We’re still on a high after two-action packed days at 9 to Thrive in Sydney, not only thanks to our epic speaker lineup, but also thanks to the thousands of women who came through the doors and brought all the energy – it was palpable!
We’ve wrapped up a few of our favourite quotes from our first 9 to Thrive of the year (see you soon Melbourne and Brissie!) and they are giving us goosebumps all over again. There are SO many gems in here. We hope these insights inspire you to be a little bolder and a little braver this week.
1. “I had a lot of growing to do in my leadership in order to serve others. How am I as a leader when things are changing? How do I show up? Resilience went from overcoming obstacles to asking, Am I adaptable? Am I agile? Do I cope when things change and when things aren’t in my control? Who is that person and what is she like to the people around her?” – Amna Karra-Hassan, activist and founder Auburn Giants
2. “Two years ago I got my dream handed to me on a platter, everything I could have ever wanted, but there was one catch. I could be the race car driver, but I also had to be the promo girl. And I said ‘No, I can’t do that’. I don’t want to show young women and other females that you have to go to that level to get what you want.” – Emily Duggan, race car driver
3. “If I wasn’t self-sufficient, I would have been up shit creek two years ago. I wouldn’t have been able to pay the school fees or all the debts that my husband left me with.” – Roxy Jacenko
4. “My list of non-negotiables is long. The one right at the top is loyalty. Loyalty to me is such a big thing. We have a team of six, and we don’t hang each other out to dry, we have each other’s backs. We talk about brand loyalty, and you can’t get that without loyalty within the team first.” – Julie Ockerby, Meli Studio
5. “I have a lot of guilt. Men have no guilt. I don’t know why. I ask my husband “Don’t you feel bad?” and he says, “I’m not going to the casino, I’m going to work.” I feel like no matter where I am, I’m letting someone down. But in the last year, I’ve just gone, ‘Fuck it.’ Guilt is a wasted emotion. I can’t change it. It is what it is.” – Sally Obermeder
6. “I always remind people that the light in you needs to be bigger than the light on you.” –Karen James, On Purpose Hub
7. “Stop saying it isn’t the right time. We need to just start. It doesn’t mean starting a business tomorrow, it just means doing a little bit of research on starting a business or register a name. Taking little steps is the way to get forward. Stop waiting for something, nothing else is coming. We have to make it up.” – Emma Isaacs
8. “At the end of the day, you need to resource. If you are serious about it, do a business plan. Make sure the people who invest in you are in it for the long haul, and they 1000 per cent invest in you, because it is a marriage.” – Nicole Eckels, founder Glasshouse
9. “The advice I give is, decide whether it’s a hobby or a business. If it’s a hobby then absolutely do it and love doing it. But if it’s a business, if you’ve sat down and done your numbers, then just go.” –Kristy Withers, founder Incy Interiors
10. “With marginalised people, it’s unfortunate that sometimes we have to be the ones who speak up for gender or race. I find myself in situations where I may be the only black female, and sometimes people judge a whole race based on that opinion. I don’t ask for that, but I’m just following my passion.” -Fadzi Whande, social justice advocate
11. “A lot of people hear stereotypical information about refugees, but once you have an opportunity to allow people to speak for themselves, it humanises them. Then people realise we have more in common than we have differences. We’re a country of migrants after all.” -Violet Roumeliotis, founder Settlement Services
12. “I guess I’m an actor, a failed one. I do radio, I do comedy, I do cabaret, I write some columns. My social media is an extension of my creativity. I hate the term ‘influencer’, I write it out of my contracts. I see myself as a content creator, and I’m more comfortable with that.” –Tanya Hennessy
13. “I’m driving the car, I’m not asking you to sit in the passenger seat and tell me what I’m doing and give me directions, I’m asking you to sit in the back seat and to check out the scenery.” –Sophie Cachia
14. “It’s never too early or too late to take control of your finances. Know what you’re spending, what you’re saving and how you’re managing your day-to-day finances. Check your super and get interested in it. Are you in a good fund? Do you have more than one fund? Can you set a goal for retirement? It doesn’t necessarily mean financial, but what is the way you would like to live when you retire?”
-Catherine Fitzpatrick, Commbank.
15. “I was a 14-year-old girl in a pink suit with wet pants from peeing on them, sitting in a helicopter with ex-special forces men who were doing the same expedition as me, and I thought ‘what the hell am I doing here?’ But then I remembered my dream and why I was there, and that’s what kept me going.” – Jade Hameister, adventurer
16. “Thinking about the advancements in technology, so much has changed. I think businesses have a responsibility to talk about these things and how we prepare for them. We have a responsibility not just to say “Ok could we do this?” but “Should we do this?” We have a responsibility for how we are driving change in the community.” – Laura Huddle, Head of New Business AU & NZ, Eventbrite
17. “I do feel underestimated at times. I love proving people wrong. Whether people underestimate you because you’re a woman, your looks or your age. I think being underestimated is a powerful position to be in.” –Michelle Battersby, Head of Country, Bumble Australia
18. “A brand is successful when it has that potent combination of knowing what they want to be and what their purpose is, and being authentic about it. Women sniff out someone who is a fraud. We have a good bullshit parameter and you cannot do that in business or when creating a brand.” -Jackie Frank, founder Be Frank Group.
