We’re looking forward to introducing you to Hannah Macready. Check out our conversation below.
Hannah, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Listlessness has been my word of the year. After years of business building and selling, honing my craft and winning deals, all I wanted out of this year was to rediscover my fourteen year-old summer self. Sitting on the deck, reading book after book, wandering down empty streets looking for something to do but never finding it. It’s so rare these days, with so much technology and those on-going, never-ending to-do lists, to never feel listless.
When I get back to that place, hours slip away. I read without checking the clock. I walk without rushing to the next thing. I stop needing to be productive and just let the day happen. That’s usually when I feel most like myself again—when there’s nothing I’m supposed to be doing, and I remember how much I like doing nothing at all.
The other day, I spent my entire evening with my phone off, staring at the wind moving the tree outside my apartment window. I barely thought about anything, yet afterwards I felt reset, like my mind had been aired out.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Hannah Macready, a freelance writer, journalist, and copywriter. Over the past near-decade, I’ve worked with more than 50 global brands, including Amazon, Audi, and Intuit Mailchimp, while also publishing journalism in outlets like The Globe and Mail and Fast Company. My background is in creative writing, and I bring that lens to everything I do: whether it’s shaping a marketing campaign that drives revenue or crafting an essay that helps readers see the world a little differently.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world told me who I had to be, I was a kid who read obsessively, wrote stories in the margins of my math homework, and skipped school whenever I could get away with it. I was equal parts overachiever and rebel—winning awards in chess club one year and setting the record for most days skipped the next.
To be honest, I grew up in a situation where I never thought much was going to be possible. My parents’ biggest hope for me was that I graduate high school, and for a while, that seemed ambitious enough for us all. From a traditional lens, I looked unmotivated. I skipped a lot of classes and didn’t follow the rules. But I wasn’t uninterested. I loved learning, I loved ideas, I just hated being told what to do.
That streak hasn’t gone away. It’s what pushed me to carve out my own path instead of fitting into someone else’s. I’ve built a career where I get to decide what I work on, who I work with, and how I spend my days. This past year I sold the marketing agency I co-owned, launched a new startup, and continued to grow my freelance writing business—all on my own terms. What once looked like a problem with authority was really just the start of learning how to be an entrepreneur.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Honestly, I think about giving up all the time. Life is hard, and the challenges I grew up with don’t magically disappear just because I’ve built a career I’m proud of. The doubts, the obstacles, the weight of it all… they still show up.
But I’ve learned that “almost giving up” is part of the process. I let myself feel it, and then I keep going. Sometimes it’s out of sheer stubbornness, sometimes out of hope, sometimes just because I don’t know what else to do. In those moments of pushing through, I usually find the work, the people, or the spark that reminds me why I started in the first place.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
No, not really. The public me looks like a serious writer with a polished career, but the real me is still an elder emo, punk rock kid who never quite grew out of giving the finger to authroity. I love absurdism, philosophy, and sitting in dark bars having conversations that go way too late. I’m actually way more social than most writers I know. I love being around people, traveling, laughing, making dumb jokes, and being more than a little ridiculous.
I don’t take life as seriously as my work might make it look. Writing is my job, but it’s not my whole personality. The truth is I’m silly, curious, and probably cracking a joke when I should be doing something else. That side doesn’t always show up online, but it’s the part of me that keeps everything else in balance.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
If I knew I had 10 years left, I’d stop saying yes to things just because I feel like I should. I’d stop filling my calendar with work that doesn’t excite me or obligations that drain me. I’d stop apologizing for wanting to spend my time differently than other people expect.
I think a lot of us operate on this endless timeline in our heads, like there’s always going to be more time later. Ten years would snap that illusion fast. I’d want to spend it writing the projects that matter most to me, traveling more, sitting around with friends, and being outside with my dogs. That’s it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hannahmacready.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-macready/
- Twitter: https://x.com/hannahmacready
Image Credits
All photos by Sabrina Miso Creaitve: https://www.sabrinamisocreative.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sabrinamisocreative/#
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