Paula Amador was born in Washington, D.C., spent some of her formative years on her family’s farm in Colombia, and when she was 17, her mom who is a writer, decided to move to France. Perhaps it’s because she lived on three different continents, and is fluent in English, Spanish and French, that she is who she is today – an expert at communicating and teaching others the power of seizing opportunities and transformation.
From advertising for Euro RSCG in Paris and NY, and communications for Cartier Latin America and Caribbean for seven years, Amador entered the technology industry in 2008 when the economy went into decline, and she saw a promising opportunity. For the past four years, she has been managing global communications and public relations for Neoris in Miami — a business and IT consulting firm.
“Changing careers can open your horizons,” says Amador, who admits that if she had been reticent about changing direction, she would have missed out on this huge opportunity in her life where only 20 percent of management in the technology industry is occupied by women. “They were looking for someone with a multilingual and multicultural background. Their vision was aligned with my values — they gave me the creativity to help at a global level.”
Although being a communications manager takes a big part of her day, she says she makes sure to make time for her other diverse interests. In addition to her full-time job, Amador, who studied business administration and communications in Cambridge Business College in the UK, also became a certified life, fitness and weight loss coach two years ago.
“In my many many interests in life, I took a keen interest in just studying people and helping them reach their objectives of well-being and reach balance,” says Amador who studied the science of communication of the brain. “I really enjoy inspiring others to fulfill their goals.”
Amador, who attended the Hispana Leadership Summit this past weekend in Miami, says balance is the key to happiness — it’s mental, emotional and physical.
“Neoris is my full-time job, but the good thing is that life coaching touches every domain of my life,” she says. “I’ve got my ‘on button’ turned on all the time…Neoris is a company that allows me to influence and have a huge platform. Externally, I have clients I see on the weeknights/weekends in person or on Skype.”
She says thanks to technology, she’s able to balance her interests.
“I have my iPad, iPhone and Android, and I’m connected all the time,” says the active mom of two boys, 12 and 8, who also fits in workouts whenever she can.
Paula Amador with her two boys (Courtesy Paula Amador)
Although she’s lived in Colombia, France and the U.S., and has accomplished so much in her career, Amador believes her biggest achievement in life has been understanding.
“I’m a firm believer that one of the greatest teachings in life is: 10 percent of life is what happens to you, and 90 percent is how you react to it,” says Amador. “Your physical well-being is very important and makes you happy as well…It’s important to take care of it and enjoy it. Understanding that really inspired me to help others reach well-being in all aspects of life.”
She says it’s important to realize you create your own life, and we are evolving beings in a constant state of growth. She believes it’s also important to be grateful for the good things and not-so-good things in life, because that’s when the biggest lessons are learned.
“Everything is in your hands,” says Amador who isn’t planning for the future, because big believer of living fully in the present. “Once you understand that, life becomes amazing, because you did it with passion — whether it’s professional or personal…As long as you follow your instincts and follow your heart…you can move mountains.”
