Consider the Wildflowers
Consider the Wildflowers
094. Hannah Brencher: How 1000 Unplugged Hours Changed This Entrepreneur’s Life
In this episode Shanna chats with author Hannah Brencher on the upcoming release of her book The Unplugged Hours: Cultivating a Life of Presence in a Digitally Connected World.
In this conversation they discuss the heart behind Hannah's 1000 Unplugged Hours Challenge, the impact of powering down on Hannah’s life and business plus the ins & outs of her entrepreneurial journey.
WILDFLOWER SHOWNOTES : https://shannaskidmore.com/hannah-brencher/
📌 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Pre-Order Hannah’s New Book “The Unplugged Hours” Today!
Take the 1000 Unplugged Hours Challenge
Hey, Hannah, welcome to the show.
Hannah Brencher:Hi. Thanks for having me.
Shanna Skidmore:This is so fun. Are you from the Atlanta area? I
Hannah Brencher:am not. No. I'm actually from New England, born and raised in Connecticut, moved to Atlanta 10 years ago, a decade ago, which is crazy. Okay,
Shanna Skidmore:how are you loving Atlanta?
Hannah Brencher:I love it. It's such a great city. And, you know, I lived in New York, and I think I, in my mind, always thought like I wanted to be a lifer in New York City, but then I moved there, and was like, Nope, this isn't for me. And it's funny, big, yeah, too big. Really, not the kind of place that you have a car in. And I think I realized how much I love the car over public transportation. And I thought the biggest thing for me was I felt like I could never I really felt like I could never shut off in New York, there's always something to do, somewhere to go, some ladder to climb. And I was like, I need a balance here. Yeah, and I feel like Atlanta has a really good work and play dynamic. Okay,
Shanna Skidmore:I love it. That's a fun were you living in Atlanta during the snowpocalypse?
Hannah Brencher:That was the winter before I came so I was watching it on the news. I was watching it on the news year.
Shanna Skidmore:Was that okay? So we lived there, and, you know, it was on the news, everybody was like, what's happening in Atlanta? Yep. And then we also, after our stint in the Georgia area, moved to Minnesota. So we did real snow. Yeah, real snow. It's so funny. And I'm like, Y'all, Atlanta is not equipped for snow. No, like, it's not fair to throw them under the bus because they didn't know what to do. So welcome to the show. Hannah. This is gonna be fun. Okay, tell us just who you are. Yeah, you have a book or about to have a book come out. So what number book is this? And then, yeah, I'm just gonna kind of kick it back to how this all got started. Yeah,
Hannah Brencher:so my name is Hannah, and I am an author and a writer and an online educator. I love teaching people the power of disciplines, rhythms and routines in daily life, and words are my everything. Writing is how I process the world around me, how I process faith, basically just all elements of life. And the book is called The unplugged hours. It's my fourth book, and it's about cultivating a life of presence within a really digitally connected world.
Shanna Skidmore:When did the idea for this book happen? How did it come about? So
Hannah Brencher:before the book came about was the challenge itself. And the challenge for me, it started in 2021 and it was I challenged myself to unplug for 1000 hours in one year. And at the time of doing that and going through the unplugged year. I didn't know if a book existed. I didn't know if I wanted to write a book. I just knew that I wanted to do this challenge for myself, specifically not doing it from a place of like, Oh, I'm gonna do this because I'm, one day I'm gonna write a book about it. Like it was very important for me to not do that, because I have a big propensity to do that, you know. And I think a lot of like creatives and just creators in general, in the world today, like it's very easy to look at parts of life through a content lens, and I think that's what I was trying to step back from in choosing to unplug. So it wasn't until several months after I had finished the challenge, but was still cultivating, and am still today, cultivating a rhythm of being unplugged that I was like, Oh, wait, there is a book here. And it's funny, because I didn't even really want to write the book. It was like, not something that I was really even interested in digging into. But I also could not deny the benefits and the life changing magic that came through unplugging. Okay,
Shanna Skidmore:I'm sure you talk about all this in your book, but yeah, asking you right now. So spoiler, why did you want to do this? Like, was it I love, I love how you said viewing life through the lens of content creation. I think that's so or, you know, you said it more eloquently than that, but I think that is really hard as like, as a business owner, as I think a shared experience maybe we all have. So it sounds like maybe that was part of the motivation. But what was some of the motivation for one. Into unplugged. And will you define what that means?
Hannah Brencher:Yeah, so I always say to people like you, have to define what an unplugged hour means to you, or even what the word unplugged means to you. For me, it is generally tech free. I am not using my phone, I am not using my computer, I am not streaming or binging any kind of series on TV like that, to me, is unplugged, but I also think like there are definitely, you know, apps that can help with unplugging. There are instances where you can't turn off your phone, but can still practice presence. And so that is how I define unplugged. But other people may define it in different various ways, but I think, honestly, the reason why was like, I was feeling an overall sense of of burnout and exhaustion. And it was like an exhaustion that wasn't going away no matter what I did. And like, I could say, oh, it's exhaustion because we're in this, like, never ending pandemic, or because I'm a new mom, but I was like it was deeper than that. It felt like life should feel more abundant and more vibrant. And when I looked at what the problem was, I could tell it was my connectivity. It was always being on my phone. It was my lack of focus. It was feeling like my creativity was tanking, like all of these things from being so connected and so I could have very easily, you know, thrown out my phone, gotten a dumb phone, like, come up with a plan like that to get me off of tech or off of social media. But for me, I really wanted to know, like, is there a balance? Can I strike a balance? Because I do think, like, you know, I love social media, and I love the ability to be able to connect with my readers and engage with people, but not at the cost of, like, all of my energy and all of my time. And so it really was, can a balance be struck and how, and so that was really the catalyst for it.
Shanna Skidmore:And you just started with, like, an out, you said 1000 hours, so like, three to four hours a day, or, I guess, one, maybe one to two during the week, and then all weekend, or something like that, where you're just in your definition, unplugged, yeah.
Hannah Brencher:And it's like, once you get into the rhythm of it, it actually becomes much easier to, like, cultivate, like these unplugged hours. So it's like, oh well, like, instead of waking up and immediately checking my phone, I can purchase an alarm clock, put my phone in another room and start the morning on my terms. Start the morning with checking in with myself rather than checking out. You know it was like, it comes out to around three to four unplugged hours, or like you were saying, like, if you take time to unplug on the weekends, which is something that I do, but it really comes down to, like, one hour at a time, at least with the metric that I'm measuring with. It's like, you don't have to overhaul, you don't have to, like, start something that is not going to be sustainable, but like, one hour at a time, reclaiming your time, reclaiming your life, reclaiming these things that you said you wanted to be fully present for. And you'd be surprised how fast an hour or two hours goes by, you know, like even just yesterday, like coming off of a lot of, like, interviews and feeling pretty plugged in during a book launch season, I turned my phone off for a good, like, two hours after the day was done, and it felt like, just like a reset of My Spirit, and I was better for the rest of the evening. Yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:okay. Oh, so many questions. Hannah, I haven't even talked about your business or your life or other things, but I'm just so intrigued. I'm so intrigued by this, okay, what did what happened? Like, how did it affect your life? And I know there's probably so much to unpack. Of course, we all need to. I am so excited about the book because, as I mentioned before, we hit record, I decided to get off social media in 2017 and like you said, the way it looks for me, I needed to be off social media. I wanted to be off completely. And now it's kind of I'm known for it, but unplugging can look a lot of different ways. So I'm anyways, I'm so intrigued, so what? And maybe, like, one or two paragraphs happened in your life, in your work?
Hannah Brencher:Oh my gosh. I mean, it was a total incomplete game changer. Complete transformation still is to this day, the more that I unplug. I think when I started, I thought I would just be like claiming some time back, I thought I'd maybe focus more, I'd be more present. But like the benefits that have come by way of unplugging have really been like mind blowing for me. From you know, I didn't realize how much I was unwilling to sit with myself, or sit in stillness, or sit in quiet, that I. Now I'm like, Oh, I can sit with my thoughts. I can sit in my mind. I can think through a problem, even just like, you know, today, like I, you know, getting in the car to go pick up my daughter from preschool, and, like, having my phone in the center Council the whole time, and like, anytime I went to grab it out. I'm like, I don't need it. I can just sit here. I can think. I can think through things, you know, and then when I pick her up, like, we can just talk about the day. And it was such a barrier to just being bored being creative, like thinking through new things in my business, like it's wild, the way in which it has helped my productivity, and I feel like the biggest thing for me, and it's something that I still have to, like practice today. It's like, if I am not careful, that feeling of overwhelm can very easily seep in that I think a lot of us know and experience that overwhelm, of, like, there's way too much to do, I don't know how to tackle it all. There's this thing over here and this thing over here, and, like, it's kind of like a hurricane state. But every time that I power down, it's like that overwhelmed ceases, and I'm able to, like, think clearly and look clearly at what's in front of me, and, like, hour by hour, bit by bit, take on the day. Yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:there is, I think it's a Martin Luther quote. Have you heard this? It's like, I have so much to do today. I'm going to spend two hours in prayer. It's just this, I've heard that quote, Yep, yeah. Like, you have so much to do, so let's take a beat first and quiet your mind and center yourself.
Hannah Brencher:I love in that same vein. You know, there's like, this 40 day prayer challenge that I have done, and there's a quote in there where she says, like, if you are too busy, if you're too busy to pray you're too busy. And that has always, like, stuck with me of like, oh, okay, you know, like, I think, like, if I don't have the time to, like, be intentional with my daily life, to, like, really think through what's coming up and how I want to show up for it, and who I want to be. Then I'm, I'm too busy, you know, I need to clear some space.
Shanna Skidmore:I asked my husband this a lot. This is silly, Hannah, but it's like, do I have low capacity or high capacity? Like, a like, what? Where do I fall on this scale? And I love that idea of, like, if you're too busy to pray, it's almost like a putting these red flags or these, like markers in place. It's like, this is a sign for me. Like, if it's I can't take Fridays off in my work, I always like to take Friday's off. If I can't take a Friday off, that means I have too much on my plate. And so it's almost I need this, because I'm someone, I think that can just be like, Yeah, I got it, I got it, I got it. Pile it on. Pile it on. I can do this. And it's really helpful. Tell me just about your background. Did you always know you'd be an author? Did you work like, nine to five traditional for a while and then go out on your own? Like, kind of walk me through your type of business, how it got started, I
Hannah Brencher:think, like little me, definitely was always hopeful that I would be an author. I'm thankful to have been surrounded by a support network that always told me I would be an author, because I realized how incredibly rare that was before I think I even, like solidified. That's what I wanted. My grandmother was very instrumental in just believing I would be a writer. And so I didn't grow up with any thought that I had to be anything else than that, you know. But I think when I got into college specifically was it was like, Oh no, I need to pick a more practical path, like, I need something that's going to, like, pay the bills, you know. And so that was when I did like communications with PR. I took a journalism route. I did a double major in sociology, but writing was always my passion. It's always the thing that I've loved more than anything. And so when I was a senior in college, I started a blog, and that was right at the blogging boom where, like, blogs were the next thing. And honestly, to this day, I still have the blog, and the blog has been the thing that has led me into all the elements of my career. Was just writing on the internet and continuing to show up. But I going out of college, I did a year of volunteer service. I lived in Bronx, New York. I was working as a liaison to an NGO at the United Nations, and that moved me into a job at Save the Children, which is the world's largest nonprofit for Children in Need under the age of five. So I worked with them until my own business and side hustles really started blowing up. That at the age of 20, I think I was 23 or 24 that I quit my job and went full time, self employed. It was daunting, but I have never turned back from it. So I think now we're, like, 12 years self employed.
Shanna Skidmore:There you go. Okay, so were you writing for other people? Like, how were you getting paid? What were your offers? And how did you figure out your pricing? And, you know, the business side of writing,
Hannah Brencher:I mean, I really tried and did everything, and I still, in a lot of ways, will try and do things that I have never done before. I have never tried before. You know, so when I first left my job, like my my nine to five health insurance, all of that. The first job that I took on was working as a Content Manager for at the time, a pretty like, prominent influencer in the self help, self development space, and she taught me so much. But that was like my first gig. Then I started ghost writing. Then, I think in 2014 was when I started my first I'd already had a business to do freelance, but that was when I really started my first business, which was copywriting. And I helped creatives and people all over the world build their about pages, flesh out their websites. I've done freelance copywriting ever since. I have done little bits of ghost writing. I've done commissioned pieces, but I would say right now, like the bulk of my business comes from book writing. It comes from courses, online courses, and it comes from freelance projects that come and go throughout the seasons.
Shanna Skidmore:How did people find you, Hannah, because this was like early days Instagram, social media wasn't really I mean, social media in 2014 was like the heyday, but yeah, how are people finding you for these projects? How are you getting these jobs, and how did you figure out pricing?
Hannah Brencher:I don't even know. I literally could look back, probably, and be horrified by whatever I was throwing together. I think a lot of it initially came by word of mouth, so it's like, you're working for this person. Then she tells three other people, and then they tell somebody, I built, oh, I had the website, but then when I started the copywriting business was when I really fleshed out the website had a services page. I literally think I was just making pricing up on the fly, because there wasn't really even much to compare it to. Wow, you could go online and you could see a million different price points. So it's probably, and I probably was always like, low balling myself at that point, like I didn't really know, like, I had business savvy, but I also just was, like, so thrilled to be doing what I was doing that I was like, not a mogul by any means. I just was like, Oh my gosh, this is amazing. I have a full time job writing and speaking and getting to create things. And still to this day, it's like a pinch me moment of like, Oh, I do this, and this is wild, yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:was there my dream point, Hannah? Were you like, I need to figure this business stuff out? Like, well, setting financial goals, you know, or Has it just been super organic and, like, it pays your needs kind of thing. Yeah,
Hannah Brencher:you know, it has always, like, you know, I think it has steadily grown since I started, and I've gotten savvier and I've gotten smarter, and I've brought people on, and I got an accountant and all that stuff. It's funny, I would actually like to do a lot more of that in like, the year or two to come of like,
Shanna Skidmore:shannis Skidmore, I'm here for you. Girl, yeah. Like, I
Hannah Brencher:feel like it's I've gotten so good at the day to day of business that I actually think that there's a part of me that has forgotten to enlarge the vision and to dream bigger. And it's just, it's really interesting how, like, I do feel like, Come launching this book into the world, I think I'm going to have more time to enlarge that vision and really think about, like, Okay, where do I want to take this in the next few years? And like, what, what do I want to build out more of but I I've always taken courses, I've done continuing education, and it's always been above and beyond what I could have imagined. And so for me, the benchmark was always just kind of like, okay, well, if I was in a salaried position, then hopefully steadily, every year I would get some sort of raise, you know? And that's kind of the benchmark of like, increasing what I'm paying myself, increasing the metrics of like, what I'm making year by year. But like, yeah, am I like, am I the make a million dollars? I'll teach you how to No, don't come to me. Come to me if you want to be like, really creative and have a lot of fun.
Shanna Skidmore:Yeah, yeah, no, I love it. And I just, I love that. I think it's so easy in this world of business and creative entrepreneurship to forget like this, that this is your dream, your writing for a living. And I come from a finance background. I've been in finance. I think we could, like, look back today, I think it's 18 years, and it's so much about, like, revenue and profit and what did you make? And I love teaching the business side of business. I love teaching about finance. But what I love about it is to say, like, what do you want? What do you what lights you up? Like, yes, we need to make it profitable. But also, let's not forget Hannah. I love that. Just the purity of like I'm living the dream, I'm getting to do what I love. And I think that's so fantastic. Because of my money background, I do have to ask, when it comes to money and just business in general, what would you say has come naturally for you, and then maybe, what are one or two of the struggles, or, like, bumps in the road you had to learn as you grew your riding career?
Hannah Brencher:I want to say this in like, a very, like, humble way. I think I've always been very good at making money, like, I've always been good at, like, coming up with innovative ideas, putting a price point on them, and, like, doing generally well in that for a long time, I didn't talk about finances, because, for some reason, it was like, woman finance, we don't get into it. And I was like, well, but I do want to talk about it, because I want to know what's working for other people. And I don't know why I can't stay on a podcast, like, I'm good at making money, and I like making money, because, to me, the more money I make, the more I am able to be generous in areas of my life where I want to be generous, you know. And that was like, that was the dream for me growing up, was when I went to dinner with somebody and they would pick up the whole tab. I was like, that's what I want to be able to do, you know. But so it's funny, because my dad is a very he is a soft spoken man. He doesn't say a lot, but throughout my life, he has definitely communicated me, communicated to me in terms of money, and I think that that's because that was how him and his mom communicated. And so for me, I think that actually a lot of this comes from wanting to have, like, something to talk about with my dad, to report back to to, like, get into the logistics of it, like I'm wired for that. I love that part of it. And so that's never really been the issue for me, but I would say I am definitely, and I've gotten much better at this, but like, for a long time, I was like, Oh, I don't want to be the person that raises my rates. I don't want to ask beyond what I think people can afford. I always want to be affordable. And that was something that I had to realize. Is like, no, everybody around you is raising their rates. And for you like, your worth and your value is continuing to increase, and so you have to be in line with that. And that has always been a struggle for me, because if I can give something or everything away for free, I absolutely
Shanna Skidmore:would same, same, let's
Hannah Brencher:have it for free. You can't afford it. Have it, you know. And yes, I think it's beautiful that we still, you know, like, we have that ability, like, within our business, that if somebody comes and they can't afford the price point, we can go to them, like, with the right margin and be like, what can you afford? And we'll honor that price for one of my courses, you know, like, that's, that is the beauty of, like, digital products. But yeah, I think it's like, I love to talk money, but I definitely feel like I've struggled with charging what I'm worth.
Shanna Skidmore:Yeah, I feel that so deeply. I think a lot of people thank you for sharing that, Hannah, because I know a lot of people probably listening, feel the same, feel very similarly a they're very like, You're a very, obviously, very creative person. And I love to hear that you're not fearful of money. I know a lot of people are afraid of money. They're afraid of talking about it, they're afraid of making it. They're just afraid so I think that's really cool, that you don't mind like, Hey, I like it. I like to make it, but I also love that you recognize you want to give and serve and have impact, and sometimes that when people can't afford you, that becomes really hard. I'm super interested. So something that has definitely given me time boundaries, and therefore not giving things away for free, was becoming a mom. And it sounds like you are a new, newish mom. You have a little or littles at home like so I would love just to hear Hannah you talk about, you know, and kind of a world that asked us to do everything. Well, you're building your writing career. You're launching your fourth book into the world. Sounds like in this mix you have had a child or children, how are you finding that work, life harmony, and how has that changed your business becoming a mom? Yeah,
Hannah Brencher:it was actually something recently that I had to go back and, like, remind myself, like, 10 years ago, I went to this conference called Making things happen with Laura Casey and Emily lay and Nancy Ray and all of these women that were, like, a few years ahead of me, and I saw them being like, awesome business owners and also moms. And it was, like, my first time of really seeing it like my mom worked throughout my childhood, but she was, she was a nurse, so, like, it could not have been more opposite of, like, my creative calling, you know, of like she has always been the type of, like, you clock in, you clock out, like she loved your work, but like she loves life outside of work. And I've always been somebody who's like, if I could work 24/7, I would not even because I want to like hustle, but because, you're right, I'm living the dream. I love my work. And so I went to this conference, and I saw them have this balance of both. And I was like, okay, that's, that's the dream. Part Two is like to be able to have the flexibility of working for myself, and as a result, getting to raise my babies and like, be home with them, but also, like, not be afraid to call in help, and like, find a way to juggle and balance that well. And it's not it's not always easy, it's not always seamless. But I remind myself often, like, this is the dream, and this is why you built this business, so that you could be able to be here, because it's so I know it sounds so cliche, but it is so short, and it happens so fast. And I think the biggest piece that I've had to learn, that I have not always done well, is that, like when I'm with my daughter, like, I'm with her. I'm not trying to wear my business hat and be with her at the same time, because anytime that I've like so she has, like, Fridays off of school, and anytime that I go into a Friday trying to do a full business load, but also be with her. Those are the worst days. Those are the most chaotic days. And like, I'll never forget my friend Haley. I think I went to her a few years ago, and I was like, Well, how do I do both? Like, I have this to do list, but she's home, and she's like, Oh, you don't do both, you know? And that set me free to feel like, Oh, okay. I have to designate times where it's like me and her and I'm fully present, and then I have to designate and get really smart and efficient about the work that I do and how quickly I do it, so that I don't have to be plugged in 24/7 I work probably 25 hours a week, rather than that regular 40 hours, because I know I'm in a time where presence is really important. So I'm kind of, like, in my like, work smarter, not harder era, and yeah, that comes with its own kinds of hacks, or this and that, or being able to say, you know, enough is enough. And so I could take on that extra project. I could do that extra thing, and in seasons I will. But if it's at the cost of my piece, if it makes me feel like I can't juggle all of these things and I'm stepping back,
Shanna Skidmore:yeah, yeah, Hannah, all of that is so good I wanted to I'm like, over here taking mental notes. Did you find early for you? Because I'm the same, like, I have seen people integrate their life and their work all together, and it looks really beautiful. But for me, I need, like, separation. I mean, obviously, yeah, I am always mom and I'm always business owner, but I want work hours and I want office. So did you just find help really early? Or what does has that looked like for you
Hannah Brencher:when she came into our lives? I knew rhythms and routines, and babies thrive off of rhythms and routines, and so in those early years, we kind of like had a different role, where, like my husband, was more of the stay at home parent, and I was in the office working, and then she started going to school around the age of two, and It was three days a week, and she we learned really quickly with her, like she thrived in that, and she loves it. She loves being around people. We love the school that she's at, but like, honestly, I feel like every week is different, every month is different, and you just find ways to work around it, and you find new approaches. You know, with her, like, it's interesting because it's like, I could have my laptop and I could be doing little logistical things, like in the little chair that's in her room, and she'll play for like, an hour or two, like, just so happy and content to have me. There, and it's a completely different experience than like me being on my phone. I can tell that she is like, she feels it differently, and so like, yeah, we've found ways to work around in pockets. But I also understand that businesses move in season. So right now I'm in a crazy busy season with launch, but then it's gonna be up to me to make space for the things maybe in this last season I didn't get to
Shanna Skidmore:have, yeah, I love that. Hannah, this is what I'm learning, because I have, you know, littles at home. Yeah, right now, little littles. It's all about setting expectations for me personally. What is the expectation of you know, if I expect it to be everything to go. I like how you said. I love the idea of rhythms, not schedules. If I do everything to go as scheduled, then I'm setting myself up to feel like this day failed. It's kind of like you talked about with your unplugged hours. If you get so perfectionistic with it, like, was that on or was that off? I had to do this for five if five minutes is okay out of the hour, but 10 minutes isn't, you know, it's like you get so that's how I feel. And so I'm really learning to rewire that it's okay for it to be fluid in different seasons. And so I love that so much. Hannah, just thank you for sharing your story. I have so many more questions I wish I could ask you. I'm very excited to pick up your book, and I want to go into just a quick fire round as we wrap up. Yeah, okay. I don't know if you read these questions before, but here we go. Okay, one thing that you would be embarrassed if people knew,
Hannah Brencher:Oh, gosh, I did not read these questions before.
Shanna Skidmore:Yeah, this one gets everybody Oh, um,
Hannah Brencher:I don't know. I don't know that anything. I'm trying to think of something that would actually embarrass me, because I'm pretty, like, unapologetically, like, what you see is what you get. Um, I never. I don't know if this is embarrassing. I never, I didn't ride a bike when I was little or growing up at all. I remember my parents got me a bike and I spray painted it, and then it sat there, and I never rode it, because I've always been terrified. I am not. I'm not a thrill seeker at all, like at all, and I spent a long time being really apologetic for that, like I wasn't the one to go on the roller coasters. I didn't want to ride my bike. I wasn't looking for a thrill in any capacity. But now I'm like, That's just who I am, you know what? And I'm not embarrassed about it. But for a long time I was like, you know the people that are like, Oh no, come on, just do the ride. Oh, no, just do the whitewater rafting. And I'm like, it's,
Shanna Skidmore:I just don't read a book, right? Can
Hannah Brencher:I just read a book Exactly, exactly? And I'm perfectly content. I swear I'm not missing out on anything like so, yeah. So do
Shanna Skidmore:you or do you not know how to ride a bike?
Hannah Brencher:I have me and my husband, like, went to this like little retreat area where they had bikes on the property, and I did ride the bike around that it was not any open roads or anything, and there were no hills, so I was able to do that. But I do not like the bikes that have those handbrakes. No, thank you. No, I'm not.
Shanna Skidmore:We need a back pedal here. Yeah, we
Hannah Brencher:need a back pedal. Absolutely.
Shanna Skidmore:I love it. This is something that I mean, I bet a lot of people didn't know this about you. So there we go. Now they know, right? Any regrets or wish you could do over moments.
Hannah Brencher:You know, I think that this is when I thought about a little bit lately that I was like, I want to write something about this, but I haven't had, like, the space or time to do it yet. But I don't have necessarily regrets. I don't I try to live without regrets and like, know that every lesson is like, a lesson to be learned. But one of the things that I wish I hadn't done, that I did for a while, especially in my 20s, was like, I set all of these, like, age benchmarks for things, right? Like, it's like, that has to happen by the time you're 25 that has to happen by the time you're 30, that has to happen by the time you're I don't do it anymore, but, like, 30, I think, was like, the epic benchmark for me. And I don't know, I look back and I want to be like, you know, like, don't like, that doesn't have to be the benchmark for things, because, like, things are going to happen in their own time when they're supposed to whether you're 30 whether you're 32 you're 36 you're 47 you know. But like, things will happen when they're supposed to happen. But I spent a lot of my 20s living by benchmarks of like, well, this has to be in place by 26 well, that has to happen by 28 and, like, it's really silly metric, looking back,
Shanna Skidmore:yeah, yeah, oh, that's so interesting. And probably makes it makes the celebration less, if you Yeah, you know, made it a little six months too late, or something. I. Yeah, it's
Hannah Brencher:a, it's a, it's a metric that I think a lot of us do operate by. It's like, well, I have to be married by I'm 30, or like, you know, for a while it was like, the Forbes 30 under 30 list. Well, it's like, well, I didn't make that list. And, like, is that okay? And is everything that happens after that still good enough? You know? Yeah.
Shanna Skidmore:Oh, that's so good. Okay, big win or pinch me moment. Oh,
Hannah Brencher:I think, honestly, like, all of my career is like, one big pinch me moment. And I really genuinely believe that, and try to live in that, like, as I've been marketing this book, I'm like, This is all I wanted when I was a little girl. Like, I should feel so proud, I should feel so excited, and I do. But like, sometimes you get so stuck in the minute Newsha of it that you have to step out and be like, this is a dream come true. And like, yes, so many people want this and dream of this, and so let's not take any part of it for granted. Yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:do you sometimes take it for granted? Like, have there been seasons where you're taking it for granted? Or do you feel like you've, you know, stepped back and be like, Hey, this is because that's something I feel like I need to do more often, is just step back and be like, this is pretty awesome. I don't know
Hannah Brencher:that I've like, necessarily taken it for granted. There are definitely well, and this is maybe like, grace for myself, because I'm like, I can definitely get into the mindset of, like, oh, like, for instance, like, right now in a launch period, a lot is happening, and it's all great and wonderful, but it also is like, it's requiring a lot of juggling. It's requiring me to be way more plugged in than I normally would be. It is like, I'm tired at this point, but then when I express that, I almost feel guilty, because then I think, oh, no, but other people would kill for this, you know, like, it's like a Devil Wears Prada, people would kill for this job or something, you know. But then I have to remember too, because it's like, going back to, like, what you were saying. Like, am I a high capacity person or a low capacity person? I don't know, you know, but like, just Hannah, yeah? And just reminding myself is like, it can be both. It can be beautiful, and it can also be hard. It can be a dream come true, and it can also take from you a little bit, and both can be true,
Shanna Skidmore:yeah. Oh, this is so good. I needed this chat.
Hannah Brencher:I needed this reminder.
Shanna Skidmore:So I know, by the way, you were the second person that I've talked to today in a podcast interview who said the same thing, my big pinch me moment, my big win is the job I get to do. Maybe I needed to hear this today, yeah, speaking to me, yes. It is so true. Like it can be challenging, it can be hard and still beautiful. Yeah, yes, okay, best advice, or just really good advice that you have received,
Hannah Brencher:I think my best advice, I carry it with me pretty much into everything, is do for one what you wish you could do for all that is like the motto that I live by, it is how I run my business. So if I am in my inbox and I have the capacity to respond to those reader emails, I'm going to because that's what I would do for everybody, if I could. But I can do it for this one in the same way that I that's how I interact on social media. I don't spend time just like Mindlessly scrolling. I go in there, I try to reply to as many comments and messages as I can, because what I do for one is what I wish I could do for all. And so that has been how I run my business, how we go through daily life, how I am when I'm not plugged in to work. It's like, okay, well, like, can I do for one what I wish I could do for all? Yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:yeah. We love it. Okay. Last quick fire question, and then we will send it off. What are you working on now? Or one resource that you would like to share? Oh,
Hannah Brencher:I am in, I am in the trenches of the launch. So that is what I am working on right now.
Shanna Skidmore:Yeah, tell everybody what the book is called Hannah.
Hannah Brencher:The book is called The unplugged hours, and it is available in bookstores, Amazon, retailers, wherever books are sold. But I am definitely looking forward to getting to get my hands into some other creative projects, get the creative juices flowing again. So post launch, I will definitely be digging into Advent, which will be coming up in December. I do a free 25 day Advent series every year. Oh,
Shanna Skidmore:I love it. Okay. Oh, I love that. I'm gonna sign up. Hannah, thanks for coming on and sharing more about your book. I'm so excited about it this year, and I know is going to sounds like has massively impacted your own life, and what a beautiful opportunity to get to share that with other people. So thank you for writing it down and sharing it with us. Oh, let's send it off with what would you tell little Hannah who loved reading books instead of riding bikes, about being a writer and your career? Career, looking back now, what would you tell young Hannah?
Hannah Brencher:Gosh, I would just say, like, Girl, just like, wait and see, you know. But also I would probably tell her, because I know her at that time was very I could tell I was a little bit different than other kids. I was always very creative, and I always cared way too much about things, and then, as a result, felt like an oddball because of that, and I would tell her not to not to doubt herself, to press into her gifts, to not be embarrassed by them, because, like, when you press in consistently, to like, cultivate and hone a gift like that. That's how it becomes an offering to the world. And so if anything, I just would have started sooner and not held back.
Shanna Skidmore:Hannah, this has been a joy to spend time with you. Thanks for coming on the show. Thank you. Good luck with the rest of your launch. Thanks so glad we get to share about the new book.
