Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nicole Berrios. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Nicole, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
From: A Burnt Out Medical ICU Registered Nurse & Clinical Documentation Specialist.
To: A passionate Entrepreneur in pursuit of a dream helping others live their absolute best lives; free of burdens, negativity and health imbalances. About 18 months ago, I started to consider leaving my Remote RN position to do anything other than what I was doing. I even considered bartending/ waiting tables (which I have never done before) because I was convinced that just about anything would make me happier than what I was doing; Monday- Friday approximately 6am-4pm, sometimes longer, it was awful! Full transparency, I couldn’t afford to leave my job. I am married to a Law Enforcement Officer who doesn’t get paid what he deserves, so with my head down, I kept on treading water. As time went on, I was in tears daily. Crying about the lack of true leadership within the department that I was part of, the lack of passion in the job, the amount of emotional stress that was taking over my body, how political the healthcare system had become, and I whole-heartedly missed teaching & taking care of others. I wanted more for myself and the community. During a therapy session with my husband, our therapist had me create a new reality by closing my eyes and imagine as if I quit my job and my husband would pick up off duty jobs to take away the emotional burden that weighed heavily on my heart. I very quickly starting sobbing in the session- tears of relief, tears of joy, tears of freedom and abundance, but also tears of fear. This scared me because I would be leaving big amounts of money behind to risk it all for my dream. Our therapist replied “based on your strong emotional reaction to that question, I think it’s time you consider quitting your job and finding something else or a different company to work for.” By no means did our therapist have to talk us into the idea. It had crossed our path in conversations before, but never did we think it was a possible without a mentor suggesting it. Life is expensive, then add the cost of children and the investment of date nights/ trips for our marriage. My husband and I began to brainstorm what me leaving my job would look like, and without hesitation he said “quit and we will figure it out like we always have. I want you to be happy. Your children want their mother back, and I’d like to spend time with my beautiful wife- I miss you smiling, I miss you happy and free.” About 2 days later I quit my job. Talk about timing- We were leaving for Italy to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary in a couple days. Upon return from Italy in late October 2024, I didn’t waste any time! I successfully became a Board Certified Holistic Wellness RN & Transformational Nurse Coach and I have since launched a Wellness Coaching Business partnering with women to empower them to make lifestyle changes through a mind-body-spirit approach for the goal of optimal health. I have never felt more free. Do we miss the income? Absolutely- who wouldn’t?! But what is life without taking risks? I learned a long time ago that “money doesn’t buy happiness, it only pays for the trip.” How incredible is this journey of life that we can reflect on lessons learned throughout the years and it all comes into alignment when we make the best choices for our life’s purpose without limiting beliefs. I often think if I continued to trade time for money how miserable I would be. I have big plans for 2025, and I cannot wait to impact as many lives as I possibly can through mentorship and connection. My kids are happy, I am happy (so much so that I found about 5lbs and look healthier!). This is what life is about. So, to loop back around to the topic: Taking a risk- I vote YES! TAKE THE RISK! Trust that your intuition is empowering you to take the leap of faith. Trust the open doors. Walk away from the ones you keep trying to open; let them close. My opinion: Follow your heart.
Love never fails- not in relationships, careers or passions. Do it and do it authentically you.
Nicole, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Nicole Berrios. I am a mother of 2, a law enforcement officer wife, a fitness/wellness enthusiast and Registered Nurse of 14 years. My most recent position in healthcare was a Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist (big fancy words for collaborating with physicians to improve their documentation for appropriate reimbursement back to the hospital). I have always known my mindset was different, but the longer I remained in the healthcare setting (even remote work), the more unhappy I became. For many different reasons I was unhappy, but the main reason was that my career was not in alignment with my passion and belief system. I am passionate about caring for people, educating them on how to make appropriate decisions for their own health and their families, and speaking life into them. I couldn’t have been further from my passion by pushing pills, not having the time to connect with patients, dissolving meds, resuscitating patients who’s family couldn’t let them be with the Heavenly Father due to guilt, sending documents to physicians whether I agreed or not and questioning things that should just be a baseline standard for the right of practice. I decided to leave my job and pursue my passion of helping women heal their bodies from the inside out. Through a mind-body-spirit approach, I partner with women utilizing a safe, non-judgemental space and holistic knowledge to address health issues from within; weight loss, anxiety, fear, nutritional knowledge, hormone imbalances, mindset work, re-wiring negative thought patterns and more. My approach is not just a “meal plan.” If a client comes to me and asks me to help them lose weight, through a comprehensive holistic assessment, I discover their greatest strengths and where challenges come up. By addressing the challenges through a lens focused on their strengths, so much healing and habit change occurs. All of my clients develop new lifestyle habits that they can carry through the days, weeks, months and years and even pass onto their children. I am most proud of myself for following my heart. My intuition has always been on fire, and the deep empathy I feel for those who are lost in their health/ life journey keeps me up at night. I have been there, and now I want nothing more than to give others a safe space, a healing environment, a real, genuine professional to help them sort out their lives and give guidance on what to focus on first. What a blessing this journey has been- and that is how Profound Potential Wellness Coaching was born!
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
When it comes to peoples lives, authenticity and integrity are key. If a client does not feel the professional genuinely cares when inquiring about their life, their health, their family or their past, it’s just another conversation. Through connection and integrity, transformation happens- this is where I believe I differ from many others and these qualities have catapulted my success in the field. In addition to practicing integrally, throughout my nursing career and history of health coaching, I have learned to detach myself from the outcomes I believe someone should achieve. None of their journey is about me, so why should I be concerned with what they decide to do with the knowledge they gain or the skills they are taught in order to balance/ heal their lives. Historically, I would care so much that I would be upset that the patient/ client was not doing what we spoke about or planned for.. and that became a hindrance to my ability to be present, listen and help them achieve their goals. Fast forward to years later after hiring a personal development coach, a therapist and growing my own mindset, I am able to personally and professionally separate myself from their expected outcomes and be fully present through each session and conversation. Being present and authentically caring is what I get the most feedback on, and it means the world to me. Success in this line of work comes from being real, having empathy for where people are, meeting them there and guiding them to find their own inner potential in order to make their life/ goals come to fruition.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I have learned many lessons throughout my career and growing my mindset, however, the most challenging one to come to terms with is that not all people are good eggs.
My husband is a grounding force when it comes to this topic, and he has taught me so well over the years. Being a police officer, he has seen just as much as I have in the nursing field, if not more, and he has handled people in ways that I wouldn’t ever have to, therefore, he has helped me grow tremendously in this area. I was always the person “I’ll trust you until I cannot trust you anymore,” my husband is the opposite. I mention this as the backstory because as I outgrew my bedside nursing career & my personal beliefs on healing and health changed, many ‘friends’ naturally fell away and other people came crawling out of the woodwork of life. At first, I was offended, scared, annoyed and alarmed.. because we are human and change is scary, but now I cannot possibly be more thankful for the concept of ‘friends for seasons and reasons.’ Not everyone has you in their best interest, and that’s okay.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://heal.me/nicole-berrios-holistic-wellness-rn-nurse-coach
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nursecoachnicc/profilecard/?igsh=MWt5NXFvNDU0c3F3eQ==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/niccberr315?
Image Credits
Brittney Barriball for the personal photo.