I'm an esthetician. Is that enough?

Is your doctor or dentist wrong for staying in their area of expertise? Would you respect your hairstylist less if they don't do something more than styling? Does a famous chef need to abandon the kitchen to become even more famous? There are people whose interests take them beyond their original work in pursuit of something else. And there are those who continue to build their reputation and business in a more narrowly defined yet highly regarded professional focus.

I practiced esthetics for over 40-years while developing treatment techniques and tools, conducting educational programs, offering business consulting internationally, all without "rising above" the practice of skincare, my foundational love. Our treatment rooms are the source of our credibility, our test kitchens for improvement, our universities for learning about the people we serve and their preferences.

There are those who feel that the long-term performing services is somehow a "lower echelon" expression of what we can do in our industry. To each their own as the saying goes.

If you want to be happy, if you hope to succeed however you define that success, if you plan to love the work you do, then do the work you love, whatever that work is. I never sought "fame" as an esthetician, I merely offered my services and managed my business in such a way that others, others with access to publications and speaking stages, noticed and reached out to me because of it.

And for all I've done in esthetics nothing has been more rewarding and gratifying than the hands-on services I delivered to thousands of wonderful (and paying) people.

Check in with your own heart and you'll know where you belong.

Best always, Douglas Preston