Meet Hannah Judson

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hannah Judson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

I think of purpose more of as a journey than a static, finite state. Purpose is an ongoing construction, and it changes over time. As a child I knew I was creative, and that working with the materials I had on hand (bags of fabric, yarn, musical instruments around the house, a pump organ in the hallway) made me happy. I looked forward to art and music classes, and once you have something you love, you naturally gravitate towards that. As an adult, purpose gets mixed in with practical matters, like making money, paying rent. My natural tendency toward creativity was housed within a desire for no drama, functional admin. I like things to clip along, with worries kept to a minimum.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am a co-founder of Boneyard Records. We are a not-for-profit coop label, and work as a community to support member’s releases, marketing, and music making. We love music with excellent lyrics, though we have a range of styles on our roster.

boneyardrecords.com

I also write and release songs under the Boneyard label. My music fuses Americana, folk-rock and threads of jazz to construct narratives that hover between real and surreal, beading lyrics with universal truths, pulling inspiration from experimental artist Laurie Anderson, Liz Phair and Natalie Merchant.

I am also an Executive Coach, with a whole-person, holistic practice. Besides working with executives and their teams, I support people in all kinds of transition –career, life and business transition, marriage and divorce. I also coach artists and musicians to develop a clear presence, branding, and path forward that aligns with their goals.

linkedin.com/in/hannahjudson

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Trust your inner voice. There is so much static and pull coming towards you every day, giving advice, “facts,” what you should be or do. Sometimes it will be relevant to you, and sometimes not. Understand that you are the pilot of this particular flight, and you are responsible for it. If you hand off responsibility to other voices, you will crash.

Be consistent with your practice. Do it on the good days, and on the bad days. Keep it moving. One of the biggest struggles for me has been around time management and keeping all my plates spinning — especially parenthood, career, and music. In indie music, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture, your raison d’etre. There are so many people selling to you, telling you how you should be doing it, as well as obligations pulling you away from what got you into music in the first place.

Stay curious, keep learning, read books, say yes to new experiences. Allow yourself to move from one book to the next. Keep a pile of books nearby. When you find yourself asking a question, yes of course, google for an answer, but keep asking questions, find people you can learn from, don’t be the smartest person in the room, go to museums, try new things. I went contra-dancing the other night when some friends asked me to join in. I almost said no. It was so much fun, a great experience with new people.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

I just read “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz. I had known about the the concept for a long time, but just sitting down to read the book was really nice. It’s a meditation as you read, to pause and think about the concepts. The four agreements are relatively simple on the surface, but allow for pretty deep contemplation. “Be Impeccable With Your Word”, “Don’t Take Anything Personally”, “Don’t Make Assumptions”, and “Always Do Your Best”. The agreements focus on the Toltec teachings that emphasize achieving happiness, peace, and love through attained wisdom.

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Image Credits

Daphne Howland
Liza Chen

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