Conversations with the Inspiring Michelle Wolford

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Wolford.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I got where I am today through passion, tenacity, courage, faith and a cultivated inner knowing! And it all started with a sand dollar.

Let me back up.  I was born in Houston, TX.  I was a junior Olympian gymnast, Culver Academies graduate and college athlete, with a desire to be a field reporter for sports!  And then I got injured and my world turned upside down. I spent 4years in physical therapy and seeing different specialist until I finally learned of alternative medical options.  I began exploring naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, prolotherapy and spirituality of all disciplines. Within a couple months, I was healed. It felt like a miracle after 4 long years of feeling like I had lost my passion, purpose and identity.  Just to give you a little bit more background, my undergrad is in Sociology and Psychology. I worked as a mentor for high risk juvenile females and personal trained on the side for income. After graduating from CU Boulder, I moved to Australia to work as a chef in a culinary arts program and then decided to pursue a masters in nutrition and exercise physiology.  I was dealing with my injury throughout this time frame and about half way through my masters program, I learned of Naturopathic Medicine. The little I knew about it and the personal experience I had was so incredible, I dropped out of my masters program and did everything it took to qualify and be excepted into Naturopathic Medical School. I had 4 incredible years learning things I never dreamed of learning.  I was a runner up speaker for our commencement ceremony; had 11 job offers at integrative clinics throughout Southern California; had $350,000 of student loan debt and about $1,000 to my name. I would of been insane not to take a solid stable job offer. But one day when I was walking the beach deciding between two final offers, I couldn’t help but think how amazing it would be to own my own clinic. So I said to myself, “Ok!  If you find a sand dollar, lets go searching for your own space. If not, then you have two clinics to decide between.” Less than 10 steps later, I saw a sand dollar. Which, for those who don’t know San Diego beaches, is rare! So I went for it!

I opened my own practice in January 2011, was voted best Naturopathic Doctor San Diego in 2015 and have had a very thriving and successful practice since!  I have written for a couple alternative medical journals, have done many blog spot TV and radio interviews and will be speaking at the American Association of Modern Medicine and International Conference of Integrative Medicine & Alternative Treatments in October.

My greatest passion is educating my patients and intertwining the physical, biochemical and mental-emotional (or spiritual) aspects of their healing into their treatment plan. I like to help my patients ask the question WHY and guide them toward lasting solutions of health, wealth and purpose! I say wealth because the greatest form of wealth is your health.  When you feel amazing, you have the energy to do amazing things and that trickles into every aspect of your life- your romantic relationships, your friendships, your business relationships, your financial being, your creative self and your purpose.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road, but rather a road with many faces.

The struggle in my profession is that despite its ancient wisdom in regards to healing, we don’t get training on how to run a successful business and the little training that is out there de-authenticates the personal care aspect because most business coaches will focus on efficiency and how to make more money. It’s a hard gap to bridge; maintaining the authenticity of your medicine while being able to demonstrate your medical knowledge to opposing cohorts.  We’re also faced with the impatient nature of our society around quick fixes. So there is a unique skill in meeting your patients where they’re at, but also guiding them down a true healing path.

The profession doesn’t have a paved path. Every aspects of the business is searching for entrepreneurs to build out functional systems.  But as a thought leader and educator, that is part of my job, paving the path for other naturopathic doctors, thought leaders and believers.

My advice to any man or women, young or old is to take the time every day to connect in with the truth of you and your purpose because too often are we focused on “being something” that we miss being “someone”; the one we are actually here to be.  We are all designed differently for a reason, for a need, for a greater purpose. And if you can offer yourself time every day, whether 30min or hours if you have it, to connect in with you and continue unlearning the falsities placed on you and start to master the truth of your heart and soul; you will be on purpose and the rest will fall into place. Sure the road may still not be perfect, but that’s a road worth traveling, when can you appreciate the journey and the destination.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Dr. Michelle Wolford story. Tell us more about the business.
I’m a Naturopathic Doctor. Translation: I’m a primary care doctor (most similar to internal medicine doctor) that specializes in alternative ways of healing the body through plant medicine, homeopathy, nutrition, nutraceuticals, meditation and mindfullness practices.

I am known for Biotherapeutic Drainage Therapy. It’s a system created in the early 1900’s from an MD – Acupuncturist in Belgium. His system continued to reverse disease and change lives using a combination of plant-based medicine and homeopathy following Chinese medicine principles of organ system balance and deficiency. It is very gentle yet very powerful. I can use it during pregnancy, breastfeeding and with newborn babies, which expands my scope of patients I can help! The goal is not about chasing symptoms, but to restore the natural function of the body by removing waste, which enhances cellular communication and nutrient delivery.  This supports the cells to really heal and go beyond palliating the symptoms. Nobody in balance should be taking a medicine cupboard full of supplements.

I also spend 30min with each return patient and 60min with every new patient, so I have the opportunity to get to know my patients. I always ask about their life, their family, their thoughts, their feelings, the dreams and their goals.  I really get to help coach people to the life they want to live both physically and mental/emotionally. I get to approach health from a whole body, whole mind, whole life perspective. It’s truly fulfilling and my patients get better!

Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
Advice for finding a mentor…. We can learn a little bit of something from everyone, but finding a mentor is special. It’s about finding someone that thinks like you, but also different and beyond your current knowing. It’s about finding someone who is interested in teaching and learning because there is always something to give and learn from all our relationships. It’s about someone that has time to dedicate to connecting with you (even if just 1hr/week), it’s about someone who is still interested in learning and growing themselves. It’s about someone that continues to evolve so you can evolve with them.  It’s about someone who wants to help you cultivate your skills and supports your purpose.

I found one of my mentors in medical school. He was my teacher and my head physician on shift. I found another one of my mentors at a conference.

I have to admit, I’m great at networking when it comes to scheduled events or randomly meeting people because I’m truly curious about the person across from me. But day to day life, I’ve found networking to be less of a desire and more of burden. I know I need to do more! And I think the answer is, “just get out there.  Some events will be awesome and some may feel like a waste of time, but if you show up as your best self and live on purpose, it truly is never a waste because you get to practice sharing your purpose and you never know how you are impacting someone’s life.”

Contact Info:

• Address: Dr. Michelle Wolford, ND
  731 S Coast Hwy 101, Suite 1M
  Solana beach, CA 920275
• Website: www.DrMichelleWolford.com
• Phone: 760-520-1551
• Email: info@drmichellewolford.com

Image Credit:
River, Raya, Drake, Raya Rose, Grace, Sinclair

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