Written by: Chrissy Metge, 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. Up-to-date branding: As a creative, you are often at the front of what you do, which means people want to see you. This means photographs of yourself. It's better to lead the way with the pictures you want on the internet than some random photos that people grab off your social media. Getting a professional photo can seem daunting, but it makes a big difference. You don't need to spend a fortune on this or get dozens. Aim for 2-5 high-quality photographs to get you going and get new ones every 3-5 years. This keeps you and your branding fresh. Knowing about the latest trends within your field: You don't have to have in-depth knowledge about every topic, but you need to know about the latest trends. AI right now is a massive topic in the creative sector that is touching almost every business. Listen to podcasts or read some articles; this allows you to enter conversations and build relationships. Social and being interactive in like-minded communities: You need to be present; out of sight, out of mind is a real thing. People will forget to include you or recommend you to new clients if you are not around. The new year is a perfect time to do this, loop back to your clients from last year, wish them a Happy New Year, or if you have completed a project, send them the latest work you have done or your updated portfolio. Are there new events taking place or cafe chats? Attend any social gatherings to build those relationships and talk about what you are doing. Give your time willingly to up-and-coming students, schools, and communities: Being generous with your time to those starting out is great for a fresh perspective and keeping you grounded; it's also good for your reputation. These communities talk, and who you are will spread quickly, especially if you do a good job. Get in touch with your local universities, colleges and schools and offer to be a guest lecturer. Go to your local community centre or library and offer to do workshops. Get out there and be seen. Be approachable: The foundation of building good relationships is being approachable. Then ideas and trust can grow. How do you achieve this? Adopt open body language, make eye contact, smile and create space. If that's not working, try wearing something that sparks a conversation or bring in something for morning or afternoon tea to have an excuse to hang out. Ask questions and keep learning: This also ties in with keeping up with the latest trends. Asking questions is another way to show people you are engaged with what they are saying and contributing to being part of a team. By asking questions, it is also important to know what your project is missing or to create a space for others to speak. Learning is vital, we are naturally curious, and our brains need to be utilised. This can be short courses, nonfiction books, articles or attending seminars. As creatives, we must keep our minds fed with new and innovative ideas. Give yourself space to be a creative: As a creative, we need to fill our well to be inspired, and if you don't create space for this, you will find yourself unmotivated and lacking in new ideas or enthusiasm. It helps if you book ways to fill your inspiration in advance and give you something to look forward to, whether it's that trip to a museum or art gallery to see a new exhibition coming up, or to the theatre or even a trip overseas, put them into the calendar. Also, be aware of how often you need to do this. If you need something every other day, go for a walk at lunchtime and try a new cafe or visit your local bookshop to get inspiration quickly in other ways. Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Chrissy! Chrissy Metge, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Chrissy Metge has been a producer and leader in the animation film and TV industry for over 20 years. As well as making movies, Chrissy is an author, publisher, mentor, career coach, and lecturer to many creatives. Her love for storytelling and recognising and mentoring creative talent is her driving force for being a creative entrepreneur.

Written by: Veronica Sanchez De Darivas, 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. Personal development is a concept that has become fashionable in recent years and that implies a series of advantages for our internal and external progress. Personal development can be defined as the process of taking the necessary steps to become the best version of yourself. It is about growing in all areas of life to reach your true potential, which involves making conscious decisions that positively affect your mental, emotional and physical state. When we are able to develop our skills and knowledge and cultivate our inner being or our soul, we can be more successful and live a meaningful life. There are many tools available to help us on our personal development journey, we will discuss a few here. Self-reflection Self-reflection is the act of reflecting on oneself, it helps us to observe our behavior and our attitudes, making us understand how our actions and decisions affect not only ourselves, but also those around us. It is very useful to reflect on a regular basis to assess how you are progressing and which areas of your life need more attention. To practice self-reflection, you can take a moment each day or once a week and consider the following questions: What did I achieve today or this week? What did I do well? What could I have done better? What areas of my life are causing me stress? How can I improve my general well-being? Goal setting Setting goals and objectives help us to stay motivated, even more, without goals, it is easy to feel like we are not moving forward and give up. There are a few things we need to keep in mind when setting goals and objectives. First, make sure your goals are realistic, because it is not helpful to set goals that are impossible to achieve. Although, deep down, most things are possible, we must be honest with ourselves and know what we can and want to achieve and when. Second, set specific goals, as vague or unclear goals are more difficult to achieve. Finally, write down your objectives and goals and save that writing in a place where you can see it often, as this will help you stay on track. Positive Thinking and Feeling Positive thinking is very helpful in assisting us deal with difficult situations and events in our daily lives. However, thinking positively is not enough, because many times when thinking positive we are not feeling that way, rather we tend to feel thoughts that are not so good much more. I always mention that it is not about not having negative thoughts or emotions, because that is impossible in this physical plane of separated poles, rather is about to take into account those emotions and thoughts and then be able to elevate our vibration to a slightly higher point, which allows us to observe ourselves and from there find solutions and act. One way to start this practice is to develop the ability of observing our thoughts and emotions and here self-reflection can help us greatly. In addition, being aware of the power of words will make us advance even further on the path of self-knowledge. In this sense, one way to activate positivity in us is to repeat affirmations that empower and motivate us. But, we cannot forget that repetition must be accompanied by feeling. Meditation Meditation is an excellent tool to calm the mind, to help us stay focused and productive and, of course, to advance internally, that is, spiritually. In its simplest form, meditation is concentrating on a single thought, sound, or sensation, and guided meditations are extremely helpful in this regard. Meditation gives us the ability to really pay full and conscious attention to the now, to the present moment. It is scientifically proven that meditating reduces stress, anxiety, depression and pain. Meditation also improves memory, creativity and emotional self-regulation. Personal Development Books Personal development books offer advice and guidance on how to achieve our personal, spiritual, and professional goals. Reading this type of books can serve as a guide in various aspects of life, as they bring along valuable teachings that, if put into practice, can change our lives for the better. Many of these books focus on developing leadership skills and success in life. Other books focus on developing creativity, overcoming adversity, and personal motivation. Other books tell us about the soul and spirit, teach us how to meditate and live in the present moment. No matter what the subject of a personal development book is, they all have the potential to transform the lives of those who read them and put their teachings into practice. Courses and workshops Attending courses and workshops that help us acquire new knowledge and discover our abilities is highly recommended in our personal journey. These courses not only affect our self-esteem and confidence for the better, but also help us find our purpose in life. In a personal development course, we can learn useful tools that help us achieve the objectives and goals that we have set for ourselves. With this type of courses we can also obtain a greater knowledge of ourselves and of others, making our personal relationships full of understanding, respect and love. Finally, I must say that starting the path of developing your inner and outer persona can be intimidating, but it does not have to be. The first step is to identify what areas of your life you want to focus on, once you have identified these areas, you can create a plan that will help you achieve your goals and objectives. It is helpful and advisable to create a support system and perhaps find a mentor or coach. You should also make sure to set aside time each day to focus on your chosen development activities. Personal development is self-care and is a continuous journey. Taking the necessary steps to start the journey and use the available tools requires will, commitment and consistency. Only then can we move towards achieving our goals, only then can we know ourselves and expand in all areas of our lives. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Veronica! Veronica Sanchez De Darivas, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Veronica Sanchez De Darivas shares tools on how to manage stress, negative emotions and build resilience and on how to use high vibration words. Veronica is a Spanish grammar and literature teacher. During the last twelve years, she has dedicated herself to spirituality and is a Certified Instructor for the Cyclopea Method of Internal Activation of the Pineal Gland, a method created in South America 33 years ago by the spiritual leader Fresia Castro. Veronica is the first instructor in the world teaching this life changing method in English. Veronica is a Spiritual Life Coach and a HeartMath Certified Coach as well. Veronica is also an author. She has been writing for many years for online magazines and blogs in Spanish and English. Veronica is both a Chilean and an Australian citizen now living in the UK. Her mission is the expansion of consciousness.

Written by: Yvette Durazo, 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. Conflict intelligence refers to the broad range of skills that allow professionals in the field to manage normative conflicts successfully that come as a result of changing situations. It also makes professionals more capable of successfully resolving these different types of conflicts without hurting other people’s existing relationships among their peers. Professionals with conflict intelligence tend to manage pressure and stress much better than others in the workplace. It is the art of staying calm but alert during intense pressure or major conflicts while finding solutions to them. Staying calm and considerate helps you think straight and understand various situations carefully. Conflict intelligence can also help you convey your message through verbal and non-verbal means, while controlling your emotions and focusing on the main concern. Importance of Conflict IQ for professionals A high conflict intelligence helps develop stronger connections, reduces team stress, resolves conflicts, and improves job satisfaction. A higher conflict intelligence means having the capacity to increase team productivity and improve employee retention. Conflict IQ increases awareness and helps you learn about the root cause of your problems. Once you learn your problems and the reasons behind them, you can start looking for a solution. It also makes you believe a positive change is possible, which makes finding a solution a lot easier. Effective conflict resolution techniques aim to prevent arguments from getting worse. Meanwhile, continuing to address all sides of the issue to come to a mutually agreeable solution. You'll be more equipped to learn from, and teach people, in professional and personal environments if you work on your conflict resolution skills. If you are on the top level of your company and people look to you to address their issues, you need to have strong conflict resolution skills to meet their expectations. You have to manage these conflicts to maintain a positive environment where change is possible. Conflict Intelligence is more than a Soft Skill Conflict resolution is more than just a soft skill, as leaders will also need to have knowledge about humanity, psychology, anthropology, and sociology. Conflict is inevitable in our daily lives and at work, depleting the valuable energy we can use for productivity and innovative ideas. There has never been a better time to develop conflict intelligence, given the different types of conflict in more diverse work environments. A newly applied framework offers new meta-competencies for Conflict Intelligence and Systemic Wisdom. The research guides people in resolving conflict and fostering more constructive and peaceful relations in various contexts. It is based on insights from research in psychology, conflict studies, and complexity science. How to handle conflict on a professional level Nearly 43% of CEOs chose "conflict management skills" as their top area for personal improvement when asked about their biggest skill. Since CEOs must handle various constituencies daily, learning good conflict management techniques should be one of their top responsibilities. As a CEO and decision-maker, a wide range of issues will cross your desk daily. Your employees look up to you and need you to help them with your expertise and conflict-resolution skills. Decisions become centralized when they come to you, and they will take less time to resolve when there is less involvement from a third party. We will discuss some essential communication components to handle conflict in the workplace. Talk to your colleagues and discuss work and other work-related issues. Try to solve them mutually. Also, including them in the decision-making process can make them feel more valued. You should focus on important events and behavior and not personalities. Listen carefully when your co-workers talk to you and make them feel heard. Enjoy the similarities between you and your co-workers and respect the differences to make your workplace a much healthier place to work. Identify your points of agreement and disagreements with your colleagues. If you find an area of conflict, make it your priority to solve that conflict. Create plans and objectives to work on conflicts and their solution. Follow your plans and develop ways to succeed. Professionals that work with people daily should read this book. Conflict cannot be avoided, but we must also prevent it from worsening. Professionals will realize that conflict is not all bad when handled properly and may enhance interpersonal relationships and organizational culture. Skills needed for conflict management Conflict management is developed using various skills and styles. Here are some of the basic conflict management skills. 1. Active Listening Active listening is the art of listening to another person carefully. The key to solving conflicts is paying close attention to what the other person is saying. Although sales assistants frequently use this competency to better connect with customers during a pitch, any accomplished professional should also be able to use it with their team. The most crucial thing you can do to improve your active listening skills is to keep an open mind. Pay attention to how the other person is expressing what is bothering them. Then, carefully reply to them to make them feel heard. This shows that you paid attention to what they were saying and aids in dispelling any ambiguity regarding the topics being covered. Additionally, remember to clarify any points you're unclear about and focus on figuring out what the other person wants. 2. Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand the perspective of other people. One has to think about what is going on in another person's mind while doing something. It is important to know before taking any action. 3. Patience You encounter different types of people daily; some will never accept that they are in the wrong. In this situation, patience is necessary to overcome these issues. Conclusion There are various ways to solve conflicts in a workplace to improve the workplace for your co-workers. Conflict Intelligence “Quotient Conflict-IQ” is a good read for people having trouble managing conflicts in a workplace and solving them effectively. You can also test your Conflict-IQ™. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Yvette! Yvette Durazo, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Yvette Durazo, MA, ACC is the author of the book Conflict Intelligence Quotient (Conflict IQ™); The Missing Piece to Turbocharge Conscious Leaders’ and Organizations’ Emotional Intelligence. She is the founder and principal consultant at Unitive Consulting, a workplace organizational effectiveness, strategic conflict management, and leadership development firm. Some of her services included, training, mediating conflicts in the workplace, anti-bullying prevention, settlement negotiations, developing dispute system design, and bringing unique strategies to address the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) workplace. She is passionate about optimizing professionals and teams to engage in constructive problem-solving communication toward instilling respect, civility, and collaboration. She believes that human conflict is one of the most important things organizations must learn to work with and harness to overcome any derailing of employees’ performance and engagement. Her methodologies are like a vitamin that is the breath of life to the immunity of organizations. Presently, Yvette is an instructor for the Human Resource Management Certification program at the University of California, Santa Clara Extension Silicon Valley. She also is an instructor for the University of California Davis, Conflict Resolution Program and teaches for Portland State University in the Conflict Resolution and Mediation department. She holds a PCC coaching credential from the International Coach Federation, a master’s degree in Conflict Resolution, Negotiation, and Peacebuilding from California State University Dominguez Hills, and an undergraduate degree in International Business from San Diego State University. She is a former Core Adjunct Professor at National University, where she taught courses in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Mediation, and Communication for over six years, and a former Instructor for the Leon Guanajuato Mexico Institution Power of Justice. Yvette is fully bilingual in Spanish and has expertise in cultural diversity and inclusion.

Written by: Diane Hiller, 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 lotus flower blooming out of the mud is symbolic. This flower is significant, with each part representing some aspect of life and existence. Buddhists view it as a symbol of spiritual awakening and purity. The mud is also very emblematic of this tradition. It can serve as a representation of the challenges and suffering we all must face throughout this life. Through learning and experience, we can overcome being in the mud (ego or subconscious) to break to the water’s surface and unfold (like the many-petaled loti) to reveal our true beauty, our divine essence. Is it possible to be totally “enlightened” in this lifetime? Good question, but after decades of study, I am inclined to say no. This quest is not for the faint of heart. I recall discussing with a graduate-level professor about us being the only species capable of witnessing our thoughts. Try as I might, this person had no idea what I was talking about. Many books will be referenced below. But the question then becomes, who is the witness? Many of us who work with the realm of spirit have access to this part of our mind to utilize to help others and ourselves, but do we live there all the time? No. I/we call this part the higher self. One day we may be in our higher mind 80% of the time and another more in the ego mind. When I read for clients, I am in my higher mind the entire time. I lose track of time; I often need to remember what I say. I am totally present at that moment. As you evolve in consciousness, it becomes harder and harder to stay in the ego mind, as well as painful. Here are some examples: Ego Mind ‒ Fear-based. Running the same patterns and problems repeatedly, including addictions and habits. Seeks to protect self out of fear. It runs on auto-pilot. Likes the familiar. Holds on tightly to the unhealed part of you. Higher Self ‒ Lives more in the present moment. Wants you to reach your highest potential. Loves the new. Trusts. It is the best part of you. It is connected to the divine. I have heard some say we need to “abolish “ the ego. This is neither possible nor is it realistic. We need the ego to function. As Cameron Day says in his meditations below, the ego was meant to be a GPS, but it has taken control and gone haywire. When you are in the presence of someone with a huge ego, they are unbearable. Trust me, when you decide not to live your life in a fear-based, conditioned way, the ego will put up one hell of a fight. This internal struggle for control is often called “The Dark Night of the Soul” Or egoic death. You may spiral up and down with this many times. The ego will eventually become subservient to the higher self, and you will live with a different way of seeing the world—a new perspective. It can take some work and practice to make this transformational shift. If you were to do Vipassana mediation, you would watch your mind in action and realize it is like James Joyce’s stream of consciousness. It is random; a thought happens, then an emotion, then another idea, and it becomes a real show. It is called the “Monkey Mind.” The goal of any valid meditation method is to tame or slow down this unproductive and redundant thought process. Connecting with the breath is the fastest way out of the monkey mind. All mindfulness practice is cumulative. Even 10 minutes daily would be enough to slow down this thought process. Pranayama, or opposite nostril breathing, is one such method. It should be noted that it is not always possible or advisable to try to overcome a genetically based anxiety, depression, or other mental health disorder with this alone. You don’t slap a band-aid on cancer or meditate away a broken bone. Let’s get real here. Many clients seek me out when they are in the process of transition. It has more and more become an area of focus. It feels to them as though nothing is working with love, career, family, or money. Perhaps not all areas at once but enough to see that this pattern has emerged from the subconscious to be healed. It will be apparent everywhere. Decisions will need to be made. Stay where you are or change. Some doors will need to be closed. New doors may not have opened yet, and it feels like nothing is happening when in reality, there is much going on internally. At this point, some will decide to turn back. At another point, you will take one more step and be unable to turn around. I call the place of closed doors when new ones have not opened yet, the hallway. It is uncomfortable. I am often asked how long it will last and do not have the answer. Free choice and free will come into play here. Carl Jung said it best; as you can tell, I am a massive fan of his work. “People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls.” I can say with a relative degree of certainty; Your ego is the problem. You do not have to live in fear and uncertainty: you can make positive changes. Once you decide, may many excellent teachers find you. Below is a list of resources you may find helpful on your journey. And do remember, “The journey is the destination.” ‒ Dan Eldon Book References: The Power of Now ‒ Ekhart Tolle The Hero with a Thousand Faces: The Collected works of Joseph Campbell Jack-Engler ‒ interview-You-have-to-be-somebody-before-you-can-be-nobody Handbook to Higher Consciousness ‒ Ken Keyes, Jr. Thoughts Without a Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective ‒ Mark Epstein Practice: Cameron Day ‒ https://ascensionhelp.com/higher-self-meditation.php Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and visit my website for more info! Read more from Diane! Diane Hiller, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Diane is a Licensed Psychotherapist, Psychic Medium, Certified Feng Shui Master, and Medical Intuitive. She has been tested for accuracy. After working in the nursing field as an LPN for 13 years, she returned to college and received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. She then went on to earn her Master's (MSW) with a Major in Clinical and a Minor in Research, both from the University of Connecticut. She is licensed by State examination as an LCSW. In 2005 she founded Elemental Empowerments, LLC. She is noted in the book “The Top 100 Psychics and Astrologers in America.” She is one of the most well-researched psychics In North America.

Written by: Kiara Norwood, M.A. , 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. What is Spirituality? Spirituality can be defined as our connection to something bigger than ourselves. According to Brown (2018), “Spirituality is recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power greater than all of us and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and compassion. Practicing spirituality brings a sense of perspective, meaning and purpose to our lives.” Often, we express this spirituality through religious affiliation or involvement, exploring nature, and/or practices such as prayer or meditation. Many people have described these practices as helping them feel peace and providing a sense of community. However, what happens when our spiritual practices are harmful to ourselves or others? What Is Harmful Spirituality? When something is “harmful,” it can be described as negatively impacting or creating potentially devastating effects on someone or something. I was part of a harmful and cult-like set of religious organizations/churches. The brand of religion and spirituality to which I was taught to subscribe taught me I was innately “bad,” that nothing good could come from me outside of a greater spiritual being, that women were to be seen as lesser than men, that LGBTQ folx were traumatized, perverted, and confused; and that there was only one true way to connect with The Creator. I call this harmful because it created devastating effects that I had to be very intentional to process and heal from. It impacted me deeply in my core self-knowledge and belief in self. The healing from that is a continuous process. Before me embarking upon my healing journey, my inner voice was often very critical. My perceptions of relationships were unhealthy and skewed. My beliefs in my capability and competence were limited. I believed there was only one way to practice spirituality and that there was only one set of “true” spiritual beliefs. My ability to incorporate the spiritual practices of those that came before me was non-existent. The practices created a very unhealthy perception of self. My self was fragmented, unable to be properly integrated, and filled with anxiety from ignoring the ways my body told me these practices were harmful. These experiences stopped me from reaching my full potential, from believing in myself and others, from seeing the beauty in other cultures and their practices, from connecting with past elders, and from experiencing and celebrating the beauty of living in the present moment due to an ingrained obsessive focus with “eternity.” How Do You Know If Your Spiritual Practices Are Unhealthy? Often, we do not recognize the signs that our spiritual practices are unhealthy until substantial harm has been done. What are some signs that your spirituality is unhealthy? Your spiritual practices, and/or the people you engage in them with, make you feel isolated, hyper-self-critical, embarrassed, and/or less than others. Your spiritual practices isolate you from loved ones and those with whom you share relationships. Your spiritual practices cause you to ignore, participate in, or create harm to yourself, other individuals, or other groups of people. Your practices point to one person, institution, or way of thinking being the source of all knowledge and truth. Your practices teach you to distrust yourself, your inner voice, and/or your intuition. You often experience symptoms of your fight, flight, or freeze response being activated more than you feel calm or at peace in your spiritual practices. Symptoms of this include feelings of unsafety, clammy/sweaty hands or body, long-lasting quickened heartbeat, feeling as if you will pass out, feelings of prolonged hunger or dehydration, feelings of your stomach “dropping” or “jumping,” feelings of doom or as if something bad will happen, feelings of fear or terror, etc. While there can be other signs, these are a few that can serve as indicators to dig deeper and devote more attention to the way you are being impacted by your practices. What Is Healthy Spirituality? What does it mean for spirituality to be healthy? Healthy spirituality contributes to positive health and well-being for its subscribers. It helps others to see the good in themselves and those around them. It helps people to recognize our interconnectedness to others and the world around us. Healthy spirituality draws you closer to your purpose. It helps you on your path. It helps to further illustrate the principles that help us to grow in love, character, and tolerance. It creates balance, unity, and harmony internally and externally. How Do You Know If Your Spiritual Practices Are Healthy? In my present day, my spiritual practices align with me. They enlighten me. They help me to honor my ancestors. They help me to see and understand myself and my path. My practices help me to help others. My practices help me to experience healthy interconnectedness and interdependence. Here are some signs that your spiritual practices are healthy for you: Your practices help you feel at peace and safe. Your practices encourage healthy relationships and community with a balance of boundaries and interconnectedness. Your practices help you connect more deeply with the world and earth around you. Your practices help you to practice the principles of equity, humility, inclusion, tolerance, and love for others. Your practices help you feel greater connection and love to yourself, your lineage, and/or your internal and external power. Overall, experiences with personal spiritual practices can be beautiful gifts. They can be activities to cherish, practice regularly, and connect with our best selves. We are all connected to something greater, and acknowledging and participating in that truth can propel us to new heights. Be well. Be vigilant over yourself and your beautiful spiritual connection to yourself and Mother Earth. With Gratitude and Grace, Ase’. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my website for more info! Kiara Norwood, M.A., Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Kiara Norwood, M.A. is an alternative wellness therapist and certified trauma specialist. She is a trailblazer in the practice of alternative wellness and healing for women of color experiencing mind-body-spirit concerns. She is a certified coach, certified level 3 reiki practitioner, and certified holistic herbalist. After working in the mental health field and navigating her wellness journey for several years, she recognized that additional options were needed to help people achieve holistic wellness. She decided to open an alternative wellness practice to help women of color heal holistically and authentically. Her mission is to help women of color live fulfilling lives and holistically heal trauma through the use of ancestral remedies and alternative wellness therapies. References: Brown, B. (2018, March 27). Defining spirituality . Brené Brown. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://brenebrown.com/articles/2018/03/27/defining-spirituality/

Written by: Dr. Christopher Ashton , 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. Puzzling, bewildering and tragic is the experience of people, family and loved ones when seeing, against all rationality, the drinker drinks again or the addict starts consuming. We cheer their efforts as they seem to be doing all the right things and showing sincere effort, and yet another round of disaster ensues. Often people die, although it’s often listed as ‘suicide’ not substance use disorder (SUD). Truth is that the two entities often go hand in hand. 7 to 10 day detox programs are almost a certain recipe for failure, although they’re to be commended for providing humanitarian support for people who can’t carry on with the sickness of substances and allow them a reprieve. 12 Step programs are equally ineffective for the vast majority of persons who participate. Nonetheless, they are to be applauded for offering hope, support and occasional success at no cost to suffering people, most of whom cannot afford the price of private rehabs. It’s difficult to destigmatize alcoholism and addiction as a ‘disease’ when households are being torn apart, people are being shot or robbed, or precious lives instantly evaporate as a result of drunk drivers This series will shine light on the ‘whys’ of continued tragedy and offer a rational approach out. People who continue to consume or those who relapse in light of clear evidence that substances are destroying their lives and those around them appear to have no conscience. Rather, in a mammalian sense, they seem to care nothing about getting drunk or high. Despite major attempts, it’s difficult to destigmatize alcoholism and addiction as a ‘disease’ when households are being torn apart, people are being shot or robbed, or precious lives instantly evaporate as a result of drunk drivers. Where does one even start to make sense of this societal mayhem caused by drugs and alcohol? Definitions of disease and disorder vary so widely across associations and professions that they offer little in terms of description. I just call it ‘the monster’ given what it does to people, often seemingly beyond control. Completely baffling in how people can suddenly relapse often without warning signs, it is little wonder that it’s been framed as a spiritual condition, a matter to be managed by higher powers. Fortunately, it can be characterized as something real and comprehensible although there are many components to it. This series takes a reductionist approach initially in hopes that the reader will be able to ‘connect the dots’ after reading chapters down the road. Let’s have another look at the following frightening brain scan (Source: Harvard Medical School, 2021) of someone addicted to cocaine and what it illustrates. Clearly, the yellow part in the front of the brain above the eyes (orbitofrontal cortex or OFC) shows far less activity in the addicted person than the healthy control. Secondly, the purple section in the interior of the brain (mid-brain or limbic system) is far more expanded in the cocaine person. It even looks a bit like a monster. From conception to approximately age 25, the yellow and purple areas codevelop together in aim of survival based on ‘healthy’ or ‘neurotypical’ decisions that are good for people over the life course. Very, very briefly, the yellow area (the prefrontal cortex) is considered the rational part of the brain developed to align with societal values and norms and make decisions in response to motivating stimuli from the purple part (the rest of the limbic system). Also simplified, the yellow area is considered more ‘conscious’ (meaning the person is aware and thus may be able to exert influence). The purple area is ‘subconscious’ and provides energy, stimuli and occasionally instructions based on emotions. The monster affects both, drastically. Motivation for action is through dopamine, a neurotransmitter often confused as imparting reward In neurotypical persons, the deeper limbic system signals want or need (and occasionally directly creates action) and creates motivation for action (through dopamine, a neurotransmitter often confused as imparting reward) to the prefrontal cortex (PFC) for processing. The two major regions are in continuous communication with each other. The PFC can roughly be described as a traffic light in response to the inputs from the rest of the limbic system. Largely acting on inhibitory signal strength, the PFC may immediately stop an action motivated by the limbic system (red light), determine it needs further consideration and engage other executive brain structures (yellow light) or approve it immediately (green light). In severe SUD, the PFC signal strength is such that it acts as a green light, allowing actions and behaviors to be dictated by the emotional center of the brain. Overall, decisions and actions are largely based on the relative strength of executive and emotional electrical signals. Persons are essentially powerless for a certain time period; choice regarding substances can be absent Returning back to our diagram from HMS, a characteristic phenomenon of SUD is explained, that is the inexplicable continued consumption of addictive substances despite all rational evidence to abstain. In addicted persons and those who have abstained for minimal time periods, there is simply not enough capacity for signal strength in the PFC to inhibit (red) or even consider consequences (yellow) of exaggerated impulses to indulge in substances from the purple area. Persons are essentially powerless for a certain time period. Nonetheless under the correct conditions, the PFC can reactivate as the emotional centers are slowly normalizing. Estimates are that this neurobiological process isn’t truly in synchrony for at least three months. It is little wonder that detox units are temporizing measures as are the majority of other modalities. Once severe SUD has developed, choice is essentially absent in the early days when the correct cue or stress is presented (often minute in nature). Terrible things happen, usually worse than previous (further chapters in this series will explain why). Nobody or nothing often seems to help. Efforts focused on re-establishing prefrontal cortex capacity can be life saving Fundamentally, efforts focused on re-establishing prefrontal cortex capacity can be life saving. Equally ensuring low stress (stress impairs healing) and safe environments minimizing cues are often paramount. ‘Turning the lights back on’ in the PFC is promoted through general healthy lifestyle measures. Additionally, we have found neurofeedback meditation, cognitive challenge and monitoring, as well as high intensity exercise gives far better outcomes than many conventional approaches through focusing directly on prefrontal cortex activity. The next chapter in this series will discuss the science of altered reward function and the development of a separate anti-reward system as empowering the monster. Follow me on LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Dr. Christopher! Dr. Christopher Ashton, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Christopher Ashton is a thought leader and truth seeker in all matters pertaining to improving health in individuals, organizations and populations. Educated in engineering physics, medicine and business finance, Christopher is able to connect the dots in multidisciplinary, complex scenarios in a manner few other persons can. Driven by the belief that answers always exist, he is currently making sense of previously incomprehensible human decisions from an organic, scientific basis. His personal goal, create something so creative and discover new truths worthy of consideration for a Nobel prize.

Written by: Tricia Brouk, 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. Being able to support speakers in using their voices for impact is a privilege and I had the pleasure of sitting down with Mark to discuss why wealth management is more than just money. Mark Fujiwara is a certified portfolio manager, certified exit planning advisor and director at Baird with 30 years of industry experience. He is the author of Superior Results: Maximizing the Value of Your Family Office Just Like the Super-Rich, forthcoming in early 2023 and a guest instructor at the Global School of Entrepreneurship for courses on family office and mergers and acquisitions. Mark, you are in the business of wealth management and financial service. What is the difference between a single-family office and multi-family office? An effective family office is a group of expert professionals to deliver two major categories of expertise: wealth management and family support. The primary difference between a single-family office and a multi-family office is that a single-family office is composed of professionals who exclusively work for one extremely wealthy who’s chief goal is to address the needs, wants, concerns, and preferences of the one family. A multi-family office consists of professionals who work for multiple families. Single-family offices are ideal for maximizing wealth with the highest level of control, assurance of confidentiality and minimal if any conflicts of interest. However, to run an effective single-family office, the family must be willing to spend a large amount for hiring and retaining full-time, exclusive top professionals. Thus, a single-family office is usually suitable for families with net worths of over $250 million. Multi-family offices are less costly and could have a big range of proficiencies since there are a lot more professionals to select. This is why it is imperative to have a consummate professional who could help not only lead your multi-family office but to be the one who selects the other professionals to have a fully functioning team. How did you come to this work? Two big turning points. When I was seven years old, my mother introduced me to the stock pages in the newspaper. With my love of math and a mom who made learning fun, I became quickly hooked. Invested in my first stock shortly after, the stock went up. It doubled in two years. My family owned a very large Chinese restaurant throughout my childhood. Again with my love of numbers and seeing money grow, I started to learn how a business was run and how a business made money. Just as I went off to university to become a portfolio manager, our restaurant was running on all cylinders, our key professional, my Uncle Park who was our chief growth officer, rainmaker, the one who brought in all the large banquets passed away. We did not have a succession plan nor did we have consummate professionals to properly plan and find solutions for the longevity of our restaurant and were forced to close our doors as I was graduating business school. With this heavily on my mind, I started in this business focussing on all the areas of wealth planning especially on risk and succession planning. Your personal story of anxiety and mental health challenges has been a huge part of your calling in the perfect clients. Why is modeling for your clients so important? My effectiveness in connecting and maximizing what I deliver to the client comes down to how deeply my clients share with me. There are two core ways I accomplish this which is to allow the client to speak 80% of the meeting AND to be completely open with my clients on my mental health struggles. The subject of charitable giving comes up in almost every preliminary meeting. I always ask what causes the client to feel strongly and why. The client will answer and then follow with the same reciprocating question about my causes. I will tell them about my big personal cause of mental health and some of the reasons why. My cousin dying of suicide at the age of 15 when I was a senior in college is an example. My struggles with depression, anxiety, and ADHD my entire life and hiding it because of the stigma around mental health is what I can share to connect us deeply. The client who hears this can fully relate, sometimes their own struggles and most often a close family member. They often reveal a bit more about themselves which always improves how I can help them even more. This also has drawn perfectly ideal clients and filtered out wrong character fit clients. In order to rewire your brain, you decided to take on the 100 Days of Your Comfort Zone, mission if you will. Tell us a little about that and why you did this. I had recently sat down with my business coach and realized that my growth in my business was literally non-existent in the past two years. My portfolio performance was subpar. Everything in my life was in a rut. I was just diagnosed with being on the verge of diabetes, low energy, still going through PTSD of my divorce, and feeling constantly anxious, depressed, and at times hopeless and suicidal. I needed to shake things up in my life, so through the inspiration of Ted Talk speaker, best-selling author, Jia Jiang who did 100 days in a row of rejection, I thought what I needed to do was 100 days outside of my comfort zone. I wrote out almost 200 ways to get uncomfortable and committed to do it every single day. From these 100 days, my portfolio performance skyrocketed, focussed on highest value to clients which resulted in a family office practice. Some other amazing outcomes, I met my wife by going out with someone ten years younger than me, qualified for the Boston Marathon, and also started sharing my struggles of mental health to others. This was the biggest one because I feel it is the reason I am here to tell this story. And when you think about financial service and wealth management, how can your story of rewiring your brain help us to think differently about our wealth and the management of it? In the wealth management industry, rewiring is seldom if ever done. The industry continues to make money, lots of money, so many do not see the value of making any changes, getting out of their comfort zone. First on the investment side, switching out of the same allocation models used by all of the advisors out there and modeling the super-rich, I have found investments that create a higher level of return with less risk. It takes work but that’s why our clients are paying us. Getting out of the comfort zone starts with asking how we can do this better. That’s where it started with my practice. Using what the single-family offices are doing and taking that down to the level of the non-billionaire client takes getting uncomfortable. However, with what I experienced with my 100 days of uncomfortable challenges, if we continue to go outside the comfort zone for the betterment of the industry, we can greatly achieve the highest value to our clients. For more info, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website! Read more from Tricia! Tricia Brouk, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Tricia Brouk is an international award-winning director. She has worked in theater, film, and television for three decades. Tricia founded The Big Talk Academy where she certifies speakers in the art of public speaking. She was the executive producer of Speakers Who Dare and TEDxLincolnSquare and now The Big Talk Live. She is currently being featured in a new documentary called Big Stages, which highlights the transformation of her speakers. Tricia’s commitment and devotion to inclusion are a priority as all of her shows, events, and communities are diverse. She curates and hosts the Speaker Salon in NYC, The Big Talk, an award-winning podcast on iTunes and YouTube. The Influential Voice: Saying What You Mean for Lasting Legacy was a 1 New Release on Amazon in December 2020. She was awarded Top Director of 2019 by the International Association of Top Professionals and Top Ten Speaker Coaches in Yahoo Finance in 2021. Her documentaries have received critical acclaim—winning Best Documentary Short at The Olympus Film Festival and Los Angeles Movie Awards. Tricia has spoken at Forbes, Pride Global, New York Public Library, I Heart My Life Live, and The National Organization for Rare Disorders.

Alex Sunshine is CEO and founder of Rising Suns Agency, a boutique influencer marketing agency for DTC brands. He builds partnerships between brands and social media influencers with common audiences, helping brands connect with their target market in creative and lucrative ways. Over a span of 4 years, Rising Suns Agency has closed over 234 influencer contracts. Alex has signed Gretchen Rossi, Ali Levine, Jesyka Harris, and worked with brands such as Amazon and Zulily. Alex's work is shaping today's influencer marketing industry to become more widely understood. He believes no brand should ever have to worry about finding their ideal customers again. Hi Alex! Please tell us a little bit about yourself! Growing up in a suburban Jewish neighborhood, I felt very blessed by the opportunities that my family was able to provide me. This included a fancy Bar Mitzvah, summer sleep-away camp, Mets games, ski trips, beach vacations, and multiple visits to DisneyWorld and Universal. These are all things that I still love to do to this day! I grew up with a great Asian leopard Bengal Cat named DJ (after Derek Jeter unfortunately) and I currently have two of my own cats, Mac and Millie (honored by the passing of Mac Miller when they were adopted in 2018). What is your business name and how do you help your clients? The name of my business is Rising Suns Agency, and I am an influencer marketing agency that helps brands partner with social medial influencers. - What kind of audience do you target your business towards? I target both brands and influencers. I want to truly help them collaborate on a mutually beneficial partnership. I've seen both successful and unsuccessful partnerships, so I know what works and what pitfalls to look out for when facilitating these types of partnerships. I help DTC CPG brands in a variety of verticals like baby products, food + bev, financial services, gaming, etc. I predominantly help these brands target women and early-stage mothers (25-34) in the United States. What are your current goals for your business? My current goals for the business are to make small to mid-sized brands feel extremely educated on the current trends in the influencer marketing space. A few big trends I see in 2023 will be the rise of creator-owned brands as well as the focus on YT shorts. Additionally, my goal is to make sure all clients that work with my agency get to know that they work directly with me and utilize my knowledge in order to collaborate on a customized strategy for their brand. What would you like to achieve for yourself and your business in the future? I want to become a resource of knowledge for influencer marketing as well as entrepreneurship. Influencer Marketing is evolving extremely quickly and as one of the agencies that was an early adopter in the space, I will always be able to reference it’s rich history while simultaneously staying up to date on the most current/future trends. Who inspires you to be the best that you can be? Gary Vaynerchuk is a modern-day icon and has been the biggest reason that I have been able to pursue entrepreneurship. His emphasis on having patience, especially in your 20’s, has given me the strength to know that I am on the right path. With my 30th birthday approaching this year I am ready to turn a corner on a business as well as professional level. What is your work inspired by? My work is inspired by Tom Cruise who portrayed the role of an agent in Jerry Maguire. It was always my dream to be a sports agent growing up. Having become an influencer agent is to me a modern-day version of that movie. If a studio ever decides to greenlight a project on the influencer marketing agency space, then I’d love to receive a call to provide the behind the scene scoop. Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far. My greatest career achievement to date has been the reputation that I have been able to build at Rising Suns Agency. Over the course of 230+ deals I have had the fortune of successfully brokering every single one of them to date and that’s the most important metric that I have for my company. If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why? The one thing I would change about my industry is the false stigma that comes with being a social media influencer. I know this firsthand because when I introduce myself to people that I am an influencer agent, I hear the feedback that I get about influencers. I think they are extremely misunderstood by the public and only the people in the space understand how hard working and inspiring influencers can be to not just their followers but the people around them every day. Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today. When I was dating an influencer back in 2018, I used to help her with her photoshoots and brand sponsorships. Additionally, she would invite me to her press events as her plus one. At one of the events, I spoke to an influencer who asked me if I could help her the same way that I was helping my girlfriend. This was my light bulb moment to start my influencer marketing agency.

Dr. Robert Ciprian grew up in a challenging childhood in Queens, NY. Through his transformational journey of healing and wellbeing, he became a doctor of chiropractic & holistic medicine, teacher, author, and executive coach. He has studied various energetic and spiritual healing methods over the past 25 years. Dr. Ciprian has taught across the country to healthcare professionals of multiple disciplines as well as the general public. Dr. Robert Ciprian, Holistic Doctor & Executive Coach Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better. I am Dr. Robert Ciprian. Introducing myself always causes me to reflect on the complexities and broad range of the life I am living. My childhood shaped who I am today. I was often very sick with respiratory and immune system problems. On the other hand, I also remember having many mystical experiences such as out of body states, lucid dreaming, and what seemed to be journeys into other planes of reality. I was often quiet and well behaved as a young child and maybe that was because I was also very empathic and intuitive. Once I reached my early teens, things changed drastically. The friends I was hanging out with became a group of thugs and I eventually became an internationally known Graffiti artist in New York City. In those days I witnessed plenty of violence and crime while hanging out in the streets. But there was always a sense that I was somehow protected and destined for something because no devastating harm came unto me. At one point there was a spiritual shift that caused me to leave NYC and pursue a career in helping people. I was on the road to helping people heal their past and have success in their future. After a series of misfortunate events, I suddenly left New York City and moved to Los Angeles to become a doctor. A lot has happened over the course of my education and career. I have been a Doctor of Chiropractic for over twenty years but also studied holistic medicine, mental/ emotional therapies, various energy healing techniques, and shamanism. Through my search for personal healing, I was led to some great teachers and mentors. If something profoundly helped me with the work they did, I studied and mastered it so I could help others with it. I also began to teach healthcare professionals, as well as the general public, about many natural healthcare and well-being methods. Despite spending so much of my life in major urban areas, I love the many aspects of being in nature. I have been snowboarding for over thirty years. Recently I moved close to the water in Miami. I enjoy the arts very much and still paint graffiti-style murals from time to time (legally now though). Art is in my blood and I have to keep up my creative talents in more than one way. I have always been fascinated with spirituality and looking for how to expand and build upon my spiritual life. This way of life adds much to my career of course. In the past few years, I have been working with Sasha Cobra the teacher, healer, and energy worker. During the first retreat of hers that I attended, she named me “Dr. Love” because of the dedication and presence I had while working with other participants. What is your business name and how do you help your clients? My business name is Heal Profoundly. My philosophy is that we already have within ourselves all the resources that are needed in regard to health, relationship, career, and purpose in life. But we accumulate things that block and detour the fulfillment of these things. I don’t do the healing, but I invite my clients to do the work themselves with my guidance, observation, and help while educating them about how they got there in the first place. Then we can see what is needed to move forward with the healing that has occurred, without getting off track again. No matter how complex someone’s problems are, I see them in very elementary ways. The main elements of well-being I use for the framework of helping people are: Mental/emotional Physiology/biochemistry The physical structure of the body Electromagnetic landscape From my perspective, these are the main things that can have dysfunction and cause any problem in life. And there is a holistic synergy between them, so they can affect each other. Furthermore, I see all of these elements as being kept in synergy and controlled by the spiritual Will. When the Will is not there we don’t have the energy to change the problems with any of the elements of well-being. I use many tools to help people rebalance these elements of their well-being and to also help with their will to move forward in more effective ways. Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today. I see the most pivotal points in my life as spiritual interventions. The most dramatic one was when I was in my mid-twenties in NYC and many things that I held dear to me fell apart over a few months. I took it as a sign from the universe to move on to a new life path and to grow out of my comfort zone. That was when I gave up the life of being around gangs and graffiti to become a doctor. The Decision initialed a series of synchronicities in my life that led me to meet mentors in all areas of well-being, to find healing for myself personally, and to eventually become a teacher and author. Every once in a while a new opportunity arrives in life that causes me to take a new direction. I have learned to embrace the suggestions to grow and flow in life and as a result, I can help many others who are stuck or struggling because I have too been where they are. What is your work inspired by? My work is inspired by my journey and the personal healing I went through, and still, go through. From elementary things like healthy eating, all the way to removing malevolent spirits from people, when something seems to miraculously work for me, I master it and use it to help others. This journey has continued into my professional years of a quarter century and will not end. To me, it is a lifestyle. I keep connecting with new mentors as I go as this helps me to never become complacent and lazy. I continuously strive for my own self-improvement and that inspires me to keep searching, learning, and helping others with enthusiasm. Above all, I care about people and do my best to help them with their challenges. I hold very high standards for myself and am only satisfied with seemingly miraculous results. Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far. I regularly witness great achievements with my clients or else I would not be doing what I am doing. I have to see wonderful things happening to know I am on my right path. But one significant landmark that I had was speaking at the Secret Service Headquarters in Washington, DC. I was invited to a few health fairs at the headquarters over the years. Then I was approached about doing a lecture for them during Mental Health Awareness Month in 2019. I proposed a talk on the topic of, “Sidestepping the effects of Mental and Emotional stress on your body” because I imagined the agents go through plenty of mental and emotional stress. I have been working with patients on these issues for over twenty years at that point and felt I had a lot to offer in lifestyle adaptation as well as removing the accumulation of mental/emotional stresses. The lecture went well. It was attended by the heads of the medical and psychology departments as well as others. There was also a live video feed to over two hundred agents in the field worldwide. A recording of the talk can be watched on my YouTube channel. To me working with the US Secret Service was more rewarding than working with pro or Olympic athletes. I honor their choice of career and dedication to their overall health and well-being. The ones that I have interacted with personally are very professional, mentally sharp, and at the peak of their health. What would you like to achieve for yourself and your business in the future? Something that I always look forward to is continuously being able to help people in better and better ways. I don’t feel that we can ever know enough or be skilled enough I will always be working on improving who I am, and the services that I offer, and being an eternal student. I do see myself doing more group events, retreats, writing, and online services for people. I learned a lot from writing my first book, Heal Profoundly, and I am looking forward to writing more. I love working one on one with people but there is plenty of value in working with groups too. If you would like to learn more, feel free to opt into my email list to get a free video on my top five keys to well-being. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Dr. Robert!

Written by: Britta Lorenz, 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. In today's competitive business environment, high-performers understand that everything they need for success is already inside them. Self-leadership, mindset, and mental strength ‒ vital factors in achieving success. Self-Awareness and a growth mindset combined with mental strength are essential leadership skills. Let's dive into these three concepts and how to cultivate them. Self-awareness: The foundation for leadership Self-awareness is one of the cornerstones of strong leadership. Taking the time to cultivate true self-awareness is transformative. It helps you identify what drives your actions and decisions, amplifies your strengths as a leader, uncovers areas for growth within yourself, and encourages an understanding of how any bias or emotion can affect those around you - both positively and negatively. It enables them to understand the impact of their behavior on their team and the organization, and they can identify areas where they need to improve and take steps to develop themselves. Making sure that leaders have a deep knowledge of who they are on all levels – from their emotions to values – allows them to make well-informed choices and decisions. Leaders who practice self-awareness create environments that foster empathy, understanding, and strong relationships within their teams. To elevate your leadership style, become aware of the subtle messages you send through body language or facial expressions. Practicing meditation or journaling can help with increasing your self-awareness. Growth mindset: The roadmap for success The right mindset is key to achieving high performance and reaching your goals. It refers to how we think about ourselves, our abilities, and our potential. A growth mindset, which is the belief that we can learn and improve, is essential for leadership success. It allows us to embrace challenges and push through obstacles rather than giving up. On the other hand, a fixed mindset, which is the belief that our abilities are fixed, can limit our potential and prevent us from achieving our goals. With a growth mindset, success is not only attainable - it's inevitable. Moreover, it is a powerful tool. By embracing challenges as learning opportunities and staying focused on the goals even when the going gets tough, you can unlock potential for growth that was once thought impossible! Recognizing failure as part of the journey instead of something to be ashamed or fearful of and being open to feedback from others, there are no limits to what can be achieved with hard work and dedication. Developing this type of attitude will ensure all endeavors become rewarding experiences rather than obstacles in themselves; regularly reflect upon where you want to go versus how far along you are and watch progress blossom before your eyes! Mental strength: The fuel that powers success Mental strength is often overlooked but is just as important as self-awareness and a growth mindset when it comes to achieving success. Being mentally strong is an invaluable quality for those striving for success. It's about staying calm and focused, viewing challenges with curiosity instead of fear, being confident yet humble under pressure, being persistent in the face of adversity, and not letting emotions overtake your reasoning when it comes to achieving goals. Mentally strong individuals have a resilience that enables them to remain positive and determined in difficult times - key characteristics of successful leaders across all industries! Cultivating mental strength will put you one step ahead toward realizing your ambitions. Work on long-term strategies that help build resilience, such as meditation or mindfulness practices. Surround yourself with inspiring people who will challenge and motivate you. Also, practice gratitude by writing down three things each day that make you feel thankful - this will help shift your focus from negative thoughts to more positive ones. Lastly, exercise regularly as physical activity has been proven time after time again as one of the best ways to reduce stress levels while increasing overall well-being mentally & physically. In conclusion, high-performers understand that the key to their leadership success is inside of them. Are you prepared to unlock the leader inside you and embark on a journey to greater and more tremendous success? Pursuing self-awareness, a growth mindset, and mental strength are essential skills for any successful person in their journey toward leadership. With the right tools, these dynamics will improve decision-making and team productivity, allowing you to reach unimaginable heights! Invest now into unlocking YOUR unique leadership potential by embracing this empowering journey toward lasting greatness and high performance! Create your stronger who, stronger me and stronger we. Ready to elevate your personal and professional growth to become the leader others look up to and trust? Take ownership of the leader within! Unleash the power of higher consciousness through expert one-on-one coaching with me or comprehensive consultation services. Let's embark on this journey together today! Visit my Website, or join me on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook for guidance. Read more from Britta! Britta Lorenz, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Britta Lorenz is a leadership coach, mentor, and consultant. With her human-centric approach, she focuses on the 3 P's - People, Purpose, and Performance. Moreover, Britta is the creator of the C²LEA²R framework for leadership. She founded her company, Britta Lorenz – Be Human, to empower people on their journey to excellence. Britta supports all humans from initially identifying their purpose, values, and vision to synthesizing an action plan to influence change at all levels: individually, teams, and organizations. Her mission is to guide people to reach their leadership potential by embracing human-centric approaches.

Written by: Marques Ogden, 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. It's that time of year when business owners look back on the past year and think about how to grow their business even more in the coming year. Students and people who don't own a business can also think about the past year (or semester) and make plans for the next quarter or semester. Everyone has goals and dreams, but not everyone works hard enough to reach them. If you do these 5 things, they will help you reach your goals. 1. Having clear goals helps you get exactly what you want If you write down your goals, you won't wake up every morning not knowing what to do. Instead, you can make a daily to-do list with tasks that will help you reach your goal. Don't "fly by the seat of your pants" any more. Instead, stick to your action plan or checklist and focus on important tasks instead of busy work. 2. Keep your focus on your objectives and think about them every day When you see a vision board in your office, it reminds you of your WHY—why you are working so hard. What do you hope to get done? Even if you just write down a few simple goals, put them right next to your desk so you can see them every day. Keeping a list hidden in your desk or in a file somewhere on your desktop doesn't work as well; you'll forget about the list and get off track. 3. Get ready for a few bumps along the way No one has an easy life, especially not in business. Most of the time, these problems come up just when you think you have everything under control. Find a way to fix the problem and get back on track with your goals as soon as possible instead of letting these things ruin your day. Write down the solution to the problem once you've fixed it, in case you run into a similar problem again in the future. It's much less stressful to have a list of possible solutions than to not know what to do. 4. Find a person you can count on Declaring your goals to a partner brings them to life and compels you to do the effort or face the embarrassment of having to tell your partner you didn't reach your goals. A good accountability partner will ask follow-up questions and won't be afraid to hold them accountable at anytime. One way to make this partnership more enjoyable is to come up with a consequence for individuals who don't meet their weekly goals. Whether it's paying for lunch or giving money to a good cause, that raises the bar a bit. 5. Know and understand what your goals are really for This step usually requires delving a little deeper into your life and WHY. Why do you want to make a six-figure salary? To pay for your high schooler's college education so that they can graduate debt-free? So you can relocate your family to your ideal house? So you can make donations to local charities? There are no correct or incorrect answers. Your response will emphasize the significance of these objectives to YOU. So, now ask yourself these difficult questions: What are your current whereabouts? Where would you like to be? What action steps will you need to take to get there? Who will accompany you on your journey? Visit my website for more info! Read more from Marques! Marques Ogden, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Marques Ogden is a leader in leadership, marketing and sales, diversity and inclusion, mindset enhancement and overcoming adversity. After losing everything he owned in a bad business deal in 2013, he filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy, lost his home, his car, and all of his money and ended up taking a job as a janitor for $8.25 an hour working in the graveyard shift. After his "spoiled milk" moment, Marques decided to take accountability and responsibility for his life and he decided to turn his pain into his purpose to become an inspirational keynote speaker. Since April 2016, he has spoken for over 35 fortune 500 companies and he is a coach, a consultant, a best-selling author, a podcast co-host and more.

Written by: Craig Stanland, 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. Don't wait for the bottom to fall out before changing your life. Instead, start today to create an extraordinary tomorrow. These 12 lessons will guide you on your own personal reinvention. My life changed forever on October 1st, 2013. I had just walked into my new job when I received this voicemail, "Mr. Stanland, this is Special Agent McTiernan with the FBI. We are at your residence and have a warrant for your arrest. You will need to call us and come home immediately, or we will issue an APB with the federal marshals for your arrest." It was, without a doubt, one of the most terrifying days of my life so far. For just under a year, I committed fraud against one of the largest tech companies in the world. In that one moment, my life was no longer my own. It belonged to the agents, the faceless people working behind the scenes, and the judge I had yet to meet. I pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and was sentenced to two years of federal prison. I watched helplessly as the life I knew grew smaller and fainter as I descended into the abyss of uncertainty. I watched as the dark cloud of shame enveloped my life and cast everything in its shadow. I watched the bottom fall out every single time I thought I had hit bottom. I watched as I walked down the darkest of paths, planning how I would take my life. And I watched what happened when I chose to step out of the burnt ashes of what was and into a new life. Stepping out of the ashes was another terrifying moment; I was leaving the known, even if it was terrible, for the unknown. But there was something incredible waiting for me when I did. There's a gift when you hit rock bottom and come out the other side. It's the wisdom and perspective that can only come from staring into the eyes of the worst version of yourself and despising what you see. And instead of trying to kill it, you acknowledge its existence, accept its existence, and learn to love its existence. But you don't allow its existence to define you. It's through this often painful process that I completely reinvented my life. I've spent the past decade transforming prison into purpose, and I've found my life's mission, and now I help others do the same. I don't make as much as I did in the corporate world. But I have what I was chasing for all those years, and I was too blind to see I'd never catch. Purpose Meaning Fulfillment Inner Freedom Emotional Peace There have been many lessons learned over the years, and I'll revisit this subject often; for now, these are the top 12 lessons I've learned from reinventing my life after prison. Acceptance is Freedom: I spent my days in prison, wishing I wasn't in prison. I spent my days wishing I didn't make the choices I made that landed me in prison. I wished and dreamed for life to be anything other than it was. I was fighting against a past and circumstance that couldn't be changed. I would never have the freedom to start over and reinvent if I continued to fight for what can't be changed. I had to do what I was so afraid to do. I had to accept reality. I didn't want to. It felt like giving up; it felt passive. Fighting equals progress. But does it? What was I fighting against? As much as I wish there were, there is no such thing as a time machine Delorean. Accepting reality isn't giving up; it isn't passive. It was an act of courage for me to say, "I accept that I betrayed myself and chose to commit a crime. I hit the "enter" button, the single keystroke that started it all. I accept I made the choice to continue in the face of the universe screaming at me to stop. I accept that I am in prison. I accept that I hurt the woman I love, my family, my friends..." A weight lifted off of me when I wrote that. I wasn't trapped in the past. Instead, I felt something I thought was impossible in prison, freedom. It's the freedom that comes when you're no longer locked in the past. And when you're no longer locked in the past, your future is so longer stained by the colors of the past. Self-Trust is a Must: My fraud required thousands of choices to keep it going. Each one of those choices was made in the face of my heart, saying, "Stop, don't do this. This isn't the way." I ignored my heart, violated my voice, and I paid the price. My inner voice disappeared, and I didn't trust myself to make the easiest decisions. What to eat, and what exercises I would do in the gym. I was paralyzed by the torture of self-mistrust. I had to learn to trust myself again, which was one of the most challenging tasks ever. And it all started by making and keeping commitments to myself. The more commitments I made and kept, the more I became the person who did what they said they would do. I reconnected with my inner voice. I Didn't Know Where to Begin, But That Wasn't a Reason Not to Start: I was drawn to give meaning to my circumstance and the suffering I caused. I knew I wanted to share my story, both written and spoken, and I knew I wanted to help others. But I had no idea how the hell to start. Writing a book seemed like an insurmountable goal. Conquering my fear of public speaking did too. I could have easily remained frozen in fear, not knowing where to begin, but I knew I couldn't do that. I lowered the barrier of entry by breaking the massive into the micro. Writing a book begins with one word. Conquering public speaking started with a Google search. I journaled, wrote idea lists, and chipped away piece by piece. I Can't Control the Outcome, Only the Effort I Put In My entire life before prison was predicated on outcomes. Closing a deal, buying the next shiny object, landing a new client. And I'd feel great for a moment when the outcome was achieved. But, quick highs fade quickly. Then it was back to chasing another outcome. By breaking the massive into the micro, I learned to focus on what was in front of me, nothing more. I learned to go all in on that small step, and I learned the journey is the reward, the accomplishment of the goal? The icing on the cake. I Had to Shed My Skin: I was so attached to my former life, which was nothing but a memory. I used to be a Senior Executive Account Manager. I used to be a VIP at some of the best restaurants in town. I used to have a "watch guy" that was also Tom Brady's "watch guy." I used to be many things, but I'm not anymore. I had to practice acceptance and shed my skin. The new would never be able to come in as long as the old stood in its way. I spent a lot of time in limbo, without knowing who I was, but that's the only way I could connect back to who I truly am. Execute My Fears: Fear was a primary driver behind my choice to commit a crime. It was easier to commit fraud and violate my inner voice than to be honest, with myself and my wife at the time. I understood fear landed me in prison and that I could leverage fear to reinvent my life after prison. I made a list of all my fears, and inside my prison cube, I committed to executing them one by one. My 1 fear? Public speaking. It took five years, but I landed on the TEDx stage. This was when I executed that fear. Behind this process were acceptance, self-trust, and breaking the massive into the micro. Extreme Responsibility: I understood if I was going to reinvent my life from scratch, I needed to seize responsibility for my life. That meant accepting responsibility for the choices that landed me in prison. Yes, the prosecutor made false statements at sentencing. Yes, the FBI made mistakes and ignored evidence. Yes, there was unfair media coverage. None of that would have ever happened had I not knocked the 1st domino down. I made the choice to commit the fraud—no one else. The buck stops with me. Everything that happened after falls directly on me and my choices. I seized control over my life when I understood this and stopped pointing the finger at anyone other than myself. I gave myself the gift of freedom inside prison. Gratitude is a Superpower: I was sitting in the prison library with nothing to my name. I lost everything. My marriage, my career, my money, my homes, and my cars. I lost my identity and self-worth. And yet, one crisp early morning, the sunrise was spectacular. I put pen to paper and wrote, "I'm grateful for this morning's sunrise." I found something to be grateful for in my most challenging time. I cannot express how important that truly is. Self-Forgiveness is a Priority: It's not a luxury; it's a necessity. I was carrying so much shame for my actions and the damage I caused. My hate for my choices, through the lens of shame, was actually hate for myself. I couldn't separate my choices from myself; that's what shame does. My choices were made in the past; the person who made those choices doesn't exist anymore, yet I was keeping him alive by not forgiving myself. How could I ever move forward if I remained in the past? Forgiveness is one of the most extraordinary acts of compassion and love we can extend to ourselves. To create and live an extraordinary life, we must forgive ourselves. Forgiveness cultivates self-worth. Vulnerability is The Gateway to Freedom Before prison, I believed being vulnerable was the ultimate expression of weakness. I'm a man, and men bottle everything up. My best friend Sean and I had a joke when too much vulnerability started to enter the conversation: "Let's shove that down as deep inside as we can and just add it to the big black ball of cancer in our chest." Not funny, but it's what we did. I was consumed by shame to the point of planning how I'd take my life. I knew that if I didn't learn to own my story, it would own me for the rest of my life. A life consumed by shame is a life destined for regret. It's merely existing; it's not living. I had to do the thing I had always been afraid to do. I had to express all the feelings I buried inside sincerely, honestly, and transparently. All the fears I had around doing this? Unfounded. What I found instead was freedom. Have a Mission I thought I had a mission before prison. Make as much money as possible and spend it all on fancy things. That wasn't a mission. It was what I thought I should be doing, not what I wanted to do. Only when I started writing my 1st book and pursuing public speaking did I understand what a mission truly is. A mission is something I'm willing to sacrifice all the short-term shots of happiness (drinking, social media, Netflix) in pursuit of long-term purpose, meaning, and fulfillment ‒ with an unknown outcome. A mission is something more significant than myself and serves a greater good outside myself. My desire behind the book and the TEDx? To help one person. That's my mission to this day. Stop Chasing/Start Creating Pre-prison, I chased happiness, purpose, meaning, and fulfillment at the bottom of a bottle and the swipe of my American Express Platinum card. I was on The Golden Treadmill, racing furiously to a finish line I'd never reach. Purpose, meaning, and fulfillment aren't chased; they're created. And when I take the time to focus on what really matters to me and align my actions with that, I create them. And happiness naturally ensues as a result. The funny thing about these lessons is this: They're what I learned from going to prison, losing everything, and reinventing from scratch, but they're universal. They apply to any one of us at any time. We don't need to go to prison to implement these lessons to create the life we want to live. Nor do I suggest you wait for the bottom to fall out before implementing them in your own lives. Start now to create an extraordinary future. If you're ready to invest in 1:1 support so you can connect with your Life’s Calling and create your extraordinary second half, let's talk. Join me for your Free Reinvention Clarity Call. My best-selling book, "Blank Canvas, How I Reinvented My Life After Prison," is available on Amazon. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Craig! Craig Stanland, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Craig Stanland is a Reinvention Architect & Mindset Coach, TEDx & Keynote Speaker, and Best-Selling Author. In 2012, Craig Stanland made a choice that would cost him everything. After exploiting the warranty policy of one of the largest tech companies in the world for almost a year, the FBI finally knocked on his door. He was arrested and sentenced to 2 years of Federal Prison, followed by 3 years of Supervised Release, and ordered to pay $834,307 in restitution. He lost his wife, his home, his cars, his career, and even his identity. He wanted nothing more than to die. A well-timed prison visit from his best friend of over thirty years turned his life around. Craig rebuilt and reinvented his life from rock bottom to a life of meaning and fulfillment. As a Reinvention Architect, Craig leverages his experiences and personal reinvention to work 1:1 with clients so they can re-architect their lives with freedom, passion, purpose, fulfillment, and meaning.Craig's mission is to help people cultivate the courage to pursue their calling so they can live meaningful lives. His book, "Blank Canvas, How I Reinvented My Life After Prison" is available on Amazon.