Meet Natalie McCarty

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Natalie McCarty. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Natalie below.

Hi Natalie, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

This is genuinely such a refreshing question, so I just wanted to thank you for asking it. It’s very kind of you and also super refreshing. Honestly, my answer might be a bit unconventional, but grief has been my biggest motivator. Sometimes you really do have to lose it all to find who you are and what you’re really made of. So, I would definitely attribute my resilience to lot of tough experiences I’ve gone through in my life. I think grief can be such a source of change and growth and has ultimately been so influential in shaping who I am today.

Grief has given me a kind of fearlessness that pushes me to chase my dreams. It’s fueled my passion and made me work even harder to counter its draining effects. More than that, it’s given me a deep love for humanity and a unique ability to empathize with others. It’s helped me ask the important questions and share the conversations that need to happen.

Strangely, grief and the fear of running out of time have made me live fully in the present, savoring every moment. I live each day as if it were my last, making sure I never go to bed feeling unfulfilled or unhappy with how I’ve left things.

In many ways, grief has been an accelerant in my life, offering me perspective, sharpening my work ethic, and emboldening me to take more risks in my career.

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?

I’m a publicist and entrepreneur, so I’m constantly working on something. While I do a lot of work with my public relations and management company, McCarty PR, my main focus right now is Gut Instinct.

I founded Gut Instinct with the intention of fostering authentic human conversations. What has consistently moved me is the symbiotic relationship between media and society—how media influences society and, in turn, how societal dynamics shape the media. Recognizing this interplay, I find it crucial to ensure that the media we present is genuine and reflective of real experiences.

Together with my co-founder, Stella Violet, our goal is to provide young creatives with opportunities to build a professional resume and have published articles. We’re really creating a space at Gut Instinct that connects people and brings stories to light, which has always been my ultimate goal.

We have lots of new collaborations, product launches, and interviews in store. We recently launched our brand-new official website, which can now be found at www.gutinstinctmedia.com. I designed the entire website myself, and Axel Tamayo, our graphic designer, created a new logo and custom work for the page. It gives the site such a cool and unique look. I’m really proud of it!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

To succeed professionally, three crucial areas stand out to me: a strong work ethic, effective networking, and maintaining connections.

A strong work ethic is essential. Complacency and laziness hinder progress for sure. I’d argue that a passion and dedicated effort is non-negotiable for growth and success.

As for networking, building connections is vital. Start with everyone around you—coworkers, classmates, even your barista. Making memorable first impressions and establishing relationships can open unexpected doors.

Lastly, it’s absolutely so important to maintain your connections. A piece of advice I have is to regularly touch base with your network. I’d say consistent communication is key—comments, DMs, check-ins—keeps connections strong and fruitful. Every significant professional opportunity I’ve had resulted from sustained contact and engagement.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

I really believe it’s important to be as well-rounded and self-sufficient as possible. If you limit yourself or doubt your abilities, you’re holding back your potential.

Some of the most life-changing experiences in my career have come from saying yes to new things and picking up new skills. It’s crucial to push yourself out of your comfort zone and see who you become under pressure. That’s how you build character and resilience, which are essential for anyone in business.

For example, even if you work in literature, why not try getting involved with film? Seeing a story unfold in a different medium can inspire your writing and encourage you to branch out. Following multiple career paths should be encouraged, not frowned upon. Being diverse and exploring different spaces helps you find where you truly thrive.

Connecting with people and telling their stories has become my passion. I only discovered this love through working everywhere from Wall Street to film sets, gaining unique perspectives and stories along the way. Embracing a variety of experiences has been invaluable to my growth (both personally and professionally), and—if anything—I wish I had started pushing myself in all areas of my life even sooner.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Lauren Aho
Axel Tamayo

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