By Past and present, there’s no shortage of incredible women to look to for inspiration when it comes to achieving your dreams. This is why Puma chose to spotlight a collection of amazing women, each with a powerful story and unique style, to star in its new brand campaign.
Enter Cara Delevingne, who’s risen to fame thanks to her modelling and acting credentials as well as her work within the LGBTQI+ community. Meanwhile, sprinter Jodie Williams and her sister, current British 200m champion Hannah Williams, have wowed the world with their athletic pursuits.
Here, the three women reveal how they each strive for greatness and describe the personal mindset that has helped them fulfil their goals.
Puma’s campaign is based on the concept ‘only see great’. What does greatness mean to you?
‘To me, greatness is individual. I think every person’s version of greatness is dependent on their own experience, their own ability to rise above doubt and fear and to step into the reasons that drive them.’
What has been the greatest moment in your career so far?
‘I’ve had so many incredible experiences in my career, so it’s very hard to pick just one. It’s hard to identify those great moments while they’re happening. I think these days I’m really proud of the great moments I’ve been able to achieve in terms of activism, work within the LGBTQI+ community, work with my foundation and also with EcoResolution and Initiative Earth.’
Can you recall the key moment when you first felt you’d achieved success?
‘I think buying my dream house, and creating a home and foundation that I’d built myself – physically and metaphorically.’
Has anything held you back from achieving greatness?
‘The only thing that’s held me back is other people’s opinions, my own harsh inner critic and self-doubt. If you can conquer those and take every opportunity and always do your best, nothing can stand in your way.’
What challenges have you faced on your path to greatness?
‘I hold myself to a very high standard, so sometimes I have a hard time acknowledging that what I’ve done is great, and only strive to do greater. I think it’s been a great motivator, but also been a challenge in enjoying the achievements as they happen.’
What mistakes have you made and what have you learned from them?
‘The pandemic really taught me the importance of slowing down. I used to go 100 miles per hour, traveling all of the time for work and not taking many days off. It definitely took a toll on me physically, mentally and also on my relationships with others. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to not making time for myself.’
How important is it to keep a positive mindset when striving for success?
‘Oh, it’s incredibly important. I work very closely with my yoga teacher, Colin, to help me keep my mind in a positive space. It’s something I work very hard to maintain.’
How has ambition helped you in your career?
‘I have big dreams and big aspirations. It’s helped in my career because I don’t want to stop trying to better myself. I wasn’t always like that – it took me realising that things like depression and anxiety don’t define you or make you any less of a person. It just means that underneath it all is something special, but you have to work hard to find it.’
When have you had to step outside of your comfort zone to achieve success?
‘All day, every day! Face your fears and step out of your comfort zone while staying true to your voice and using it.’
What does greatness mean to you?
‘To me, greatness is remaining true to yourself no matter how much external “success” comes your way. It means raising others up and standing firm in what you believe in.’
What has been the greatest moment in your career so far?
‘I don’t think I have a particular moment. I used to put great value on medals and external validation, but as I’ve grown these things mean less and less. I think what I’m most proud of in my career is my ability to turn negative experiences – injuries, disappointing performances – into motivation and to drive to be better and to do better.’
Have you ever contemplated quitting?
‘Yes! There have been years where injury setbacks and health problems have heavily impacted my performances and when these things come one after another it can feel like you’re fighting a losing battle. What stopped me was simply my drive to be the best. I have an insatiable need to see things through and always felt like I had unfinished business.
‘I’m most proud of my ability to turn negative experiences into motivation and drive to do better’
How does your mindset influence your performance?
‘Mindset is definitely important, but I try not let it affect my performances too much. This was a big lesson for me. My sport is hugely mental and over the years I’ve learned to put my emotions to the side when on the track and focus in on the task at hand. Motivation is fickle, so learning to be disciplined on the days where I’m not really feeling it or I just outright do not want to be there has been a big game-changer.’
What helps to keep you focused on achieving goals?
‘I’m a big-picture person and constantly looking ahead (it’s not always my best quality!). I like to look at the end goal and then break that down into easy, achievable steps. This keeps me motivated and stops me from getting bogged down in the mindset of not seeing progress, because I know the small things I’m ticking off my list eventually lead to my final destination.’
What would you like to achieve in your career going forward?
‘I’d of course like to achieve global medals. The next few years for me are the peak years and I’ll definitely be looking at getting on that podium. However, I want to look back on my career and know that not only did I achieve medals and top-level sporting success but that I also used that success to raise others up and open doors for people along the way. My true passions lie in empowering young girls and women. I have the privilege to speak and be heard, so I feel I must give that voice to those who don’t have such luxuries, and speak up on their behalf.’
What does greatness mean to you?
‘Greatness to me means achieving whatever you put your mind to and seeing no limits. It means being fearless and being the best version of yourself.’
What has been the greatest moment in your career so far?
‘The greatest moment in my career so far would have to be winning the 200m at British Championships last year. This meant a lot to me, as I found lockdown last year really hard mentally, going from training with my group and aiming towards the Olympics to training by myself on a grass pitch with no competitions and aims for the season.
‘I tried to stay as motivated as I could during the season, so when the British Championships were confirmed it gave my training much more purpose. Coming away with a win in my secondary event was just such an amazing feeling and proved to me that all the hard lockdown days training by myself were worth it.’
Are there moments in your career when you feel like you’ve failed?
‘Yes, there are a lot of moments in my career where I feel as though I failed, whether that be missing out on a final by 0.01, not qualifying for a championships, getting injured or underperforming on the day. Feeling like you’ve failed yourself is a horrible feeling, I usually let myself feel sad for a couple of days and then after that use it as motivation to do better next time. I feel as though setbacks always give you a extra bit of motivation and drive to be the best you can be.’
How do you deal with comparisons to your sister?
‘When I was younger I was constantly being compared to my sister. It was very demotivating as I felt like my performances were never good enough, especially as I was doing the same event as her. I stopped training for a while as I hated the constant comparison and not feeling good enough.
‘When I started training again, I changed event to the 400m, which helped a lot as there was no comparison to Jodie. Now I’m older I’ve realised that our careers and our progressions are different, and it doesn’t mean that I’m not good enough or have failed. It’s just that we’re different people with different paths.’
What motivates you to achieve your goals?
‘I turn to myself for motivation. You can’t rely on external sources to motivate you; you need to find it within yourself. When I need motivation, I think about all the things I want to achieve and how hard I need to work to achieve my goals.’
Embrace greatness and discover the PURE XT at puma.com
