The passion behind becoming a round-the-world yachtswoman

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Yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur arrives in England after her record breaking finish in the Vendee Globe race.  

“I knew then that I wanted to sail around the world. As a kid, that was the goal. I had no idea how to get there – growing up in the countryside, it wasn’t the most obvious career path – but I knew that was what I wanted to do at some stage.”

This episode ignited a passion within MacArthur, who acquired knowledge and saved up for years to pursue a career in sailing.

Speaking on the “CNBC Conversation,” the world-renowned retired sailor recalls how she would save her dinner money every day, so that she could save up to buy the right equipment.

“You make every step in your life one that gets you one step closer to that goal. And that step could be so small,” MacArthur said, explaining how she would have mashed potato and baked beans every day for eight years, to save cash.

By reaching certain financial goals and asking technical questions about sailing, this helped MacArthur feel as though she was getting closer to her ambitions.

“I think having a goal, so young, it just gives you focus. And it gives you a direction,” she said, adding that there are many parallels between her goal of becoming a sailor, and that of the work she does at her eponymous foundation, which aims to promote a circular economy, whereby economic activity builds and rebuilds the overall health of the system.