ABOUT Hacia atherton

“Passionate about supporting people to connect with their inner courage and achieve their remarkable full potential.”

– Hacia atherton

Hacia Atherton is an industry thought leader in courage; she is passionate about how Positive Psychology can empower the next generation of leaders to achieve their remarkable potential.

As an entrepreneur, Hacia focuses on inspiring people to overcome their adversities through her Courage Coaching and Speaking. As the founder of Empowered Women in Trades, her passion for courageous leadership through empowerment continues to inspire people across industries, in particular women navigating their professional development within skilled trades.

As an entrepreneurial trail-blazer in courageous leadership, Hacia Atherton has been recognized by The NYC Journal as one of the Top 30 Women Disruptors To Look Out For In 2021. She is dedicated to transforming corporate management to embody vulnerability, compassion, and empathy as part of the new paradigm for dynamic industry leaders. Passionate about Positive Psychology, she empowers leaders to expand their remarkable potential, while creating psychologically safe and thriving workplaces for all.

Hacia motivates audiences to triumph over life’s challenges through her Courage Coaching and Speaking. As Founding Director of Empowered Women in Trades, she’s revolutionizing how trade-based industries in Australia attract, support, and retain female careers within skilled trades. Hacia’s transformational ideology was developed after she sustained crushing injuries in a life-threatening equestrian accident. Being told she may never walk again in any meaningful way, she realized that success is a relative concept, which must constantly be redefined, and that advancement in life is primarily based on one’s ability to implement incremental goals, which, when achieved, aggregate into forward-propelling milestones.

Hacia’s Journey

The Horse Accident

In 2017 Hacia’s courage was tested as her life changed irrevocably forever. While pursuing her ultimate dream of representing Australia at the World Equestrian Games, Hacia was thrown from her horse during dressage training and crushed as the 600kg animal fell on top of her.

Airlifted to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Hacia underwent a nine-hour surgery to repair her badly broken pelvis, along with numerous fractures in both hips and severe nerve damage to her right leg. Hacia woke to surgeons advising her she would likely never walk again in a meaningful way and would forever be reliant on a walking frame or crutches. Hacia endured the first six incredibly painful months of her recovery within the confines of a hospital room and her wheelchair. Her mental and emotional toughness was challenged as she grappled with the overwhelming reality that the dreams she once had would never be realized and that she may spend the rest of her once active and vital life bound to walking aids… ↱

Devastated by her new reality, Hacia fell into a deep depression. She spent hours crying in agony, defeat, and frustration at the helplessness of her situation. However, her fighting spirit revived itself as she faced her toughest challenge yet – to stand unaided for the first time since her accident. The attempt left her nauseous and reeling from the pain. She was only able to stand with assistance for a few seconds. She cried in agony, defeat, and frustration at the helplessness of her situation.

Courage Over Fear

Mentally and emotionally, Hacia realised she had a choice. To let her tragic circumstances dictate the remainder of her life or to face the seemingly impossible goal of walking again with courage, positivity, and spirit.

Spurred on by her newfound reserves of strength, Hacia decided to embrace ‘progress over perfection. She decided to break the end goal of walking unaided into incremental goals which she could achieve and celebrate. In this moment, her new mantra of ‘can do, will do’ was born.

Now, four years and fourteen operations later, Hacia has taught herself to walk again, achieved her CPA, has been accepted into Melbourne University to study a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology, has completed several 100km bike rides, and is now training for three monumentally tough events – Sprint distance triathlons (a 750m swim, 20km bike ride and 5km run sprint triathlon), the 15km Run for the Kids and Amy’s Great Ocean Road Ride, which is a 130km road cycling event to help raise funds for the Amy Gillett Foundation.

Hacia’s adaptability and resilience are a part of her journey to learn about the power of inner courage and achieving remarkable potential. As a part of the Melbourne University Masters program in Applied Positive Psychology, Hacia is determined to empower young people to reach their career goals with courageous leadership and professionalism.

Leading With Courage

Hacia’s determination to make a difference is not only limited to her own life. Hacia is a practical coach for people to find their courageous purpose in life and supports them to overcome challenges they face.

Hacia is the founder of a Not-For-Profit Empowered Women in Trades whose mission is to increase female representation in skilled trades and create a more equitable, balanced workforce that values and prioritises the participation of skilled female tradespeople with respect and leadership.

She is a member of the CPA Australia Emerging Leaders Network where she inspires young professionals and graduates to find their inner courage to achieve their remarkable potential in business and community endeavours. Through her courage and resilience, Hacia successfully turned a major life trauma into a triumph, she dealt with both her physical pain and her mental challenges with a lived experience of depression after the accident. Her ability to redefine her own version of success has been key in her fight to regain control of her legs (and life).

She now inspires audiences across Australia with her transformative ideology that success is a relative concept which must constantly be redefined, and that advancement in life is largely based on one’s ability to implement incremental goals which, when achieved, compound into large milestones.

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