Three Lessons from My Conversation with Hannah Cox: Taking Action, Loss, and Doing Hard Things
In this episode of Do Good and Do Well, I speak with Hannah Cox, founder of Better Not Stop and The Better Business Network. Hannah is running 100 marathons in 100 days across India to raise £1 million for charity, but our conversation went far deeper than the challenge itself. We explored what it means to take bold action, to learn from loss and to remember that we can do hard things.
Every so often, I have a conversation that lingers.
One that stays in your mind and the kind that nudges you to think, feel and DO SOMETHING.
My chat with Hannah Cox was one of those.
Hannah is about to run 100 marathons in 100 days across India, yep, you read that right, as part of Project Salt Run with the aim of raising £1 million for charity.
What struck me most wasn’t just the scale of the challenge though (although I am in complete awe at that). It was actually what sits beneath it - the lessons about courage, loss, and the reminder that we can do hard things.
Here are three of my takeaways from that conversation (there are more but the blog would have been a 3 hour read!) I think these are lessons that will resonate with anyone trying to do meaningful work in this messy, uncertain world.
Lesson 1: Take action even when you don’t have it all figured out
Hannah doesn’t just dream big, she acts big. From the music industry to her consultancy and now to running across India, her story is one of following ideas before they’re fully formed, trusting that clarity will come through the momentum and movement.
She told me:
“I’m comfortable with getting it wrong and failing at stuff because I’ve done it, and the world hasn’t ended.”
How true. And what I think she meant by that was that her world didn’t end - she keeps going.
We can spend years waiting for the ‘right time’ or the perfect plan or perfect action to take. But it rarely arrives.
Action, however small, is what creates momentum. In fact, this theme came up in a final coaching session with a client today. Reflection and thinking is, of course, important….but action is what causes the movement.
So maybe it’s not about waiting to feel ready.
Maybe it’s about starting and allowing the next steps to reveal themselves as you go.
Lesson 2. Losing our Dads and what that taught us
Both Hannah and I lost our dads when we were younger. Both experiences reshaped how we see the world and how we live.
One of the last things Hannah’s dad said to her was:
“Never settle. Never stop pursuing your dreams.”
Those words became the reason for Better Not Stop.
For me, when my dad died back in 2013, he talked about the things he hadn’t done - the travels, the dreams he’d postponed.
That conversation changed so much for me. It was the catalyst for starting coaching and eventually creating Do Good and Do Well.
Loss has a way of clarifying what matters.
And that waiting for ‘someday’ is a risk that perhaps we can’t afford.
Life is short. Don’t wait.
Lesson 3. We can do hard things especially when we do them together
Running 100 marathons in 100 days is a radical idea.
But Hannah isn’t doing it to prove she’s invincible. Yes, one part of this is a personal challenge, but she’s doing it to show what’s possible when purpose meets community.
“None of it would work if I didn’t have the right people around me,”
And that’s true for all of us.
Doing hard things isn’t about going it alone.
It’s about asking for help, surrounding ourselves with people who lift us up and trusting that we’re capable of more than we think.
We’ve done hard things before (write a list of all the things you’ve overcome in your life as proof of this). We’ve faced loss, change, uncertainty.
And when we do, we don’t just build resilience, we build hope.
Your turn…a call to action
Listening to Hannah reminded me that bravery isn’t about having no fear. It’s about taking the next right step despite the fear.
So, let me ask you:
What’s the idea that’s been tugging at you?
The thing you can’t stop thinking about, but keep telling yourself “not yet”?
What’s your version of Project Salt Run?
Write it down.
Tell someone.
Take one small, imperfect step toward it this week.
And if you’re ready to move from thinking about it to doing it, I’d love to support you.
Let’s talk about how you can take bold, meaningful action in a way that feels aligned, not overwhelming.
Because you can do hard things.
And you don’t have to do them alone.
👉 Get in touch and let’s explore how we can bring your idea to life together.