[REAL ENTREPRENEURS] Nutrition School Student Battles Rare Cancer (and Kicks Ass!)

Welcome to post #3 of the REAL ENTREPRENEURS guest blog series

I’ll be featuring a number of health & wellness entrepreneurs who are at various stages of their entrepreneurial journey.

They’re going to be sharing where they’re at right now!

It will be real, raw and unfiltered. Just as life should be – when you’re grabbing it by the lemons, that is 😉

All of the posts in this series can be searched under the CASE STUDY category.

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I am a 22-year-old Norwegian + British gal living in Vancouver and chasing my dreams to become a Holistic Nutritionist.

Having compassion, practicing vulnerability, and being mindful (in all areas of my life) are my most important values.

I want to let myself be seen, and live & love with my whole heart.

I love the idea of living life with a sense of worthiness, developing the courage to tell your story and just be yourself.

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Hi, I’m Ellen. Here’s my story…

I have been very active, played high-level sports, and had a great sense of wanderlust my whole life.

But, admittedly, I haven’t always taken responsibility to achieve my optimum health.

I was always struggling with digestive upset and various chronic injuries, extreme restlessness, and lack of sleep.

This led me to see a variety of doctors who sent me for more tests and treatments than I ever thought I would need.

For many years I was told it was all just symptoms of stress and anxiety from being an active, high-achieving young adult.

At the time, this made sense, so I continued to get treatments and slowly started changing my diet hoping I wouldn’t have to suffer forever.

After making a rather big effort to change my eating habits, and in managing my stress levels, I noticed a huge difference so I continued on with this new “healthy lifestyle”.

I even started my degree in Health Sciences. Which, turned out that experience wasn’t for me, so I dropped out and traveled for a while.

Once I became deeply smitten by the travel bug, I discovered the vast and exciting world of nutrition – which is what led me to pursue my credentials as a Holistic Nutritionist through an online/distance learning school.

The turning point… that turned my world upside down

I had always experienced back pain, but one day the pain became unbearable and began to take over my day to day life. I relied on painkillers, I lost my appetite, and I couldn’t sit straight or laugh without discomfort.

I went to the hospital feeling very frustrated in November 2017 — and it was then and there where a very rare cancerous tumor was discovered on my spine.

The truth is…I was so relieved to finally get some answers, be able to take action, and grow into being myself again. I cried happy tears in the emergency department that night.

In January 2018, my surgeon did an incredible job removing all visible tumor.

With all of that being said, I took this whole life-altering experience as an opportunity to start fresh and really learn about how to take care of myself, recover from surgery, heal, rid toxins from my body (from all of the drugs and medication I was given)… you name it, I was determined to get on the path to optimized health!

At this point, I was just starting my Holistic Nutrition Diploma, and it was such an eye-opener that has truly taught me the power of listening to your body.

I absolutely love that #HolisticNutrition is catching on and that other health seekers are understanding the impact of what we put in our bodies, plus how it can affect our mind, body and our health overall. Click To Tweet

And where am I now in my own health (and health business) journey?

I’m in the very beginning stages of my journey as a Nutritional Practitioner, but I already have so many goals, projects, aspirations, and dreams that I’m ready to kick in the ass!

I would love to be able to “pay it forward” with my passion for living a healthy life, and I can see myself working with a wide variety of people.

But, if I could choose just one area to focus on, it would be to specialize in Childhood Nutrition.

If children are educated from a young age on the impact of what goes into their bodies, it can make a huge difference in their development into adulthood. I’m passionate about teaching them about physical and mental self-love by encouraging healthy habits from the beginning.

Over the last 6 months, I have worked hard to start a blog, build a website, network, find support, and get involved. It’s not a business yet (I’m not actually sure what I’m doing!), because I am still very scattered and overwhelmed!

What I continually have to remind myself of, is that it’s going to take time!!

Big ‘ol #truthbomb from Health Pro’s in-the-know:

It’s going to take way more time than you think!

GET THE FULLY JUICED SCOOP ON THE…

“9 Things No One Tells You When You Start An Online Wellness Business”

I am doing everything in my own time, fitting in my studies around work, adventuring and spending time with my loved ones.

So, I have to accept that it’s going to get lonely at times and that it’s OK to get a little lost (and even “hit bottom”) before you figure things out and start to rise again.

I love that I have plenty of flexibility, and I actually look forward to sitting down and devoting my time and energy to building a business for myself. I think self-motivation (that’s regularly stoked!) is a big factor in being able to start, run, and build a business.

I’m getting closer to my goals because I am so much more confident in myself. I have done a lot of research, spent many hours studying, and above all else – I am incredibly passionate about it!

I say I’m confident but that doesn’t mean I don’t have my doubts. Of course, I question what I’m doing all the time, and if I’m going to be successful.

But, I believe that it’s incredibly important to be vulnerable.

And what am I willing to do to have the business – and life of my dreams?

You must be willing to struggle, step out of your comfort zone, and think outside of the box in order to learn.

You won’t overcome your fears if you don’t want to face them, so put on a brave face and persevere, work hard, accept rejection, and just speak your own truth.

Having a good support system has helped me big time. Things will get tough. I have an amazing family, a wonderful boyfriend, and great friends that I can turn to when I am stuck and maybe need some encouragement or just some help brainstorming.

There are many skills I still need to master and build on such as marketing, website design, and productivity, to name a few.

If I could outsource one thing, I would choose Financing… or Marketing.

I would love to learn about both and broaden my horizons but in all honesty, I’m not built to do everything and it would take up so much of my time if I was to micromanage every aspect of my business!

I still want time to live an adventure and I think that the hardest thing for me will be finding a healthy balance and giving myself room to breathe because when I do something I want to do it the best I can.

Spend time doing things that set your soul on fire. There will always be hard times, but those are part of building your business - and building who you are. Embrace the chaos and you will start to build your dreams into reality. Click To Tweet

I also wanted to share THIS with Krista’s audience…

That no matter what comes your way – it’s important to see it as a stepping stone rather than a setback!

Krista adds: Wow, this gal may only be 22, but she has the openness and insight of a well-seasoned pro!

Ellen, you’re well on your way to better health, and a kickass health business. Keep rockin’ on girl!

(and don’t EVER lose that smile!!)

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