Amanda Nachman - #QUALIFIED: You Are More Impressive Than You Realize

Copyright 2020 by Amanda Nachman

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, digital scanning, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

When you purchase #QUALIFIED , you support Reality Changers, a San Diego nonprofit that helps underserved high school students achieve their dreams of becoming college graduates. Were honored to direct a portion of book sales to Reality Changers.

#QUALIFIED

Edited by Riley Bogh, Rachel Aldrich and Taylor Ulrich
ISBN: 978-19-5-036755-9

Published by

Publications or foreign rights acquisition of our catalog books.
Learn More: www.LifestyleEntrepreneursPress.com

Printed in the USA

#QUALIFIED

You are more impressive
than you realize

Amanda Nachman

CEO & Publisher of College Magazine

WARNING: This book will make you ambitious AF.
Side Effects May Include: Career success. Beyonc confidence. A renegade resume. Gold medal mindset. Loss of apprehension. Read at your own risk.

To my parents, for your love,
wisdom, and encouragement.

You showed me that taking action
can turn dreams into reality.

Introduction

S traight out of college, I felt confident that I had it all figured out. I had found an investor, quit my boring 9-5 job, and turned my hobby business, College Magazine , into a career.

But then reality hit, and hit hard.

I was on my third issue of the magazine, and after a full day of distributing thousands of copies at Towson University, I drove into downtown Baltimore to place even more magazines at the nearby restaurants. I hopped out of my car to unload the flimsy plastic dolly and the heavy box of magazines from my trunk. As I went to place my treasured magazines onto the dolly, the box slipped out of my hands and dropped onto the dollys basethe handle swung up and smacked me directly in the face.

There I stood, bleeding from my mouth, startled and crying in the waning light of a gravel-filled parking lot in downtown Baltimore. My workaholic life flashed before my eyes: 15-hour days spent struggling to get advertisers and running myself ragged distributing magazines by handonly to wind up broke, exhausted, and now injured.

A wave of doubt rushed in like a tsunami. Am I really qualified to run my own business?

Despite my run-in with the dolly, my teeth were still intact, and my bruised lip healed after a week. My determination, though, took longer to recover. I thought about what I had risked by quitting my steady job for the magazine. I had run both my health and my bank account into the ground.

But, I hadnt completely failed (yet), which meant there was still hope of success. Right? And if I should fail, I decided I was willing to accept that. Is failure really so bad?

At the heart of it all, I still had my whywhy I fell in love with the experience at College Magazine , working with students to create an authentic guide to navigating college.

When I look back, I realize that my rational mind wasnt what kept me going. It was my passion for helping college students through the magazine that fueled me through this difficult time. I had to keep going.

Over the next few months, I finally began hitting my stride.

I won a $15,000 prize in a business competition called Cupids Cup, sponsored by founder and CEO of Under Armour, Kevin Plank.

A talent manager for RCA Music Group, Jamie Abzug, agreed to a cover story and photoshoot with celebrity musician Mike Posner. Yes, the Mike Posner.

I even sold my first year-long advertising campaign to the regional marketing manager at vitaminwater, Kevin Burke.

Seed money, celebrity cred, and advertising had all materialized in a matter of months. I recommitted to following my passion and believing in myself.

It was up to me and me only to figure out that I was qualified and to keep going.

These victories were defining moments, but they were only just the start to a long journey of successes and failures that would ultimately create my career as it is today the CEO and publisher of College Magazine .

What started as a wee print magazine on one campus in 2007 grew to fourteen campuses on the East Coast by 2012. Today, the publication reaches millions of readers online nationwide at CollegeMagazine.com.

There were days, like the day I threw down with the dolly that made me want to quit.

But I always circled back to my why. My desire for meaningful work. A project that aligned with my interests, strengths, and values.

You are more qualified than you realize and like me, you deserve your passion career too.

What exactly is a passion career? It is that perfect storm that brews when your interests, strengths, and values connect to a career you like, anddare I saypossibly even love.

Ive worked with hundreds of college students who have written, edited, and interned at College Magazine . Ive also worked with dozens of young professionals who have graduated and felt lost about the direction of their career. The underlying, recurring theme that I have witnessed time and time again is that we all struggle to identify a career we love.

But now more than ever, its vital that you connect your passion to a career. Why? Let me break it down.

• Our global economy presents a more competitive environment that favors people who are more passionate about their jobs.
• Passionate people produce better results and make a bigger impact.
• When you love your work, youre eager to build upon your qualifications, helping you dream bigger and achieve more.

What else are you waiting for? Why continue your current job or accept a new one that makes you feel unfilled for 40 long hours a week when instead you can do something that inspires you?

Theres a ripple effect when you enjoy what you do. You produce quality work that changes lives. Heres a glimpse of what happens when people follow their passions:

• Christian Feliciano changes the lives of the students he coaches through Reality Changers, helping underserved high school students apply to and graduate from college.
• Sarah Bidnick makes theatre more accessible to everyone through her passion career as the senior vice president of marketing at TodayTix.
• Claire Kreger-Boaz creates once-in-a-lifetime moments for music educators and music students through her work at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) and The NAMM Foundation.
• Rachel Aldrich spreads her love for writing and reading working for her dream company, Penguin Random House.
• Carey Smolensky creates memorable and life-changing events for his clients. He also helps the homeless community in Chicago through his companys grassroots initiative, A Warmer Winter, which distributes warm clothing and meals to the homeless community in Chicago every December.
• Andrea Stone, a school counselor, helps her elementary school students work on their emotional intelligence and grow into empathetic human beings, while also helping them solve their day-to-day problems.
• Ben Simon reduces food waste as the CEO and co-founder of Imperfect Produce. In fact, he has recovered over 40 million pounds of produce, donated over 2.8 million pounds of food, and created several hundred living-wage jobs.