#3: Lizeth Santamaria on Making the Leap From Corporate Life to Coaching: Starting A Holistic Coaching Career Aligned with Purpose

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Why holistic coaching, and why specifically lupus?

Timestamp: 00:41

LIZETH:

I am someone that has lupus. I was diagnosed in 2006 and it has been a journey of health and healing for me. It's completely been transformative. And I share this because lupus is a chronic autoimmune illness and there is no cure. 

And being told that you have a disease that you're going to have for life and you're going to have to take medications for the rest of your life and it is what it is with the symptoms… that is not something that I was willing to accept.

Along the way, I did have to accept the fact that when you do have an illness, you have to figure out how to deal with it. 

And so my way of dealing with it is not just succumbing to lupus. It is to try to figure out how I can overcome so I can live an optimal life, have optimal being, feel optimally mind, body and soul. 

And so to answer your second question, why holistic health coaching, it is because that has been transformative to my life. It has helped me manage my lupus, overcome challenges as far as the chronic symptoms that I deal with. 

And once I figured out that, wow, this really works, I'm like, I need to shout it from the rooftops. 

And ultimately, I feel like this is my purpose in life: to educate and help support others with their health and healing journey. 

That is why I do what I do. It is something that I deal with every day, and helping others that have autoimmune illnesses, chronic illnesses, or even if you don't and just need support when it comes to health and healing…. That is my purpose.

Takeaway

• Comfort others with the comfort you were yourself comforted with.

What was the point where you were like, I have to start doing this. What did the process look like of deciding to turn it into a business?

Timestamp: 04:49

LIZETH:

Do you want the long version or the short version? I'm just kidding. So, it's been a journey. I am very intentional when I use the word journey.

I said this a little bit when we first started our conversation, but I was diagnosed in 2006. I was in my 20s and it's crazy because I had never realized that I had an illness. 

People always ask you “what are your pain levels?” when they're trying to diagnose, “tell me your symptoms on a scale from 0 to 10.” And I'm like, how can I even answer that question when I've been feeling like this my whole life?

ABIGAIL: 

Yeah, it's just normal.

LIZETH:

This is my norm. And I've just dealt with it. So, I don't know how to answer that. 

And I just share that because I was in denial after getting diagnosed with lupus. It took me years to go through that grieving process.  And I consider it a grieving process because you're grieving life as you knew it. 

Now you've been labeled, you have an illness, you have a disease, and you're going to have it for life. 

For the first 20-some years of my life, I was just Lizeth, and now I'm Lizeth-that-has-lupus. 

I didn't want to accept that. Personally, I'm a very stubborn person. So that was a part of it, but I really had to grieve life as I knew it.

And I had to accept, which is another step in the grieving process. I had to get to acceptance, which is, “okay, wake up, you have lupus, you're going to have to deal with this now.” 

That took me a good 5 to 8 years really. 

So that was the first part of my journey: really just getting to acceptance and overcoming denial. And once I was able to do that, that is when I was like, I needed to figure out how to handle this because while I was going through denial, I did not talk to anybody about my illness. I kept everything to myself. I struggled alone. I did not share it with my family, my friends, because I didn't want them to have pity on me, or feel like they had to extend themselves to take care of me. I'm a very independent person, and I just didn't want that kind of attention.

I'm the one that helps people! Like, what? I don't need help. But I really did. 

And once I got to acceptance, I was able to go to the healing part of my journey. And reaching the healing part of my journey was figuring out how to manage this and how to really navigate it. 

It was all about education for me. I needed to educate myself on lupus because there has to be a way to navigate this. 

I started off being prescribed several different medications. When you look at traditional medicine, they typically start your treatment after diagnosis. It's not focused on preventative medicine. It is focused on dealing with the symptoms and not necessarily focused on curing you.

So, it's just management. And so every single symptom I had a medication for. And at my worst, I was on nine different medications for lupus. 

So I needed to educate myself on how I can really navigate this and start to heal my body. And learning about holistic medicine is where I found out that that was possible. 

I was able to reduce my medication through my education about holistic health. 

But that was also coupled with the fact that I was working in a stressful environment. I call it my “former life.” I was working at the top of my field. I was a director for one of the largest healthcare facilities in Florida. I was making great money, I climbed the corporate ladder, but it was an environment which was extremely stressful. 

Not just because of the work that I was doing, but just the expectations and the corporate environment and everything that comes with that. It was not aligned with who I was personally and it was not conducive to my health.

And honestly, I was making great money, but I just wasn't happy. Everything in me was like, "This is not what I created you for." And this was God telling me, "It is time to shift and do what I created you for." 

I just knew in every part of my body that I was not in alignment throughout my career, and I started to look at all aspects of my life. What needs to change? How did I get here to this place where I'm unhappy? I'm not in alignment with my purpose. I am not doing the things for my health that are going to help me live an optimal life and overcome this illness. Why did it flare up now? What is going on? 

And so I really started to be intentional and create that awareness of self.

That is when I decided to educate myself even further, because I work hard and I like to study and I like to learn; I'm a forever student and so I decided to get certified in holistic health and I found that “wow, people can coach for a living. Are you kidding me?” 

I could do this for a living?? Coaching others was the part of my job in human resources that I enjoyed. It was the one area that I was passionate about helping others. 

So I decided from there that I was going to educate myself and get certified as a holistic health and wellness coach. 

And I felt like God confirmed it for me. This is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. 

So I worked as a director while I was educating myself and getting certified as a coach.

And I started building my business. And that is when I decided that I'm going to make the leap and this is what I'm going to do for the rest of my life and this is how I'm going to share the beauty of holistic health and healing with others. 

That was just the start of me recognizing that I was going to make that shift and that I was truly going to live in my purpose. 

Takeaways

• Your greatest struggles—once understood and accepted—can become the foundation of your calling.
• If success feels empty or drains your health, it may be a sign to reassess your path and realign with your purpose.
• Start training and building the new path while still in your current role to create a smoother, more sustainable transition.
• Tune into your spiritual guidance; purpose becomes clearer when you trust the process and take aligned action.

What were some of those very practical things that you thought about and put in place to smooth the transition into this new career? 

Timestamp: 13:01

LIZETH:

I call it “adulting.”  

We all have to adult. Let's be real. We have to pay bills. We need to pay for our house, a roof over our head, for our food, our gas, all of that. And so, yeah, I had to adult. 

I am typically a very passionate person. Once I make up my mind, I'm like, on it. So I created a plan. It was my exit strategy from my former life, my corporate life to really changing everything that I had built and figuring out how am I going to live this new life?

I gave myself a 2-year plan:

1. I was going to save.

They say that typically you should have at least a year to two years salary saved up if you're going to make a shift with your career, so I worked towards that. First of all, I was in a good position where I was pretty much debt free.  I had already worked on that aspect of my finances. And so now it was just about saving. 

And I had already been saving, but I'm like, okay, if I'm going to leave my corporate job with this steady paycheck to the point where I am so well off financially, I don't know what it's going to be to be an entrepreneur. And so I started to think how can I save more than what I'm doing already?

I'm a nail girly, but I cut my nail expenses. I stopped going to get my nails. Started doing them on my own. Yes. it's a sacrifice, right? 

I stopped eating out, because I wanted to be healthier and I started meal prepping, but not eating out was another source of saving money. 

I cut my cable. That saved me over $100 a month. 

So yeah, there were just so many different things that I was so focused on: my purpose and if God is telling me to do this, I know he's going to support me, but I know that I have to take the steps to achieve this. 

So it was not just like a whim that I was like, "I'm going to quit." 

Even though that's what I wanted to do, I really was like, "I need to prepare myself."  

So, while I was getting certified as a coach, that is when I started this 2-year journey of exiting the company I was in. 

On top of that, I also had responsibilities and connections. I managed a team of 40-plus individuals. I'm a responsible person. I had projects that I was working on. I also wanted to make sure that my team was in good hands and that I was not leaving my company high and dry. 

So I did everything professionally to get to that point where I was going to leave on the best note possible.

ABIGAIL:

That's a lot of long-term planning strategy! I think most people do not talk about that, so I'm so glad that you are willing to share that with us.

LIZETH:

2. On top of that, it wasn't just financial.

I started to build my business, meaning I can't just take this leap of faith without preparing myself. 

I was also working on every aspect of building the foundations for a business, so that one day I'm working as a director and I'm in a corporate world, and now I am going to switch to be a coach.

It was a seamless transition for me because of the process that I took. I said I gave myself a 2-year exit strategy. I left at a year and a half.

So, I left sooner than expected, but I was ready to just step into that world because of the preparation work that I did to get there.

ABIGAIL:

So you were phasing out your corporate job and phasing in coaching at the same time. So they kind of overlapped.

LIZETH:

100% 

ABIGAIL:

That is so smart.

LIZETH:

It took a lot of time, but it was worth it. So I could feel comfortable with the leap of faith that I was going to take.

ABIGAIL:

Because it wasn't really so much of a leap of faith as much as stepping gently from one thing to the next.

LIZETH:

I feel like it was a gentle step. That's an interesting way that you put it, because I'm a person that is so strong on faith. 

I talk to God every day; and God answered my prayers when I asked him to guide me. I was going through what people can understand as a spiritual awakening. I grew so close to God. 

I truly believe this because God has shown it to me through my journey, and he has shown it to me through the journey of others that I've helped and coached that made transitions in their life. 

I truly believe that God gives everyone a gift, the gift of your talents. It's what you were created for. It is like that individualistic characteristic that makes you so special and unique. And the Bible says that we should be good stewards, and part of being a good steward is to use your gift… because I'm sure you know that saying, if you use it, if you don't use it, you will lose it…

God wants us to use our gifts and talents so we can give back to the world. That is how we're all connected through community and that is how God connects us throughout different spaces.

My gift is my healing ability to help others, and coaching is a tool that I use to do that. Yoga is a tool that I use to do that. I am a healer.

I feel like I know I was supported because God will support you when you live in your purpose. So I knew I was going to be okay. 

It was a very hard decision. I had so many people question me; all of my employees, like my parents, my friends "What are you doing? You got your master's in HR and now you're going to walk away from it? How do you know it's your purpose?” 

Because God told me. So, I guess it was a leap of faith to just focus on that, but I did feel supported. 

Sometimes you just need to quiet the outside world and really listen and tune in and create that connection with God, and then he's going to tell you what you need to do. It's just about whether you're going to follow it 100%.

Takeaways

• Give yourself a realistic timeline (e.g. 1–2 years) to save money, reduce debt, and prepare mentally and logistically for change.
• Identify non-essential spending (like nails, eating out, cable) and redirect those funds to support your future vision.
• Build while you transition. Start developing your new business or career before leaving your current role—phase out, don’t drop out.
• Leave with integrity. Honor your current responsibilities and relationships; exiting well sets the tone for how you’ll enter the next chapter.
• Listen inward and upward—clarity and confidence grow when your decisions align with your deeper calling.
• Trust that your unique talents are meant to be used—and when you walk in purpose, the right support will meet you.

If your business was a tree, what kind of tree would it be?

Timestamp: 22:28

LIZETH:

I'm going to say a palm tree. I live in Florida, so there's palms everywhere, right? 

I'm going to say the kind of palm trees that have 3 trunks all connected at the bottom. 

So the base of my business is holistic health and healing, but there's so many different things that I do.

So if we're thinking of a palm tree, every trunk is a different service that I offer and it just expands so beautifully like a beautiful palm. 

So there's the trunk for holistic health and wellness coaching. There's the trunk for yoga. There's also the trunk for energy healing which we haven't talked about but that is another thing that I do to help others. And so I have all these different trunks that I offer and that help people to grow and support others.

When you're thinking about your business and growing, how do you visualize where you want to get to? What size would your business tree get to? What would be too big?

Timestamp: 24:03

LIZETH:

This is an excellent question and something that I've been thinking about just recently and I'm going to go back to the spiritual aspect even though we are talking about business and sustainability.

I do not make any major decisions without connecting with God and seeking his guidance. 

So I have spent the last five-ish years getting my PhD. Yes. It's the hardest thing I've ever done.

And so if all goes right, if I complete all my assignments, and complete my thesis successfully, my research, I will be a doctor. I'm studying holistic and integrative health in a mind-body medicine program.

I never in a million years knew that I would go this route, but I did. I'm very much a person that is like I need to study my craft and  if I'm really going to help people then I want to learn it as much as possible. 

So I decided to go this route and I've learned so much information that even helped me get to remission. 

So with that being said, my first initial vision was I am going to have an online business. I used to have a location in downtown Orlando, Florida. And then when COVID hit, I decided to go virtual because I'm like I could be coaching people from the beach and how cool is that? So technically I can be anywhere and run my business. 

However, now that I've gone this route and decided to expand and become a doctor, I have made so many connections. I've been a part of three different research projects focused on lupus and health management as their health and wellness coach, which is something I never thought I would do, but God has been bringing opportunities my way. 

I literally prayed to God "Please guide me on the path that you want me to take. I'm going to follow your will, what you see for my life so I can continue to serve you and others." And so God has connected me with people that I never in a million years would have thought. 

So with me taking those steps and participating in different research projects that have been brought my way, that has expanded my opportunities.  

So to answer your question, I've really been thinking, “what does God want me to do with this degree and newfound knowledge that I have at this level?” 

Does God want me to continue working in research?  Does God want me to open a holistic health and wellness facility, which I've also envisioned I can offer my services there, but I could have other health and wellness practitioners that offer different services to come and serve people in one area? I've also thought about being an academic professor. 

So, I do not know, but I am open.

It really depends on where God sees that he wants me to use my talents and my abilities to continue helping others. But I'm open to the possibilities. I have one more year of school left, so I've really been praying to God to give me that clarity moving forward. 

But whatever it is, I know that I can connect with the right people. I can find the right support in order to navigate my business.

ABIGAIL:

So, you're growing towards the light. Wherever God shines his lamp towards the next step, you just grow towards that light.

Takeaways

• Before scaling or pivoting, check in with your deeper calling and align with what feels purposeful and sustainable.
• Build regular reflection or prayer into your decision-making to stay grounded and intentional.
• Your business path may shift over time—stay flexible and allow new opportunities (like research, teaching, or collaboration) to expand your impact.
• If you're passionate about serving others, commit to mastering your knowledge through study, certification, or advanced education.
• Don’t rush clarity—stay open, stay faithful, and trust the next step will be revealed when it’s time.

How do you make sure that your business isn't taking over your life? How do you make sure that your business is supporting you as much as you're supporting it?

Timestamp: 31:56

LIZETH:

That is such a wonderful question. I'm going to go back to purpose because I truly encourage everyone to discover their purpose in life, which is an area that I help people do. So, if you want to work on that, give me a call. Shoot me an email. 

so you can be in a situation where you have purpose, and then you have your career which is how you make a living, how you support yourself. 

If you are in that situation, that's beautiful. That's great. You work, and then you have purpose through something that you're passionate about using your talents, using your gifts and just enjoying, right? 

However, I've been in a situation where I've been able to combine what I do for a living with my purpose. So, there's the alignment that I was talking about. 

And I feel truly blessed that I get to do what I do every day and I love it. I look forward to it and my business is a part of me. I love what I'm doing.

I think that that changes everything when it comes to how you look at whether your business is taking over your life. 

I'm not going to say that I don't have stress, that I don't still have to overcome obstacles, but I look at it as I get to do this. I get to coach people today.

I get to have an energy healing session. I get to speak with people and help them create awareness on what they can do to help themselves. 

The reason why I wanted to have alignment with my career and my purpose is so I could feel balanced in all aspects of life. 

On the flip side, I've been in a situation where my job did take over my life. First of all, I was 20 pounds overweight. I was super stressed. I developed an eye twitch. I started to gray early. I started to get wrinkles. I'm like, " hell no." 

Honestly, that was when my lupus was at its worst because I did not have balance of my mind, my body, and my soul. 

I had no awareness of what my body was screaming and telling me. Your body will talk to you when it needs to create balance through the symptoms.

So I was in a place where business was taking over my life. There was no alignment. That is why I wanted to have that alignment.

But I am truly balanced now. Every day looks different for me. I'm my own boss. I create my own schedule, which are must haves for me. 

I get to wake up, go exercise, focus on myself, have a balanced meal, spend time with my family, and then I either coach or work or teach yoga or do homework. 

I love my life.  

And I think that everyone has an opportunity to create more balance, because they should feel that they are well, mind, body and spirit– in all aspects of their life.

ABIGAIL:

So it's less about balancing or even undoing the effects of work. If work is integrated into your life, you don't need to balance it in the traditional way.

LIZETH:

As an entrepreneur, how can you create more balance? 

Maybe I need to outsource services so that's not taking up all of my life. We all have talents, so use your talents where they fit. 

If you are not a financial person, get an accountant. 

If you are not a marketing person, find a marketing person. 

Outsource those areas that are causing you stress, that are taking you way too much time, that are taking you away from the things that you are good at with your business and maintain those areas while you outsource others.

You can create balance, but sometimes people don't know how to do that. 

I personally did not come from a family that owned a business. I'm the first entrepreneur in my family. My parents are first generation Panamanians that live in the US and they worked so hard to get here.  And so when I became an entrepreneur, I had to figure things out on my own. 

But sometimes you can't figure everything out on your own, which is why I took classes, I took courses, I found a mentor to help me gain the knowledge that I needed to build my business.

Don't be scared to look for support, to get a business coach, to get a mentor, and don't be scared to outsource services that are causing you grief and stress or taking over your life. 

That's another aspect to it as well. Get help, get a team. I'm a solo entrepreneur, but I have a team of people that I utilize that also supports me in aspects of my business when needed.

Although I'm a very independent person, as I've gotten older and grown, I've realized it's okay to get help. It's okay to recognize “I am overwhelmed and I need to create more balance.” 

Luckily, this space that I'm in, I love. I literally get on my knees all the time and I'm like, "Thank you, God, thank you that this is my life. I'm going to work so hard so I don't go back to a place where I'm unbalanced, where I'm unhealthy, where I'm stressed out. I love what I do." 

And so hopefully you love what you do and what you decide to take under your wing as an entrepreneur. 

But if there's aspects of your job or your business that you do not like or maybe you're just not that good at, get someone to help you. That would be my advice.

Takeaways

• Pay attention to your body and mind—stress and symptoms are signals that something needs to shift.
• Design your schedule around wellness, not just productivity.
• Focus on your strengths and delegate the rest to avoid burnout and free up energy for what matters most.
• You don’t have to figure it all out alone—find people who can guide and lighten your load.

What is your evil plan for your business? How do you want this work to change the world?

Timestamp: 40:04

LIZETH:

Gosh.

There is a lot of drama going on in the world today.

A lot of hurt, a lot of pain, a lot of attacking each other. 

The world needs people to focus on healing, whether it's helping others heal or whether it's looking inward and healing yourself, your own trauma. 

I have personally dealt with trauma that also contributed to my illness flaring up. 

Knowing how important it is to be kind to yourself is something that not everyone practices. 

It starts with a conversation at a time. 

It starts with supporting one person at a time.

Any day that I can help someone is a success. I remember praying to God, “Please use me as a tool to work in your will, not my will.” 

I feel like God has supported me and guided me and connected me with the right people every step of the way. It's such a blessing. 

So my plan for my business is to continue to follow my mission, which is to help and serve others, heal and improve their health, and stay true to who I am as a person.

Whether that gives me millions of dollars one day or whether that gives me tons of followers on social media… Those are all great things, but what's most important to me is that I am serving others and doing God's will here on this earth. 

I feel like my mission is to follow what God wants me to. As long as I'm doing that, however that shows up in reality, I'm okay with it.

Takeaways

• Lasting impact begins with inner work and showing up for one person at a time.
• Prioritize purpose over profit, and trust that alignment with your mission will lead to meaningful outcomes.
• Anchor your business in something bigger. When your work flows from a sense of divine purpose, success becomes about faithfulness, not fame.

How can we support your mission?

Timestamp: 43:29

LIZETH:

You can find me and my services at thelupuscoach.com. 

You can contact me through my website. My email is there. I'm always checking my email. Give me at least 48 to 72 hours to respond.

I am active on social media, you can find me on Instagram @thelupuscoach.  

You can also find me on Facebook under my name, Lizeth Santamaria. 

Services:

I have a 90-day holistic health and wellness program. 

If you want to do the entire program, there's the 

• coaching aspect where you get support, education, tools, resources.
• There's the exercise portion where I customize an exercise plan for you to follow and I support you along the way. We do assessments, I customize it based on your athletic ability, your goals, and what you're trying to achieve. If you have injuries, I take that into account and we work together to create the plan that works best for you.
• There's a nutrition aspect where I offer nutritional education and provide recipes. We start from the basics of nutrition.

You can also do any of those services a la carte:

• if you just want coaching or if you just want the exercise plan, you just want the nutrition plan. 

I also offer energy healing sessions:

• you can just schedule those with me.  If you want to work through bodily pain, if you want to work through trauma, I've helped clients do that. A lot of those things are just like educating my clients on the mind-body connection and how you can get stuck energy and stuck pain in your body. And through energy healing, it creates that awareness. and it's all through energy medicine. I'm an energy medicine practitioner, and I help clients release that stuck energy, release trauma, by creating that awareness and helping them to heal. It's been one of the coolest things that I do to help my clients.

So any one of those services you can contact me for. 

Or if you would like to take my yoga class:

• I teach at Crunch Fitness on East Colonial Drive in Orlando, Florida on Sundays and Wednesdays.