Good Hustler: Reed Everingham || Reed Everingham Psychotherapy
It’s been a busy year so far, in my meanderings, I just keep talking to awesome good hustlers, so while I was dedicating this year to building the new business, i’m kicking off Good Hustlers 2019 because I just have to showcase some of these amazing peeps. I think if I could have a venture that spent all its time singing the virtues and values of all the people doing amaze stuff in the world, I would have found my nirbana. Perhaps I should work on a business model for that - but it might just be called being Oprah ha ha.
Today’s post is VERY SPECIAL. Caps on special. In my good hustler feature, i’ve only ever featured gals. Conscious decision as i’m all about giving the sisterhood as much visibility and support as possible. But this year we are having a twist as I have been working with a number of amazing dudes, and I want to show off their stuff too.
I promised Reed Everingham he would be my first boy good hustler and he has earned that pole position. Reed has featured in my journal a few times, as he is one of my personal touchstone people, my sangha who I go to when I need to have a trusted friend listen and review where my head is at on all manner of cray plans. I’ve also watched closely as he consciously decided to pursue psychotherapy as his career and transitioned from the arts to his own thriving psychotherapy practice.
Reed does the work, he puts in a lot of effort in the doing and the being on his path not just as a committed and present therapist, but as a business owner who is looking for sustainable growth. For the many people I know and work with in small therapeutic practice, this is hard, and is frequently neglected in the hours spent with clients and their needs. Reed holds that balance with skill, and also knows when to back off and do nothing, to give himself the time and space to regather and check-in with his life priorities and make sure the flow is right for him.
I’ll let him tell the story from here, connect with him via links at the end if you want an amazing psychotherapist - even if its just to check your head in your own good hustle!
Reed Everingham’s Good Hustle
I’ve always been creative and worked in a number of sectors as an administrator and project manager. My business grew from the idea that life and work could be more meaningful if I could just keep stepping into a more authentic expression of who I was. So, who was that? From a business perspective, I knew I had a strong work ethic and was very resourceful, a good listener, and empathic - so my therapy practice just rolled out from there, part self-directed, part intuitive, and part good fortune.
The other two converging factors that were key to my transition from wage-slave to free-range were a tree-change from Sydney to the Blue Mountains with my partner and my dharma studies. My interest in Buddhism has shifted from an aspirational place in my thirties to a deeper and more committed wisdom path now in my late forties. It’s a lot like a key phrase from my website: people have an innate capacity to self-actualise.
The critical thing for me – which is true for a lot of folk - was that I also needed to get out of my own way to get things flowing.
Describe your business in one powerful sentence.
I work empathically and compassionately with people in distress to support their transformation and self-actualisation.
How do you integrate service to others in your business model?
I believe the idea of service is key to good therapy. One of the most generous things I can do for my clients is to start each session with the intention of parking my own stuff in service to them. I attend to their needs and connect with their reality. Sometimes this can include a traumatic event or some other type of crisis, other times it’s just a process of settling in and settling down. I find working in service is a very interpersonal and energetic experience. Interestingly the idea of service is very aligned to a number of therapeutic modalities like Existential, Person-centred and Narrative Therapies.
Beyond this, the whole business model is about service and finding creative ways to respond to life. My service to clients has a flow-on effect and finds many ways to land in many different contexts. My groups are designed to create social and emotional capital in communities, and I also have a percentage of my clients on a reduced hourly rate as I know their circumstances would not normally allow them to engage in ongoing therapy.
What were some of the highlights and lowlights of your journey to where you are now?
Highlights include running a thriving practice and growing both as a clinician and a person, moving my practice from the front room of our house to busy downtown Leura, and finally, each and every time a client chooses to leave therapy as a happier, healthier, and wiser version of themselves.
Lowlights include self-doubt, feeling anxious about money and experiencing burnout and compassion fatigue. It took me a while to understand that the self-care I was doing wasn’t even touching the sides; I realised (the hard way) that I would need to power up my self-care and attend to my needs in a more mindful and holistic way.
You think you know this stuff… but hey, it’s all in the learning, it’s all grist for the mill.
Do you have a spiritual practice?
Yes, I am a novice Buddhist. It’s taken me years to settle down and take refuge in the three jewels of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. I attend a local temple when I can and feel grateful to have access to these psychological and philosophical teachings. I also find gardening very spiritual; I love talking to trees - they inspire me.
Advice for others who want to start their own good hustle?
Don’t wait till all your ducks are in a row. Life is short. Finding meaningful ways to live and work is key to wellbeing. A good hustle also goes a long way in helping us to create worlds that are connected and compassionate. You might even inspire another hustler, serving to model a path that is both courageous and wonder-filled.
https://reedeveringham.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/reedeveringham/
If you want to be featured as a Good Hustler drop me a line and tell me about your business and you and why your hustle is geeeeeewwwwwwddddd. All people I evangelise for are completely independent of me and my business ventures unless specified. I just freakin love what they do.
