The author and journalist on her secret life hack.
When you have the opportunity to ask some of the most interesting people in the world about their lives, sometimes the most fascinating answers come from the simplest questions. The Thrive Questionnaire is an ongoing series that gives an intimate look inside the lives of some of the world’s most successful people.
Thrive Global: What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed?
Danielle Frum: Be thankful I CAN get out of bed.
TG: What gives you energy?
DF: Workouts with my trainer, Andrew Sniderman.
TG: What’s your secret life hack?
DF: A lesson from my husband, David: Don’t envy others’ success. Success is not a finite resource. There’s plenty to go round for everyone.
TG: Name a book that changed your life.
DF: Jane Austen’s “Pride & Prejudice.” My stepfather gave it to me as a young teenager, and it opened my eyes (and world) to literature.
TG: Tell us about your relationship with your phone. Does it sleep with you?
DF: It sleeps NEXT to me. But I don’t cuddle it.
TG: How do you deal with email?
DF: As quickly as possible.
TG: You unexpectedly find 15 minutes in your day, what do you do with it?
DF: Savor them.
TG: When was the last time you felt burned out and why?
DF: Very recently: We moved over the holidays. I run a start-up. Family came to visit. Enough said.
TG: When was the last time you felt you failed and how did you overcome it?
DF: I moved from the creative world to the business world — or suddenly woke up as an “entrepreneur.” Until then I hadn’t appreciated the stress, risks, and fear of failure that small business owners stare down every day. So the threat and “feeling” of failure is a constant — not *yet* something to look back upon. The way I overcome it is to try to get a good night’s sleep — because everything that seems terrifying at 3 a.m. is usually entirely manageable at 8 a.m.
TG: Share a quote that you love and that gives you strength or peace.
DF: “You’re no one until someone calls you bossy.” Tina Fey.
Danielle Crittenden Frum is a journalist and author who founded Fig Tree & Vine, a Jewish lifestyle and artisanal e-commerce site.
Originally published at medium.com