My mum never finished primary school, she went to school for maybe 2 or 3 years then had to stay home and help with duties at home.
I remember one day when I was quite young, she was sewing and she was showing me how it worked as she went. She turned to me and said “you know a person built this machine. Someone thought about how it could work, came up with the parts, put it together and made the sewing machine that is now used all around the world”.
It got me thinking, if someone could do that then I could do anything really. I’m no different to anyone else.
Still to this day that has really stuck with me. Whenever I’m starting a new project or a new endeavour, I remind myself that I can do this. It took one person to come up with the idea to go to space, it took one person to come up with the idea to make a vehicle, or to make a computer – why can’t I do this!
This kind of thinking has really helped me to break down a lot of those barriers about what I can and can’t do, and I think because of that, I freed myself from a lot of self- limitations.
Personally, I have found it has never been a straight path for me. It hasn’t been like climbing up the ladder from A to B to get to an end goal.
A good friend once explained it to me as, “think of it as a meandering creek, jumping from one river stone to another, as you go along the creek there is usually more than one option for the next stone to jump to and you can decide which one you’re going to go for. You soon realise that either way you are still travelling in the same direction”.
I’ve stayed in the legal field the whole time, but I have taken very different roles with very different companies, and I have picked up a very broad range of skills along the way.
I think persistence and curiosity are probably two of the biggest things for me. I am very persistent, and I think it’s important to remain curious, and learn as you go. Even if it has been to the annoyance to some of my colleagues.
I would say it’s important to remain inquisitive and to know what you don’t know.
Stay true to yourself. As a lawyer working in a very male dominated industry, I’ve never really subscribed to the advice that you should put on a black suit and act like a man in a male environment. I don't think that works, not for me anyways.
I think it’s more important to be authentic. Instead of trying to be a man, just be a woman and bring those characteristics to the table. I think it adds a necessary flavour.
We need to be brave. I think most people are their own worst critics. Often the worst-case scenario that we’ve played out in our heads is nowhere near as bad as how things actually happen.
People relate to authenticity and people who are curious and brave - I don’t think anyone will ever shut that down.
I have had push back at times with comments like “don’t be so emotional” if I’ve gone up against a traditional mindset or male dominated organisation.