Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Monte.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born in Pasadena and grew up in Arcadia, California with my parents and sister. From an early age, I began expressing my creativity, I started painting and drawing and studying the arts. I was always curious about how things worked, so I would often take things apart and put them back together again to understand their engineering and functions. I was fascinated with the relationship between art, engineering, science and nature. I had a few friends growing up but didn’t connect very well because I thought and saw things differently than my peers. In my preadolescence, I began to get lost and felt disconnected from society. And at the age of 13, the emotional pain of this disconnection opened me up to experimenting with drugs and alcohol, which numbed the pain and brought me temporary relief. I drifted through Jr. high and high school depressed and angry with little direction or motivation.
After I graduated in 1993, I moved to Orange County to attend Orange Coast College. My need to numb my feelings with drugs and alcohol intensified and at times suicide seemed like the only option for permanent relief. I was in a state of complete despair, but fortunately, one of my college professors reached out to me, concerned for my well-being. I opened up to her about how much pain I was in and she was very sympathetic and recommended I talk to a therapist and attend 12-step meetings. I knew I had a problem and I believed in her, so I followed her advice. After a few months of continuing to use while attending therapy and 12-step meetings, I finally hit my bottom, I couldn’t go on the way I had been living. I knew there was a better way to live and that I had to get and stay sober.
On August 18, 1994, my sobriety date, I made a commitment to myself that I would do everything I could to change the course of my life, to improve myself and become the best person I could be. I continued working with a therapist and attending 12-step meetings and began studying everything I could about personal development, psychology, and the human condition. I quickly became very involved in a 12-step program, sponsoring, volunteering and speaking at meetings. My passion for serving others grew and I volunteered to serve on several committees, including being elected to serve for seven years on the board of directors for a California young people’s 12-step conference. While I was on that board of directors, I had the honor of serving as the Chairman for the largest international young people’s 12-step conference which was held in Los Angeles in 2007. From there, I was elected to serve for six years on the board of directors for an international young people’s 12-step conference. And while I’ve completed my terms on these boards, I continue to serve as an advisor to others involved in 12-step conference work at the local, state and international level.
Over these years, I dedicated myself to healing my wounds, discovering my personal truth, achieving emotional freedom, balance, harmony, confidence and self-esteem. I had created a process that truly transformed my life. However, in spite of this, achieving sobriety and assembling a distinguished service resume there were a few other parts of my life I was still trying to figure out. The biggest aspect of my life I had yet to clarify was what I was supposed to do with my life and what my purpose was. The search for this answer led me to explore several career paths. I’ve worked in film production, audio production, real estate, web design, business consulting and as a professional DJ. Even though I was great in each of these fields I never felt fulfilled, something was missing, but I didn’t know what it was. I became increasingly frustrated over the years and then …finally, it clicked!
Here’s what happened. In addition to sponsoring 12-step members, I had been coaching others in how I had transformed my life. I wasn’t charging any money for my services, I was just doing it to help, and I loved it. However, one evening I was asked by several individuals to coach them and walk them through the process I created and used in my own life. I sincerely wanted to help each of them, but I just didn’t have the time. I considered putting together a workshop, but that would still take more time then I had available.
A few nights later, I was talking with some close friends and I shared with them my dilemma of not having enough time to help everyone who wanted help. I also told them how I felt like I had wasted so many years going from career to career without any fulfillment or sense of purpose. And that’s when it clicked. I realized that my experience and the process I created could help transform the lives of countless others if I could share it the right way. As I spoke with my friends, I went from the idea of a creating a workshop to writing a book. But the idea of writing a book seemed so massive and at the time, I didn’t consider myself an author. Then it hit me. What if I created a web-based multi-media course and a workbook that I could share with the world? That was it! I realized that this is my purpose, to share my experience and strategies, help people transform their lives and foster a positive shift in the global consciousness. I then recognized that so many of my past work experiences weren’t mistakes but had actually given me the knowledge I needed to execute my plan. With this awareness, I set forth and dedicated the next two years of my life to refining and documenting the process I created and had been sharing with others.
In March of 2018, I launched my website with my course “Life Transformation – The Complete Journey” which includes a nine-part video series, workbook and personal success guide and fifteen guided meditations. It is specifically designed to empower students to uncover and overcome the hidden blocks that are holding them back, to help them discover their true self, create lasting changes, find emotional freedom, build confidence and self-esteem, achieve balance and harmony, reach their personal goals, create a life of greater happiness, purpose, and fulfillment and thrive in a higher consciousness. The course has been a huge success and has achieved exactly what I hoped it would: helping people transform their lives. At first, I sold the course online, but then after a few months, I decided I didn’t want to charge people for what I created. I now give it away for free, to just put it out in the universe and make it available to anyone who wants it.
After the launch of my course, I began life coaching professionally. And it is such an honor to be able to work with so many amazing individuals and see their lives transform beyond their expectations. In late 2018 a friend of mine recognized that my long-term sobriety coupled with my experience working with actors, musicians, celebrities, politicians and business owners would make me an excellent sober companion. And through my network of connections, I was able to quickly start in this field. So, in addition to being a professional life coach I’m also a sober companion, which allows me to provide a very personalized experience for sober clients that need support and encouragement in various life situations and work environments.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has been anything but a smooth road, but that’s fine with me. As I often say, “If the mountain was smooth, you couldn’t climb it.” I’ve faced and overcome so many challenges that I’ve learned to accept them and face them head on as they come up. As I’ve already said, figuring out my life’s purpose was a huge struggle. But another one was one I kind of skipped over and that was the two years I spent creating my online course.
That two-year period started out with me working in various fields and spending what time I could authoring the outline of each episode, but after a year, I realized it was going to take me forever to finish the project. I needed to focus all of my time and attention to getting it done. I believed in what I was doing. I spent the next 12 months solely dedicated to the project, which included turning my living room into a sound stage to record each of the videos, weeks editing the videos, recording and editing the guided meditations and months authoring the workbook and personal success guide and building and publishing my website. There were countless nights where after my wife and kids had gone to bed, I would sneak back into my office and work until five or six in the morning, get an hour or two of sleep and then wake everyone up to get them ready for their day. This was incredibly exhausting, and not only did it take a toll on me, but my family as well. Few people understood what seemed to be an insane dedication, but I kept the faith and I’m so grateful I did.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
With everything I do, I strive to help each client overcome their blocks and achieve the life they desire, and on a higher level I’m dedicated to fostering a positive shift in the global consciousness. I achieve this by providing life coaching, mentoring, sober companionship and through my free online course. And I’ve just launched a new workshop called “Thrive in Your Recovery” which is an immersive multi-session workshop specifically designed for treatment centers and weekend retreats.
A large part of my success and what I’m known for is my ability to read people, to listen and understand, to connect the dots and ask the right questions that help my clients uncover the hidden blocks that are holding them back. I specialize in understanding my client’s specific needs and going beyond just telling them what they need to do but illustrating exactly HOW to do what it is they need to do to achieve the life they desire. This specific direction is what consistently helps my clients achieve lasting success. I’m incredibly proud of each of my clients and the countless people who have gone through my online course. It’s truly an honor to see my clients transform their lives and thrive in their life’s purpose.
For the next chapter of my life’s work, I’m putting together a one-day seminar where I’ll walk each attendee through the entire life transformation process. I thrive when I’m speaking on stage and I look forward to working with large groups.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
What I like the most is the diversity of people, backgrounds and walks of life. I love our beaches and how many amazing restaurants we have, oh and of course the weather!
Pricing:
- Life Coaching: $150 (per hour)
- Sober Companion: $1,200 (per 24-hour period)
- Thrive in Your Recovery Group Workshop: $3,000 (presentation of 8 weekly sessions, for treatment centers)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jonathanmonte.com/
- Email: contact@jonathanmonte.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.monte.live/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JonathanMonteLive/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JMonteLive
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
