From full stop to new beginnings Nikki Bush on resilience and wealth at JSE SheInvests 2025

When Nikki Bush took the stage at the JSE SheInvests Conference on 23 August 2025, the packed Sandton Convention Centre was expecting insights on money and mindset. What they received was something more: a story of resilience born from personal tragedy, and a call to women to reframe how they think about wealth.

Bush, a renowned human potential thought leader and speaker, shared how the sudden death of her husband in an armed home invasion became the catalyst for reimagining her future.

“That day was my wake-up moment,”

she told Gauteng Lifestyle Magazine.

“I had to wrap up his estate and face the reality that I wasn’t left a rich widow. I needed to double my income, reposition myself, and start creating wealth instead of just generating an income.”

Her story illustrated the theme of SheInvests 2025 — Where Your Present and Future Meet — in the most personal way. She described the night of her husband’s funeral, standing with a psychologist friend who challenged her to see her grief differently.

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“I felt like I’d reached a full stop. My life was unrecognisable, all our hopes and dreams shattered. And she said, can you see if you can turn this full stop into a comma and dot, dot, dot — new people, new places, new possibilities.”

That metaphor became the foundation of Bush’s philosophy.

“The full stop is where you are trapped as a victim. A comma is a pause on your way, not in your way. And the dots are opportunities waiting to unfold.”

She emphasised that the turning point came when she decided curiosity had to outweigh fear.

“When things change, it’s scary. When life doesn’t look like it used to look, it’s scary. But your curiosity must be stronger than your fear. You have to be curious about what you don’t know — what’s behind the hill, what’s over the mountain.”

For Bush, resilience meant reshaping her financial habits as much as her mindset. She moved from the “if there’s money left at the end of the month, we’ll invest it” approach to building a disciplined system where investments came first.

“It was a mindset shift around being worthy of creating wealth,”

she explained.

“Especially for women, we don’t always take our money seriously enough. But if you want a different future, you have to take money seriously today.”

That message resonated with the SheInvests audience — a blend of professionals, entrepreneurs, and women navigating their own financial journeys. In a country where women head more than 40% of households, Bush’s call for resilience and reinvention was not theoretical but urgently practical.

Her closing reflection was directed at her younger self — and by extension, every young woman in the audience.

“Even if you’re earning very little, put a percentage of your income away into investments. While you’re working hard, something else must be working for you. Compounding is a miracle, not just with money but with skills, relationships, and personal growth. Always be investing — in yourself and in your future.”

Bush’s story of turning tragedy into transformation reminded attendees that SheInvests is not just about financial literacy, but about life literacy. Her lesson was clear: the most powerful investments women can make are in resilience, discipline, and the belief that the future can be written differently, no matter where the present begins.