The Syncreate Podcast: Empowering Creativity
Welcome to Syncreate, where we explore the intersections between creativity, psychology, and spirituality. Our goal is to demystify the creative process and expand the boundaries of what it means to be creative.
Creativity. It’s a word we throw around all the time, but what does it really mean? On the Syncreate Podcast, we share stories of the creative journey. We talk to changemakers, visionaries and everyday creatives working in a wide array of fields and disciplines. Our goal is to explore creativity in all its facets, and to gain a better understanding of the creative process – from imagination to innovation and everything in between.
The Syncreate Podcast is hosted by Melinda Rothouse, PhD. She helps individuals and organizations bring their creative dreams and visions to life through coaching, consulting, workshops, retreats, and now, this podcast. She's written two books on creativity, including Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities (winner of a Silver Nautilus Award for Creativity and Innovation), with Charlotte Gullick. She's also a musician (singer-songwriter and bass player) and photographer based in Austin, Texas.
The Syncreate Podcast: Empowering Creativity
Episode 107: Mindfulness in Life, Work & Creativity with Hannah C. Williams
Hannah Williams infuses the practice of mindfulness into all aspects of her life, from songwriting and performing to her work in real estate, and to her podcast, Mindfully Austin. Our conversation explores how practicing mindfulness creates ripple effects, touching every person and situation we come into contact with, from our professional relationships to our families and our creative work, fostering greater authenticity, connection, meaning, and happiness.
For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to find what brings you joy and gather with others to amplify your efforts.
Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.
If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process in a variety of contexts, you might also like our conversations in Episode 21: The Walk of Faith and Courage with Shakespearean Actor Warren "Ren" Jackson, Episode 85: Living a Spiritual Life with Wisdom Pathways Co-Founders Jenny Fairbank and Steven Ross, Episode 89: The Joy of Awakening with Drupon Lama Dorje & Carolina Putnam.
At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you’re not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching, including a monthly creativity coaching group, to help you bring your work to the world. You can find more information on our website, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review! We’d love to hear your feedback as well, so drop us a line at info@syncreate.org.
Episode-specific hyperlinks:
Hannah C. Williams on Instagram
Hannah Wiliams Music on Instagram
Show / permanent hyperlinks:
Melinda: Creativity and community are absolutely vital in challenging times. Creativity is also consistently named one of the top skills of the 21st century, especially in the age of AI. Welcome to Syncreate, a show where we explore the intersections between creativity, psychology, and spirituality. We believe everyone has the capacity to create. Our goal is to demystify the process and expand the boundaries of what it means to be creative.
We talk with visionaries and change makers, and everyday creatives working in a wide range of fields and media - from the arts to science, technology and business. We aim to illuminate the creative process, from imagination to innovation and everything in between. I'm Melinda Rothouse and I help individuals and organizations bring their dreams and visions to life. At Syncreate, we’re here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, but you're not quite sure how to get it off the ground, reach out to us at syncreate.org.
Our book, which is now available in both print and audiobook format, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching to help you bring your work to the world.
So, my guest today is Hannah C. Williams. She's a dear friend of mine. She's the founder of The Mindfully Austin Podcast and Community. She's also a realtor with the Mindful Real Estate Team, which she put together through Keller Williams. She's also a singer/songwriter and a yoga and mindfulness teacher, as well as a master NLP practitioner.
So, I'm so excited to have her on the show today to talk about mindfulness, creativity and songwriting. So, my guest today is Hannah Williams. So excited to have you on the show today, Hannah.
Hannah: Very excited to be here.
Melinda: And we have known each other for a long time now.
Hannah: I think 20 years.
Melinda: Yeah. At least. It’s 2005. It started in 2005.
Hannah: Yes.
Melinda: Or maybe 2006. And now it's 2025.
Hannah: Yeah. I don't know how that happened. (Laughter)
Melinda: I know, and it went by so quickly.
Hannah: It really did. Yeah.
Melinda: Yeah. And so we met - and I'm just, pardon me, I'm losing my voice today. So, behind the scenes, how to get creative doing a podcast when you're losing your voice.
Hannah: Yeah. It kind of sounds kind of sexy and cool.
Melinda: Yeah. I'm doing my gravely thing today. (Laughter)
Hannah: Yeah.
Melinda: So, we met through music.
Hannah: Yes.
Melinda: Initially. And, we're both singer/songwriters, and we'd both just moved to town. Me from New Orleans. You from LA, with your husband, Damon, and that's when our friendship kind of initially sprouted. And we've done all kinds of things together over the years. And then kind of recently reconnected. And we've started a songwriting group, which definitely I want to talk more about.
Hannah: Absolutely.
Melinda: But kind of, first, I want to focus on the mindfulness piece because, you know, you're a podcaster, you have the Mindfully Austin Podcast, and you bring mindfulness into your professional work as a realtor, and really in everything you do, you really infuse mindfulness in all of your endeavors, which I really admire. And I think it… you know, I'm curious, like, how would you describe for people… like, why is it so important not just to practice mindfulness and like, whatever that does for one as an individual, but to bring that sense of mindfulness into our wider work in the world?
Hannah: Wow. That's a really great question. And I think it has so many different answers and avenues. And one is however we show up for ourself is how we show up in the world, and is impacting the greater whole because we're all connected.
Melinda: Yeah.
Hannah: So if we're honoring our own selves and our own practice, and we're taking that time to tune into ourselves with compassion and integrity, and presence and authenticity, the vibration that we're sending out into the world is going to be felt by everyone we come into contact with, and beyond. So, I do feel like self practice does matter and does translate to how we show up in the world. The showing up in the world that way… gosh, I feel like, just ever since I was a teenager or, you know, a young kid listening to lyrics that would move me like Bob Marley.
Melinda: Yeah.
Hannah: And I was laughing the other day with my daughter, who's about to graduate high school. We were talking about senior quotes, and I said, you know, I quoted Jerry Garcia in my senior yearbook and they said, “Oh, yeah? What’d you say?” And I said, it was, “Without love in the dream, it’ll never come true.”
Melinda: Oh, beautiful.
Hannah: And so, I feel like it kind of started back then. And then shortly after high school, I was going full force into my acting career. And my greatest - one of my greatest teachers and mentors - is Jeff Doucette. Hi, Jeff. And he comes from Second City, which my uncle, Alan Arkin, was also a founding member of Second City. And he's written a book about improv for life. I know Jeff has been working on a book for improv for life, and we did a lot of improvisation, and it wasn't so much improv as well. Obviously, it was improvisation for acting, but it was so much more. It was how to be present in all that you do, how to find that sense of presence and groundedness and spontaneity. And that was mindfulness.
And I don't know that I could have fully articulated it back then, but that's what it was when I did yoga teacher training in 07. And I started doing our creativity workshops after that. I remember getting downloaded with “Wow. The practice of presence and non-attachment improved my musicianship.” Improved me as a singer so greatly. And then I was able to show up that way for my classes every day, even if I… when I was teaching prenatal yoga, even if I was not feeling well that day… you know, in pregnancy you go through a lot of changes. And some days, I was really not feeling like holding space for others. Right?
And then I would get in front of the class and literally just allow myself to be a vessel for the teachings of yoga to come through me. And that had to allow complete and total presence and mindfulness, and compassion with myself and others. And I would feel a million times better after I taught that class. So, that’s how it became so important to show up that way. Real estate was a major pivot, but supporting mothers through pregnancy in prenatal yoga that I did for so many years (sometimes for a second and third pregnancies), I was supporting them through a big transition in life.
Melinda: Huge.
Hannah: And another prenatal yoga teacher friend was finding a lot of success in real estate, and I was like, “Well, I don't want to be a blazer wearing, arms crossed in front of my chest, you know? Slickster.”
Melinda: Right.
Hannah: And she was talking to me about the possibilities of, you know, being a mom and continuing to do yoga and my music, and being able to financially support myself and the family, and contribute to what all the hard work my husband was doing. And that's when I thought, “Okay. Well, that is similar because it's supporting people through major transition in life.” Moving is a big deal, as you know. You know, you're not only moving homes and dealing with all the stressful parts of that, but you're changing communities. You're meeting new people, it's a whole new life.
You're establishing yourself in a whole new part of town. And so I thought, “If I could bring my mindfulness tools to this, then that feels like I'm doing something first to better humanity.” And so, you know, some people are into it. And those are my favorite clients. (Laughter) Because it really, truly flows so much better when people are open to that thought process.
Melinda: Yeah. I mean, when you stop and think about it, it makes sense. It just makes sense. Like, the more we can bring a grounded presence to anything we do and endeavor… you know, working with people in whatever capacity - all the ways that you mentioned - it's going to create a smoother, more connected process. And I love that you brought up improv because I talk about improv all the time in connection with mindfulness and this principle of “Yes, and…”
Hannah: Yeah.
Melinda: And in terms of creativity, like, not shutting anything down, not saying no, but building on what's there. And that's such an important principle. And as you said in improv, you have to be fully present. You can't like, step out of yourself and get self-conscious. And I mean, you can, but the key is to stay fully present with whatever is happening.
Hannah: Yeah. And accept it, you know. And how can that even translate to the world as it is? This is happening, and I have a choice as to how I want to show up. Do I want to stay rigid in my expectation of what I thought, or do I want to say, “Okay. I need to pivot. I need to pivot and I need to shift with the changes, and I need to do it on the fly.”
Melinda: Yeah. And you can feel it in your body. Like, when we feel ourselves starting to shut down or go like, tighten up. Or we don't like what's happening or somebody says something, versus when we're willing to be adaptable and not hold too tightly to our position and go like, “Okay. Well, what if we did this this way? I hadn't thought of that. But what if?” And it's like, it's so much more fun. And free.
Hannah: Can you imagine if everybody did that? Or like, in the government? (Laughter)
Melinda: Yeah.
Hannah: Everybody just practiced improv and gratitude every day.
Melinda: Right?
Hannah: Amazing.
Melinda: A whole new world.
Hannah: A whole new world we deal at in our team. Like, what are your daily gratitudes? What was a win? What is a learning opportunity? Because there is no failure. It's only learning opportunities. So, can you imagine if they did that every day? Like, how different that could be? (Laughter)
Melinda: Yeah. So, that's one of the things I wanted to ask you. So, how do you bring these principles of mindfulness into your everyday work? And you talked about it with clients. But, yeah. So, you infuse it into your team meetings as well?
Hannah: Yeah. Well, I infuse it into my team meetings. That's a huge value for us, is we we take care of our… I call it like our energetic hygiene. We take care of ourselves so that we're showing up as clear and congruent as we possibly can for the people that we serve. We do offer tools for them. Like, you know, when I was teaching yoga, my hope is that they're taking away a little nugget that they can bring out into their life, and into the world and make some small change. So, my hope is that if a client is open to it, they'll take a little nugget, maybe in how to draw in the perfect home or that's just right for them or how to… you know, I know some, but some people are sensitive to the word manifestation.
Some people are really open to it and excited about it. I love the word. How can we manifest our perfect buyer for our house? How can we prep our home? How can we connect with the energy of our home? You know, and prep it for sale, and energetically attract the right person? So, my hope is that they'll take some of these tools and use them in other areas of their life. And if they don't, I'm going to be bringing that to the table anyway. Before I have a difficult conversation with a client, I will do a meditation and I'll clear my energy before I am face to face, or I pick up the phone.
If I’m going to have a difficult negotiation conversation with an agent on the other side, I'm absolutely going to do that because my goal is to create a win/win for everybody. To get my clients the house that they want or the sale that they want.
Melinda: Yeah. And it's not always easy. Like, sometimes, you know, people get anxious. They get frustrated. You know, trying to buy or sell a home is a very stressful experience, as you noted, not to mention moving. And so, I'm sure it's not always easy to do that, but have you noticed any particular instances where it like, eases the process?
Hannah: Oh, yeah. I mean, for example - I won't mention her name for confidentiality, but I'm sure if she watches us, she knows exactly who she is. And I've worked with her on several transactions. And, when we went to sell her home at the peak of the pandemic craziness, she said, “I'm not interested in multiple offers. I'm interested in a good, fair offer. And I want it to be an easy transaction. And I just want a good, fair offer.” And I said, “Okay.” We did receive multiple offers, but it was - we ended up having the most harmonious experience. The nicest people.
I mean, any negotiation is hard when you're negotiating repairs and all of this, it’s always a little bit challenging. And it couldn't have gone more smoothly. And when we went to purchase another house, an investment property for her, we ended up having this amazing home that that felt so high energy, high vibe. And it turns out it was a realtor owned home. And she meditated in that home every single day. So she was consciously doing the work.
Melinda: You can tell a difference when you walk into a space.
Hannah: Yes. You really can.
Melinda: Like, if the people meditate or have some kind of practice like that. You can feel it.
Hannah: Yeah. Yeah. I had another client who created a vision board and that was just a really fun opportunity. It was a colorful vision board. I always encourage people to write it down and have fun with it. And, you know, one of the things I love from a business planning perspective is - and I might get the percentages a little bit wrong - but if you write down a goal, you're about 52% chance more likely to achieve that goal.
Melinda: I love this.
Hannah: And if you write that goal down and you have accountability, I think it jumps to like, 76% chance more likely to achieve that goal. So, that goes for business, that goes for songwriting, for buying or selling. For anything that we do.
Melinda: Anything that you want to do.
Hannah: Anything that we have a goal for.
Melinda: Yeah. And I think that's a great segue way, because I really want to talk about the music and the songwriting group, and we were talking about that statistic the other day. So, I want to hear more about your music as well, but just to share with people… so, we started recently, a few months ago, a songwriting group. Kind of an accountability group. Where we meet once a month via Zoom. A lot of our folks are here in Austin, but not all.
And we get together and we have a songwriting prompt that one of us chooses, and then everybody has like, basically three weeks to write a song, lyrics, music and record it (with at least one musical instrument accompaniment), and we share it with each other and give each other feedback. And it has been so delightful. And we've - I mean, it's only been going for a couple months now, but it's just brought so much joy and accountability.
Hannah: And songs.
Melinda: And songs. Great songs, actually.
Hannah: Yeah. Yeah.
Melinda: So, I know you were in other songwriting groups before that. They were a little bit different from how we're doing it. Do you want to talk about that?
Hannah: Yeah. I mean, I was invited to join a songwriting group right after I had Paisley. So, this is 2013-ish, and so, I was a new mom juggling a kindergartener and a baby, and that songwriting group had a lot of people in it, and it was wonderful. And we would get a song prompt on a Monday morning. But what that was… they would pick words, like “ Black fish”, you know… whatever. You know, I'm just - I don't know where that came from, but “black fish”. And then you'd have to say “black fish” in your song and you couldn't like, separate them and so, sometimes that was really hard because they sometimes picked very random words that I would never put in a song. But you only had a week.
So that song was due by midnight on Sunday. You got it on Monday, so midnight on Sunday. And the cool thing about this process was you did not have time to second guess yourself. There was no time for the ego mind to get in there and tell you that your idea sucked. Or that it wasn't good, or try again. No. If you wanted in, you needed to go with the first idea that was coming up. And you know, they say it takes 100 songs to get to one good one. So, if that's the case, that relieved some pressure off of me. I'm like, “You know what? It doesn't have to be a hit song. It's just going to be the best that it can be.”
And what was interesting about that experience is every genre I've ever been inspired by in my entire life came through, and I wrote so many random songs. A lot of them were keepers. A lot of them were keepers. Not all. (Laughter) But they were all cool and fun to listen to. And, you know, some people would have the time. Maybe they didn't have kids, but some of them would have the time to have this full-on production by the end. And it sounded amazing. And I was scratching it out on voice memos on my phone, just barely doing the best that I could. Sometimes, I'd have a little extra time to put it into ProTools or GarageBand, but usually, I was just squeaking something out at 10.45pm, and then going to bed and waking up and starting all over again with what we're doing. What I like about it is, you know, this is more realistic for the time in our lives right now, we're very busy people.
Melinda: Yes. Right. Right.
Hannah: And not that songwriting isn't a priority, but over the years, I have so many songs that I haven't finished and I just needed that accountability and to do it monthly - we meet monthly. The song is due a week before, which allows us an entire week to provide feedback before we meet again, which is really cool. And having three weeks instead of just one week gives us just a tiny bit of extra time to get it recorded. And what I like about that is it's a complete idea.
So, when I now want to share the song with a band, I'm not sharing just a scratched out, you know, voice memo with an amazing drummer and bass player like, “Oh, figure out what I'm trying to say in that song. I'm not playing the guitar very well, but here it is.” And now I'm getting to like, actually track good guitar parts and actually track bass and drums, and sometimes harmonies. Sometimes I don't get that far, like this last song. But you know, I'm able to present a completed idea to then other musicians I want to play with.
Melinda: Yeah. And to me, what I also love about it is that we've created this sense of community.
Hannah: Yeah.
Melinda: Even in the, you know, the couple months that we've been doing this. And I love our conversations.
Hannah: I do too.
Melinda: When we meet every month and we kind of inspire each other and spur each other to do things or go beyond, or different ideas. Like, we had a whole conversation about reverb. You know, and like, how to use reverb in different ways of approaching it. And things like that.
Hannah: Yeah. And I love our prompts.
Melinda: Yeah.
Hannah: So, instead of making a prompt that might be difficult to work with, we’re taking an idea. Instead of like, “You need to use these words in this order…”, we have an idea and we create an invitation basically to say, “What is this poem? Or what does this line inspire in you? And take that inspiration and write a song with it.“ And that kind of came from that other songwriting group where we did have to use the words. Say it was “black fish”.
If I heard “black fish”, I'd be like, “Oh my gosh. What am I going to do with that? Black fish? Black fish. What does that remind me of? I might think of a sushi restaurant. (Laughter) Yeah. No. And then I'd be like, “Okay. We’re in a sushi…” And… but what is it? What does it evoke? What feeling does it evoke? And then you’ve got to go with the first one and just start writing.
Melinda: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's such a fun process.
Hannah: So fun. I'm still marinating on this last one.
Melinda: Me too.
Hannah: And all the ideas are coming, but every conversation I've had is like, adding to the song that I've had since then. It's like, “Oh, yeah. That’s exactly what this next song is going to be about. Just hasn't quite revealed itself on the page yet.”
Melinda: I can’t wait to hear. Yeah. So, kind of circling back to the mindfulness (but in the context of music)… you know, you grew up in LA. You were kind of very adjacent or immersed in the entertainment industry. And from a young age, you were in bands and performing and doing music, right? And then, you know, at a certain point, you moved here to Austin and, you know, you've talked about like, the ethos of the music industry and how that's kind of shifted for you over time with, kind of, along with this more mindful approach to things. And I'm curious, you know, if you could share more about that.
Hannah: So, when you say the ethos of the music industry, are you thinking of how I feel that the music industry has shifted? Or how my involvement in the music industry has shifted?
Melinda: Your involvement. Like, what's the goal? Why are we doing this? Yes. Yeah.
Hannah: Oh! So glad you asked that question. So, yeah, when I… in the Hollywood days, you know, that's a showcase town. And most of the time, you had 30 minutes to showcase your band. 30 to 45 minutes. 45 was a stretch. And they might have… I mean, we were in a blues rock/all female band, and they might have like, a death metal band after us. So, there was no crossover, and you had to bring everybody and their grandma to every single show, because if you didn't pack the house, then you you weren't going to be invited back to play there, right? And you couldn't play within like, two weeks of that show, you had to sign a contract. So, our whole point there was to get recognized by the industry and the soul was lost in that.
So, I had technical proficiency as a singer. I stretched my voice. I had been training my voice since I was 12. And when I hear back on some of the recordings, I'm a little bit cringy. To my own ears. Because it sounds like desperation to me. And I think that was the missing link. People would say, “Why haven't you made it yet? You guys are so great.” And I guarantee that was the missing link. And on top of that, speaking of energy and Law of Attraction, I was focused on what wasn't going well, and what I hated about Los Angeles and the people there. So… and it's a beautiful place. I mean, I've been gone 20 years now. Now, I love it. Now, I wish I had a second home there, you know. (Laughter)
Like, “Oh, yeah, I'd love to go back.” And I focus on the beauty. What you focus on expands. And I was focusing on how it was going to be hard, how we had to try and get industry people to our show, how we tried… you know, “So-and-so isn't coming now…” or, you know… and then I'd get on stage and I was singing my heart out, but like, I was singing to gain something.
Melinda: Yeah.
Hannah: Not singing to be a vessel for our show.
Melinda: Or share something.
Hannah: Yes. Yes. For my divine light to pour through me in my own unique way.
Melinda: Yeah.
Hannah: So, it was moving here. I came here in 2003. We had a sponsorship from Daisy Rock Guitars. Thank you so much for that. And, we got invited to play a showcase at South by Southwest, and everyone for years had said, “You’re so Austin. Are you from Austin?” And I was like, “Texas? Flat dirt and tumbleweeds? No.” (Laughter) “Beach girl through and through.” And then we got to Austin and I'm like, “Oh my gosh. Are you kidding? This is amazing.” And everyone's so nice. And they're all saying, “Hi.” I love it. And there's water and trees, and this is amazing! And I wanted to move here right after that. And it wasn't a showcase town. There’s amazing musicians but people loved you if you were 80.
I had a manager tell me I was going to be washed up if I wore my wedding ring. Like, “Uh oh. You’re 26 now. You know, your days are numbered.” And like, here they celebrate wrinkles (laughter), and wisdom and age. And then when I did my teacher training in 07 and I really adapted the yogic principles of non-attachment and, presence, you know… and I felt like, “Wow. This is what it's all about.” And funny enough, actually, my husband's former drummer had come to play a show in Austin, and I went out to see him. He’s an amazing drummer. And I said, “You are so good at what you do. Like you're just a bad ass drummer.” And he goes, “Oh, man. I'm just a vessel.”
And that, like, struck me in a way. It was like, all the things came at once - the non-attachment, the “I'm just a vessel.” And I was like, “Wow. We truly are.” Like, my expression is different than your expression, and different than her expression. And that's a gift. We… there's nobody else who's going to sing like me, right? Nobody else that's going to sing like you. You know, no one else that's going to see the world the way we do, and articulate it in a song in that particular way. And so, when I found that, that's what changed more than anything in me. Not only was I able to sing better… I mean, I still warm up my voice… but I was able to sing without that tightness, without that restriction, because I felt free. And I felt like I was expressing, and I was expressing with gratitude.
And that's something I feel so passionate about sharing with other artists, and especially when, you know, we've had some young ladies come to perform or to record in our home studio. And sometimes, Damon’s like, “I think you're giving them too much information all at once…” Because they haven't even heard of any of this. And I'm like, you know, downloading it all onto them. (Laughter) But, yeah, I just… it changed my life so much and made me such a better musician and artist. And funny enough, that all came like, right when motherhood came.
Melinda: Interesting.
Hannah: And so, I kind of gave up the chase.
Melinda: Yeah.
Hannah: And I think that was okay. Sometimes I wish that I hadn't, and at the same time, I did, and it's coming full circle back around now, and I'm feeling like I have the tools and the resources to come back to performing without calling it a chase.
Melinda: Yeah. Or thinking of it in that way.
Hannah: Thinking of it like a chase. It's just like, now I want to release stuff for my legacy. I want to release stuff so that my kids can show their kids who their mom was and what I created, you know. And, like, if a couple people hear it and enjoy it, great. If now it's not - if it sells records, of course, that's of course, a bonus. I, one hundred percent, accept that - (laughter) But that's not the end all goal. It's to be self-expressed.
Melinda: Yes. And I think this is such an important message. You know, for creativity in the podcasts in general, is that we all have our own unique offering. We all have our own story to tell, whatever genre we're working in. And it's not like, a competition in terms of like, scarcity. The industry sets it up that way. But truly, we all have something unique to offer, and that's so important. And then, I know that you're kind of aspiration now (in addition to all the other things that you do) is to help other artists and musicians.
Hannah: Yeah.
Melinda: So tell us more about that.
Hannah: Yeah. So, well, since… when was that that we did our creativity workshop? Man, it was probably 2008 or 9, I want to say. So, I think I have so many ideas, and I get inspired by so many things. I'm a manifesting generator, so like, the ideas and the inspiration are always flowing, and it's just about me creating a funnel and like, focus, so that I can get it done. (Laughter) That's my growing opportunity. And so, one was when I started working with the music techniques. Like, there's a technique that I do with a meditation before I sing where, you know, as singers, we talk about bringing it into the mask. And that's like, I call it, like, EQ’ing the voice.
You know, we have the high end and we have the low end, and how can we EQ it so we get that full round sound? Well, when we want to belt, we want to bring in some of that mask, which is more of the nasal sound. Well, I threw that all out the window and decided the mask is close enough to the third eye. And the third eye is the region that connects us to our intuition. And it's just above the throat. And the throat is the gateway between the heart, which is our physical body, and our third eye, which is our soul, our spirit and intuition. And this is the bridge that connects them. And then we have the crown chakra after that, that connects us to God, the universe, to all that is, to that source energy.
So, when I started to make it more of a spiritual practice for myself like that, when I went to belt, I would focus on the third eye and that would remind me that I am a vessel and that this is a soul expression.
Melinda: Wow. I love that. I love that.
Hannah: And it would bring me back to gratitude. And I could… I remember like, training so hard to belt in Aretha Franklin's song, and I would struggle and struggle to get there. And then I would just pretend like - or not pretend - I would just imagine I'm singing into the third eye and I was hitting those notes. No problem.
Melinda: Wow.
Hannah: It was incredible. And… oh my gosh, now I just forgot what the main question was.
Melinda: Helping others.
Hannah: Yeah. Helping others. (Laughter) So, I was so excited. I wanted to share that with others. Then a funny thing. I decided to become a realtor, as I mentioned before, because I thought I could bring these mindfulness tools. And one thing I loved about that is I made it very gratefully to the top 20% of my market center. So I was invited to be on basically the board. It's called an Agent Leadership Council. And I did that for many, many years. And I'm doing it again this year. And I coach other newer agents. And then on my team, I coach agents and coach them on the mindfulness. So, the thing that makes me most joyful about that isn't trying to work on their numbers, it's working on their mindset.
Melinda: Of course.
Hannah: And when I joined Keller Williams, I had done trainings and seminars and things my whole life, and then we started doing the trainings through them. And I'm like, this is all mindset work. I didn't know I was going to get this. I thought it was going to bring my own mindset training into whatever real estate training we had, and I was blown away by it. And so, I had employed a coach - a few different coaches for many years - and all the coaching programs, like the way they teach, they call it A Life By Design. And so, you know, what are your personal goals? What are your business goals? How can we merge them and how can we work on your mindset. So I thought, you know what? Where did you learn this? What are you teaching me? Because I'm more interested in that. (Laughter) And they said it's neurolinguistic programing. This is all NLP.
I was like, “Huh. Okay. Well, how can I learn more about that?” And so, I started kind of wanting to bypass the real estate stuff. And go right into the mindset stuff. So, in January of 24, NLP practitioner training came through Austin, and it happened to be the teacher of one of my favorite coaches. And why I love him - NLP, a lot of business people do neurolinguistic programing and it's working on shifting your mindset, working with your unconscious mind - And what I liked about what he does, is he also is a Huna practitioner. So, it's like, Hawaiian and empowerment from the ancient Hawaiian lineage. And they had this way of connecting with the unconscious mind and higher self.
And creating a life of happiness and congruency. Really feeling at one and at peace with yourself. And so, I liked that he spun it and made it a little more spiritual. And I loved it so much that I went. And over that summer, I had become a master practitioner of NLP. I did something called mental and emotional release, and hypnosis. And so, I had worked with clients and I thought, “Well, maybe I can go into coaching as well.” And I've worked with clients on removing limiting beliefs and baggage because they're tapping into their own unconscious mind and making changes. As little as, like, picking nails.
Or, I had a problem with biting the inside of my cheek. And this is what was one of the things that really got me. I could tap into my unconscious mind with a series of pictures and stop biting my cheek. And I had tried everything for years and years and years, and I couldn't do it. And in five minutes doing an exercise, I can't even like, show you. I can't even show you how I used to bite my cheek anymore. I cannot do it. It's done. It's all smooth. And that's been going on two years now.
Melinda: Amazing.
Hannah: So amazing. So, I was like, “Wow, if I could do that for this, what could I do for other things?”
Melinda: Definitely.
Hannah: So, I've loved working with people. I've worked with people on relationships a lot. I mean, I've been together with my husband for 31 years now. Maybe longer. It might be 32 years. I've lost count -
Melinda: Amazing. That’s had to even conceive of…
Hannah: We've been married for 22 years.
Melinda: Wow.
Hannah: And so, I love helping people in the area of relationships, and just their own personal growth, you know, in relationship to themselves. So, I'm really excited. And I haven't started working specifically with musicians, but it's something I'm really excited about starting. Because, so many artists are crippled by limiting beliefs and baggage.
Melinda: Self-doubt.
Hannah: Yes. I mean, and how many wonderful artists end their lives early? You know, and I mean, even the most successful ones that, you know, we can look at them and say, we wish we had a career like that. And then inside, they… they’ve ended their lives, they're in misery. And so, I'm like, there’s something we're not tapping into in supporting these sensitive souls, these creatives. And I feel super passionate about that as well. So, I'm putting it out there. I would love to do it. I can't wait to see where it goes. You know, when I became a master practitioner, I was like, “Yeah, I don't know. I know I'm a realtor, but I don't know where this is going. But it feels like such a full body ‘yes’. That I'm saying yes.”
Like, what you mentioned - bringing this back to the energy of things. You know, what I did also… like, quantum harmonization work with - Alyssa Malehorn is my teacher, she’s wonderful - and I've worked on, like, quantum harmonization and homes, buildings and land. And we did a quantum harmonization and business, and it's all about tapping into the energy of things and really listening and feeling. Does this feel expansive and light? Or does this feel tight and constricting? And so, I'm working… like, my word for this year was resonance. And like, how is this resonating in my body? Is this feeling open and and like a full body ‘yes’? Or am I feeling some resistance and then just really trusting that? Honoring those messages?
Melinda: I love that. So, believe it or not, we’re kind of getting to the end of our time. So much to talk about that.
Hannah: Yes.
Melinda: I usually like to end the show with what I call a Creativity Pro Tip, which is something that people can kind of run with and try out on their own. And there's been so many great ones, actually. The one I was going to suggest is kind of based on our experience with the songwriting group. Like, start your own creative accountability group.
Hannah: Yeah.
Melinda: Like, whatever it is that you do, whatever it is you enjoy. Because I think at this time, this moment in time, a lot of us are feeling kind of disconnected and maybe powerless against events that are beyond our control. But one thing we can do, is come together in community and support each other in our creativity, whatever that looks like. So, you know, we were kind of talking about that for a while. We finally were just like, you know what? Let's do this. Let's start it. Like, here's a date. We’re going to make this thing happen. And we have, and it's been so joyful. So rewarding.
Hannah: It really has.
Melinda: Yeah.
Hannah: Yeah. And it's - where is… where do you feel the joy? Because this can cross over to an aspiring anyone. An aspiring real estate agent. An aspiring artist. An aspiring title rep, you know… whatever.
Melinda: Whatever it is.
Hannah: If you're feeling into the joy… I tell this to new agents… what brings you joy? Gather with people and do that. You love to run? Create a running club. You're connecting with people. People want to do business with people that they know, like and trust. And you get to do what you love to do. And if that segue ways into something else… like, what if something comes of this? And now, I've built a mindful real estate team so people can be supported in real estate.
And I'm going to go support artists over here, while I keep checking in over here. You know, I’m… all of that is a possibility when you trust that feeling and you follow the joy. And I think we're moving into an age in humanity where we’re listening to the energy within… we’re all energy. This is all energy. And when we tune into that, that's where we're going.
Melinda: Who knows what could happen?
Hannah: Who knows? Yeah.
Melinda: And I want to make sure to also mention, you have a podcast, Mindfully Austin.
Hannah: I do. Yes.
Melinda: Where you highlight local business owners. And it's got also that mindful focus. And also, based on that, you have kind of a networking group (a community) that you've created out of that. So, how can people find out more about that? And about all the things that you're up to?
Hannah: So, gosh! More grassroots things that we're doing. I haven't quite gotten it on Spotify and Apple yet. That's our next step. I have it on YouTube. So, it's called Mindfully Austin Podcast on YouTube. And we also have Instagram (Mindfully Austin). And that podcast, I mean, there's so many amazing podcasters out there interviewing amazing people all over the world, and we're really excited about focusing on the amazing people within our community that are uplifting humanity through their work.
Melinda: Definitely.
Hannah: You know, because like, a realtor, no one would think my actual secret mission is to uplift humanity through this vessel, you know? (Laughter) And so, what are people doing that's truly their intention, and they're really making a positive difference? And then my - I have Hannah Williams Music (@hannah.williams.music on Instagram), and @hannahc.williams on Instagram. So, my personal 5 million different accounts. (Laughter) Just in case you want to follow all 5 million of them. And then my team is Mindful Real Estate Team. And I'll give you the links to that. That's on Facebook, on Instagram and on the web.
Melinda: Yeah. We'll put a bunch of links in the show notes.
Hannah: Yeah.
Melinda: Well, thank you so much, Hannah.
Hannah: Thank you.
Melinda: This has been great. I've been wanting to get you in here for a long time.
Hannah: I'm so happy that you did. Thank you so much. Thanks, guys.
Melinda: Same. Yeah. Find and connect with us on YouTube and social media under Syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review. We're recording today at Record ATX Studios in Austin, with Hannah live in person. The podcast is produced in collaboration with Mike Osborne at 14th Street Studios. Thanks so much for being with us, and see you next time.
