The innocent question came during a childhood conversation, the kind adults ask without thinking: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" For most kids, the answer flows easily—doctor, teacher, astronaut. But for Manny Golden, the question felt like a puzzle with missing pieces.
"I was never one of those people who knew what I wanted to be when I grew up," Manny reflects, his voice carrying the wisdom of someone who's made peace with uncertainty. "When people would ask, I would just say whatever first came to mind, but in actuality, I had no clue."
What Manny didn't realize then was that he was searching for something that didn't have a name yet. Growing up before Gen Z revolutionized career conversations, there wasn't language for what he was: a creative. "I didn't know what this term was that came to be, which is creative—and essentially, that's who I am."
Today, as a Global Manager of Program Management and Training and host of the podcast Love Unbxd, Manny has carved out a life that defies conventional expectations about how professionals should move through the world. His journey reveals a profound truth about modern professional life: there’s freedom in having the courage to be unapologetically yourself, whether you're in a boardroom or behind a microphone.
Here are four lessons his journey teaches us all.
Lesson 1: Listen to Your Instincts, Even When They Defy Logic
Manny's path to self-discovery wound through the halls of Savannah State University, where he began as a marketing major before life intervened with its own curriculum. "They wanted me to wear a suit every Wednesday, and I didn't wanna wear a suit every Wednesday," he laughs, describing his swift exit from business school. "So I was like, girl, I can't do this."
This moment of rebellion—choosing comfort over conformity—would become a recurring theme. After a brief stop in criminal justice, Manny found his groove in homeland security and emergency management, drawn by the possibility of providing humanitarian aid across disaster zones. But it was Model United Nations that truly opened his world.
"I went to a Model UN meeting, and he was talking about all this travel they get to do, and that's all they had to tell me," Manny recalls about the moment he decided to join Model UN. "I was locked in at that point."
The program delivered on its promise. Over three years, Manny traveled to Seoul, Brussels, and Rome, developing diplomatic skills that would later serve him in corporate environments. More importantly, he was building something essential for any creative: a global perspective and the confidence to navigate ambiguity.
Lesson 2: Sometimes Boredom Is Your Internal Compass
The pinnacle came during a summer internship with the Permanent Mission of Palau to the United Nations, where Manny sat in Security Council meetings alongside heads of state, taking notes that would inform ambassadorial decisions. Yet even surrounded by such gravity and importance, he discovered something crucial about himself. “I'm not gonna lie. I did feel like the work was boring. Not in the sense that it lacked importance, but because I didn’t feel connected to the kind of on-the-ground impact I was hoping to make,"he recalls.
That moment of honesty—admitting that prestigious work felt hollow—marked a turning point. Manny returned to university with a clearer vision, pivoting toward international education and eventually landing in career services, where he discovered his gift for designing experiences that serve others.
Lesson 3: Bet on Yourself When Others Doubt Your Vision
His breakthrough came when he noticed a gap in support for international students navigating U.S. career culture. Rather than accepting the status quo, Manny advocated for change, creating workshops on business etiquette, networking, and cultural adaptation. When colleagues doubted international students would attend events, Manny had the courage to trust his instincts. His first workshop drew over 4x their average attendance rate.
"I appreciated that so much because it taught me to bet on myself, bet on what I know.” This lesson in self-advocacy would become foundational as Manny transitioned into workforce development and eventually to his current company, where he's spent over five years growing from career coach to his current leadership role. But corporate success was never the whole story.
Lesson 4: Obstacles Don't Mean You're Off Purpose
Parallel to his nine-to-five ascent, Manny was constructing another life. Working with his mother's continuing education business, he dove deep into instructional design, learning management systems, and curriculum development. The experience stretched his creative muscles while building practical skills that enhanced his corporate value.
But the real creative breakthrough came with Love Unbxd, Manny’s podcast born from his frustration with the lack of healthy representations of queer, melanated relationships. "I had just ended a relationship of seven years, and I just wanted to create something where I knew that other people were having the same feeling as me."
The first season flowed effortlessly—couples eager to share their stories, organic connections leading to meaningful conversations, equipment and branding coming together in his apartment corner that listeners mistook for a professional studio. But season two brought different challenges: ghosting, rejection, and the grinding reality of creative entrepreneurship. "Some people were ghosting me. Some people weren't responding, and that was pretty discouraging for me in those moments,” he shares candidly.
Yet these obstacles taught Manny something essential about creative persistence. "Sometimes the journey is rocky, it's hard, it's challenging, right? But that doesn't mean that you’re not still in your purpose."
His American Dream
When asked about his American Dream, not one material thing made it in Manny's answer. "My American dream right now is just to not worry. I've done a lot of worrying and being anxious, and right now, my dream is to get to a place where I don't feel as though I'm worried."
This vision of freedom—freedom from anxiety—reflects a broader shift in how professionals are defining success. More and more, success is becoming about having the courage to build a life that honors who you truly are.
Manny’s current life is a great example of that. By day, he designs learning experiences and manages global programs, bringing his full perspective to corporate spaces. By evening, he crafts content that validates queer love and relationship models. Rather than compartmentalizing these roles, he's learned to show up authentically in each, refusing to shrink any part of himself to fit others' comfort zones.
The Path Forward
As Manny continues building Love Unbxed—planning expansion beyond podcasting—he's creating the representation he once sought. His five-star rated show continues gaining listeners even during production breaks, proof that authentic content finds its audience.
More broadly, his journey illustrates how modern professionals can author their own definitions of success. By rejecting the pressure to conform, by refusing to shrink in corporate spaces or creative ones, Manny has constructed a life that honors all of who he is.
"I am a creative," he states with conviction. "It's just navigating what that space looks like for me, and how do I take up space in the creative ecosystem."
For anyone feeling the weight of others' expectations—corporate conformity, creative compromise, personal diminishment—Manny's story offers hope. Freedom isn't found in fitting into existing boxes. It's discovered in the daily courage to show up as yourself, advocate for what you believe in, and refuse to become less of who you are for anyone else's comfort.
The path, as it turns out, really is made by walking—unapologetically, authentically, and with the courage to be yourself every step of the way.
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