This week Emilia speaks to the incredible former paralympic swimmer Jessica Smith.
Jessica has an incredible story of triumphs and tribulations. Born missing her left arm and then suffering a horrific kitchen accident when she was a toddler sustaining burns to 15% of her body, she defied odds and went on to represent Australian in the sport of swimming for seven years, culminating in representing Australia at the 2004 Paralympic Games.
Sport gave Jessica ambition and focus while she tried to confront societal obstacles around body image and disability acceptance. She was able to eventually break free from personal struggles with depression and eating disorders in her 20's. But perhaps the most important story there is to tell about Jessica, is that of the inspiring woman she is today; since retiring from her international swimming career Jessica has gone on to become an internationally recognised advocate for positive body image, dedicating her life to raising awareness around diversity, disability and inclusion.
Jessica is also a mother of three young kids and her journey into motherhood inspired her to write a series of children's books about disability and acceptance.
In today's interview we talked about her swimming career, why she stopped swimming, her biggest learning from being a professional athlete, visualization as an every day tool to achieve the things you want to achieve as well as accepting your body as it is.
To learn from and be inspired by Jessica go you can go to her website http://jessicasmith.com.au/ or follow her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jessicasmith27/.
__________________________________________
Emilia Ohrtmann
Website: www.emiliasjourney.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/emiliaohrtmann
Facebook: www.facebook.com/emiliaohrtmannco
outube: www.youtube.com/c/EmiliaOhrtmann
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/emiliaohrtmann ____________________________________________ Kyla Neill Business Coach + Mentor
Instagram: www.instagram.com/succeedingwithkyla
Facebook: www.facebook.com/succeedinginheels
Linkedin: https://au.linkedin.com/in/kylaneill