Cafeteria Crush: Emma Gannon

Emma Gannon is a British writer, podcaster, and creative entrepreneur best known for her book The Multi-Hyphen Method and her hit podcast Ctrl Alt Delete. She’s built a career around exploring modern work, creativity, and internet culture, making her something of a go-to voice for millennials (myself included, obvi) navigating careers outside the traditional 9–5.

I am beyond obsessed with Emma Gannon. She came into my life at the exact moment I needed her (read: burnout spiral), and has since become my go-to for grounded, intelligent takes on careers, self-confidence, work-life balance, self-care, and living the ultimate Multi-Hyphenate life (aka Slashy).

What I love most is that her advice comes from lived experience and sheer curiosity, not from some pedestal. It’s never ever preachy, but more like, “here’s what I’ve learned, take what you need”.

Emma has written a stack of bestselling books, namely The Multi-Hyphen Method and The Success Myth (the latter being my gateway drug), alongside others I’m saving up like a stash of laundry coins. I want to ration out as much Emma as possible, instead of bingeing and burning through her all at once (per my usual method… self-control is not my strong suit).

Part of her magic is how she taps into the zeitgeist of being a self-driven millennial: ambitious to the point of exhaustion, low-key addicted to hustling, and perpetually feeling like you haven’t “arrived.” Honestly, it’s a universal state of mind for younger generations who are juggling their hopes and dreams while the ground beneath us constantly shifts; inflation, cost of living, housing crises, a global pandemic. No wonder we’re fried.

Emma captures what so many of us feel day-to-day, no matter how glossy our successes look from the outside. In The Multi-Hyphen Method, she asks: why are we all so scared of mediocrity? This line hit me hard. I’ve abandoned more projects and hobbies than I can count simply out of fear of not being “the best.” But really, does being “the best” even matter if you’re not happy? Isn’t it a better trade-off to be not-the-best, but to have a dedicated audience and to actually enjoy what you do and create?

Food for thought, that’s for sure.

The Emma Gannon Starter Stack:

💌 Subscribe to Emma's Substack "The Hyphen"

📕 Read “The Multi-Hyphen Method” (or Stream the Audiobook)

📘 Read “The Success Myth” (or Stream the Audiobook)

📱 Follow Emma on socials @emmagannonuk

🖥️ Visit Emma’s Official Website