We had the good fortune of connecting with Andres Ruiz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andres, why did you pursue a creative career?
I was struggling for many years working jobs that I didn’t enjoy and was extremely unhappy with my life. I had no purpose and felt like a complete failure. I had family and friends who are lawyers doctors engineers and surgeons and I was over here with just the high school diploma feeling unworthy.

I remember one day listening to a motivational speaker by the name of Les Brown and he said many people will leave the universe without a trace and under their name you can put not used up.

I thought to myself this guy is talking about me. I kept listening to these motivational audios and they inspired me to do something that I’ve been wanting to do since I was 12 years old which was Stand up comedy.

At first I did terrible. Nobody would laugh all you could hear was just the crickets. Eventually I joined a public speaking club to help me get better as a comedian. I got better as a comedian but I fell in love with public speaking. I started speaking for free at middle schools and high schools. And eventually there was somebody that asked me how much I charged. I was shocked to think that somebody would pay me to speak to their school.

People started asking me how I did it and how I pursued my dreams since I was a very shy kid when I was in high school. I’ve been decided to start doing life coaching to help other people pursue their goals in their dreams. When I started to make enough money part time as a coach and speaker I noticed that I was making more money than my full-time job

That’s when I decided to go full-time as a speaker and coach. Then I started a radio show in 2020 and also started writing books. I have been blessed to have written 10 books, including two children’s books and six number one Amazon best sellers.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I speak to high schools, middle schools, colleges, elementary schools nonprofits and organizations. What sets me apart is that I am able to connect with a very broad audience anywhere from 4 years old up until 60 years old. I believe that is a trait that I learned from my grandfather, my father and my mother. I give them a lot of credit to help me be able to connect with anybody

In the past 4 years I have had over 20 youth come up to me telling me that they have been thinking about taking their lives. I have been blessed to be able to help them over come this challenge. I feel blessed for this and feel like I’m serving a purpose

I have to give a lot of credit to a lot of my mentors for getting to where I’m at. I’ve had coaches, mentors and people that have been in my corner that believed in me which helped me to believe in myself.

It has definitely been a challenge. At times struggling with feeling anxiety and lonely on this road. There have been some tears every now and then but I continue to move forward because I am living the life of purpose and meaning.

The lessons I have learned along the way is to stay strong and think about the people that I’m serving. When I think about the people I’m serving it takes away from thinking about my fears. It has also helped me be more resilient and learn more about business and continue to learn. It is also helped me in my personal life to be a better father, husband friend, etc

I want the world to know that I am on a mission to save lives and to help inspire my clients to do what inspires them to make the world a better place

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to tumamoc Hill and then take him out for some coffee at decibel coffee which is my favorite. I love the vanilla milk they have there. Then I would take him to opa’s the best Greek food in town.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Enrique Feldman was a great mentor of mine who helped me tremendously during my journey as an entrepreneur. He helped me have the courage to go full-time and to believe in myself during that journey.

My friend Jon McLane has been there from the beginning when I started my coaching and speaking and he has been a big support in my journey. He has also helped me to motivate you to write my books and also do radio show

Website: www.ibelieveinmyself.org

Instagram: Andresruizmotivates

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andres-ruiz-424614123?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010356573273&mibextid=ZbWKwL

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