Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amanda Marcus. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Amanda, thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?
Perhaps the biggest risk I’ve taken was in August of 2018, when I joined the ranks of those nomadic, wandering-types by quitting my full time job, packing my life into two backpacks, and boarding a one-way flight to Bali to go travel the world. In my experience, I am one of many adventurous types who have made this decision. Though I realize that to many others, this is unique, courageous, terrifying, and not something many people believe they could do. At the time when I left, I had no idea where that step was going to take me. I didn’t know if I’d blow through all of my savings in a matter of months, and end up back at home. At least, if that were to be the case, I would always be able to say I tried. That I took the risk. Pursued the dream. Lived it for a time.
Thing is, years later, I can say that absolutely was not the case. That the “worst-case scenarios” in my head have never come remotely to fruition. That in fact, that decision would lead me to places, people, and experiences truly beyond my wildest imagination – living and training with yogis and circus performers on the shores of Indonesia, riding motorcycles through Thailand or Vietnam, having wild nights out in Berlin, Germany with new friends from the hostel for one night only, meeting incredible souls that inspired and fed my own. This has been my experience every time I have taken a leap of faith.
I consider myself to be fairly lucky in that I have been connected to my intuition, to my own inner voice and inner knowing, for a very long time. I have often chosen to pursue what excites me, or what I’ve known I needed to do for myself, even if it didn’t make a ton of logical sense to those around me.
In my young life that meant pursuing a Fine Arts Degree in Film Production. Taking French instead of Spanish despite living in Southern California. Those passions, which came into my life at a young age, lead me to decide to study abroad in college for 4 months in the South of France, which at that time was the biggest risk I had ever taken, and it was the most rewarding and life changing semester of my life.
All of these felt risky. Uncertain. Not clear on where they would lead.
But now, I have arrived at a moment where I can look back and see so clearly how the dots connect and have led me to where I am now. These decisions are still impacting my life and continuing to transform me, the work I do, the way I see the world, and the way I live and move within it.
Every time I have taken a risk, there has always been fear. Voices of ego, past conditioning, triggers, and beliefs will undoubtedly come up to try to keep us small. I find that they usually get loudest right before we are about to cross a new threshold, almost as if they are throwing one final temper tantrum to try to keep us “safe,” which in my opinion, is often just trying to keep everything comfortable and familiar. Thing is, the growth, the next level, the life we want, usually doesn’t happen in our comfort zone. It does involve surrender, and trust.
For me it has been about finding and then following that internal clarity – that I need to do this for myself, that I will figure it out, that I will take care of myself at the end of the day, even if it all goes terribly. And then, it leads to things like dancing barefoot on private islands surrounded by friends in Panama, falling in love on the cliffs of Ireland, or getting on stage to perform fire spinning for thousands of people at a music festival in Costa Rica.
Those fears and voices never go away, but the confidence I have in that pattern continues to strengthen. For me, I believe that moving forward with the fear is the key. And more than anything, it’s a practice. It’s a muscle. It’s being aware of those feelings, and choosing to move forward with them, even packing them along in the suitcase. It started a lot smaller than quitting my full time job. But starting small is perfect, and in my experience the more I’ve done it, the more I build trust in my ability to do it again, and again, and again, as often as I may need to in my life.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Artist. Video Producer. Entrepreneur. Hustler. These are all labels I would use to describe myself and what I do currently. Artist has probably been applicable the longest and is the most apt in encompassing many sides to what I do. It is also probably the label I still struggled to accept the most. The “entrepreneur” and “hustler” sides of myself are more recent, and have been born more out of necessity, as a by-product of me building the lifestyle I want to live.
Which, I would admit, is a bit more on the unconventional side.
For example – in 2023, I got paid for all of the following: photography, event videography, video and trailer production services, podcast editing, selling original artwork through vending at local festivals, launching an Etsy shop, pouring high proof rum for guests inside a circus show and rum distillery, becoming a Foodie Tour Guide on the Las Vegas Strip, and performing LED hula hooping live on stage for a concert in downtown Vegas.
I consider myself mostly self-employed, and I have been striving for years to have multiple streams of income, as well as to have more flexibility, freedom, and balance in my life with how I live and work. Which can be difficult to maintain and certainly requires a lot of discipline.
In many ways, it feels like I’m just getting started in my career, and I have some big plans as well as changes I’d like to be making career-wise in 2024.
So, how did I get here?
I graduated with degrees in Film Production and in French from Chapman University in 2016, and went on to work a full-time job at a small trailer company where I was producing and editing advertisements for TV shows. If you watched The Voice at that time, or other NBC shows like America’s Got Talent, you may have seen some of my work!
Then, in 2018 my love and desire for travel is what led me to take a big leap – quitting full time work to travel, and I have not returned to a 9-5 since!
I did use my video editing skills throughout my travels – shooting, editing, and producing content for small business and entrepreneurs around the world, from an international yoga and circus collective to a campsite and glampsite in rural Ireland.
In that time, I also was very lucky to get exposed to entrepreneurs and digital nomads, working remotely (before remote work became so much more acceptable and common), managing multiple streams of income, all while living a life of so many people’s dreams.
All of this has been super inspirational and influential for me on my path and to getting me to where I am today.
Which, I find may be shifting directions! This year, I want to step much more deeply into sharing more of myself and my gifts with the world. Which, for me, looks like:
– Offering one-on-one in depth astrology readings and coaching sessions, using the stars as a tool for self-reflection and growth.
– More collaboration and creating inspiring art through empowering photoshoots and films.
– Unpacking and sharing wisdom I’ve learned as it relates to travel, healing, life, and living unconventionally by launching a podcast!
– Eventually – combining my many skills to become an international trip tour guide!
What I ultimately want, and have always wanted, is to be a person of impact. I love creating art that moves people. I love creating spaces and opportunities for people to connect – to themselves, to others, to nature, or to an expanded sense of the world and what is possible. I think that is the role of the “artist” perhaps – to be a reminder of that larger thing we are all connected to, to share deeply, and to invite others in, even for a brief moment. I am excited to continue to live that out through the variety of work that I do, and to see where it all takes me next!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The first thing that comes to mind as a personal quality that has laid the foundation for where my journey has taken me is: curiosity. I am, and always have been, someone with a big thirst for knowledge, who is endlessly fascinated by the world and our human experience. Curiosity is what has led me to pursue my passions, to travel, to connect with incredible humans, to ask the big picture questions, and to consistently be more flexible, adaptable, and open to new information as it flows to me. I think one of the only constants in life is change, and that growth and expansion are intrinsic parts of this experience. Honestly, I think life forces us to grow and change without us having much of a say. But to be an active participant in my own growth, to see myself as ever-evolving, and to enjoy that experience and get curious about: “Who am I now? What serves me now? What excites me now? How do I want to show up in the world now?” I find such joy in that, as well as a lot of freedom. Because when I know that there are always more layers to uncover, about life, people, places and new experiences, I don’t need to box myself in. I remain open, and I think that serves me in all parts of my life.
The second quality or skill that has been very impactful, is being tapped into my own inner voice and intuition. For me, I feel lucky in that I have had an awareness of this from a young age. I do believe we all have an inner guidance system, a compass that will point us to where our souls really long for us to go. But it can be very challenging to sort out that inner wisdom from our egos, our minds and all this cultural conditioning that can get in the way, disconnect us from ourselves, and make things really foggy and unclear. So there is discipline and work to maintain that connection and clarity – which comes and goes in waves naturally sometimes. There are a number of tools I use to be able to connect to my inner voice, including journaling or creativity. But the strongest tool here, in my opinion, is the connection to my physical body, especially through movement and flow. So for me, that often looks like putting on a Yoga with Adriene video on Youtube, or putting on music that fits my mood and letting my body move however it wants to. Slowing things down, quieting the mind, and allowing my emotions to move through, allowing insights to arise, or just letting myself be are all things that come from this and help keep my physical vessel clearer. The body keeps the score, and speaks very loudly when we take the time to surrender and listen to its wisdom. The more I have stuck to these practices, they have helped me to be able to locate that inner voice much more quickly, more clearly, and with more confidence.
The last skill I feel I need to mention, which is more recent in my life, is astrology. This has been a passion of mine for years now, and started because I mostly just find it fascinating to learn about. In 2023, I decided to conduct a larger experiment with it, playing with using it as a tool, not to make all of my life decisions for me, but to see what would happen if I incorporated its wisdom into my own choices and timing throughout the year. I bought a huge white board where I put my personal birth chart in the middle, and around my chart I have little magnets and dry erase markers to update and keep track of the planets and where they are. I have to say, it was a huge success and will continue this year and for years to come. I’ve had some incredible things come true this year simply due to good timing, including having a job opportunity fall into my lap because I followed some astrological advice and went to a pool party on the day of a Venus Cazimi! Beyond that, it has become a key tool for my own self-reflection. It has helped me navigate the ebbs and flows of life with a little more grace and awareness. And the more I study it, the more I can see so many around me riding similar collective waves. For me, if there is a collective energy or a wave, I want to be in the know and moving with the tide rather than against it. And when I do so, I have found that it makes the moves I make easier, more potent, and more impactful.
How would you describe your ideal client?
Given that I do a variety of things, there are a few different answers!
Locally in Las Vegas I am available for creative photoshoots and video shoots!
I currently work with a number of performers, magicians, dancers, and movement artists which is very fun. I would love to collaborate with other visual artists if people come into town, and would most love to do more empowering desert photoshoots, especially for women!
I am available for video editing projects from anywhere/remotely. My dream editing clients know what they need for a specific project, are organized, are able to communicate, and are good with deadlines.
For some of my upcoming offerings, including astrological readings as well as international travel, my ideal clients would be those who value personal growth, are open-minded, self-reflective, and perhaps are finding themselves feeling a bit stuck. I think having someone with you to hold up a mirror, to encourage you to go deep within yourself, and to push you to take a leap can be really supportive in taking steps towards our own transformation. I would love to hold space for others in that way.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosmic.creatrixter/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-marcus-6a20b265/
- Other: Etsy Shop: https://thecosmiccreatrixter.etsy.com
Image Credits
Aside from the two vertical/phone pictures, the rest are all self-portraits taken by myself: Amanda Marcus
