Meet Candace Lopez

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Candace Lopez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Candace below.

Hi Candace, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.

I feel optimistic about life, honestly, because I understand that things can get really, really difficult. In the past, I think we’ve all experienced circumstances outside of our full control: Economic downturns, war, maybe domestic violence, falling into substance abuse, a partner becomes unhealthy, maybe into depression or anxiety, maybe a family member falls ill, a car breaks down, health issues happen. Sometimes all of these situations happen in a row or they happen at once. All of these common human experiences can become overwhelming if we don’t interact with them or take a look at what’s happening: If we ignore reality, things tend to become worse.
Optimism comes even with struggle because I see people, every day, making things work. There’s always a way to ease a situation or make a life a little bit more livable, and usually, I find that patients can work it out with ideas that I wouldn’t have even thought of. It’s truly inspiring to watch people take a break and come back to an issue, working out a problem and living with maybe a changed reality they might not have chosen.
My optimism comes from observing others. It’s really a way to see how life works, because with every challenge comes a way to work through it.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

As a private practice acupuncturist with a background in medical anthropology and medical systems from CSULB, I wanted to develop a way to provide Traditional Chinese Medical care on a large scale, affordably, to the community in Long Beach CA. I also understood the need of accessing this type of care for ongoing pain management, allergies, mental health care, and other conditions like female health and general health for patients as they navigate their own chronic health needs.

As a disabled combat veteran myself, I knew the intersections of healthcare and healthcare delivery were flawed, even in large managed health facilities like the VA. A non-profit clinic fits the needs of patients and also of new acupuncture doctors with the student debt they took on to deliver care like this.

I was able to file the paperwork in 2024 for our 501c3 clinic, Urban Salt Community Acupuncture Clinic, to provide community acupuncture care and health education classes to the community in Long Beach CA. We provide care between 5-6 days per week and we are in the process of structuring hours for 7 days per week. We are also in the process of providing care at other local non-profits for sheltered individuals.

Knowing what I know now, I would say the MOST important aspect of health care is meeting patients where they are, and providing realistic interventions they can repeat at home or on their own. Capabilities vary, and it’s easier to start with small wins to trend long-term health outcomes to a safer place in terms of mobility, pain management, and quality of life, especially for those with ongoing concerns. We are happy to provide a safe place for patients to relax and gain relief, because there really is no finish line in terms of how to manage the body.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Looking back, I would say the skills that were the most helpful were:
Journaling daily
Talking it out and communication
Following what sounds like a good idea, something you see a value in.

All of these tools are not tools that fit into the corporate trajectory or hustle culture. Being a person who starts an idea and acts on it isn’t going to fit into a smooth 5 year plan most of the time, and not everything has to be planned out even that well. I realize that running a small business means doing payroll, marketing, scheduling, planning and communicating with your group/board/contractors every day, so I would also say that if you’d like to be an entrepreneur, it has to dominate your life to the exclusion of most other goals for a while.

That being said, your own mood, mindset, and motivation have to be considered daily, because doing something small is better than waiting, and doing something in a good mood will yield more for the business than doing it resentfully. Knowing yourself, your work patterns, and your energy is the best way to be sustainably motivated, and it starts with physical health, so take care of yourself-Exercise, food, sleep, drinking water, all that stuff, first.

And, not everything has to be perfect to begin. There’s no finish line and things will always change and flex according to need of the market and your personal needs. Most of the time, keeping an open mind helps to not force tension through the day.

If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?

Impatience! Ha!
Impatience can be a challenging force in small business; we’ve experienced people who will look online, follow us, and then maybe not ask questions about what they might need or how we can meet the needs of our community. We are ready to answer any questions those interested in our practice might have, and we would like to do additional outreach in areas to understand how we can meet our community better.

We understand that people might not understand how acupuncture works, what the herbs do, and how we fit into a long-term strategy for health or for injury prevention. In the literature and in clinic, we’ve seen the results of the nervous system regulation and changes in the biochemistry that can escort patients to health, slowly and sustainably as someone might be ready for.

The passion we all have for this field can facilitate education and we are excited to bring these concepts to Long Beach, and eventually to Southern California. We’ve all experienced trouble in accessing care and askign questions of health providers, and we are stoked to offer an available affordable experience in health.

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