We were lucky to catch up with Isabella Morano recently and have shared our conversation below.
Isabella, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I have a complicated relationship with resilience. I’ve always had a big curiosity for the human experience. Having endured my parent’s divorce at the age of 2, my mother’s passing at age 11, and the challenges of growing and learning how to be a human being in between, I feel like resilience has always been the undertone of my own human experience.
I thought my life was over when my mother died. My life wasn’t over, I was growing into my resilience. Entering into this next phase of life felt terrifying–especially when I had no say in the matter. But letting go of expectation and any semblance of control over the way things should be was the key for me.
And though those events were reality-shifting at the time, they taught me a beautiful lesson: no matter what happens, I have me. I have a really good time with myself. When left to my own devices, I can move through any obstacle no matter the difficulty.
When I was a kid, I thought resilience meant dealing with my emotions privately and making sure not to burden anyone else with those emotions. As I’m getting older, I’m coming to realize that true resilience involves letting people into my emotional process. And expressing the myriad of emotions I have by channeling them into my work. Through acting, I’ve learned that bringing the many parts of me to life is a skill that is worth celebrating. I now find tremendous value in emoting freely and am grateful to be in touch with this creative medium that prizes emoting.
In my late teens, I found a less obvious creative medium that helped me become closer to myself as well. Through falling in love with wine and throwing myself completely into the mysterious world of fermentation, I forged a path that led me to create my first business. Isa Wines is a culmination of my life’s work so far and a complete expression of me. Winemaking enables me to do so many of the things I love from hard physical labor to community building to celebrating. I started out my career in wine trying to fit into the boxes that were provided for me. I thought I had to prove myself as worthy to rooms full of people who didn’t know me and likely never really would. But with the creation of Isa Wines, I found my creative stride. Now I let people know me and experience my passion through my wines. I get to decide the vibe of every room I walk into because it’s my party now. And I don’t believe in boxes–I believe in limitless connection. I feel truly liberated in a way I never thought I could in an industry that doesn’t make it easy for people like me to succeed.
I see every wine as a unique and intentional expression of the people who made it. My favorite wines emulate the spirit of the maker. Through the alchemical process of fermentation, something magical happens that fuses the maker to the finished product. I believe this is true of all creative processes. When we create, we leave a little piece of ourselves in our creations. I prize intentionality the most in life—especially my creative pursuits. I don’t believe in “sort of” doing anything. When you’re given the opportunity to do something magical, you better make sure you give it everything you have.
Winemaking is all about connecting through stories as well. You can’t have a compelling story without connection. I love the way actors find meaning through connection. I really enjoy finding the humanity in each character I embody. Storytelling through these mediums is the ultimate way of finding empathy with one another–and with ourselves. I find that I can relate to anyone because though I haven’t experienced what everyone else has, I do feel deeply. And feelings are the compass to connection.
Resilience isn’t an easy practice but I much prefer it to shrinking. At the end of the day, everything is a choice. Who you are, what you believe, what you do, everything is a choice. I’ve never given myself the option to give up. I can’t ignore all of the beauty and wonder of this world—even if I tried. There’s something in me that chooses to continue on and discover more things that I love about being exactly where I am right now.
Plus, if I chose to give up today or tomorrow or the next day, I’d be depriving the world of my gifts. And I cannot in good conscience leave this world without contributing as much of my visions as I possibly can. As my idol and queen supreme Oprah says, “I feel my greatest work is yet to come.”
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m a winemaker/actor/producer based out of Northern California. I’ve been working in the wine industry for 12+ years and learning how to make wine for 8 years. My label is called Isa Wines and I make the wines in Sonoma. I live and operate my business out of San Francisco. Owning and operating an independent wine business is nearly impossible these days. But, I’ve put my heart and soul into my business for years now and every time a harvest comes around I feel a surge of energy that compels me to keep going.
I’m studying acting at the Meisner Technique Studio in San Francisco. Acting makes me feel closer to myself. Freedom is very important to me and I’m finding a new appreciation for it through acting. When I’m performing in front of people, I feel free.
I thrive in environments where I’m able to bring something to life that hasn’t been realized before. Producing is the perfect medium to do just that.
I just finished acting in and producing a short film called Tea for Two that will premiere early next year.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I’m constantly learning and honing my skills so I’d say the first and most important quality for me is unconditional openness. When you let your ego run the show, you’ll miss a whole lot of opportunities to improve. Learning to take feedback is crucial. Make sure you have access to people you respect who can give you feedback.
Emotional intelligence is another important skill in creative work (and all areas of life). You have to be able to be mentally healthy and not take anything personally. It’s easy to get in your own way when you see things as happening to you. Practice taking the focus off of yourself.
A strong work ethic is also crucial. No matter what you’re working on, you need to make sure you reserve adequate time to focus. I like to delete social media when I’m deep in the creative process. Pay attention to how you feel when you give yourself time to daydream. Create mental discipline for yourself so you can have the space to be creative.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I’m always looking for collaborators! I’m most interested in connecting with people who are writing/producing stories.
You can reach me at [email protected] or on Instagram @isabellareginamorano.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.isabellamorano.com/ , drinkisawines.com
- Instagram: @isabellareginamorano @isa.wines
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabella-morano
Image Credits
Claire Cerdá, Virginia Gomes, Isabella Morano
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