Meet Grace Dykstra | Soccer Player, High School Student, Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Grace Dykstra and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Grace, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
As a soccer player and entrepreneur there are habits that I have developed in which function interchangeably in both fields. My primary habit is easily a mental habit, because the mind is the fortitude of any success story. This mental habit is about maintaining a relentlessly adaptable brain. High-achieving people get hyper-fixated on doing the impossible, but successful people collaborate with the impossible and adjust it to be possible. An adaptable brain is one suited up for adversity. It is able to overcome obstacles through adjustments and processing skills. Being able to assess and respond to a situation is what brings in top performances. This habit of an adaptable brain also seeks new information and experiences and is able to incorporate it all into its already existing framework instead of completely shifting perspective. The next habit is one that correlates with the other, and they must be exerted jointly for optimal execution. It is a habit that makes a statement of routine and a notion of working towards one’s goals. That is consistency. Consistency is the very discipline that will take any imaginative person into a success story. Consistency is the most powerful form of perseverance. A consistent person will overtake any persistent overachiever.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As I consider my sport an art, I realized I would have to find a way to support it. I figured the best way to do that is an art to accompany and art. I am in the process of creating an artistic brand called Studz (awaiting patent) as well as having already created clothing designs for a reputable company. The process of establishing these brands and businesses have been difficult, especially considering that I continue my art of sport on a daily. I am able to overlook the difficulties though, by focusing on the part I most enjoy, the designing and executing processes. As long as one enjoys what they do and treat it as a daily art practice, then all the steps to achievement are gratifying. When I more firmly establish my business brands I want to take out of it my own personal brand as an individual. Branding as an athlete is critical, especially at the higher stage, but I want the world to know that an individuals image can be branded nonetheless. I want to inspire people to find their own brand and create something they can use to share it with the world, or even just their community. Given that I am so young (16 years old) and they is so much more for me to accomplish, this is even more empowering. Developing one’s image is the best way to stabilized their identity and bring them into the business or artistic world.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If a best friend was visiting the area I live in and wanted me to show them the best time ever, they would be in the right hands. I always have cared about what others perceive based on my demonstration to them, whether that is in nature or in business. I tend to care more about other peoples happiness over my own too, which makes for splendid company. We would eat and drink in a place that is the most culturally submerged. We would visit the overlooked roots of the area and dive deep into their significance. We would hang out in an area that we would feel most connected with, for me that would be somewhere that is in nature. In my view, the most exciting people to check out are the ones that are the core of the area but underneath the shadows, the people that make it their duty to preserve the dignity of the place they live in. The most entertaining things to check out would be the things that provide the most value and meaning in relation to the area that is being visited instead of hunting down cheap thrills.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My father, Ward Dykstra, deserves the most credit in my story. Since a young age he has taught me the importance of investing. That is not only in money, but even more importantly in time, energy, and focus. Before mentoring me to be my own entrepreneur he had shown me firsthand what it would take. I watched him conquer the marketing field, the stock market, and the ownership of a private business. Not only is he a true inspiration but also are his words. “A little investment every day accumulates a lifetime”. I have attempted to embody this vision and make it a story.

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Image Credits
Leigh W