wouldn’t say that it’s always easy, and as cliche as it sounds- no risk, no reward. The barriers are on us!

Mica , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Firstly, I would define myself as resilient. I have really grown from a place that a lot of people continue to struggle in, emotionally. I actually got into the Mental Health field as a Professional Counselor because I wanted to help others, the same way I wanted to be helped (like most of us do). I was a young mother, and moved to Atlanta in attempt to better myself. It was a struggle, in many ways; and I failed, many times. I decided that I wanted to defy the odds of statistics, so I made my best effort forward by completing both my undergrad and Masters program to give myself a push in a more professional direction. I graduated with my Masters In Counseling in 2014, and began my journey as a Licensed Professional Counselor. Fast-forward to current day, I have an array of experience in that industry, but it’s honestly been in my own healing that I have gotten to know myself at a much deeper level of awareness. I am a multi-faceted human being, not just a Mental Health Professional, or a mom, or any one title. Therefore I am capable or anything that I desire, I am not limited or bound by the parameters of one profession, and I feel confident in my ability to connect with anything that aligns with me. At this point in my life, I am more inclined to identify myself as an Entrepreneur. I own a Private Practice, Manifest Life Counseling, and although I do see clients I spend more time operating and growing the business. Currently, there are 3 other Clinicians in office providing services. We offer individual, family, and marriage/couples counseling. We have various specialties and practices that set us apart from others, that’s something that motivates me- what are we lacking in the community, and how can I bridge that gap. We have incorporated more holistic style treatments in our practice, like trauma-informed yoga and meditation; as well as treatment modalities that are highly effective (but not as common) such as the Gottman Method for couples, EDMR, and most recently Animal Assisted Therapy.

One of my endeavors that I am most excited about right now is Cruise Control Mobile Gaming! It’s actually the first mobile gaming in the Tri-Cities, many don’t even know what it is. Mobile Gaming is big in metro areas but not so much here, so I came up with a plan and vision, and when the opportunity presented itself I went for it! Cruise Control is extremely unique and one of a kind. It has 9 TV’s with 9 consoles- 4 PS5’s, 4 XBOX’s, a Nintendo Switch, and an Oculus virtual reality station. We are booking for private events, parties, community events, team building, tournaments, etc. It’s new, innovative, fun, and fascinating to just about anyone who steps foot inside. I am really proud of this one!

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

For Manifest Life Counseling, I started with nothing. I found a building that gave me the cheapest overhead, charged little to nothing to build clientele, and focused on learning the things that would eventually grow my business revenue and client base. I had to learn things about insurance paneling and credentialing so that I could open up the practice to a wider variety and demographic. As a Therapist, my biggest approach at building my client base was word of mouth. The most important attribute for that is authenticity and quality service. During the first year, I worked hard to build, paying myself little to nothing and just making ends meet. I saved up an enough to give me a cushion for a bigger, more conducive, office space right next to my current location. In 2019, I relocated with my best friend (also a Therapist), and the rest is history. I actually learned to streamline funds into other projects, both big and small, through what I built from Manifest. I turn profit into capital for new endeavors and investments. The more I get savvy with financial literacy, the more I realize there’s nothing I really can’t do- it’s just a matter of how and when.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Not so much as lesson to unlearn, but a belief system. I used to function in what I call, “not enoughness”, the constant fear that I would not have enough money, value, or assets to be able to do the things that I wanted to do in life. I realized a lot of people actually exist in this space. It is actually this exact mindset that keeps us from everything we’re entitled to. We are abundant beings. The space in which we exist is only limited through our beliefs and perceptions. When we feel limited in anything, we become limited. When we fret that we may not have enough, we don’t have enough. When we put off enjoying life to simply ‘save’ for a rainy day, life becomes a rainy day. Once I changed this mindset, my life changed for the better. I live in the freest capacity of abundance. It’s an amazingly beautiful thing to fall into the unknown, because most of the time what is waiting is exactly what we need.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.manifestlifecounseling.com and www.cruisecontrolmobilegaming.com
• Instagram: @manifestlifecounseling @cruisecontrol_mobile_gaming
• Facebook: @manifestlifecounseling @cruisecontrolmobilegaming