We are once again going to kick off this week with advice from our fashion Icon of the week. Heidi Klum has been in the fashion industry for a long time, and her advice is not only credible but valuable.

• “Hard work is key. Ability is key. A degree of luck is key. But desire is the ultimate motivator. It makes you work like crazy and not give up too fast or too easily.”
• “For me the most important thing was always that you have something in mind that you want to do, that you enjoy doing, because a lot of people have a job, but they’re not happy. I think you have to think about what it is you really want to do in life and pursue that, and do it with fun; have a smile on your face, because then you’re happy.”
• “What does ‘selling it’ mean? I think it means playing at the person I want people to believe I am. Does that sound dishonest? I don’t think it is. In fact, it’s actually one of the hallmarks of successful people.”
• “I jumped into the water with 45 sharks without a cage in the Bahamas for a Discovery Channel show. That was a really good experience. I’m not saying that everyone should swim with the sharks, but sometimes you have to jump over your own shadow in order to learn something that you will never forget for the rest of your life. Then you know you can conquer your fears.”
• “You have to be super fit because you have to look good all the way around. You have to be firm and tight. You might have been the most beautiful girl in your hometown and now you are a beautiful fish in a big pond of a lot of beautiful girls, and in order to get the greatest jobs, you have to look amazing. You have to exercise and eat right so your nails are beautiful, your skin is beautiful, your hair is beautiful. Otherwise you will get mediocre jobs. If you want to get great ones, wear lingerie, or swimsuit jobs, your body has to look accordingly – the way the clients want it.”
• “It’s not about looks necessarily, always, it’s also about having the package so you can sell products. The world of modelling has shifted so much since I started 20 years ago. You didn’t have to do TV shows, no one asked your opinion, or what hairbrush you use. Now, if you want to be a successful model, you have to be more versatile.”
• “You get lucky along the way. You either meet the right people or you don’t. I feel like I got lucky and I met the right people and I showed up when I was supposed to, and stayed longer than most would. I think when you do a bit of extra work, that helps. A lot of the girls would look at the clock and go ‘I want to go home’, ‘can this be the last shot?’ or whatever, and then people don’t want to book you again.”

It’s important for those of use starting out in the industry to take advice from those who have not only endured all the hardships that we will eventually face, but to also understand that even though they are now famous that they too had to face the same challenges in their own career. You know what they say, learn from your own mistakes but also take the initiative to learn from others mistakes and take advice willingly.