In this episode of 5to9, I had a chat with Nicole Cruz, a corporate manager turned life coach, a digital nomad, a mango lover, a 90s hip hop die-hard, and most recently a TEDx speaker.

After climbing the corporate ladder in the insurance industry for a decade, in 2016, Nicole quit her 6-figure corporate job, downsized her belongings, and traveled the world with her husband for 10 months. During that time, she worked on her transformation like it was her full-time job, dove deep into spirituality, and mindset, tried new things, and eventually realized she wanted to become a life coach.

She is now on a mission to help 1st and 2nd generation immigrants of color move from fear and self-doubt to clarity and joy.

We talked about her “good girl” days, what led her to take a sabbatical, evolving her identity, the mindset shifts she had to make from employee to entrepreneur, whether an MBA is worth it, and more!

This is Nicole Cruz for 5to9.