Meet Hava Schultz: YouTube Creator & On-Screen Personality

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hava Schultz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hava, what matters most to you?
Being true to myself is one of my top principles because it supports internal harmony and places breadcrumbs on a trail that ultimately leads to fulfillment. Living a life out of alignment creates internal tension. Although I have always known the importance of “[doing] what you love”, for many years I could only see a finite selection of career paths. Therefore, I tried to figure out what I loved among those options. Having a knack for marketing and sales, I liked it enough to select business administration with a focus on marketing as my college major. However, the more I experienced the real deal through internships and classes that lacked the creative assignments I expected, the more I doubted that marketing was my path. I took a lot of courses for my degree that were just okay; I didn’t hate them, but I definitely didn’t love them either. I hadn’t yet felt that special spark people talk about that makes their work feel like play. Almost everything I’d done felt like a grind on some level. That is, until I discovered people making a living creating videos for companies like Refinery29 and even on their own YouTube channels. I picked the video camera back up and started editing again (I made some videos over the years but never thought much of it and did not see its immense value). As a natural performer, singer, actor, writer, etc., who conformed herself to fit the mold of a corporate businesswoman, I realized that my soul was craving creativity! That period was the start of my living in alignment. The transition from a business student to a full-time creator has been slow and gradual, and the more time I spend focused on creative output, the better I feel because I am being true to myself. Of course, without two other important values, being true to yourself is like trying to hit a piñata while blindfolded (if you’ve never done this before, let me tell ya, it’s so hard, haha!) AND without a bat; more than likely, you are not going to break open the suspended cardboard container of candy. The candy represents all the internal and external benefits you reap from being true to yourself. So let’s talk about how to get them! First, take off the blindfold. Clarity is essential. Over the past year I have done more self-discovery than any 12-month period in my life thus far. Being clear about who you are is crucial in order to be true to yourself… after all, how can you be true to yourself if you don’t know who you are? This includes a deep understanding of your talents, personality, values, passions, desires, and dreams. I have read multiple books, listened to hundreds of podcast episodes, talked with people close to me, and journaled independently in order to learn more about myself. Altogether I have poured days worth of time into this process. I wouldn’t trade that time for anything else because it added value to my life that will bring me an exponential amount of fulfillment in the future. (If you want to hear more of my thoughts on this subject and/or want learn how to do this for yourself, watch my YouTube videos on soul searching and discovering your purpose in life. The name of my YouTube channel is my name— Hava Schultz!) After taking off the blindfold, you’ve got to pick up the bat. Now that you can see what you want, hard work will help you achieve it. Part of clarity includes knowing your dreams. Dreams put into action are called goals. With my increased awareness of what I want, I know what steps I need to take to achieve my dreams. The specific actions change over time based on where I am on my journey, but the consistency of doing my best does not waver, and that commitment is what ensures that I will reach my dreams. Though I am still on my way to success, I know I am on the right path because I am being true to myself, a driving principle that is born from the combination of clarity and hard work. Being true to myself invites happiness and fulfillment to both the present and the future.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Today I am an on-screen personality and YouTube video creator, and that’s a statement I am proud to be publishing in a magazine because it has been a journey to get here. As a child, I was always involved in something creative. I wrote 40 to 60-page novels in elementary school. I was cast in major roles in plays. I performed in black box theatres. I sang in multiple elite choirs. I confidently belted show tunes all by myself on stage for large crowds. And I loved every second of it all. At the same time, I have always been a perfectionist, and that bled into my academic achievement in school. I listened to what others had to say, and when high school arrived, there were a lot of things I needed to do build a sparkly résumé and succeed. I never saw my creativity as anything career-related because it was not within the scope of occupations I saw as options. Therefore, it ended up on the back burner. To make a very long story short, about halfway through my college degree in business administration (with a focus on marketing), I saw people online making money by creating videos and performing on camera, be it for themselves or for a company. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I wanted this career for myself. Financially and time-wise, it was far too late to change majors, so I decided to follow through with my business degree and start practicing my creative skills on the side. I would find a way to merge it all later. As much as I felt this draw to a career in video production, I felt the weight of society’s limiting beliefs. You know, the ones like, “A very small percentage of people actually make it,” and the cliché of the starving artist. It has taken years (and I am still actively working on it) to dispute those negative thoughts. Sure, maybe a small percentage of people make it, but who’s to say I’m not one of those people? For the first time in my life, I’ve realized that I need to work on my confidence— confidence around my career! I’ve been too afraid to share my dreams outright, for fear that people will shoot them down, even if unintentionally or nonverbally. However, I also know that we are reflections of our worlds, so if I do not tell the world what I want, I am less likely to see my aspirations boomerang back to me. The key is to find a balance. I am currently being honest with myself, exposing myself to books and podcasts that give me strategies on how to grow my confidence and pursue my purpose, and voicing my truth in safe spaces (such as this magazine). As I become more confident, I will have the strength to share this part of my life in tougher situations because naysayers and others’ doubts will not be able to shake me. With all of that said, my purpose is to inspire young women in my generation to follow their dreams and create a life they love every day. Throughout my life this purpose has—and will— remain constant, even as my expressions of it change. Right now, I am excited to be providing inspiration and information to help people create a life they love every day through the videos I make and post on my YouTube channel. My established playlists include “Life Improvement”, “Minimal Living”, “Healthy Living”, “Stylish Living”, “Vagabond Life”, “Everyday Life”, and “Let’s Just Talk”. Although the content I serve up is somewhat vast given the nature of the lifestyle niche, the element of intentionality runs through it all. You’re welcome to visit my YouTube channel at any time! (The name of my channel is the same as my name: Hava Schultz) I’m also active on Instagram (@havaschultz). I’d love for you to drop a comment on a video/post or send me a DM— let me know you came from this article!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Coming to Houston? I’ll show you around! We’ll target quality over quantity. Let’s start our day with a nice healthy breakfast at one of my favorite restaurants, True Food Kitchen. This is the ultimate destination for anyone with dietary restrictions or for people like me, who simply love the feeling of taking care of my body! Everything served at this restaurant is delicious, from cocktails to appetizers to entrees to dessert! I love to spend time outdoors, so after heading out, we’ll drive over to Discovery Green. Depending on when you come to visit, we can admire an art installation, ice skate on an outdoor rink, or kayak for a mere $5 each. I love to have active fun in the sun! After working up an appetite, let’s eat a nice light lunch at Café Poêtes, a French restaurant situated in Midtown. The restaurant is walled with windows and has the most adorable French details in its decor. The natural light makes the setting uplifting no matter what the weather is, and if it’s sunny, we can spend a few minutes reclining on the patio sofa! For another opportunity to absorb some vitamin D, I’ll take you to the McGovern Centennial Gardens, a section of Hermann park. We can look at the lush landscaping, walk to the top of the winding waterfall, and take plenty of Insta-worthy photos along the way! For dinner, we can eat at my favorite Tex Mex spot… Escalantes! Order whatever you want for dinner because I’ll be strongly encouraging you to partake in tres leches for dessert— theirs is among the best in town! If we still have energy for another activity after dinner, let’s go to Chinatown to Yes KTV to karaoke! (Don’t be shy— it doesn’t matter how well you sing; having fun is what I care about!) At this point, I’m definitely going to be ready to chill, so let’s go to Katz’s Deli & Bar, a New York-style restaurant that literally never closes. We can go upstairs to find a nice booth, order hot beverages and/or fries and just chat until it’s time to go home. Hope you enjoyed this day around Houston with me!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
In 2020 I absorbed information like a sponge. I researched every YouTube strategy out there, bought a comprehensive course about Instagram, took a photography course that included an education on editing, and practiced all of these ideas to turn knowledge into valuable skills. Meanwhile, I read books and listened to a hundreds of podcast episodes that prompted me to spend time on introspection. I’m proud of my profound personal growth. With all of that knowledge under my belt, as 2020 came to a close, I revved up to start 2021 strong with a more refined action plan. Unexpectedly, when January came, I realized that I needed time to pause before revamping. So I opened a book and read 275 pages that changed my life. I preordered Sahara Rose’s book, Discover Your Dharma, back in November, and it launched at the beginning of the year. I read it and took thorough notes about what I was learning, especially information specifically relevant to myself. This book has been a total game changer! It is a spiritual (though not religious) approach to soul searching, and it couldn’t have come at a more perfect time in my life; I picked up a plethora of information in 2020, and this book unified it all for me. The clarity I have gained about myself and what I want to do with my expertise has been liberating! In the past, I got caught up in many exciting endeavors. This led to my being spread too thin, so I was not able to make much headway on any one of them. After reading Discover Your Dharma and learning more about the importance of focusing on one thing at a time, I have decided that I am really going to focus on video creation right now. That means I’m not going to worry about Instagram as much as I was before or other side ventures that I am looking forward to doing in the future. I am going to pour my heart into every video that goes onto my YouTube channel and work on growing that platform. This will allow me to freely chisel away at one dream, while simultaneously opening doors for the others to follow. The benefits I detailed here about what I gained from Discover Your Dharma are obviously very abbreviated; I recommend anyone looking for an individual approach to finding her own path pick up this book. It is a resource full of wisdom that brought me the clarity I needed in order to put words to my life’s purpose, understand what I want in the immediacy (as well as long-term) and embrace the freedom to trust myself and follow my dreams!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/havaschultz/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/havaschultz
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/havaschultz