The School of Greatness - 856 Amanda Cerny: Be Unapologetically You

Episode Date: September 30, 2019

CREATE YOUR OWN AUDIENCE. It’s human to make multiple stops on the way to your destination. Often, these stops are crucial moments that inform the person you are becoming. Some are forgettable. Others stay with you long after you have moved on. All of them help us grow and evolve. It’s important to own them. You shouldn’t feel ashamed or regretful. Sometimes you just have to change the narrative. On today’s episode of The School of Greatness, I talk about letting go of the past and finding your true self on the path to success with social media sensation: Amanda Cerny. Amanda Cerny is an actor, writer, model, and social media influencer. With more than 35 million followers across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, Amanda has become a celebrity and top female influencer. So get ready to learn all about building an audience and the power of social media on Episode 856. Some Questions I Ask: (need new questions) How did you get started on social media (9:30) What caused you to move to LA? (19:30) How did you get involved with Playboy? (25:45) What are some of the personal challenges you had to face growing your brand? (40:00) What have you learned about yourself and other people? (49:30) In This Episode You Will Learn: How to improve your social media audience. (14:30) Why you shouldn’t let people or moments define you. (33:32) Why you should create content that represents you. (39:15) How to be super passionate about your work (47:00) If you enjoyed this episode, check out the visuals, show notes and more at http://www.lewishowes.com/856

This is episode number 856 with social media sensation Amanda Cerny. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly

and without fear for newer and richer experience. Eleanor Roosevelt. Oh, I hope you're having an amazing day today. We are doing a lot in the School of Greatness world. This is actually one of the last times I'm going to be recording in the School of Greatness studio. We're moving into a new studio space here next week.

And it's kind of bittersweet because I've been in this space for, I don't know, five, six years now. We've been building it and evolving and growing. We started almost seven years ago with one episode and one listener. And now we're over 135 million listens in episode eight, five, six. And it's just amazing to see how much we continue to evolve. But it's because I continue to taste life to the utmost. I'm constantly evolving myself. I'm constantly learning, growing. I'm meeting new people that I can learn from. I'm making mistakes. I'm achieving my goals and going after my dreams and all these things because of one thing, I have the willingness and the desire to take action. I have the willingness and the desire to try things. Even if I fall flat on my face and look silly and people judge me,

I'm at least going after and doing something as opposed to sitting on a couch and thinking about it and saying 20 years down the line, I wish I would have experienced life and tasted it to the utmost. But most people are afraid of judgment, of what people are going to say about them, that they're going to fail, and they're afraid of success. And I'm just excited about the next chapter of moving into a new space, of building out something, of upgrading and leveling up. And I think we should always be reflecting on where we're at in our life. Are we where we want to be? Is our environment the way we want it to be?

Are we living in a desert where there's no water and there's no trees and there's no people around because it's dead? Or are we creating an environment that flourishes like a rainforest where there's lush trees and plants and beautiful smells and sights and waterfalls and flowing rivers? What type of environment are you creating for yourself? And for me, that's all about trying different things and being unapologetically you, like we have with our episode and Amanda Cerny.

And if you are an influencer who's got a large community right now, or you're a seven and eight figure entrepreneur, we've got the Greatness Mastermind that is opening up here very soon. We've got hundreds of applications Mastermind that is opening up here very soon. We've got hundreds of applications that have come through recently, and I'm bringing in a select few people to join the Greatness Mastermind. These are influencers and entrepreneurs who are making a massive impact

on the world and want to make a bigger impact. They want to make more income, and they want to grow their brand. So if that's something you're interested in and you're ready to create a new environment for your business and the impact in the world for your community, then go to greatnessmastermind.com right now and apply. You can apply for free and only do it if you feel like you meet the criteria on the page at greatnessmastermind.com. So check it out right now. And I'm excited about this interview. We got Amanda Cerny, who's an actress, a model, entrepreneur, social media sensation with more than 35 million followers across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. She's one of the top 100 most followed people on Instagram, which is crazy. And she just continues to grow and inspire and try new things. to grow and inspire and try new things. She's one of the top five most viewed Instagram story accounts in the world and grows about a million new followers a month on Instagram alone. This

is just madness how she does this. She's also directed, written, and produced more than 3,000 comedic skits and music videos featuring actors, top chart musicians, and some of the most influential personalities out in line today. And that's something that I like about her. She's done 3,000 different skits and music videos. She constantly takes action to get experience in her life. Powerful. She doesn't just do one thing and stop. She keeps going. And she has expanded her exposure as a philanthropist with previous and ongoing relief efforts in Haiti and Puerto Rico. And she's had multiple partnerships with big brands, networks, a lot of great stuff she's got going on. In this interview, we talk about what Amanda learned about leveraging multiple platforms to maximize her following, not just going all in on one platform, but leveraging to build them all and how she did it.

How she became a playmate, playboy playmate, and how that influenced her career path. The power of collaboration and how to use it most effectively to broaden your audience. Both the benefits and challenges of being a mega social media star and the importance of choosing people and brands to work with that you trust and you believe in. I'm very excited about this. Make sure to share it on your Instagram story. Tag me and tag Amanda Cerny to let her know that you're watching or that you're listening to this.

And I'm sure she would love to hear your thoughts about what she has to say in this interview. So share it there. And you can be a hero and a champion in someone's life today. When you find this inspiring, text one friend. Just send them the link on the Apple Podcast or Spotify or wherever you're listening to this. Send them this link and say, hey, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Let me know what you think. Welcome back, everyone, to the School of Greatness podcast. We've got the inspiring Amanda Cerny in the house.

Super pumped you're here. Thanks for having me. What an honor. I know. I'm very glad you're here. We got connected to this beautiful lady over here who connected us a while ago. I went on your podcast. I don't even think it's out yet, but you did your whole year in advance, which is, I wish I could do. Yeah.

You recorded the whole year in like a month. Well, you're probably doing it the smart way. You could see throughout the episodes. I'm just like, you're like 10 in a day. I'm like, yeah, that's amazing. But no, it was good. It's like you do so many different things. I'm like, all right, I want to get this done and make sure we do it all. Amazing. Yeah. I'm all about getting deliverables done really fast. I wish I could do that. That's amazing. Don't recommend it though. It's a lot of work. Yeah. So you do this podcast. Oh honey podcast. That was called, right? Yeah. Oh honey. We did it in our, in our underwear or like PJs. So go watch it. I remember it was like bring pajamas for the interview. I was like, what? What is this?

I know. I probably threw you off a little. So I just put sweatpants and a t-shirt on. It's like come to my house. Exactly. Wear pajamas. There's like 30 people filming, so it's not intimate at all. So that's every week, right?

Yeah. So we post an episode every week. I did it with Summer Ray from social media. And it's a way for us to just kind of just sit with friends and talk about love life, relationships, all that good stuff. We got in pretty deep on ours. Yeah. I feel like I connected you two in a powerful way. It was actually like I was on your show, but you were on mine.

I was interviewing both of you guys. Yeah. You're the expert interviewer here. It was fun. Yeah. It was actually like I was on your show, but you were on mine. I was interviewing both of you guys. You're the expert interviewer here. It was fun. Yeah. It was really powerful. And you both are, I think, in the top 100 most followed accounts on Instagram. Is that right? Yeah.

Yeah. What is she at right now? 20? Oh, I don't know. You have 26 million. I think at the time of this recording, she's at 22 or 23 or something like that. Yeah. So why did you both decide, did you feel like, okay, partnering together would make this more powerful than just doing this on your own?

Well, yeah. I mean, I could have launched a podcast on my own. I already had that fully set up, but I was thinking about it and I was like, all right, a lot of women talk about women empowerment and doing things together. But everybody's so afraid of competition and bringing another person down. If they succeed more than me, it hurts me. So I'm like, why not walk the walk and just reach out and be like, hey, are you down to do something together? And with our two brands of just working together, because we've known of each other before. And just through social media makes the world very small. It does.

It makes you feel like you know somebody already. So we were hanging out, and I liked her. She was cool. And it was a way for her, too, to help get her personality across. Use her voice. Yeah. So it was a good opportunity for her. It was great for me for our brands to come together

and just hang out and talk about things. I think I read, I don't know if this is accurate, but I think I read that you've done 3,000 pieces of content. Is that right? Oh, yeah. Like videos,

either writing and scripting and directing and producing, acting in them. Yeah. How many of the pieces would you say you've collaborated with people versus on your own? Oh, wow.

Majority collaborating collaborating for sure. It's a lot, like 50%, 80%, 90%. I would say 80%. 80% collaboration. Yeah. How many of them are with women versus men? Well, actually a good, it's probably pretty even because when I first started, I started on this app called Vine.

Did you ever use Vine? I watched people on there. Yeah. What did you think about us on there? I know. I remember getting on there watching. When was this? Like six, seven years ago?

Eight years ago maybe? It's like 2013, 2012. I remember getting on there and watching. And that's where I didn't discover, but I saw Logan Paul for the first time. I saw this other girl, Amy Marie, who's a good dancer. Because they're from Ohio. So I was kind of like seeing who from Ohio is doing interesting things. And they were both kind of blowing up.

And I remember reaching out to Logan early on and just being like, hey, I'm inspired by what you're doing. And keep going. He was like 18 years old or something at the time. So I was trying to just see, observe, and see what people were doing. I was like, this is not the app for me. I'm not this comedian. I'm not trying to do funny skits.

It's like, I'm not a hot girl. I'm not all these things that people are taking off with. But I was like, that's a cool platform for people that are talented but didn't have maybe an audience somewhere else or have publicity or have a Hollywood platform where they could build their audience. Right. And that's what I used it for. I was starting with YouTube. I had friends that did YouTube and I was out in LA looking for a manager agency to do acting and back in 2012. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. No, I was already out here and from Florida. How old were you at 2012? And you moved? I don't know.

I think I was 20. Oh, wow. Yeah. So you're 29. Or is she 27 now? I just turned 28. 28. Yeah.

You've got to put it out there. Age is just a number. It's just a number. So you moved out here when you were 20. Yeah. And you were just doing Vine and YouTube at the time. Well, yeah. I was trying to get acting roles out here

but I didn't have a reel and then I couldn't get an agent because I didn't have a reel. So I started doing YouTube videos, not my own, but just acting in other people's YouTube videos and my friend Jimmy Tatro had his page and I was like,

anytime you need somebody for it, let me know so I can build my reel for roles that are actually I can promote and enjoy. And then so starting with doing that and then he was traveling to film 22 Jump Street in New Orleans or something. And I was like, OK, how am I going to build my reel? You kind of just left. okay, how am I going to build my reel? You kind of just left.

And then he told me there's this app called Vine where it would be a good way for me to figure out how to do my own skits and maybe start writing some things and learning how to edit and all that. And I'm like, you know what, that's a good idea because longer form to just do that right off the bat, it was intimidating because I have no idea how to edit. I have no idea how to write. I never studied that. I just studied the acting and the improv. So I was like, all right, let me try. It's a fun, easygoing platform. Why

not? And before, at that time, you couldn't even upload to it. You had to- Film it direct. Yeah, film it. And if you messed up, start all over. Oh my gosh. But it's still so fun. It's six seconds, right? Yeah. So it's short content, but the idea is just to tell a story in that little period of time. And it was actually 6.5 seconds. Yeah. And half a second matters. It mattered so much. And

then with like the timing of everything, which it sounds ridiculous, but it did. Um, so I started doing that and then I would just post and hope for the best. And my content was, now I look back at it and I'm like, oh my gosh, like some of my comedy videos then definitely got better over time, which is what life's about. But when I was posting at the time, it was good for what I was at that time on that platform. So people were liking it and watching it and I would make it to the popular page and like start being like doing well on my own of just doing these videos and then I met some other people that were on the app that I saw were doing well that lived in LA too and we started doing collaborations and all started

growing together on this brand new application as like the first ones really doing comedy sketches on this app they were super fun and light and just a way for people to just scroll through and binge watch things and just enjoy it. So I grew a following up to 4 million within a couple of years on the platform. And that was my first like big following on anything ever on when I first started on Instagram, I had like 15,000. And that's from when I was a playmate, like back in 2011. So I had that following, but that did nothing for me on this other platform. So I kind of used this other platform to help rebrand myself into comedy and make fun of myself, make myself look ridiculous. And so I could be able to grow an audience of both men and women that

followed me that enjoyed my content. So I grew to 4 million. I'm like, that's an insane number. Like, that's like, how do I even, yeah. But it was cool. Cause I got to see it, see my followers and we, we did meetups like in different places around the world. It was just a global audience, which was really cool. And such like, um, like, I don't know what to call it, like an unknown platform or just something so fresh and so new that people

appreciated the people that were on that platform and really like working hard every day. Cause like not only would I shoot my videos, I would be in collabing with everyone else, like 20 other videos throughout the day. So every day was invested in this one platform and you never know the longevity of one platform. So I'm like, all right, let me just start. Snapchat came out and I was like, all right, I can do videos in real time that people see.

So let me make my profile public. And I started doing these bedtime improv stories and I grew to the top 10 most viewed on Snapchat. So I was getting like 3 million views a post at that time. And that's when people had to like search. 3 million views a post on Snapchat? Yeah, it was like 2, 3 million like up there. Yeah, so people had to type in my name to find it. Amanda Cerny.

Wow, that's crazy. And it's a hard name to spell, but I was very proud of that because they wouldn't verify me at the time because I wasn't a celebrity. I was a social media influencer. So I was like, all right, well, it'd be a lot easier if you just verify me so people, my name could just pop up there. So I started doing that. And then Instagram got video, which was 15 seconds. I remember. And that kind of killed. And then it was a minute. Yeah.

And that kind of killed Vine. So Vine ended up going away. Like it no longer exists. So how did that feel when you had 4 million or whatever it was at the time and you were like, okay, it's done? I was okay with it because I kind of saw it declining too. Yeah, yeah. with it because I kind of saw it declining too, like less people using it. And you have to not put all your eggs in one basket too with social media or with anything, unless you fully own that audience because it could go away and then you're done. What are you going to do? Yeah. So I made

sure I was on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and just doing comedy sketches on every platform. And then as I built this audience, I was able to do other things because I started to get an audience that actually cared about me, like outside of just my comedy videos. So I was like, oh, okay, cool. I can do travel content if I wanted to.

I can do fitness. Makeup, whatever you want. Yeah, I'm horrible at makeup. Yeah, but whatever it is I wanted to do that they would know I was genuinely and organically interested in I could

talk to them about and they would still be entertained yeah which is cool the main vision you had was moving to LA at 20 to do movies

is that what I'm hearing correctly yeah that was the original and all this started because you were like I need to figure out how to get the attention of

directors or producers or casting directors yeah so that I can start doing film and potentially TV, I'm assuming, right? Film or TV. But it sounds like this transitioned you into having a much bigger business and audience than potentially being in movies every year could. It definitely did. It's crazy how it turned. Isn't it crazy?

And are you still focused on trying to get a role in movies and TV? Is that still the goal six, seven years later? Yeah. I mean, I'm even more interested in producing now and just working on my own projects. Like I'm working with this one producer that I worked with on Creed 2. So he's incredible. Were you in Creed 2? I was, but they cut my scene.

Oh, I love this. The Creed 1 was amazing. Yeah, I know. The 2 was good, but. It would have been better if they cut my scene. Oh, I love this. The Creed one. Yeah, I know. It was good, but it would have been better if they kept my scene in there. Oh, it's too bad. Yeah. But it was a cool experience. And like, I was able to meet people on the set and, you know, that are also very excited about my platform and, you know, my career path so far, because I've just been hustling since like, yeah, way back. But way back. So it's great. So I met these producers, and at the same time of me still studying film and TV

and focusing on acting and just still having that in me so I can always just better my own content too, now I have the ability just to put things together with my network and create my own projects and then sell those, and there's more money in that too. Yeah, that's true. Now you moved out here originally, and you mentioned briefly that you were a playmate. Were you a playmate in Florida when you were 19 or 18? Yeah.

So what was the decision to do that? And what did that consist of for those that don't know your story? And has that helped you or hurt you in getting in the door for the next steps. Right. So I moved down to Florida. From? Connecticut. Okay. Yeah. My family bounced around a lot. My dad was in pharmaceutical sales and then my parents divorced, typical.

And then we moved down south when my mom remarried. Okay. And then I ended up down there. I was in high school. I did great in school. Got a scholarship. My mom made me pay down there. I was in high school. I did great in school, got a scholarship. My mom made me pay for it. Academic. Yes. Wow. Full ride or just like a half? I got 75% because I didn't have the extracurricular add-ons. You should have showed them the playmate spread. No, like extracurricular A, but I did track and cross

country and that was about it because otherwise i had a full-time job basically in high school too so i can pay for my car my phone and everything which i love that my mom did that by the way because it made me like know what real work is yeah and just giving you the car giving you an extra 100 bucks a week for it's like movies whatever yeah yeah it's like a it's like a game to me. I don't know, making money has always been just so fun for me because then I get to get the things that I wanted. You get that satisfaction of like, oh, I got my car, I got my phone.

I earned that and it's a different feeling. But then I got accepted into college and then I went to UCF for the first year. And then I was like, that's cool, but it feels like a commuter school. Like I wanted to see like a college, college experience. Yeah, like fraternities and sororities. Yeah, just like built off that. I mean, UCF is great. Don't hate me.

I've been to UCF. Yeah. I did a track like practice there when I was in college. Yeah. What did you think? It was cool. Yeah, it was fun. Yeah. It was a nice practice there when I was in college. Yeah. What did you think? It was cool. Yeah, it was fun. It was a nice track. That's all I remember. I feel like college was just partying and those type of experiences. For you, it was? For me, for sure. It's funny. I probably didn't party at all. Really? I went to a couple of parties after football games,

but I didn't have one sip of alcohol my whole college career. You're so good. Wasn't all this good? I needed an edge over everyone else I was playing against. And I would see my friends go out and get wasted at this party. Keg stands, the whole thing. Well, as an athlete, too. And I was like, I can't do that because I will not be able to function the next day of practice. I need an edge mentally, physically.

Smart. Because I wasn't as talented. So I was just like, I'm going to train my mind during this time. I was bored. You were just like, party. Yeah. So I ended up transferring to FSU the next year. Florida State?

Yeah. So we have this thing in Florida called dual enrollment, which is amazing. It's where in high school you get to take college-level courses at the local community college and get college credit and high school credit. So two birds with one stone. So you didn't have to take extra classes. No. So is that called AP class then or what is that? In a way, but you don't have to do, I guess you do have to pass the class to get it. But with AP, you just have to pass one test to get the college credit, but you still get the high school. Sure. This is just like you do or you don't. Right, right.

So with the enrollment, I was on a college-level course, like Tuesdays and Thursdays in high school. The only time I had to go to school was on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That's amazing. Yeah, it was the best thing ever. The senior in high school is like, what do you do with your time? I did it my junior and senior year. Oh, my gosh. Yeah.

You're much smarter than me. I had like summer school and tutors every day. I was just like trying to barely pass. Trying to get by. Bare my gosh. Yeah. And, um, smarter than me. I had like summer school tutors every day. Trying to get by. Barely passed like senior year English. I mean, it was so challenging, but go ahead. Yeah. But so I just did it though. So I would have more days that I could just work. Wow. Smart. Yeah. So when I was, I was out there in school and then the next day I would work and then I just go after school for track and cross country. And then that was it. That was my life. And then you're in South Florida. So partying is always a thing in Florida. Yeah. Don't recommend it. Um, stay focused. But yeah, so I did that. And then, so I went to school with my AA and then my next year is that Florida state.

And I was like, all right, well, I want to be in the CIA because this is like a dream of mine. My mom had her own karate school growing up that my sisters and I were all in and we're all black belts. No way. Yeah. Black belt karate? Yeah.

But we did it. Like I stopped doing it when I was 13. I don't even know. It's muscle memory somewhere. You're like, ha-ha. Yeah. No, my mom knows all the pressure points and all that good stuff. When you're out of line, she's just like, oh.

Yeah, no marks. Yeah, just death. Yeah, just death. And so when I went, I went for international business, and I was studying that. And I had a lot of free time because you know college schedule you do your classes I went to work I um and like when I was in high school too I invested in the stock market because these people at this diner that I worked at um they would always come in and talk about stocks and I was 15 when I was working there and I was like

what is that like what does that do how does that work and then a couple of guys are talking about how they do penny stocks and trade every day and I was like fun Tim Sykes yeah you know Tim Sykes no okay that's his thing yeah penny stocks yeah I should read up on him it's a lot of work a lot of you have to be on there all day watching just like and go yeah but um so i just heard them and out of luck i like i went home and i had no idea what i was doing i asked my stepdad if i could just go on his like account and invest my money that i earned so i invested i forget how much i think it was like 2 000 and then it went up to like 30,000 cause it was when everything

just crashed and you could literally invest in like anything at that point. Um, so I made enough money to help pay for college and all that stuff cause I was on a 75% scholarship. But then, yeah. So anyways, went to college, bored in my dorm room. Actually, no, I was in a house at that time at Florida state. Um, and I had two in a house at that time at Florida State. And I had two friends on Facebook that messaged me and were like, oh, you should do Playmate. And they messaged me at the same time. So I'm like, either the world is weird or you guys are sitting right next to each other and being crazy. And I'm like, ha, no, I'm not doing that. I'm going to work for the government and be in the CIA and stop the bad guys. And that was my whole little movie dream. I watched too much Angelina Jolie. Yeah. But, um, so then I was

like, no, I'm not going to do it. And then I was like, Hmm, let me see what that is. And then I looked more into it and I was like, Oh, Hugh Hefner, Marilyn Monroe. That's so cool. And I just sent him bikini photos at the time. And then they emailed back and they were like, Oh, like you need to, we need to see like what you're working with. And then I'm like, all right, self timer on my camera, took a photo. So awkward sent that in. And then the next day I'm walking around, email it or something. Yeah. I just emailed it. I emailed it to the email address on their website. So I'm like, all right, it has to be legit.

And then the next day, it all hit me. I'm walking around school, and I'm like, what did I just do? I'm like, what if that was a fake email address? What if that wasn't real? What if I have nudes out there, and I'm not going to be able to work for the government anymore? And all these things just went through my head. And then that same moment, I remember I was sitting at a Starbucks at school, and I got an email back from them saying, all right, we want to fly you out for a test shoot to California.

You stay at the mansion for the week, do your centerfold shoot, and then we'll fly you back. As a test shoot? Yeah. To do a test shoot, centerfold shoot. Yeah. But it wouldn't be the real thing. No. Okay, just a test.

Yeah, they just test you out. Gotcha. So for me, I got super excited because I was like, one, I get to fly to Los Angeles for free. Yeah. Stay in the mansion? Yeah, get picked up by a limo, meet Hugh Hefner. And I used to watch The Girls Next Door all the time. So I was like, this is awesome.

So what, you're 19 at the time? Yeah, 19. And then so I said yes. And then they flew me out. And I remember borrowing clothes from some of my girlfriends at school. I'm like, I don't have anything to wear. So they gave me some of their stuff to bring over with me, their dresses. And I remember being on the plane too and just like only eating.

This is when they still handed out the peanuts. And I was just only eating the peanuts because I didn't have like enough money to get the other food on the plane too. And then I got to L.A. and I ended up staying in this mansion. They had me run up to the house and Hef came down. He's like, hi, I'm Hugh Hefner. Congratulations. Best of luck on your shoot. Like the biggest gentleman ever.

Then he left. I'm like, all right, cool. I'm out in LA. I did my test shoot. You already did the shoot. Well, I did it those next two days. Okay. It was with the same photographer that started with Playboy and has been with them for 50 years.

Amazing. Which is crazy. And they all do it with just lighting. And so it was my first time ever posing nude in my life. Wow. And I didn't even tell my parents. There's a bunch of people around, too, probably watching you and holding up whatever reflector. Yeah, I was like a deer in headlights.

I was so nervous. And the makeup artist saw, which is actually the same makeup artist that did my makeup for my guest shoot years later. She did my whole makeup and my looks for my guest campaign, which is crazy. So full circle. But then I did that. I went to some LA parties and then flew back to college. And I was like, all right, they're not going to choose me, whatever. I don't even need to talk to my parents about it.

But then they called me and said, have approved me for a centerfold. and I was like, all right, they're not going to choose me, whatever. I don't even need to talk to my parents about it. But then they called me and said, have approved me for a centerfold. So then they flew me back to shoot the actual centerfold shoot in May. And then before I knew it, I was blaming centerfold and calling dad and being like, hey, dad. I just did this. And he's like, oh, well, if you want to work, he lectured me about working for the government and all that stuff. And I'm like, good. That's what I would do

as a parent too. So like, makes sense. And then my mom was like, woo. So yeah, they were divorced at the time too. So it's like, you have one that's like, yeah, the other one's like waving his finger. So I ended up doing it. And then I was like, all right, I'm not going to use this degree anymore. So let me move down to Miami and just study acting because I'm not a model. I'm like, I never saw myself as a model. I'm just like, I'm very spontaneous. So I just moved down there. I was like, all right, like I need to work.

I need to do things. But there was very little jobs in Miami too for acting. It was like the rise of EDM music at the time so I started doing live event live EDM event hosting I'm like traveling with that and it's so random and it's like me on the mic hyping up the crowd like it's funny and then doing interviews with some of the DJs that were like rising up at the time too so I'm like weirdly know that world because of that so I started doing that. And then you get bored of something if you don't love doing something. Yeah. So I was like, all

right, you know what? I'm just going to, my whole family's from the East coast. I'm just going to go out to LA and pursue acting. That's what I'm, if I'm going to make it work because anything that I want to do, I'm going to make it work. And then I went out there, got an apartment and then was having meetings with these managers and agents. And all of them said the same thing. Either they said, no, we're not interested. Or they said, all right, cool. Yeah. We'll just put you in these stripper roles and all this stuff. Cause you're a playmate. I was like, Whoa, like I thought me being a playmate centerfold would be like, it puts me on a platform, gives me some kind of clout. And then I can just do whatever I want from there and whatever I desire. Like, that's not my whole career. Like that's one moment in my life and you're making

me stick in this, stay in this one bucket you're going to coin me as. And I'm like, so it was really hard. And just to find my way out of that and with social media, that was the way I was able to do it, which was the most exciting thing ever because that was the most annoying thing to hear. And then I, it kind of came back with social media too. So with social media, I was starting to grow on there. I got 4 million followers on Vine. And then I had all of a sudden these makeup companies interested in doing stuff with me.

And then everybody just knew me as this girl that does comedy videos that has an insane, like, loyal following. And when I was doing that, I got this offer from, like, different just well-known beauty companies being like, hey, we want to do a massive campaign with you. I'm like, great. So far along in the process. And then they're like, oh, we just found out you were a Playmate. No way, really? So we're not going to do the deal.

Yeah, that's happened so many times for me. No way, still? Not anymore. The first three, four years. Yeah, in the beginning beginning it happened all the time, but it made me, it made me start to feel bad about something that I did that I used to be proud of because I, I, I worked out twice a day in college. Like I was just fit. I was so confident. And I was like, you know, everything I did was because of me at that point. And I was just like, yeah, this is awesome.

Yeah, they're sexy photos. But I liked them. You know, I was like, oh, this is cool. And then but then it made me feel ashamed of something that I did. And I'm like, I don't want to like feel ashamed for something. Like, obviously, you learn through everything that you do in life and you grow from everything that you do. And for people to come back at you for whatever your past was like all the time, it's just like, okay, that's not who I am though. That's like a moment in my life, but it doesn't define who I am

or what I can do or what talents I have or what I'm capable of or how hard I work. And so for me, that was a major obstacle in the beginning, but then I was able to push through it more and just like, you know what, screw this. I don't need traditional, whatever. I'm just going to invest all the money that I have in just building this content, educating myself, learning more, studying more, and just continue to grow my following. And one day people will see how valuable social media is, how relevant these platforms are and how much value

I do have outside of that and it worked eventually before even celebrities didn't want to do collaborations on social media, they would be making fun of it but now everybody wants to and has to have some sort of presence on socials

unless you're like old school A-list. Like Tom Cruise or something. Yeah, you can get away. He has social media, yeah. It's funny, I remember when I saw The Rock like four years ago doing collabs with Logan Paul and Kevin Hart doing these collabs and The Rock doing a collab with Lilly Singh

on YouTube to launch his YouTube channel and you see Will Smith doing collabs with people. All these individuals want to build their following now. And they need you. Or people like you. They need you to collaborate with because you have the audience. Yeah, and they've done a great job with it. People understand it more, and I don't blame them for not doing it

because their profession like they've studied acting they've worked their way up in their industry that they're doing and then all of a sudden this new thing comes along that's like it's not as well produced it's not you know they don't want it to hurt their brand but then the internet became like a known thing and an appreciated thing because it's so carefree and fun and lenient and yeah. And you can really speak to your audience, which is the coolest thing about it.

So then their interest, you started to see some people hopping on a little bit more, a little bit sooner, but it's all about timing too. So now people are going on, like it's launching people's full careers now, which is super exciting. And it gives, people are going on like it's launching people's full careers now which is super exciting and it

gives it gives a way for people to become successful and gain an audience without having to have a sample of approval from either hollywood or yeah so it's like it was a way for me to get in an industry i wanted to be in uh that i wasn't allowed in before unless I was going for roles that didn't satisfy me. It still sounds like old-time Hollywood is rejecting the social media star and coming in. Do you feel like it's challenging to still get in the door even though you're like, look at this platform I have. I have more followers than the lead actors on this movie that I didn't get the role for, but they still are kind of resisting it, right? Even actors are kind of like pushing away social media influencers and people with big followings if they haven't done the work, let's say, or whatever.

They haven't been acting their whole life or something, right? I see it. I mean, even Lilly Singh, though, she just got her own late night show as like the only lady on late night, which is incredible. Super inspiring. And she started on YouTube. And she's been super collaborative. Like you said, The Rock has done stuff with her and stuff before.

But she didn't need those collaborations to get to where she is now. She was able to prove herself through her platforms. And her content has gotten better over time. And she has such a loyal audience that has grown with her. It's almost like you have a family. People that truly care about you and support you. And you know there's different profiles that just grow out of nowhere that have such strong followings like out of nowhere but there's there's i understand when production companies or um brands don't see value as much in that because it is so immediate and i would

question it sometimes too i'd be like oh and just like give them a few years like get close to that audience and see if they can maintain it and keep that audience and if they can there's something to say about people wanting to see more from them but if somebody's not like i wouldn't put a beauty influencer that has no care for acting no care for studying it and just i wouldn't just throw her in a movie if i was a producer you know or him in a movie if i was a producer i would just if somebody has actually studied it if they're good at what they do if they can prove themselves in a casting room or if they can prove their self that there's a demand for that then i would

support it you know it's not just like hand things out just because somebody has numbers. It's like do the things that are relevant with that person that they have branded themselves towards. And the most exciting thing is, I hate the idea of putting somebody in a box, but if there's an interest from that person and showing effort and showing hard work into going alongside another vertical, I would give them that opportunity.

But you're able to rebrand yourself. You're able to create your own content based on what you want to do. You're never stuck with social media. That's true. You might get hate in the beginning. You might lose following for a while, but you have to rebuild it up. Yeah. What is that following going to do for you anyway like that following's there okay like if they're just there for one

purpose and that's not what you want to do with your life what are you wasting your time for just stop doing that type of content or just like slowly wean it out or just throw it in every once in a while if you still enjoy that type of content but really just go for the things that you want to do. Yeah. Because even though it's less people, it's a niche audience that is truly going to support you, and then you're just going to grow on that niche audience even bigger. Yeah, I love the adult thing. Is that what it was called?

Oh, yeah. Is that what it was called, the video series? I love that series because I felt like you were expressing your creativity. You were taking a risk. It was doing something that maybe wasn't popular to all your audience. Yeah. But I was like, this is powerful. It takes a lot of courage to continue to do something like that and also express yourself in the way that you want to express yourself. So I really admired that stuff. It's a series that you did on Instagram for those that haven't seen

it yet. What's the biggest challenge you've faced personally or intimately with the rising, I guess, following that you've had? I think, what is it, 35 million plus now followers on all social media accounts. How have you faced – what are the challenges that you've had to face personally, like internally? Just in growing or progressing? Yeah, like personal challenges. Maybe your ego got so big or maybe you had more insecurities or maybe you had to worry more about how you always looked all the time out in public. What's the thing that you faced internally the most? Yeah.

I mean, I wouldn't say that I've ever really had an ego with these things because maybe it's because my first time out in LA, I had no clout whatsoever. I was of little value to people. So it's like, I saw the people that had the ego. Like I remember my first time being at one of those parties and then there was, and I knew nothing about who celebrities were. I was like, I didn't care. I was just making money in college. Like I was just trying to pay for things. Like, so I didn't know much about like pop culture and all that stuff so when I went to these parties there was this one guy I'm not gonna like name who it is but one of the other girls was like hey this is my friend Dalida you

should meet him and I was like oh cool hi I'm Amanda nice to meet you and then he's like nice to meet you and I'm like oh what's your name and then he's like just nice to meet you. And I'm like, oh, what's your name? And then he's like, just started. Yeah, he got so offended and started laughing at me because I didn't know his name and just like pushed me away and turned around. I was like, wow. I was like, what? And I got so mad because you don't treat people like that in general.

It's just insane. Like, where does that, I don't know where that comes from. And then, so I just like, I was like pissed. I just like walked away. I just ignored it. And then I just like walked away I just ignored it and then I think he saw that I genuinely didn't know who he was and then which made him come back later and be like hey by the way you know I really just thought you were like pretending you didn't know

I'm like why would you think that like first off even if I was pretending don't act like that so I got to see maybe that's why it's because I experienced Hollywood life yeah but it's such like not a good human like it's like why would you ever treat people less because they don't have what you have yeah so I don't know that was never an issue for me but what was the biggest issue I guess it was just finding a way to convince the bigger companies and Hollywood of who I am and what I can do. But that's not really an issue anymore because now I've been doing it for so many years and I've been improving every single year and doing a lot more every year, doing a lot more every year, doing

a lot of really big collaborations every year. Like I just did something with Sofia Vergara who I've loved and looked up to like even growing up and watching Modern Family. She's always been incredible and I've launched an underwear line with her with a collection with her on Ebi, her underwear line and flew to India and did like this whole thing with microfinance and helping women in business which is exciting and then i've done um i'm working with the un now as one of their ambassadors for wildlife conservation and doing good things for the

environment and promoting awareness on those things so it's like i'm working with the people i want to work with the brands that i want to work with the corporations I want to work with, the brands that I want to work with, the corporations that I appreciate what they're doing and impacting the world. And I'm not really in that position that I still reflect back on, which sucked because I was a playmate. And that's such a horrible thing to have to complain about. Poor you, right? Poor you. You were a playmate. Oh my gosh, you were pretty and stereotypes. Oh, your life is so difficult. It's not saying that. It's just saying I was like limited, you know? And I still had to like, I had to work really hard to get past that. But now I guess the issue that I would say I face, what is my issue?

what is my issue? What do I struggle with? I would say it's I would say these platforms are getting more institutionalized too similar to like how Hollywood was

and like all those things and I would say it's just finding a way to communicate with my entire audience would be.

The whole following. You wish they could all see the post. Yeah. It's like they chose to follow me. Like, let's let them see what I'm doing. You know? The platforms are limiting all of us. Yeah.

Why is that? It's just for advertising, right? Yeah. It's a business. I get it. Like, I get why they do it, but it's like, from me, I, like, in my position, selfishly, I don't like that. I don't like it either.

Yeah. Everyone that subscribed could watch it. Yeah. See it. We'll find a way. Do you believe in being an early adapter for new platforms and investing all your time and energy

even if it like doesn't work out? Yep. Really? Because if anything, you're only learning from your content. You're getting somewhat a little bit of feedback. Pay attention to what your audience is saying. Better your content through that.

And yeah, if anything, you're just getting smarter through it. And that's a huge thing. Timing is so important, even on Vine. It's so important. If you came on later on the app, it was a lot more difficult to grow. If you're just now getting on Instagram, good luck growing to millions and millions. Like the algorithm almost won't let you. Unless you're a big celebrity or you're making viral content. Yeah. That just like hits like, but it's like a lottery. So hard. Yeah. The only person I've

seen grow fast who was like, you know, not a celebrity was Jay Shetty. Oh yeah. He's been growing with the last year. But with Facebook too, right? With Facebook, he's at like 25 million, I think. Instagram, he's at four and a half million. And he,

he was at a hundred thousand on Instagram at the beginning of last year. Now he's at four and a half million. Yeah. So much of his content is going viral every day. There is still opportunity for, it's just a lot. You have to create viral content.

You can't just post a few photos. Because there's so much out there. So much noise. Yeah. There's so much out there. So much noise. Yeah, there's so much out there already. But there are newer platforms like TikTok. Instagram's great to be on still just because they're launching IGTV still and fully promoting that. And they haven't really coined the people that are the stars of that platform. Yeah, there's the Instagram stars that are doing content on there as well,

but, you know, that's going to be something they're heavily pushing. I would say YouTube is, you know, there's always a chance to go viral. You just never know. So just like whatever it is, just make sure you're super passionate about it because if you're not, people see right through it.

Just don't do videos that you see are doing well and copy them and do them on your own because it's just, you're just extra noise. You're a copycat. Yeah. Well, and it most likely won't do well because people are already used to that. They already have their favorite people on that. You need to create something unique for yourself to be able to stand out.

Yeah. And then being on the newer platforms. That's it, huh? Yeah. I feel like it's easier to build a big platform on a new platform than starting on something that's been established for a while. I think so. Because if you invest your time there and you can grow with the platform, then you can

really be seen and known for something different. Well, that's how I did it. So you did it with Vine and everything else. Yeah. I did that with exactly what I did with Vine. I was one of the first on the platform. Yeah, I had to create content every day and just make sure other people that were new were seeing the growth

and other people starting to grow. So they're getting on there too. And then you're competing against this other content that's on there. So you're just, by competition, you're bettering your content, which is great. What have you learned about yourself and about other people

with having one of the biggest social media followings? Oh, what have I learned about myself? I would say it's not so much through entertainment. It's more in business. I've learned that I'm very type A. My manager probably over there, Lacey, is like, uh-huh. Yeah. But I just need organization and I need, I just, that's how I function the best. And I'm also very direct. Like, even though like some people need extra love and like words of appreciation and all that stuff. I don't like this. I like this.

This doesn't work for me. And then I'm over here doing other things already, you know? So it's like, yeah. So that's what I learned about myself. And you know, I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's like, that's just how I am. Like, that's just what I do. And what have you learned about other people? Oh, this is like one of the biggest lessons I think I've learned, and it's not the most positive, but I would say not to trust anyone. No one. Not to trust anyone right away. Let them earn it.

That's my thing. Don't just be like, oh, they have some credibility over here. I'm going to trust them by meeting them the first time, and let's do something together. Oh, yeah. But there's like, okay, So levels of trust. So collaboration. Collaborations do it all day long. Yeah. But the password to my bank account, maybe not, you know, is like, but you, you get. Or business partnerships or things like that. Exactly. It's, I think it's, you know, you really want to know who you're getting into bed with in business,

but you really do because it's like, you can get screwed over so easily in real life and entertainment and through contracts. So it's like, I read things like 20 times. You do it personally. Yeah. But I, and now I let it go through my team. They handle all that stuff for me so I can focus on creatives and like progress in that way which thank god they exist because I was letting my head get too wrapped up in like the business

deals and all that sort of stuff so they handle that but now I just now I'm able to sit back more and it's a team that I fully trust that's great and they were were able to earn that with me and like I usually have a wall up but that's because it's through experience right like you start to do something because some X has happened you know it's like I've seen things happen to other people I've seen people get screwed over

I've seen like the nicest people turn out to be some of the worst people so it's like all right well you know, I'm just going to protect myself and just make sure, and I'm not just, I'm not saying everybody's horrible. Don't trust people in general. It's just like, just learn who they are. You never really know who somebody is until like a year or two until like really just like feeling them out or just how much you're with them or

then you can really see like the real living with somebody and you can see the real side of some people you know i know that experience yeah yeah right yeah i'm sure i'm about to move in with my my new girlfriend which is in a few months that's so exciting excited about i love you guys together she's amazing yeah i'm a little nervous. I'm not actually that nervous. That's why I think it's going to be good, because I'm not actually that nervous. I think I'm more nervous from previous experiences that didn't work out. I don't want to repeat that. Have you lived with someone before?

No. I live with my current boyfriend now, Johannes. And he does fitness. He's incredible. Johannes Bartle, plug. But he does fitness. He's incredible. Johannes Bartle, plug. But he's amazing. He's a genuine, amazing human being. So sweet.

So, Con, you know him. You met him. Yeah, he's a nice guy. He's a good guy. He's from Austria, working on his green card right now. Oh, wow. By the way, I've learned so much about how difficult it is for people to stay in the United States. It's really hard, right?

Oh, my gosh. We're so lucky that we're born here. It's amazing. Like we don't have to stress out about getting a visa or a green card or like that's so expensive too. Anyways, whole other topic. Yeah. No, I live with them, but it's the same as when I didn't.

I think your experience is going to be very similar because you guys get along so well. It's amazing, yeah. I haven't seen you guys together in person yet. Hopefully, we get to hang out soon. Yeah. No, I hope so. We can go salsa dancing. Salsa dance, double date.

Which we love. I'm going salsa dancing tonight. Are you? Yeah. Where? Sofitel, every Wednesday night. It's amazing. Oh, you were telling me about that.

It's amazing. Mark Anthony showed up last month as a surprise and performed. It was amazing. Yeah, I've never been there. I always went to El Floridita. Come tonight. El Floridita's too tight. Yeah.

It's bigger there? It's bigger and it's a cooler space. It's nice. We may have to rally. Yes, tonight. Yeah. We'll do it. That's cool.

So it's working out with you guys. Yeah. And you're getting married soon, I heard. I'm just kidding. No. I always get so, why do, maybe you can diagnose me here. Why do I get weird on that topic

do you want to be married I don't know I I'm not like yeah that's my dream did you ever dream about it as a kid

like no no I always dreamed about like living in New York or like being independent yeah

I guess when did your parents get divorced when I was 10 yeah I was 15 when your parents get divorced? When I was 10. Yeah, I was 15 when my parents got divorced, but they were always fighting and it was a mess for me. It was like constant chaos. There was no stability.

So my fear of marriage for me personally is like, I don't want to repeat what my parents had because they were never happy until they got divorced. Yeah. So why should I get married when it's only what I saw, the model was unhappiness and fighting and screaming? Yeah. So I've always been so scared personally. I don't know if you've had that a little bit.

I don't feel scared, but that's what I grew up with too. My parents, I never saw it. My dad was an alcoholic, and then my mom wanted to divorce my dad because of that. But I was 10. I just thought dad was fun. Right. And dad, he was a great dad.

Sure. But they weren't a great partnership. Yeah, it wasn't like a good situation for them. And I only really saw the fighting when they got the divorce. And it was like, just a mess. Yeah. Like bringing, yeah, it was a mess. If he proposed to you right now, what would you say?

Probably say get your green card and then get up. Get your green card first. Yeah. That's like my. Why? Because it wouldn't be like dependent on you to stay here. Is that what you're saying? Like the marriage.

Yeah, but I know that's how he is too though. He wouldn't want to get married until he got it on his own he's all about like yeah make it to america stay here because of that sure like say you had his green card then already i don't know i'm still thinking about a dog my girlfriend just bought a dog i'm picking it up really? in two days what type? it's a mini it's like a teacup Pomeranian it's really cute but I've been resisting

having a dog for 10 years because the last time I had a dog was with a girlfriend this is the power of women was with a girlfriend and she held the dog against me

and it was just like a nightmare to get to separate from her and then she took the dog from me and this dog fell in love a nightmare to get to separate from her and then she took the dog from me and this dog fell and broke your heart so it broke my heart i was like i love animals so much but i just feel like i also feel like i won't live my life fully if i have a dog because i want to spend all my time with the dog yeah it is distracting i that's my fear too because i see how my mom is with her dog right always with it take it over but she's a

home like janette's a homebody so she's just gonna want to like chill at home with is with her dog. I know, right? Always with it. Take care of her. But she's a home, like Jeanette's a homebody, so she's just going to want to like chill at home with the dog. Yeah. It's going to be her dog. I will love it and I'll be able to do

what I need to do. Well, I can't wait for the puppy content. Oh my God. I love puppy pictures, so I'm excited. Are you going to be doing the workouts with her?

The workouts? Part of her workout plan? For the fit plan stuff? Yeah. No, not with that, no. No, but I'm sure we'll do stuff when she moves here but yeah yeah i'm always like for me it's got to feel like this is a no-brainer to get married for me personally yeah so i'm not in a rush i'm not like right

feeling pressure or anything but it's like what's the rush you'll be married for the rest of your life yeah if you want to get married well maybe if like kids are involved it makes more sense yeah i see it as a business right marriage right because it's like you're so analytical i don't know the most analytical brain really yeah you're very analytical i like numbers i know yeah she's very analytical johannes is probably like the romantic oh yeah he's such a little lush yeah like but it's so sweet. I live through him. That's great.

You're just like, okay. Yeah, it's the sweetest thing. And I also, this is one thing I noticed about myself just in life. I have a hard time expressing my appreciation. No, I already talked about this. But it's true because even on Christmas, my mom gives me something I'm like oh thanks wow and then it's like but I really

do love it and I'm like but I can't like show your appreciation or express it yeah but I do say and it's not like I don't I do say thank you I do send things like but me in person it's like very like thank you yeah like I don't know what's like very like thank you yeah

like I don't know what's wrong with me because inside I'm happy it's not wrong it's just your personality what's your love language my love language

I think it's gifts I think it's right because that's one there's usually two like first ones is that what you love

when someone gives you a gift they feel the most loved yeah when someone says like you gift you feel the most loved yeah when someone says like you're amazing because that's how I give it to other people because

gifts yeah because for me that's when I'm like oh like I feel loved yeah action what about words of affirmation

if someone says something or what about physical touch if someone's like rubbing your neck or words of affirmation you like that yeah

but you don't like giving that but I don't but I do I don't know but i but i do i don't know how to explain myself lacy you'd probably be doing a better job but i don't because i do it's not like i don't but i just don't do it all the time like but when i do it i really do it like i'll send like a novel of like how much i care and I'll be all teary-eyed and just sending it or like yeah so I just hold on to it for a while and then I let it all out and I'm like oh

all right throw it up yeah you go back to your analytical like yeah thank you yeah interesting that's me we'll talk offline more about it yeah it's a counseling session now. It's interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I got a couple final questions for you. Okay. This is called The Three Truths.

So imagine it's your last day on earth and you get to pick the day when you got to go. It could be 100 years from now, right? Okay. But you got to go

at some point. Right. Do I age? You look the exact same. Yeah. But you got to go. Okay. So you're 100 years old, you're 200, you're 80, whatever it is.

Right. You got to go. And you've created and achieved every dream you could ever imagine. Right. So you've done the movies, TV, you've had kids, you've done whatever you want to do. And I have no new dream circles? All the dreams that you have in the future, you create them. Okay.

Every new dream. So I could have a new dream and go? Yeah. Yeah. All right. In 10 years, you have in the future, you create them. Every new dream. So I could have a new dream and goal? Yeah. All right. In 10 years, you have new dreams. You achieve those. Oh, I achieved them already. You achieve all the dreams you have.

Right. I did it. I did that. You did it. You did it all. But can I create new dreams after? If you're about to die, no. You're about to be dead.

Okay. I just want to know. So you've done it all in this life. Yeah, okay. You've done everything're about to be dead. Okay. I just want to know. So you've done it all in this life. Yeah, okay. You've done everything you want to do in this life, but now you're about to die. Right. No new dreams. No new dreams.

You're dead. But before you die, you get to leave behind a message to the world, a message of all the lessons you've learned. No pressure. Right. Yeah. A message of all the lessons you've learned. No pressure, right. Yeah. A message of all the lessons you've learned from your experience,

from growing up as a kid, from going through divorce, from playmate days, to building a social media platform, to movies, to whatever you've done. Exactly. Yeah.

And you get to leave behind three lessons to the world. Okay. And this is all they would have to remember you by. Okay. Because all of your other content, you've got to take it with you into the next world. Okay.

So there's no more information about you online in the world. Right. Except for this final message. It's almost like my God. So I call this the three truths. Okay. What would you say are your three truths that you'd leave behind? I would say be kind because I fully believe in karma.

I think that's a real thing. So even if it's out of selfishness, be kind. Okay. That's the most important one, I think. Number two, I would say be unapologetically you. Because if you get stuck in whatever, life is just more enjoyable that way. Yeah, and you're going to progress a lot that way too.

Take the criticism, but still be you. Don't change for anybody but you. If you feel a certain way about yourself, change it for you. One more. You got this. Final lesson. Be kind.

That encompasses a lot. Be unapolog for you. One more. You got this. Final lesson. Be kind. That encompasses a lot. Be unapologetically you. I would say you need to take care of the world. Be more thoughtful. Because right now we just live and don't question anything. So also two things on that one. Question everything. Because that's very important.

Don't just listen to what the corporations feed you. Don't listen to what the news feeds you. Don't listen to what your best friend who's very biased sometimes feeds you. Come up with your own observations. Look. Just look outside. See what you see. Travel.

See what you see. That's going to change a lot of who you are too. Those are good. I like that. Yeah, those are my top of my head. I like it. Well, I want to acknowledge you, Amanda, for constantly growing and reinventing yourself

because I think it's really challenging for people to do that once they've found success in one area and something's working and they stick with that. But you constantly take risks and you try new things and you reinvent yourself. And I think that's really inspiring for people to see, especially for young women who might think they don't have the skill set to do that. But you're constantly showing people that. And I think it's really powerful. So I admire and respect you for that. Thanks.

You've got a lot of things happening right now. You've got a new podcast we talked about. You've got a calendar coming out. Yeah, 2020. 2020 calendar. Yes. So it's not just your normal calendar. I haven't done one of these in forever.

And I'm like, all right, just make something fun. But also it's promoting awareness about environmental issues so it's just done in like a cool way that people can appreciate not just a preachy way which everybody gets bored with and positive way that's great um and then also just doing things with the troops with that and then also just doing things with helping benefit the wildlife and conservation efforts so doing that and then also launching an activewear line alongside meryl diamond she's this incredible woman started from nothing also and just built her way up she works with qbc and just some of the top brands they're their preferred partner and yeah so i'm

doing stuff with her like a real line a real brand something high quality i can appreciate that sustainable fashion yeah working with a dv, who's this incredible fairy godmother of fashion, and she started all the wrap dresses and doing things with her towards sustainability in the fashion industry. Doing stuff with that, working on producing. This is my plug moment, so I'm going for it. And yeah, so mostly those things. And I'm working on some, but they're a little too early to talk about. Yeah. Just because

I don't have all the straight facts for you right now. Otherwise I would. Where can they, where can they get the calendar or where can they learn about all this other stuff that you're working on? All my socials. I'll talk about everything. Yeah. Your website too? Yep. Amanda Cerny.com. Okay, cool. Yeah. So updates there. That's good. Yeah. That's good. I got my domain like in 2007, I think. That's early. That's so good. amandacerny.com, 2007.

I got mine around 2012, and I had to pay for it, too. Wow. I had to pay $7,000 for it. Wow. Mine was like $10. Yeah. You're smart. Be early to things.

Be early. So important. That's smart. Okay, so follow you on Instagram. Are you still using Snapchat or no? Yeah. You are? Yeah.

Is the numbers going down for everyone? They're pretty stable now, but they did go down a ton. But not 3 million of you. No, no, no. Not anymore. Like they went down as soon as Instagram's just like squashing things. It's crazy, right? Yeah, they squashed mine.

But ever since Instagram got story, like. It's going down. Yeah. Yeah. But just be on there. I'm on everything. They squashed mine. But, um, ever since Instagram got story, like it's going down. Yeah. Yeah. But just be on there. I'm on everything. You're on everything. Manisterny everywhere. Yeah. Okay. This is the final question. It's what's your definition of greatness? My definition of greatness is, Oh, I wish I had these prep questions before the show. Definition of greatness is when you're proud of yourself. Is that good? Is that a question or an answer?

No, it's an answer. It's an answer. I feel like you got a lot of great answers on this show. That's a good one. I don't think I've heard that one maybe once or twice at 800. It's when you're proud of yourself. Yeah. There you go. Right. Well, I'm proud of you. It's pretty great. I'm proud of you. Thank you. I'm proud of you too. Thanks for being here, Amanda. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it. Bye guys. My friend, there you have it. I hope you

enjoyed this episode with Amanda. If you did, please tag her on your Instagram story. Let her know that you're listening, what you enjoyed about this, and tag me as well, at Lewis Howes. We'd love to hear from you and continue to be inspired by these types of interviews. If you are inspired, please share this with one friend. Just text a girlfriend, a guy friend,

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This is not the school of average. This is the school of greatness. And Eleanor Roosevelt said, the purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience. This is your life. You have the opportunity this moment, this day.

Don't wait another week. Don't wait till Monday. Don't wait till next month or next year to get started in tasting the experiences you want to taste. Put yourself out there. Write a list of your fears and start taking action on those fears so they no longer consume your mind and your body. Put yourself out there. Write a list of your fears and start taking action on those fears so they no longer

consume your mind and your body. Put yourself out there. You're going to be judged. You're going to be critiqued. That's okay. That's what makes great people great is when they go through that pain and they overcome it on the other side. It's going to make you stronger. It's going to make you wiser. It's going to make you more connected, more empathetic, more humble, more grateful. This is your life. It's time to take action now. I love you so very much. And you know what time it is.

It's time to go out there and do something great. Outro Music you