Jessica Bruner

Jessica Bruner: and that was, stay hungry, stay foolish. And what he meant was, never stop chasing the knowledge that you need to do the next greatest thing.

What does being an Influential Woman mean to you?

Jessica Bruner: What does it mean to me to be an influential woman? It's humbling. I am humbled by the great honor of being recognized as an influential woman. There are a million things in this life that I would love to do, and apparently what I am doing is making an impact and a difference, and that matters. I strive every single day to show women in this community and everywhere that they are watching, that we can overcome. The greatest barriers that we put in our lives, through our behaviors and our actions, that we can transform, and that we can do something that matters, that makes an impact. And for me, that's what being influential is, is that you're making a positive impact, and I hope that I never stop.

What's one piece of advice you would give to younger women chasing their dreams?

Jessica Bruner: OK. So what piece of advice would I give a young woman today chasing her dreams? Is this, uh, find someone. It doesn't have to be someone current. It doesn't have to be someone who uh is well known, but finds someone. That is doing or has done what you want to do, and then find why that person can influence you and give you the strength to keep moving forward. And I tell you that because it is hard to follow your dreams. Life is happening, and you have responsibilities, and you have things that come up that will try to deter you, and that's OK. So for me, I Followed and studied and wrote papers on Steve Jobs. May he rest in peace. But, something that he said in a speech stuck with me, and that was, stay hungry, stay foolish. And what he meant was, never stop chasing the knowledge that you need to do the next greatest thing. And don't let anyone tell you that it's time to grow up and just find a course and stick with it. I'm 44 years old. I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grow up. I'm just now coming into that. And so what I would hope that somebody would have said to me and my younger self, chasing my dreams was, Stay hungry, stay foolish. You're gonna get there someday, and when you do, it's going to be amazing. So don't give up.