Today we chat with author & ted talk speaker Hannah Brencher. Hannah discusses the benchmarks of calling yourself a writer and how the not knowing is tied to insecurities and what-ifs in her experience.

"What if I'm not good at the thing I love more than anything in this world?"

She describes the importance of having an internal confidence and knowing that "that's why you're here and that's why you're doing the thing and if you didn't do it tomorrow, nobody else's heart would be broken, but your own heart would be broken and that should be enough."

We also discuss:

-How she deals with getting 1 star reviews and where she believes most of them come from.

-The fact that you can't please everyone and why that's okay.

-How she dealt with a "Hannah Brencher Sucks" blog and other criticisms and the good that has come from responding to them in kindness.

-The pitfalls of the "power of anonymity" of the internet

-The importance of not looking to others for validation and yet feeling like your work is important

-Self-promotion and why it matters if you are your authentic self

-Why she moved across the country because of a friend from Twitter and why it wasn't easy

-Thoughts on becoming addicted to what it feels like to be seen by and applauded by other people

-Why you have to decide what you're made of and what's worth fighting for

-"What do I do when the momentum slows down, because it will

-Why consistency and creating content (even when we don't feel like it) matters

-Why discipline is important & how it led to her becoming passionate about writing

-Why she does not believe in writer's block

-Why perfection is crippling, irrelevant, and a waste of time.

-How to be patient when things "might not work out"

-The importance of instilling hope in other people

-Why you shouldn't put up "phantom barriers" or make fear based decisions

Hannah Brencher is a writer, TED speaker, and online educator with a heart for building leaders. She is the author of "Come Matter Here" and "If You Find This Letter." Named as one of the White House’s “Women Working to Do Good” and a spokesperson for the United States Postal Service, Hannah founded The World Needs More Love Letters in 2011. The global community has grown to over 20,000 individuals across six continents, fifty-three countries, all fifty states, and is established on over sixty-three college campuses.

Hannah has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Oprah, Glamour, USATODAY.com, Chicago Tribune, and dozens of other publications. Hannah graduated from Assumption College in 2010 with a double major in Sociology and English, with a concentration in Writing and Mass Communications. She calls Atlanta, Georgia her home.

Connect with her at www.hannahbrenchercreative.com - buy your own Saint Joseph statue here. :)