The best chapter of my life started this week. I say this from a deep place of knowing, after experiencing so many goddamn miracles in ten days that I can no longer deny them. I’ve got proof times infinity.
So how do I know?
Over the past two decades, I came to believe that if I worked hard, made good decisions, chose a solid life partner, and was kind to the world, my life would continue to improve. I figured with every decade I’d acquire deeper satisfaction, financial abundance, and peace in my most important relationships. I didn’t think any of it would be handed to me — I just believed that with hard work and commitment, my life would look better at 40, 50, and 60 than it had the decade before.
Spoiler alert: that did not happen. In fact, the harder I leaned into what I believed I was supposed to be doing, the harder the universe shook me. After deep financial failure, too many illnesses to count, and the questioning and dissolution of four core relationships — including my marriage and my entire family of origin — I started to understand something critical: my life was not in ruin, or even moving in the wrong direction.
My life path was just not supposed to look anything like the fantasy I’d created in my head.
So instead of beating my head against a wall, I acknowledged that my version of a successful, abundant life was not going to look like the lives of my peers. And instead of staying in self-pity when hardships hit, I began to understand that none of those moments were meant to be punishing. They were trying to guide me somewhere else. Something greater than me was asking me to pivot — so that’s what I did.
Here’s what that looked like in practice:
On 3/23/23, I had my Human Design chart read, and it confirmed what I’d always sensed but never trusted: I’m supposed to make decisions from my gut, not my head.
I used the courage I’d developed over the past decade to keep taking big swings — the kind that make you feel like you’re going to puke until the thing is done, and then you feel immediate relief from being true to yourself.
I began trusting my own instincts over others’. Not ignoring others — just finally treating my own knowing as the most authoritative one at the table.
And then, about a year ago, I sat down with Dr. Jennifer Freed for my first-ever astrological chart reading. She addressed three areas: my work and financial story, my love life, and my health. She fed me some hard truths. She told me I needed to quit providing for people financially when I couldn’t provide for myself (including my children) — because I was addicted to giving. She told me to define my own professional worth in writing. And she told me I was meant to be “the rich husband” — the money-maker — and to never depend on someone else financially.
Before we got off that Zoom call, Jennifer told me that if I followed what was literally written in the stars, my financial situation would change so dramatically by this July it would be earth-shattering.
I absorbed that into the fibers of my being. I started journaling daily, moving my body when I needed to clear my head, and solidifying my spiritual beliefs — including the knowledge that our souls never die and that we are all here to evolve and ascend.
The biggest shift? An unwavering belief that the universe wants us to thrive and have an abundance of wealth in all areas of our lives. And that if we truly believe that — not performatively, but in our bones — it becomes our reality.
Over the past week, enough small and large miracles have shown up that my belief in this path has been cemented. Here they are:
The dress. I was invited to a friend’s birthday with a chic dress code and no fun money to spare. I’d listed a few things on Facebook Marketplace weeks earlier with zero nibbles. Three days before the party, someone bought a mirror from me for $300. I walked into J. Crew, found the perfect slip dress in the right color with one left in my size, found stunning earrings for $28, and had just enough left to fill my tank at the cheapest gas station in Marin on the way home.
The coffee card. I babysat my friends’ baby a handful of times to help out when their nanny suddenly quit — genuinely my idea of a good time, no payment expected. On Sunday I walked into my coffee shop and the barista told me someone had left a $200 gift card for me. I felt like I’d won The Price is Right.
The groceries. A friend got a job at Bi-Rite, my favorite local grocery store, with an office close to my house. She parks in my garage on office days, and sometimes I come home to find she’s left a Yeti cooler full of my favorite groceries — including, once, their chocolate pot de crème, which is my personal version of drugs.
The check. When my dad passed away in October, I knew he wouldn’t have anything to leave me financially — bringing in money wasn’t one of his strengths. But someone in my family was troubled by that and wrote me a beautiful letter with a check they wanted me to consider a gift from him. It covered exactly one month of expenses, giving me the breathing room to focus on building my business without being derailed by distractions.
The work opportunity. This one is still blowing my mind. I have been saying out loud — to anyone who would listen — that I want to build in-person experiences and retreats, from cooking classes to weekend getaways to week-long food and wellness trips around the world. I’ve specifically said I wanted to partner with AutoCamp and 1Hotels to make it happen. Last week, a person who has supported my career for 20 years called to tell me he’s launching a travel curation business and wants me as a partner. His first idea? A weekend of cooking, wine tasting, farm visits, and time in nature at an AutoCamp. When I mentioned wanting to do a retreat at the 1 Hotel in Kauai, he said, “I’ve already booked that property. Let’s do it in September.” He had already sourced the exact locations I’d been dreaming about. I am still in shock.
The purple bunny. I’ve been reading Laura Lynne Jackson and asking my dad for signs. One day I wrote in my journal, “Dad, show me a purple bunny.” The next day, Disney launched Zootopia 2 promotions featuring a bunny in a purple sweater. I mean. And more personally: I started asking him to show me I was on the right path with my work. A few weeks ago I woke at 2:23am (my favorite number) to find my bathroom light on. I tried to turn it off and it wouldn’t shut — it just blinked randomly. So I said out loud, “Okay Dad, let me write down what I’m working on and you tell me if I’m on the right path.” I got back in bed, wrote everything down, closed the journal, put my head on the pillow — and the light went out. This has happened five more times since. I’ve recorded it. I now find it hilarious and comforting in equal measure.
The DM. Eight or nine years ago I met an absolutely gorgeous, hilarious, down-to-earth, and much younger guy while emceeing the culinary stage at the Napa Valley Film Festival. I was in my element — hosting a chef, winemaker, and filmmaker simultaneously in front of a live audience — and genuinely having a blast. He slid into my DMs that night (I mean….) and made it clear he was interested in asking me out. We went out on a few fantastic dates when I was in L.A. and had a blast. It was never meant to be serious, but I saw him as a gift that showed up to help restore my self confidence after divorce. We’ve stayed in touch casually, dropping each other notes of support on our careers and hellos from afar. Last week he popped back into my DMs after reading my post “Do I Really Want a Boyfriend?” and, without any prompting, reminded me I was a gorgeous, empowered boss creating my own beautiful life, and that it was all for the taking. Not gonna lie—it felt amazing to be showered with compliments from someone who has nothing to gain from giving them.
None of these moments would make headline news. But when I sit down each night to write a few sentences about my day, every single one has contained something telling me to keep going and refuse to let the fear in.
The biggest message? The hard work of making one courageous, gut-inspired decision after another is paying off. Financially. In real time.
Simply put: I’m about to get rich, folks.
Hard things will keep happening — they do every day, and I haven’t got it all figured out. But I’m done telling myself it will eventually come together someday. It’s coming together now. No struggle necessary.
I think I finally understand what faith actually means. It’s not saying “things will be okay” while privately believing they won’t. Faith, for me, is a genuine shift in belief — that things are supposed to work out, that the universe and love and God want us to live our biggest, most purposeful lives. That it’s not naive to believe that. It’s actually the whole point.
When I recounted some of these stories to girlfriends the other night, we all landed on the same word: magnet. I have become an intense magnet, pulling exactly what I want directly to me. If I were an IPO right now, I’d be all in.
So friends — if my work moves you and you can feel this shift happening — don’t let it just live in your chest. There are a million ways to support me, and most of them come straight from the heart:
Reshare any of my work here on Substack.
Subscribe for $5 a month and come along for the ride.
Follow me on Instagram @amandahaascooks and share my work with one friend whose life would be better for finding it.
Want to reap the financial benefits of what’s coming? Reach out about investing at amanda@amandahaascooks.com. All amounts welcome — and I promise I’ll respond.
I love this community more than I can say. Thank you — from the bottom of my heart and gut — for being part of it.
xx-Amanda
P.S. I love Oprah’s take on what happens to people when they get rich. She thinks if you’re kind and generous, you’ll become more generous. If you’re a turkey to start, you’ll just become a bigger you-know-what. I’m gonna be a really kind rich person. ;)
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.