Stephanie Fatta of BeautyBrite.com: Optimal Performance Before High Pressure Moments; How To Relieve Stress, Clear Your Head, and Prepare Yourself For High Stakes Business Encounters

Parveen Panwar, Mr. Activated
Authority Magazine
Published in
10 min readAug 28, 2020

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“If I am truly feeling stressed or overwhelmed, I take a break. I go for a walk. I just adopted a rescue dog, so now I can easily take her outside for a quick walk.I also surround myself with positive messages, whether they are art pieces, pictures of my son, and my dog, and houseplants. You would be amazed at how calming houseplants are! I also remind myself of everything we have. I am very proud of my accomplishments. It’s been a tough journey as a single mom.”

As a part of our series about “Optimal Performance Before High Pressure Moments”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Stephanie Fatta.

Stephanie Fatta is the founder of the popular beauty & lifestyle website, BeautyBrite.com. Her publication could be considered “A Little Bit of Everything”, as it covers beauty, fashion, family, lifestyle, health, wellness, fun recipes, innovative tech gadgets, and much more. A single mom to a teen with Autism (and doing it all on her own), Stephanie also enjoys writing about motherhood and family life at her personal blog, MamaHearted.com.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?

“Thank you so much for having me. I am thankful for this opportunity. I was born and raised in Northern California with the majority of my family living nearby! It was so much fun growing up with my cousins. Some we would see on holidays and at family gatherings and others we lived very close to and were able to go to school together. I was lucky enough to be raised in a two-parent household.

As a parent myself, I am trying to provide my son with a safe childhood like I had.”

What or who inspired you to pursue your career as an entrepreneur or business leader? We’d love to hear the story.

“I feel like I fell into blogging. I had tried home businesses/direct sales and never did well! I’m not super outgoing and social, but being a blogger, I still have a voice and my own platform! I started a few blogs before I settled on BeautyBrite.com.

In addition to my blogs, I also manage a network of houseplant groups on Facebook. We also have a blog. It’s a lot of work, but so rewarding and amazing.

Just like blogging, I’ve been able to make amazing friends along the way.”

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?

“I started BeautyBrite.com in 2010. I have made so many amazing friends over the years. We have never met, but I feel like I can tell them just about anything!

When I was going through personal struggles, such as when my brother passed away, my separation, moving, and so much more, I had my friends to turn to for support. They listen and they don’t judge at all.”

Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?

I can’t recall any mistakes, however, my biggest regret was not switching to a self-hosted blog sooner. I was scared and nervous of having to learn a new platform. Looking back, I wish I had switched sooner. It was the best decision I had ever made!”

The road to success is hard and requires tremendous dedication. This question is obviously a big one, but what advice would you give to a young person who aspires to follow in your footsteps and emulate your success?

I would advise any to keep an open mind. Take the leap, listen, and observe. Be open to change. Being a blogger, I have learned that things are always changing. Do not limit yourself. Building a tribe of friends who cheer you on and support you is also so important.“

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

I read a self-help book earlier this year called I Hear You, written by Michael S. Sorensen. I loved that Sorensen gives advice on how to listen and communicate with others. As soon as I started reading, I incorporated his tips immediately. When I use his techniques, people are more open and honest.”

Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?

I have always been one to save quotes — either I wrote them down on random pieces of paper, jotted them in a notebook, or saved them in my phone.

I was going through a very tough time and I found the following quote from Oprah very impactful.

‘You CAN have it all. You just can’t have it all at once.’ — Oprah

Right then and there, I decided I needed to take the step and make a change. I knew I wasn’t happy with the way my life was going. I won’t go into detail, but it led me to being where I am today. I am happy. I am a full-time single mom to a teen with Autism. I am also a homeowner! I have realized the situation I was in was not sustainable. We had different goals and values.”

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

“Right now, I am focusing on juggling distance learning. My son has special needs, so his learning is a bit different. We have daily Zoom calls with his teacher for one-on-one lessons for 30 minutes!

We also have ABA Therapy 5 days a week for 3 hours a day. I am very grateful we started ABA Therapy just before schools closed!

I have also been working on building a marvelous management team for our houseplant network of groups! We have a very large community and it takes a team of people to help manage our groups! I believe gardening and houseplants are an affordable and effective way for people to keep calm and stay peaceful, especially during the tough times we are going through.”

OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. As a business leader, you likely often face high stakes situations that involve a lot of pressure. Most of us tend to wither in the face of such pressure and stress. Can you share with our readers 3 or 4 strategies that you use to cope with the burden of stress?

“I am raising my son all on my own. I face stress every single day. I worry about making ends meet. I worry about unexpected expenses or bills from being a homeowner. My son and I are going through life without any help or family.

To cope with the burden of stress, I just focus on the positive. I stay positive.

I also adopted a rescue dog and she’s been a huge help with keeping me busy. We are home all day anyway, so she keeps us company and keeps things interesting.”

Aside from being able to deal with the burden of stress, can you share with our readers 3 or 4 strategies that you use to optimize your mind for peak performance before high pressure, high stress situations?

“Take a moment to breathe. Take a step back from the situation and go back to it when you have calmed down.

Managing a large houseplant network, we are always reminding our team that we are a team. The burden does not fall completely on their shoulders. It is so easy to get caught up in the social media notifications.

Literally pull yourself away from what is stressing you out. Go for a walk. Read a book. Take a bath. Play with your pets. Play with your children. Distract yourself.”

Do you use any special or particular breathing techniques, meditations or visualizations to help optimize yourself? If you do, we’d love to hear about it.

“If I am truly feeling stressed or overwhelmed, I take a break. I go for a walk. I just adopted a rescue dog, so now I can easily take her outside for a quick walk.

I also surround myself with positive messages, whether they are art pieces, pictures of my son, and my dog, and houseplants. You would be amazed at how calming houseplants are! I also remind myself of everything we have. I am very proud of my accomplishments. It’s been a tough journey as a single mom.”

Do you have a special technique to develop a strong focus, and clear away distractions?

“Since the schools closed because of COVID-19, my son has been home. I used to do my blogging, grocery shopping, and any other errands while he was at school! Now that he is home, I’ve had to find creative ways to get my writing done!

I rely heavily on essential oils and my oil diffusers! I also use crystals that help me focus on the task at hand. I can easily sit down to start writing, and then I realize I need to do laundry. I start a load of laundry and then realize I need to take the trash out. I gather the trash and then see I need to vacuum. It goes on and on!

I set my intention and my goals for the day, then I prioritize and tackle them one by one!”

We all know the importance of good habits. How have habits played a role in your success? Can you share some success habits that have helped you in your journey?

“My biggest habit is making lists. I have lists on my phone and on my desktop.

I also wake up super early. This gives me the time to enjoy my coffee, work out, and then start getting ready for the day! I reserve the morning for myself, to prepare for each day.”

What is the best way to develop great habits for optimal performance? How can one stop bad habits?

“I listen to my body. I know when I start to feel stressed or overwhelmed. That is my cue to take a step back from the situation. I start doing something I know I can do, such as load or unload the dishwasher, vacuum, laundry, clean the bathroom, go for a walk, make my child laugh, or do a few stretches. It may sound simple, but completing a task that I know I can do without getting upset over it really helps me feel accomplished.”

As a business leader, you likely experience times when you are in a state of Flow. Flow has been described as a pleasurable mental state that occurs when you do something that you are skilled at, that is challenging, and that is meaningful. Can you share some ideas from your experience about how we can achieve a state of Flow more often in our lives?

“To achieve a state of Flow more often, it is important to regularly spend time doing what fulfills you. Whether it’s an artistic hobby that brings you joy, volunteering at an organization for a cause you support, or launching a side hustle you’ve always wanted to do, do what really uplifts you.

To find my state of Flow, I found it very fulfilling to volunteer in my son’s classroom one to two times a week. It really made me feel good. I had the opportunity to watch him learn and interact with his teachers. It also helped prepare me for distance learning, of course, I didn’t know that at the time. I also had the chance to chaperone a few of his field trips. I can’t wait for him to return to school because I am so eager to volunteer again!

I also love being social online, and I love helping others. Blogging is fun, challenging, and meaningful to me. I love having my own platform. I also love houseplants. I started my first houseplant group in 2017, and it has been growing exponentially ever since! Our groups are so popular, that we are having a hard time keeping up. That is meaningful to me. We offer a place for people to share their love of plants. We get to share our stories, our plants, ask for help, offer help, and more.”

Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

“Be positive with yourself and the people you interact with. You never know what someone else is going through. Keep your mind filled with positive thoughts and pass that on to complete strangers.

I lost my brother to suicide in 2014 and have so many regrets! He was a veteran, and I really think he was going through tough times. He didn’t know how to ask for help and I wasn’t aware he was suffering. Be kind. Don’t judge others.

If I had the opportunity to work with a Veterans group or suicide prevention group, that would be such an honor.”

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)

“I am not into politics, but I am so inspired by Kamala Harris! It is so amazing that she is the first woman of color to accept the nomination for Vice President.

Oprah, Michelle Obama, and Ellen also top the list. Although, I know if I ever had the chance to meet Ellen, she’d question me on ‘why’ I didn’t list her name first! Ellen — you are an inspiration. I love watching your show as often as I can. You always make me laugh, cry, and my heart fill with love!”

How can our readers further follow your work online?

“You can find me at BeautyBrite.com, HouseplantAddicts.com, and Mamahearted.com. Below are also my social media channels:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beautybriteblog/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautybrite/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/beautybrite

Thank you!”

Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.

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Parveen Panwar, Mr. Activated
Authority Magazine

Entrepreneur, angel investor and syndicated columnist, as well as a yoga, holistic health, breathwork and meditation enthusiast. Unlock the deepest powers