Artist, producer, journalist. Allison Hagendorf really does it all. We sat down to talk about how she turned her love of music into a career, how she stays healthy and positive and how she follows her passions. Listen to the full episode of Long Story Short here.

ON STAYING POSITIVE...

The thing is we already have everything we need. It’s not like when this happens then this will happen...It’s just about tapping into it, embracing an attitude of gratitude and figuring out how to tap into those tools and using them...I am definitely innately positive for sure. I’m also very intense — so with intense happiness and positivity can also come intense negativity and anger, but I’m very very good at checking myself, getting grateful and surrounding myself with the most amazing humans. I think that’s sort of my secret, is to make great choices not only with what you’re eating and with what you’re putting into your body but who you surround yourself with because it’s everything.

ON WORKING OUT...

My whole philosophy is ‘take the pressure off.’ Working out does not mean going to a 60-minute class, it doesn’t mean you have to go to a SoulCycle class or an OrangeTheory Fitness or you have to go to a CrossFit gym. You can get a wonderful functional workout in your own house and the premise of my app which is called, Ab Cuts Time to Tone, is that you just need your body and to have that mind body connection — even if it’s 10 minutes then that’s worth it. Sometimes when I'm really not feeling on my A-game or I’m in a bad mood and I don’t feel like touching a weight, you know I just want to move my body, I will literally either just go for a walk because I feel like being outside with nature as the number one grounding force ever or just staying at home stretching or doing a quick workout that just involves squatting or a pushup and that’s what the app is all about, just merging all those workout moods together.

ON FOLLOWING YOUR PASSION...

We’re always a work in progress and it’s possible to be a work in progress and a masterpiece at the same time. It’s possible to be awesome and be on your A-game, but also be working towards something else and always being a student. I think follow your passion first and just start doing it — if you want to be a television host or you want to be a music programmer or you want to be a fitness enthusiast, just start doing it on your own.

It’s not about being an aspiring blank, [It’s about saying] “I am this” and owning that identity. Just do it on your own and build it and when the time is right you’ll find another opportunity whether it is a job opportunity or a collaboration but it's basically creating your own luck by putting in the work.

ON THE ONE THING YOU CAN DO TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE…

Start your day with an attitude of gratitude. It has to be before you even grab your phone or start the wheels are turning of everything you have to do today, you have to breathe and be grateful that you just opened up your eyes and you get to have this gift of the day. If you start with that perspective everything else will come into place.