Since the economic meltdown last year, many people have been forced to reinvent themselves and establish a new career and life.  They were able to transform their misfortune into an opportunity.  Life gave them lemons, so they made lemonade.  They decided to follow their passion and be the change they wanted to see in the world.  Many Integrative Nutrition graduates have made that leap.  Our grads have rewarding health coaching careers, write books, are school food advocates--and are changing the world.  One successful graduate, Michelle Pfennighaus, was recently featured in an independent film, Lemonade.  She told her story about the opportunity to reinvent her life when she was laid off.

Michelle is a 2009 graduate living in the Boston area.  She used to work as an interactive art director at the largest ad agency in New England.  She created websites and web-based advertising for clients like Ocean Spray, Royal Caribbean and Oral-B.  She struggled with the ad agency lifestyle, with long hours and stressful deadlines. Yoga became her release and the way she dealt with anxiety. Through yoga, she gravitated towards thinking about food and how she was feeding her body. That’s when she found Integrative Nutrition.  She’d planned to someday quit her job and follow her passion, but when she got laid off in March of ’09, it all came together more quickly than she ever imagined possible.

Michelle’s health coaching practice is comprised of private and group clients.  She does coaching sessions over the phone and has clients from all of the country and the world. She even works with a woman in Istanbul via Skype.  Michelle says, “It’s an amazing thing to work without geographical boundaries.”   Michelle and Lemonade were featured on the CBS Evening News and the NPR radio show On Point.

To find out more about Michelle visit her website: http://FindYourBalanceHealth.com  and you can follow her on Twitter @MPfennighaus.

You can hear more about Michelle's practice on January 28th at 5:00 pm on this free webinar.

To view a trailer of Lemonade go to http://lemonademovie.com/

Are you reinventing yourself by following your passion?  Please share your comments to inspire others.