Meet Eddie Rodriguez | Interfaith Minister & Spiritual Life-Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eddie Rodriguez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eddie, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Taking a risk was at the heart of beginning my career as an Interfaith Minister. It was a little over 16 years ago that I was a 25 year full-time employee at Bellsouth. I had reached a critical moment in my life. As I looked ahead I was faced with two choices, the proverbial two roads lay before me. I could continue my career at Bellsouth, put in 5 more years and retire with 30 years service at the age of 47. I could start a new career then with the security of knowing that I had a full pension waiting for me when I would reach the age of retirement. Or, I could resign, give up the majority of my pension and benefits and begin anew. Against all reasonable and sound advice I decided to resign. I remember having a little hesitation as I handed in my resignation letter. Was I making a mistake, had I lost my mind, who walks away from a secure future with only five years left to go. There was no guarantee that I would make a living as an Interfaith minister. I remembered the words of my teacher Neale Donald Walsch, “it is not about making a living but making a life”, and, after all, “life begins at the end of your comfort zone”. It has been 16 years since I left and I have never looked back. Sure there have been some very lean times but finding meaning and purpose in my work has been priceless. I figured out the key to success for me and that was to approach every client, every student, everyone I worked with as if they were family. This philosophy has worked, it has made all of the difference in the world.

What should our readers know about your business?
I’ve had the honor of joining over 1000 couples in marriage. I’ve officiated weddings from Buenos Aires to Colombia, Barbados to Canada, and everywhere in between. As an Interfaith Minister I am challenged to find what we all share in common regardless of different religious beliefs and cultures, and that is Love. The love we yearn to give and to receive. Working with hospice patients has been a privilege for me. Being with someone at the end of life is a very humbling and reverent experience. Helping individuals and families experience closure is very important. I also preside over Life-Celebration and Funeral services. These are especially meaningful for me. Celebrating someones life as well as honoring the grieving process requires understanding and respect for the process of life and death. As a Life-Coach I am committed, dedicated to assisting folks face and move through all of life’s experiences. Whether it is officiating a wedding, blessing their newborn, helping the couple when they face relationship and career challenges I am there to assist them in learning and growing through all of these experiences.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take them to visit the Biltmore Hotel, Vizcaya and Sugar at the East Hotel. Dinner would be at Le Bouchon in the Grove or Siam Palace in Kendall. A little further north I would make visiting Eau Palm Beach a must for dinner and for their Spa.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Who I’ve become, the clarity and awareness I’ve gained is all because of a book I read and then subsequently meeting the author and developing a 2o plus year relationship. The book was Conversations with God Book 1. This book opened my eyes, my mind, my heart and my soul. I learned a new way of looking at Life, at God and at myself. The author Neale Donald Walsch became a dear friend, my spiritual father in this life.

Website: www.eddierodriguez.com
Instagram: @reveddierodriguez
Twitter: @RevEddieR
Facebook: eddierodriguez