Sara Blakely

Written By Contact Leva App

Founder and CEO of Spanx, Philanthropist

I first learned about Sara Blakely thanks to my co-chair in the Women’s Network at H&R Block, Kim Iorns. This was a year and a half ago, and we had just joined the network. We were discussing our passions for women’s equality, where we wanted to take the network, and what we thought could be good areas to focus on. As we discussed women that inspired us, Kim mentioned that she loved Sara Blakely. She even told me about this phenomenal book, Girls Who Run The World which features Blakely. Fast-forward, and I am a full-on Sara Blakely fan, following her on numerous social platforms and having purchased and watched her entire Master Class. 

What makes Sara Blakely so cool? Well, she is a self-made billionaire! She started the undergarment company, Spanx, without raising a cent from investors! Sara didn’t go to an ivy league school or grow up with a well-connected family. She learned how to run a business the hard way, applied her sales skills daily to grow her business, and learned a ton through trial and error. She knows the power of humor and not taking “no” for an answer. 

A few other cool facts about Sara:

  • Her dad taught her to get comfortable with failing, a lot, and then trying the next crazy thing. 

  • Neither of her parents cared what others thought of them, which she felt gave her freedom to be herself. 

  • She gives herself plenty of time to just be by herself doing nothing. In fact, for her recent 50th birthday, she went to stay at a hotel by herself for an entire week, ordering room service, reading, watching TV, and enjoying the spa. 

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Powerful Quotes by a Powerful Woman

“It’s important to be willing to make mistakes. The worst thing that can happen is you become memorable.”
“Failure to me became not trying versus not succeeding.”
“I feel like money makes you more of who you already are.”
“Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.”
“There is a hidden blessing in the most traumatic things we go through in our lives. My brain always goes to, ‘Where is the hidden blessing? What is my gift?’”
“I made a conscious decision not to tell anyone in my life. Now I tell people—don’t tell anyone your idea until you have invested enough of yourself in it that you are not going to turn back. When a person has an idea at that conception moment, it is the most vulnerable—one negative comment could knock you off course.”
“Failures are life’s way of nudging you and letting you know you are off course. Trying new things and not being afraid to fail along the way are more important than what you learn in school.”


-Sara Blakely

+ References

Contact Leva App
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