Hanna Nuss

12/19/2024

Today, I woke up feeling incredibly thankful for my heavy-duty, old-school Buick. It’s a solid, sturdy tank of a car — thick, strong, and safe. When we bought it, we knew it wouldn’t be the coolest SUV on the block, but it felt right. It felt safe.

Turns out, “cool” is all about perspective. While our young neighbors didn’t say much about it, our 80+ year-old neighbors took notice. They pointed out the smooth ride — the kind only a Buick can provide — and, to them, that was pretty cool.

I also woke up feeling like someone who can handle what life throws at them — not because it’s easy, but because of the safeguards we choose to invest in. The things you don't think you’ll need until, one day, you do. Today, I’m more grateful than ever for those unseen protections and the friendly faces who show up in moments of need.

But perhaps the biggest safeguard of all has been my commitment to presence. From the very start of my journey six years ago, I’ve worked on being here — fully here — not seven steps ahead or behind. Here. Where some people strive to “be a great wife and mom,” I strive to “be a present wife and mom.” Presence in a season full of chaos for me has been a place to put intentional focus on, and maybe, just maybe, it saved my life.

I didn’t know then, but I know now.

12/17/2024

Don't come at me with digital planners...I know but...

I was today years old when this epiphany hit me. Yesterday, I missed a meeting start time by 10 minutes. Last week, I read the email and got to work only half-remembering the details. Then, come Monday, I could recall the start time, but it wasn’t until my morning slowed down that I got to my computer and saw the meeting had already started.

This morning, as I reflected on that experience, I started thinking about how I must need an assistant to keep me on track. But then it hit me—everything that truly sticks for me must involve a physical exchange. Email is too quick and easy. Scrolling and connecting via social media is too painless to stick. Even listening to an audiobook doesn’t anchor information in my brain. There has to be a physical exchange for it to truly stay with me.

For me, it’s the extra work required to quiet my mind to read actual words on a page. It’s the additional step to take out my color-coded pens and write in my paper planner. It’s the effort involved in meeting in person versus meeting or talking online. I think this has to do with the way my brain works—as if it’s operating at too fast a pace, and anything that matches that pace becomes forgettable. Intentionally creating slow painful physical space for something drills it into my brain.

It’s not enough for me to see it or hear it. It has to be written down. It has to be a consistent practice. It has to be physical in order for me to remember it.

12/13/2024

If your group, team, or organization needs a fresh dose of inspiration, it’s time to book Hanna Nuss for your 2025 event! 🎉

✨ Why Book Hanna?
If you've ever felt like life didn’t turn out the way you planned, Hanna gets it. Her story is a testament to the power of perseverance, reimagining your purpose, and daring to dream again. She’s here to remind your group that the end of one dream isn’t the end of dreaming altogether — it’s the start of something even greater.

✨ What Can You Expect?

- Inspiring book talks that move people from doubt to action.
Real, raw, and relatable storytelling that makes every person in the room feel seen.

Don’t wait to inspire your team, community, or organization. Booking is open now for 2025 events! Bring Hanna in to ignite new dreams and show your people that it’s never too late to build a life they love.

📚 Grab your copy of The Death of a Dream and book Hanna today!
📅 2025 slots are filling fast, so don’t wait to secure your date.

💡 Tag someone who needs to hear this message or a group leader who should book Hanna for their next event!

12/12/2024

I think the hardest part of growing as a human is realizing that not everyone is on the same trajectory as you. This only becomes an issue when it involves the people who pour into you. As you grow, you may outgrow people, relationships, and situations and that’s terrifying. It can leave you feeling isolated. Lonely. An outcast. Weird. Alone.

But while it’s one of the hardest parts of growth, it’s also one of the most vital. The silence that follows without the same old voices unwilling to evolve is essential. It’s in that quiet space that real transformation happens.

12/12/2024

When our youngest daughter was two, she developed a peculiar holiday hobby taking Baby Jesus from people's nativity scenes. It took us a while to catch on, but after enough Baby Jesuses had mysteriously vanished, we finally identified the culprit.

From that point on, we had to conduct "well-child checks" every time we left someone's house, just to make sure no Baby Jesuses had gone missing.

This year, as we unpacked our own nativity scene, someone suggested that we finally replace our Baby Jesus since our two-year-old thief is now eight. But I want the world to know: I will never have a Baby Jesus again.

To me, it’s the most interesting story in our house. Out of the four Baby Jesuses she took, not a single one was ever found or returned. It stands as, in my opinion, the most impressive heist that has ever taken place.

Every year, when I set up my Baby-Jesus-less nativity, I’m reminded of that story. And honestly, I wouldn't trade it for a "perfectly decorated" holiday home. Because a good story will always outshine perfection.

Also they added salt this year so at a glance it would look full. ⏳💛

12/12/2024

At the start of my journey at a conference in Minnesota in June of 2019, I said to myself "self" (shout out to Mr. Bishop for the favorite thing to say) "This is going to be different. You are going to be the one." I had started and stopped so many things. I knew I was made for more, but my interpretation of that had, in every previous situation, led me to burnout and a call for less. I wanted something to live for—something that was bigger than just me.

As I told my friend on the way home, "I want something I care enough about to tattoo it on my body." I wanted to be the kind of person who feels so sure about something that they take THAT permanent step. That was the goal: to find something deeper to care about and know so much about that I would forever etch it onto my body. Before that moment, I had always joked about how ridiculous tattoos were and how silly it was to put something on your body permanently. At that point in my life, nothing felt like it would stay forever. I kind of felt like everything was removable.

About two months into opening my business, Local., every time I would stamp something, I would stamp my logo at the base of my thumb. I had done it enough that people started to think I had it tattooed there when they would come to shop. At month six, I knew despite what people would certainly recommend—that this brand would be a forever thing. This idea and moment were going to change me so much that THIS was something I would forever stand for. So, I made it a permanent, public tattoo.

This mark is a symbol for "create a new reality," which is what my business does in rural Iowa and is how I started my journey to where I am today. I said in my conference journal in 2019 that I wanted to create my life. A million risks and three tattoos later, I have finally created a life that I feel like a permanent fixture in. Who I am and how I show up is permanent, and choosing tattoos that represent that was easy once I created a new reality for myself.

12/11/2024

This nose is crooked in a way that doesn't even make sense. The result of too many elbows to the face playing basketball. My knee blows up the second I eat an ounce of salt or stand, sit, run, or move a little more than normal. It is scarred and swollen to the point that modeling or high-performing athletics are out of the question for me (they may have always been).

My hair is a scraggly, interesting shade of reddish-brown. I lost what little figure I had to both of my girls. I am mostly just a flat-pole of a person. What used to be sharply defined muscles are now stretch marks and cellulite. All perfectly covered up by clothes.

My eyebrows bleach out in the summer and take shape according to the amount of time for self-care I have usually equaling up to no shape at all. My face has blemishes and wrinkles that I no longer work to cover up. This is who I am.

There are stories behind every blemish (this season it is certainly the Christmas tree cakes), bend, wrinkle, and imperfection. I used to hold tight and attempt to cover them up, but as I let go of the need to mask it all, I found the story and the story became the solution. The reason for self-love. The care that I could give myself as I looked in the mirror.

What was a despised wrinkle is now a genetic trait passed down to one special person a generation. What was a crazy, misshapen nose is now a story about my badass basketball self who got too many concussions because I refused to get out of the way. My swollen, forever-mangled knee is a story I tell myself about my own resilience. My flat body is a story I tell myself about the power of love like no other when I think about my two girls.

The solution for me is not to change who I am and how I look. It is to tell myself the stories behind it all. I am who I am. The world, genetics, experiences, and higher powers have placed me here with this voice, mind, body, and soul.

Maybe it’s not my job to judge and perfect it but to love and care for it.

12/10/2024

Starting a Business? Here's What Actually Matters

When I first started my business, I did all the things they tell you to do:
✅ Insurance? Check.
✅ Lawyer? Check.
✅ Website? Check.

But here's the thing... I did all of that and STILL felt completely unprepared. 😅 Turns out, checking boxes doesn’t mean you’re ready.

There’s one crucial thing I missed, and honestly, it changed everything for me once I figured it out. It’s something most people never think about when they’re starting out (and I definitely didn’t).

If you’ve ever felt like you’re drowning in “business busy work” and still not making progress, you need to hear this.

I break it all down in my latest Substack post, including a life-changing book recommendation that every small business owner needs. Trust me, this one is a game-changer.

📖 Read the full story here:
https://open.substack.com/pub/hannamarienuss/p/systems-solve-small-business-problems?r=ff3ye&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

If you’ve ever felt stuck in "busy but not building," this post is for you. Let me know if it hits home I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Why didn't we build that?

12/10/2024

I fail at the most unrealistic rates. I lose so often it would probably shock people. But over time, I’ve built up a tolerance for it not because it’s easy, but because it’s necessary. It’s just the reality of entrepreneurship. Loss after loss after loss.

At first, I tried to control everything. I thought if I just held on tighter, if I demanded success and forced perfection, I could avoid the sting of failure. But the more I tried to control it all, the heavier it got. The more I lost anyway.

Here’s what I’ve learned: The more I lose, the more chances I have to win. The more I let go, the more space I make for growth. It’s terrifying to let things be messy, to hand over control, and to accept that someone else might do it differently but I’ve found that “different” doesn’t mean wrong. It just means growth.

Every time I let go, I’ve learned more, failed more, and grown more than I ever could have by holding on. I’ve stopped chasing "solo success" because it’s not worth it. Winning together matters more. Growing together matters the most.

12/09/2024

The tests are rapid — do or die. No one will blame you if you fall short, but you will. That’s the weight of it. This isn’t just about building a business; it’s about building a life. It’s win or lose. It’s learning every second of every day.

It’s an obsession. So much so that I can’t imagine walking away until I prove it works. Once the vision became clear, there was no turning back. From that moment on, success wasn’t a possibility — it was a certainty I had to chase. I don’t throw in the towel. I don’t stop until I’m where I said I’d be.

This isn’t a charming Instagram highlight reel of curated fun moments. The reality of building a business that sustains your life is far from "cute." It’s not always manageable, free, filtered, or aesthetically pleasing. It’s raw. It’s messy. It’s work. Real work. 90+ hours a week of it.

12/09/2024

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned over the past three years of balancing everything I do is the power of time blocking. Before I started this journey, my days felt like an endless blur one task bleeding into the next. I was physically present but mentally elsewhere, moving through life as a shell of myself.

That realization pushed me to explore the concepts of intention and presence. I wanted to show up fully for my life. But then I started my business, and suddenly, it felt like there was even less time to do it all. As I kept taking on more and more roles, I found myself slipping back into old patterns present in body but mentally a step ahead. I knew something had to change.

Time blocking became my lifeline. It allowed me to assign each project, meeting, and event its own window of time, which kept me grounded in the present moment. No more task overflow. No more mental scrambling. Just presence.

Now, I’m not perfect at it. The tasks I avoid (hello, least favorite business duties) sometimes sneak outside their blocks. But when I stick to the plan, I feel more balanced across all the roles I play — mom, wife, sister, aunt, daughter, speaker, author, and social entrepreneur. Presence is everything. And while it’s tough to maintain when life asks us to wear so many hats, I’ve learned it is possible when we give each task its rightful space instead of letting it all run wild.

12/06/2024

Today, I shared some sage advice with my kids: "It’s better to show up late with a full belly than on time and starving." That pretty much sums up our current season of life—managing a lot, showing up wherever we can, and making it all happen.

Even if it’s a day late (looking at you, half-birthday treats—whoops!) or a dollar short, we’ll still make it work. But one thing’s for sure: in this house, we won’t show up hungry if I have anything to say about it. Because HANGRY seems to be genetic.

The holidays are such a blessing, but they also come with a need for a little extra grace—especially in this season of life. Busy doesn’t even begin to cover it, but we’re here, doing the best we can 💛

12/05/2024

“Hanna struggles to ask for help and puts off work that she has plenty of time to do. If she improves this, she could be a great writer one day.” – Second grade teacher.

I still struggle with both of these things today. One challenge I face is the way time has to be exact when things come down to the wire. Until then, it all feels too abstract, and I end up doing everything else until there’s nothing left to do. When it comes to asking for help, I was taught to do it all myself, to need no one. I was taught to find a way and become the one who does everything. Asking for help was seen as a shortcut that I shouldn’t need if I was working hard enough.

It took me three years of working alone to figure out a system that tricked my mind into starting work before it became urgent. I'm still not great at it, but I’m getting better. As for asking for help, I’ve made progress. It’s easier for me now because I’ve put systems in place, much like how I manage time. I’m always looking for patterns, but the challenge with getting help is that not many people operate in the same exact patterns I do. I used to think that was a flaw, so I preferred to do everything myself. But I’ve come to realize that my ability to create patterns for others and recognize them as strengths is something valuable, rather than just a quirky or unnecessary way of doing things.

12/05/2024

You won't know first.

I’ve said it over and over again—so much time is wasted in entrepreneurship trying to figure everything out before starting. I’ve been there. Every time I tried to have all the answers upfront, I ended up creating something boring, stuck, and limited. It didn’t deliver. The result? It was dead in the water before it ever had a chance.

When you begin with a “prep for doomsday” mentality, you’re already starting on the wrong foot. That mindset sets you up for failure because you’re building something based on fear of what might go wrong, instead of excitement for what could go right. It’s a trap I fell into too many times, and it taught me an invaluable lesson:

The only way to know is to go.

You have to move forward, even if you don’t have the whole map. The path becomes clear only as you walk it. You can’t always predict the twists and turns, but that’s where the growth happens. That’s where the learning happens.

To be guided on the best path, you have to let go of knowing the path at all. Instead, you hold onto the vision—the destination—and adapt as you go. That’s where the magic of entrepreneurship lies: in trusting the process, being flexible, and learning by doing.

So stop wasting time trying to have it all figured out. The vision is enough. Start moving, and the way will reveal itself.

12/04/2024

Most days, my inbox fills with offers promising the “fast pass” to success building my audience, selling books, gaining followers with just the click of a button and the payment of an invoice. My response is always the same: Delete.

Why? Because for me, this journey isn’t about quick wins or inflated numbers. It’s about building an authentic audience—people who genuinely find value in the work I do, the words I write, and the ideas I share.

The win isn’t about chasing clickbait topics or trends that aren’t true to who I am or what I find interesting. It’s about staying rooted in my passion and speaking from a place of authenticity. Watching my book sales steadily increase has been everything. Knowing that my words resonate with people, inspiring them to act, is what makes it all worth it.

This isn’t a “click-to-advance” kind of opportunity. It’s just me—speaking from the heart, writing from my mind, and doing everything I can to share my ideas. This slow, steady growth allows me to create something sustainable, something I can manage and truly be proud of.

And the support I’ve received? It’s been nothing short of incredible. To everyone who has purchased my book since its re-release with . Pub Co. thank you. Thank you for believing in my words and my vision. Your support means the world, and it fuels me to keep going, keep writing, and keep building.

This journey isn’t fast, but it’s real and that’s what matters most. 💛

12/04/2024

Give. That’s it.

I received this fortune at a time when I was lost, unsure of what to do next. I had just stepped away from another business idea that had lost its spark. I’d won a pitch competition for an idea I finally got help with but didn’t truly believe in. I had just finished my first book and was searching for the next step something meaningful, something that felt right.

And then, this fortune came into my life: If you continually give, you will continually have.

From that moment on, it became my guide, shaping everything I created and every decision I made. Generosity wasn’t just a value it became the foundation. I began to lead with it, letting it light the way forward.

What surprised me most was how quickly I started finding others who shared this same guiding light. Generosity helped me navigate relationships, opportunities, and ideas. It showed me who and what aligned with who I truly was and what I wanted to stand for.

When we didn’t have money to give, we gave our time. When we didn’t have expertise or value to offer, we showed up in service. And in doing so, everything began to change. Doors opened. Connections deepened. Opportunities I never expected started to align.

It all changed with one simple fortune.

12/04/2024

For a long time, my podcast was a space where I worked through the chaos of my own mind—a safe haven to untangle an anxious and limited mindset. It became my therapy, my outlet, and my guide as I tried to heal from the death of a dream and navigate the overwhelming anxiety that came with it.

But about six months ago, something shifted. That space, once dedicated to recovery, evolved into a place of possibility. A place where I could explore the world more freely. Instead of focusing on the pain of what was lost, I began to focus on the joy of what could be. The podcast became a platform to connect with others who are living their dreams, diving into their own possibilities, and building a life they love—just like me.

All of the hard stuff is still there, recorded in five years of episodes chronicling my journey through loss, anxiety, and rebuilding. But that foundation, those years of work, made this new mindset possible. This shift toward positivity and possibility didn’t happen overnight—it was built brick by brick, episode by episode, as I worked through my mind’s limits and found a way forward.

Now, I’m not settling for less or accepting what can’t be. I’ve seen too much happen in such a short amount of time to stay stuck in the past. My mind is focused on what’s next, on what’s possible, and I’m here to explore that with you.

So I welcome you to Living the Dream Iowa Life, a podcast where we dive into dreams, explore possibilities, and celebrate the lives we’re building. Let’s do dreams together.

12/03/2024

My brain wanders and runs endlessly—not anxiously anymore, but enthusiastically. I love diving into what’s possible. I thrive on figuring out how to make what’s broken work and finding a way to make it happen. Bonus points if someone immediately shuts it down. The more resistance I face, the harder my mind works to prove it wrong.

As a child, I wandered through life with the same relentless curiosity, my mind constantly asking why, how, or what comes next. It would spin in endless circles, always searching, always questioning.

The hardest thing for me now is simply being where I am. Staying present doesn’t come naturally. Yoga and meditation have become daily practices to help ground me, but when I’m out of balance, the lack of attention/presence shows up everywhere—in my work, my relationships, and my thoughts.

Meditation has been a game-changer, as have the tools I’ve created to bring myself back when I feel scattered. Block scheduling helps, too, giving me the space and structure to stay focused. But more than anything, I’ve found that systems and structures, though I’ve fought them my whole life, are what set me free.

When I lean into structure, I can truly wander. I can live fully present, no longer everywhere and nowhere, but balanced and aligned. It’s a work in progress, but it’s the difference between chaos and clarity—and it allows me to keep questioning, dreaming, and building the impossible.