Written by: Vicki Ravangard, 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. I started my corporate career at the bottom of the food chain, literally. In my first Office Job as an Office Junior part of my role was to make tea and coffees for my co-workers and also make porridge for my boss (they left that part out of the job description!!) But at that time, I was so determined to do a good job that I was happy to do those jobs. I felt I needed to prove myself in order to move up the ladder. While this Mindset has served me in allowing me to get to where I am today, lately, I have really brought it into question. In doing this, I realized that I had completely lost who I was. I have worked in controlling environments where I have been clock watched, I’ve been on the receiving end of micromanagement, I’ve been humiliated in front of my co-workers, and I’ve witnessed the unfair consequences of office politics first-hand. Each time I felt my voice completely close up, unable to find the words to express my truth. Each time I felt myself needing to fill the perfect employee's role, in fear of saying or doing anything wrong. At what point do we decide to see this separation for what it is and stop accepting this hierarchy as the norm? Do you need to be in a leadership position to lead? Absolutely not. Hierarchy exists in most modern society, but we also give our personal power away by assuming that if we are not in a hierarchical leadership position, we cannot make a difference. It’s simply not true. We all can lead from where we are, we all have the potential to make a difference with our voice, and if we are not heard, we can lead by example and take action to set the standard. One of the most common themes that stops people from doing this is lacking the confidence and belief in themselves and their vision. As the self-doubt sets in, they allow the judgment of others get in the way. Have you ever been talked down from something that you knew was right? Only to have it play out in one of those ‘I told you so’ moments? Do you think if Walt Disney had doubted his vision that we would be enjoying the Disneyland we know and love today? (co-vid permitting!) So, what makes a good leader? In my experience, the best leaders are the ones who have a soul connection with their work and have a deep sense of fulfilling their purpose. It’s more than just a J-O-B. It is a passion that allows them to expand into their light and shine their gifts out into the world. When you are operating at a soul level, everything you do comes from a place of love and wanting the highest good for all involved. There is no hidden agenda for personal gain or needing to put others down in order to succeed. This is often the difference between acting from the Heart and acting from the Head (aka our friend the Ego) Are you leading with Fear or Love? I’ve witnessed many leaders being led by their Ego, often driven by money & status, and often times using their position to benefit themselves rather than coming from a place of service. Other signs of leading with fear include being overly in the details, lacking direction, and not seeing the bigger picture. I have experienced being shut down, talked over and belittled several times by getting caught up in Ego power struggles and, in the end, this contributed further to my silence. Light Leaders can often go unnoticed if they haven’t found the confidence to express themselves and speak up. You may often feel ignored because you are not conforming to the same behavior as everyone else. That said, fear can also lead you into victim mode, where you feel everybody is against you, nobody understands you, or the expectation that you should be receiving the promotion and pay rise that you deserve, but nothing you do seems to be good enough. The reality is, we all have a responsibility to show up for ourselves and become conscious of our own behaviors before we point the finger at others. We are all here to learn from each other and those who trigger these emotions in us are here to teach us. If you find yourself in a situation where someone is projecting their Fear/Ego onto you, ask yourself, “What can I learn from this? What is this teaching me? How can I use this for my own personal growth? How is this helping me to stand in my power?” In order for everyone to stand in their truth, we must first recognize that as light leaders, we need to find the courage to stand on our own and lead the way. How to lead with light – 10 top tips Detach from your emotions when making decisions, remain objective Take full responsibility for your actions and don’t be afraid of getting it wrong Consider the best outcome for all, not just a select few – check your intentions Find the courage to stand in your truth, even if it’s different from the status quo Hold space for people where they are & empower them to learn & grow Trust your own intuition and follow the guidance - you don’t have to know all of the answers Create a judgment-free zone where people feel comfortable to express themselves Acknowledge that underneath the ‘employee’ label, we are all humans Communicate, communicate, communicate Commit to your own growth – what do you need to learn to be able to expand and give back to others? Nothing will change if we continue to follow those who came before us, yet anything is possible with the willingness to change. Follow me on my Instagram , Facebook , and visit both my Facebook-Group and page . You can also find more information on my website . Read more from Vicki ! Vicki Ravangard, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine After 10 years of working my way up in my corporate career, I am a Part Qualified accountant who works as a Finance Analyst for a UK Airline. I am also a Spiritual Mindset Coach. So how did I go from corporate to coaching? My coaching business 'Take Her To The Moon' was born after embarking on my own spiritual mindset journey where I discovered the art of creating a life with intention and the power of conscious thinking, which positively influenced all areas of my life, including my corporate career. My Business focus is helping women who have lost their direction in life, to master their mindset & discover their soul purpose. I put my own unique spin on some of the greatest spiritual teachings and use these to help my clients experience greater success. I have a huge passion for Music & Travel, which is where I draw a lot of my inspiration from - and I am also a Disney lover!

Jacqueline is an Intuitive Health & Weight Loss Coach with entrepreneurship in her blood. From the start, Jacqueline focused on building a professional career in the commercial recreation and fitness industry. Ironically, while struggling to balance being a new mom and her career, Jacqueline realized her own physical and mental health had taken a back seat. The effects were damaging, and she could see the negative impacts on her two young daughters. It was then she decided to wake up, and take control of her health. After finding weight loss & weight maintenance success through creating unique systems, concepts, and tools along her own health journey, she is now on the mission to share and serve humanity through her intuitive approach and personalized methods. Her passion is helping overwhelmed and stressed out busy entrepreneurial moms, just like herself. Introduce yourself. Who is Jackie? – I'm Jackie, and my most important role is being a mom to two beautiful and wild little girls aged 5 and 3. I live in London, Ontario, Canada, where I have been working full time from home for the past couple of years. I love being outside in nature, but when I can't get outside, I love Barre fitness, which is a ballet inspired workout. I attribute my love of barre to my years of musical theater and dance growing up. I am a creative and intuitive soul with so much compassion and hope for our world. What is it that you do for your clients? – I help my clients connect with themselves again, or for the first time. I show them how they have the power to find their true selves and reach whatever goals they dream to accomplish. I show them that weight loss is actually simple with the right mindset and help them set realistic goals for their weight loss journey. We co-create a personalized meal plan that actually works in their busy lifestyle and becomes something they are excited about, and that supports a real lifestyle change for them that lasts. I also show them how to integrate my unique systems, tools, and methods that I created while on my own personal 50lbs weight loss journey. Who should hire/work with you? – I'm on the mission to help stressed-out busy moms. I find entrepreneurial moms are the worse culprit for putting their own health on the back burner while trying to balance motherhood and their business. I help anyone looking to lose those 20 plus pounds that they have been battling for a long time. This is not a diet or a quick fix. It is aligned nutrition. Someone looking to lose 5-15lbs quick and fast for an event is not who should be working with me. I help heart-centered women who have been struggling in silence for far too long, but know deep down they have a health and weight loss goal to achieve. If depression, anxiety, and anger towards your self-image are taking hold of your life and making you miserable, and if you wish you could finally figure out how to lose weight and keep it off for good without doing a 180 on your lifestyle, then this is the program for you! Reading on your website, you gained some weight after giving birth. Were you depressed during this time? – I 100% was depressed during this time, I just couldn't recognize it while in the muck of it! I also was very angry and had a quick fuse, especially towards my loved ones. I sought medical advice from my doctor because I had a suspicion that it was postpartum depression, which often goes undiagnosed. My doctor had offered me prescription drugs, and although I have no issue at all with taking medication, especially for mental health, it just didn't feel right to me in at the time. I told myself I wanted to give it one more attempt without the aid of medication to heal. It became clearer and clearer that my anger and depression stemmed from not feeling comfortable in my skin for far too long, and I HAD to lose the extra weight that I was carrying. It took more than just losing the weight, but I'm so happy I put myself first and started on a personal growth journey, alongside my weightloss journey, as I've never been happier! You have a program starting September the 30th. Tell us a little bit about this program. – This is my flagship program! Inside Job: Wake Up and Weigh Less is a 16-week program designed to ensure you reach your weight loss goals and keep it off for good! This is a group program as we launch all at the same time to go through a 6-week course to learn the systems. However, this program is mainly one-on-one sessions from the start and continues past the 6-week course. In total, there are 17 sessions over the 16 weeks to keep you accountable and on track. – We co-create your customized meal plan, so it's something you're not just excited about, but also works in your busy lifestyle. We also tweak it weekly based on results. Participants also get access to my 'What's For Dinner' system and 'All The Things' habit tracking journal to support them on their weight loss journey, and more! This program is NOT A DIET- it's Aligned Nutrition, and it ensures you move slowly, so what you learn can be integrated for life. We focus on personal growth and the inner self-work required to really know your true self and reach your goals. It can be a tough process, but that is why we meet one on one so consistently so that I can support you on this vulnerable process. What makes this program different from any other diet program out there on the market? – Well, that's just it- it's NOT a diet. I practice aligned nutrition, so you really learn how to make a lifestyle change that supports your weight loss goals, but it HAS to be something you are excited to be doing. That's the point! Because if you are happy to do what we co-create, then you will be consistent in your efforts to reach your goals, and consistency is KEY to weight loss. This is a personalized meal plan that is created just for you and we tweak it weekly based on results and how things are working. – Most other weight loss programs try to fit you into a cookie-cutter plan, which just doesn't work long term for anyone. It's the reason we all find success on fad diets, then quickly finding ourselves gaining it all back and then some. That is how the diet industry is designed, but most people don't realize this. I work with my clients on a customized plan to fit their preferences and lifestyle. If you want a weight loss program designed just for you, then this is it! What is your top 3 free advice for someone struggling with their weight? Your brain is the biggest and most successful tool you have when it comes to weight loss. If you can accept that and be open-minded to exploring that part of weight loss, you WILL be successful. Slow down! And drop the all or nothing mentality when it comes to weight loss. Seek out that true lifestyle change and balance in your life if you want to stop struggling and battling with your weight for good. As humans, we are made up of about 70% water. Water is one of my favorite weight loss tools! It's so simple to just ADD more water to your day then find something to eliminate to lose weight. Start with half your weight in ounces per day and add from there. With this tip comes many trips to the bathroom, but I promise you it's worth it and you get used to it ;) For more information, follow Jackie on Facebook, Instagram and visit her website, or join her Facebook-Community!

Written by: Amber Trail, 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 You’ve bought the right outfit. You’ve got your hair done. You’ve practiced your answers and you are ready to nail that interview. Except instead of meeting the interviewer in person, you’re meeting them via a computer, phone, tablet, etc. Strange, right? Alas though, virtual interviews have now become the new normal today. So, the good news in all of this is that there is a golden rule with virtual-anything, pants are optional! No, really, they are. Although, as an HR professional, I still encourage you to wear pants or a skirt or dress for an interview. While COVID has created serious chaos in the world, there is one thing for certain - we can still do what we do, but it just has to be adjusted. Interviews are one of those things. Since meeting in person wearing a mask and having to keep 6 feet of distance doesn’t sound so appealing, more and more companies are conducting interviews virtually through platforms such as Zoom (what a year for them!). From an avid recruiter to you, the reader, I wanted to give you a few tips if you plan on interviewing virtually in the near future. Let’s set you up for success, even if you aren’t shaking hands with your potential employer in person. 1. Timing. Timing is everything. Especially if you have kids at home. Try to schedule your interview when you have someone else to watch those little ones or a time when you know you will have a guaranteed one to two hours of uninterrupted time. 2. Distractions. Try to reduce the distractions by shutting off your phone, staying in a room away from windows and preferably a room that has a door that can shut and lock if necessary. 3. Internet connection. Do you have a stable internet connection? If your internet is a little whacky sometimes, try to find a friend or family member that you would be able to come over for a short time to conduct your interview. If you can find a coffee shop with low/quiet foot traffic, go there and set yourself up. Always test out your internet connection prior to the interview because the last thing you want to happen is a dropped connection or a delayed one. 4. What are you wearing? Even though usually the individuals on the other end have no idea what kind of bottoms you are wearing, it’s still a good idea to make sure you are wearing something that matches your top. Think about this situation: what if you have to run to another room to grab something for your interview? You stand up and whoops the pajama bottoms you had on the night before with pink hearts are showing all over the screen! Just because you aren’t there in person doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dress the part for a virtual interview. 5. Prep yourself for success. Do not overly rehearse your answers. When we do this, we are more likely to get tongue-tied and completely ruin what we originally had planned to say. Write a list of bullet points you want to make sure you get across to your future employer. Include a list of questions that you want to ask. Always research the company before attending the interview because you never know if they might ask you to tell them about the company and its mission/values. 6. What’s your background? If you can’t find a clean space to conduct your virtual interview, use a virtual background. Don’t use one that is moving, like beach waves. Find one that fits your personality and style but is classic and simple. 7. Be you. Be natural and act like you normally would. Get in a space that makes you feel comfortable and portray yourself as you would in person. The chances are that you’re already doing the interview in your home and who doesn’t feel more comfortable at home? So at least you have that advantage! Follow me on Facebook , Instagram and visit my website for more info! Read more from Amber ! Amber Trail. Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Amber Trail, MBA, SHRM-CP is the founder and consultant for her human resources consulting company, The HR Trail, LLC. With over a decade of HR experience and a master’s degree in Business Administration, Amber brings her passion and knowledge of human resources to small businesses nationwide. She realized that not all businesses need nor can they afford a full-time HR professional, and that's why she decided to create The HR Trail. To provide a variety of human resource consulting services such as recruitment, coaching, company handbook development, event planning, and more. Her motto is creativity + passion = purpose and she thrives on successfully helping small businesses accomplish their human resources needs!

Written by: Tom & Ania Yatar, 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. Did you know that you can achieve anything you want when you are following your soul’s purpose? Your ability to achieve your dreams depends on your willingness to align with your divine mission and create the things you are born for. Every person is sent to the world with a purpose. We are spiritual beings who live a material life, and our own purpose is to give voice to the mission of our soul and to let ourselves guided by our higher self. Scarcity is only the result of our inability to see our value and to inherent worth. When we live from a place of alignment, we let ourselves express the gifts that can change the lives of those around us. Check out this list of FREEBIES we have specially made for you. When it comes to our finances, many people have the wrong relationship we money . We either live in greed or in scarcity. We wither believe that we never have enough or feel guilty for wanting more money. This is because we have been instilled many faulty programs with regards to money, and we are not used to having a healthy, positive relationship with our ability to create financial abundance. Basically, there are three levels of financial development : Survival —doing whatever it takes to stay afloat Stability —generating enough cash flow to meet one’s needs, eliminate debt, and establish future security. Affluence —accumulating ample disposable income to live the life of one’s dreams. People who are successful in the world are mostly motivated by profit, social affluence and prestige. We function according to a patriarchal model of success, which states that our value as human beings is defined by our ability to produce and create money. That’s because men tend to be highly motivated by profit, perks, and prestige. In the male world, the promise of affluence is a powerful incentive. But not for those who pursue sacred success. Once someone becomes financially stable , they are no longer motivated by money. What motivates them is helping others…or as numerous people described it, “ a search for significance.” These are two very different paths to affluence. “ Show me the money ” versus “ Show me how to help .” Too many people unnecessarily struggle to navigate the first path, without realizing they have another option. You heard many times about financial and professional success. However, this definition of success is focused on material gain, while ignoring the gifts that each human is born with. It disregards the divine dimension of our worldly purpose and emphasizes material gain. Sacred success does exactly the opposite: it entails the endless abundance that comes out of aligning with your soul’s mission and your divine purpose. Sacred Success follows a 4- step process. I can only describe this process as a combination of getting your head clear and your hands dirty , or as an Irish saying puts it: “ pray for potatoes with a hoe in your hand .” That pretty much describes the 4 step process, a process that is both sacred and mundane, that is divinely guided while grounded in action. Enhance your manifestations with this jaw-dropping Law of Attraction routine. Here are the 5 steps: Step 1. Receive consciously, surrendering to what is. This means letting go of the need to control the world and the outcomes of your actions and trusting in the divine timing and intelligence that goes beyond our conscious understanding. Step 2. Pursue your highest purpose according to your deepest truths . Do you have a calling or a voice that wants to be heard? Are you aware deep down of a special gift that you feel urged to share with the rest of the world? This gift is your divine calling. And it is the tool that will lead you in the direction of your sacred success. Step 3. Exercise Mental Discipline . When you encounter challenges on the way, know that these are only tests that are meant to make you more resilient, strong, and more aware of your potential. You overcome these obstacles by exercising daily mental discipline and by working with your weakness and your fears. Step 4. Leave a legacy by modeling Greatness . Whatever you are good at, do your best to become great at what you are doing. If your gift is singing, aim to become a great singer. If your special talent is writing, leave the legacy of your sacred ideas. Capitalize on your strengths and work on your own development. Step 5. Pay your gifts forward. If you were sent with a mission to help others or if you excel at a certain thing, make sure to teach others to excel as well. We lead by example, and we can be a powerful inspiration for others. For example, if you overcame a difficult situation, make sure to share the lessons you learned and the tools you have used along your journey. You never know how your insights, ideas, and lessons can improve someone’s life. Do not be afraid that you will come across as arrogant - quite the opposite. When you honor your gifts and your calling in the world, it can be deeply humbling to out your talents towards the rising of the human consciousness. Sacred success is about creating abundance while helping others . It’s that simple. It is about following your own mission while leaving a strong mark in the world and being aligned with your purpose and divine calling. When pursuing success, remember that it is not always about material gain and financial abundance: rather, it is about the lives you impact and the people you help from the spiritual plenitude and abundance you live from. Sacred Success is available to anyone who follows their calling and who strives to be of service for the rest of the world. Join our FREE Facebook group of Vibrational Manifestors here ! Follow us on Instagram , LinkedIn and visit our website for more freebies! Tom & Ania Yatar, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Tom & Ania Yatar are world travelers who have helped thousands of people attract financial wealth, mental & emotional health, perfect physical health, relational and spiritual wealth. We both started out working jobs that left us living paycheck to paycheck, exhausted and worn out. We were only able to dream that we’d ever get to live the lives we truly wanted, longing for the freedom to live life on our own terms, and time to enjoy life to the fullest. Individually we each set out creating our own businesses and learning new skills, where eventually, we both came to understand the importance of mindset and its effect on our businesses. The way we created consistency in our marketing and the abundance mindset for ourselves is the exact same methods we teach to our students now. This is what Vibrational Wealth is all about.

Written by: Rita Hurry, 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. All too often, you may feel that you are good at something but not great at it. Or you may excel at a few things but struggle with others. How you perceive those things that you struggle with can make or break you. It can turn your passion into your own worst nightmare. This is due to your mindset. Your perception of everything that happens in your life can be altered in a blink of an eye, but you have to be willing to change your perception. Do I have to change? If you want things to be better, than yes, change is needed, but how you view the result of change plays a big part in this. If you focus on the fact that change, be it big or small, always leads to good, then you will keep moving forward in life with this belief, and this belief shapes who you become. You are no longer the person who views change as something scary, but you welcome it with open arms, ready for the new opportunities. You gain a new lease of life and an excitement for what you do. With change comes expansion, adaptability, and clarity. You grow as an individual and gain awareness of how far you have come and your achievements. You put the doubts and the fears to bed with each change in perception and focus on the positive outcomes of the changes. Many times most of us get anxious to make changes in our careers or in our business. We feel that if we keep changing things, it will come across as being weak and unable to stick to one thing. But who says you have to stick to one thing? Who says you cannot make a trillion changes in a lifetime? The only one that says this is you. You are the only one that puts the breaks on changes and the growth you want to make. You get in your own way. It’s time for a change It’s time to be the boss of you and stop giving yourself reasons as to why you cannot do something and instead ask the question – “Why not me?” Yes, why can’t you make the changes and overcome the doubts and change your perception? You answer to yourself and create your own reality, so why not you? When things seem doubtful, or you struggle with things as they are, check in with your mindset. See what is holding you back and face it and look at it in a different way. Perceive it differently and choose the options that show you why you can go for it and be the success that you want. Your mindset is your baby. It is strengthened and can work for you when you train it right. Therefore, by looking at the doubts and fears in the eyes, you turn the “Why not me?” to “Yes I can, and I choose to be”. Just feel the difference, just saying that to yourself. Imagine what the intensity of the feeling would be if you actually did take that action? Even more impressive, right? So my message to you today is – change your perception of negative situations each day, give yourself countless reasons as to why you should and not why you shouldn’t, and don’t be afraid to change. Your mindset flourishes from change and growth, so yes, why not you! Visit me on my Facebook, Instagram, Podcast and Website! Read more from Rita! Rita Hurry, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Rita´s mission is to help individuals in the Creative Arts, Media, Music and Film Industry, believe in their dreams and never give up on making them come true. Making the impossible - I'm Possible. She began Life Coaching in 2003 and has never looked back since. She is a great believer in Personal Development and Mindfulness work, whether it is practically or spiritually. Rita is a Subject Matter Expert in Law of Attraction & Flow Coaching, Mindfulness & Meditation, Business as well as Nirvana Fitness and Energy Healing. She was was awarded Best Law Of Attraction Coach in 2015. She has coached many clients across different professions. For example, CEOs and Entrepreneurs; Casting Agents; Actors; Singers; Musicians; Authors; Artists; DJs; and so many more across the globe and nationwide, including those working in the education industry. She currently is the co-founder of RIME Entertainment and co-hosts and co-produces an online Interview Show called RIME Entertainment Showcase where she and her co-host interview people from all over the globe who have overcome hurdles in life and are now fulfilling and living their dream.

Written by: Maggie Perotin, 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 Many entrepreneurs start their journey as hobbyists. I'm sure you remember the moment when you had an idea about your business. It was probably related to your passion or a product you love. You thought it would be great to make some money out of it and take the first steps toward making it happen, then the business grew. Then at some point, you had to make a decision: "do I become serious about turning the hobby into serious business" or "do I continue with it as a hobby?" If you're the one who chose the former (or wants to do it), then along with your business, you need to shift your mindset from the hobbyist to the CEO. Here are 3 essential CEO tactics that will help you make that shift and help your business grow further. 1. Being professional and authentic at the same time There's a lot of talk and advice out there about being authentic but not a lot about professionalism. And personally, I think that because of it, sometimes authenticity is misunderstood, and professionalism underrated. When, in fact, they go hand in hand together, especially for entrepreneurs serious about their growth. Here is what I mean by that: Professionalism is about consistently showing up for your audience and clients and delivering excellence in everything you do . Authenticity is doing all this in your own unique way and not trying to be someone else. Whether you feel like it that day or not when you're professional - you show up and deliver your best. Imagine if Adele or Beyoncé canceled every show only because they had a bad day? I'm not saying show up when you're sick and can't function (even the Adele doesn't do it), but self-managing your emotions so they don't control you is key to being successful. And doesn't take away from your authenticity. It actually shows your clients that you care and respect them. When you show up, speak from the heart, in a way that only you can (authenticity) but be prepared at the same time (professionalism). Trying to wing it and, in consequence, babble is not authentic and undoubtedly not professional either. Be there for your clients to serve them, to help them solve their issues. When you make it about them, you show professionalism. And when you draw from your experience (share learnings from your own mistakes), you become authentic and relatable. 2. Understanding that your BRAND is a PROMISE, not just its visual representations such as logo or colors. Your brand is a promise to your clients. It promises the solutions you deliver to them consistently and must align with your business vision, mission, and values. And as a CEO, you need to stay connected to them. When you have a strong vision, mission, and values that align, it's much easier to make crucial decisions for your business. It's much easier to stay the course, not to get distracted by the next shiny object. They are like your North Star showing focusing you on the way to your destination. And don't get me wrong, the logo and colors are critical in your marketing. They help you stand out and be recognizable. But without the core standing as their foundation, they become meaningless and forgettable. 3. Growing your business in a strategic way CEO's don't take random actions in their business. They don't follow a never-ending to-do-list containing random ideas without a structure. CEO's are strategic. They set goals that align with their Vision. They care about their business's overall health (clients, partners, employees, finances, systems, etc.). Your business is an organism just like your body: consisting of many interconnected parts all-important and reliant on each other. Taking a holistic approach and strategically running it is key to long-term success. Now that you're here, are you wondering: "OMG, that's a lot, how am I ever going to do it?" To that, I say step by step. You're probably doing most of it anyway. Maybe you just need to spend a bit of time to look at your business form the eagle's perspective and find the holes. Being a strategic CEO ensures that your business, just like your body, is working as a whole. That everything is interconnected, working together towards one Vision. "No matter what the industry you choose to ultimately invest all your time and energy in, be sure you're the owner, founder, and CEO. Remember, if you don't own it, you can't control it, nor can you depend on it." ― Brandi L. Bates Follow me on Facebook , Instagram and visit my website ! Read more from Maggie! Maggie Perotin, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Maggie Perotin is a business and leadership coach, helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses without the overwhelm so they can live the life they want. Through her DREAM-PLAN-DO coaching model, she helps her clients reach their potential and get results while maintaining balance in life. Maggie has over 13 years of coaching and leadership experience in the corporate world in various domains. She holds a Masters Degree in International Relations, Facility Management Administration designation, and currently pursuing an Executive MBA at Jack Welch Management Institute. Maggie uses all her knowledge and experience to help entrepreneurs be strategic and creative in building a successful business and brand that attract their ideal clients. She is passionate about spending quality time with her blended family with four kids in the Canadian nature, traveling, self-development, and healthy cuisine of the world.

Iliana Rocha is a senior business leader with extensive consulting and coaching experience in all things business. Iliana has been working hand-in-hand with businesses in optimizing their strategy and operations, and is now President & Lead Coach at Clubnet Solutions Inc. Her focus is on working with entrepreneurs and small business owners on scaling and transforming their businesses profitably. Can you tell our readers more about your mission, purpose, and the work that you do? Our mission at Clubnet Solutions is to be a partner of leaders looking to transform and scale their businesses profitably. This encompasses many areas – from improving one’s own leadership skills, to managing team performance, to purposefully designing the next stages of the business to ensure it continues to thrive and mature. We know what is required to effectively and efficiently run a company and partner with leaders to develop action plans to scale and transform their businesses. We work with entrepreneurs a lot and have found that many organizations get stuck before exponential growth because their leaders don’t know how to plan ahead. Whether they are looking to grow the business scale in a manner that allows them to retain control, get access to capital, or get acquired, it is important to optimize their strategy and operations. For a company to truly take off, a leader needs to lay the groundwork and put in place the building blocks that are required for long-term success. That’s where we come in. Planning for business growth cohesively allows leaders to make sure that each and every decision and change supports and re-enforces the rest. I have observed the successes and, more often, failures of large and small organizations alike and have developed a system of best practices for ensuring that all parts of a business work well together. Once the day-to-day business management is taking care of itself, leaders can go back to doing the things they are best at – being the visionary and focusing on the problems and challenges only they are uniquely equipped to handle. We also consciously focus on helping small to mid-sized businesses. We truly believe that small businesses have the potential to contribute to society and their communities tremendously. Time and time again, small businesses behave more responsibly than large ones. They treat their employees better and tend to retain them even in difficult times; they create jobs and therefore sustain local economies. The list goes on: when the middle class and small to mid-sized businesses thrive, so do economies and communities. Are there common challenges that your customers experience? Absolutely! Although each business is unique, it’s common for leaders to experience feelings of being stuck or overwhelmed. It’s human nature - we tend to get cozy and comfortable with where we are and accept firefighting as a way of life. However, by getting stuck, leaders miss the opportunities of how to unlock change and capitalize on the company’s growth potential. No one has ever grown by keeping things status quo since it is difficult for the status quo and exponential growth to coexist. When you experience new, more complicated problems, that is a sign of progress! But first, you have to get over your everyday challenges. We often find that leaders come to us with what appears to be a unique problem that they just can’t seem to address. The commonality, however, is that these leaders are focusing on symptoms rather than root causes. So, we help them identify what is truly at the core of their challenges. That’s when you can pin-point what organizational framework, leadership coaching, or team development activity will solve that problem. The symptoms are diverse, but the root causes can usually be boiled down to pretty standard business challenges. That’s good news because it means those are easier to solve and the solutions are long-term. They enable streamlining within the organization, removing roadblocks and freeing up leader and team time to focus on higher-value items. You have a wide knowledge of business and leadership principles. What do you enjoy helping people with the most? That’s an interesting question because I don’t have a favorite business or leadership area I like to focus on; I’m more interested in the lasting impact I have on these organizations. About ten years ago, my husband and I went on vacation with some really driven and capable people. When we came back home, he was feeling very motivated and said something along the lines of: I wish I could bottle up this feeling and leverage it on my off days. That stayed with me. It took me a decade to figure out how to do that for others, but when I did, it became the basis for what Clubnet Solutions stands for. We focus on not just solving problems for our customers and partners, but also on ensuring they maintain momentum and increase their own capabilities so that they need less external support in the future. Many people find it odd, but we truly believe we are doing a good job when we manage to talk ourselves out of a job. That means that whatever it was we were doing as part of an engagement, we’ve now equipped the team or company to do that themselves. That’s why we favor coaching over consulting. As much as we enjoy solving business problems, we are much more satisfied when we’ve equipped an organization and its talent to continue to grow and thrive on its own. Business Excellence is something Clubnet Solutions stands for. If you could give 3-5 tips on how to achieve Business Excellence, what would that be? I just published my first book: Level Up! Low hanging fruit to instantly improve your small business (you can get it on Amazon). Through years of coaching and consulting in large organizations, I have developed a system of best practices built on the 6 pillars of business excellence success. This is the framework we use as part of our Clubnet Solutions engagements. The book expands on each of the pillars: purpose-driven business, authentic leadership, talent focus, strategic planning, operational excellence, and performance management. There is a lot of information, but if I had to summarize some key takeaways, they would be: You can’t expect everyone to strive for excellence or the business to grow if you aren’t willing to invest in your own leadership skills. When you focus on continuously improving yourself, you set an example for your team and weave continuous improvements in your company’s DNA. That is a recipe for growth! Hire and grow a high-performance team. I talk a lot about how to identify top performers and how to manage and grow them so that they remain loyal to your organization. Many leaders seem to think that if you really invest in your people, they’ll take the learnings and go to greener pastures. That’s not the case – high performers value how they are managed over pay-based incentives. I encourage business owners to identify and grow the future leaders of their companies. That way, when the organization scales, they have the right people to help manage the more complex structure. The last takeaway I’ll include is around performance managing your organization. A lot of leaders either don’t keep a pulse on how the internal and external environments are changing, or simply report on these changes but don’t adjust their course of action. That is a mistake. The organizations that do the best are the ones that, at any given point, know where they stand and have contingencies in place to adapt to whatever changes in the environment happen. That may be recognizing changes in leading indicators and engaging in preventative action, or it could be understanding that the environment is more favorable than anticipated and truly leveraging that opportunity. One way or another, adaptability is key! Finally, what do you have in front of you, and what’s your next big goal or project? We continuously try to create or evolve our offerings as we look for new ways to support leaders and business owners. We’ve realized that nothing is as lonely as trying to run a business by yourself. So we’ve been looking for ways to give business owners some of the support that large organizations get, but smaller businesses can’t afford. At Clubnet Solutions, we believe that it takes a village to build a business. So we’ve introduced the concept of advisory boards. A mix of a mastermind and an executive board, an advisory board, is where you can get perspectives from other leaders to test new ideas, create accountability, increase sales, and find camaraderie within a like-minded community. We have defined the concept and the offering and are now looking for the best way to reach business owners who could benefit from a Clubnet Solutions advisory board. So, if you are reading this and are interested, just visit us at https://clubnet.ca/business-management-services/advisory-boards / For more info, follow me on Facebook , connect with me on LinkedIn and visit my website ! Read more from Iliana!

Written by: Melia Diana, 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 If we have a wounded soul, why do we think we are ready for dating? Anytime a person is wounded in their inner soul- it causes a dripping effect onto others. Our relationships suffer, we suffer, and most importantly, other areas of our lives will continue to be incomplete disarray until we heal. The dating scene has surely gotten rough… not going to lie. The very fact that we are trapped in the house these days due to COVID doesn’t make dating any easier. Who wants to meet a potential spouse with a mask smashed over our face? I get it. However, maybe we can look at online dating from our home as a positive. If we can take a step back and get to actually know each other on a spiritual and emotional level instead of a physical one, with a guarded heart. In that case, we can truly get to know someone’s heart instead of hopping into a fleshy needy desire. “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23 NLT). We unintentionally step in the dating realm, not knowing how we affect others. We are subconsciously unaware and disillusioned that we might be the problem- of course , we assume it has to be the other person’s fault. Are you guilty of this defense mechanism? I’ve come into harsh terms with myself that I am not perfect. Shocker… right ? Most of us portray we are the innocent victims. We like to self-justify, retaliate, and belittle to defend our weaknesses. We love to point fingers. Put up a shield to hide our deficiencies. And, look out if someone challenges that! So what’s going on? We all have been hurt, mocked, lied to, and had some kind of betrayal in our lives. In that particular moment, we were flabbergasted, offended, and upset, but as the day progressed- more turmoil started to fester inside our souls. The state of shock usually takes us back quite a bit. We constantly relive the unpleasant feelings of our past. We get in a trapped mindset and astound that a loved one would do that to us. Now, the bitterness starts to set in. We are fuming with wretched ideas that we are God’s “special one” and don’t deserve that kind of treatment. True, we don’t necessarily deserve bad treatment from others, but understand we are all hurting. "The ultimate goal of dating is to find your husband." This explains the wounded soul and its need for true healing. I have to warn you about a little secret here. The enemy wants us to stay trapped in our pain, but God wants more for you. Let me kindly chime in here and say that unless our souls are cleansed by the son of Jesus, we will continue to vomit our pain on others. It’s quite scary thought! My job, as a Certified Christian Counselor & Dating Coach for single Christian women, is to help people identify core root issues and purge anything hindering God’s best for them. I help women discover who they are in Christ as they gain better clarity on how to date properly in their single season. They learn how to heal internally, God’s Way, and attract a godly man, so they feel loved and worthy again. The ultimate goal of dating is to find your husband. In my findings, if people don’t get to the root of their problem- they will continue to attract the same kind of mate. Like attracts like. Unhealthy relationships, childhood trauma, family issues and old flings are part of the unraveling process of the transformation journey. There is always more than what meets the eyes of every individual. We sometimes have to take a step back and take a good look in the mirror. Yikes ! Reality is that there are hurting people out there, sometimes hurting worse than you. Have you heard of the phrase- “hurt people- hurt people?” It’s so true. We certainly don’t like to be challenged in this area, but many people have unhealthy beliefs and behavior patterns that negatively affect other people. In contrast, there is a greater truth that your healing can bring joy as you discover a more fruitful way to date. Your healing can also have a positive impact on others. Here’s the kicker. Our pain affects us and our relationships the most. Whatever is in our heart, comes out of our mouth. “But the words you speak come from the heart- that what defiles you” (Matthew 15:18 NLT). So if your heart is filled with bitterness, resentments, and anger…do, you really think this will help you find “the one?” But, if your heart is at peace, rest, and filled with love- perhaps you may attract the right spouse. Get my drift? I used to think men were the problem. And although maturity is a big factor, we have to take accountability for ourselves and our choices. We must come to God to help fix our brokenness that lies deep inside our soul. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT). I went on for half my life completely oblivious to the fact that God was my healer. I want to sincerely encourage you that you will continue to date with a wounded soul unless you heal your toxic wounds. Let’s get out of that rejection funk! You can change, but it starts with you taking action. I’m here to help guide you. God loves you. Blessings xo , Book a clarity call with Melia Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and check out my YouTube-channel and website ! Melia Diana, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Melia is an International Best-Selling Author, Certified Christian Counselor, and Dating & Relationship Coach specializing in inner healing transformation. She has spent over 13 years in the medical & fitness field, as a Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant and Certified ACSM Personal Trainer helping people through her passion for delivering attainable and solid goals. But it doesn’t stop there! Melia’s extensive certifications and background led her to utilize her faith, knowledge, experience and personal development to brand and design her own Signature Coaching Programs. She developed a unique methodology to help clarify the missing links and identify core root issues hindering God’s best. With a godly approach, she helps Christian women to unblock the barriers from having the loving relationships they’ve always desired. God’s mission for Melia, is helping lost souls find their true identity in Christ as the Holy Spirit guides people through their healing journey. Her empathetic approach encourages others for growth, wisdom and a stronger mindset for a more abundant and fruitful life.

Written by: Kelly Rolfe, 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 I have spent the last five years asking my clients this question; are you limiting yourself? And the astonishing answer is yes! You probably are too. Whether you are a million-dollar brand, a six-figure brand, or just starting your entrepreneurial journey, ask yourself this same question, “am I limiting myself in my business?” The chances are that on some level, you are. Entrepreneurs spend so much time building, marketing, strategizing, DOING; we rarely stop to evaluate ourselves. Entrepreneurship is invigorating, exciting, and thrilling like no other when things are going well, but it is also exhausting, draining, and stressful when things aren’t going so well. Your sales are down, and your funnels aren’t producing, your clients aren’t producing the results they should be; whatever the challenges are, they tend to make us feel as if we are somehow personally responsible. When we believe that we are personally accountable for the entirety of our business’ successes and failures, we leave ourselves vulnerable to self-deprecating thoughts. “Where did I go wrong?”; “What was I thinking?”; “Who do I think I am trying to reach for that goal?”. The most successful entrepreneurs in the world spend time dedicated to growing themselves daily. To learning, evolving, strengthening themselves in both mindset and strategy because they both matter equally. The business strategy is incredibly important in building the business of your dreams, but I believe that when coupled with the mindset and personal growth practices, you truly become unstoppable in creating the life and business of your dreams. When both mindset and strategy are strengthened daily, you will be able to release the self-deprecating thoughts and feelings. You will be able to handle the ebbs and flows of business with rock-solid self-belief. You will be able to face adversity without questioning your worth and/or abilities as an entrepreneur. I recommend doing a few daily practices to ensure that you are equipped to break the pattern of limiting beliefs, self-sabotaging behavior and self-deprecating thoughts. The most important practice of personal growth is a minimum of 30 minutes of personal development daily. This could be reading a book, listening to a podcast, or watching a motivational video. This practice will open you up to the power of self-improvement, the beauty of healing the self-deprecating beliefs, and giving you the tools to replace those beliefs. Journaling is an incredibly powerful yet underrated tool in growing yourself and releasing your limiting beliefs. Daily journaling will allow you to release all of the thoughts that just swirl around in your brain all day. The act of writing is scientifically proven to assist in releasing repetitive thought patterns. This is because when you write your thoughts down, you become aware of them. When you become aware of your thought patterns, you can make a conscious decision to change the thought pattern. Gratitude as a daily practice is life-altering in the way we see the world and ourselves. I encourage you to write down a minimum of three things you are grateful for before you start your day and to end your day with a minimum of three things that you were grateful for throughout the day. If you want to get the most out of your gratitude practice, I encourage you to avoid writing down the big things such as “my family, a roof over my head, freshwater” and think smaller such as “a beautiful conversation with a friend, a quiet and slow start to my day, hearing my children’s laughter”. Focusing on the smaller moments reprograms your brain to look for moments to be grateful for throughout the day. Exercise daily. This is not only incredibly important for your health; it is very helpful as a tool in your personal development journey. Daily exercise reduces levels of the body’s stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) while also stimulating endorphins production. Daily exercise also increases mental clarity and promotes better sleep, all of which assist in having the energy and mental clarity to challenge and heal our self-deprecating beliefs. When you are able to implement a few small changes into your daily habits, the impacts will be life-changing. Your mental clarity, emotional stability, and entrepreneurial power will increase, giving you the tools and perseverance to handle all that your life and business throw at you. Your ability to think and react clearly and from a stable place will drastically reduce your limiting beliefs, self-sabotaging behavior and self-deprecating thoughts. Show up for yourself every day. You are limitless and capable of everything that you desire! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and visit my website for more info! Kelly Rolfe, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Kelly Rolfe is a Life and Business Coach, dedicated to teaching people how to master their mindset in order to grow exponentially in business. She believes that in order to have a successful and sustainable business, entrepreneurs need to master their mindset as much as their strategy. Without self love and self belief, entrepreneurship can be overwhelming and hard. Kelly has helped many people to recognize and overcome their limiting beliefs which has allowed her clients to show up authentically and with flow in their businesses. Kelly is a two-time international best-selling author and loves to combine her passions of teaching and writing in her books.

Written by: Rachel Tindall, 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 This pandemic has caused a lot of change in our daily lives. Most of us are out of our daily routines and still trying to find some kind of normalcy, even as society opens back up, and business goes on around us. The reality is that we don’t live in “normal” times. Although the unemployment rate has started to come back down from the incredible heights we saw in April and May, many of us have been or know someone who has been furloughed or laid off from a job they thought was stable. It’s a trying time for everyone, and that can be incredibly hard not just in terms of everyday work and family balance (or lack thereof), but also in creativity and being personally confident and fulfilled. The question becomes how to deal with everything going on around you in a way that doesn’t leave you feeling even more miserable. As a writer and editor who regularly works with professionals (and other writers), our best work doesn’t come from burnout. And our passion ceases to be exciting and inspiring when it feels like another thing to check off on a mile-long to-do list we have no hope of completing. I’ve found these 3 methods to be extraordinarily helpful not just for my clients, but also in my own creative and personal life. 1. Meditate : As much as people think of meditation as a spiritual act, it doesn’t always have to take on that role. I meditate almost every day, and on extra stressful days more than once. Even just a few minutes of meditation each day can drastically help you stay centered. It gives you the quiet space you need to take back your thoughts that may be spiraling out of control. If you meditate at night, which is one of the things that helps me most, it can also help you sleep more soundly so you can wake up refreshed in the morning rather than desperately trying to drag yourself out of bed. Pro Tip: You can try these apps for free! - “Stop Panic and Anxiety” & “Insight Timer” 2. Take Purposeful Breaks : If you’ve been working from home or laid off during this time, you’ll probably know the struggle of trying to figure out how to best spend your time. Look for a new job? Try to start a business? Find freelance work? Take care of a partner, kids, pets, elderly family members, or some combination? It’s exhausting! You need breaks . Your creativity needs breaks . Your body and brain need you to take breaks because they can only handle so much work and stress before it starts having physical effects. So when you think about what you need to do (especially when it’s an overwhelming number of things), take a break. It doesn’t have to be extensive (and you don’t need to go binge watch 5 episodes of your new show on Netflix) but give yourself time to disconnect and just be with yourself. Pro tip: Do NOT use your breaks to go on social media! This will stress you out more and you may fall into the trap of endless scrolling or comparing your situation to others. 3. Time It : This is probably the most useful productivity hack I have been able to implement both in the workplace and in my own business because it allows me to be focused and productive, but also take those breaks we need so badly. When everything feels like it’s spiraling out of control, you can time your tasks. Whether you work better in 20-minute chunks like the Pomodoro technique or a little bit longer, set yourself a timer, remove the distractions around you, and stick to it. When your timer is done, stop your task and stretch. Take a little break. Then set your timer again and do another focused session. You’ll be surprised by how well this works in most areas of your life, including creativity! Pro tip: Try the Forest app. I’m a little obsessed, but it’s great because timed writing is SUCH a valuable tool in a writer’s toolbox! It can take the pressure off of being perfect , and when you know you want to start something, it will show you that you can actually make progress, even if you don’t have time to set a SMART goal . For more info, follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my website ! Rachel Tindall, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Rachel Tindall is a Writer and Writing Coach at Capturing Your Confidence. Her lifelong love of learning inspired her to pursue education in writing, as well as teaching. Throughout her years of teaching at the university and community college levels, she has developed a strong desire to continue to be the best learner and educator she can be – a coach. Rachel uses intentional motivation and empowerment to facilitate growth for driven writers and creatives on their journey to becoming unstoppable dream-getters. Building confidence in her colleagues and students is at the heart of all she does.

Collaborated post Just because the global pandemic has brought untold financial chaos to businesses across the globe, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be considering the welfare of your staff. At this time, more than ever, you need to keep communicating with your staff team. While you try and keep redundancy at bay, you want to keep your staff team intact. The smallest number of changes as possible will give your business the greatest chance of surviving these coronavirus days. Take a look at how you can keep your staff turnover low. Communication To keep your staff team working productively in these surreal days, you need to communicate. If they feel left out or undervalued, they may seek employment elsewhere. While business may be tough, you need all hands to the deck. Have a Monday morning briefing every week where you can encourage discussion and challenge. Communicate targets and any news that is relevant. Ask for opinions and act on those ideas that would make a real difference to your company. Every Friday, follow up with an email celebrating the successes of your staff. Namecheck those individuals who have gone the extra mile. Showing your staff team that they are valued boosts morale and can help you to retain a low staff turnover as your team are eager to stay put. Environment It doesn’t matter whether you are based in an office or a warehouse, you need to ensure that the environment that you facilitate is conducive to productive working. Swap the beige carpet tiles for some resilient wood flooring, the desktop booths for collaborative working pods, and the peeling paint for some white emulsion. If you work in a specialist environment, make sure the kit you have is fit for purpose. Utilize the most advanced medical fridges that your budget will allow if you are working in a lab environment or purchase the best computer hardware if you work in a CAD workshop. Giving your staff the equipment and gear that will facilitate productive working will keep them fulfilled and satisfied in their working lives. Flexibility In the new normal that businesses across the globe are struggling to adapt to, flexibility is key for employers. You need to embrace at home working to enable your staff team to work in a safe environment. Adding to their anxiety in what is already a chaotic time by making them come into the office may make them look for alternative work. Studies have shown that employees are just as productive, if not more productive, when they are allowed to employ remote working. This is because staff members are more comfortable and content in their own surroundings. With the emergence of Skype and Teams, you can still maintain contact with your staff, conducting important meetings in a virtual way. By empowering your staff to work at hoe, you are trusting them and making them feel valued. This remote way of working could even see you save money on office overheads, especially if you decide that you will go for full home working in the new normal future. Follow this guide and you will keep your staff turnover low during these pandemic days

Written by: Janet Henson, 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. As a divorce coach, I help my clients deal with the emotional rollercoaster of divorce. Divorce is the second most traumatic experience in a person's life. One of the most frequent problems my clients face is dealing with the uncertainty divorce creates in their lives. It's not unusual for people to stay in unhappy, even toxic, marriages rather than face the uncertainty of suddenly being alone and facing a new future. What I can say is that it is far better to leave an unhappy relationship and deal with short term uncertainty rather than deal with the certainty of remaining unhappy. It is a cliché, but you only have one life, so live it to the full and happily. If I could read the future for my clients and gaze into a crystal ball to be able to tell them how their future would look and when they would know all the answers to the 'what if's' that constantly fill their minds, I would be in great demand! The divorce journey is full of unknowns, the biggest unknowns that bother my clients are:- Will my spouse agree to a divorce? Will my divorce be high conflict? Will my spouse be fair and honest? How do I respond to my spouse's latest demand via their lawyer? How do I manage the bills on my own? How do I manage the finances that my spouse used to manage? How do I handle my children's response to the news? When will the divorce be final? When will I know the financial settlement? Will I ever be happy again? When will I feel 'normal' again? Will I meet someone else? Where will I live? When do I finalize the details for co-parenting arrangements? Our brains are programmed to crave certainty. They dislike uncertainty. So, a bit like the fight and flight response. Because the uncertainty is incredibly painful, my clients often rush to resolve it as quickly as possible. Their actions often involve running away or lashing out, or taking a decision to hurt their spouse. After all, they want to get out of their painful uncertainty as soon as possible because their brain is wired to do this. I teach my clients that they need to embrace uncertainty and stop from acting quickly, however tempting it is to do so. I teach them to envisage a STOP sign in their minds and follow a process before they take action. I ask them to sit down with each uncertainty as it presents itself and for as long as it takes to be sure the view and see it from all angles. Not from the angle of wanting to hit back at their ex for all the wrong reasons of retribution and revenge. Often these such decisions are not in the best interests of themselves. The response needs to be considered with compassion and in the best interests of all parties involved, particularly children. Often clients have to see that they need to embrace the higher road. I always tell my clients to take time to respond, quite often if they receive a demand from their spouse's lawyer in the moment, they reply with emotion ruling the response. I tell them to sit on the demand until their initial emotion has settled, normally at least overnight. It's always better to say 'I don't have an answer at the moment. I need to think through how this will affect me, and I will get back to you. I Buy time until you have clarity and have sat down and examined it from all angles. Consequently, embracing is not about taking no action; it's about taking the time to react in the best way possible by giving themselves the time to consider the decision. I also tell my clients it's a step at a time and once one thing is resolved, you feel more empowered to take the next step in the process. It's a learning curve that helps you overtime to make the brain wait and used to not craving immediate certainty. I teach my clients to also envisage the word STOP in their minds when they start thinking of 'what ifs'. They are writing a story in their mind that might never happen and giving themselves stress. Like an addiction to anything, when the craving for certainty is met, there is a sensation of reward, but the brains drive for certainty often makes us make snap decisions that come back to bite us. For more information, follow me on Facebook , Instagram and visit my website ! Janet Henson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Janet Henson is globally sought-after Divorce Coach, dedicated to guide men and women through one of life’s most traumatic emotional events - divorce. Janet quest is to banish the stigma that still surrounds divorce and prove that the end of a marriage can be the most empowering, life changing and affirming event ever to happened to you. Her coaching experience coupled with her own divorce experience enable her to develop coaching programmes designed to help individuals transform their lives by taking control of their minds and equipping them with the strategies and tools they  need in order to successfully deal with this major life event enabling them to navigate and cope with their journey with positivity and to confidently transitioning into the next phase of their life. Janet specialises in divorces involving narcissistic abuse, high conflict, divorce in later life and expat divorces.