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Today, we are excited to be joined by Amanda Mottola, who has been on an incredible journey. She was born in Paraguay and was adopted by a family in Milford, Connecticut. While always being entrepreneurial, she measured her success on climbing the corporate ladder. She spent years after college going from job to job. However, she struggled to find a job that she was passionate about as well as feeling like she was being respected or heard by her managers.
Amanda decided that she was going to tell everyone she could that she was going to try and find her birth family in Paraguay. She raised money for the trip by collecting recycled bottles (which you can return for five cents a bottle). Her story made the local news and was eventually seen by the ambassador of Paraguay in Washington DC. He reached out and helped make Amanda’s dream a reality. She was able to find family members and visit different parts on the country. After seeing extreme poverty, she became extremely grateful for her opportunities and wanted to make sure she made a difference in whatever she took on next.
Upon returning to the states, Amanda wanted to get involved in politics and she ran for the local board of education. With no experience, she began campaigning and was elected. After the birth of her first child, she started to look at what was next. She decided to use her marketing skills and started her own business. She began networking and meeting anyone she could, this helped her grow her marketing agency called Otraway. They work with non-profits and businesses that want to improve their community engagement, brand recognition, and community reach through strategic collaboration and appreciation.
Fast forward to today, Amanda continues to grow her marketing agency while branching into new ventures such as speaking engagements and business coaching. Her latest passion is based on writing a new book called “Learning as a Lifelong Journey.” Whatever project she is working on, Amanda is focused on making an impact on others and leaving a legacy for her children.
Check out the conversation as we dive into the following:
How seeing poverty in her home country shaped her perspective
Why she spontaneously ended up in politics
Why she calls it work-life rhythm instead of balance
How her family is the most important priority in her life
How she made networking her full-time mission to jumpstart her agency
Listen to Amanda share her story and get inspired with her amazing advice to people thinking about following a similar path. Check out the full conversation on YouTube or Spotify by clicking the links below.
Know someone who should be on Why I Quit? We’re looking for all types of stories and people to feature at the top of the show. To nominate yourself or someone else, email dave@foundersapproach.com and tell us your name, where you’re from and what you want to talk about.