Meet Laura Dekker, the youngest person to sail solo around the world

Laura Dekker holds the world record for being the youngest person to sail solo around the world. She began her journey in August 2010 when she was 14 years old and finished in January 2012 when she was 16. In this conversation, we talk about what prompted her to take on a voyage this challenging, how she navigated (and eventually won) her fight with the Dutch government, and how she plans to use the lessons she learned as a young sailor to parent her own kids. -- Stay up to date by subscribing to The Profile, our weekly newsletter that brings you the best profiles of successful people and companies. Sign up here: https://theprofile.substack.com/ -- TIME STAMPS: 00:00 - Intro 00:36 - Her passion for sailing 01:26 - Her parents' divorce 03:57 - Her school experience 05:53 - Learning through apprenticeship 08:22 - Sailing from England to Holland at age 13 14:33 - Deciding to sail around the world solo 17:58 - Taking on the Dutch government 24:43 - What her parents thought about her sailing solo 25:51 - The reason behind the voyage 27:01 - Was she nervous about doing it alone? 29:22 - Coping with the loneliness 32:47 - Why she didn't undertake a commercial trip 34:30 - Celebrating two birthdays by herself 35:47 - What she learned about herself 38:12 - The hardest part of the journey 39:51 - The most dangerous situation at sea 41:37 - What do you do after achieving your dream at such a young age? 44:27 - Would she let her kids take on a similar challenge 46:20 - Teaching her kids to be entrepreneurial 49:23 - How Laura defines success