All dog trainers know how difficult it is to turn down a job, especially when that person desperately needs our help, or, alternatively, you desperately need the money.

There are times when we’re asked to take on cases that are far outside our comfort zones. If we’re wise, we decline them…knowing that the person seeking our help would be better served by another.

On the other hand, there are times when it’s beneficial to step a wee bit outside of our comfort zones.

From time to time, we must challenge ourselves. That’s the only way to expand our skills, abilities, and knowledge. We need to reach a little bit and attempt new endeavors, so that we can do our best work for our clients and their pets.

And there’s no better way to learn than by doing.

The first few years of my dog training career were incredibly challenging…a constant struggle to create a sustainable business within a highly competitive environment.

Figuring out the best way to...

“Follow Your Bliss, and the Universe Will Open Doors Where There Were Only Walls.”

– Joseph Campbell

 After graduating with an MBA and spending nearly a year in search of the perfect job, I landed the job that was going to take my career to a whole new level.

The pay was good. The benefits were amazing. What more could I ask for?

And yet, after 18 months, I was so miserable that I’d cry the entire 50-minute drive to work.

Every. Single. Day.

I was in a deep, dark hole of despair.

A few years prior, I’d spent piles of money and nearly two years to complete my M.B.A. I’d finally landed the ideal job. My career was flourishing.

My family, my husband, and all my friends had all given me “two big thumbs up” and lots of congratulatory pats on the back.

But after a year of corporate relocations, 3 different bosses, drastic staff reductions, and a complete overhaul of my original job description and function, I was not only miserable, I...