We recently connected with Chris Ortiz and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Chris , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I believe this comes from a couple of different places. First my mom would have to get the vast majority of the credit. She worked so hard to make sure my brother and I were successful in school. It was her goal for us to be the first to graduate college in our family. As a single mother she worked multiple jobs to make sure we had enough, and by god was she successful at it. We never knew any different, my memory tells me we had everything we could want and then some. The other thing that has helped me out immensely as an adult has been Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or translated “The Gentle Art.” I have been training 15 years now and am a 1st degree black belt at Gracie Barra The Woodlands. I could spend days speaking about this topic but I wont. What I will do is suggest that any and all people would benefit a great deal from getting into the martial arts. Jiu Jitsu has helped mold me into the man I am today and would most likely not be the success I am without it. The people, the culture, and the art itself are life changing and I highly recommend it.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am an educator and coach by day. I love the fact that each day is different and that I can have a positive impact on my community directly. We are charged with teaching and coaching specific things but have the ability to help young people by embedding life lessons along the way. As of the last 3 to 4 years though I have really started to explore my creative side. I have written 5 children’s books and working on number 6. I also run a successful podcast “The Be Someone Podcast” where we talk to Houston’s best and brightest. I love speaking with dream chasers they inspire me to follow my dreams as well. At 44 years of age I am not done yet. Last bit, I have just assembled a team and am trying to get into the sports marketing side of things. We will go by the name of “Ultimate Prospect” at the moment we are merely just an idea but believe me when I say that is not where we will end.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Hmmmm, great question…. The first would be kindness, that trait has allowed me to access tons of people because it is who I am. There is no weird, or fake only the genuine warm person that stands in front of you. People are not dumb and they can tell who has their best interest at heart. By living a good life my background always speaks for itself. Second would have to be having zero fear. I have no fear when it comes to asking people for something. Whether it be for an interview, favor, or request I have learned that we will never know unless we try. Most people will never get past the fear and anxiety door thus never finding out what could have been. Not me, one way or the other we will find out what the answer is =). Last would have to be empathy. The ability to step into someone else’s shoes and communicate has been a huge asset. Because of my life experiences I feel as if I can communicate with any and everybody. From the homeless guy that I gave 5 dollars to on the side of the road of the Queen of England. We are all just people and the only thing that separates us are titles and fear or rejection. We are all worthy of each others time!!
Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?
The challenge that I am currently facing is the “golden handcuff” conundrum. I love my job and what I do but there is a side of me that wants to go out and explore my creative side. Right now most of my time is used to teach and coach but I find my self feeling like a bird that is trapped in a cage. I have tried to grow within my school district but the outside the box ideas I throw their way are discarded without much thought. I yearn to make real change and have the knowledge and know how to execute. Unfortunately I am not being taken to seriously right now and it has led to me feeling under utilized if that makes sense. I am patiently waiting on the day where my books sales, podcast, and/or the sports marketing business takes off because I have the passion and energy to pour into it. I will patiently bide my time and be grateful for my current set of occupational circumstances because they are awesome. But once I am able to make that leap best believe I will be ready to take it.
Contact Info:
- Website: coachortiz.com
- Instagram: @ChrisOrtiz3946
- Facebook: Chris Ortiz
- Linkedin: Chris Ortiz
- Twitter: @BeSomeone09
- Youtube: chrisortiz2945
Image Credits
Image Cred: Natalia Salivia and Josh Ricks
