Who?
Venus Williams, Professional tennis player, CEO of V Starr, and CEO and creative director of EleVen by Venus
Where?
West Palm Beach, Florida
What?
In addition to her accomplished tennis career—which includes seven Grand Slam titles, 14 women’s doubles titles, two mixed doubles titles and five Olympic medals—Williams is also the CEO of two businesses. V Starr is an interior design company that has worked on facilities such as the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Miami and the athletic center at Howard University. EleVen by Venus is Williams’ line of athletic apparel.
I’m reading…
Originals by Adam Grant. It talks about how to be innovative and how to come up with original ideas. It’s really interesting. I recommend it.
I’m actually a recovering…
gadget-addict, so I’m limited on what I can get. I recently got a Microsoft Surface Pro. It’s pretty cool. I like it. It’s interesting. It’s small. You can travel with it easily.
I really believe in…
doing right by people and doing right by myself. I live with that every day. The Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
My favorite feel-good movies are…
romantic comedies because I love happy endings—anything in that genre.
My favorite pick-me-up is…
my little dog. He always makes everything better.
Everyone should try…
having some faith and believing in a higher power. It’s really grounding.
My favorite band is…
311.
My secret weapon is…
I always believe that I can do things on my own terms, and I won’t stop until that happens.
I handle disappointments by…
working harder.
It’s hard to meet people who…
are truly humble. It’s just such an attractive characteristic to have.
I’d love to travel…
through China. I don’t have time to do it, but I’d love to do something like that.
If you have to…
show up, why not compete?
Inspiration comes from…
everywhere, but my biggest inspiration comes from my family. I love them deeply so they inspire me, and I try to inspire them.
MARK PAIN
My role models are…
always really close to home. Definitely my older sisters and my younger sister as well. They’ve really pushed me to be where I am today, and we still push each other.
The most important lesson I’ve learned is…
achieve more than you ever thought you could. We have limits, but we have to live life like we don’t.
In my tennis career, I still want…
to continue to win tournaments and majors. That’s something I work on every day. With EleVen, we want to build a brand that inspires people to move their bodies, make their lives positive and live healthy lives. At V Starr we want to create iconic designs. Those are our long-term goals and that’s what we’re aiming for.
COURTESY OF ELEVEN BY VENUS
In 20 years…
hopefully I’m not playing tennis anymore. Whatever I’m doing I want to be in a position where I can win because I love to win.
Related: My Way: 14 Things That Push Me to Be Successful
This article originally appeared in the January 2017 issue of SUCCESS magazine.