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She Who Dares, Wins.

Full Throttle: Lara Small on Military Grit, Engineering Precision, and Moto-Mania

Season 4, Ep. 8

​Tune into the full episode to immerse yourself in Lara Small’s compelling narrative, be inspired by her determination, and learn from her rich experiences in leadership, engineering, and the exhilarating world of motorcycling. Stay connected for more enlightening content that promises to fuel your own journey towards personal and professional growth.


Lara Small is a highly accomplished individual, whose career spans across two major sectors: the military and engineering. She has an extensive background that includes time in the army, where she rose through the ranks to become a major, and a career in engineering, where she is currently working as an engineering manager at Rolls Royce. Lara is also a passionate motorcycle enthusiast and racer, having won races and developed a career in moto-journalism, working with companies like Bike World and penning articles for Fast Bikes Magazine.


Episode Summary:

In this captivating episode, our guest, Lara Small, takes us on a riveting journey through her life, sharing her experiences in the army, her passion for motorcycling, and her professional endeavors in engineering. Lara’s story is a powerful testament to resilience, learning from failure, and the pursuit of one’s passions against all odds.

Lara candidly recounts the challenges and setbacks she faced in her military career, particularly her initial failure at Sandhurst, which prompted a deep self-reflection and a turning point in her approach to leadership and teamwork. This heartening tale of redemption underscores the importance of perseverance, as Lara ultimately returns to Sandhurst, succeeds, and continues to rise within the army ranks. Her exploits in motorcycle racing reveal a similar theme of grit and determination, as Lara discusses the thrill of the race, the sense of freedom she derives from the sport, and her recent victories after years of effort.

Key Takeaways:
  • Facing Failure with Fortitude: Lara’s experience at Sandhurst, including her initial failure and subsequent success, is a powerful lesson in self-reflection, personal growth, and the value of perseverance.
  • Leadership Lessons Learned: The military taught Lara the importance of serving to lead, a lesson she carries into both her professional life and her mentoring roles.
  • Motorcycle Racing Passion: Lara’s enthusiasm for motorcycle racing offers insights into the world of motorsports, emphasizing the joy of competition, the importance of rider skill, and the camaraderie of the racing community.
  • Engineering Excellence: As an engineering manager at Rolls Royce, Lara is dedicated to delivering quality work and contributing to the advancement of the industry.
Notable Quotes:
  • "The military teaches you to dig deeper, to fight harder, to do the right thing, to have integrity."
  • "You only really find out who you truly are when you're incredibly sleep-deprived and you've been in a field."
  • "The sooner you bring your personality work to work and who you really are, the less you'll spend pretending you're something you're not."
  • "I'm quite driven by structure... the sense of what it could be at the end, like having a goal towards what I was spending my time doing, made sense."
  • "That sense of achievement and visualizing it... everything points towards that, no matter how long or short that particular task is."


Special thanks to this weeks episode Sponsor GT85 https://gt85.co.uk/?mtm_source=youtube&mtm_medium=Influencer&mtm_campaign=uk_Michelle+Hands_youtube_Influencer_social-media_brand-awareness_dnapp. #sponsored #ad #GT85

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