Every Friday I am going to feature a woman that I adore. They exude all the qualities of an Alpha Female and I want to dig into their lives to get some nuggets of knowledge to help us all live happier, healthier lives balancing life & work.
Definition of an Alpha Female
An Alpha Female is a powerful and assertive woman. Her confidence is due to being an intelligent and intellectual problem-solver. Being an Alpha Female is a State of Mind based on choosing ambition and being proud of it. She strives for a happy and healthy work/life harmony.
Type A Alpha Females often come across as strong willed and selfish. When we stay true to our authentic selves and stay true to our mission we shine. A true Alpha Female puts the needs of herself first without sacrificing her principles or dignity. She fills up her cup or gas tank first so that she has enough energy for her friends, family, and coworkers. She strives for synergy with the world around her. She wants a perfect work/life balance but knows that it requires being true to your priorities and what makes you happy. She is never complacent about striving for better and nurtures relationships with the people in her life.
Meet Limor Markman!
Following over a decade of marketing leadership in the Financial Services industry, Limor Markman found herself asking if there is more to life than climbing the corporate ladder and working even more hours. With these thoughts in mind, she embarked on a journey to educate herself in Real Estate Investing and has quickly become an accomplished Real Estate Investor with properties across Canada.
These Investments enabled her to leave her corporate career and pursue her passion of empowering women to improve their finances and live Unapologetically Financially Fabulous™ lives!
Limor teaches the basics of real estate investing to women across Canada and launched www.Limor.Money which she calls her virtual living room. It is a judgment free and safe place to learn about how to manage money and have your money questions answered.
She also recently wrote a chapter about becoming Financially Fabulous™ for the book, Who’s Going to Stop Us Now, a compilation of inspiring stories from 15 unstoppable women. Which I’m giving away one copy in June! Head on over to iTunes & rate & review the post to be eligible to win!
What do you think about the definition and how are you an Alpha Female?
I love your definition of Alpha Female and when I heard if for the first time it really resonated with me. It is a very modern evolved definition and I love that you’re spreading a new perspective. For over a decade, my career entailed marketing financial products, essentially working for the banking industry. I was working often in a very male dominated environment and the lack of female presence was really felt. The women who had achieved success, were very aggressive and had achieved this success by keeping up with their male colleagues. I was able to carve a space for myself amongst these women and quickly climbed the corporate ladder, but I didn’t really feel like my true self. I had two different versions of myself, one at work and one on the weekend. Only in hindsight do I realize how incongruent that really was.
As I started learning about real estate investing and building a portfolio, I realized that I could be successful on my own terms and didn’t have to be the type of ‘Alpha Female’ following in the style of the “Alpha Male” that the corporate world expected of me. In fact, from the time that I began earning money on my own accord, the weight of the world was lifted and I felt like I could now identify myself with the type of ‘Alpha Female’ that I was truly aspiring to be.
I’ve relaxed into a much more feminine, softer version of myself and while I’m doing things differently, I have developed a quieter much stronger emanating confidence. The evolved Alpha female I am now doesn’t feel guilty for ‘filling my cup’ and I am on a mission to spread financial strength and independence to young women. I’ve discovered my purpose and am going after it with everything I have.
What does your work/life harmony look like for you?
Work life harmony to me is realizing that I can’t do my best work, or give to others, be a good friend, sister, daughter, aunt etc when I’m not nourishing all areas of my life. As a result, I’ve really modified my own definition of a “productive day”. While working in the corporate world over the last few years I was travelling for work, almost every week and working on real estate about 10 hours a week. Working all those crazy hours, I had very limited time for much else, however, I felt I was being ‘highly productive’. In retrospect that wasn’t the best approach. This may sound cliché, but I wanted to live a life I didn’t need a vacation from. Today being an entrepreneur, allows me to work hard having really ‘productive days’, which includes allowing myself the time to enjoy all other aspects of my life.
What are you most passionate about?
I am most passionate about spreading the message that money doesn’t have to be complicated and that all women should have the basic knowledge to understand their finances. I truly believe all women regardless of the status of their relationships, should be financially independent and be able to rely on themselves. I know so many intelligent accomplished women with amazing careers who just don’t have their finances in order. It really isn’t anyone’s fault because most of us aren’t taught in school how to manage money. That’s why I created www.Limor.Money, it is a judgement free zone, where people can learn about money concepts and have their questions answered.
What are your daily health habits that keep your immune system boosted?
Most mornings I make fresh juice, which is vegetable based. I’m a very clean eater and don’t really like junk food. I wear sunscreen every day… I’m pretty sure this isn’t for my immune system, but I feel it is an important part of health and well-being. I’m have very fair skin and in high school I played in a soccer tournament on an overcast day and got second degree burns on my face. I’ve worn sunscreen every day since.
What is your weekly fitness routine like?
I workout three times a week and that consists of going to the gym and doing cardio, weights and stretching. Throughout my 20’s I danced with a several Professional Latin Dance Companies and trained about 20 hours a week including working with a personal trainer so I’m pretty independent and comfortable around weights in the gym. I love to jog when the weather is warm and I make it to the occasional hot yoga class. Working out for me is just as much for mental clarity as it is for the physical benefit.
How do you challenge yourself fitness wise?
For the most part, I like to stick to the gym, but I’ll look up new workouts online and test them out. I’ll try heavier weights or push myself harder with the cardio. I tend to go through phases where I gravitate towards different fitness programs, I’ve taken lots of classes, boot-camps and for a while last year was a regular at crossfit classes.
What are your daily/weekly nutrition habits that keep you well nourished?
Most mornings I make fresh juice, as I mentioned. I feel my best when I eat lots of fruits, vegetables and protein. I’m lucky because I really enjoy healthy food and it is easy for me to make healthy choices. I also only keep healthy food at home and that way if I want to indulge it has to be a very conscious effort to go and get a treat. I do love coffee and dark chocolate. I have done more than my fair share of travel and whenever I’m travelling within the country, I take snacks with me because it isn’t always easy to find healthy food on the go. I also drink a lot of water and always have a water bottle stashed in my purse.
I also nourish my mind and soul. I write in a gratitude journal while I’m still in bed every morning. I write down at least a handful of things that I’m grateful for. I don’t get out of bed until I’m smiling to myself. It helps me start my day on a positive note.
What are your daily habits for winding down at night and reducing stress?
Winding down has never been something that I’ve been naturally good at. I have to work hard to shut my brain down and even so, I have great ideas at night. I make a conscious effort to unwind and do quieter activities at the end of the day. Sometimes that will include a bubble bath or reading and often listening to spa-like music. During that time, I think through the highlights of the day in my mind. Doing this helps me focus on the amazing things in life and slows down that crazy fast forward pace so many of us live at.
What are some pain points of being an Alpha Female that you have to problem solve for?
Pain points regarding Alpha females for me actually has to do with how Alpha females are perceived by society, and that includes, how in the past, I’ve wrongly projected myself as an Alpha Female. When I was the more aggressive Alpha Female, which I mentioned earlier, the pain points were more evident, and felt like a struggle. I’m sure that I didn’t always come across as authentic and it was exhausting needing to navigate different versions of myself.
What is your definition of happiness?
Happiness to me is two things that are seemingly contradictory but to me are actually complimentary. The first is being really present and enjoying the little moments in life. Too often we are rushing about our day moving from one activity to the other without appreciating all that is around us and missing the best parts of life. The second is Tony Robbins’ definition of happiness being that ‘happiness is progress’. We all have purpose and goals and taking small steps towards them to me is happiness. In that sense to me, happiness is both being present and moving forward.
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