How to use hustler’s mindset and manifestation to reach your goals
Courtesy: Keikilani Photography
**Jamie Maglietta owns Sophia Van Ames Consulting and founded (ON CAM) Ready in 2023. She offers services in long-form production management, podcast and television show development, career advising, courses, media training, and UGCs. Jamie worked at CNN for nearly 12 years and Fox News Channel for nearly 6 years. She has worked as a producer and reporter which allows her to help train clients with current experience that helped her excel in TV news.**
“A dream is a wish your heart makes,” those Disney lyrics from Cinderella were ones I sang often as a kid, but I didn’t realize how powerful this one line would be until I became an adult.
Hi, I am Jamie Maglietta. I am currently building my own business offering services as a media consultant, Unscripted Line Producer in production management, and content creator. I am also co-creator of ‘The Media Mix’ with Claire Atkinson and host of the podcast, ‘What Do You Do Exactly?’ My next project, is a podcast called (ON CAM) Ready focusing on media preparation tips and social media. I just launched my website oncamready.com. I am also developing other programs with clients. I have nearly 20 years of experience in production at CNN and Fox News Channel. Most recently I worked as a Line Producer on a live to tape interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. I also regularly work with brands, like Cupshe, creating user generated content (UGC). It may sound like a lot, but as I invested in freelancing and my own business I realized I needed to diversify to survive.
For the first time in my life I am self-employed and I work from home.
I finally see my kids before and after school, I am home on the weekends, and do not need to limit my travel due to an office job. I feel blessed.
Where I am today, I manifested, but it wouldn’t have been possible without hustling and support.
This isn’t the first time I manifested my dreams into reality. When I look back on my career, most, if not all, of my achievements were manifestations – dreams my heart made that I went after.
However, I am not one of those people who read books about manifesting or harnessing visions. Instead I follow my gut. When I want something I can see it and I can feel the steps to get there.
Like, “wash, rinse, and repeat,” I follow these steps, “research, visualize, and hustle.”
To me manifesting means seeing something and going after it at all costs. I recently found myself sharing my many manifestations with my children after watching ‘Arnold,’ the Netflix Documentary where Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about his life. In it, he describes his ability to visualize his goals and see the steps needed to attain what he desired. The part I want to focus on are the steps. He didn’t sit on his dream, he hustled with long days of training, a strict regime, and researching all he could to educate himself about his dream of being a bodybuilder.
Sure a dream is a wish, but only you can make it come true. Many refer to this as the Hustler’s Mindset. I truly believe coupled with manifestations, it can make a person unstoppable, no matter their background, ethnicity, or financial situation. Hustling is the key ingredient and, in my opinion, the core to manifesting.
Let me try to break down my “hustle” for you.
I wake up at 5am for my freelance job in Unscripted. During my downtime I am teaching myself more efficient ways to enhance my skills in production management or I am networking and catching up on (ON CAM) Ready emails. After my current shift ends I switch gears and begin to create social media content, work on my website, connect with prospective clients, and plan events for the Producers’ Guild of America in Atlanta. Then I pivot toward podcasts I am producing or hosting. My days are long. At some point I workout and shower. I tend to walk while working, which I call WWW. I simply try to make the most of every hour of every day. My “hustle” is not for everyone. Grinding out each day has been in me since I was a kid making daily to-do lists.
Growing up in the small town of Roselle Park, New Jersey, my mother inspired me to go after my big dreams of traveling the world, performing on stages, and appearing on-air. She would always say, “Jamie, look for the back door.” She knew we didn’t have the means to make everything possible and she knew the obvious path wasn’t always the most promising direction. These words stuck with me. By 20, I found a way to travel around the world. My back door was Semester at Sea. At 24, after many auditions and “nos” I wound up performing opera on the Miss New Jersey Stage and securing first runner-up. At 25, I landed my dream opportunity of being on-air after building connections that helped me record content for foxnews.com and appear as a live guest on foxnews.com/live.
With each achievement I would naturally take a moment to reflect and see what’s next. After appearing on Fox News Channel as a guest, I thought ‘I made it,’ but while visualizing - which is when I focus on seeing myself in 5 or 10 years - and I did not like who I might become. The more I practiced being on camera the more I felt different, changed, and self-conscious. I pulled away from this dream and re-imagined a new life: As a mother, TV producer, and media business professional. Through kids I stayed true to this but along the way I stopped manifesting. I still hustled, but my hustle lost vision.
Maybe it was because my job became all consuming, or my worries and planning were invested in my children, but I lost my creativity and visual energy. That was until my children were able to do more on their own and began grammar school. I began seeing myself with a graduate degree and I was set on Harvard University. Then a colleague told me about the online program and I was hooked. I began manifesting this into reality. I began investing in more professional skills, my interest in writing, and podcasting, all while working toward my degree. School helped inspire me to invest in myself again. It also forced me to hustle like never before. I knew it would take me years to complete my graduate degree, but I was relentless until I walked in May of 2022 at Harvard University.
Now, I’ve mentioned how manifesting combined with a hustler mindset is essential to make your dreams come true, but so is having a support system. It is hard to manifest a dream into reality if you do not have a team. I believe in helping lift others up. I invest in my network and take time to check-in on former colleagues, friends, and people I am connected with on LinkedIn. These check-ins tend to turn into incredibly useful conversations. I’ve tapped into my network more since exiting corporate, focusing on family, and entering this independent creator economy. Another huge supporter is my husband. He works in the music industry for Gelfand Rennert & Feldman and has always given 80% when I could only give 20% to our family and home life. Like researcher and motivational speaker Brene Brown has described, my husband and I are rarely 50/50 instead we balance each other to remain 100% in.
During COVID, however, I felt depleted. I was in graduate school, working toward the one manifestation I could maintain at the time, helping homeschool our young children, working a fulltime job, and being present in the office on the weekends. It was rough, but just like the saying, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
While working the weekends at CNN, helping keep top rated shows on the air while teams were working remotely, I had this “ah-ha” moment. I saw everyone working from home and creating live shows from a beach or the back of their cars and I thought I could do that too, and I will one day.
Once I committed to working from home and also making the most of my graduate degree, I landed another dream opportunity. I began working for “Reliable Sources”, and my hustle paid off, because I was eventually hired full-time from home. I would appear in the office on Sundays for the live show. I found myself living out my dreams of podcasting, creating new and fresh content, and working with an inspirational anchor, Brian Stelter. Each week we were charged with creating a show with topics that drove conversations. It was a weekly bootcamp in innovation with an entrepreneurial spirit that made me see a different future. While in graduate school I saw climbing the ladder at CNN. During “Reliable Sources” I saw myself launching my own business.
After the show was canceled in August of 2022, I remained positive,tweaked my manifestations and began my journey of entrepreneurship. Now that I am on the other side, I wanted to share some tips for those of you looking to do the same:
Research
If you have an idea of what will make your heart sing, investigate roles and companies that might support your interests. One great way to do this is to read lots of job descriptions.
Network
Reach out to people with job descriptions that sound interesting to you and ask them all about themselves, their journeys, and what they do exactly.
Use this information to continue researching.
Visualize
Once you find a role or a job that feels right, start to imagine yourself in that role.
See the steps you would need to take to get there. Ask yourself if those steps are ones you are willing to take. If not, what steps could you skip or sidestep to continue on your path?
See the journey, picture it.
Manifest
Manifesting your goal, its reality is more than seeing it and willing it. You need to see yourself on the stage, or traveling the world, or reaching 100,000 followers on TikTok then you need to commit to it. You need to see it and stay positive about it. There is no “maybe” there is only “Yes, it will happen.” Commit.
Hustle
I use a Hustler’s Mindset where I, like an entrepreneur, see the bigger purpose and work toward my goals with relentless commitment. So figure out what mindset works for you and commit.
Wellness
Pay attention to your physical and mental needs. Feed yourself the food and exercise you need to remain balanced and healthy throughout your journey. When you manifest and commit, it can become exhausting at times, and you need to be in a good headspace to push through the hurdles.
Support
Manifesting your dreams and having a strong mindset are essential but you need a team to help keep you on your path, lift you up, and step up when you need to step out. You also need mentors and believers along the way – people who give you chances.
Writing about my journey hasn’t felt natural. I am used to being behind the scenes, elevating others, not myself, publicly but, as a small business owner, I know it is an essential step toward success. However, to keep to my journalistic roots I wanted to share the stories of others who have manifested their dreams into reality.
After reading Lou Dubois' blog on the “Seven reasons every brand should be hiring former journalists,” I felt compelled to include stories from journalists who pivoted away from the newsroom, like myself. All of the below professionals were featured guests on my podcast, ‘What Do You Do Exactly?’ where we talk about changing our realities and offer tips. So it only felt fitting to share how they achieved big goals.
Newsletter Author, Podcast Host, and former Chief Media Correspondent for Insider
“...be aggressive about what interests you and hustle. Even people with big names and power titles will tell you even they have to hustle. Don't be too proud or too afraid to go after what you want. I've seen lots of people start as interns or on different desks and segue and make a big name for themselves. Covering media and communications is endlessly interesting because it's an ever changing business. Be humble though at the start. I once worked with an intern who always clocked off at 4pm and then others who worked around the clock and no job was too small for them.”
Listen to the full episode here
Author, Media Consultant, and former Fox News Channel Senior Producer
“You Become What You Believe’ has been my mantra for a long time thanks to Oprah Winfrey. It's served me well in my career and when I decided to go out on my own as an entrepreneur. Though my career as a television producer had sustained me for so many years it was also the thing that was holding me back. I needed to let it go and that wasn't easy. I made a list of all the things I wanted at the end of the day including how I wanted to feel and what I wanted my schedule to look like. I even wrote a letter to my future self of what I wanted in a year's time. I write about this in my book Listful Living because it's a powerful exercise for anyone to do. I scheduled the letter to be sent via email a year later and when I received it I had already given my notice and had put steps in place for starting my own business.
Journalists are trained to get things done on deadline and lay out a plan to make it happen. Manifesting is in our bones and it's amazing what you can achieve when you put plans into motion in your mind or on paper.”
Listen to the full episode here
Owner of a production company and former Fox News Producer
“Reflecting on my journey, I wouldn't say I manifested this success so much as I followed effective strategies, sought considerable advice, and cultivated a solid reputation. A good deal of luck was also in play, along with relentless hard work and copious amounts of stress. Not every day is filled with sunshine and roses, but I wouldn't exchange this life for anything. I always knew I wanted to build something—and this fulfilling journey of building, with the anticipation of what each new day brings, has been nothing short of incredible.”
Listen to the full episode here
Executive Communications Coach and former freelance reporter for CNN and Fox News Edge
“I don't think as much about 'manifesting' as I do setting goals, defining dreams and continuing to push yourself to learn and grow. I think the Hustler's Mindset you talk about - and that I've seen in you for the many years I've known you - is the real way to drive change and action in your life. That's what helps you move forward, shifts you from being reactive to proactive and provides a map to move you from where you are, to where you want to be.”
Listen to the full episode here
Owner of Jill Comes Clean, Influencer, Former Nurse, & Former TV News Anchor
“It took me a solid year or more to find my niche and figure out what I wanted to share. It's so cliche but it's true that you are never failing you are simply learning what works and what doesn't. I'm a big believer in mindset and believing that you can do it. Another cliche phrase, sorry (I love a good metaphor) but truly you can't look at the whole staircase or you won't see how you can get from the start to the top. But looking to the stair in front of you, and doing something to move the needle a little each day does add up. You will have days when you feel like it's not working and then days when you get a breakthrough. Write your goals down, say them out loud and believe them. I believe in the power of prayer too so if you are religious or a faithful person keep praying on it. Talk it out and as cheesy as it may seem speak it like it's happening or already happened.”
Listen to the full episode here
I hope these tips and personal stories help you on your own journey to making your dreams come true. Just remember a “dream is a wish your heart makes” and it is up to you to make it come true. So, fine tune it, believe in it, and go after it. Marcus 'Elevation' Taylor, who hasn’t appeared on my podcast, but talks about the “Hustler’s Mindset” made me realize this mindset combined with manifestation is an ideal combination. I may need to build on that in another blog. Just remember manifesting is more than dreaming, you need the combination of mindset, support, drive, and vision, to excel.
Disclaimer: I am still a work in progress. I recently launched my own business, visit it at oncamready.com. I am still shaping my services, identifying clients, and building from the ground up. The one thing I am certain about is, I won’t give up because as my dad puts it, I was born a hustler. Thanks for reading. I hope to see you on Instagram or Threads. I am @jamie_theproducer.