Learning Farm Skills

An interview with Hilarie Burton about how she transitioned from Hollywood to a farm, how her life has changed, the most challenging skill she learned on the farm, the power of human connection, and her best career advice.

Welcome to the 81st episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions.

This episodes guest:

My guest today is One Tree Hill actress turned farmer and author, Hilarie Burton. Born in Sterling, Virginia, Hilarie was very active in high school as the captain of the cheerleading squad, the student council president, and homecoming queen. She started her career as a VJ on MTV’s Total Request Live then made an appearance on Dawson’s Creek before getting cast for her breakout role on One Tree Hill. Since then, she’s played lead roles in films such as Our Very Own, Solstice, and The List, and TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Forever and Lethal Weapon. More recently, Hilarie wrote her memoir “The Rural Diaries” and became a co-host, with her husband, of AMC’s “Friday Night In with The Morgans”. In this episode, Hilarie introduces us to her life on the farm and what she’s learned from her experience.

The 5 questions I ask in this episode:

1. How were you able to transition from being a bi-coastal Hollywood actress to raising a family on a farm and what were the hardest sacrifices you had to make?
2. How have your views on life and work changed from the time you spent living in big cities to a small town?
3. Reading your book reminded me of the reality show “The Simple Life” in that you’ve had to learn new skills to survive and thrive in your new environment like raising animals and running a candy store. What was the most challenging skill you had to learn and how did you learn it?
4. While the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in isolation, job loss, and death, the silver lining is that many of us are getting closer even from a distance. What has this crisis, and your new life, taught you about the power of human connection? 
5. What’s your best piece of career advice?

Follow Hilarie’s journey:

• Book
• Instagram
• Twitter