Today we’d like to introduce you to Caesar Cabral, Jr.
Caesar, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in the Caribbean in the island of Dominican Republic and migrated to the United States at the age of eight years old. My parents came to this country with very little from a material standpoint, but with big dreams and aspirations for a better life. Their entrepreneurial mindset took them very quickly to owning several businesses in the State of New York in the mid-eighties and, by most measures, one could say that as a family we began living into the American Dream. Spurred on by an economic downturn and a series of unfortunate events, the quick ascendancy to living the dream turned into a nightmare when my parents had to close their businesses and flee the State of New York to essentially start all over again in the early nineties in the State of Florida. As a young man, I went from one day living very comfortably to finding myself virtually homeless the next. Needless to say, this was a very trying time for the family but it only served to strengthen our collective resolve. Given the financial turmoil we were going through, it wasn’t heir apparent that I would be going to college right after high school, but qualifying for federal grants afforded me a path to do so. I started my college experience at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and eventually transferred to the University of Central Florida to finish my degree in civil engineering. I worked as a staff engineer for several Orlando based companies and eventually opened up a small engineering consulting firm, which I eventually closed after 12 years of operation. Given the timing of the closure of the firm, one could say that I am part of what is deemed the “Great Resignation”, which is representative of the large number of individuals whom wholesale changed career paths after the global pandemic. I find myself in what is deemed mid-life, as I am entering my fifth decade at the end of this year and I often share with others that the global pandemic afforded me the opportunity to enter what I call mid-life clarity, in lieu of the oft used term mid-life crisis. While the cliff notes version of my life previously noted simply highlights a few of the major turning points, the move to the United States, the financial turmoil, the move to Florida, the many details omitted that happened in between those major markers had a huge effect upon my life and surely played a role in taking me to where I find myself today. So, the question becomes then, “Where do I find myself today?” Today, I introduce myself as a Board Certified Wellness Coach who formerly worked as a Professional Engineer and Project Management Professional. Those details in between the major life markers surely played a role in taking me to become a Board Certified Wellness Coach. For the sake of clarity, I will add that a Board Certified Wellness Coach is an expert in behavioral change and uses cognitive behavioral therapy to facilitate someone else’s behavioral change process. The practice is founded on the premise that you and only you are the expert of your own life. It is a practice on personal discovery and self-awareness. My life’s journey has taken me to deep dive into my own mental health and really discern what is driving the engine, sort of speak, where do the ruminations or thought loops that I have become aware about come from, what are they being informed by, how are my impulses and toxic habits associated to those very thought patterns, and so on. What I have come to understand through the help of many caring individuals is that all of our life experiences lead to a certain form of programming that lies beneath the surface, if you will, at a subconscious level, and the lack of awareness to those subconscious thoughts can truly weigh down on you in ways unimaginable. One could equate the lack of self-awareness as being in a car going somewhere and the whole while truly believing that you are the one driving, except that you are not the one driving. That programming that I alluded to, those subconscious thoughts that I lack clarity on, they are driving and you are just along for the ride, through toxicity of action, bad habits, and a life that is seemingly not the one you really wanted to be living into in the first place. While all of my life’s experiences where necessary in order to be the person that I am today and continue evolving into, my passion in life has become to help expedite the journey for folks living into situations that deep down they know they are not satisfied in, their is a knowing there, but there isn’t sufficient clarity to know where this is coming from. That is truly my deep passion and desire for serving in this new role in life! I take great satisfaction in witnessing others with all of their smarts, internal beauty, and inner light, reach certain epiphanies where one can see the empowerment brought about by these personal discoveries and the engendering of hope. There is so much more that I could add to my own personal tale as to why this has become my newfound purpose, but what is truly most important is that I am here to serve in this capacity to whomever may need it.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Like most of us in this life, there have been seasons of easy sailing and others that were far more turbulent. As pained as I am to admit to it, my upbringing was not entirely functional. If I am brutally honest, it was bona fide dysfunctional as I come from what most would consider a broken marriage. The glue to my parents’ marriage was essentially me, and this was not an easy thing to navigate growing up. In some respects, growing up was somewhat of a training in playing the negotiator between two adults that were clearly not meant for one another. On any given day, I would be finding myself talking to one parent to find reasons to stay a little longer, to try a little harder, to continue living as a family. It was only through individual therapy that I realized that the way that I was brought up was simply not normal. This does not mean that my parents did not do their best, they did the best that they knew how at the time, but suffice to say this situation had lasting repercussions on my own mental health, as it created a heightened state of alertness and anxiety given that one could never relax too much because something was going to happen if you did. Reflecting on this through counseling and further introspection has become important in identifying certain triggers that can easily derail me from a steady state and lead to bad decision making and impulsive behavior. This same familial dysfunction also placed me, as an adult, in a situation where I was caught up in a civil suit for nearly a decade on what essentially constituted divorce matters related to my parents. This is where what I alluded to previously, programming, comes into play for human beings. These unfortunate events, toxic relationships, poor messaging, all play a role in establishing a story, your story, which whether you are aware of or not begins to shape your identity, your persona, and ultimately, have a direct bearing on how you show up each and every day to the varying roles that you have in life.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Inspire A Movement, Inc.?
Inspire A Movement, Inc. (INSPIRE) is an Orlando based health and wellness company with a focus on CBT-Based Wellness Coaching, corporate wellness programs, corporate motivational speaking, community and corporate wellness events, and wellness retreats. INSPIRE incorporates innovative practices in wellness and healthcare through a methodology focused on addressing human needs in a comprehensive, holistic manner, which integrates the pillars of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. Through the integration of science-based approaches rooted in psychology, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and the use of complementary and alternative therapies, such as meditative practices, INSPIRE staff helps individuals at all levels self-regulate and improve their overall wellbeing. For corporations, INSPIRE understands that corporate wellness programs that typically provide a one-size-fits-all menu of services fail to meet the diverse needs of employees, with varying stress levels, health challenges, personal goals, and readiness for change. That approach typically results in low engagement and overall impact. INSPIRE’s BeWellCorp corporate wellness program, which uses CBT-Based Wellness Coaching as the catalyst for change, shifts the focus from passive wellness offerings to active employee engagement. Our core principle when it comes to service provision is that “When you feel better, you do better.” Our individualized approach, that honors and respects that each person serves as an expert, a savant of his or her own life, uses established, science-based approaches to ensure lasting change, which ultimately, will materialize in higher productivity and efficiency, increased motivation and satisfaction, reduction in absenteeism and turnover rates, and retention of top tier talent.
Our commitment to serve our local community through community-based events has been a great source of satisfaction and fulfillment. Over the past three years, we planned, organized, and executed seven (7) community wellness events in collaboration with our local church that aimed to provide outlets for wellness enthusiasts to experience a full spectrum of wellness modalities (such as yoga, mindfulness exercises, meditation, and sound healing). This afforded us the opportunity to work with countless health professionals and practitioners of complementary and alternative therapies in aiming to provide a fully immersive experience to all event participants. In addition, we offered free community events such as Yoga On The Lawn and Yogi Brunch, which provided an introduction to beginner/intermediate yoga, mindfulness and meditation practices, gratitude reinforcement, and a means to connect with nature, and other community members. These community events have been well received and have had a tremendous impact on us as it has helped to inform why what we do is so very important in all arenas of life.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
INSPIRE’s commitment to community wellness events, such as the “Yoga On The Lawn” and the “Yogi Brunch”, was founded on the fact that such events can serve as community wellness hubs that connect community members to comprehensive wellness programs through community partnerships, with institutions like government agencies, regional health systems, colleges and universities, non-profit organizations, chambers of commerce, and other businesses. Through partnership with a local non-profit in the Spring of Life Methodist Church, INSPIRE was able to collaboratively offer seven (7) quarterly wellness events featuring several other health and wellness businesses in the area in conjunction with giving a platform to several health professionals both in conventional and alternative or complementary therapies. For a period of four years, INSPIRE also sponsored an event entitled, “Breakfast for the Homeless”, where anywhere from 30 to 40 homeless individuals were fed on Christmas Day and given care packages sponsored by other caring individuals. These activities have been incredibly gratifying and rewarding in ways that we can hardly express.
Pricing:
- $1,050 for 12-Week Transformation Coaching Program
- $570 for 6-Week Life Coaching Package
- $315 for 3-Week Life Coaching Package
- $115 for Individual Life Coaching Session
- $165 for Special Student Life Coaching Package
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.inspireamovement.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspire_a_movement/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InspireAMovement
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inspire-a-movement-inc/posts/?feedView=all
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3kFHEV-Hn2dACxv-ASK5DQ
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@inspire_a_movement?lang=en
Image Credits
Not Applicable
