Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Dr. Mitchell Abrams, Founder of Nexgenhealth, located in Toronto, ON, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
NexGenHealth is a social enterprise, designed to support and promote a more holistic model of healthcare as well as inspire more compassionate and effective community systems. With a focus on the science of our common humanity, I take audiences on an exploration of themselves as individuals and of our interconnected relationship to one another.
In practical terms, Nexgenhealth delivers educational and experiential courses and workshops, focusing on improving mental health and community engagement by leveraging the power of the arts, science and technology. We believe adding heart to healthcare and community is essential for individual and collective well-being. Through the arts, we create sustainable funding systems to further support communities in need and to advance essential mental health research.
Our clients include multiple segments of the community including medical doctors and allied health practitioners, first responders, corporate executives, not-for-profit organizations, students and artists.
More Background info:
NexGenHealth’s workshops are designed to provide a deeper understanding of energy by presenting and interpreting the latest research in the fields of mind-body medicine, mindfulness, psychophysiology, quantum physics and neurocardiology. As we learn together, we begin to tune into a much deeper understanding of the mechanics of life, our measurable relationship to one another and why this matters to our individual and collective health.
RADDical A.R.T.:
Art in all forms speaks directly to the heart, ignites conversations and changes perceptions. Art captures feelings and facilitates social transformation and documents historical shifts in culture.
I collaborate with a talented pool of NexGenHealth Energy Certified Artists who have completed our RADDical A.R.T. Residency Program and have embarked on a unique exploration of our common humanity. These creators are in an extraordinary position to capture these conscious moments of transformation in art. Together, through awareness campaigns and partnerships with social influencers, my team of changemakers and artists are bringing these messages to a global audience.
Tell us about yourself
I am a Canadian radiologist, keynote speaker, teacher and founder of NexGenHealth Ltd. I completed my medical degree and radiology specialty from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, and hold a subspecialty in cross-sectional imaging from the University of Toronto. I am a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and hold an Assistant Clinical Professorship at Michael G Degroote School of Medical Sciences. Additionally, I was Department Chair of Diagnostic Imaging at Cambridge Memorial Hospital.
Early in my Radiology career, I was diagnosed with Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy, a disease that can lead to sudden cardiac death in seemingly fit and healthy young people. I required open heart surgery in order to prevent the worst-case scenario. Through my experiences as a patient and department chair, I became acutely aware of the limitations of our current model of care. Disillusioned, I began travelling to India to study the Eastern holistic approach to healing, encompassing philosophies of body, mind and spirit. In particular, I spent time investigating the role of energy as it relates to consciousness, the science of mind and overall health. Practicing with masters in the art of spiritual healing, I began studying the intersection of science and spirituality.
Radiology is a unique specialty in the broader field of medicine, exploring the human body, using energy rather than a scalpel. Combining my passion for the arts, and leveraging my radiology background, I explore and share a new framework for understanding energy through an East-meets-West perspective.
As a graduate and ambassador of the Centre for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford School of Medicine, I leverage the power of the arts to educate, heal and inspire. My capstone project, RADDical A.R.T. (Radiologist Developed Autonomic Rewiring Therapy), is a sustainable funding system that is incorporated into NexGenHealth’s workshops. It is a not-for-profit concept that combines education, art, fundraising and publicity to transform monumental moments of our collective learning into valuable works of art. The sale of this art supports innovative research as well as mental health and resilience programming for communities in need. The RADDical A.R.T. Collection is a powerful way to inspire change in our world, while telling the story of an emerging conscious and coherent global community.
My love for music and art, and using these tools to connect with people, is what motivates me the most. Through this work, I am able to support people in their life journey, and provide
knowledge and tools for improving both their physical and mental health. My hope is to spark a renewed sense of connection to others and ultimately to something greater than themselves. This proactive approach to wellness is the foundation for preventative medicine and begins to lay the foundation for a new community health model.
Knowing that my passion and sense of purpose are aligned to further support others, boosts my internal battery.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My sense of accomplishment comes from both the littlest things and the big wins.
On the one hand, I feel blessed to be invited to participate in meaningful conversations with other thought leaders, health practitioners and key decision makers around the world. Delivering experiential programs that support the design of novel approaches to compassion-centric organizational systems is definitely a win.
On the other hand, the smallest of accomplishments are just as meaningful to me. The energy I feel from an individual in the moment they tune into this perspective and begin to view life with this new awareness, is equally as gratifying.
I believe we can stitch the social fabric together, one heart at a time.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Staying the course and not losing resolve when things don’t go as planned. Not attaching to any outcome. Finding gratitude in every moment; the wins and challenges. Recognizing that every moment, even the most challenging moments, or those perceived as failures, are meaningful experiences to learn and grow from. Having the patience to allow the process to unfold. Having faith that the hard work you put in will unfold and bring you where you need to be for the next step of your journey - this is my philosophy for life, not just in business.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Ensure you are aligned with your passion. Whatever it is that you are offering, ensure that it is a labor of love and not for the sole purpose of financial gain.
- Ensure your sense of sacred purpose - your “why” - is clearly driving your work. Follow your heart.
- Be mindful that what you are putting out into the world, benefits more than just yourself. Work toward your business goals to help raise up your community and the world as a whole. Being in service to others is essential.
- No matter how you define success, always be aware that it is important to align with your passion and create opportunities to be in service to others.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://nexgenhealth.solutions/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nexgenhealth.solutions
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.mitch.abrams/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmitchellabrams/
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