HUSTLE/FLOAT with Rahaf Harfoush: Hustle culture, burnout, and building sustainable creativity
Julie and Casey sit down with Rahaf Harfoush, author of Hustle and Float, to discuss her unusual journey to her speaking and writing career, reimagining work culture for creatives, burnout, and the impossible pursuit of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
TOP TAKEAWAYS
Following the breadcrumbs of opportunity and listening to your intuition can lead you on some amazing adventures
Burnout comes from trying to satisfy our obsession with productivity and our systems which were not designed for creatives. Burnout is real, and comes with a delightful range of scary physical and emotional symptoms.
Just because you CAN do all the things doesn't mean you should.
You are not your job. Your worth is not dependent on productivity or any other external signifier.
Is Cordelia from Buffy the Vampire Slayer the ultimate example of authenticity?
Rahaf Harfoush is a Strategist, Digital Anthropologist, and Best-Selling Author who focuses on the intersections between emerging technology, innovation, and digital culture. She is the Executive Director of the Red Thread Institute of Digital Culture and teaches “Innovation & Emerging Business Models” at Sciences Politique’s school of Management and Innovation in Paris. She is currently working on her fourth book.
Her third book, entitled “Hustle & Float: Reclaim Your Creativity and Thrive in a World Obsessed with Work,” was released in 2019. She has been featured by Bloomberg, The CBC, CTV, and Forbes for her work on workplace culture.
Formerly, Rahaf was the Associate Director of the Technology Pioneer Program at the World Economic Forum in Geneva where she helped identify disruptive-startups that were improving the state of the world.
Rahaf is the co-author of “The Decoded Company: Know Your Talent Better Than You Know your Customers” It was published in early 2014 and was listed on both the New York Times and USA Today best seller lists. It won a 2015 Gold Axiom Award for Best Business Technology Book. The Decoded Company explores how big data is providing an unprecedented opportunity for organizations to dramatically improve their decision making, increase their performance and, most importantly, intentionally create happy and vibrant work cultures.