Rising Stars: Meet Lily Hansen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lily Hansen. 

Hi Lily, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
People often ask me how I chose to become a writer. The truth is, I grew up acting thought that I would pursue it as a profession. That is, until I arrived at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and received a suggestion from an English teacher that I look into writing. I can’t quite remember if she had reviewed a paper of mine and seen a glimmer of talent but seeing as I had little direction at the time, I listened to her. Why not was my mentality?

From there, I enrolled in an internship at Time Out Chicago, a magazine that quite frankly changed my life. I started writing for the Kids Magazine even though I was initially resistant to it being that I was a party animal who knew nothing about children. I so badly wanted to be in the music department and struck a deal: in six months, if I survived the internship, of course, they would move me over there. However, in the first few months of writing for the Kid’s magazine, the universe gave me a miracle: my editor was swamped and asked me to start writing profiles and interviews for her from time to time. Slowly but surely, I started to build up a nice-sized portfolio in my early twenties. After almost two years at Time Out Chicago, and writing for my college newspaper in between, I applied for an internship at Modern Luxury, which produced beautiful, coffee table magazines that decorated some of the most sophisticated tables in town. Again, I made it known that I would take on any and every assignment, which worked to my advantage. What I quickly learned was that busy people don’t ask too many questions. If they need someone to cover their assignment, they will throw it at you. By asserting myself and being flexible I acquired a lot of different clips. However, I always liked writing about people the best and found it easy to talk to a wide array of personalities. I loved learning about their lives and insights.

At age 25, I jumped at the opportunity to move to Nashville with a boyfriend who had been hired at a company based there. I needed a change and also was very ambitious. As one mentor put it, “It doesn’t seem like you want to wait around to be promoted internally at a company. I would move to a smaller city and try to establish yourself as ‘the’ writer there.”

I banged on every door in town the second I arrived and after a year of freelancing for publications like Nashville Lifestyles and Nashville Arts Magazine I started working on my first book Word of Mouth: Nashville Conversations. To this day, it is still the project that I am proudest of because I put every ounce of faith into myself to make it happen. Plus, it also stemmed from a genuine desire to understand the new community that I was living in through the stories of its people. The intention was pure, which is why it worked.

Once it debuted, that book put me on the map and also gave me the confidence to continue on with my interviewing career. Even though I was young, I’ve always had an old soul and trusted my ability to ask my subjects the right questions (and sometimes even the wrong ones, which proved to me that oftentimes our mistakes can lead to great art.) The following year I started to work on my second book, Word of Mouth: More Conversations, which featured an entirely new cast of characters in Nashville. This time I decided to stretch my muscles even more and interview people outside of the arts. It was the first time that I became interested in politics, nonprofits, and activism, and also inspired to make my series as diverse as possible.

Working alongside an older photographer, Ron Manville also changed me for the better as well. He taught me very simple things like the importance of showing up early, rather than on time, and also how even at age 69 one could still push themselves to become better at their craft. (Going into portrait photography was an entirely new avenue for Ron who had photographed over 70 cookbooks at that time.) While the book didn’t make as much of a splash as my first one, it was a journey on which I met a lot of amazing people. I laughed, cried, and, as always with my interviews, found that my mind expanded from hearing stories so different from my own.

This led to my next project writing, producing, and publishing the 50th-anniversary book for HCA Healthcare. I would call this the “big break” in my career in terms of financial compensation. While I questioned my ability to write a book about an industry I knew nothing about, I stepped up like I always did and trusted that I would be able to meet the challenge at hand. There were many days when I felt exhausted from traveling across the country or just plain scared that they would regret commissioning a 30-year-old to take on such an important project. However, when the book came out it was well-received. The people of HCA resonated with my short, simple, and to-the-point storytelling style that focused on the human beings that made the company what it was. It was a project that taught me to stick to my guns in terms of the conversational and heart-centered way that I approached each interview and led to more corporate work with global companies like architecture and engineering firm Gresham Smith and wealth management firm Alliance Bernstein. As the corporate world tries to find creative ways to show they genuinely care about their people, I feel grateful to have been included in the process.

Today, I still take on projects with companies in industries that I know nothing about because I love learning about them and expanding my horizons. As I explained in my 2019 TEDx Talk “Talking to strangers is my self-care” by putting my own viewpoints aside and taking on those of someone else for an hour I have become a much better individual. Plus, this prepared me for my most recent, passion—acting!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
No! I would say that my biggest struggle has been believing in myself and my way of doing things, which is why I love to speak to college students. I feel that the biggest lesson I can pass on to them is to trust their intuition whether it is in terms of choosing a career path, approaching an artistic discipline in the way that feels the best to them, or working with people who bring out the best versions of themselves. Life is short and if you aren’t enjoying what you are doing then it is time to move along or dig a little deeper to uncover a new layer of your craft. The arts are hard and so it is important to be invested on an emotional level—and to also not take things personally if they aren’t going your way. Many times, when I was on the brink of giving up, something incredible would happen literally the next day. As my friend Amanda says, “It’s like the universe is testing us to see how committed we are to our purpose.”

To this point, even at times when I have tried to get away from my interviews, they always seem to follow me around. I sincerely believe this is because they are one of the ways that I can contribute to the world and, as corny as it sounds, make it a better place. My hope is that by listening to people, looking for and highlighting the best versions of them, and honoring their story they will walk away remembering why they love what they do. Too often we go through life on autopilot. While I have been guilty of this too, I also land on the opposite end of the spectrum a lot of times as someone who can be a bit too self-reflective. Over time I have learned to trust more, question myself less, and remain connected to my intuition. Very few times was it wrong. Plus, people relate to authenticity. While you might not always make a living doing exactly what it is that you want to at that moment, I do believe that if you stick with it, you eventually will. The best artists, entrepreneurs, leaders, and business people are true to themselves. I aim to be the best version of myself.

As I tell college students, while I’ve had many, many times where I was broke, depressed, and without stable work, I have also had the privilege of making a living doing what I love. That is the biggest achievement of all. The fact that I am still here, especially after a pandemic, makes me feel more grateful than ever.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I have always specialized in biographical writing mostly because I am unusually social for a writer! As someone who has always loved organic conversations, people, and just “hanging out” I knew that I wasn’t the kind of writer who wanted to be holed up in my room all day long. In order for me to be happy I had to be out in the world and connecting with different communities.

Fortunately, I have been able to carve out my niche writing magazine articles (yes, magazines are still around and I write cover stories and features for ones like The Nashville Edit!) biographies that my clients use on their websites, social media profiles, and in various marketing materials, and books, which I would love to produce more of. While I am always trying to push myself in terms of my craft, I have become known more so for my interviewing skills. As someone who is very intuitive, and highly sensitive, I seem to have the ability to connect with anyone, regardless of their background, life experience, or personality. Therefore, instead of trying to be the analytical, intellectual writer that I wasn’t, I have remained true to my personality and instead positioned myself as someone who has a gift for connecting. From my interviews with music video directors to janitors, visual artists, and executives, I treat everyone the same: with dignity, compassion, and respect. By being present in my interviews, really listening, and putting aside my preconceptions I believe that I have become known as a writer who accurately captures her subjects in the best possible light. It’s been an honor to continuously be hired for this gift and I hope to keep providing magazines, companies of all sizes, business owners, and maybe one day, movie scripts with my unique ability. In a world that distrusts journalists and their intentions, I see it as a service to shine the light on my subject’s best qualities, rather than writing scandal pieces. We need more inspirational pieces than ever to remind us that most people are innately good, which is not what you’d believe if you bought into the representation of humanity that is presented by the evening news. I hope to provide my readers with faith, joy, and a big smile on their faces.

How do you think about happiness?
Connecting with people and creating. When I look back on the times in my life when I suffered from depression or anxiety it was because I had isolated myself and not spent enough time socializing or pursuing crafts that excited me. I am not a materialistic person and while I do like to be financially stable, money isn’t what motivates me. It is feeling like I am learning something new every day (even if it’s by taking a self-reflective questionnaire like this very one,) expanding my artistic horizons, and contributing something beautiful to the world. This might come in the form of interviewing a new subset of people, as I did recently with a wonderful group of men who work for a  construction company. Or, it could come from asking myself to do something scary like crying on camera in a short film that I wrote. In particular, overcoming my fears and trying new things makes me excited about being a human. Happiness comes from constantly moving forward and embracing this beautiful thing we call life.

 

Contact Info:

• Email: lilychansen@gmail.com
• Website: https://wordofmouthconversations.com/
• Instagram: lilychansen
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC48Y3wwF54

Image Credits
Ron Manville
John Brown Photography