Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Hannah Day. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Hannah, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
Imposter syndrome is something I’ve struggled with my entire career. I was homeschooled growing up, and I attended an unaccredited internship instead of a traditional 4-year college. I’ve always been outside of the box. Early in my career I really felt like this was a stumbling block, most of my employers didn’t take me seriously and I had to work twice as hard to prove myself as my coworkers with degrees that weren’t even in the field we specialized in. I often had to do this for less pay.
In my mid-twenties, I was in an interview for the last corporate job I held before starting my business and I told my background to the interviewers. They both gave me a reaction I never would have expected. They smiled at me and said, “So you know how to think differently, that’s what we want.” When they said this it just clicked for me for the first time. I wasn’t an imposter because I didn’t follow the traditional path, I had the opportunity to be a trail blazer.
I can’t say that I never dealt with imposter syndrome after that again, but I had a tool in my arsenal for dealing with it. I knew that my weird upbringing and my non-traditional education gave me skills to deal with things differently, and often times that was the missing piece my clients needed.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three of the most important aspects of my life and career have been vision, creation, and focus.
I wasn’t a scout, in fact, I hate most hiking and camping trips I’m forced to take. So I was never taught to use a compass. However, once I was in a lecture and the speaker made the statement that when you use a compass you don’t follow the needle the entire time you’re walking. You find the direction you want to go in, say truth north, and then you find the farthest landmark in that direction and you begin walking towards that landmark. As long as you focus on that landmark you’ll be headed in the right direction. That being said you don’t throw the compass away, you may have to course correct and find a way around obstacles and the compass will be useful in getting you back to your ideal destination. This was revelatory to me. The path we create is ultimately driven by the vision we decide we’re aiming for.
I can boil down every success in my personal and professional life to setting a vision, building and creating a path to that vision, and staying focused on the end goal. “True North” may be the latest service we’re hoping to add to our company. We set that goal and begin to create the steps we need to reach that vision. Focus is our driving factor, we can’t let ourselves be distracted by all the little things that pop up that may seem easier to reach.
For anyone who is early in their journey, I can’t encourage you enough to set regular goals that support the ultimate vision of where you want your life to go. Set a very fluid 10-year goal, set a 5-year goal that is a bit more firm, and very rigid 1-year goals. Check-in regularly with these goals. See how they’re serving your ultimate vision, and course correct when necessary.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
In the last 2 years, I have become a parent. We had two boys back-to-back and now we’re juggling growing our business and raising a family. This is the first time that my personal life has battled so vehemently with my professional life. My goal for my family is that we’re supportive and that we enjoy one another. We hope to accomplish this by creating a life of adventure for our kids. Traveling, educational experiences, and exploring their creativity are all very important to us. These are also things that take up a lot of time.
We’re working on how our business can support our goal for our family, not just financially but by providing a catalyst for teaching our kids that creativity and adventure are all possible. It hasn’t been easy so far, but, I do believe we’re finding a groove that makes this possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://skycastleproductions.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skycastleproductionsllc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SkyCastleProductionsLLC
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skycastle-productions/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-ZCTYn-UQxsjrHalUPwqxA
Image Credits
Photos by William Twitty of SkyCastle Productions
