I don’t know if it is just me or if it’s my writing or my sites, but I can’t tell you the number of struggling massage therapists who contact me telling me how much they are struggling to build a massage practice. I know I struggled for most of my career until I started writing and creating websites and making money from doing that.
With so much information out there like all of the books and programs and articles and resources – how couls anyone really be struggling? What is it that makes the difference between someone who struggles along day to day as a massage therapist and one who is highly successful? And then I hear so many massage therapist saying this unbelieveable statement
It isn’t about the money
So why are you then driving yourself around and around in circles, beating yourself up because you don’t have enough clients to make ends meet? If money isn’t important why are you working two jobs in addition to trying to build a practice and working for free or working low paying jobs in massage therapy just to pay the rent? If money wasn’t so important why are you charging for your massages at all?
And then there are those massage therapists complaining about things like “our school didn’t have an externship – that would have guaranteed me a job in massage’ or ‘the insurance industry isn’t paying me what I was told they would’ or my employer just takes advantage of me and only pays me $15 an hour when I deserve so much more. Then there are the “I told them everything I knew about massage and they still wouldn’t get a massage or I gave them all the exercises to do and they didn’t want to do them.”
The reason why so many massage therapist fail to build a successful business has more to do with their beliefs and the ego. Your ego is the unconscious part of you – it is all of your beliefs that are really running the show and creating the struggle for you. Your ego is telling you that you aren’t worthy of charging what you are worth. It is the one who keeps complaining of all of the things outside of yourself- it’s the school’s fault, it’s the economy’s fault – it isn’t your fault! Actually it isn’t really your fault. It is a result of your early childhood upbringing where your beliefs about yourself were created. While it isn’t about blaming parents and caregivers – it is about becoming more conscious of these beliefs that were created at such an early age. The way to get in touch with your beliefs is about getting in touch with what you are feeling. What are you actually feeling the second before you complain about something else as the cause of your struggling? That is where the heart of getting out of the struggling lies! In feeling the pain, grief, saddness. Those are the feelings of the ego. Whenever you are feeling anything but love, joy and happiness you can know it is the work of the ego.
So how does one release the hold the ego has on you ? Just acknowledging the fact that you know it is your ego is the first part. But sometimes it takes time to realize that. It may be a few days later and you can say “oh there is was the other day when I was complaining that I didn’t have any clients”. The more you can become aware of the fact and practice becoming aware then one day you will be about to complain or try to give someone advice and you’ll notice that it is the ego trying to cover up a feeling and you may even be able to just feel the feeling first without having to act on it.
If we are complaining that our businesses are slow because of the economy or because we think that people just don’t want to take responsibility for themselves we can know it is the ego sending us a message. We can begin to challenge our beliefs about ourselves and learn that what we see in others or complain about is really a reflection of a part of ourselves. Somewhere inside what you see in others is really what is going on inside of you. Is it true? is what Byron Katie asks in her book “Loving What is: Four Questions that can change your life”. Is it true that it is the economy to blame for your slow business? 100% true beyond a doubt, beyond anything else and is your business slow totally 100% because of the economy? (or could it be because you didn’t market your business or do the things you need to do?)
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I read your article.
Most people need money to survive, I agree. For myself the number one reason I became an RMT (Canada) first and foremost was because I wished to help others. There was lots of love in my family and my early days were pretty much beautiful. Work has been a dream; all I have desired and more have been complained. One of the biggest points is, from day one the passion and love for the work has always been there. The rest took care of it self and continues to today. I’ve done well and there has never been a problem.
I do not share most of your points and I am thankful to read your view point.
Hope this helps.
Thank you,
A
Donna
You bring up a point which many massage therapists never really understand.
If you are employed by a physician (and I mean “employed”–not an independent contractor) and you perform medical services inside his or her office under his or her direction, you are not operating under your own license, but instead his or her physician’s license.
As I had one doctor explained it to me: “I could have you do surgery for me and it would be legal, as long as I was there. Would it be a smart move? No, but legally it could be done, just my ass and license if it all goes wrong–You could just walk away”.
Hope this helps.
Great article thank you!
Hey Julie
I’ve worked for a couple doctors in the past year, one being a DC and the other a MD.
Both doctors have asked me to do things outside of my scope of practice. One even training me in Kinesio taping BUT it’s not something I can do on my own (I think).
If we are asked to do additional services such as diathermy, kinesio tape, TENS unit, with a doctors prescription AND under their supervision, is that something we should be paid for because they ARE additional services that the doctor will be paid for by the insurance companies.
Thank you!
D