How Chelsie Ward is building her Perfect Practice

Hello, my friends, and welcome to Perfect Practice. Today we are speaking with Chelsea Ward. Chelsea is a registered nurse and also an FDN practitioner. Amongst so many other things that she does to help people feel amazing. Chelsea, thanks for joining me today.

Thank you for having me.

Well, I want to help people understand a little bit more about what you do. How did you get into the holistic health space? And I want to talk also about how you turn that into a business that you run with so much joy and so much passion. So why don't we start with you becoming a nurse and then transitioning, taking that nursing journey and knowledge and information, and then going into functional medicine. I'd love to hear about that.

Yeah. So I think it would probably be best to know that I grew up and I wasn't the healthiest child. I was seemingly healthy on the surface, but I always had some. Some kind of health issue going on, mostly digestive and hormonal issues. And those things continued when I got into nursing school and really just started looking for more answers as to why I was sick. I realized in nursing school that I was kind of similar to my patients in the fact that we were both being told the same story, and that was surgery and medication is the way out. And I just wanted a better way. So I finished nursing school. My parents were always the type, you finish what you start, you don't quit anything. So I don't know that I truly resonated with the whole model, even from the beginning, but I knew that I had to finish, and I'm so glad that I did. I learned so much, of course, but I think that that kind of drove me to look for different answers. And those answers started coming from lifestyle, nutrition and exercise, stress reduction, breathing right, eating right, all those different things. So as I started to implement a lot of those things in my own lifestyle, I started to see changes. And while I probably started with way too many supplements, because that is what I knew is to take pills, I think that it really gave me a little bit of insight into what was happening in this natural health space. And I started to fall in love with that even more. And the more that I found that I was getting better, the more attracted I got to it and started studying people that were living medication free. They were living on healthy foods and, you know, and good, healthy juices and all these different things. And I'm used to eating burgers and pizzas and not making the connection that those are probably the things that were making me sick. So once I realized that there was a Better way. That is when I began to shift and move into that natural space. So kind of what led me to where I am today.

Cool. How did you learn about functional medicine? Was there a book that you read or a presentation that you saw?

I believe it was a coworker. And we started talking a little bit about just her. She had a thyroid issue going on at the time. And I was kind of moving into more of, like, nutrition type things. Just gaining. Gaining a little bit of an understanding at that time. And she started talking to me about compound medications, and I was like, what is compound medication? So, of course, as a nurse, you know, I'm. I'm researching all this stuff, and she tells me about Dr. Mark Hyman, and she was like, oh, you would love his stuff. And I was like, okay. So I start looking at Dr. Mark Hyman and start looking up his information, and I'm like, oh, this is. This guy's pretty. Pretty interesting. So I think he's probably my first introduction to this whole world. And then I was thinking, well, maybe I can start working on some of my health issues. So, of course, you know, I was thinking digestive issues was kind of my main issue. So I would look at Dr. Josh Axe, and I fell in love with Krista Arecio's work. You know, I did a lot of cleanses through her and things like that. And then I would. I went down the hormone path. So just really reading and learning about their information. And I was subscribing to all their blogs, listening to their videos, devouring their books, you know, just trying to learn as much as I possibly could about the field.

Amazing. Now tell us a little bit more about, you know, where you're. How you started your business. Tell us about the early stages of starting your business and where you are right now.

When I started feeling a little bit better, I wanted to give back to the world. And I did that by publishing a book. The book is called Healed His Way. And I thought that would kind of be it for me. I was like, here you go. Here is the book. Everybody learn from it. You are going to. You know, this is my tribute. If you do the things in the book, everything is going to be great. And then I started getting messages from people saying, hey, your book was wonderful. I've partnered with a functional medicine doctor. Thank you for what you did for me. Other people were saying, hey, how do I get more information? And other people were saying, hey, I need some help. So I knew that I needed to do a little bit more, and I did start Coaching people just kind of like I would say, okay, let's do a coaching session. I would throw a price tag on it. And that was kind of it. And I do a session here and a session there. And I think I kind of realized that I wasn't doing anyone any favors by offering them a session because it just wasn't really enough to give them results. And that's when I started studying functional medicine and really just taking it serious, like, okay, if I'm going to do something with this, let me learn how to really help these people. So I started studying that at Functional Medicine University and then FDN and you know, just started bringing in some of those other like techniques so I could gain some of the skills that I needed to really create protocols and help people with supplements or lab testing and really create something that could give them some results. So that's when I started seeing people more one to one and creating more of a packaged program. So that was kind of the big first step for me to kind of moving in and saying, okay, this is truly a business. I'm going to see if I can do something with it.

Amazing. And you've certainly made a huge impact on so many lives. You know, almost about a year ago you joined our mentorship program. I love to know, you know, what inspired you to join our community and what's that experience been like for you?

Sachin, I've followed you for many years probably and was introduced to your book and Perfect Practice. I read it and gained so much knowledge and understanding and like, I just feel like there was something that kept drawing me back to the information that you were putting out. Just your demeanor. I felt connected with you as a person and I think that's really what draws me to most programs that I end up doing. And I think part of it was to me, if I'm going to learn from someone, I want it to be an expert. Like I want to know what the experts are doing. I want to know what the people in the industry that are actually making moves are doing. I don't want to just go and, you know, join a group that may or may not be working, may or may not be getting results. And I feel like just seeing you everywhere and seeing the moves that you were making, I feel like you were doing really big things. And what attracted me most, I think was just having the structure that you provided. It was like, here is the structure. Now I'm going to give you what's working and then you're going to go and you're Going to make it your own and you're going to put Chelsea on it and then you're going to have a complete package. Right. So I had been doing things my way for a long time and now I'm in the mentorship. And it's amazing because I have like this little marriage I'm trying to create of things that, you know, it's like the metabolic reset. This is working for people, this is getting people phenomenal results. It can really be something simple. And then I can now pair it with what I've been doing with my clients, working with them one on one, still able to run the functional lab test, still able to work with them with supplements, and a lot of the things that I already was doing. So it just, to me, it made a lot of sense to be able to really bring everything together to create this little package that I could present to people to get them the results that they wanted.

Amazing. I know we have like such an awesome community and I'm proud to say that it's made up of people like yourself, who are passionate, who are collaborative, who love to share, who love to, you know, hold each other up and support one another. Tell us about what your experience has been like working with the other members in the group.

It has been phenomenal. I think that you have probably one of the best teams of people that are there, that are literally, they're in the trenches every day. They have their own practices, their own businesses, they're doing it. And what I love is that you've brought people in to guide us as mentors throughout our process, that they all work in a similar model and they were trained under you and live by a lot of the same principles, teach a lot of the same principles, but they all have their own unique areas of expertise that we can kind of draw on and ask questions. And I love that there's that one to one aspect that it's like, okay, if I need a little bit more information on what's next for me when it comes to these group programs that I want to build, then I'm going to book a session with someone and I'm going to hash it out and say, okay, this is my deep concerns right now. I love the big group aspect because I feel like we just get your, your mentorship, your training, everything that you're learning, you're just kind of like bringing that in. You're like, you're up here learning these things and you're just dripping it on us all the time. And I just felt like it's so consistent. And then there's like the little small intimate groups that we can join that allow us to really conversate and collaborate and, you know, just, it's just a place where I may have a few questions. Yes. And I'm like, I always get this big aha. But then there's someone else that has a similar question and it's just like, yes, I'm cheering them on in one sense and then, you know, maybe it was something that I needed to hear too in another sense. So you're right in that it's like minded people and we're all here for the same, same like intention and this. There's no competition, there's no anything like that. It's just we all have a similar purpose and we're like, how can we help propel one another forward? And it's just beautiful. The community's beautiful.

Oh, thank you, thank you. I would agree. We have such an awesome group of people and I love the mentors who are learning by being in the trenches and then taking the teachings that they've learned, being part of the group and then sharing it. And I think that having that one to one, one and then one to many, but then one to many more. Right. Is such a great formula and I'm so grateful that you joined and so glad that you're benefiting from it. Who would you say is a good fit for this community from your perspective, being in it? Who would you say is somebody who would be an awesome fit and fit right in with this community?

I feel like it's someone who, you know, that you want to help people, you have a passion for health and helping people with their health, of course, and you've got an idea that you want to take it a little bit deeper, you want to take it further and you're just not sure what that step by step plan looks like. And I think it's helpful to have some sort of idea, you know, of what you want for a business and that you do want a business and, and you've got a little bit of an understanding of health in general and you're just ready to connect with other people who are going to support you, who are going to encourage you. I think it's helpful if you feel the same way though, if you want to come in and support and help other people. Because I feel like when you're in a community like this, you're going to get out of it what you put in. And that's not only what you put in, you know, for yourself, but what you put in for others. And I think that we're just, we're all kind of heart centered people in the community for the most part. So just that's probably another character trait that I would say really stands out to me for someone that would be really fitting for the community and add value.

Thank you. What would you say to somebody who's kind of sitting on the fence? Maybe they've been following us for a few years or maybe they just kind of stumbled across some of our work. What would you say?

One of my recent mentors that I learned about through this program, Michael Bernoff, he's a very brand new mentor, but someone that I've really, really looked up to especially this week and everything that I've learned and he is huge on decision making. And I will say that one of the things that has held me back in my life probably more than anything is I've been a very indecisive person. And sometimes I look back and I say, Chelsea, how long did you follow Sachin and his program and wonder about it before you ever even reached out and asked and where would you be today if you would have done it those many years ago? Right. And your idea about this program is never going to go away like it is. Like if you think it's a good program today, you're probably going to think it's good program in five years. But what happens in that five year time span while you've been sitting on the fence waiting like that? It's just time lost. And I think that we have to learn to become quick decision makers. And Sachin, you, you remind me of this all the time just in the teachings that you have for us. And that is like the quick decision makers are the ones who are successful. Like it doesn't matter if you make a bad decision, just make a decision and go with it. And you're going to learn something from it if you choose to. Right? So if you're, if you're sitting on a fence, there's always a lesson, right. And there's not really anything that I could say in this program that would just cause it to be a bad choice. I mean truly there are so many different facets, you know, from business to personal growth to fitness. I mean there's every aspect that you could possibly want to use and grow as a human being that's like embedded into this program. I don't really think that you could walk into this program and not get anything out of it. Like you're going to get the value if you just make the decision.

I love that. I love that. Be a decision maker. The universe rewards speed, right? And success loves speed, as many of us have probably heard. And thank you, Kelsey. This has been awesome. I appreciate you, appreciate the energy that you bring to the group and the community and I'm looking forward to continuing our friendship and working to help you help even more people. So keep up the great work on your end and we'll keep innovating and attracting more people like yourself who are heart centered and want to make the world healthy, happy and whole again. Thank you.

Thank you, Sachin.