Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sensi Graves. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sensi, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
It took me a long time to develop my confidence. Over the past decade, I’ve built a career as a professional athlete and entrepreneur. It looked like I was crushing it on the outside. But on the inside, I doubted myself and my capabilities. I didn’t feel proud of who I was or what I was doing and I didn’t believe in myself.
And I didn’t even KNOW that I didn’t believe in myself. I was just kind of operating on auto-pilot and driven by a continual need for self-improvement, always becoming better and achieving the next thing. I tried to prove myself and my worth through my work. But it didn’t work.
After almost a decade of personal development work and diving into the research, I learned that confidence is not something you are either born with or not, confidence is a skill you can learn. I spent years learning the tools required to cultivate self-confidence and learn to be proud of myself.
The thing is, I didn’t believe in myself…until I did. We often expect revelations to happen in one cataclysmic event. A watershed of enlightenment and understanding, after which we will be forever changed. We see people who are successful or believe in themselves or have overcome imposters syndrome and we think HOW?! How come you get to experience that? How come I can’t? How can I possibly learn to believe in myself if I don’t know how?
My answer to the question of how I developed my confidence is a little bit boring and frustrating. Keep going. Don’t give up. Don’t stop trying things. Keep investing in yourself, keep doing the things that bring you joy, keep doing your affirmations and drinking your green juice and practicing yoga and meditation. Keep trying. You will get there. If you look closely, you already are.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a professional kiteboarder, confidence expert and empowerment speaker. I’m also the founder of Sensi Graves Swim, a sustainable swimwear line for active women that I started after losing one too many string bikinis in the surf. Sensi Swim was my first business that I started when I was 23 years old.
My current primary passion is helping people feel like they’re enough now by sharing the story of becoming a pro kiteboarder and starting a business before I believed that I could. When not traveling for photoshoots or speaking gigs, I also run women’s kiteboarding retreats and camps and mentor on confidence and business. I love helping other people learn to believe in themselves, be it on the water or in the boardroom.
I help women build confidence, overcome imposters syndrome and feel successful now, right where they’re at. I also guide rockstar entrepreneurs in how to create an awesome brand that they believe in by developing a clear vision, mission and values alongside an execution plan.
These three businesses keep me very busy but it’s by choice. I no longer compete in kiteboarding but I still ride for Slingshot and Ride Engine, two companies that believe in the work I do. I am thrilled to share my story with you!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Get clear on your why. Do a deep dive into WHY you want to start a business or why you’re doing what you’re doing. It should go beyond “make money” or “work for myself” and really dig into the underlying purpose. Perhaps your why is to empower women or it’s to find freedom, but getting to the core of why you want to do this thing will help you ride the waves of entrepreneurship.
As Simon Sinek says, “people buy why you do something not what you do”, meaning with a clear reason for being, you’ll be able to get people on your bus and your why will serve as a rallying cry for your business. It’s much easier to sell people on something that is connected to a deep purpose and sense of need.
Additionally, having a clear why will be a touchstone that you can turn back to when things get hard. It creates a sense of mission that’s outside of yourself. It’s easy to give up when things get difficult or you feel like you’re constantly hurdling over obstacles, and yet having a concrete why will ensure that you keep going.
2. Don’t attach your self-worth to the results that you achieve. I was so hard on myself when I first started my swimwear company. I thought everything needed to be perfect and when it wasn’t or when something would go wrong, I would feel like a failure. I thought that because my swimwear was bad, it meant that I was bad. I wasn’t allowing for trial or discovery or learning! It’s true what they say–you either win or you learn, there is no failure.
You will never discover your passions or skills or what you’re good at or what you want to do with your life unless you allow yourself to TRY things. It really doesn’t matter if you are good or not, reward yourself for the effort you put into something, not the result you produce.
3. Celebrate your wins. If you don’t you will keep chasing those wins. You won’t feel satisfied with what you are doing. You’ll never have enough and you’ll never be happy now. The trick to all this, the key to enjoying life is to be happy now. Yes you can strive and you can want to grow and you can reach for that upper level, and you should be! But if you don’t take the time to celebrate the things that go right, your brain will get turned off over time to those successes.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
I am a voracious reader and books are one of my favorite ways to grow as a human. A few of my favorites for business and mindset include “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek, “You are a Badass” by Jen Sincero, “Everything is Figureoutable” by Marie Forleo, “We Should All Be Millionaires” by Rachel Rodgers and “Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz.
Finding networking groups or incubators has also been huge for me. The Tory Burch Foundation is a networking and educational group for female entrepreneurs. They continue to provide a wealth of knowledge and have been hugely impactful on my career. Other mentoring groups include Built Oregon and Starveups (two Oregon-based startup groups). Finding community and support among like-minded entrepreneurs has been crucial in helping me stay motivated, compare notes and learn from those that have gone before me.
My final piece of best advice for entrepreneurs: invest in yourself! You are the best investment you can make. Whether that is a course, program, coaching or a book–keep investing in your self-development because you are the problem AND the solution in your business.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sensigravesswim.com, www.sensigraves.com
- Instagram:instagram.com/sensigraves, instagram.com/sensiswim
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sensi-graves/
Image Credits
Maria Orlova, Nathalia Collins, Eric Duran,
