Illume Wellness Group
Exactly three years ago today, we opened the doors to Illume Wellness Group and I couldn’t be more grateful. Three years have flown by and it feels like we should still be talking about COVID as if it happened last year. Crazy enough, that was nearly 5 years ago now that the entire world stopped.
Also, three years ago on 1/7/2022, it was my last official day at Abbott Laboratories where I spent 25 years while raising my family. Sometimes I feel guilty about working there for 25 years and not pursuing my dreams of becoming a counselor sooner, but as I look back on it all, I can see that my 25 years spent there were all fruitful times of learning and growth and none of it was wasted. I created a lot of positive memories while there. And just like any job, I also have a lot of years where I was struggling to understand what my purpose was as a cog in the industrial wheel we like to call capitalism in our society.
Society will tell you all kinds of things to keep you stuck right where you are at. We are all bombarded with advertisements, messages from our loved ones, and internal voices full of doubt; but in the end the only one we have that holds us back is our own. I had to learn that myself the hard way, but I am thankful that I learned it. Better late than never!
I still think back to that weekend at work in 2016 with my motivational (and sometimes opinionated) coworker, Rod, struggling to understand all the reasons why I was putting my life on hold. I lamented at feeling like I was wasting my life away doing a job that I was not passionate about and he strongly encouraged me to chase after what makes my heart come alive. He suggested that after I die, there will be a dash on my tombstone between the day I was born and the day I died. After that, a couple generations later, nobody in this world is gonna remember anything about me. “How do you want to spend your dash?” he asked me. “You’re not changing the world by sitting here babysitting boilers, so go do what you have wanted to do forever!”
He was right! I took the next two weeks off and journaled like crazy. Here’s my final journal post from those two weeks:
“4/29/2016 So, tomorrow I go back to work. My two-week hiatus is coming to an end and I am happy with what I have accomplished. I have decided I am going to start the Masters of Counseling program at Spring Arbor University in August. I am changing the direction of my life. I am going to pursue a more meaningful life by making a difference in other people’s lives on a daily basis. I will be quitting my job at Abbott at some point. I don’t know when and I don’t know what it will look like, but my future is definitely about to change for the better.”
I still remember writing that in my journal like it was yesterday. Those two weeks changed the trajectory of my life and I haven’t looked back since.
Once I graduated in 2019, I started seeing clients at Psychological Services of Southwestern Michigan for the next few years while also working still full time at Abbott. It was a chaotic and crazy few years, but in the end, it was all worth it. I am forever grateful to Dr. Bob and Annie for allowing me to see clients in their office before they retired.
Leading up to opening Illume Wellness Group’s doors on January 4th, 2022, there was tons of work to do to prepare the building we were leasing to own. In order to make the place warm and comforting for future clients, we spent hours day and night getting the place ready. It was truly a labor of love and one that couldn’t have been accomplished without lots of help from some amazing people.
Fast forward to today, and yes, three years have gone by that have been full of more learning and growing. In the first few months of opening the doors with my business partner, Nicole, we quickly grew from 2 counselors to 4, then by the end of the first year there were 7. By the end of the second year we were up to 12 providers, and now at the end of three full years we are at 16 providers, a client care coordinator, a massage therapist, and a phenomenal technical coordinator (who also happens to be my amazing daughter). Our client care coordinator has been with us since the beginning and we don’t know where we would be without her either. More providers are planning to join in 2025 and we are contemplating expanding to another location which is exciting and scary.
There are over 1,600 people that have used our services at Illume Wellness Group over the past 3 years and I am continually humbled every time someone tells me they have been helped or a loved one has been helped by our organization. When I receive a phone call from someone in need and they apologize for bothering me, I truly mean it when I tell them it is not a problem, it is never a problem. This is what I am passionate about! I made my life motto at the top of my blog read, “My intention is to help people be more comfortable with their humanness” because I truly believe there are not enough voices in the world reminding people that this being human thing can be pretty hard at times. Why not attempt to help people be more comfortable with their humanness instead of being part of the problem?
To say that my life has been a journey would be an understatement. Leaving my financial security two years before I could retire with full benefits seemed like a huge risk at the time. Every week I am reminded why we do what we do. The stories I hear about our amazing providers helping someone and going above and beyond to give the highest quality care reminds me all the time I made the right decision. I couldn’t be more proud of the staff that I get to call my colleagues and my friends.
Enjoy this video about Illume that my daughter’s girlfriend, Jenna, did for a class project before she graduated from K College. Thanks Jenna!
My 2025 Plans
When I sat down to write, I initially thought I would be writing about my reason for this blog and future blogs, but once I wrote the date it dawned on me that today is the 3 year anniversary of our opening so I appreciate you hearing my sappy thoughts about Illume.
Last year was my first ever year to choose a motto for the year. My motto for last year was CREATE and I had no idea what that would turn out to be. For me, creating means to write since I am not gifted musically or artistically, but I can string a sentence or two together and make it coherent. So I started the first couple months out writing in my journal off and on before I finally gained traction by the end of February. In the first 60 days, I wrote in my journal 25 of those days. Then, for the rest of the year I wrote 303 days out of the remaining 306 days for a grand total of 328 writing days out of 366 days (Leap Year).
Some days I would write and write and write. There was part of me that wanted to share what I have been writing but the voice in my head told me to just keep writing. 2024 is my year to create and not get bogged down by whatever else comes to mind. So, that’s what I did. Here’s a picture of all my journals from last year’s writings.
That brings me to this year. Since my motto CREATE worked well for me last year (even though I started a little slow), I have decided to adopt a new motto for 2025. In my writing two words kept coming and no matter how many times I tried to narrow it down to just one, it became obvious that this year I would have two words for my motto: HEALTH and PRODUCE. I have been thinking a lot about my health lately and making it my motto for the year felt right to me. Also, I have been wanting to share some of my writing from last year and even though I don’t know exactly what that looks like, I believe having the motto of PRODUCE means I will be producing something from what I have already written. For now, I have decided minimally I will be producing at least one blog post per week for the entire year of 2025. That means every Sunday I will share some writing here. Some writing may be current and some writing I may pull from my journals from last year, but either way, it will all be new to you. Some weeks I may release a couple posts, but minimally I plan to post at least once per week.
For the past 20+ years I have been reading and studying anything I can get my hands on that relates to mental health. My goal is to share with you many of the things I have learned over the years and hopefully offer some things that have helped me and my clients along the way. I have read hundreds of books and listened to as many podcasts and trainings about mental health, mindfulness, religion, and creativity. I have certainly followed my bliss as Joseph Campbell recommended and my curiosity has been my guide.
I get that there are a million things out there that could occupy your time and for that reason I will promise to offer posts that are helpful and informative. The last thing I would ever want is to waste anyone’s time.
In closing, some useful advice about my writing: Take what works for you and leave the rest. What I mean by that is this; my journey of change and my views on various topics might not all be your cup of tea, and that is okay. Take what works for you and leave the rest. If I have a few opinions that are outside of your comfort zone or you don’t fully understand or agree with, no worries. Take what works for you and leave the rest. But please just know that my heart is in the right place and I am offering my perspective as a chance to help someone. If my words I put on the page only help one other person, then that is all that matters.
Peace my friends,
~Travis
