Kathy Ireland quotes: from bikinis to boardrooms, she’s built a global empire – let’s see what we can learn from Kathy’s quotes.
“Keep integrity and your work ethic intact. So what if that means working a little harder; an honorable character is your best calling card, and that’s something anyone can have!”
“Success is living the life you want. It is your own definition. Walking your own path.”
“Success means knowing you can have it all, just not all at the same time, all of the time.”
“Just cuz it’s never been done doesn’t mean it can’t be done.”
“First, you really have to believe in what you’re doing. Don’t own a business if you’re not passionate about it. If you’ve got a passion and you’re doing well, be bold and go for it.”
“You learn more from failure than you do from success. You also learn about the people who are standing with you and who are not standing with you when you fail.”
“I’ve learned so many things and a lot of things I’ve learned the hard way. I look at failure as education and in that respect I’m very well-educated.”
“Rejection is a gift and failure is the best educator, so when someone knocks you down, get back up!”
“If you’re not being rejected regularly – maybe you’re not trying hard enough.”
“Don’t let your circumstances or someone else’s opinion define you or destroy you. Don’t put limits on yourself.”
“We’ve got to look at criticism and discern: is there something of value I can learn from this, or is it just garbage?”
“Don’t allow someone to put you in a box, and don’t put yourself in one either.”
“I have to say I’ve made many mistakes, and been humbled many, many times. But you know what? It’s never too late to learn.”
“Sanity is honoring your own priorities.”
“If we get our self-esteem from superficial places, from our popularity, appearance, business success, financial situation, health, any of these, we will be disappointed, because no one can guarantee that we’ll have them tomorrow.”
“Don’t just work for the money; that will bring only limited satisfaction.”
“It’s not having money, but it is loving it. You can have no money, but you can love it. Or you can have it but not love it, and own it but not let it own you. But if we always live below our means and put those savings away, we’ll be more realistic about what we can and cannot afford.”
“Maintain a good balance. A personal life adds dimensions to your professional life and vice versa. It helps nurture creativity through a deeper understanding of yourself.”
“You have to figure out your own values and why you have them. People are going to try and push and pull at your convictions, so you have to have boundaries and put them in place.”
“Unless we live in a cave, we all must realize we are a role model for someone. Everyone is being watched by others, I am not a celebrity, I still have responsibilities to others everyday.”
“Speaking publicly is something I never thought I would have done. Critics said I had a voice that could kill small animals. I had to decide if I would let the cruelty of the comment silence me. When people don’t like our ideas, it’s okay. I will come back tomorrow. Criticism is a gift, though maybe in a nasty package.”
“An agenda is not a bad thing.”
“So many young people say, ‘I’m just going to see what happens.’ It’s so much more powerful to make things happen and have a plan.”
“In business it’s about people. It’s about relationships.”
“I feel I’m able to serve my customer by knowing what she or he wants. One of the ways I’m able to do this is through my website, and email: people give me great ideas, tell me what they want, what they don’t want. It’s really instrumental, and helps me stay in touch with people.”
“Modeling exposed me to the best designers and people of all different cultures, but I always knew I belonged on the other side of the camera. When I modeled, I saved my money. A lot of people thought I was cheap; I was saving to invest in people.”
“Being professional in whatever you do is important. Talent alone is not enough.”
“The ability to adapt to change is the hallmark of today’s entrepreneurial leader. Change is a constant in today’s business world and the ability to face that challenge with sure-footedness and confidence can make all the difference. Change actually stretches us and forces us to grow.”
“It is important to surround ourselves with people and companies that share values and beliefs similar to our own. One of the things I look for in a strategic partner is someone I can embrace as a member of my extended family.”
“Beauty comes in all ages, colors, shapes, and forms. God never makes junk.”
“Beauty comes from the inside.”
“I believe there are three keys to success. For me it is keeping my priorities in order: it’s my faith and my family, and then the business.”
“I work with wonderful people who support me. And, my beliefs are that the business needs to serve the family rather than the family serve the business.”
“My family gave me values that have sustained me through situations that would challenge any person. My personal relationship with the Lord inspires me in all I do.”
“My faith is important. I have nothing without it.”
“I started working when I was four years old, selling painted rocks from a wagon. They could be used as a paperweight… or for self-defense… exhibiting the kind of entrepreneurial thinking that leads to success. At age 11, I had a paper route. I had people yell at me, ‘It’s a boy’s job!’ But each year, I won carrier of the year for my district.”
“Since I painted that first rock at the age of four, I’ve always had big dreams. I realized that a dream without a plan and a timetable is a delusion. Imagination without implementation is a hallucination. Kathy Ireland Worldwide is not about me. It’s about the people that we serve.”
“My paper route was, in essence, a promise to my customer, a promise to deliver their paper every morning. My father shared with me the value of under-promising and over-delivering. If a customer expected the paper on their driveway I made sure I delivered it to their front porch. This business philosophy helped create the foundation that supported me throughout my modeling career and eventually my design business.”
“My entrepreneurial spirit is derived from several principles that I use in every aspect of my life today, not just in my business. These principles have taken me from the beaches of Santa Barbara to the boardrooms of the largest manufacturers and distributors of quality home products.”
“I know that I’ve been blessed in many ways, and I was fortunate enough to travel the world and meet a lot of interesting people. But I never felt that the modeling career was all that important.”
“I entered the modeling industry as a business person already. The entire time I was modeling, I was trying and failing at businesses. In fact, we would have started our business much sooner had I been more successful.”
“I intentionally built a business that has absolutely nothing to do with appearance.”
“It’s been an extraordinary journey. I have learned so much along the way.”
“Martha Stewart is extremely talented. Her designs are picture perfect. Our philosophy is: life is messy, and rather than being afraid of those messes we design products that work the way we live.”
