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 finding harmony between work and life.
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. An Alpha Female 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 Rita Almusa!
Rita, Co Founder and Owner of MintPear (Beauty Company) mother of a 1 year old son and wife of 8 years. She is well traveled, fluent in arabic and has experience abroad living in Amman, Jordan and different states through out the US. She is a Master Esthetician & Certified Makeup Artist with over 10 years experience in the Beauty Industry, born into the beauty industry with her mother being a makeup artist. She has dedicated her life to discovering beauty in all different forms around the world. MintPear is a part of a major movement to remove race, politics, religion and to cut out the BS around the Beauty Industry’s idea of what beauty means. MintPear is driven by a mission to empower women to be more confident and creative in their own skin wherever they are and whomever they are. Spreading awareness, knowledge and love with their Cruelty Free, Vegan High Quality Beauty Products. Beauty comes in many faces, education is one of them. MintPear’s mission is to take a portion of their profits and put them towards education for women around the world. Thank you for being a part of a bigger picture and helping a small business create the opportunity for a more beautiful future for many women worldwide.
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What do you think of the definition and how are you an Alpha Female?
The first few words that come to mind for me are: “Fearless, Leader and Hungry for success” It takes a lot of discipline, but I strive to be all three every day. Reminding yourself why I do what I do every day helps to keep my mind clear and helps me to prioritize my day.
What does your work/life harmony look like?
I have been with my husband for going on 8 years now and we both became parents last year as well as business owners. It was a lot to take on all at once, but it really made me get things in priority. It took about 6 months for me to realize that if I don’t make time to take care of me, no one will. So I put my foot down and I told myself: “You will run 5 miles a day, you will shower and do your makeup every day and you will also make time for your relationship and your son.” Once I made it an everyday “must” it took the guilt out of the equation. I knew what my day was going to look like, I knew that I was going to have a full schedule but that was ok, because it’s what was important to me and at the end of the day, I knew I would feel a sense of accomplishment. Making a dedicated schedule and writing it somewhere like on a white board where you can visualize and stay on task was key for me.
What are you most passionate about?
Freedom. Freedom from the conventional mind set and day to day life. I am driven to achieve my goals to spend time with my family and enjoy my youth. I work hard to be healthy to make living doing what I love (playing with makeup and empowering other women to be more confident). I’m rewarded knowing that my passions have driven me to help other women beyond what I could have foreseen.
What are you daily health habits that keep your immune system boosted?
I take number of supplements to keep me at my ultimate performance, these include: Vitamin E, C, B12, B6, Fish Oil, Prenatals, Spirulina, Biotin, and a collagen supplement for my skin. I have a tutorial on how I lost 50lbs after my first son was born.
What is your weekly fitness routine like?
I run 5 miles a day 5 days a week and my husband and I go on evening walks whenever we can. When I was trying to lose a lot of the baby weight, I was going to the gym to incorporate weight lifting with my cardio because this is very important when you are really trying to achieve results.
How do you challenge yourself fitness wise?
On a day to day level, if I really don’t feel like getting out for a run, I will tell myself “I’ll just go for a walk around the block”. Which turns into a run around the block, which turns into a mile, and then 2 miles etc. I like to try different sports and activities. I was born in salt lake city utah where there are endless recreational activities through out all the four seasons. It’s important to mix it up and pick up a new sport at any age to keep your mind and your body fresh.
What are you daily/weekly nutrition habits that keep you well nourished?
I’m a huge advocate of reading ingredients and knowing what you put in your body. Keep it simple and if you can, organic. Drink water! Limit your alcohol intake. I practiced a vegan diet a while back for a few years, so a lot of the fresh fruits and vegetables are still a main source in my diet.
What are your daily habits for winding down at night and reducing stress?
This all changed once we had our son Nymr (nimmer). I used to have a glass of wine and a piece of chocolate before my son, which was a major factor in my weight struggle. Now after I get my little tiger to bed, I’ve made it a priority to spend an hour or two with my husband over a cup of tea (and occasional weekend glass of wine) discussing our “wins” for the day and sharing our accomplishments. This has really strengthened our bond and we both look forward to this time together in the evening.
What are some pain points of being an Alpha Female that you have to problem solve for?
When you become a mother you enter into an entire new world of other “mothers”. You meet them at dinner parties, pubs, parks, grocery stores etc. and I’ve found a pain point when I explain I do more than just sit at home and raise my son, I work 60 + hours a week on MintPear my beauty business. I think a huge part of this is my own guilt, for the longest time after my son was born I felt like I needed to do it all, perfectly all the time. Everything needed to be perfect (I have recently accepted that I have a bit of OCD). A huge step for me was to delegate and accept when things are not done “exactly” how I would do them. Just accept that they are done and how important it is to show my appreciation.
In addition to this, there’s a lot of vulnerability in being a working mother, and a working mother that has a blog and shares all of her insecurities and weaknesses. The truth is, there are mean people in the world and I’ve learned to look the other way and spend my energy on those that deserve it. If someone leaves a nasty comment I just assume they’ve had a pretty shitty day, and it has nothing to do with me. This is my perspective on a lot that happens in life. I live by one of my favorite quotes “Life is 10% of what happens and 90% of how you react to it”
What is your definition of happiness?
It’s been simplified over the years. On a professional level, it’s being able to touch the life of many women and bring hope and light to their life. Spreading awareness and encouraging empowerment. When it comes to a personal level, it comes down to this: Clean house, my family and my health. A schedule that allows me to run 5 miles and spend play time with my son watching him grow and experience the world every day and quiet time to appreciate my husband every evening. The equation is simple: A balanced life = happiness.