Fabiana Peterson has poured her personal life experiences into a motivational book and workshops to help women feel fabulous about themselves as they navigate some of life’s most challenging circumstances. She enjoyed “an amazing childhood” growing up in Brazil and achieved professional success at a young age. But when life dealt Peterson a more difficult hand, she chose to find the positives in her situation, and she wants to share her process for achieving empowerment with others. “I was working for Bloomberg Latin America,” Peterson says. “I was 29 years old. I met an [American] man in Brazil." ... The couple married and moved to New York City, where Peterson could continue working for Bloomberg Financial, only to have her new husband pursue other international opportunities.
“I was in a new country all alone. I didn’t even know how to cook,” she says. She immersed herself in her work. And when her husband returned, the couple tried to have a child. Peterson experienced losses before giving birth to a baby girl. “I was very happy,” she says. Five years later, her husband moved to Africa to pursue a business venture. He was away for 45 days at a time. Peterson briefly returned to Brazil with their daughter but felt unsafe there (many sources say Brazil has some of the highest rates of violent crime), so she made a decision to move near her in-laws in Minnesota.
She says, "I knew that whatever I said about Minnesota would shape my daughter’s impression too. So I said, ‘Look how beautiful the snow is, and we’ll be safer here.’”
Peterson grasps the concept she now helps other women understand, that “what you say to yourself is what you become.” Aware of the human tendency toward negativity, Peterson rejects what she calls limiting beliefs.
Needless to say, living on separate continents wasn’t the best recipe for a successful marriage and the couple would eventually divorce. She acknowledges that feelings do come, unpleasant feelings during unpleasant times, but that one always has a choice about how to respond to those feelings.
Peterson has since remarried, is a hands-on parent and has channeled her abundant energy into becoming a life coach for other women. Her book Feeling Fabulous by Fabiana focuses on topics such as self-awareness, self-love, parenting and relationships, and healthy habits.
Workshops seemed the natural progression. She's hosted a popular workshop at Modern Well in Minneapolis, a four-session series called Feel Fabulous About Yourself After Divorce. Another is called Feeling Fabulous is a Matter of Choice. She says, “the distance between dreams and reality is action” and that she wants women to feel fabulous!
Feeling Fabulous by Fabiana
Instagram: @feelfabulousbyfabiana
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