June 6, 2024 • 32 mins
#056 The struggle to find a fulfilling career path within the constraints of the industry is a problem many of us encounter. The solution lies in recognizing the need to change and explore alternative career paths that align with our passion and values. Listen to what Divya, a Doctor of Physical Therapy, has to share about her journey from being in a traditional physical therapy practice to being a travel physical therapist, and to finally starting a virtual rehab and fitness coaching.
This episode highlights the importance of seeking balance, having the right connections, and being open to entrepreneurial opportunities that can bring both personal satisfaction and professional success. She shares the barriers she faced, the burnout she overcame, and the pivotal moments that sparked her evolution into a passionate advocate for patient care. Shake off any preconceptions about the glamorized travel therapy lifestyle as Divya shares her experiences. Discover how she cautiously but surely carved out a unique niche in the crowded online space, learning to trust in the value she could offer her audience.
Our conversation is an example of how possible it is to find fulfillment outside of traditional employment, offering encouragement for those ready to take a bold step towards a more satisfying career. Join us as Divya reflects on how her early interests in social media and content creation, once considered mere hobbies, laid the foundation for a thriving business that is as much about impact as it is about healthcare.
For links and show notes, head to: https://rehabrebels.org/056
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Rehab Rebels podcast.
Are you a rehab professionalready to transition to an
alternative career?
Hear inspiring stories fromothers just like you and learn
the best ways to bridge yourcareer gap.
This podcast has you covered.
Now here's your host, doctor ofphysical therapy and podcaster,
Tanner Welsh.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to another episode of Rehab Rebels.
In this episode, what we'regoing to talk about is finding
professional fulfillment ofteninvolves recognizing when a
chosen path is no longer alignedwith our values and taking bold
steps to make a change.
It's crucial to prioritize ourwell-being, acknowledge the need
(00:42):
for a shift and explorealternative career paths that
resonate with our passions.
This episode highlights theimportance of seeking balance,
pursuing meaningful connectionsand being open to
entrepreneurial opportunitiesthat can bring both personal
satisfaction and professionalsuccess.
So we'll give a littlebackground bio and brief work
(01:04):
history of our guest today,tivia.
She's a doctor of physicaltherapy.
She's from Houston, texas,currently resides in Las Vegas,
got her undergrad degree fromthe University of Houston, her
DPT from Texas Tech Universityand she's currently growing her
virtual rehab and virtualfitness business.
Growing her virtual rehab andvirtual fitness business.
(01:29):
She has been an outpatientortho PT for the last six years,
started in the hospital-basedoutpatient setting and started
fitness coaching in 2021 forpatients that were DC'd from PT
and wanted to continue to workwith her.
And then she started travel PTin 2021 and has been focusing on
her virtual rehab this year.
So hello, divya, welcome to theRehab Rebels podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Hi, yeah, thank you so much for having me on.
I'm really excited to do thistoday.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Thanks for taking the time to be on the show and
share your journey.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
So don't want to waste any time here, let's just
dive right in.
What made you decide to becomea physical therapist work in the
rehab field in the first place?
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Actually, I did not want to be a part of the
healthcare industry off the batand both of my parents worked or
work in the healthcare field tosome capacity.
My mom is in direct patientcare, so I saw her doing that
all my life and I saw all thestress that went with that and
they were also really pushing meinto that direction.
So I wasn't sure if that's whatI really wanted to do or not.
(02:34):
I knew that I didn't want adesk job.
I knew that I wanted to workwith people and so my interests
were, I thought, maybe taking metowards the counseling side of
things, getting into more of themental health space, that sort
of thing.
But they had a friend that ownedseveral clinics in the Houston
(02:54):
area PT clinics and I got intocontact with him, started
shadowing some other PTs in highschool and that was my first
real exposure to the field ofphysical therapy and it
surprised me in the sense that Iwasn't used to seeing
healthcare providers providecare in that capacity or that
(03:16):
manner.
I was seeing PTs sit withpatients and talk with them
about things that were beyondthe reason why they walked
through the door.
They're actually getting tobuild some relationship with
this and that's what I want tomake a career out of Really.
After that point, I stuck withphysical therapy as my choice
for what I wanted to do with mycareer after my senior year of
(03:39):
high school.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
For sure we get a little work.
History You're in theoutpatient setting for several
years.
What was some first sense ofawareness or signs that this
particular career path justwasn't quite right for you?
Speaker 3 (04:08):
would be doing and what I was actually doing was
not in line.
I felt my goal was to getbetter treating patients and
better as a clinician, but mostof the focus in terms of
feedback that I would get fromhigher ups were just about
productivity and more about, youknow, volume and numbers and
billing.
And ultimately, yes, there's abusiness component to being in
(04:29):
healthcare, but I just felt thatwas becoming more of a primary
motivator rather than reallydetailing patient care and
improving how we were deliveringcare to our patients and that's
and that's when I startedthinking, okay, is this really
what I signed up to do or isthere another way to maybe go
about achieving that goal,because it didn't really sit
(04:52):
right with me that that was theapproach.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Sure, what were some things that you know when you
were in that state, some thingsthat maybe you tried to feel out
whether this is really whereyou want to stay, or were able
to make a clear decision aboutokay, nah, I need to pivot over
into something else.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
You know, I really did try to make the most of the
first job out of PT school thatI had.
I tried to play it the way thatI was told to play it, go
through the systems in place tomake sure that my concerns were
being heard.
I did all the extra trainingsand I was wanting to move into a
leadership position so I couldhave the impact that I felt I
(05:34):
could have in the setting that Iwas in.
And ultimately I just feel likeI hit a ceiling I couldn't get
past what I needed to get past.
And then, really, I startedlearning.
I don't know that I want to evenmove into an administrative
position.
I don't know that that wouldgive me any more autonomy and
control over the patient careaspect, which I, you know, was
(05:55):
what I really cared about.
All the usual avenues wasn'tworking out.
Then I started thinking aboutwell, what can I do on my own
outside of this?
I saw that there was cash-basedPTs opening up in gyms and
fitness coaches and all theseother options were just starting
(06:16):
to show up on my radar, andthat's when I started looking
into that and for me, the firstoutlet was to go to fitness
coaching.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Yeah, and we'll dive into that for sure here in a
minute.
I'm curious about thisadministrative ladder and role.
It sounds like at some pointthat seemed a legitimate
opportunity to get away fromthis model of numbers are the
bottom line situation.
So what did you realize ordiscover that you realized this
really wasn't going to work forme either, this administrative
(06:48):
leadership role.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah, I think even when I was in college, I just
always knew that I was going towind up doing something, or I
was going to want to wind updoing something more than just
being a staff PT, and I alwaysthought it was just moving up
the corporate health healthcareladder becoming a supervisor
director, whatever it may be,and I was, like I mentioned, I
(07:10):
was being groomed for all thosethings.
I was at all the workshops andcommittees that I needed to be
on to grow into that role andultimately I started seeing that
being in middle management wasnot creating the changes to
policy and changes toexpectations concerning billing
(07:31):
productivity, creating thisextra pressure on clinicians.
They were just a mouthpiece forthe higher ups above them.
I was like, well, how high updo I have to go to make the
change that I want to see?
Is it even within the hospitalsystem or is it outside of that
too?
This just seems like anunending rat race and that's not
something.
I was going to be happy tryingto chase that for the rest of my
(07:53):
life.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Absolutely yeah.
Thanks for that clarity.
That makes a lot of sense.
What were some of the firstsigns of traction with this
coaching role and fitnesscoaching role that you mentioned
?
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Yeah, it's funny because I don't think I ever
would have initiated doinganything in that realm until
patients started asking me why Iwasn't doing it.
And so that is when I reallyfelt encouraged and pushed,
because, you know, my patientsare essentially telling me hey,
(08:26):
you know us, you have gotten usto this point where we're quote,
unquote well, for the reasonwhy we came in.
But we want to keep exercising.
We don't want to just startwith a new trainer at the gym or
we don't want to just find someprogram to follow on our own.
We wish there was some way thatwe could keep working with you
and so that really set thewheels in motion to get me to
(08:49):
figure out okay, how do I needto set this up, how do I need to
go about the coaching business?
And I just started within-person with patients that
were discharged from physicaltherapy that wanted to continue
to work on their general overallphysical wellness and going in
that direction.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
I love that.
I want to pause here andhighlight something.
Several business owners andentrepreneurs that I talk to
have similar stories wherethere's this gap, this gap.
That's a need, and the need isoften solved by coming to the
particular business owner orentrepreneur and they solve that
(09:30):
by creating a service thatsolves that need.
That's great, because youalready have your ideal
customers right there coming toyou to solve it, because that's
how you're going to know, awhether it's going to work or
not and, b how to improve it.
It's a longer, more difficultgame if you're trying to create
a business or a service but youreally don't have that customer
(09:51):
connection.
But with these particularstories and scenarios, they come
to you and so it's really likethe universe is hey, you have
this opportunity here to providesomething of value.
I'm knocking on your doorstephere.
What are you gonna do about it?
And I really love hearingpeople's stories about that.
It's I think it's prettyawesome.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Yeah, no, a hundred percent.
I mean, people that try to stepout into this space are always
looking for that problem tosolve, right, but when the
problem just shows up to you, somuch of that brainstorming has
been solved.
Now you just have to figure out, okay, how do I actually shell
it out a little bit, because themain issue is here for me to
(10:30):
solve.
There's people, the demand isthere, and now you just need to
go out and meet it.
So, yeah, absolutely, it's thatsense of you know you're being
affirmed, that you are able toprovide value to people.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
For sure.
Let's dive into that a littlebit.
What was it like making thattransition, that jump from you
have a secure position workingas a physical therapist in an
outpatient setting.
Your patients are saying, hey,we want to keep working with you
.
What was it like making thatjump to being I don't know if I
can do this to just just doingit.
(11:03):
I mean to me I can imaginethere's a lot of mental,
emotional things just in fromthat aspect to get through, to
be able to position yourself tomake this risky move.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Yeah, no, I gosh, I.
That's something I stillstruggle with in terms of being
able to create the space and thetime, because that transition
was extremely slow and my bookfor me.
I wasn't one of the ones thatwas just oh, okay, I'm going to
quit my job now and just focuson this.
That's not the level of riskthat I want to assume for the
(11:35):
time being.
So I was really scared and verycautious about how I approached
it.
I did not mark it at goal.
I was literally just.
If someone brought it up, I wasokay, yeah, I can do this for
you, I can coach you, but I wasnot advertising.
There was no me asking forreviews and telling people to
tell their friends.
There was no social media page.
(11:57):
It was just passively lettingit happen until enough things
happened that started pushing metowards.
Okay, this is what I'm actuallyenjoying doing.
This is where I feel I'mproviding the most value.
I feel I'm really fulfilling apurpose here in this role, and
it took a long time and I feellike, to some degree, I'm still
(12:18):
figuring out that transitionportion of it too.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Absolutely.
That's something that'sinteresting on entrepreneurial
journey is, once you go from Ato B, you're like, okay, I've
made it.
And then you get to B and it'slike wait a minute.
There's like B, c, d, e, f, g.
I mean there's always somethingelse to move up towards and
it's it's.
I love it because it helps yougrow personally and
professionally and you have tolearn new things and learn new
skills and I think it's great.
(12:44):
What were some of those thingsthat you briefly mentioned,
these things that happened oryou had to experience to really
be able to make this jump and tobe able to say, okay, I'm
definitely leaving this as aprimary job and focusing this
full time.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
So my level of satisfaction with my primary
position as a physical therapistthat was deteriorating over the
years, especially as I became atraveling physical therapist.
I felt like I was sampling bitsand pieces of the industry from
all different parts of thecountry and it was just getting
progressively worse.
I was getting more burnt outand I was just.
(13:26):
I need to figure something elseout, because not only is the
travel exhausting me, the 40hours a week of contract work
that I'm doing is absolutelykilling me.
It's killing my drive to takecare of myself, to want to even
get out of bed, to feel I madethe right choice of even
becoming a physical therapist.
It was so detrimental for me.
(13:47):
I just think something has tochange.
And the one thing that made mefeel that sense of purpose and
fulfillment was what I was doingwith fitness coaching, just
even in the background, thisidea of what if I were to do a
telehealth practice.
We had started seeing that comeinto play with COVID, and that
was something that was wellunderway by the time I was doing
(14:08):
travel in 21 up till the middleof this year.
But yeah, that's, that's reallywhat got that going.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
For sure, and I love how, with your particular
journey, you try a few differentthings here.
You know, you look at theadministrative ladder and
leadership ladder and, well,that's really not what I thought
it was going to be and doesn'treally fix anything.
And then you test out thetravel therapy and what I think
is really unique about yourstory is you point out that
(14:36):
travel therapy really wasn'twhat you thought and it was
actually not something.
That was this glamorous travelstory that we hear so much on
social media.
Absolutely, I really appreciatethat about your story because
that's often what is marketed.
So with that, you know what wasthe realization or two that you
(14:57):
realized from the traveltherapy thing that you're like,
okay, yeah, I tried this, thisis what it was like for me, this
is why it's not for me and I'mgoing to do something else.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
This part is a little bit nerve wracking for me to
talk about, just for the reasonthat you said.
It's so well marketed and it'sthis glamorous lifestyle where
you make more money and youtravel the country.
And that's why I started doingit in the first place, thinking,
okay, I'm not making thechanges, I'm not seeing the
change that I want to see withthis permanent position.
I'm young, I'm single.
(15:29):
This is the time in my lifethat I should be doing this, or
at least that's what I was beingtold that this is the time.
This is what you want to doMake more money, see the country
, do these great things.
And that was a huge buy-infactor for me.
It was just the opportunityonce in a lifetime.
Who knows when I'll ever getthe chance to do this again.
(15:50):
So I jumped in in 21 and I juststarted off on such a bad
contract and I can't evenexplain what I mean.
It's just.
It was so stressful.
I was just in a bad environment, bad clinic environment.
I wasn't prepared for it.
I wasn't prepared to have todefend my license and defend
(16:11):
billing practices that I wasusing, because the ownership was
trying to push some unethicalthings in that way, and so I
just immediately went into it,experiencing maybe the worst
side of things, and I knowthere's a lot of other people
who did not have that experience.
They had some more positiveexperiences.
Or it's just a more averagethat experience.
They had some more positiveexperiences.
Or it's just a more averagecontract experience, and I've
(16:34):
had those too.
It hasn't always been terrible,but it's always been very much
about the bottom line.
So if I felt that as a staff PT,I felt that a hundred times
more as a contractor, I've hadmanagers tell me we know how
much we're paying you, we knowwhat our margins are.
This is what we expect you tobill.
Or our full-time staff does notdouble book, but because you're
(16:56):
traveling, we're paying youmore.
You will be expected to bedouble booked, you'll be
expected to do more of theworkload and they're just
absolutely pouring over yourbilling to make sure you are
squeezing every last unit out ofeach and every patient.
And at no point on any of thesecontracts did anybody in an
(17:17):
administrative role ormanagerial role talk to me about
hey, we have this opportunityfor you to improve patient care,
or if you would like to be apart of this course or that sort
of thing.
There was really very far andfew in between opportunities
like that, but lots and lots ofmeetings and conversations about
(17:38):
billing and you're getting paidmore as a contractor, so we're
going to squeeze every penny outof you too, and that was just
so frustrating and I realizedthat I am not the individual
that is going to be okay withcompartmentalizing that 40 hour
a week just for, you know, acool scenic hike on a Saturday
(18:00):
morning or, you know, exploringa new city, or just the
adventure of being on a travelcontract that was.
It wasn't balanced out orevening out at all.
I wanted to find meaning andpurpose in my day-to-day work.
I'm not the type of person thatwanted to live for the weekend
or that was just going to behappy making a ton of money
(18:21):
while essentially just lettingmy mental health get wrecked.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Love that.
Yes, 100%.
For clarification, what werethe different settings or the
settings that you did solely forthe travel therapy?
Speaker 3 (18:35):
I only did outpatient contracts.
Some of them werehospital-based, some of them
were private, but I stuck withwhat I knew, coming out of a
four-year permanent job out ofschool.
But then all my contracts wereoutpatient too.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Perfect.
What are maybe some of thepractical, non-obvious skills
that make you a great fit forthe work you do now with this
online fitness coaching and?
Speaker 3 (19:00):
connecting with people that way.
That's something that I wasdoing before I realized I even
wanted to start a business.
I just liked that I could usethat tool to connect with people
and so once I had something, aservice to provide, it was a lot
(19:24):
easier for me to do thisbecause I was used to recording
myself and being in front of acamera and making YouTube videos
and whatever it was.
So that's a big thing and Iknow that's something.
I've talked to a lot of peoplethat want to do this, but
there's I don't feel comfortablelistening to the sound of my
own voice.
I don't feel comfortablerecording myself.
I'll say well, people need toknow that you're a real person
on the internet.
(19:44):
That needs to happen.
They need to be able to somehowconnect with you virtually and
you know your face and yourvoice on social media is
extremely important.
Someone's going to be able tosee that and if you're genuine
and you have something that'sreally special to offer, they're
going to connect with that andthat's a very practical skill,
(20:06):
probably more on the obviousside of things, but I think a
lot of the skills that PTs useand employ successful PTs in the
clinic use on a daily basis areextremely valuable for being an
entrepreneur.
Things that maybe we don't evenrealize are skills that we have
when we're working for someoneelse, that educate people, that
(20:28):
convince them why they shouldbuy in, because we talk about
patient buying being soimportant for the treatments and
interventions that we use on adaily basis, so that, in a lot
of ways, is promoting what it isthat you're doing.
Why is it beneficial?
Why do they need that?
How is it going to help them?
So, when you're bringing thatinto an online space, that's
(20:49):
essentially marketing and salestoo.
So that's a huge, huge portionof it that I think that a lot of
PTs people in the healthcareworld myself included have a
hard time just making thisreally hard sale, and that's
even something now that Isometimes have to really muster
up the courage to make some ofthese posts and get in front of
(21:12):
the camera and make some ofthese promises, because you
don't want to make any falseclaims.
You feel responsible as ahealthcare provider to not lead
anyone astray, not provide anymisinformation, and so we're
hypercritical of ourselves, eventhough we know that our service
has value to offer to otherpeople.
Sometimes, just getting upthere and saying that is a tough
(21:34):
thing to do.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Absolutely and I completely agree.
I think those other rehabprofessionals, like OTs, speech
paths and really everybody inthe health field, there's
similar carryover and skill setswhen it comes to caring for
patients and education and beinga voice, and whether it's just
one-on-one with a patient or youand their family, I mean we're
(21:56):
all on stage, so to speak.
This is the Kool-Aid we'reproviding.
This is why we think you shoulddrink it.
And, yeah, very valuable.
And to not just business orentrepreneurial stuff.
Any career or job role it'svaluable and I mean it's
interpersonal skills thatbusinesses don't have training
(22:17):
for and if it's something thatyou recognize, it's for sure a
valuable asset that can be added.
It's just seeing how that fitsinto the next transition or the
next role that you're wanting toland.
What is obvious to you now thatyou struggled to see in the
moment with this transition.
You know, from working tooutpatient ortho to getting to
that you struggle to see in themoment with this transition.
You know, from working tooutpatient ortho to getting to
(22:39):
where you are now, it's ahindsight 2020 question.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
I think the biggest thing is that the people that I
want to help are out there,people that I can bring the most
value to exist, and they'vejust not been reached by me to
exist and they've just not beenreached by me.
That's a huge, huge fear andworry that I had when I was even
thinking about doing somethinglike this.
(23:03):
Everyone that I was comparingmyself to had a massive
following on Instagram, wasalready making a ton of money
doing this, already had thebacking of all the other
authorities in this space to beable to do what it is that they
were doing, and I was like Idon't know that I can do
anything different from them orreach any more people that they
(23:24):
haven't already reached, but oneby one.
Just with each client that I'veworked, with each conversation
that I've had online, I'verealized that that's not really
the case and now sometimes itdoesn't happen as quickly as we
want it to.
That's a different story, but Inow know that the demographic of
people that I want to reach,the information that I want to
(23:47):
give them, the ways in which Iwant to be able to help them,
those things can all be utilizedeffectively and efficiently and
, you know, it's just a matterof being persistent and
continuing on with what I'mdoing and learning how to become
more effective too.
I mean, I'm definitely doingthings differently now than I
was doing when I first starteddoing all of this, and so, you
(24:11):
know, with all of this comesthat growth as well, but just
that realization that it makessense for me to go down this
path because I am able to offersomething different.
It just that's something that'sa little bit more unique than
maybe the people that I sawcoming up doing it five years
ago.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Yeah, what you're doing aligns with your values
and your purpose and the reasonwhy you got into the health
field from the beginning.
And, instead of taking thetraditionally accepted role that
is provided, you are out herecreating your own that aligns
more with your own life journeyand purpose.
And, yeah, I love, that's whatit's about 100%.
(24:50):
What do you love most aboutyour new reality?
Speaker 3 (24:54):
100%.
What do you love most aboutyour new reality?
I think it's just what you said, that it lines up with my
values, and it lines up with mypriorities and my expectations
for how healthcare should beprovided, but also it ultimately
lets me live the life that Iwant to live too, I think, with
managing your own business,managing your clients on your
(25:18):
own.
Yes, there's a lot of work thatgoes into it, but ultimately
you're the one that's going todictate what productivity and
volume is going to look like foryou.
No one else is just saying well, you haven't hit our metrics
and that's our measure ofsuccess.
So to us, you were unsuccessful,even though your measure of
success may be connecting withsomeone that has been on an up
(25:43):
and down of diet and exercisefor the last decade, and now
they're finally being able tochange some behavioral pattern
and you're going to take them tothe next level over the next
six months or the next year.
Multiply that by 10 or 15clients, whatever that may look
like for you, whereas in acorporate healthcare setting,
they're trying to translate itto no.
(26:05):
We need it to be more like 150visits a month or 200 visits, or
it needs to be 80 visits a week, or whatever it may be.
So that's the biggest thing isthis reality allows me to be the
healthiest version of myself,which is what I feel like is so
important for a healthcareprovider.
(26:26):
If you, as a provider, arementally and physically
unhealthy because of theenvironment that you feel like
you have to conform to, whatlevel of care are you able to
provide to your patients andwhat is your ability to sell
that in a way, that's okay.
I see my provider living thislifestyle, so that makes it a
(26:47):
lot more interesting for me tolook into or buy into, because
it's working for her and she hasthe knowledge and the
background to be able to give methis advice, but she's also
living it out, and that makes ahuge difference 100% Love all
that.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
What are the roots of your new career?
What is maybe a seed ofhindsight to connecting to the
past, or past experience thatconnects with what you're doing
now?
Speaker 3 (27:16):
Having the desire to just be connected with other
people, whether it was socialmedia or whatever it was.
I think that stems back to Ireally enjoyed making YouTube
videos and I started doing thatwhen I was in high school.
I enjoy communicating withothers.
That's just something that wasso fun for me and I loved
(27:37):
editing and I love that processof production.
Those things that were justsilly hobbies or what my family
or parents called silly hobbiesat that time.
Those things really were adeeper desire for me to really
double down on those things andultimately, following those
pursuits gave me the skills todo a lot of what I need to do
(27:59):
with this business here today.
But it always comes back to.
I felt there was a message thatI could share and should share,
to encourage and inspire otherpeople to know that they have a
lot of potential and to live upwith that.
Youtube, instagram, facebook,tiktok, whatever it is these
(28:21):
were all just different methodsto relay that message.
At that time, when I was makingvideos, I was like I don't know
if I'm going to travel theworld and be a motivational
speaker or if I'm going to be aphysical therapist or I am going
to wind up being a businessowner, whatever it was.
At that time, I was just doingwhat I thought was really cool
and valuable and was going tohave an impact.
(28:42):
And whether I was doing that inhigh school or whether it's me
doing it now, it's still thesame root goal and root
motivation is just that I canhave an impact, a positive
impact, on another human beingby encouraging them and being a
support for them.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Absolutely out and they realize through trial and
error that what they thoughtthey wanted, or what they were
told was going to be a greatcareer or whatever, really
wasn't what they thought it was.
So they go and they trydifferent things and they end up
eventually settling in onsomething that turns out to be
this connection with who theyare and alignment with who they
(29:34):
are and purpose and value.
And often there's something intheir past or in the past that
connects this to them.
And maybe they started in thepast and it wasn't encouraged by
their culture or maybe eventheir parents or whatever,
because it's just not asuccessful thing.
There's not a successful careerin this.
You need to be doing somethingelse is often what I hear, and
(29:57):
so I love hearing that.
Well, we tried this traditionalcareer path Mom and dad, thank
you for sending us down this waybut it wasn't right for us and
what we want in our life.
So we're going to go this way,you know, and I just think it's
really cool getting thathindsight perspective.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Yeah, it just comes full circle at the end of the
day, which I think is reallyawesome.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Absolutely.
I'm just going to sum up herewhat the episode was about, with
some calls to action forlisteners.
The struggle to find afulfilling career path within
the constraints of the industryis a common problem many of us
encounter.
The solution lies inrecognizing the need to change
and explore alternative careerpaths that align with our
passion and values.
(30:37):
We must take proactive steps tobreak free from the confines of
a system that doesn't fulfillour professional and personal
needs.
So some calls to actions here.
That we need to do is reflecton our current career
satisfaction and identify anymisalignment with our values,
explore alternative career pathsthat offer a better balance
between professional fulfillment, personal well-being, and
(31:00):
consider the skills and passionsthat make us unique and seek
opportunities that allow us toleverage them in a meaningful
way.
And failure to tackle thisproblem can result in prolonged
dissatisfaction, burnout, anegative impact on our overall
wellbeing.
Staying in a career thatdoesn't align with our values
may lead to missed opportunitiesfor personal growth and
(31:22):
fulfillment.
So with that, I want to thankyou so much, delia, for coming
on the show and just sharingyour journey and stories and
insights.
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Absolutely.
Thank you so much for having me.
This is a great discussion andI love what you guys are doing
with the podcast.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
Thank you for listening to the Rehab Rebels
podcast.
If this podcast was useful,make sure to hit that subscribe
button and leave a review.
For more information abouttransitioning to alternative
careers, head to rehabrebelsorgor follow us on Instagram at
Rehabelspodcast.
We'll see you next time.
Welcome to the Rehab Rebels podcast.
Are you a rehab professionalready to transition to an
alternative career?
Hear inspiring stories fromothers just like you and learn
the best ways to bridge yourcareer gap.
This podcast has you covered.
Now here's your host, doctor ofphysical therapy and podcaster,
Tanner Welsh.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to another episode of Rehab Rebels.
In this episode, what we'regoing to talk about is finding
professional fulfillment ofteninvolves recognizing when a
chosen path is no longer alignedwith our values and taking bold
steps to make a change.
It's crucial to prioritize ourwell-being, acknowledge the need
(00:42):
for a shift and explorealternative career paths that
resonate with our passions.
This episode highlights theimportance of seeking balance,
pursuing meaningful connectionsand being open to
entrepreneurial opportunitiesthat can bring both personal
satisfaction and professionalsuccess.
So we'll give a littlebackground bio and brief work
(01:04):
history of our guest today,tivia.
She's a doctor of physicaltherapy.
She's from Houston, texas,currently resides in Las Vegas,
got her undergrad degree fromthe University of Houston, her
DPT from Texas Tech Universityand she's currently growing her
virtual rehab and virtualfitness business.
Growing her virtual rehab andvirtual fitness business.
(01:29):
She has been an outpatientortho PT for the last six years,
started in the hospital-basedoutpatient setting and started
fitness coaching in 2021 forpatients that were DC'd from PT
and wanted to continue to workwith her.
And then she started travel PTin 2021 and has been focusing on
her virtual rehab this year.
So hello, divya, welcome to theRehab Rebels podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Hi, yeah, thank you so much for having me on.
I'm really excited to do thistoday.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Thanks for taking the time to be on the show and
share your journey.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
So don't want to waste any time here, let's just
dive right in.
What made you decide to becomea physical therapist work in the
rehab field in the first place?
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Actually, I did not want to be a part of the
healthcare industry off the batand both of my parents worked or
work in the healthcare field tosome capacity.
My mom is in direct patientcare, so I saw her doing that
all my life and I saw all thestress that went with that and
they were also really pushing meinto that direction.
So I wasn't sure if that's whatI really wanted to do or not.
(02:34):
I knew that I didn't want adesk job.
I knew that I wanted to workwith people and so my interests
were, I thought, maybe taking metowards the counseling side of
things, getting into more of themental health space, that sort
of thing.
But they had a friend that ownedseveral clinics in the Houston
(02:54):
area PT clinics and I got intocontact with him, started
shadowing some other PTs in highschool and that was my first
real exposure to the field ofphysical therapy and it
surprised me in the sense that Iwasn't used to seeing
healthcare providers providecare in that capacity or that
(03:16):
manner.
I was seeing PTs sit withpatients and talk with them
about things that were beyondthe reason why they walked
through the door.
They're actually getting tobuild some relationship with
this and that's what I want tomake a career out of Really.
After that point, I stuck withphysical therapy as my choice
for what I wanted to do with mycareer after my senior year of
(03:39):
high school.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
For sure we get a little work.
History You're in theoutpatient setting for several
years.
What was some first sense ofawareness or signs that this
particular career path justwasn't quite right for you?
Speaker 3 (04:08):
would be doing and what I was actually doing was
not in line.
I felt my goal was to getbetter treating patients and
better as a clinician, but mostof the focus in terms of
feedback that I would get fromhigher ups were just about
productivity and more about, youknow, volume and numbers and
billing.
And ultimately, yes, there's abusiness component to being in
(04:29):
healthcare, but I just felt thatwas becoming more of a primary
motivator rather than reallydetailing patient care and
improving how we were deliveringcare to our patients and that's
and that's when I startedthinking, okay, is this really
what I signed up to do or isthere another way to maybe go
about achieving that goal,because it didn't really sit
(04:52):
right with me that that was theapproach.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Sure, what were some things that you know when you
were in that state, some thingsthat maybe you tried to feel out
whether this is really whereyou want to stay, or were able
to make a clear decision aboutokay, nah, I need to pivot over
into something else.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
You know, I really did try to make the most of the
first job out of PT school thatI had.
I tried to play it the way thatI was told to play it, go
through the systems in place tomake sure that my concerns were
being heard.
I did all the extra trainingsand I was wanting to move into a
leadership position so I couldhave the impact that I felt I
(05:34):
could have in the setting that Iwas in.
And ultimately I just feel likeI hit a ceiling I couldn't get
past what I needed to get past.
And then, really, I startedlearning.
I don't know that I want to evenmove into an administrative
position.
I don't know that that wouldgive me any more autonomy and
control over the patient careaspect, which I, you know, was
(05:55):
what I really cared about.
All the usual avenues wasn'tworking out.
Then I started thinking aboutwell, what can I do on my own
outside of this?
I saw that there was cash-basedPTs opening up in gyms and
fitness coaches and all theseother options were just starting
(06:16):
to show up on my radar, andthat's when I started looking
into that and for me, the firstoutlet was to go to fitness
coaching.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Yeah, and we'll dive into that for sure here in a
minute.
I'm curious about thisadministrative ladder and role.
It sounds like at some pointthat seemed a legitimate
opportunity to get away fromthis model of numbers are the
bottom line situation.
So what did you realize ordiscover that you realized this
really wasn't going to work forme either, this administrative
(06:48):
leadership role.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah, I think even when I was in college, I just
always knew that I was going towind up doing something, or I
was going to want to wind updoing something more than just
being a staff PT, and I alwaysthought it was just moving up
the corporate health healthcareladder becoming a supervisor
director, whatever it may be,and I was, like I mentioned, I
(07:10):
was being groomed for all thosethings.
I was at all the workshops andcommittees that I needed to be
on to grow into that role andultimately I started seeing that
being in middle management wasnot creating the changes to
policy and changes toexpectations concerning billing
(07:31):
productivity, creating thisextra pressure on clinicians.
They were just a mouthpiece forthe higher ups above them.
I was like, well, how high updo I have to go to make the
change that I want to see?
Is it even within the hospitalsystem or is it outside of that
too?
This just seems like anunending rat race and that's not
something.
I was going to be happy tryingto chase that for the rest of my
(07:53):
life.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Absolutely yeah.
Thanks for that clarity.
That makes a lot of sense.
What were some of the firstsigns of traction with this
coaching role and fitnesscoaching role that you mentioned
?
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Yeah, it's funny because I don't think I ever
would have initiated doinganything in that realm until
patients started asking me why Iwasn't doing it.
And so that is when I reallyfelt encouraged and pushed,
because, you know, my patientsare essentially telling me hey,
(08:26):
you know us, you have gotten usto this point where we're quote,
unquote well, for the reasonwhy we came in.
But we want to keep exercising.
We don't want to just startwith a new trainer at the gym or
we don't want to just find someprogram to follow on our own.
We wish there was some way thatwe could keep working with you
and so that really set thewheels in motion to get me to
(08:49):
figure out okay, how do I needto set this up, how do I need to
go about the coaching business?
And I just started within-person with patients that
were discharged from physicaltherapy that wanted to continue
to work on their general overallphysical wellness and going in
that direction.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
I love that.
I want to pause here andhighlight something.
Several business owners andentrepreneurs that I talk to
have similar stories wherethere's this gap, this gap.
That's a need, and the need isoften solved by coming to the
particular business owner orentrepreneur and they solve that
(09:30):
by creating a service thatsolves that need.
That's great, because youalready have your ideal
customers right there coming toyou to solve it, because that's
how you're going to know, awhether it's going to work or
not and, b how to improve it.
It's a longer, more difficultgame if you're trying to create
a business or a service but youreally don't have that customer
(09:51):
connection.
But with these particularstories and scenarios, they come
to you and so it's really likethe universe is hey, you have
this opportunity here to providesomething of value.
I'm knocking on your doorstephere.
What are you gonna do about it?
And I really love hearingpeople's stories about that.
It's I think it's prettyawesome.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Yeah, no, a hundred percent.
I mean, people that try to stepout into this space are always
looking for that problem tosolve, right, but when the
problem just shows up to you, somuch of that brainstorming has
been solved.
Now you just have to figure out, okay, how do I actually shell
it out a little bit, because themain issue is here for me to
(10:30):
solve.
There's people, the demand isthere, and now you just need to
go out and meet it.
So, yeah, absolutely, it's thatsense of you know you're being
affirmed, that you are able toprovide value to people.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
For sure.
Let's dive into that a littlebit.
What was it like making thattransition, that jump from you
have a secure position workingas a physical therapist in an
outpatient setting.
Your patients are saying, hey,we want to keep working with you
.
What was it like making thatjump to being I don't know if I
can do this to just just doingit.
(11:03):
I mean to me I can imaginethere's a lot of mental,
emotional things just in fromthat aspect to get through, to
be able to position yourself tomake this risky move.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Yeah, no, I gosh, I.
That's something I stillstruggle with in terms of being
able to create the space and thetime, because that transition
was extremely slow and my bookfor me.
I wasn't one of the ones thatwas just oh, okay, I'm going to
quit my job now and just focuson this.
That's not the level of riskthat I want to assume for the
(11:35):
time being.
So I was really scared and verycautious about how I approached
it.
I did not mark it at goal.
I was literally just.
If someone brought it up, I wasokay, yeah, I can do this for
you, I can coach you, but I wasnot advertising.
There was no me asking forreviews and telling people to
tell their friends.
There was no social media page.
(11:57):
It was just passively lettingit happen until enough things
happened that started pushing metowards.
Okay, this is what I'm actuallyenjoying doing.
This is where I feel I'mproviding the most value.
I feel I'm really fulfilling apurpose here in this role, and
it took a long time and I feellike, to some degree, I'm still
(12:18):
figuring out that transitionportion of it too.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Absolutely.
That's something that'sinteresting on entrepreneurial
journey is, once you go from Ato B, you're like, okay, I've
made it.
And then you get to B and it'slike wait a minute.
There's like B, c, d, e, f, g.
I mean there's always somethingelse to move up towards and
it's it's.
I love it because it helps yougrow personally and
professionally and you have tolearn new things and learn new
skills and I think it's great.
(12:44):
What were some of those thingsthat you briefly mentioned,
these things that happened oryou had to experience to really
be able to make this jump and tobe able to say, okay, I'm
definitely leaving this as aprimary job and focusing this
full time.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
So my level of satisfaction with my primary
position as a physical therapistthat was deteriorating over the
years, especially as I became atraveling physical therapist.
I felt like I was sampling bitsand pieces of the industry from
all different parts of thecountry and it was just getting
progressively worse.
I was getting more burnt outand I was just.
(13:26):
I need to figure something elseout, because not only is the
travel exhausting me, the 40hours a week of contract work
that I'm doing is absolutelykilling me.
It's killing my drive to takecare of myself, to want to even
get out of bed, to feel I madethe right choice of even
becoming a physical therapist.
It was so detrimental for me.
(13:47):
I just think something has tochange.
And the one thing that made mefeel that sense of purpose and
fulfillment was what I was doingwith fitness coaching, just
even in the background, thisidea of what if I were to do a
telehealth practice.
We had started seeing that comeinto play with COVID, and that
was something that was wellunderway by the time I was doing
(14:08):
travel in 21 up till the middleof this year.
But yeah, that's, that's reallywhat got that going.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
For sure, and I love how, with your particular
journey, you try a few differentthings here.
You know, you look at theadministrative ladder and
leadership ladder and, well,that's really not what I thought
it was going to be and doesn'treally fix anything.
And then you test out thetravel therapy and what I think
is really unique about yourstory is you point out that
(14:36):
travel therapy really wasn'twhat you thought and it was
actually not something.
That was this glamorous travelstory that we hear so much on
social media.
Absolutely, I really appreciatethat about your story because
that's often what is marketed.
So with that, you know what wasthe realization or two that you
(14:57):
realized from the traveltherapy thing that you're like,
okay, yeah, I tried this, thisis what it was like for me, this
is why it's not for me and I'mgoing to do something else.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
This part is a little bit nerve wracking for me to
talk about, just for the reasonthat you said.
It's so well marketed and it'sthis glamorous lifestyle where
you make more money and youtravel the country.
And that's why I started doingit in the first place, thinking,
okay, I'm not making thechanges, I'm not seeing the
change that I want to see withthis permanent position.
I'm young, I'm single.
(15:29):
This is the time in my lifethat I should be doing this, or
at least that's what I was beingtold that this is the time.
This is what you want to doMake more money, see the country
, do these great things.
And that was a huge buy-infactor for me.
It was just the opportunityonce in a lifetime.
Who knows when I'll ever getthe chance to do this again.
(15:50):
So I jumped in in 21 and I juststarted off on such a bad
contract and I can't evenexplain what I mean.
It's just.
It was so stressful.
I was just in a bad environment, bad clinic environment.
I wasn't prepared for it.
I wasn't prepared to have todefend my license and defend
(16:11):
billing practices that I wasusing, because the ownership was
trying to push some unethicalthings in that way, and so I
just immediately went into it,experiencing maybe the worst
side of things, and I knowthere's a lot of other people
who did not have that experience.
They had some more positiveexperiences.
Or it's just a more averagethat experience.
They had some more positiveexperiences.
Or it's just a more averagecontract experience, and I've
(16:34):
had those too.
It hasn't always been terrible,but it's always been very much
about the bottom line.
So if I felt that as a staff PT,I felt that a hundred times
more as a contractor, I've hadmanagers tell me we know how
much we're paying you, we knowwhat our margins are.
This is what we expect you tobill.
Or our full-time staff does notdouble book, but because you're
(16:56):
traveling, we're paying youmore.
You will be expected to bedouble booked, you'll be
expected to do more of theworkload and they're just
absolutely pouring over yourbilling to make sure you are
squeezing every last unit out ofeach and every patient.
And at no point on any of thesecontracts did anybody in an
(17:17):
administrative role ormanagerial role talk to me about
hey, we have this opportunityfor you to improve patient care,
or if you would like to be apart of this course or that sort
of thing.
There was really very far andfew in between opportunities
like that, but lots and lots ofmeetings and conversations about
(17:38):
billing and you're getting paidmore as a contractor, so we're
going to squeeze every penny outof you too, and that was just
so frustrating and I realizedthat I am not the individual
that is going to be okay withcompartmentalizing that 40 hour
a week just for, you know, acool scenic hike on a Saturday
(18:00):
morning or, you know, exploringa new city, or just the
adventure of being on a travelcontract that was.
It wasn't balanced out orevening out at all.
I wanted to find meaning andpurpose in my day-to-day work.
I'm not the type of person thatwanted to live for the weekend
or that was just going to behappy making a ton of money
(18:21):
while essentially just lettingmy mental health get wrecked.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Love that.
Yes, 100%.
For clarification, what werethe different settings or the
settings that you did solely forthe travel therapy?
Speaker 3 (18:35):
I only did outpatient contracts.
Some of them werehospital-based, some of them
were private, but I stuck withwhat I knew, coming out of a
four-year permanent job out ofschool.
But then all my contracts wereoutpatient too.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Perfect.
What are maybe some of thepractical, non-obvious skills
that make you a great fit forthe work you do now with this
online fitness coaching and?
Speaker 3 (19:00):
connecting with people that way.
That's something that I wasdoing before I realized I even
wanted to start a business.
I just liked that I could usethat tool to connect with people
and so once I had something, aservice to provide, it was a lot
(19:24):
easier for me to do thisbecause I was used to recording
myself and being in front of acamera and making YouTube videos
and whatever it was.
So that's a big thing and Iknow that's something.
I've talked to a lot of peoplethat want to do this, but
there's I don't feel comfortablelistening to the sound of my
own voice.
I don't feel comfortablerecording myself.
I'll say well, people need toknow that you're a real person
on the internet.
(19:44):
That needs to happen.
They need to be able to somehowconnect with you virtually and
you know your face and yourvoice on social media is
extremely important.
Someone's going to be able tosee that and if you're genuine
and you have something that'sreally special to offer, they're
going to connect with that andthat's a very practical skill,
(20:06):
probably more on the obviousside of things, but I think a
lot of the skills that PTs useand employ successful PTs in the
clinic use on a daily basis areextremely valuable for being an
entrepreneur.
Things that maybe we don't evenrealize are skills that we have
when we're working for someoneelse, that educate people, that
(20:28):
convince them why they shouldbuy in, because we talk about
patient buying being soimportant for the treatments and
interventions that we use on adaily basis, so that, in a lot
of ways, is promoting what it isthat you're doing.
Why is it beneficial?
Why do they need that?
How is it going to help them?
So, when you're bringing thatinto an online space, that's
(20:49):
essentially marketing and salestoo.
So that's a huge, huge portionof it that I think that a lot of
PTs people in the healthcareworld myself included have a
hard time just making thisreally hard sale, and that's
even something now that Isometimes have to really muster
up the courage to make some ofthese posts and get in front of
(21:12):
the camera and make some ofthese promises, because you
don't want to make any falseclaims.
You feel responsible as ahealthcare provider to not lead
anyone astray, not provide anymisinformation, and so we're
hypercritical of ourselves, eventhough we know that our service
has value to offer to otherpeople.
Sometimes, just getting upthere and saying that is a tough
(21:34):
thing to do.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Absolutely and I completely agree.
I think those other rehabprofessionals, like OTs, speech
paths and really everybody inthe health field, there's
similar carryover and skill setswhen it comes to caring for
patients and education and beinga voice, and whether it's just
one-on-one with a patient or youand their family, I mean we're
(21:56):
all on stage, so to speak.
This is the Kool-Aid we'reproviding.
This is why we think you shoulddrink it.
And, yeah, very valuable.
And to not just business orentrepreneurial stuff.
Any career or job role it'svaluable and I mean it's
interpersonal skills thatbusinesses don't have training
(22:17):
for and if it's something thatyou recognize, it's for sure a
valuable asset that can be added.
It's just seeing how that fitsinto the next transition or the
next role that you're wanting toland.
What is obvious to you now thatyou struggled to see in the
moment with this transition.
You know, from working tooutpatient ortho to getting to
that you struggle to see in themoment with this transition.
You know, from working tooutpatient ortho to getting to
(22:39):
where you are now, it's ahindsight 2020 question.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
I think the biggest thing is that the people that I
want to help are out there,people that I can bring the most
value to exist, and they'vejust not been reached by me to
exist and they've just not beenreached by me.
That's a huge, huge fear andworry that I had when I was even
thinking about doing somethinglike this.
(23:03):
Everyone that I was comparingmyself to had a massive
following on Instagram, wasalready making a ton of money
doing this, already had thebacking of all the other
authorities in this space to beable to do what it is that they
were doing, and I was like Idon't know that I can do
anything different from them orreach any more people that they
(23:24):
haven't already reached, but oneby one.
Just with each client that I'veworked, with each conversation
that I've had online, I'verealized that that's not really
the case and now sometimes itdoesn't happen as quickly as we
want it to.
That's a different story, but Inow know that the demographic of
people that I want to reach,the information that I want to
(23:47):
give them, the ways in which Iwant to be able to help them,
those things can all be utilizedeffectively and efficiently and
, you know, it's just a matterof being persistent and
continuing on with what I'mdoing and learning how to become
more effective too.
I mean, I'm definitely doingthings differently now than I
was doing when I first starteddoing all of this, and so, you
(24:11):
know, with all of this comesthat growth as well, but just
that realization that it makessense for me to go down this
path because I am able to offersomething different.
It just that's something that'sa little bit more unique than
maybe the people that I sawcoming up doing it five years
ago.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Yeah, what you're doing aligns with your values
and your purpose and the reasonwhy you got into the health
field from the beginning.
And, instead of taking thetraditionally accepted role that
is provided, you are out herecreating your own that aligns
more with your own life journeyand purpose.
And, yeah, I love, that's whatit's about 100%.
(24:50):
What do you love most aboutyour new reality?
Speaker 3 (24:54):
100%.
What do you love most aboutyour new reality?
I think it's just what you said, that it lines up with my
values, and it lines up with mypriorities and my expectations
for how healthcare should beprovided, but also it ultimately
lets me live the life that Iwant to live too, I think, with
managing your own business,managing your clients on your
(25:18):
own.
Yes, there's a lot of work thatgoes into it, but ultimately
you're the one that's going todictate what productivity and
volume is going to look like foryou.
No one else is just saying well, you haven't hit our metrics
and that's our measure ofsuccess.
So to us, you were unsuccessful,even though your measure of
success may be connecting withsomeone that has been on an up
(25:43):
and down of diet and exercisefor the last decade, and now
they're finally being able tochange some behavioral pattern
and you're going to take them tothe next level over the next
six months or the next year.
Multiply that by 10 or 15clients, whatever that may look
like for you, whereas in acorporate healthcare setting,
they're trying to translate itto no.
(26:05):
We need it to be more like 150visits a month or 200 visits, or
it needs to be 80 visits a week, or whatever it may be.
So that's the biggest thing isthis reality allows me to be the
healthiest version of myself,which is what I feel like is so
important for a healthcareprovider.
(26:26):
If you, as a provider, arementally and physically
unhealthy because of theenvironment that you feel like
you have to conform to, whatlevel of care are you able to
provide to your patients andwhat is your ability to sell
that in a way, that's okay.
I see my provider living thislifestyle, so that makes it a
(26:47):
lot more interesting for me tolook into or buy into, because
it's working for her and she hasthe knowledge and the
background to be able to give methis advice, but she's also
living it out, and that makes ahuge difference 100% Love all
that.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
What are the roots of your new career?
What is maybe a seed ofhindsight to connecting to the
past, or past experience thatconnects with what you're doing
now?
Speaker 3 (27:16):
Having the desire to just be connected with other
people, whether it was socialmedia or whatever it was.
I think that stems back to Ireally enjoyed making YouTube
videos and I started doing thatwhen I was in high school.
I enjoy communicating withothers.
That's just something that wasso fun for me and I loved
(27:37):
editing and I love that processof production.
Those things that were justsilly hobbies or what my family
or parents called silly hobbiesat that time.
Those things really were adeeper desire for me to really
double down on those things andultimately, following those
pursuits gave me the skills todo a lot of what I need to do
(27:59):
with this business here today.
But it always comes back to.
I felt there was a message thatI could share and should share,
to encourage and inspire otherpeople to know that they have a
lot of potential and to live upwith that.
Youtube, instagram, facebook,tiktok, whatever it is these
(28:21):
were all just different methodsto relay that message.
At that time, when I was makingvideos, I was like I don't know
if I'm going to travel theworld and be a motivational
speaker or if I'm going to be aphysical therapist or I am going
to wind up being a businessowner, whatever it was.
At that time, I was just doingwhat I thought was really cool
and valuable and was going tohave an impact.
(28:42):
And whether I was doing that inhigh school or whether it's me
doing it now, it's still thesame root goal and root
motivation is just that I canhave an impact, a positive
impact, on another human beingby encouraging them and being a
support for them.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Absolutely out and they realize through trial and
error that what they thoughtthey wanted, or what they were
told was going to be a greatcareer or whatever, really
wasn't what they thought it was.
So they go and they trydifferent things and they end up
eventually settling in onsomething that turns out to be
this connection with who theyare and alignment with who they
(29:34):
are and purpose and value.
And often there's something intheir past or in the past that
connects this to them.
And maybe they started in thepast and it wasn't encouraged by
their culture or maybe eventheir parents or whatever,
because it's just not asuccessful thing.
There's not a successful careerin this.
You need to be doing somethingelse is often what I hear, and
(29:57):
so I love hearing that.
Well, we tried this traditionalcareer path Mom and dad, thank
you for sending us down this waybut it wasn't right for us and
what we want in our life.
So we're going to go this way,you know, and I just think it's
really cool getting thathindsight perspective.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Yeah, it just comes full circle at the end of the
day, which I think is reallyawesome.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Absolutely.
I'm just going to sum up herewhat the episode was about, with
some calls to action forlisteners.
The struggle to find afulfilling career path within
the constraints of the industryis a common problem many of us
encounter.
The solution lies inrecognizing the need to change
and explore alternative careerpaths that align with our
passion and values.
(30:37):
We must take proactive steps tobreak free from the confines of
a system that doesn't fulfillour professional and personal
needs.
So some calls to actions here.
That we need to do is reflecton our current career
satisfaction and identify anymisalignment with our values,
explore alternative career pathsthat offer a better balance
between professional fulfillment, personal well-being, and
(31:00):
consider the skills and passionsthat make us unique and seek
opportunities that allow us toleverage them in a meaningful
way.
And failure to tackle thisproblem can result in prolonged
dissatisfaction, burnout, anegative impact on our overall
wellbeing.
Staying in a career thatdoesn't align with our values
may lead to missed opportunitiesfor personal growth and
(31:22):
fulfillment.
So with that, I want to thankyou so much, delia, for coming
on the show and just sharingyour journey and stories and
insights.
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Absolutely.
Thank you so much for having me.
This is a great discussion andI love what you guys are doing
with the podcast.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
Thank you for listening to the Rehab Rebels
podcast.
If this podcast was useful,make sure to hit that subscribe
button and leave a review.
For more information abouttransitioning to alternative
careers, head to rehabrebelsorgor follow us on Instagram at
Rehabelspodcast.
We'll see you next time.
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