2024-07-01
58 分钟When award-winning author Emma Gannon burned out writing a book redefining success, she took a radical year away from nearly all work. Hear her raw journey barely able to function, winding down her podcast, and stripping life's essentials. But one project remained: her Substack newsletter—a lifeline for creative rebirth. Emma shares the profound freedom of letting go, reclaiming her voice through solitude, and emerging with a "smaller but better" life of true integrity and ease. If you've ever felt disillusioned by society's idea of "making it," Emma's courageous reinvention is a bold masterclass in choosing yourself. You can find Emma at: The Hyphen Substack | Instagram | Episode Transcript If you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Cleo Wade on words for tender times. Check out our offerings & partners: Join My New Writing Project: Awake at the WheelVisit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
And I actually felt almost a bit ashamed of it all because, you know, family and friends were worried about me because I was really in a bad place.
And I kept saying to myself, like, no one's died.
And then I was like, oh, but actually someone maybe did die, like me, essentially.
Like, something is dying here.
And I don't think we give ourselves that time, that grace to say, I'm going into a new chapter.
It made me think, you know, this is not the only time this is going to happen to me.
I hope it's not as extreme, but, you know, we're always changing.
This is life.
Life is full of these little griefs.
And, like, when you actually look at them, you know, you can get through them.
Hey there.
So have you ever wondered if we've just gotten success all wrong?
We chase after all the things we're told it's supposed to be money, status, accomplishments, fame, stuff.
And even if we get all of it, or much of it, we end up giving up so much of our humanity that we find ourselves empty inside.
We've got the trappings of success, yet we end up feeling trapped.
Well, that was the experience of my guest today, Sunday Times bestselling and award winning author Emma Gannon, who, ironically, was pushed to a breaking point while writing what would eventually become a best selling book on how we've gotten success all wrong.
In late 2022, just after turning in the manuscript for her book the Success Myth, which redefines societal notions of achievement, Emma found herself barely able to get out of bed.
Normally vibrant and social and excited, she no longer recognized that person staring back at her in the mirror.
And she ended up taking the entirety of the next year to reimagine and reclaim not just her work, but her life.
Twelve months that she ended up calling her year of nothing.