hey amber rae

I’m Leaving NYC and Moving to Boulder. Think I’m Unreasonable?

You’re right. I am.


I recently told my Grandma I’m moving to Boulder for a new project and she replied, “I can’t keep up with you! I want you to plant your feet!” 

I thought to myself, “But my feet are firmly planted! I know exactly why I do things and this is a smart life and business move. Why doesn’t she understand? Why isn’t she genuinely excited for me?”

That’s when I realized that there might be a disconnect between the work I’ve been doing over the last two years and how I’m communicating it. 

Steve Jobs said, ”You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” I couldn’t agree more. I’ve made decisions by trusting my gut and following my intuition, and my dots have perfectly connected for me. I thought I’d take a moment to explain.

To some it might seem like I’m jumping around, not finishing projects or getting bored quickly. What’s actually happening is that I’m stepping into super meaningful and innovative projects as a contractor for a set period of time. I immerse myself deeply in the problems and opportunities, and provide a storytelling/marketing/branding/digital/get people to care lens. Then I get shit done as quickly as possible. 

In the last few years I’ve worked with Apple, Photojojo, Seth Godin/The Domino Project and iConnect (a division of iContact). For most of these positions, I was hired as a contractor, and my roles were designed to be short-term, with the potential to stay on board if and only if it made good business and good personal sense.

In my dear friend James Wu’s words, I’m kind of like a hired mercenary who comes in and gets stuff sorted and ready for takeoff. That’s my M.O.

As a result of working with amazing companies that push me outside my comfort zone, embrace failure and take pride in unconventionality and thinking differently, I find myself evolving quickly. I’ve become addicted to learning. I’ve also gained the ideas, insight and inspiration to launch my own storytelling and entrepreneurial endeavors, revolution.is and The Passion Experiment. 

To me, business projects are kind of like dating. The honeymoon phase is always exciting. It’s very telling too. Once the excitement fades away, it becomes evident whether or not the person (or business project) is “the one.” Steve Jobs said it perfectly, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” My approach to work and business is the same as my approach to life: “Don’t settle.”

Maybe I’ll fall madly in love with one project and get married to it. Maybe one of my personal ventures will take off wildly and I’ll find a team to marry me. I don’t know yet, and that’s the most exciting part. In the meantime, I’ll focus on what matters: gaining a wealth of experience and knowledge, creating as much impact as quickly as possible on projects that matter, living in and experiencing different parts of the world, and directly exploring my self-interests along the way. I can’t imagine another way to live. 

So what’s next? I’ve recently found myself inspired and moved to tears by a new trend emerging in entrepreneurship. A trend in which entrepreneurs are leveraging business to address some of the greatest issues of our time: poverty, water scarcity, environmental degradation, inadequate education, etc. (I thank my close friend Ryan Allis for his passionate rants about creating a world without poverty.) I’m moved by ventures that will have a social or environmental impact on the world and impact a lot of people and do so in a way that’s profitable.

That’s why I’m moving to Boulder to work with the Unreasonable Institute, a mentorship-driven acceleration program for entrepreneurs tackling social and environmental problems. (Check out this 3-minute trailer for an overview and this post for a personal account of an Unreasonable experience.) I’ll be heading up their communication and branding efforts for at least the next 3 months. Maybe we’ll get married. Only time will tell. 

PS - to all my New York friends: I love you, will miss you, and will be visiting fairly often. Every person I’ve met has impacted my life in some way. The level of ambition, drive and talent in NYC is truly mind-blowing and I’m so grateful to have been part of it for the last almost 2 years. That said, let’s celebrate! November 5th is my 26th birthday and going away party. Save the date! Details coming soon.

PPS - No Grandmas were hurt in the writing of this story. Before sharing this publicly, I sent the post to my Gram. She quickly replied (from her iPad), “I watched on T.V. today the rise of Steve Jobs and said to myself “sooooo that it what Amber is doing.” Before I even got your email I was starting to understand. When I read your email it made me cry! It was brilliant and this tired old brain is finally beginning to get it!” Gotta love Grams. <3

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Notes

  1. andrews-ellie reblogged this from heyamberrae and added:
    financially able)...leap like this, but
  2. free-software-downloads reblogged this from heyamberrae
  3. boonandmissjen said: Yay for Boulder!!
  4. pandelsays reblogged this from heyamberrae and added:
    endlessly courageous...latest career/life move...dreams....
  5. missmarisol said: Good luck on your move. I’ve been following you since you lived in SF & it seems to me that you know exactly what you are doing. Many of us wish we could say that.
  6. thepotenza said: Best Wishes Amber!! We’ll remember you as you were - happy,totally dedicated to becoming more a better person and kinda strange. :) [[NYC is ALWAYS going to stay in your heart.]]
  7. wekeepyelling said: You will love Boulder. I grew up in Boulder and some of my fondest child hood memories are riding/walking down the creek paths and pearl street. Not to mention all the excitement of CU! Its a great place to live and experience life.Totally reasonable
  8. perezkaram said: best luck with everything! keep rocking!
  9. chasburgersandscreebs reblogged this from heyamberrae and added:
    You’ll never hear...around. Good luck.
  10. franklinjackson said: thanks for the kick in the subconscious, don’t know you but i recognize the intent. ~keep seizing those moments.
  11. keepsdiary said: WE BETTER PARTY BEFORE YOU LEAVE!
  12. kmuru said: Good Luck!
  13. enjoyduane said: Congratulations. Keep leaning forward.