Headwork - The Missing Piece with Lora Grabow | Launch Feature
About Lora Grabow
Live Authentically. The world needs YOUR skill set and no one can bring it except you.
-Lora Grabow, Weight Loss Counselor and Coach
Lora Grabow, LMSW is a professional counselor, educator, and speaker who has owned her own counseling practice for 20 years. For the last 17 years she has been providing cutting-edge behavioral health services and providing psychological counseling contracted with a local obesity medicine practice in Grand Rapids, MI.
We are excited to share her perspectives on how to overcome challenges and live into your unique calling.
Identifying a Need
Before you can help people, you have to identify a need. For Lora this happened in October 2019 when she was given the opportunity to speak to over 700 bariatric surgery patients at a national conference: “I soon realized it was like I was “ giving them oxygen”. I saw all kinds of light bulbs go off in the room and realized...that too many people are only given nutritional knowledge and exercise knowledge when it comes to weight loss. Too many people are [in need of] the missing piece: headwork.”
When the conference ended Lora was asked by many if she did online coaching. At the time she had to say no, but it got her thinking and reflecting on how she could get this important message out to more people. Thus, the idea for an online video course was born.
Lora will be launching her “Foundations in Headwork for Healthy Weight Loss” program, a cutting edge video course at 12pm on August 29, 2020. The process of getting here has taught Lora lots of important lessons that can help any entrepreneur or business owner improve their work process and do the headwork.
Recognizing You Are Not the Expert
One theme that ran through our interview with Lora is this recognition: “I am not the expert on my clients’ lives. They are. It is an honor to be invited into their story and my role is to walk alongside, listen and help them grow.” She fears the counselor who believes, “I am an expert in my field and there is nothing left to learn.” Lora firmly believes that this is not possible in any area. She states: “There is always something new to learn to help my clients and I will always strive to keep listening and learning.”
Lora: I have a wonderful gift of birthing an idea and vision casting. ( i.e. I want to create an online course). However, I had no idea how much work went into creating and selling an online course. I honestly thought taping the video would be the hardest part. Nope! Teaching and being videoed was the easiest part, crafting and creating all the nuts and bolts of launch building and launching a course has been difficult. Developing an overall business plan has been a challenge. I was confident in leading my counselling and speaking business but I am now launching a different product. However, I approached this challenge with [a learning mindset]. It's okay that I do not know everything but I can learn, and I can put good people around me who have expertise in video production, marketing and course building.
You Don’t Have to do it All
Lora: Early in my career, I thought I had to be good at EVERYTHING. This is not true. As I have expanded my brand, I have honed in on what my strengths are and realized I can put a team around me [and] use their strengths. This has been key as I have stepped into the public speaking/online course creator role. I do not have to be good at marketing, logo design, branding , website design, etc...I can put good people around me to do that. This insight is a strength not a weakness.
The Importance of Self-Care
Lora: I have certainly grown in learning not only the importance of regular rhythms of self-care and solitude but in implementing them. When I care for myself, it improves my capacity to care for others. Self-care is not selfish. Setting healthy boundaries is a strength. Every helping professional needs to know this and I wish I was better at it early on in my career.
Creativity is Courage
Creativity is having the courage to be vulnerable and authentic in both your personal and professional world....Too often, I have limited my definition of creative to artistic talent.
Lora: Embracing my own creativity has required me to be vulnerable and authentic. I have learned the importance of figuring out what my gifts are and having the courage to show up with them. I have learned that showing up also includes falling down. This is where the vulnerability comes in: I am not going to always get it right but what matters is what I do when I fall down. Do I quit or get back in the ring? My courage to be creative is always getting right back in the ring because God has called me to live out my purpose one day at a time. My purpose. Not someone else's purpose. No one else can live my calling.
I have to meet clients where they are at. [I have to] listen and help match my expertise with their strengths. No one's the same and I can't treat my clients like they are a “textbook case”. I am always on my toes in my counseling sessions and this is good for both me and my client .
Connect with Lora
Lora is launching her course at 12 PM August 29, 2020! If you or someone you know would like to connect with her we encourage you to take her FREE Emotional Eating Quiz, participate in her 5 Day Crush Emotional Eating Challenge on Facebook, and Sign up Today on her website.
She has also written for the Obesity Action Coalition, ObesityHelp and The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
Connect with Visten
Here at Visten Creative we also believe in continuing to listen and learn in order to help our clients better articulate and share their vision. Interested in bringing experts alongside your team to help your business or organization grow? Our team at Visten Creative is tapped into a network of creatives and we’re excited to help you share your story.
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This post was written as a marketing partnership with Foundations in Headwork for Healthy Weight Loss. Have an entrepreneurial story you’d like to share? Contact our team today!