We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Maggiore recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Amanda , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
Finding a purpose after college is hard. We are conformed to society’s norms of school. We sit in the classroom for the first 20 years of our life with this being our only purpose. This is fine, but after that we grow out of the only norm we know, it’s hard to understand what you are meant to do. Some people find it while they are in high school or college, and understand where they want their talents to thrive. Others struggle to find themselves in the world. They may not like their current situation, whether that is a job, where they live, or their surroundings, so, taking some time to reflect on what your purpose can be, is essential for anyone in their young twenties.
Finding my purpose was quite difficult. I went through a lot of changes in a short period of time, but who doesn’t when they enter the real world? I did not know what I was meant to do. I wasn’t sure where I was meant to go. There were so many options it became almost too overwhelming. I focused on what I was good at and what I liked and let that guide me to where I am today.
I knew I was more creative rather than analytical so something in marketing intrigued me. I decided to pursue a career in marketing after many different sleepless nights attempting to plan my life. To this day, I’m very glad I chose the path I did. Marketing roles set me up for wanting to enhance life outside of work. My creativity spilled over and I was called to write a book.
Writing a book seemed like such a far-fetched idea. I didn’t know anything about writing a book. I knew how to type and put words together, but a 23-year-old coming out of college doesn’t know the publishing, the structure, or how to do any of it on her own. But with so much change after college, I felt that there was a lot that I did not know, but could’ve known if I would’ve asked other people or sought out advice. I didn’t want others to feel as lost as I did in their post-grad years. I wanted to help early 20-year-olds thrive in the real world and know that it’s OK to feel lost and to feel like you are behind. In reality, we are all on our own journey and timeline. No one is behind. I wanted people to reflect on different parts of their life that they might ignore in everyday hustle and bustle. I wanted them to have a book they could connect with, and if they read a sentence, just one, that they could relate to, I felt that I had done my job.
So that’s exactly what I did. I wrote a self-help post-grad book that young 20-year-olds could read and begin to find their way in post-grad years. I don’t have all the answers, no one does. But if I can show people the lessons that I learned and the life events that I incurred, I hope that they can take the skills in the advice that I give and apply it to their life in some way shape, or form. I hope people can avoid the mistakes that I made and make a meaningful life for themselves.
Never did I think that my purpose would be to help young 20-year-olds with life in early post-grad. This was never on my radar nor was it something I ever considered. But now that it has happened, the nice comments, the reviews, and the compliments from strangers mean more to me than anything else. It brings a smile to my face when I see someone pick up my book, even just to look at it. So I want to continue to help educate college students, even though I did not go to college on what the real world has in store for them. Knowing that no matter what path they choose, they will be successful, and they will be able to navigate it in their own way
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
As I have previously mentioned, I wrote a book called What College Didn’t Teach Me. This book is a great self-help workbook that anyone can read and relate to. Even those that have graduated long before, there are still pieces in there, that they can relate to, and take advantage of. This book is available on Amazon, my website, Barnes & Noble, and other listings. It’s a great graduation gift, or any gift for any occasion for someone who is in their early 20s. I talk about my life experiences and the lessons that I learned both good and bad. I get personal and speak about details that sometimes are hard to talk about but I feel that the more I could be honest and true with the readers, the more they could relate. Early 20s are such a growing time for every single person and it’s a hard couple of years trying to find your way. But if you could read something telling you that it’s OK to struggle for a while to understand your purpose and direction in life, then people will truly feel a sense of relief and know they can live their life the way they want to without worrying about judgment from others.
I feel what is most special about this book is my authenticity in it. Nothing has been done like it and it’s truly the story of my life. It also was incredible that I did not tell anyone in my life I was writing it. I surprised every single person and I was able to get the reactions on video. It was quite special and very memorable. Something that I will cherish forever. It was nice to see the support that came from this and the people that truly cheered me on.
Right now I am focusing on building this brand. I am running blogs and posting on social media, enjoying building up this book.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Qualities and skills are definitely needed when writing a book. I would say the first quality is perseverance. You have to persevere when writing a book. This book took me a year and a half to write, which sounds absurd, considering I was writing about my own life, but that is honestly the hardest thing to write about. There were days I would stare at the blank cursor on the screen and have no words in mind. Other days I would write pages at a time because I was just flowing with the ideas. I wanted to quit writing it multiple times because I felt that no one was going to care about it. Why would anyone read a book like this? I questioned myself, doubted myself, and did not believe in myself. I went on a few spans of a couple of months of not writing because even though it excited me to write, I did not think something like this was achievable for someone like me. But it was perseverance and a change of mindset that kept me going. Even if no one cared about it, that wasn’t the point. The point of writing this book was to see my hard work inside a cover, I wanted to hold my words in my hand. I wanted that feeling of accomplishment. That’s what kept me going.
Another skill I would recommend is extensive research. I legitimately did not know one thing about publishing a book. I spent hours researching how to do it, what to do, if I should self-publish, or go with a traditional publisher. Every factor I had to look up, read different guides and talk to others. Let go of the pride and ask to seek understanding from others and resources. It takes a lot of research to understand what you want and what is best for you. While you’re doing research, patience is key. There are a lot of things that take time and you have to submit multiple different forms and information and it is quite frustrating. Having patience with your constant research is needed and when you find the right solution for you, it’s very rewarding in the end.
The last quality I would recommend when writing a book is to truly speak from the heart. There were areas of the book that I sugar-coated or made a lot lighter than they were. Sometimes I think I should’ve gone deeper and other times, I’m glad I didn’t. But I think when you truly expose as much as you can, people relate heavily. They understand you and they can relate it to their situations. Don’t leave out important pieces just because you don’t feel that the general public will take it as well as you think. It is worth the time to truly talk about what’s in your head and heart. I think writing this book was humbling, because when you talk about the hard lessons that you learned and you put them down on paper, so they are available to anyone forever, that’s quite the way to expose yourself. I’m glad I did it.
One piece of advice I would give people writing is don’t share what you are doing. Now that sounds a little harsh but here’s why. Do not share your idea for the obvious reason, you don’t want anyone else stealing it. Another reason you don’t want to share your idea or what you are working on is because sometimes the people who are closest to you are actually not your biggest supporters. Sometimes they see you as competition and want to tear you down or tell you that you can’t do something. I love the quote “Success in silence” because when you keep your hard work and talent silent until something it is complete, no one can tear you down and no one can share their opinion. That is partially why I kept my book a secret. Even if people had ideas that I maybe would’ve liked, I didn’t want to hear them because I wanted this book to be truly mine. I feel if you keep your steps, hard work, and success hidden, then you’re able to truly wow people when you are finished. It’s an amazing feeling and knowing that you have something so special just for you for a while is even better. It feels good to know where your hard work and time is going before everyone else.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
I think my biggest area of growth was exposing myself more publicly through my TikTok, my blogs, and of course my book. I was not a big fan of sharing details online, just surface-level. But I think with this book I had to get deeper and talk about different things that sometimes are harder to talk about. I really like helping others and I really like it when others feel they relate to my videos or topics or ideas. So I think not being afraid of telling the world my story is the biggest growth that I have noticed. I enjoy creating the content and making it fun for others to enjoy!
I have also learned not to let comments get to me. I have had people tear me down, and tell me I am going to fail. No one likes to hear it, but it motivates me more than anything. I do not let it get to me and I have learned that people usually do that when they are jealous. Keep making people jealous:)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.whatcollegedidntteachme.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatcollegedidntteachme/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatcollegedidntteachme
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-maggiore-b99243140/
