We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andriana Manfredi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Andriana, 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?
Purpose. That’s a funny word we hear often, right? ‘Find your purpose.’ ‘What is your purpose? ‘
I’m a bit of a word nerd, so let’s define that. According to Oxford Languages, purpose means: “the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.”
How did I find my reason for which I exist?
I think this question sends most people into a pendulum swing, of self loathing anxiety and self important grandiosity. I say that, because I’ve been there. Purpose wasn’t something talked about in the house I grew up in. As a matter of fact, I believe my mother used to say, ” What is there to life? You work, you pay bills, you work more, you eat and then you die.” She was a comedian.
I thought my “purpose” was being a nurse for the longest time. So I took steps towards that career. I found out I didn’t have the stomach for it. I’m a fainter. But then something wild happened, I pivoted to modeling and my agent asked if I knew how to act. I said, yeah, I mean how hard can it be? Next thing I knew I was in acting classes, reading scripts and plays and going on audition after audition. I moved to LA from Fresno at 18 to do all of this.
Then I thought, I should take film classes, see what this industry is about. I found myself absorbing information like a sponge. Then as the years passed, I eventually had the gift of getting dumped by a boyfriend. Sidenote, pretty sure I deserved it. But anyway, at the time, I couldn’t believe the audacity this guy had to break up with ME. But something incredible happened, I started writing. I was always telling stories anyway, to myself mainly, but occasionally I took it out on the road to actual other human beings. Life went on. I acted, I wrote, I tried my hand at making short films. I got my heart broken again. I met my husband. I traveled. I even found myself meeting some other amazing artists and started producing! I still do all of these things.
And my purpose?
My reason for which I exist?
I could say something tangible, like storytelling! Yes, storytelling is why I exist. Thank God I am here on this planet because ya’ll need me. I have arrived! Behold, it is I, Andriana Manfredi, the storyteller!
Okay, I’ll stop playing. I’m semi vomiting in my mouth right now because I don’t want to give off this idea that I am the epitome of humility. I’m not. I’m a person who believes fully in their capability and value, I believe I have a lot to offer while I am here.
But my purpose? How did I find it?
I think Viola Davis said it perfectly in her autobiography ‘Finding Me’ (if you haven’t read it, what are you doing?) She said, “the purpose of life is… being IN your life.”
I’ve never held onto something more. Yes, I have goals, I do things to move towards those goals, but it’s the being IN my life that has steered me to experiences and people that have profoundly impacted me. It’s the being IN my life that has filled me with joy and love and pain and laughter and all the messy shit we call life. I think that may be all of our purposes. The way it looks to be IN your life will be different than mine, and hers and his, but it should feel like you’re IN it. Not on the sidelines, not day dreaming exclusively, but out there in the thick of it all.
So I guess I found my purpose reading a book by EGOT winner Viola Davis. Who would’ve thought?
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am really excited about acting in a Limited Series I wrote. It’s based on my upbringing and without giving out too many details about the show: I am Indian, half, and only came to learn this at 10 years old, while simultaneously finding out way too many family secrets. Those family secrets? Well, you’ll have to wait! Don’t cry, it’s a comedy.
In the meantime, feel free to keep track of what I’m up to at imdb.me/andrianamanfredi or on insta @andrianamanfredi
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back, the three skills that have immensely helped on my journey, and I wish I would have learned earlier:
1: Following Curiosity.
–Don’t wait for the perfect conditions, don’t make excuses, and be okay being bad at something before you get better. There’s science out there, I can’t recite it, but I know it’s good for your brain and health and probably your skin.
2. Self Discipline.
— Now you don’t need me yelling at you about why this is important, when you can get yelled at by many bros on podcast about it. But the bros, they’re right about this. Create structure, today is better than tomorrow, it’s not about immediate comfort, it’s about building towards a life you can be proud of.
3. Always give your best.
— It doesn’t matter if it’s not what you “want” to be doing or it’s below your pay grade. Don’t be an asshole, and do your best. It all leads somewhere and besides that, don’t you wanna be a good person?
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
Honestly, my husband!
If you’ve been lucky enough to marry your best friend like me, then you get it. He is kind, he is honest, he is hilarious, and he loves me unconditionally. Something happens when you are fully accepted by someone, I used to fear I’d get lazy, or stop plucking my eyebrows, but I didn’t! I have even better eyebrows! Kidding. What happens is, I’m able to move through life with more ease and trust, because I know no matter what life throws at me, he has my back.
Contact Info:
- Website:imdb.me/andrianamanfredi
- Instagram: @andrianamanfredi
Image Credits
Dana Patrick (on the portraits in halter top and white tank top) John Lyde ( from My one True Love movie poster) Self (for the red dress) Mike Ho ( Hidden Diaries movie poster) I do have the rights to use.
