When I was 23, I was run over by a bus. It literally drove over my legs and I couldn’t walk for a year. I broke everything from the waist down: 6 hip fractures, 6 fractures in my pelvis, one broken rib, one vertebrae, etc. Nevertheless, I felt that I was going to walk again despite the doctors telling me the contrary. I felt in me that I was going to walk again. This is why, when I give my speech to entrepreneurs, I always say “search for that little girl inside and you’ll find that thing that’s had its impact on you. It’s a little force that nudges you on to say “I know now, that is what I want to be.” The will to learn, with the will to grow, the will to enjoy life and live it as you truly want to live it without losing the ability to react and be astonished. Then obviously there has to be an awareness of what you’re doing beforehand, and the support of a knowledgeable team behind you is important, because one person alone can’t do everything. It’s not always about investing a lot of capital in order to get things done.

I think the most important thing to say is not to be afraid when facing your fears because a lot of the time fear is something that comes from youth. For me it was unthinkable that the day I began writing – I was breastfeeding my son and sat like a crazy person in my pyjamas all dishevelled – I just started writing about New York and I never imagined that it would take me here. Today, we have a community of more than 3.5 million travelling women that read and search for our tips and recommendations. I tell it like it is – I make mistakes at times, I make spelling mistakes, I write badly, but that’s who I am and the girls know me.

I believe that that spontaneity is a fundamental value. My main goal is for the network to grow, to give them this voice in other countries and inspire men and women, but above all women. I am very involved in the world of women entrepreneurs, working in areas that they like and living the life they want to live. I’m not afraid of my ideas being copied and nor should you be, that seems fundamental – ideas have their own stamp and they have in them your spirit, which no-one can take away. I believe that this demonstrates what I’ve always said: that nothing is impossible and we are all leaders.