It took Em Hardwicke 40 years, and the birth of her beautiful son to be truly comfortable in herself, love the person she is, and be proud of her achievements and successes in life. Her son is her world. He is what inspires and motivates Em every day. She wants her son to realise that anything is possible with passion, determination, and hard work.
It is this passion, determination, and hard work that has gotten her through some tough times and has given her the strength and courage to take on some big dreams and physical challenges over the years. She has trekked Kokoda, Everest Base Camp, Mont Blanc, Mt Meru and Mt Kilimanjaro. She has also competed in several ultra-marathons, including the Ultra Trail Australia 50km and 100km. She does these things not to stand on a podium or break any records – she does these things to remind herself of what she is capable of and the beauty this world has to offer. Doing these things reminds her to always be the best version of herself.
When Em chose to enter Ms. Australia World Universal, she wanted her journey to mean something and make a difference. As a sisterhood, they support Cancer Research and the search for a cure to bring an end to this hideous disease. As an individual, she supports and advocates for anti-bullying and suicide prevention. Her Ms. Australia World Universal journey continues to give her an incredible opportunity and platform to encourage people within the broader community to stand up and help put an end to the senseless loss of lives brought about by an attitude where people feel it is okay to belittle, abuse and torture a fellow human being just for being individual, unique or a little bit different… or for even being themselves.
Being crowned Ms. Australia World Universal at the age of 47 has been a privilege, an honour, and an opportunity she did not intend to waste. While the crown and the title are not what it is all about for Em, she takes her title and role seriously. Being a part of the World Universal community allows her to promote Bully Zero and the important work they do in creating a bully-free society. She believes it is her responsibility, as a mother, to instill in her son the strength to not just stand by and watch someone being mistreated or abused. She wants to teach her son to use his voice and speak up for someone who may not feel they have a voice of their own.
It has been a busy 18 months since being crowned Ms. Australia World Universal. She’s had such a unique opportunity to be a role model and mentor. She has shared her story and work with Bully Zero and Tour de Cure within her local community; she has modelled at New York Fashion Week, been selected as a Bully Zero Hero, selected as an Adventure All-Star, and have been successful in securing a place to run in the 2022 New York Marathon. She is relishing the opportunity to remind others that you really can achieve anything regardless of age, status, gender, or physical ability and that we are only restricted by the limitations we place on ourselves. You need to always choose to believe in the strength of who you are as a person and what you are capable of. Life has certainly changed for Em in the last 18 months, but her passion for making a difference in the lives of those around her has not. She will always believe that if you can choose to be anything in life – you can choose to be kind. Be kind to yourself, but more importantly, be kind to others and those around you.
Inlife International recently interviewed Em regarding her journey in the industry, and here’s what she said.
What was the process for you to finding what you wanted to do?
I am not sure there was a process as such. I followed my passions and pursued things I loved doing, and worked out how to create opportunities for incorporating my passions with my profession. It hasn’t always been perfect, but I have always followed my heart and made sure I was always enjoying what I was doing and was always being challenged, and that seems to have been a formula that has worked well for me over the years. The simplest way to explain it is “Love what you do and do what you love.”
What has been the most memorable experience of being an entrepreneur so far?
I absolutely love the feeling of the freedom of choice I get by running my own business. I can choose the projects I work on and the people I work with. I have been fortunate that I have been able to surround myself with people who share many of the same values I do and who have a very similar outlook on life. This has provided many memorable and rewarding experiences, but if I had to choose one, I would have to say the first time I saw my product on the shelf in the store is definitely up there.
What has been the most valuable lesson you’ve learned as an entrepreneur. This can be about the industry or about yourself.
Without a doubt, the most valuable lesson I have learned is to believe in myself and back myself – whether that is about pushing through challenging situations to get a project off the ground or a new product launched or backing my decision to shelve a project or a product because I can’t give it my all to make it as successful as it can be. This lesson has been hard to learn, but someone once reminded me that failing is a process, whereas failure is an outcome, and that has made all the difference to the way I approach life, personally and professionally.
Tell us about something you are proud of – about your greatest challenge.
I have been so fortunate to have had the opportunity to achieve so many incredible things that I am proud of. I was crowned Ms. Australia World Universal at the age of 47; I have climbed mountains, I have run marathons and ultra marathons, and travelled the world largely on my own. All of these things carry a massive sense of achievement and pride. However, my biggest challenge and my biggest sense of pride was the birth of my beautiful son at the age of 40. The unconditional love I feel for this incredible human being. The privilege and pride I feel in watching him grow and learn about life and the person he wants to be are second to none.
How was New York Fashion Week? Tell us about your experience on such a prestigious platform.
Absolutely unbelievable and indescribable. It really does remind me that anything can be achieved at any age, and I am incredibly proud of being able to stand my ground and hold my own in a room full of women and girls half my age, and the nicest part of it all is that age actually didn’t matter. We were all there living our dream and supporting each other in the process. The opportunity to be a part of such a prestigious platform was a true honour and an experience I will never forget.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
To finish first, first, you must finish. It is not always about winning… sometimes; just getting out there and giving it a go is just as important as coming first or being the best.
Tell us about your passion for running and hiking – is this something you have always been into?
Not always, no. I have always been outdoorsy and have always loved fitness, but running and hiking came later in life. Running came purely by accident. I was training for a mini-triathlon and got lost in a training session.
Instead of running 3 kilometers, I ended up running 12 and I have been running ever since. I may not be fast, but I can run for hours, and I absolutely LOVE it!
I am not sure where my love for hiking came from, but it is something I have grown to love more and more. There is so much beauty in the world that can only be seen and truly experienced by walking slowly and soaking it in.
Tell us more about Bully Zero and Cancer Research – why did you choose to support these charities out of all the other charities?
There are so many charities that are worth supporting, but for me, I had to support charities that have personal meaning to me.
I was bullied at different times growing up, even into adulthood… I was one of the lucky ones, and I survived it, not without its scars, but nonetheless, I survived.
I have seen bullying get worse and more frequent as the years have gone by and what’s frightening is the age it starts and the age of the young lives we are losing as a result. I believe it is my responsibility as an adult and as a mother to teach my child that bullying in any form is not ok. Bully Zero is an incredible organisation whose main goal is to create a bully-free society where everyone feels safe, valued, and respected. I support Bully Zero because I want to see the incredible waste of young lives stop. I want to see a world in which a 10-year-old doesn’t feel like the only way to stop the pain and suffering is to end their life. I want to see a world in which kindness always trumps cruelty.
My reason for supporting cancer research is simple. It is an insidious disease that is cruel and snuffs out the life of people long before their time. Without research, there will be no cure, and without a cure, more parents will be left without their children, husbands without their wives, and wives without their husbands. I don’t have the knowledge or resources to do the research, but I can do my bit and help raise much-needed funds to keep the research going, and I will always live in the hope that my small bit will one day be a part of finding a cure.
What does being a successful entrepreneur entail?
Passion, perseverance, grit and determination, and a lot of hard work!
