Leaning in to the themes of your life with Stephanie Lee
Highlights from S2 Ep3 of What Should I Do With My Life? with Steph Horwitz featuring Stephanie Lee
Meet Stephanie Lee, CEO & Founder of SELFMADE, an emotional wellbeing brand whose mission is to create a radical self-love movement for all of us to build our own self-worth story. From the makeup counter at MAC cosmetics to the East Wing of the White House working with First Lady Michelle Obama, the themes of creativity, impact, taking risks, and the greater good are constant and interwoven in Stephanie’s story. Stephanie shares about the big yet complex role the beauty industry has played in her life, the constant work she did and does (and we all should be doing) to maintain her mental health, why she quit her job to travel the world, and the genesis and vision of SELFMADE.
Three Pearls of Wisdom from Stephanie Lee:
- When asked if she felt imposter syndrome during her time at the White House, Stephanie says she actually had this care-free, perhaps even naive attitude. Being so young, Stephanie wasn’t thinking to herself, “Oh, I shouldn’t be here” like many of us might in such a position, rather, she was thinking about how much energy she had, how much there was for her to do, how excited she was, and how much ahead of her there was to learn. We should all embrace this “we can do it” attitude when we find ourselves in positions of self-doubt or feel the imposter syndrome creeping in!
2. Through self-reflection and therapy, Stephanie was able to figure out the “themes” of her life. Some of the recurring themes in Stephanie’s life were creating, whether it was transforming a face with makeup or starting a new company, to taking risks — from leaving a job at MAC Cosmetics to join the Obama campaign or quitting a comfortable corporate job to travel the world alone. Stephanie encourages us to be more aware of these patterns and be more in tune with the themes of our own lives, which will help provide us with clarity on our journeys.
3. Stephanie understood and understands the power of her story and the positive impact that it has on others. Through the ups and downs, the thick and the thin, Stephanie uses her story as a vehicle and tool to empower and help others. From being the child of immigrants and overcoming a mental health crisis as a woman of color, to pivoting from beauty to politics and launching her own company, Stephanie realized that sharing her unique journey could be extremely empowering to others. We each have a powerful story to share that can be extremely impactful to someone else. We just need to be brave enough to share it.
