Our main objective here at the National Coach Academy is to enable aspiring coaches to reach their full professional potential. One of the most effective ways to educate students about the world of coaching is by offering them a window into the world of real, practicing coaches and showing them all the different ways coaches make a difference in the lives of their clients.
We hope today’s interview adds another insightful glimpse into the dynamic world of coaching.
Today we are interviewing Nicolas Manotas. Nicolas is a Life Coach based in Miami, Florida.
NCA: Can you describe your coaching practice and the kinds of clients you typically work with?
Nicolas: In the last decade life coaching has blooming and resonated in a lot of people and the main reason is that humanity is more disconnected with others and with themselves. People are missing a lot meaning in their lives by focusing in the having and doing instead of the self and that’s why a lot of people feel emptiness and disconnection and this is where the life coach appears. We are not counselors, we are not consultants, we don’t give advises, what a life coach does is to go deep in the subconscious and conscious mind and by the art of questioning and confronting, we guide the coachee (patient) to explore and canalize his thoughts and to create a declaration by him self that will allow him to discover what he is facing and what to do in order to move forward. When the breakthrough happened, is when we as life coaches challenge the coachee in order to take actions that will take him to the next level in his life.
Our job is not to tell the coachee what to do, a lot of times we discovered since the beginning what the issue is, but unless the coachee sees it (declare it for its self), it won’t create the breakthrough that he or she needs to take the right actions to change his life in the way they need and want.
The kind of clients that I normally work with variates a lot. Everyone has a different story and issues to resolve. If I have to choose the most common topic, I will say relationships in couples. Communication is one of the pillars of coaching and people really don’t know how to communicate and this generates problems and resistance in any kind of relationship. Trough the life coaching session I guide them to learn how to listen, communicate properly and work with their emotions.
NCA: What initially got you interested in this career path and what kind of degree or certifications did you need to complete, if any?
Nicolas: Many years ago, I attended a self-improved seminar that lasted around 6 months. Since then I got in love of the life coaching figure, it amazed me how one person in such a short time can create breakthroughs in people’s life. People enter the seminar as one person and at the end they were a better version of themselves with a lot of purpose and balance in their lives. I always have had a calling for service and this was a very loud call and I visualize my life helping others to live better and pursue their dreams.
At that moment, I began a path of self-knowledge by attending workshops, working with the community and helping others to achieve their goals. Eventually, this path took me to the next step and that was to become a certified Ontology Life Coach at NEWFIELD NETWORK and an Associate Certified Life Coach (ACC) by the International Coach Federation (ICF).
NCA: What is the most rewarding part of your career?
Nicolas: It is completely fulfilling to be part of someone else life-changing experience and witness how a person can overcome limited beliefs and any kind of obstacles and become a better person for themselves, their family and community. It is very difficult to explain but any coaching session it is a win-win situation because a learned a lot from the coachee and from myself with the breakthroughs that happened during those sessions. Helping to create wellness in others, be at their service is the most rewarding thing I had ever experience and if life allows me, I will do it until the day I die.
It is completely fulfilling to be part of someone else life-changing experience and witness how a person can overcome limited beliefs and any kind of obstacles and become a better person for themselves, their family and community.
NCA: What is the most challenging aspect of the work that you do?
Nicolas: There is a lot of suffering in people, a lot of problems and a lot of conflict and it is impossible not to get touch by this situations, it absorbs a lot of energy, by the end of some coaching session even thought I felt happy for the result I end up complete drain
NCA: Can you think of a mentor who was most vital to your success as a coach? In what ways did this mentor help you to thrive in your career?
Nicolas: In life we never stop learning and everyone you meet is a mentor if you know how to listen. My wife is a great mentor for me, it challenges me constantly to redirect how I think and act.
When I was getting my certification as a life coach, my coach and the master coach of the organization showed me how to connect with my feelings and live in general in ways that I never thought it was possible. They guide me to find my purpose and once I discover that, my life was never the same.
NCA: Finally, what advice would you give someone looking to get started in the career path that you chose?
Nicolas: Never forget why you decide to become a life coach, people who do this for a living is because they are at the service of humanity.
In the beginning it will be difficult to make a living out of it. Money is important and it is a tool that help us for a lot of things. If you are passionate about it, money will be the result of your actions and not the focus of your doing.
When something gives you passion you do it even for free, if you can make a living by doing coaching, go for it; if not, it doesn’t matter, continue coaching whenever you can and look for something else that gives you the money that you need to pay your expenses. Be patient and enjoy the path.
