International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
– via International Women’s Day
This year saw the theme #beboldforchange taking centre-stage.
As a result, I was very kindly invited to head to the AKQA offices in London and share some of my Paralympic journey, as well as my rather “bold” plans for 2020 and beyond!
AKQA is hosting an AKQA Insight with journalist, writer and comedian Viv Groksop; blogger, podcast host and author of Ctrl Alt Delete: How I Grew Up Online, Emma Gannon and four-time ParalympicsGB sailor Hannah Stodel. Hannah will attempt to complete sailing’s most brutal challenge: The Vendée Globe – sailing non-stop around the world single-handed in 2020.
– via AKQA
I was sharing the spotlight with 2 incredibly talented and gifted women; Vic Groskop, and Emma Gannon.
Vic is an amazing stand up comedienne, but she’s also a whole lot more. She told us all of her 100 shows in 100 days and the motivation, the struggles, and the determination she had to finish the challenge that she set herself. I found her honesty about her setbacks totally refreshing, and her ability to not take criticism to heart and just keep pushing forwards towards her end goal- something I will need to learn as I head towards the start line of the Vendee Globe.
You can purchase her book here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Laughed-Cried-Hundred-Mother-Challenges/dp/1409127850/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1489186523&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=vic+groskop
Emma is a writer/ blogger/ podcast host/ pretty much uber talented super human. What struck me first off (no not her amazing purple chrome boots- they were way past fab), was her relaxed and confident demeanour, and how despite her amazing achievements, she was so down to earth and just fun to chat to. During the talk, she pointed out that to her boldness is more than yelling from the rooftops, being bold can mean quietly getting on with your work, and sticking with your own convictions (I’m paraphrasing here, so please excuse me!)
You can purchase her book here:
Or head over and listen to her podcast here:
http://www.emmagannon.co.uk/category/podcast/
Whilst I was incredibly nervous, the more I start to share my journey with the world, the more I realise how far I have come, and quite how large the challenge is ahead of me.
Jumping from the Paralympics into offshore sailing, and the race that has earned the title “everest of the seas” could be seen as quite a big step, but taking on the challenge of the Vendee Globe has made me realise that being determined is not just being all shouty and in peoples faces, its so much more than that.
Taking on this race that will no doubt push me well past any limits I ever thought I knew or had, but at the same time, being bold enough to take it on means understanding my limitations and working with them, embracing them and taking this one step at a time.
The people at AKQA were totally amazing, very friendly and welcoming, and best of all, I got to meet some truly awesome and inspiring people, as well as getting a few treats to go home with!
SAILING HANNAH 
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