Meet Chris Ortiz

We recently connected with Chris Ortiz and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Wish I could say it just magically happened one day but truth be told developing my confidence has been a life long journey. By nature I am a very anxious person who rarely rolled the dice and took chances. The fear of rejection handcuffed me and in turn left me stuck on the sideline. I do believe that sports were my saving grace and the baseball diamond was the first place I felt comfortable in my own skin. Some well timed success helped me get into college with a baseball scholarship and gave me a chance at a better life. It really hasn’t been until the last ten or so years of my life that I have come to the understanding of how confidence actually works. It comes through repetition and testing your skills whatever they may be. There is an aspect of making yourself vulnerable and showing the world what you have been working on. Only by making yourself vulnerable are you able to realize that failure is not that big of a deal, rather a part of an even larger process. Once we are able to clear that hurdle the nerves start to dissipate and we start walking into different situations with a new mindset. The more experience we accumulate the more confident we become. As I look back the secret sauce has been to put my stock into the preparation phase, roll the dice, and let the outcome take care of itself. As a confident forty five year old man I wish there was a way to hop into a time machine and tell the scared ten year old boy this simple hack. Unfortunately there is not so I will just have to make the most of the time I have left.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

So for the last twenty one years I have worked as an educator and coach in Conroe ISD. It has been quite the journey and I thank god for all the experiences and people I have met along the way. With less than ten years before retirement I hope to cement my legacy as one of the best to ever do it. The simple act of being kind and bringing good energy to school each day is my calling card and covers any deficiencies I may have. I am confident the good far outweighs the bad. Over the last five years I have begun writing books and hosting a podcast. I have a creative streak that lives inside of me that constantly wants to express itself. Ideas pop into my head and I feel the need to give birth to them after some careful vetting. Sometimes they are good and other times no so much. When good emerges though I attack it with zeal and fervor. After writing six books and hosting over one and seventy five podcast I have a new target in sight. I want to bring Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to public education. I have seen what the gentle art has done for me and countless numbers of my friends. In turn I want to share that same magic with the students I teach in school. I will give you the cliff notes version of my plan for times sake. My plan is to go after low performing students who also find themselves in their fair share of trouble. Typically these five percent or so can take up to seventy percent of administrations time for whatever the reason may be. Sometimes these kids are seen as throw away kids but I see them as opportunities to save a life. Jiu Jitsu may be the way to get these kids through their tumultuous years and onto a better life. I am going to fight like hell to make it happen because it is a cause worth fighting for. Oh, and I just released my sixth book which is named “Flow State..” Which is about all the benefits martial arts can have on kids. Irony, I think not..

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. Consistency – we only get better by doing things. Not for a day, week, month, or even a year. Consistency has to be shown for years on out. The media does a poor job of showing the entire process and in turn we just get the happy ending. Many of our favorite artist and performers have been at it for years on end. Do not let the shiny wrapper and packing fool you, success is a marathon not a sprint.
2. Kindness – has opened more doors for me than anything else in my life. The key is to make it a central theme to who you are. If we look for something in return for our kindness then you are doing it for the wrong reason. Do good for your fellow man on a regular basis and the universe will reward you ten fold. If I have learned anything in my forty five years on gods green earth it is this, karma is real. So you best be on the good side of it and reap its benefits. One more thing on kindness, it is free and cost us absolutely nothing to give.
3. Empathy – being able to shift paradigms and hop into someone else’s shoes has been life changing. Experience in the game of life gives us the ability to see things through a number of different lenses. My experiences both good and bad have given me the unique ability to relate with a larger demographic of young people than normal. The things I used to believe were negatives in my life have actually been blessing to my teaching/coaching career. I implore all of my educator friends to remember what it was like when they struggled so they to can demonstrate this valuable skill.

There are a few other subjects I could go into but for now I feel that these three are the most valuable.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

Right now I am focused on getting Brazilian Jiu Jitsu into the public school system. In order for this to happen I will need a number of different things to occur. Namely public support from some martial art luminaries like Dana White, Joe Rogan, Jocko Willink, Lex Friedman, and anyone else with a huge platform with BJJ experience. Reason being is that they can help get the conversation started in the public eye. All the above mentioned people have been touched in a positive sense by Jiu Jitsu. Furthermore they champion the cause on their platforms on a regular basis. With just little old me rattling the cage the powers that be in the school system can conveniently ignore my request. If any of the above mentioned men bring up the topic then millions upon millions can chime in on the discourse. In a perfect world these gentlemen would bring me on to their platforms to first discuss my book “Flow State” which champions the benefits of martial arts for young people. Then we would go into what Jiu Jitsu in schools would actually look like and how to go about implementing it. I do believe that these men could also help me pool together the resources to pull this off because in my mind I do see “funding” as a potential hurdle as well. Right now I plan on banking all of my good will in the public school system and cashing it in at the right time when the moment presents itself. If any of the above men hear this call to action please do not hesitate to reach out. We all know how this life changing art has helped us, let it save a good number of youth who are lost or struggling. It can be done and I intend to make it happen hell or high water.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://coachortiz.com
• Instagram: chrisortiz3946
• Facebook: Chris Ortiz
• Linkedin: Chris Ortiz
• Twitter: @BeSomeone09
• Youtube: chrisortiz2945