—by Nathalie Jaspar

When I visualize a spiritual master, I tend to imagine someone living a quiet life of meditation and teaching—a yoga or a Reiki master. I never expected that some of the most kick-ass life advice I’ve heard lately would come from the lips of two young women entrepreneur at a Women 2.0 event in New York: Cathy Han, CEO and co-founder of 42 Technologies and Kelly Peeler, Founder and CEO of NextGenVest. Here is some of the wisdom they shared* when asked what life lessons they learned while launching their companies. Enjoy!

1)    No excuses (Cathy): Stop saying you are too young, too busy, or too poor. That you need another class, another year, another partner. If you want to do something, go ahead and do it.

2)    Don’t be an asshole (Kelly): You can’t do everything by yourself; you will need help and a network of people. And for that to happen, you can’t be an asshole.

3)    Being busy doesn’t mean you are progressing (Cathy): When you are always busy, you don’t leave space for things to happen: a last minute meeting that can bring you new connections or the mental space for an idea to grow. Always create space for the things you want or need so they can come into your life. For that you need to prioritize: Have a huge to do list? Pick the 3 things you want to do that day. Pick three coffee shops and do one thing in each: this helps you focus on each and helps creating a feeling of movement.

4)    Say thank you (Kelly): A lot of people ask for help, but very few say thank you. When you say thank you, it goes a long way.

5)    Know how you operate (Kelly): Are you a morning person or a night person? Do you work best in blocks of a few hours or taking more breaks? When do you need to eat? How much exercise you need…? Acknowledge how you operate and build your work schedule around it.

6)    Be uncomfortable (Cathy): Feeling uncomfortable means you are stepping out of your comfort zone and doing something new. It means you are challenging yourself. And that’s what it's all is about.

7)    Embrace difference (Kelly): You are a woman or an ethnic minority? Thrive in that difference: it’s your biggest advantage. It’s what will make people remember you.

—Nathalie Jaspar is the co-founder at Natky927 Wellness Collective, a group of professional Reiki practitioners supported by life coaches, clinical herbalists and yoga teachers in New York City and Miami. 

*I was so immersed into their speech that I didn’t think or recording, but I tried to keep it as close to the meaning as was possible.