Written by: Elena Herrera, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. There are certain stages in my life when I say to myself, “I don't know what to do.” “I'm in a rut.” “I feel stuck.” I feel purposeless and unproductive. I have no obvious direction to follow. I don’t feel inspired to do anything. Nothing comes to mind; I just go blank. No matter how hard I try to create some kind of action, nothing comes out of it. Do you also feel stuck at times? I bet you do. It happens to all of us. We long for something new and exciting, and yet we struggle to create the desired results. While there can be a variety of life circumstances that make us feel stuck, today, I want to talk about times when no matter what actions we take, we don't seem to get the outcomes we want, such as career advancements, rewarding relationships, or financial gains. I am talking about situations when you truly took all the necessary steps to make things happen for yourself. You started practicing new modalities to create a lasting change. You hired a life coach/therapist to help you identify and resolve your internal blocks. You signed up for a transformational program to help you create new perspectives and opportunities. You learned all the details, invest in personal/professional development, and put yourself out there. And yet, with all your determination and actions, nothing much changed on the outside. You were still where you were before – still stuck! It is like you are invisible in your efforts. You’re trying to break through, but end up hitting a wall over and over again. This only leaves you feeling unimportant, paralyzed, jaded, hopeless, and doubtful about your future. Well, I hear you. I’ve been in a stuck period many times in my life. The difference this time around is that I struggle less now because I’m beginning to let my stuckness be. See, the problem is that most people try to “fix” the stagnation by forcing themselves to push for more – more work, more ideas, more goals, more action plans! They try to do whatever it takes to make things happen because they refuse to accept that stagnation is a natural part of the life process. As a result, they find themselves even more impatient, frustrated, and exhausted. Why are we so resistant to being stuck? One big reason is the fear that our dreams won’t come true. We have all these desires and visions, and if we are stuck, none of it will happen, and therefore, we won't be happy. That's where we keep pushing and pushing and pushing for more in order to manipulate the outcome. We want to make sure life turns out the way we want it. It is the sense of control (or I should say the illusion of control) that gives us a perception of safety and security. But in the end, it doesn't work. Some things in life are just meant to manifest on the timeline when they are meant to happen. The truth is, the more you try to get out of stuckness, the deeper you dig yourself in it. The more you focus on the absence of what you want, the more struggle you create for yourself. So, what is the solution to being stuck in life? Letting it be! When you find yourself doing and doing and doing, stop . Pull back, surrender to what is, and reflect. Accept the fact that no matter what you do right now, it won’t produce the desired outcome. When you relax and surrender to this quiet period in your life, you will find a deeper truth and a bigger purpose. When you finally let go and see that you can’t control life, you will be more open to noticing what life brings to you. There are many reasons why you might feel stuck: maybe the timing is not there yet maybe you are not in alignment with your desire maybe you are not ready for your manifestation yet maybe you are bumping against your own internal blocks that need to be worked through on a deeper level Whatever the reasons are, you will find out later when you reflect back and see why this period of stagnation was given to you. But for now, connect to where you feel stuck using the following methods: 1. Surrender Don’t act. Just let go – no matter how hard your mind wants to do the opposite. Usually, when you feel stuck, you end up judging yourself for it, feeling unproductive, unsuccessful, undeserving, not good enough, etc. But if you stay completely in this moment, there is no being stuck; you are still moving forward. This is a great space to see where your identity is tied up. Do you feel worthy when you are not acting, performing, achieving, etc? There is always a reason and a deeper truth to everything. 2. Reflect Use this time efficiently by going within. Contemplate all the triggers that come up for you. What do you need to learn or change? Do you still feel worthy, or do you only feel worthy when you are performing or achieving? Keep stirring your pot and doing this inner work until things shift for you. When you consistently show up for yourself, progress will follow. 3. Trust Whether you feel stuck for a week or a year doesn’t really matter. You do the best you can with what you have. Life isn’t all about accomplishing things. At times it’s about resting and letting things be and trusting that everything happens for a reason. I personally believe in divine timing and aligned manifestations. Even though sometimes every day feels like Groundhog Day, I know that there is so much going on behind the scenes. So, once you let be what is, things will change because your perception changes. Be kind to yourself. Let yourself be completely stuck. This period is not about doing more. It is about surrendering and practicing patience. It is about allowing yourself to come into alignment with your inner truths so you can be more accepting and open. Just know that the Universe is always working in your favor and will provide when the time is right. It is all good! Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram or visit my website . I’d love to hear from you. Read more from Elena! Elena Herrera, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine My personal story of transformation took my life from “unconscious” to “connected and meaningful.” Applying the same tools and modalities I teach today, plus my gift of intuition, I grew from a personal trainer to a full-blown Intuitive Transformational Coach who helps dozens of people to live a life of self-awareness, radiance, and fulfillment.

Written by: Sima Azadegan, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. We are told all our lives to listen to facts and follow the logic and do whatever that makes sense. We are programmed to make the smartest decisions and always try to do the right thing. We spent many years of our lives reading, researching, and educating ourselves in order to make the smartest choices for ourselves and the people around us. Yet somehow we fall short in our journey. We face obstacles, difficulties, experience pain, fear, anxiety, and much more… The question that I want to address is whether it is smart to follow facts or follow our faith. Fact is a set of logic that we are told to learn in order to educate ourselves. Faith, on the other hand, is sacred wisdom that we are born with but that is dormant most of our lives. The fact can help us get from one point to another. Faith can help us live happier lives. The fact can help manipulate or convince a certain person or a situation. Faith can help you have everlasting peace. The fact can help you rise on the ladder of life. Faith can sustain you and give you your true heart’s desire. Which one would you choose? Through my own experiences of life, I have come to terms that you cannot live one without the other. It is a balancing act between your mind (fact) and your heart (faith). It is a game of seesaw where you have to balance yourself in order not to go way up high and not to fall down on the ground. It is a fine line between following facts and making the right decision and yet on the other hand listening to the wisdom of your heart. It will take most of our lives to master this balance but then again this is one of the most important reasons that we are here on this earth. The intricacies between the mind and the heart or in other words, fact, and faith is an everlasting challenge in our lifetime. Follow your own path in life. Learn to follow facts but yet be in tune with your heart’s desires as well. Educate yourself but at the same time listen to what your heart says. Do the right thing as you are told but always know what makes your heart happy. While living in the material world, we have to follow facts, knowledge, and rules but never forget the magic of the divine that only speaks through your own heart! Follow my journey on Instagram, Facebook, and Linkedin. You can also visit my website for more info. Read more from Sima! Sima Azadegan, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine After living a complete life, Sima Azadegan has decided to follow her passion and make her dream come true. As a young girl, Sima started her classical piano training, which led to the momentum of her life. She raised her family and, at the same time, was on the board of directors of four major charities. Her toughest challenge was going through the journey of her inner consciousness that led to her true purpose and creating her company Sima Collezione. Her brand's mission is to empower women by bringing out each woman's inner beauty and light. Her brand has incorporated all the positive forces of nature, and its ultimate goal is to spread positive consciousness for all the women around the globe. Her collection will be featured at the New York Fashion Week this coming September. Sima says," We all have a responsibility to follow our dreams, manifest our talents, and make the world a better place."

Written by: Ziad Moghrabi, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Facial expressions are the gateway of our feelings to be visible to others. It will help people understand the way we feel and the message we are trying to deliver. After all, over 50% of communication is visual, and over 90% is non-verbal. From rolling our eyes to having blushed cheeks, or knitting our eyebrows together, to simply having a small smile, these are all just small examples that are strong enough to change the whole meaning of what you are trying to say. Imagine saying : “ ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” with a loud voice, looking straight in the other person’s eyes, crossed eyebrows, leaning forward. It will show anger and disappointment to the other person. Or try saying the same thing, standing straight, eyes wide open, raised eyebrows, with a smile on your face and a low tone of voice. It will show happiness, surprise, or even gratitude. Basically, you changed the whole message delivered to the other person without changing a word in that phrase. But why do I have to be conscious of my facial expressions? What impact will it have on my behavior? My feelings? Let’s think about it from a different perspective. Not from what people are interpreting from my facial expressions, but what my mind is reading and reflecting on my feelings and then behavior, even when I’m alone. So, you are sitting at your desk at work, and you receive an email from your manager stating that you have passed the deadline of a project, and this is not acceptable, knowing that you did try your best, but some external factors affected your performance negatively. Your facial expressions change immediately from neutral to showing frustration and stress. And it might trigger your anxiety as well. Here, try to sit back, take a deep breath, and smile. You will notice that your mindset will start changing from “frustrated” to “forward-thinking.” Whereas, if you keep frowning and squeezing your lips out of stress, your behavior and attitude will also reflect that face. Here’s another example: you’re walking on a sidewalk, and as you pass by others, you are having a nice small smile with hazy eyes. What positive impact will it have on your emotional state? How will you feel versus when you are looking down with a sad face? You will be more confident, positive, approachable, optimistic. This can even open doors for new connections. If you find it hard to convert an angry face to a calm and happy one, try thinking of a joyful moment that you had in your past, a nice memory, like a trip you once did. Or an incident with your best friend that made you laugh out loud. Or a remarkable date with your significant other. And you will see how your facial expressions will start changing instantly. What I’m trying to say is that emotions and feelings will affect our facial expressions, but it also works the other way around. The signs that we have on our faces can affect our emotional state, whether negatively or positively. Follow Ziad on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit his website for more info! Ziad Moghrabi, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Ziad Moghrabi, a Certified Transformative Coach with over a decade of practical HR experience across the Middle East. Ziad started his career in HR with a small local company, but with an endless dream to reach big multinationals firms. The road was not easy and climbed it steadily till I finally settled in Dubai, where he worked at one of the biggest worldwide luxury brands there. With the help of a Master Coach and a deep dive into his professional passion, Ziad discovered his true self, which is encapsulated by empowering others to stretch their potentials. Today, Ziad seeks to partner with you to help you find more clarity and self-motivation to boost your career. He will give you the tools and guide you on how to land your dream job. Moreover, he will even uncover practical tips and tricks to help you increase your chances in the competitive market.

Written by: Kylie Mort, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Purpose. Ask any successful, happy individual, and you will find that they are aware of it. What is the purpose of this task? What is the purpose of this event? What is my overall purpose? When people are at their lowest point, spiraling out of control into a negative mindset, they will ask themselves – what is the point? What is the meaning of all of this? In life itself? To find true value in anything, we must recognize its purpose. This is where the generic school report fails. We send our children to school for 11-13 years of their life, and for what? On a basic level to ensure they have the capacity, skills, and mindset to function collaboratively and successfully in society. Yet, there is such a vast cross-section of individuals involved in our community. What kind of community members are we aiming to sculpt? Aspirational parents envision their children becoming the next generation of leaders. They have ambitious goals of assisting their offspring to be doctors and advocates and scientists who will leave an indelible mark on society—a new generation of Thought Leader. What is a Thought Leader? They are the individuals who influence their field of expertise with opinions that are trusted and knowledgeable. A Thought Leader goes above and beyond their industry benchmarks to reach new heights of achievement. Developing new outcomes and initiatives that will not only improve their own ability to connect with the stakeholders they serve but ultimately, seeking new methods and ideas that will improve the lives of all. Working for community advancement with an approach that a “rising tide will lift all boats.” Being their best selves to the benefit of all. What is the opposite of this ideal? Stagnation. Doing something the way it has always been done because that is the way we have always done it. If one is to strive for personal success and happiness, one needs to focus on growth, as stagnation will breed pointlessness. Growth comes from leadership and new perspectives. Growth comes from facing a growth edge with motivation and determination to focus on self-improvement. Stagnation is found in safety. Stagnation is found when communities avoid disagreement. When they close ranks on their members and refuse to accept the possibility that alternative perspectives might be valid. Stagnation is when there is no new input when the powers that be double-down on the idea that this is what we do, and it is us versus them. Stagnation is a Silo Mentality. What is Silo Mentality? It is when different departments of the same company refuse to share information. When each department is reaching for the same goal, yet reaching individually, in isolation, it is when the benefit of a common network of knowledge is ignored, and any individual gain or benefit is only as powerful as the individual who observes it. It is a clear recipe for stagnation and limitation. How is one to break the silo mentality? Collaboration. Through the sharing of key insights and ideas that can drive growth and productivity. Through discussion and interaction that can highlight unseen pitfalls and unnoticed powers that will ultimately pave the way for unlimited success. Now let us think about where we grow our next generation of thought leaders and how collaborative this space is: The business is the school , and an overarching goal is a young person achieving all their academic goals to the best of their ability. The team is the paid employees with varying degrees of qualification and aptitude for the role and the unpaid parents, also with varying degrees and aptitude for the role. Ultimately, the two departments are both reaching for the same shared goal. The parents may be a different department , they may have different qualifications and aptitudes for the role of educating the child, but without question, the health, mindset, perspective, and capacity of that child is in large part driven by the input of the parent. In a normal “pre-pandemic” environment, the teaching cohort only works with the child 25% of each weekday and a maximum of 52% of the year. Unfortunately, to add to this limited perspective, that was calculated with a 1-1 ratio, yet we all know secondary education is more like 1-5 or even 1-8. Then there are the innumerable variables of teacher personal leave days, professional development days, extracurricular days, etcetera, and the list goes on. Even with a determined, hardworking, and diligent paid employee, this would hardly amount to close personal knowledge. In a utopian society , the limitations of the distant paid employee would be supported by the constant proximity and intimate knowledge of the parent. In this way, the child can grow with an academic program that best supports their personal strengths and challenges, delivered in such a way as to inspire the young person to push through growth edges to new possibilities and opportunities. Any educational psychologist will tell you that if a curriculum is delivered in a holistic fashion that supports personal development targets, the child will have the resilience and resolution to succeed. Yet sadly, with the dominant culture of a silo mentality, many students are failing to get the individual attention that will support their future. Schools utilize a system of parent-teacher interviews and school reports to avoid this silo mentality. However, if we inspect this flawed system closer, we find that it is a pointless façade for most. As a former classroom teacher, I can tell you what any parent already knows: that a 9-minute nice-to-meet scheduled on an evening of back-to-back meetings that are inevitably delayed are hardly conducive to strong and tangible outcomes. Any real advancement on collaborative goals is scheduled for a later date when the teacher is more available. If your child is facing significant challenges, you had already done this groundwork 8 weeks ago when the issues first manifested as unproductive. If your child is strong, you will have corresponding feedback from school assessment tasks, and there is nothing to elaborate on in your brief tête-à-tête. Then there are the school reports that you do not receive until after the conclusion of the semester. This is a written statement of achievement given past tense to comment on the student’s performance. Gone are the days of handwritten and insightful comments. Reports are written from a generic database that, much of the time, the individual classroom teacher has received pre-populated from an older colleague. They cut and paste a comment that “sounds about right” and hopefully avoid embarrassment by remembering to click the correct pronoun choice, so your son doesn’t get a broad general comment about how “she has progressed well.” As both a teacher proofreading other teacher’s reports and as a parent comparing report comments with diary notes and assessment comments, I can tell you they are riddled with duplicity, errors, and inconsistencies. A school report is but a snapshot of a teacher’s opinion on a given day off when they have probably sat with a half-cold coffee on the desk for the past 6 hours just “trying to get them done” so they can go be somewhere they would rather be. Thus what is the purpose of this here article? To inform you from my expert position as both former classroom teacher, current educational mentor and performance coach, part-time student of psychology, and full-time parent: that utilizing the logical evidence of a commercial conclusion, school reports are meaningless. They have no purpose and ultimately no value. It is a character judgment made by an individual who may or may not have the qualifications and aptitude to make it accurately. Furthermore, it will have no impact on the future competencies or trajectory of your child. Avoiding a silo mentality takes a lot more effort than x2 9-minute conversations and x2 post-learning writeups, and to tell the truth, it is a lot harder to achieve. The solution would be a diligent and dedicated support person from each department. Both a classroom teacher who had the correct qualifications and aptitudes to successfully engage and motivated the individual child, coupled with the parent who had the confidence, knowledge, and personable skills to convince said classroom teacher that working as a team would best support the healthy growth and development of the said child. If this seems to be an impossible dream, take heart , I work with many families across Australia, and you are not alone. Luckily for you (if you are indeed the parent reading this), your words and actions are the most pivotal aspect of this whole business. To raise a Thought Leader: Believe in the untapped potential of your child, regardless of the opinions of others. If you cannot supply the assistance they need, find the person who can. There is always someone who knows more. Give them attention, appreciation, and acceptance. You are the safety net they need to keep climbing with confidence. Foster their self-belief and motivation by ensuring they know their purpose. If you are the positive influence, you will be the guide they look to when it all seems pointless. Remind them, especially when they question themselves or their worth, that education is important, but school reports are not. Follow Kylie on Facebook , Instagram and visit her website for more information! Read more from Kylie! Kylie Mort, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Kylie Mort works with individuals of all ages to embrace and support the Academic Mind, Self-Awareness & the Mind-Body Connection. Assisting individuals by tailoring bespoke mentoring packages supporting academic, physical, and personal advancement and success. Kylie is an International Author and Writer for Global Magazines, writing both academically and creatively to connect with those who seek guidance and inspiration to be their best selves. A former Secondary School Teacher & VCE Leader with 20 years of teaching experience, Kylie is a qualified & registered: School Teacher, Yoga Teacher & Performance Coach. She is also an entrepreneur, leading multiple-award-winning companies. She is currently studying Psychological Science at Deakin University to provide holistic mentoring to her clients better, having spent decades honing her skills in face-to-face teaching, mentoring, and business & company development. Now, she is focused on the human mind and its power to empower through reimaging, redesigning, and recreating.

Written by: Meaghan McElroen, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. The problem with most diets is they create the diet mentality. The majority of diets in the world today focus on deprivation, cutting out food groups, and controlling every calorie you ingest. After doing a few diets, your brain will start to create its own diet mentality. The diet mentality is an all-or-nothing way of thinking we often get trapped in after years of yo-yo dieting and wishing for faster weight loss. Without being aware of it, you probably have a set of beliefs about what it means to lose weight, what you “should” do to lose weight, and what causes weight gain. My personal diet mentality for years looked a little like this: Carbs and sugar are bad, and to lose weight, I need to cut them out, eat 1,200 calories or less a day, and exercise at least 60 minutes a day. If I missed one day or indulged on a day I hadn’t planned to indulge, I automatically felt like a failure and gave up. Have you ever started your day with a nice breakfast but then at 11 am, someone offers you a donut or something? With the diet mentality present, it is easy to go down the rabbit hole of overthinking this one donut. Thoughts like: “Can I get away with it?” “I have been trying to eat clean, so I shouldn’t eat it because it will ruin my diet.” “I really want it, and it is free, plus I don't want to be rude.” So many thoughts going back and forth on whether to have the donut or not. Let’s say you choose to have the donut. What happens is often more thinking about what it means to have eaten the donut. Your diet mentality is still present, with more thoughts coming up, such as, “Crap, I just ate a donut, I went off my diet, and now I have failed for the day. What’s the point? I might as well eat what I want today and start fresh tomorrow.” Then you may proceed to go overboard eating junk food, fast food, more donuts, and indulging today because you tell yourself you will do better tomorrow. This is the all-or-nothing diet mentality. This diet mentality is what leads to eating emotionally and binge eating. It isn’t about the food you are eating. It is about how seriously you take your own thinking that shows up around the food. At the moment, you react to the thoughts and feelings of deprivation and feeling hopeless around food by giving up and eating more. Maybe it is different for you. Maybe your diet mentality is simply the fact you are thinking about food all day, and you are just white-knuckling through cravings and hoping to make it through the day. You do well. You make it through the day without “giving in” and then come home tired, hungry, and wanting to relax and wind up snacking and eating junk food at home instead of at work. Another way it can show up is if you have a fun event to go to tonight, like a party where you know there will be indulgences in wine and cake. You plan to indulge, and so you skip lunch to save up calories to get away with indulging only to show up to the party starving and so hungry that you can’t stop eating and wind up overeating. At some point earlier in the day, you had thoughts to hoard calories and chose to believe that thought. This led to being extremely hungry and unable to control yourself around food at the party. While sure you had plenty of calories saved up, you still wound up overeating in reaction to how you felt. Your struggle to lose weight and feel normal around food isn’t about the food or knowing what to eat. It is about your own thinking and beliefs around these foods, weight loss, and your body. So instead of counting calories, cutting out food groups, and doing hours of cardio, you may find it helpful to simply understand your habit, why it is happening, and how to stop acting on it. Food is neither good nor bad. It’s just food. It is how you choose to use it, or should I say, overuse it, that makes it harmful. Food doesn’t cause weight gain. Overeating causes weight gain. You might hear that and think, "Well, if overeating causes weight gain, then I should calorie count to make sure I don’t overeat." Listen, it isn’t that calorie counting is bad or can’t help. It could. It is that if your diet mentality looks at calorie counting as the be-all, end-all to weight loss, so the moment you go over calories, your diet mentality may lead to you giving up and eating way more. So again, I say, "Food doesn’t cause weight gain. Overeating causes weight gain." Overeating is happening not because of the food but because of your thoughts and beliefs about food, weight loss, and your body. So then, the answer to food freedom comes from the inside out. By understanding what the diet mentality is, noticing your own, and slowing down, you can change your relationship with food from the inside out. Without deprivation. "When our minds shift, and our beliefs change, our behavior will naturally change too." I struggled for over 5 years with emotional overeating and binge eating habits. When I started to see all food as allowed and abundant, when I stopped believing the diet mentality story I was telling myself, how I behaved around food completely changed. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or visit my website for more info! Meaghan McElroen, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Meaghan McElroen is on a mission to inspire and empower you to create a lifestyle that is both sustainable and healthier without deprivation dieting. Today Meaghan is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Compulsive and Emotional Eating Wellness Coach, but earlier in life, she struggled with body issues and unhealthy eating habits. After years of binge eating, emotional overeating, and trying to outrun her eating habit, Meaghan was able to change her relationship with food by learning about how the human experience truly works. With this new understanding, Meaghan has helped others shift away from the diet mentality that keeps them stuck and feeling crazy around food, just like she used to. She is the founder of The Meaghan Method, a safe community where members can openly talk about their eating habits and gain support and feedback. She is also the creator of Wisdom Before WIllpower and Intuitive Eating Encouraged. Both are online programs created to help you trust your body again and learn how to change your eating habits from the inside out. Meaghan will teach you how to be happier and healthier than ever without dieting. Exercise is optional, freedom is possible.

Written by: Rebecca Mason, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. The World Economic Forum estimates nearly 40% of American workers are about to quit their job . Why? Because after a year and a half of working from home, employees got a taste of the sweet, sweet life of remote work. As companies start inviting their workers back to the office, they are getting a lot of pushback. But why now? For years people have been unhappy at their 9-5s, feeling underutilized, overworked, and wanting a change. However, humans naturally dislike change and, therefore, usually stay stuck forever — Stuck in poorly fitting jobs, bad relationships, or crippling debt. Change is hard (it threatens our ego) so, we normally forgo it and stay unhappy instead of switching things up. Then the pandemic happened. COVID-19 forced change upon us. We had no choice but to work remotely, turn the spare room into a home office, and balance family and work. When the change was forced upon us, we were suddenly freed from numbing stagnation! We were back on our feet, adapting, reacting, and making things work. We got the hang of it! We learned to love the extra time we saved from commuting, the diminished stress once fueled by someone looking over our shoulder, and the joy of working with the cat on our chair and our kids nearby. We learned we can change and that change isn’t so scary… So, what do you do now? Your 9-5 is reopening its office doors and inviting you back. The same radio DJs are prepping traffic updates for your commute. The old Tupperware is washed and ready to hold your bologna sandwich. It’s starting to sound like a bad relationship, and you hate to think you survived a whole pandemic just to go back to the way things were. One option is that you pivot. You join The Great Resignation movement, say goodbye to your 9-5, and really give remote work a solid go . Take all the lessons you learned from zoom meetings and become a full-time digital nomad. Start an online contracting business or become an independent consultant! Imagine never stepping into an office again, rarely filling the car up with gas, and being home when your kids come in after school. A life that you once thought was out of reach, not for you, or only for millennials, is now sitting in your lap. Your home office is already set up. Now all that is left is choosing between what you think you should do and what you truly want. Luckily, you’re not alone. If the silver lining from this pandemic is that you were thrust into remote work and fell in love with it, then join 40% of American workers and resign. Follow Rebecca on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit her website for more info! Read more from Rebecca! Rebecca Mason, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Rebecca Mason is a business coach for virtual assistants. She runs the successful Laptop Freedom Program, which empowers women to embrace their dreams and build a remote business. Join thousands of other women in learning how to start your business, find clients, and develop the skills you need. Sign up for her free guide at thewanderlustva.com.

Written by: Annette Densham, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. The question to ask when things are not ‘normal’ is, do you want to remain the best-kept secret, struggling to get attention? Many have reduced their marketing and PR budgets as the uncertainty reigns supreme. It is an easy way to save money at a time we are all looking to cut costs. But will this approach cost more in the long run? For some industries and niches, things have slowed down, and now is a good time to pull the proverbial finger out and get to work on the marketing actions you put off when things were busy. Act in areas you have been avoiding because you don’t know how — not sure why — and just a little bit afraid of what might happen if it works. With things go slow, it’s time to focus on building your online presence, focusing on lead generation, and rejigging your offering, if necessary. It’s time to ramp up your marketing and PR. Don’t wait until the status quo improves; by the time things are back to ‘normal,’ the business that took advantage of getting their marketing in order will leave you in the cluttered space as one of the crowd. Here are five things PR-wise you can do now to be more visible. They are simple, easy to implement, may make you a little uncomfortable, but they’re effective profile-building strategies. 1. Create an editorial calendar Grab a piece of paper and brain dump all the problems you solve in your business – how do you help people, make lives better, inspire, motivate, or fix things? The list then becomes your story list – you should have approximately 10 to 15 - from these, you can write a piece you can use as a blog, convert to an article for a business publication or do a Facebook live. You can also go to the publications you want to be featured in and ask for their advertising calendar where they published the themes for each edition, so you can match stories to their themes. Or go to https://www.ourcommunity.com.au/calendar/, where every significant day for the next 12 months is listed. You can use these days to align with what you do. It is a great tool for inspiration. 2. Newsjack Newsjacking is the art of taking a story from the current news cycle and adding your flavor, voice, or opinion to it. Every morning go through the Google news or your news site of choice to find stories you can add to the conversation. This PR strategy means you must act quickly – we live in a 24/7 frantic news cycle. To send your angle, find the journalist’s name and contact them with your take on the story. It may or may not be picked up, but if it is, this is a great way to get attention. 3. Get your news in front of a journalist using video The good old media release is not dead and is a great tool to get a story angle across to the media, but what if you took it one step further? It takes approximately three to five minutes to read an email pitch and a media release; we live in a time-poor world where every second counts. Instead of sending a written media release, send a video on. You can share your news in under 60 seconds via video. Keep it light, bright, and tight – stick to the facts – upload it to YouTube or another video sharing platform and send it to your contact with a short pitch email. 4. Facebook Lives and Instagram Stories With likes gone from Instagram feed content and Facebook feeds always changing, using stories and video to reach your audience should be a bigger focus. The key to good social media marketing in the new decade is to keep it real – yes, authentic (I groaned when I wrote that, but there is nothing more engaging than posting genuine, real stories that people can relate to). Do not forget LinkedIn. It is no longer just a professional networking site; it is a rich feed of interesting and useful content…and video is going to play a bigger part of this platform in 2020. You may not think your ideal audience is there, but they are; if they are human, have problems, and need solutions, they are waiting for you to show up consistently and authentically. 5. Livestream radio and independent TV Ahron Young hit the airwaves in 2019 with his take on TV programming with Ticker TV. Featuring a range of programs, Ticker TV is a professional and ad-free unconventional news channel broadcast live on Facebook and Twitter with a focus on technology, innovation, aviation, business, and breaking news. For people sick of mainstream news, with a bit of nous and drive, this is an option (but you must do it well). People are hungry for good old fashion storytelling without clickbait drama and fake news. Or, if you are not up to starting your own channel, approach those who have and offer yourself up as a guest. Next steps What do you do with all this content you are producing; the media stories you appear, the interviews on radio and TV? You share the daylights out of the links to get as much exposure as possible. Repurposing and leverage are your friends. The worst thing you can do in business is not share – your wins, achievements, losses, challenges, hiccups, and hurdles. People want to know. When people know, like, and trust you, they do business with you, but you must be out there, so they know you exist. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Annette! Annette Densham, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Multi-award-winning PR specialist Annette Densham is considered the go-to for all things business storytelling, award submission writing, and assisting business leaders in establishing themselves as authorities in their field. She has shared her insights into storytelling, media, and business across Australia, UK, and the US speaking for Professional Speakers Association, Stevie Awards, Queensland Government, and many more. Three times winner of the Grand Stevie Award for Women in Business, gold Stevie International Business Award, and a finalist in Australian Small Business Champion awards, Annette audaciously challenges anyone in small business to cast aside modesty, embrace their genius and share their stories.

Written by: Kelisha Mills, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Successful entrepreneurs are proactive and have a philosophy of focusing on small wins. They know that small successes can lead to bigger ones, which can lead to even bigger wins. Celebrating your small wins as an entrepreneur helps keep you motivated and positive about the future. But what does celebrating your small wins as an entrepreneur really mean? It means taking stock of all the good things that happen, no matter how big or small. It means remembering what you're grateful for when you feel defeated. And, it means recognizing and celebrating those moments when things are going well, even if they seem insignificant or inconsequential at the time. Here are six (6) effective ways of celebrating your small wins as an entrepreneur. 1. Be Intentional in How You Celebrate Your Wins We often get distracted by the day-to-day of our jobs. We don't take time to stop and reflect on our wins. This is when we need to be intentional about celebrating our wins. Being intentional about celebrating your successes goes a long way in boosting your confidence and self-esteem. It's a great way to motivate yourself for the future as well. 2. Invest Time and Energy into Commemorating Your Successes In an age where we are constantly being told to push for more, it’s easy to forget the work you’ve already done. The key to feeling fulfilled and accomplished is finding ways to take pride in what you have achieved and celebrate the small victories along the way. Keep a list of your successes – no matter how big or small they may be. Find ways in which you can take pride in your accomplishments – this could be through a daily affirmation, surrounding yourself with reminders of your success through photos, or joining a local networking group. I love this quote by Rebecca Kufner: “Each day, we have a choice to make. We can either focus on the past and make people in our lives feel bad for what we don't have, or we can focus on what's going well in our life and show others that it is possible to be successful.” 3. Compete with Yourself to become better The first step in improving our skills is to compete with ourselves. There are a number of simple, daily tasks that we can do to improve our skills, such as reading more and trying new techniques. It is important that we set goals for ourselves and try to meet them every day. We should also make sure that we are enjoying the process of learning something new and not just doing it because it is necessary. 4. Reframe Failure to Embrace the Learning Opportunity There are many reasons for failure, but what is crucial is how one responds to those failures. Reframing a failure provides an individual with the opportunity to reflect on their choices and mistakes and learn from them. Successes are also a learning opportunity as they teach us what works and what doesn't. We should embrace failures and successes as opportunities to grow. Cognitive dissonance, which occurs when people's beliefs clash with new information, can often be overcome by reframing the situation or believing that this new information somehow supports our original belief. It can also be resolved by changing one's attitude about the situation. 5. Surround Yourself with Positive People (Even if It Means Avoiding Some Negative Nancies) Positive people are more likely to have a good day and feel happy. So if you surround yourself with positive people, chances are that you will also have a good day. Many people don’t realize that their attitude affects other people and their moods. A study has shown that when the company starts having a more positive atmosphere, its revenue increases by 27%. And when the company starts having a negative atmosphere, its revenue decreases by 27%. People who have a positive attitude affect those around them and increase productivity. 6. Create a Ritual for Yourself to Remember and Recognize Your Achievements There are so many things that we do every day. The hard work and dedication of our achievements can be easy to forget. But, this is why it is crucial to create a ritual for yourself to remember and recognize your achievements. One of the ways that you can do this is by celebrating your accomplishments! You don't have to wait until an annual holiday or birthday; you should celebrate your successes with other people daily. For example, you could go out for drinks after landing a partnership or taking an online course and receiving a grade that you set as one of your goals. Another way to do it is by rewarding yourself for the effort that went into completing tasks. For example, you could get that latte after finishing up a long blog post or completing that Course recording. Connect with me and let me know what you do to celebrate your small (and BIG) wins. Follow Kelisha on her Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and visit her website. Read more from Kelisha! Kelisha Mills, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Kelisha Mills is a wife, mom of 4, author, speaker, and Entrepreneur (BSc. Entrepreneurship) for over 13 years. Kelisha specializes in life makeovers for mom entrepreneurs, helping them gain the clarity and confidence they need to find symmetry to run a successful business and have quality time with their families.

Written by: Jo Jackson, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. The curiosity surrounding consciousness is not new to the current awakening we reside amongst. For centuries unanswered questions have driven countless people to inquire about the implications of the unknown on the way that we live our lives and our success. Great minds such as the Roman Caesar Marcus Aurelias, who is renowned for living a Stoic lifestyle, and quotes such as: “ Our life is what our thoughts make it.” Tapped into the collective consideration that we are powerful beyond belief if only we control our mind. Like all subsequent philosophers, neuroscientists, and yogis: Caesar knew the power that we may possess and intentionally embodied it daily with rituals and humility. This foundation of exploration has wielded great power in the leap towards understanding human potential. For, is it not the power of the mind that both enables and disables the mastering of the potential that we as human beings are gifted? Through the historical archives , one can find countless evidence of the pursuit of mastery from harnessing the focus of the mind. Perhaps none so evident as the explosion of the acceptance of the Flow State. An indication of an undisputable point where the impossible becomes possible. We hear of gravity-defying feats in this century almost as often as we walk our dog. Nowadays, nothing is out of bounds. The race to understand and harness flow state has fuelled the endless enthusiasm of entrepreneurs and neuroscientists alike for decades. This gamechanger completely turns everything on its head. This optimal state of consciousness derived when in Flow means that all bets are off, laser focus is at a peak, motivation levels soar, and productivity is at least 10X. Suddenly everything is possible. If only we could bottle it, right? The world population would line up to purchase this wonder drug to live that better life, chase that dream, have that success. Though this alone would be useless , most people do not subsume the precursor discipline to enable any flow state other than those which they simply fall into. Flow can be achieved by anyone; however, it can be replicated by a few purely due to the conscious preparation that is required. The control environment for flow sees various triggers (22 in total) where neurologically it drives Dopamine and Norepinephrine (pleasure chemicals) and lowers cognitive load (the day-to-day rubbish that we pay attention to for no benefit). Attention and focus are key triggers for this neurological wonderment where awe uplifts the human state of consciousness into embracing the “more” as our collective new normal. The Pre-Frontal Cortex shuts down and with it, so does judgment and ego, which are infamous inhibitors of potential. Steve Kotler of the Flow Genome Project articulates another potent flow trigger – the Challenge/ Skill Ratio. “If the challenge is too great, fear swamps the system. If the challenge is too easy, we stop paying attention. Flow appears near the emotional midpoint between boredom and anxiety, in what scientists call the flow channel — the spot where the task is hard enough to make us stretch but not hard enough to make us snap.” The simple truth attests that we have everything that we need. Like the sexiest Ferrari, our wild machine of neurobiology needs fine-tuning where we too can perform at our true potential. The mechanisms of the Flow State are not limited but exuberant in the availability of resources within every human brain. Our role in the unraveling of the “I'm” possible is to remain available to consider the release of constraints based on what we personally consider to be plausible and instead think broader than our experiences. Factoring in not only what we know, but that which we do not, and coupling it with a healthy dose of conscious choices that lead us to our true destination where we finally concede that as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has said in his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience: “Control of consciousness determines the quality of life.” Consciousness is the key to the Flow State and becoming Smarter, Faster & Stronger. For more info, follow Jo on her Fac ebook , Instagram , and Link edIn . Jo Jackson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Jo Jackson has turned adversity into a new thriving chapter in her life. After becoming a single parent, she directed herself into being the sole provider for her two children, vowing that "They will have everything that I promised them." However, in 2018 that all changed when Jo was rushed to hospital in an attempt to save her life. Burned out but determined, she turned it all around after being released and subsequently created her 2mm Shift solution, which teaches professionals globally how to use their X factor to Master Their Potential.

Written by: Yvette Troyna, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. With such talk of superheroes gracing our screens, it’s clear: greatness is our birthright. But what’s an everyday hero to do when life gets crazy? Let’s be real. Nobody could foresee the global havoc a microscopic virus could wreak. And who could predict the super-bloom of heroes shortly after the world went dark? We are all superheroes. Scientific research proves that our strengths contribute to happiness. Together at Superpower School chapters all over the world, we activate these strengths to love life again. Cape optional. When life feels like a slobbering, ravenous beast hellbent on having your head for lunch, we don’t often have the luxury of time to pause and really reflect on the best course of action. I, for one, love to analyze pros and cons with a numerical valued list. (Read on for details about this quick exercise to swiftly make excellent choices). It takes time to gel and longer sleep on it because we must verify facts before taking action. Sure, your imagination can blow things out of proportion, and it’s best to discover that what you’re upset about is all in your head. After all, if it is indeed your imagination, you can simply deal with your inner self-talk and be about your business. But what if there is a proverbial tiger on your tail? Days come around like this — where you wake up to one disaster after another chomping at your heels. Exhausting and confusing. It’s a part of life, yes, and it’s also human nature not to stand idly by when we feel threatened (or even mildly uncomfortable in some cases). Take this year, for example. I relocated after realizing small-minded racist people populated the community I had invested my livelihood and home with. I spent seven years in a Carpenter Gothic Victorian. High ceilings, lacy cornices, and intricate crown molding. History-stained glass windows overlooked tree-lined Francis creek. A towering Cypress candelabra tree with thirty trunks fixated gawking tourists in their tracks. Imported herbs and flowers from all over the globe populated my French chef garden. I had a cozy apartment for my mother and a lovely townhouse for my daughters. It was a dream come true —on paper. Until one day, I simply couldn’t avoid, and certainly no longer tolerate, the hatred of another nanosecond. It was spring 2020, during that early shelter in place confusion where we still shared sidewalks and overheard conversations. I heard a story that the only black couple left town. Their children, both sweet, smiley kids, were bullied in class. I had just walked down my old brick driveway, past the pale purple wisteria winding along the porch toward the antique post office. I took my time admiring thoughtful window shop displays, smelling the flower baskets swaying gently in the crisp ocean breeze until I caught up with two rich ranchers chatting as they strolled toward the town tavern. “I heard the Injuns are keeping the casino open.” “Good! I hope they allllll die.” As a Euro/Scandinavian ancestry woman, I’m fortunate to be on the safe end of this conversation, and it still hit me in the guts like a steel-toed boot. These men seemed so gentle and trusty like they’d help a kitten out of a tree. I was shocked, and then I started to pay closer attention. It turns out, this wasn’t an isolated sentiment. Even some of my friends and local pastors spew this unintelligent hatred. Just last week, I ducked into my FB feed to find a local church marquee proudly blasting the LGBTQ community. Heavy sigh. Where’s the Lysol? Good God, I wanted to shake the isms out of these people, and therein lies the problem. Hatred spreads like noxious wildfire. I had become hateful of their hatred. I made the right choice pulling up stakes and never looking back. Not gonna lie. I cried, driving over that picturesque bridge for the last time. Twas a mixture of joy, relief, and nostalgia. I miss the sacred old-growth forests most of all. People couldn’t believe I’d up and leave like that. Their racism forever marred any brotherly love between us. See, racism (like so many other isms) oozes up through the rough-hewn floorboards and seeps in through the warped single pane window frames. One’s psyche simply can’t thrive in a hateful community—even if you lock the doors and stay inside. Even racists struggle in their mental filth. See, I believe a part of their noggin is damaged, or else they’d realize how words and actions impact their children and neighbors, and perhaps most of all, their own souls. From a selfish perspective, being racist simply makes no sense. Clearly, there’s a brick missing, screw loose, or thumbtack unaccounted for. This slobbering beast of a crisis led to a simple decision because one of my strengths (aka superpowers) includes flipping a scenario on its back to examine its underbelly. In this example, the scenario flipped must be spelled out in no uncertain terms because I needed conviction to uproot my entire life. When I uttered this sickening phrase, it was as plain as day: “I live in a racist community.” The truth slapped me in the face like a mackerel. That’s how I knew it was pivotal. My next step was to verify findings with my neighbors and friends. Some surprised me by sharing such ugly sentiments as if we were discussing sandwich options rather than the value of one life over another. Others said it wasn’t their problem and to mind my own business. Huh. That didn’t feel like home to me. Isn’t how my fellow humans/neighbors are treated my business? Aren’t we all in this together? But we had a phone tree! Once I exposed my beloved Victorian village’s underbelly, right here in the ‘Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave,’ and identified its most tender and ticklish spots, I took my name and number off that precious phone tree, sold my property and never looked back. How did I do it? Well, I’m glad you asked. Here’s my secret to making any decision the best decision. How to flip it: Identify the topic at hand. (I live in a racist town) Verify the validity of your assumptions. (ask questions, sit and listen, observe my gut reactions) Get into a meditative state of mind. (try tai chi, cannabis, stroll, grounding, or deep breaths while focusing on the word “ONE.”) Write down ten possible solutions to the problem at hand. Take note of how easily the first half dozen solutions emerge and how hard it is to get the last few jotted down. This is when it gets fun. Make the last few options the most ridiculous, outlandish, and zany ideas you can conjure. I once wrote down “rob a bank wearing last year’s Halloween costume” when I was particularly impoverished, which made me laugh, which in turn taps creative juices like Maple trees giving luscious amber syrup. Take massive action--while still emotionally charged. This last step is critical because many of us get all wound up and crusades and then lose steam, forgetting all about our latest holy grail. In my case, I could have ignored my findings and refocused my attention on the beautiful region I lived in, the work I adored, and dug in to build more healthy relationships. If I had taken this approach, I’d have lost the man I love, self-respect, and the amazing adventures we’re now savoring while we figure out how to help folks get happy again. In the spirit of candor, Flipping It can be a simple exercise used for daily decisions, or it can become a monumentally pivotal moment in your universal life path like this spring has been for me. I am still reeling from experience. Despite the edgy feeling of deliberately pulling my own rug out from beneath my feet, I am deeply thrilled to be settling into Portland, Oregon, a city of inclusion and eagerness to do better. Alive and thriving within this global metropolis of eco-grooviness and humanity. We can do better. We can flip even monstrous challenges on their backs to expose options, alternatives, and better ways to handle the most beastly of hurdles. Yvette Troyna, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Positive Living Maestro, Yvette Troyna, is a serial entrepreneur who grew up in the Pacific Northwestern United States. No matter how tough life can be, she bounces back with genuine happiness. Who knew that decades later, her unique brand of positive living would translate to heavy-hitting, science-based strengths training in the form of her new B Corp, Superpower School Inc? When she isn't training new Superpower School chapter owners, you can find Yvette using her Psychology degree to write about positive living, traveling for speaking engagements, celebrating her loved ones' latest wins with ridiculous fanfare, and generally savoring all that the Good Life has to offer. Her brand of positivity is neither religious nor political in nature. Just authentic tips and scientifically proven insights into what it takes to activate your superpowers to love life again. Cape optional. What are her superpowers, you ask? Love, perspective, creativity, humor, gratitude, parallel parking, and fitting 15 pounds into a 10-pound bag.

Written by: Whitnie Wiley, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Recently I enjoyed celebrating with my four Beyond Your Best Plan Podcast co-hosts. We celebrated recording our 52nd episode, one episode a week for a year. That’s a tremendous accomplishment, as only a small percentage of podcasters who start recording ever air their 10th episode, let alone a whole year’s worth of episodes. I was fortunate to celebrate that milestone; then, I got to do it again within a few weeks when I commemorated a similar accomplishment with my co-host of the Life, Lemons & LemonDrops Podcast. Ask yourself, “When was the last time you consistently put out content, any content, week after week for a solid year?” Yeah, me either. As big a deal as acknowledging these events were, we also celebrated periodically throughout the year leading up to those 52 episodes. Both events, along with thousands of others belonging to you and me, should be celebrated. Whether large or small, celebrations make us happier, healthier, and more successful. I keep track of my daily wins using my day planner. Some are as simple as accomplishing a task on my to-do list, and others are as noteworthy as becoming a bestselling author or podcaster with more than 100 taped episodes. The things we celebrate are not nearly as important as the act of reveling—and doing it consistently. Since the merits of celebrating are probably not all self-evident, I’ll focus here on why you should not let your successes pass by unrecognized. Following are seven helpful tips that amplify your life and hopefully inspire you not to hide your light under a bushel. Nothing motivates like winning Motivation is easier to come by when you stack up a few quick wins. Take the time to acknowledge every success to help instill in yourself a motivation mindset. Remember, you will not always be motivated. So, when it eludes you, discipline will help bridge the gap. Tapping into that discipline will help you rack up some early wins, which will, in turn, feed your motivation to keep going. Discipline and motivation are opposite sides of the same coin. When motivation is present, enjoy the ride. Positivity breeds positivity Have you noticed that people who have a positive mindset seem to attract not only more positivity, but things always seem to go their way? Even when they don’t necessarily come out on top, they find the positive in the experience, and that attitude permeates other things they do. Winning means you are successful; at least it means you are successful in the thing you just won. Focusing on the positive helps you to be more positive over time. Adopt the attitude that either you win or you learn. Bigger than you As much as your life is about you, it’s about others as well. You are a leader, which means you are constantly setting examples for others. When you take the time to celebrate your wins, you give others permission to celebrate theirs as well. You inspire others to take action because they see they too can succeed, and in turn, you motivate yourself to seek new projects—creating a cycle of success. Nothing feels as good as feeling good There’s a “feel good” chemical that floods our bodies when we celebrate—dopamine. Celebrating produces dopamine and creates a natural “high” in addition to the other benefits of celebration mentioned in this article. You will feel happier and walk with a bounce in your step, which is reason enough to celebrate. So, why would you ever deprive yourself of that uplifting gift? Confidence is as confidence does Ever stop to think about where your confidence comes from? Do you do what you do because you are confident, or are you confident because of what you’ve done? Confidence comes from taking action—which may mean, when you are scared, doing it anyway. For any given goal, starting a business, writing a book, speaking on stage, etc., there are thousands of reasons not to try. The fact that you went for it helps you to build your confidence muscle. The more you exercise that muscle, the more your confidence grows and moves you to try new things, leading to achieving greater success levels. The journey is the thing What do you get from your journeys? You’ve heard this before, “It’s not the destination. It’s the journey.” It’s true. Success is not the destination. Enjoying the journey is. Journeys are for lessons. If nothing else, when you win, you have a story to tell. You have lessons along the way that will benefit others which again, as a leader, is an opportunity to make the world a better place. More than that, however, going on a journey means you didn’t let the obstacles that could have diverted you prevent you from taking the journey in the first place. So, celebrate the journey as much as reaching your eventual destination. A reason to be grateful Studies have shown that gratitude is the number one predictor of happiness. We are not grateful because we are happy; we are happy because we are grateful. Every win is an opportunity to be thankful not only for what you’ve achieved but for the actions you had the opportunity and courage to take. Be grateful and increase your happiness. Celebrations can be huge events with other people, like parties and awards ceremonies, or can be as simple as sitting with a cup of tea and reflecting on what you’ve accomplished—and any and everything in between. The purpose here isn’t to tell you how to celebrate; instead, it’s to share the excellent benefits that result when you do. Be careful, however, of celebrating in ways that may create self-defeating outcomes such as with food, alcohol or overspending, if you have challenges with weight, drinking, or money. Otherwise, the sky’s the limit. Don’t let your hang-ups about the past or negative associations about boasting, outshining others, or being perceived as narcissistic stop you. Acknowledging your accomplishments and patting yourself on the back is none of those things. If you would cheer for your child, a friend, or colleague, you should be as big a cheerleader for yourself. Now go out and do a backflip—literally, if you can. If not, a simple “Rah-rah, sis-boom-bah” will suffice. Want to learn more from Whitnie? Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and visit her website. Whitnie Wiley, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Whitnie Wiley is a leader in organizational, leadership, and employee development. After spending years in companies with crummy cultures and lousy leadership, Whitnie has dedicated herself to helping organizations and individuals adopt and implement strategies that create workplaces people love to work in. As an in-demand coach, speaker, and trainer, Whitnie shares wisdom from her own life experiences, as well as those of her clients, with grace, humility, and humor to drive change in today's business world. Her clients include aspiring, emerging and new executives aiming to be the kinds of leaders even they'd want to work for and organizations seeking to hire, develop and promote the best talent. Whitnie is a seven-time bestselling author and is anticipating the publication of four books in 2021, including her first solo effort, "The SIMPLE Leader(TM)." As the host of "Love Your Work," she interviews guests about the work they love to do, their journey, and lessons learned along the way. She also co-hosts the "Life, Lemons & LemonDrops" and the "Beyond Your Best Plan" podcasts.

Ches is Queer-E-O of Chesline Inc., a global transformation coaching and social impact consulting digital company on innovation, economic empowerment, and rebellious leadership. As a transformation coach, they empower folx born into several cultural regimes, those born into the Third Culture, to reclaim their biological ancestry by (re-)learning their lost native language(s). In so doing, they are maximally autonomized to become culturally and linguistically affirmed, whole, self-aware, grounded, and self-determined. They come to self-establish on purpose with purpose their place of belonging in the matrix of culture, identity, race, and language, in power, in grace, and maximized autonomy. As social impact expert consultants, they work with global thought leaders and empower them to innovate, transform, and impact global communities through positive disruption as the ultimate accelerating and defining force of social transformation. Innovational intelligence itself is thus wholly deconstructed and re-potentialized through anti-oppression, positive disruption, and healing. World leaders are taught how to be innovationally evolved, creationally expanded, socially transformative, and glocally industry-making so that they may self-drivenly come to think like an activist, act like a strategist, and impact like a luminary. They work with world leaders, international development organizations, purpose-driven passionpreneurs, transnational activists, and all-around disruptors so that our communal realities and converging worlds may find new grounding and expansion in our concerted deployment of innovation as social transformation. They’ve been featured on international platforms in 5+ languages on OMNI TV, La Presse, Women in Language, 3MT Competition, This Is It TV Network, Polyglot Conference Global, The Hambone Show, Talk To Me, and Brainz Magazine, to name but a few. Chesline Pierre-Paul, The World’s First Queer-E-O Expert on Anti-Oppression As Innovational Intelligence & Activist Digital Socialpreneurship Their portfolio of organizational clients, institutional partnerships, and private clientele encompasses the University of Ottawa, McGill University, Concordia University, 4th Space, FutureBound, WELI, Nuestro Flow, CEED, SHIFT center for social transformation, and the Decolonial Perspectives & Practices Hub, amongst others. They are regularly (co-)moderator of spaces such as: “Balance B.E.E.M.S”, “Daring To Be. Whole”, “Polyglot Club”, and “Language, Poetry, & Identity” on Clubhouse. Their high-impact 3-minute micro-podcast’s first season just aired - it is informationally incisive, terse, potent, on-the-button, and teeming with disruptively affirming and enlightening ways to mobilize ourselves in purposed disruption through a microverse that deploys innovation for social change. Their world-class education portal brings forth a comprehensive host of e-courses, multi-tiered VIP memberships, and high-impact transnational event series that take their coaching and consulting to new depths of expansion and innovational brilliance. Through all their enterprises, they proffer entry points into their world where positive disruption and impact, beget grace, healing, and communal transformation on the scale of the globe. Their core motivating principle is that whoever we be, wherever it is we hail from, we can all be communally expanded by the conscientious leveraging of our voices, gifts, agency, and privileges in the scaling of social transformation beyond and across industries and global communities. Why here? Why now? As Liz Gilbert professed, when the cost of refraining from freefalling into the abyss that the edge presents and proposes is bigger than not committing to the void, that is when committing to living fully to die empty - as Les Brown says - is the one inevitability that supplants all constitutive parts of our truth, power, and reality. It came to a point where everywhere I went, what spoke louder to my spirit was everything that was remiss and amiss; I had yet to see a re-configuring of entrepreneurship that grounded anti-oppression as a force of industrial advancement, innovational intelligence, and digital media activism. Thus, the more the absence of what was most necessary to me and yet non-extant for all weighed on my spirit, the more I fell into the awareness that to fully taste freedom with intentful deliberation and affirming purpose-drivenness, I had to become the answer to the void that all-encompassingly attached itself to my gaze and perception. The pandemic was a moment of grace and upheaval that afforded me the possibility of seeking affirmation outside of the stringent traditionalism of a 9-to-5 pace of being and living. As I got freed from my gainful corporate employment through a pandemic-instated termination, I was compelled to sit with the choice of defining how the next part of my purpose would be expressed, stabilized, and acquitted thenceforth. At that moment, I understood that I wanted to live uninterruptedly and unconstrainedly. Thus, I had to find my own capacity for maximized affirmation within a purpose encompassing more than my voice and spirit. The question became; how do I transmute my gifts, voice, privileges, and agency into an unconstrainedly mobilizing force of servanthood that is tangibly and deathlessly socially transformative? How do I bring elevation and might to voices unheard, paradigms to-be-unearthed, bodies denied, and powers unclaimed? Then, as one thing led to another, I found the perfected conjoining of grace, healing, and transcendence in how I came to establish my business within a duality of transformation coaching and social impact consulting. In that dichotomy, I found my rhythm of grace and expansion of self and purpose, wherethrough I bring my brand of disruptive harmony into worlds still unconversant in the language of innovation as social transformation and r/evolution. In so doing, I evolve entrepreneurship as an irretrievably purposed act of intentful servanthood that constitutes a new paradigm that I coin as follows: the paradigm of activistic socialpreneurship. Innovation for the sake of innovation is the hubris of a mind that isn’t purposed to exert itself fully through a design more transcending than its own self-ingratiation. Innovation for a purpose, on the other hand, produces paradigm shifts that implement disruption designedly so that the human experience as a whole be heightened by creatures of the daring that are norm-defiant, purpose-affirmed, and change-making in essence, intent, and purpose. What can you tell us about your ventures? As I’ve put forth heretofore, I am a staunch believer that everything my gaze can encase as disaffirmingly missing or enhanceable is an opportunity for my spirit and constitution of self to be the change that the space I am in requires to be instated into furthered completion. Thus, I am a big advocate of community-building. As such, I (co-)host several rooms on Clubhouse (see above), I host free digital multi-event series, house a free education portal, hold numerous speaking engagements and podcast interviews across converging and diverging industries, founded an annual digital International Summit (set to occur from July 25 to August 5, 2021). What’s more, I am soon to publish my first book called: “Decolonize your language to sanitize your mind.” Ultimately, my anchoring purpose resides in elevating humans through anti-coloniality, resistance, and purposed disruption as a means to bring next-level enrichment, industrial development, transdisciplinary intelligence, evolved thought leadership, and economic freedom to all - wherever they fall on the spectrum of innovation, race, language, gender, identity, and positionality. What is one truth, one lesson, you can impart us that summarizes what you stand for and who you are through your company and your life’s purpose? Conformity is such an inorganic construct and untruth about the defining reality of who we are and of who we are called to become in our individualities and as a species. Conformity is the ONE thing we have to sustain reiteratively through a system as a construct for it to stay normative yet definitely untrue. Thus, the impulse towards daring, disruption, and unsettling is the one way to transcend a reality that, as Janet Mock says, is intent on our communal and individual destruction. We weren’t taught how to be or how to be whole. We weren’t institutionally groomed for wholeness as THE or as A way of life, and choosing restoration, affirmation of the self, grace, might, and stillness in a world so skewed, so designedly imbalanced, and so inhumanely disruptive and deceptive is an act of wholeness-instating magnificence that is remarkably daring in its outrageousness and stark necessity. Being whole is being daring. Being is being daring. Understand that we are too rich and impregnated with too much might and purpose for us to be so small as to be reductively norm-compliant and silent is contemporaneously truth, grace, and power. My one truth is that, when you are committed more to living than passing, when you ensure that any space you inhabit is all the fuller for it because you showed up full, present, (self-)determined, wholly self-expressed, and unconstrainedly self-affirmed, you being, whilst being you, is the greatest and most incorruptible act of generation-making r/evolution. Thus, dare to be. So that you be whole, and do that on purpose with purpose where you can be seen by others who are one uncertainty away from full revolution and affirmation of the self. Why do clients love working with you? Everything I do is holistic. I tailor-make each program; I construct versatile, need-centered programs and groom my coachees to be maximally autonomized so that my services become purposively obsolete within a very tightly consolidated timeframe. My aim is for them to be empowered so holistically, so radically, and so definingly, our rapport has to evolve from coachee to ally. As the one-and-only leading anti-colonial multilingual digital activist-socialpreneur and global thought leader on anti-oppression as transdisciplinary intelligence and cross-industry innovation, I leverage language, embodiment practices, healing, and positive disruption very intentfully to take my clients from stuck to undeniably affirmed and self-accomplished. I found what makes me powerful and undeniably luminescent and incandescent. I am here to empower a posse of souls, of mavericks, of creatures of the daring to do as much if not more for themselves and for the worlds they inhabit, impact, transform, and transcend. Every day. Deathlessly. And purposively. Remember, transformation is only the beginning. Be the first one to buy Ches’s book: “Decolonize your language to sanitize your mind” by signing up to their exclusive monthly newsletter right here. Check out their amazing world-class free education content through their official company website. Sift through their value-driven host of next-level international podcast interviews. Join their tribe and their world, where impact meets healing and transformation, for more content, next-gen coaching, and r/evolution. For more info, follow Chesline on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or visit her website!