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. A true 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 Mia Voss!
Mia Voss is an Entrepreneur, Expert Interviewer, Livestream Host & Brand/Experience Ambassador Her passions are community, connection, fun, more fun and wine. Her motto fits in well with those passions: “Live Large & Have Fun”
Mia considers herself an “accidental entrepreneur” and has never been afraid to change, shift and be open to stumbling upon new opportunities. As with many people, the major economic downturn that began in 2008 caused a major shift for Mia. Her thriving building inspection business was crippled and she had to get creative and reinvent. She became the city leader for a women’s networking group in Denver which led to starting The Mia Connect. What began as a social media company soon turned into a community connection & online interview venture which included The Mia Connect Power Chat, a livestreaming interview show which airs every Friday on Blab.
As her 50th birthday approached in March of 2015, Mia decided to shake things up and created #MiaOnTheGo, a series of travel adventures celebrating the idea of scaling back on possessions, taking it on the road, meeting new people.
Beginning with a sponsored trip to Italy, Mia spent the better part of 2015 traveling to different cities including DC, Los Angeles, Vegas, Austin. Plans for 2016 include Costa Rica, Panama and a triumphant return trip to Italy. Mia not only works with local businesses to put them on the map as part of her adventures but also collaborates with PR firms who represent Toyota, Kia, Lexus, Mercedes and more.
What began as a mini midlife crisis has now turned into a way of life. Make sure to follow Mia’s travel adventures throughout the world that highlights local businesses, community gamechangers and people you need to know. http://MiaOnTheGo.com/
You can also subscribe to Mia’s Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/themiaconnect
How are you an Alpha Female?
I’m excited to see this being a movement towards the norm! I’m an Alpha Female because I challenge myself, try new things and focus on my self-care. I may be girly but I love doing things that are uncomfortable and push my comfort zones. I’m ok with not fitting in. I’m ok with being my authentic self. I’m all right with being myself.
My motto is Live Large & Have Fun. It’s my big why. Someone’s big why is the reason why they do what they do. I was involved in a group in Denver that came together and brainstormed their whys. Everyone was coming up with Mother Theresa big statements. When I’m living large & having fun I’m living in purpose. You have to have that fun element.
What does work / life harmony look like for you?
I started to truly feel authentic in the last 5 years. I wanted to rock out 50. I wasn’t doing enough self-care. I wasn’t taking care of myself. I’ve decided to embrace what 50 looks like for me. I sold things & put other things into storage and decided to travel as a function of my career as a brand ambassador. I want to bring others with me
Work/life balance is ish for me. When I add the ish in then the work/life balance is more forgiving to me. I found out what I should be doing for work when I embraced the life part.
What are you most passionate about?
Community & Connection. I do a weekly blab show (formerly on Google Hangouts) that involves live streaming. I do something called 5 minutes in the box. It’s a cool fun platform that allow people to share what’s going on. I like to add people to my network which I call my toolkit so I can connect my community. Robyn calls her the Queen of Networking during the show.
What are your daily health habits that keep your immune system boosted?
I try not to jump on my phone or computer right away in the morning to check messages or social media. I’ve set an intention to try to drink water right away so I do that while I brew my coffee. [Podcast Show Note: Robyn shares how she drinks lemon water & a fibre supplement every morning and then Mia starts talking about poop. And then we talk about poop being an indication of how healthy we are and we created the hashtag #everybodypoops. You’ll just have to listen to the podcast to join in on the jokes.]
What is your weekly fitness routine like?
I like to speak in memes and while the above one makes me giggle when I hear the word fitness I do work on my fitness. When I created #50in2015 to celebrate turning 50 I spent 6 months training before going to Italy so that I could fitness in my mouth in Italy. But in all seriousness, I wanted to travel by myself and feel confident. I was lugging my luggage up stairs and through train stations on my own. I wanted to be able to do it myself. I embraced training 4 – 5 days a week. I also love Pop Sugar fitness. They have a great fitness YouTube channel. I bring my resistance bands with me when I travel and get workouts in whenever I can.
How do you challenge yourself fitness wise?
I love challenging myself with Krav Maga. I am not an adrenaline junkie when it comes to fitness but I really want to amp up my workouts and Krav Maga is helping with that. I go in all girly and thrown down. I’ve also surrounded myself with people that are cranking it up and inspiring me to do the same.
What are you daily/weekly nutrition habits that keep you well nourished?
I used to forget to eat due to being busy. I set the intention to eat at certain times of day. I’m a small field mouse that needs to be fed consistently. I’m a label detective to ensure I have healthy foods around me. You don’t want to get hangry because that’s when s**t gets real.
What are your daily habits for winding down at night and reducing stress?
I meditate daily and have quiet time in prayer. I have a busy brain and sometimes I want to veg out in front of Netflix but when I spend time in quiet my brain works so much better and I get so many ideas.
What are pain points that Alpha Females are constantly problem-solving for?
Do you remember the Enjoli commercial from the 80s?
It set the tone for woman to try and do it all. We started to believe we could really do it all. However, you can do 50 things or you can do 10 things well. Think about how much DIY is shooting at us on Pinterest every which way. I have a friend who said; “You can probably do that but do you want to?” It was so smart! People are learning to niche down and just do what you do well. Outsource to those who do their things well. [Podcast Show Note: Robyn shares how she learned to outsource to a virtual assistant in 2015 for organizing the AF Friday posts and hired her first house cleaner.] You can learn to do graphic design yourself or you can just hire a really great graphic design artist!
What is your definition of happiness?
It’s all about fun. It’s truly about having fun every single day. The quote “Lighten up Francis” from the movie Stripes sums it up all nicely.