Written by: Flora Bami, 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. Self-love is a state of appreciation for oneself that grows from actions that support our physical, psychological, and spiritual growth. Self-love means having a high regard for your well-being and happiness. Self-love means taking care of your own needs and not sacrificing your well-being to please others. Self-love means not settling for less than you deserve. Self-love is not selfish; it creates a positive attitude towards yourself and other people around you, you become more self-aware and set up healthy boundaries with people, you open your heart and get in touch with your feelings and emotions, you get rid of the fears and pursue your passions, you can be yourself with confidence and grace. “Self-love, self-respect, self-worth: There’s a reason they all start with ‘self.’ You can’t find them in anyone else.” ‒ Unknown Self-love is a state of appreciation for oneself that grows from actions that support our physical, psychological, and spiritual growth. Self-love means having a high regard for your well-being and happiness. Self-love means taking care of your own needs and not sacrificing your well-being to please others. Self-love means not settling for less than you deserve. Self-love is not selfish; it creates a positive attitude towards yourself and other people around you, you become more self-aware and set up healthy boundaries with people, you open your heart and get in touch with your feelings and emotions, you get rid of the fears and pursue your passions, you can be yourself with confidence and grace. When we love ourselves, we have an appreciation for our own worth or value. We don’t need affirmation from others, and we don’t need them to tell us that we are good enough, smart enough, or attractive enough, we simply know. As a result, we tend to have higher levels of self-worth, self-esteem, and self-confidence. Why loving yourself is important If you don’t love yourself, you might be more critical of yourself. You might engage in behaviors like negative self-talk, for example, “I’m worthless”, “I could never succeed at this”, or “I’m not smart enough”. These thought patterns can generate feelings of anxiety, sadness, or hopelessness. Like any relationship, your relationship with yourself goes up and down and sideways and requires a daily feed. It changes as you change, as your circumstances change, and as the people around you change. Loving yourself is a long-term and wholesome process, it’s a beautiful and rewarding journey that lasts our whole life. Just like other relationships, your relationship with oneself also faces ups and downs but the good news is that your attitude towards yourself becomes the answer to the question, of how to love yourself more. Getting into a deeper relationship with yourself grows love and happiness with you as well as with others surrounding you. “Love yourself!” How can you expect others to love you if you don’t love yourself? When we truly love ourselves, others love us back because they simply mirror our relationship with ourselves. Our relationships with others start transforming when we learn to love ourselves and build healthy relationships with ourselves. How to Love Yourself Below I am sharing some powerful self-love practices I’ve discovered along my journey. 1. Be Self-Compassionate Self-compassion involves being compassionate (showing sympathy and concern) towards yourself. According to self-compassion expert, Dr. Kristin Neff, self-compassion includes self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness (Neff, 2003). In her book, Prof. Neff asks her readers to ask themselves, “What type of language do you use with yourself when you notice a flaw or make a mistake? Do you insult yourself or do you take a more kind and understanding tone? If you are highly self-critical, how does that make you feel inside?” She explains that often, we are much harsher to ourselves than we would be to others, or than how we would expect others to treat us. So, to replace this harsh inner voice with a kinder one, you can simply notice it, which is already a step toward quietly subduing it and actively trying to soften it. Finally, you can try to rephrase the observations that you may have initially formulated quite harshly in the words of a kinder, more forgiving person. 2. Cast out the idea that you have to be perfect If you’re wondering how to practice self-love, start by ditching the idea of perfect; perfect in every way; body, life, behaviors, work, and relationships. The idea of perfection is false. Never expect to be flawless. It’s good to know that nobody is. Nobody aspires to an idealized standard of perfection; everyone has distinctive qualities and personalities. When we focus too much on perfection, we have a fear of things not being good enough. If we live in pursuit of perfection, we are forever in the mindset of ‘what could or should be. The reality is that life is not perfect and even if we think elements of our lives are perfect, what does being perfect mean? Its definition is different for every individual which is why achieving ‘perfect results’ is an impractical thought process that holds us back professionally and personally. Instead of perfectionism, seek progress. 3. Forgive Yourself A study showed that adults who completed six weeks of forgiveness training reported lower stress, anger, and hurt than people who didn’t undergo the training (Harris, et al., 2006). They also felt more optimism immediately after the training and four months later. Do you recall the one (or maybe a few) times you did something that left you feeling regrettable, humiliated, or ashamed? Time to let go of that. Although you can’t change the things you’ve done in the past, you can influence what happens in the future. Consider it a teaching moment and believe in your capacity for change. Give yourself the same grace that you would extend to someone else if they were imperfect. Challenges are inevitable. Each of us will make mistakes or behave in ways we regret. We can practice self-love by extending compassion and kindness to ourselves in these moments. When negative self-talk shows up, we can notice it and acknowledge it without giving into self-criticism. 4. Give up the need for approval from others “You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there’s still going to be somebody who hates peaches.” Dita Von Teese. You don’t need to rely on approval and validation from others to love yourself. Giving up your need for approval from others will help you find your happy place and help you let go of past trauma and wounds. Sometimes our want for approval is attached to events from the past. The reality is that when we let go of the things that have happened to us, it feels almost as though a burden has been lifted. We are no longer required to transport that. We deserve better. Our value and worth are not based on what others think about us if they approve of us or not, or the things we have accomplished in life. Our worth isn’t determined by outside factors. Understanding this truth is key to learning to love ourselves truly and unconditionally. ​5. Practice Self-Gratitude One type of gratitude involves feeling grateful for who we are and the things we’ve done. For example, we might tell ourselves "thanks" for taking care of our health. Or, we might give ourselves a pat on the back for making someone else smile. Or, we might be grateful for our cute cheeks, our calm demeanor, and our ability to cook the best cookies. So, try taking a moment each day to notice the things about yourself that you’re grateful for. Finding gratitude within ourselves is a practice. This is about you celebrating your accomplishments each day, no matter how small, to keep you motivated and feeling like you are making progress against the goals you set for yourself. 6. Show yourself that you love yourself Taking action to show ourselves that we love ourselves is super important. It’s just like if we were in a relationship. Our partner might say they love us, but if they don’t show us, then we might not believe them. So show yourself that “you love you”. You might do this by taking the afternoon off from work, buying yourself something that helps you achieve your goals, buying yourself flowers or getting a massage, give compliments to yourself. Any kind of action you take that shows self-love can help you start to see that you love yourself. Ask yourself how someone who loves you deeply would act. What would they say? What would they do? How would they behave? Odds are, they wouldn’t criticize, judge, and berate you. They’d offer you kindness, compassion, and acceptance. If you can’t think about a specific person or memory, imagine how the most loving human on this planet would be toward you. Then practice being that toward yourself. 7. Stop comparing yourself. Comparison is a killer to self-love. And we aren’t usually very nice when it comes to comparisons, right? Instead, we take our greatest flaws and compare them to someone else’s greatest success. In short, you’re doomed to fail. Instead, realize that you write your story. Realize that you can’t compare your life to someone else’s because no matter how well you know them, you never know how they feel or how they perceive their life. We are all different and unique and each of us has a unique life path. Instead, spend your time and energy nourishing and building your path. 8. Check in with yourself emotionally Find a seat, get a cup of coffee, and share your day’s events. What mood are you in? The greatest course of action is to learn to feel your sentiments rather than bury them genuinely. It’s essential to stay in touch with your feelings if you want to keep practicing self-love. Ask yourself “What do I feel right now? What do I need right now? What my body is telling me now? Sit with the answers and take the appropriate actions to genuinely take care of yourself. Observing your thoughts is also critical. Before you say something unfavorable, consider whether it will benefit you. Does having this thought in any way improve me? Or is it merely impolite, dismissive, and harsh? Stopping internal agony is one of the most crucial steps to happiness because we frequently abuse our minds. Say supportive and encouraging things. Negative beliefs will always impede self-love. 9. Practice self-acceptance This might have been the greatest game-changer for me. Because let’s face it: It’s easy to love what you love about yourself and not so easy with the things you don’t. So, instead of even aiming to love those parts, focus on accepting them. What we resist, persists. Instead of rejecting or trying to love those parts of ourselves that we struggle with, simply accept them as they are with kindness. It’s okay. It’s not the end of the world. Give permission to yourself to be imperfect, nervous, moody, etc. You don’t need to love everything about yourself to develop self-love; all you need is acceptance. Next time something happens that makes you want to get down on yourself, see this as your practice to accept what is. There is a deep sense of inner peace, compassion, and kindness that comes with this shift. 10. Live in the moment Stop your never-ending search for anything better for a time, and just look within. Recognize your origins and the wonder of the present. Realize how fortunate you are to be a living, breathing, and functioning human being. According to Psychology Today, mindful people tend to have higher self-esteem, are more empathetic, and are more secure. People who have more self-love tend to know what they think, feel, and want. The whole idea of mindfulness is to “see” what’s going on within without distortion, filters of judgment, and prejudice. When pure seeing or watchfulness or witnessing happens, acceptance comes about, and the ego becomes weak. And practice self-care Self-love blossoms when we take care of ourselves. This can be something as basic as attending to our basic needs — eating well, hydrating enough, exercising, and sleeping as much as we need — but it can also look like doing a little extra. We might carve out an afternoon to do an activity we love or pamper ourselves in some way. Self-love centers around how we think and feel about ourselves. Self-care is those thoughts and feelings put into action; however, we choose to treat or spoil ourselves. “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do” ‒ Brené Brown Loving yourself is the action of self-love and self-care in your everyday life and your everyday choices, from what you decide to eat, to whom you decide to love and surround yourself with. Loving yourself is the practice of self-love, and it’s ongoing. Forever. Each one of us is worthy of self-love. If self-love doesn’t come easy, that’s usually because our mind has been trained – through childhood, relationships, or other circumstances — to think otherwise. So the root of self-love, or the lack of it, can often be found in our thinking. Therefore, inner work is essential to reach that place of restful calm where you can let go of the obsessive thoughts and the negative chatter of the mind. Once you learn to do that, self-love and compassion come naturally. The self-awareness grows to such an extent that you start experiencing unconditional bliss. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Flora! Flora Bami, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Flora Bami is an optimist, an experienced and passionate integral coach, with expertise in life, mindset, relationships, and wellbeing coaching. Her main focus is on making your relationship with yourself healthier and reframing your inner voice based on self-love, acceptance, and compassion. Her mission in life is to support people in their life journey to reach their potential and feel better and happier through individual coaching and setting up wellbeing programs in big organizations. Better people, better world! Happier people, happier world! After going through a deep transformation herself and turning trauma into a gift, she dedicated her life to supporting people reconnecting with their true selves.

Written by: Janifer Wheeler, Senior Level Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. We’re all told we need to be more self-aware. But WTF does that even mean? I’ve spent the last few years of my life researching, reading, and experimenting with different techniques to develop greater self-awareness—and I’ve finally developed a working definition and framework that makes sense to me. In this blog post, I will share my top 5 tips for developing self-awareness based on what I’ve learned. Tip 1: Developing Self-Awareness Starts with Understanding Your Brain The first step in developing self-awareness is understanding how your brain works. The brain is an amazing machine, but it’s not always reliable. In fact, research has shown that the brain often makes decisions based on emotion rather than logic. Therefore, it’s important to become aware of your biases and tendencies to make more conscious, informed decisions. Here are a few questions to get you started: Do you tend to make decisions based on logic or emotion? What are your biggest fears? What motivates you? What makes you feel good? What are your core values? Answering these questions will give you a better understanding of how your brain works and why you make the decisions you do. Tip 2: Be Present in the Moment The second tip for developing self-awareness is to be present in the moment. This means being fully engaged in what you’re doing without letting your mind wander. When you’re working on a task, give it your full attention and resist the urge to multitask. This can be difficult if you’re used to doing several things at once, but it’s important to train your brain to focus on one thing at a time. If you find your mind wandering, take a few deep breaths and focus on the present moment. Tip 3: Listen More Than You Speak The third tip for developing self-awareness is to listen more than you speak. This doesn’t mean that you should never voice your opinions—but it does mean that you should try to listen more than you talk. When you’re in a conversation, really listen to what the other person is saying and resist the urge to interrupt or plan what you will say next. Not only will this help you develop better relationships, but it will also help you gain a deeper understanding of yourself and others. Tip 4: Keep a Journal The fourth tip for developing self-awareness is to keep a journal. Writing about your thoughts and feelings can help you process them and understand them better. It can also help you see patterns in your behavior that you might not otherwise be aware of. If you don’t know where to start, try writing about your day-to-day experiences or answer some of the questions from Tip No.1 Tip 5: Seek Feedback from Others The fifth and final tip for developing self-awareness is to seek feedback from others. This can be difficult because it requires being open to criticism, but it’s essential for growth. Ask trusted friends or family members for their honest feedback about your behavior or decision-making skills. You can also join an entrepreneur group or coaching program where members give constructive feedback on business ideas or goals. These are just a few of the many techniques you can use to develop greater self-awareness. The most important thing is to find what works for you and then commit to making it a part of your daily routine. Remember that developing self-awareness is an ongoing journey—there is no “end goal” or finish line—but the benefits are well worth the effort! If you want to learn more about Systems and Solutions for Joy Full Productivity, make sure you are on our newsletter list! The JOYFull BadApp launches soon and will be a dream come true! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Janifer! Janifer Wheeler, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine After retiring from teaching, Janifer Wheeler realized she had a bigger calling. She now brings her 20+ years of experience in education to the production industry to help entrepreneurs and teams find the proverbial work-life balance by following her JOYfully method. She’s also founded The JOYFully BadAss Academy, where they teach people how not only to do more but enjoy every minute of their workday — without taking any excuses or guilt home with them either (we know what it’s like). Give me 30 days, and you won’t regret it! Click here to learn more.

Written by: Kadena TateSimon, 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. Membership organizations have been a staple of the American economy for centuries. From professional societies to trade unions to social clubs, they provide a vital role in connecting people and facilitating commerce. But in today's rapidly changing world, membership organizations can no longer rest on their laurels. You must overhaul your business model if you want to continue to grow and thrive. In this article, we'll discuss 8 strategies that association leaders can use to accelerate membership growth and profitability. The first strategy is to focus on the member experience. In the Experience Economy, businesses need to provide their customers with memorable experiences that cannot be replicated by technology. This means creating a culture of customer service and delighting members at every touchpoint. For example, to create experiences and content that are relevant and relatable, draw a member customer journey map. Ensure documentation of every member interaction and align staff, processes, and technology to support the map. The second strategy is to focus on member engagement. To grow as a membership organization, you are tasked with keeping your members actively engaged. This can be done through a variety of means, such as providing value-added services, offering exclusive benefits and discounts, or creating a sense of community among members. One way to increase member engagement is by using gamification techniques. For example, you can create a loyalty program that rewards members for referring new customers or taking certain actions. You can also use social media platforms like LinkedIn and YouTube to connect with members and build relationships. By engaging your members, you are giving them a reason to care and be involved in the larger mission, vision, and purpose of your association. It is a win-win for them and you! The third strategy is to focus on growth, not just membership retention. Many organizations are so focused on retaining their existing members that they forget about the need to grow their membership base. This can be a self-defeating approach, since a stagnant or shrinking membership base will eventually lead to financial problems. Instead, you are encouraged to focus on strategies that will help you attract new members while also retaining your existing ones. One way to do this is by offering flexible membership options that cater to different needs and budgets. For example, you could offer monthly or annual membership plans, as well as pay-as-you-go options for those who only need occasional access to your services. You could also offer discounts for large groups or corporate customers. The fourth strategy is to tap into new markets. In today's global economy, there are many untapped markets that membership organizations can pursue. By expanding your reach, you can attract new members and grow your business. One way to do this is by developing international partnerships. For example, you could partner with a membership organization in another country that shares your mission and values. This would give you access to their members and allow you to expand your reach into new markets. Another way to tap into new markets is by offering bilingual services. This would allow you to serve members who speak different languages and connect with new audiences. Organizations that embrace diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are better positioned to succeed in today's global economy. The fifth strategy is to focus on building an ecosystem of partners. In today's world, membership organizations need to think beyond their four walls and build an ecosystem of partners that can help them achieve their goals. This could include working with other membership organizations, technology providers, content creators, or even government agencies. For example, you could partner with a local university to offer educational resources to your members. You could also work with a tech company to develop a mobile app that would make it easier for members to access your services on the go. Or you could partner with a content creator to develop a series of articles or videos that would be of interest to your members. The sixth strategy is to focus on data-driven decision-making. To make the best decisions for your organization, make sure that you have access to accurate and up-to-date data. This data can come from a variety of sources, such as member surveys, financial reports, customer feedback, social media analytics, and so forth. A data-driven membership model is one that helps you to discover where to allocate your resources, how best to serve your members and optimize operations for maximum efficiency. Therefore, once you have this data, analyze it carefully to identify patterns, trends and opportunities for innovation and growth. The seventh strategy is to focus on digital transformation. To stay relevant in today's world, membership organizations must embrace digital technologies. This could involve anything from developing a mobile app to using data analytics to improve decision-making. By digitizing your operations, membership organizations can become more efficient and effective. You can also reach new markets and serve your members in new and innovative ways. The eighth and final strategy is to focus on continuous innovation. In today's world, membership organizations need to be constantly innovating to stay ahead of the curve. This means being open to new ideas, experimenting with new technologies, and continuously improving your processes and services. For example, you could use virtual reality technology to create a more immersive experience for your members. Or you could experiment with artificial intelligence to develop more personalized content and recommendations. Or you could use blockchain technology to create a decentralized member community. Implementation ‒ What's Next? Now that we know what it takes to grow a membership organization, it's time to start putting one or two of these strategies into action. If you're not sure where to start, schedule a consultation to discuss your association's growth strategy. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Kadena! Kadena TateSimon, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Kadena Tate is the author of “Cultivating Courage: The Path to Reclaiming Your Power” and contributing author of the NY Times Bestseller “Business Model You,” published by Wiley Press. In addition to writing books, Kadena also works as a revenue strategist and business model designed for authors, coaches, and speakers who want to create movements, masterminds, and membership programs.

Written by: Torie Mathis, 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. Are you a new business owner looking to make a splash in the digital world? Then you need to know about the seven essential components of digital marketing. Digital marketing is essentially using online platforms and channels to promote your products or services. And new business owners need to jump into digital marketing. In today's digital age, an online presence is crucial in reaching potential customers and creating brand awareness. It's not only incredibly effective, but it's cost-effective even for newbies to the entrepreneurial world. So, what are the seven parts of digital marketing that can help bring your business success? The 7 Parts of Digital marketing for New Business Owners 1. The importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) SEO is the process of improving your website's ranking on search engines such as Google, making it easier for potential customers to find you. When starting a new business, it can be difficult to get noticed online. With so much competition, how can you make sure that your website shows up in search engine results? The answer is SEO or search engine optimization. By optimizing your website for search engines, you can improve your visibility and attract more visitors. While this may seem like a daunting task, there are a few simple steps that any business owner can take to get started. First, research keywords that are relevant to your business and include them in your website content. Second, create backlinks to your website from other websites. This will help to improve your website's authority and boost your ranking in search results. Finally, make sure that your website is mobile-friendly and takes advantage of social media. Taking these steps will help you to get noticed online and attract more customers to your new business. 2. Pay-per-click Advertising for more traffic Pay-per-click advertising is paying for your website to appear at the top of search engine results, bringing in more traffic. When you are first starting out in business, it can be difficult to get noticed. With so many other businesses competing for attention, it can be hard to make your voice heard above the din. That's where pay-per-click (PPC) advertising comes in. PPC is a type of advertising that allows you to have your ad placed at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs). When someone searches for a term related to your business, your ad will be the first thing they see. And because you only pay for each click on your ad, PPC can be an effective way to reach new customers without breaking the bank. So if you're looking for a way to get your business off the ground, consider investing in a pay-per-click campaign. 3. Reach a wider audience with Email Marketing Email Marketing is the process of building a list of email subscribers and sending them promotional content that can help drive sales and customer loyalty. If you're a new business owner, you may be wondering why email marketing is so important. After all, isn't social media the best way to reach potential customers? While social media is important, email marketing should also be part of your marketing mix. Here's why: first, email allows you to reach a wider audience than social media. Second, email is more personal than social media. You can craft messages that are tailored to individual subscribers, and you're more likely to get a response from an email than from a social media post. Finally, email is more affordable than many other marketing channels. So if you're looking to reach more potential customers and grow your business, consider adding email marketing to your marketing mix. 4. The power of Social Media Marketing Social media marketing is utilizing social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to engage with customers and promote your brand. Social media marketing is important for new business owners for a number of reasons. First, it allows you to connect with your target audience directly. You can learn about their needs and wants and then create content that speaks to those needs. Additionally, social media marketing helps you to build brand awareness and create an identity for your business. Finally, social media marketing can be a great way to drive traffic to your website or brick-and-mortar store. By creating engaging content and using effective marketing strategies, you can reach a large number of potential customers through social media. With so many benefits, it's clear that social media marketing should be a key component of any new business owner's marketing plan. 5. Attract potential customers through Content Marketing Content marketing is creating valuable content, such as blog posts or videos, to attract potential customers and establish yourself as an expert in your field. As a new business owner, you may wonder why content marketing is so important. After all, you're already busy enough trying to get your business off the ground. However, content marketing can be a powerful tool for attracting new customers and keeping them engaged with your brand. By creating informative blog posts, helpful how-to guides, and interesting infographics, you can show potential customers that you're an expert in your field and that you're invested in helping them succeed. In addition, regular updates to your blog or website will keep people coming back for more, and social media sharing can help to extend your reach even further. If you're not sure where to start, there are plenty of resources online that can help you get started with content marketing. But don't wait too long to start ‒ the sooner you begin, the sooner you'll start seeing results. 6. Promote your products or services with Affiliate Marketing Affiliate marketing is partnering with other businesses to promote each other's products or services. For any new business owner, it is essential to find cost-effective ways to market their product or service. Affiliate marketing is a great way to achieve this. Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's own marketing efforts. Essentially, you are paying people to promote your products or services for you. This can be a very cost-effective way to reach new customers, as you only pay affiliates when they successfully bring new business your way. Additionally, affiliate marketing can help to build brand awareness and credibility, as well as generate leads and sales. As such, it is an essential tool for any new business owner looking to get their business off the ground. 7. Build trust and credibility with Influencer Marketing Collaborating with social media influencers to showcase and promote your brand to their followers. If you're a new business owner, influencer marketing can be a powerful tool to help raise awareness of your brand. By partnering with influencers who have already built up a large following, you can tap into their audience and grow your reach. In addition, influencer marketing can help to build trust and credibility for your brand. When potential customers see that you're endorsed by someone they respect and follow, they're more likely to give your products or services a try. Done well, influencer marketing can be an invaluable part of your business's growth strategy. Use Digital Marketing to Grow your New Business! As a new business owner, it's important to have a strong understanding of these seven components of digital marketing and how they can help you grow. Whether it's improving your search engine ranking or building relationships with influencers, each aspect can play a crucial role in driving success for your business. So don't wait – start investing in your digital marketing strategy now. Your future customers will thank you. Are you being SMART with digital marketing for your new business, or could it use a little work? Take the SMART marketing quiz and find out! Get specific recommendations on how you can maximize your digital marketing strategy! Torie Mathis, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Torie Mathis helps entrepreneurs, like you, use digital marketing to grow your business without wasting time, money, or your sanity. She is a best-selling author, Army veteran, speaker + trainer, and your digital marketing coach. You don't need crazy tech skills, buckets of cash, or dedicated staff to market your business. In fact, you don't even need a lot of time. What you need is to be SMART. Torie hosts SMART AF, a show for non-techy entrepreneurs looking to grow their small business, with her husband Sean Mathis, and is the creator of SMART AF Magazine. Learn digital marketing for your small business at toriemathis.com Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Torie!

Written by: Jenny Howell , 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. For centuries humans have explored and enjoyed the healing power of plant foods, and the incredible practice of using food as medicine has been passed down through generations. As far back as 5,000 years ago, Ayurvedic Medicine used air, herbs, and water, and 3,000 years ago, Chinese Medicine promoted the use of herbs. The Greek Father of Modern Medicine, Hippocrates coined the phrase "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food" and formed the first set of standards and ethics that we still refer to today as the Hippocratic Oath. Yet somehow, little by little, much of our connection with the natural world has been eroded and along with it, our once unshakable belief in the healing power of food to fuel our bodies and nourish our souls. We have drifted from enjoying the deliciousness of whole foods nature provides towards a diet centered around 'convenience,' a hang-up from the post-war era. Convenience foods are typically ultra-processed, far removed from real whole foods, and found in bar-coded packets and boxes with an unnaturally long shelf life. We have become distrustful of the term 'Natural Medicine,' forgetting that real, whole, unprocessed foods are nature's medicine whose ingredients and mechanism of action underpin many of the pharmaceutical medications used today. The foundations of health We have forgotten the importance of food and lifestyle as the foundations of good health. After all, and there is no money to be made in berries and kale. These foods cannot be patented and monetized! Whole foods are bursting with incredible vitamins, minerals, and phytochemical compounds, which, when consumed as a whole, have abundant synergistic benefits, some of which are still being discovered today. Of course, modern medicine is a magnificent thing and in an acute or life-saving situation, there is nowhere I would rather turn. But acute conditions are not where we are falling short or letting people down. We are failing to tackle preventable chronic diseases ( or non-communicable diseases ) such as Cardiovascular Disease, Obesity, Autoimmunity, and many more. Symptomatic treatment of chronic conditions may never tackle the root cause. A multitude of contributing factors is often ignored or largely left unaddressed, leading to a condition being managed instead of resolved. Our sex, genetic predisposition, and other acquired factors can set the stage for chronic disease, and nutritional insufficiencies, inflammation, stress, toxicity, environmental pollution, and other lifestyle factors can drive these conditions even deeper in the body. Many of us navigate life managing symptoms such as low energy, bloating, brain fog, joint pain, skin issues, and more, not aware that we have a chronic condition or disease! Sadly, many of us come to accept this as 'normal for us', and may feel strangely reassured that the same or similar symptoms are normal for other family members and common amongst our friends or peers. As symptoms become more severe we develop coping mechanisms to battle on and manage day-to-day. Depending on how these symptoms of imbalance arise in our body, we may live in discomfort, we may hide our skin, and we may live in pain. The symptoms of chronic conditions though common for many are not inevitable. Chronic conditions manifest in the body from imbalance and result in us experiencing symptoms. If we view these symptoms as messages we can find our way back to health. Genetics plays a vital role in our lives and may give us predispositions, but our environment determines whether our genes will be expressed in certain ways. Our diet and our lifestyle are key determinants of our health and much can be done to restore balance. Restoring balance We have more power over our health than we know or are led to believe. Diet and lifestyle are handed down to us in the same way as our genes but influence our health to a greater extent than genetic predisposition. Periods of acute stress, infection, or an accident may mark a line in the sand, a turning or tipping point. The foods we eat, the environment we live in, and our lifestyle can bring us back from the edge and restore balance or tip us over into dis-ease. We can trace back the origins of our symptoms, conditions, and diseases and find the missing pieces and with the right nutrition and dietary changes, we can restore balance and solve the puzzle. The Functional Medicine approach looks past symptoms to all body systems and seeks to establish and determine why the condition arose. We can break the cycle and restore balance and this is where transformation truly occurs. Simple foundations of bulletproof health lie in addressing nutritional insufficiency, toxicity, and vitality. We can start by eating an abundance of health-promoting plant-based whole foods, maintaining a relationship with the natural environment, prioritizing movement and physical activity, maintaining social connections, and finding our purpose. This is my journey. Life is sunnier now. I help others transform and thrive through an integrative body systems approach to nutrition. Links Institute of Functional Medicine ‒ What is Functional Medicine? | IFM WHO (World Health Organisation) ‒ Noncommunicable diseases (who.int) WHO (World Health Organisation) ‒ Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases: report of a joint WHO/FAO expert consultation, Geneva, 28 January - 1 February 2002 Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my website for more info! Jenny Howell, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Jenny Howell is a Naturopathic Nutritionist and Nutrition Consultant with specialist interests in Sports Performance & Plant-Based Nutrition. A natural investigator and former Police Officer, Jenny fought and won her own health battles with IBS, auto-immune disease, skin conditions and burnout by identifying the root cause of her symptoms and restoring balance through Naturopathic Nutrition and lifestyle interventions. Her method is to combine personalised Sports Nutrition with an integrative, body systems approach of Naturopathic Nutritional Therapy to support optimum health and performance for the clients she serves. Her mission is to empower women to live longer life in better health and better shape.

Written by: Dr. Faye Borja, 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 can’t wait until the weekend is over so I can go to work on Monday!” said no one ever. Why do we dread Mondays? Even if we love our jobs, Monday tasks can be quite overwhelming. The benefit of growing up millennial is that our lives were highly structured and we had much encouragement from parents, school, or extracurriculars (participation trophies for 15 please). Being raised with great amounts of positive reinforcement, millennials appear to have an inflated self-esteem with high expectations of reward for all achievement. Maybe we are exhausted with the structure. Maybe we want the freedom to create our own agendas. Millennials are the Most Entrepreneurial Generation compared to Generation Xers and Baby Boomers. This does not mean that millennials want more leisure, because let’s be honest, entrepreneurship is hard work. However, maybe being raised on the pillows of job security, structure, and positive reinforcement leads to a need to venture out into a world we can call our own. Still, there are many of us who do continue to work for big companies, yet struggle due to a lack of support in this generation’s way of being. The article Leading Millennials: An Approach That Works, put a positive spin on the millennial characteristics that are often seen negatively. For example, the traditional way of interacting with those in positions of authority are unlike millennials who do not shy away from direct encounters. Direct forms of communication are not at all intentions of disrespect; rather, millennials have motivation for immediate results. They want to engage more and be a part of the brainstorming process, with questions of “why” procedures are needed as opposed to simply doing what is being told. Greater work ethic seems to increase with employee morale. Maybe it isn’t just Mondays. A shorter work week/longer weekend seems to produce more effective work-life balance. There are several countries that have Shifted To Four-Day Work Week including Spain, Ireland, Japan, Belgium, just to name a few. We perceive Monday to be stressful because of the long work week ahead. If we can reduce this, then perhaps we would perceive the work to be less daunting, thus allowing more comfortability with productivity. How do we push through? How do we appropriately mourn the weekend and take charge? Instead of attaching a dreadful connotation to this day, shift your mindset and set positive intentions. Starting the morning wishing others a great day can surround you with positive energy. Give yourself something to look forward to at the end of the day, whether it is a trip to pick up your favorite snack, movie night, or a spa-day at home. Instead of a manic Monday, make it a magic Monday. An ”attitude of gratitude” can go a long way. We have the capability to send a quick message to a friend to ask for a jolt of encouragement. We have the technology to take a quick funny-video break. Take advantage of what this generation has to offer in aiding a lighthearted atmosphere. Monday blues can lead to overwhelming emotions at times. If you feel that anxiety is getting in the way of your daily activities, it is best to reach out for professional help. For more tips and tricks on reducing anxiety, reach out to therapeutic practices such as GO! Therapeutic Services & Supervision, LLC or The Hardy Clinic, where expert therapists help you manage and learn skills to reduce negative thoughts or behaviors. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Dr. Faye Borja, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dr. Faye Borja is a licensed psychotherapist. Her years of experience in mental healthcare and in leadership has allowed her the opportunity to share her insight within supervisory, training and mentorship roles. She values integrity, honesty, kindness and growth. Running her first marathon is what led her to her doctoral journey. She often says, “if you can achieve any distance, you can go even further.” She owns GO! Therapeutic Services & Supervision, LLC, and is also the Clinical Manager at The Hardy Clinic in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Written by: Andrew Cowie, 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. For centuries mankind has been enthralled by the legend of Atlantis – a mythological Utopian paradise that supposedly sank beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in a terrible apocalyptic catastrophe thousands of years ago. Atlantis was first mentioned by the Greek philosopher Plato in his works Timaeus and Criteas in which he described an all-powerful seafaring nation with a highly advanced civilisation commanding an empire that stretched across Europe and parts of Africa. This civilisation flourished until it grew so powerful that its people succumbed to hubris and corruption, whereupon the god Poseidon wrought a terrible punishment that wiped the island from the face of the earth in a single day and night. Debates have long raged as to whether Plato’s account was intended as pure allegory or whether it was based on actual historical events. Today there are still those who search ardently for evidence of the lost continent and explorers who claim to have found it in locations as far apart as Spain and the Bahamas. Some believe it lies beneath the ice in Antarctica, while another theory places it in the middle of the Sahara Desert in a curious piece of land called the Richat Structure. However, the most widely accepted hypothesis links Atlantis to the Greek island of Santorini which was devastated in a massive volcanic eruption around 1500BC, bringing about the end of the advanced and extremely powerful Minoan civilisation. Santorini, under its ancient name of Thera, was one of the jewels in the crown of the Minoan empire which flourished throughout the Mediterranean during the Bronze Age. The Minoans were the first advanced civilisation in Europe, commanded a vast trading network and left behind a legacy of massive building complexes as well as sophisticated art and writing systems. Its centre of power was the mighty palace of Knossos on Crete, a vast, complex labyrinth of 1300 rooms with walls decorated with colourful frescos. Tragically, this majestic civilisation was all but destroyed by the terrible volcanic eruption which sent much of Thera beneath the waves and caused earthquakes and massive tsunamis which devastated Crete and the surrounding islands. Last week I had the opportunity to visit Santorini for myself and to investigate its claim to be the paradise isle of Plato’s legend. Evidence of the historic cataclysm can still be seen everywhere to this day. The sands of the beach in Kamari, the resort where I stayed, are a distinctive black – a legacy of the volcanic ash which blanketed the island 3500 years ago – while a distinctive archway carved into the cliff face at the end of the beach is said to be all that remains of Atlantis’s Temple of Poseidon. Perhaps the most compelling evidence of all is the archaeological site of Akrotiri – a village which was one of the main Bronze Age urban centres in the Aegean. Like Pompeii, Akrotiri has remained eerily preserved for thousands of years after being buried beneath tonnes of volcanic ash and pumice. Excavations of the site began in 1967, exposing a complex and highly advanced infrastructure and an elaborate sewage system that was centuries ahead of its time. The ominous parallels between the fate of the Minoan Empire and Plato’s account of Atlantis are celebrated today at Santorini’s Lost Atlantis Experience, a museum featuring interactive exhibits reproducing the horror of the Thera eruption and its resulting devastation. Visitors can pose for pictures with Poseidon’s trident, interact with a hologram of Plato and view the world’s largest diorama of Atlantis (pictured above), built to match Plato’s original description with alternating belts of land and water arranged in concentric rings, along with harbours, temples, bridges and canals. There is something magical and other-worldly about Santorini. From the red cliffs of Akrotiri to the magnificent sunsets of Oia, everything about it appears to have been plucked from the pages of a fairy tale. Having visited the island, I believe the evidence for Santorini as the source of the Atlantis myth to be compelling. However, as with all legends, it ultimately matters not whether one chooses to view the story as a historical fact or purely as a metaphor. What is important is the response that the story evokes within us. From an allegorical perspective, there are two key ingredients at play here – the warnings of the dangers of hubris, and the search for a paradise lost – and those two moral lessons are just as important today as they were when Plato first told the story. One has only to look at the current global political landscape, and the catastrophic consequences of decisions taken by world leaders driven by their own egos, to realise the truth of the old adage “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. The fate of Atlantis serves as a salutary warning to those who put pride and personal ambition ahead of the welfare of the people they serve. But the main reason the story of Atlantis resonates strongly with so many people today is the allure of the promise of an impending return to some idyllic, exalted state which mankind may have enjoyed at some point in the distant past. It is the same drive which spurs people to search for the Garden of Eden – another archetypal example of humankind’s fall from a lofty perch to which we aspire to return. Seldom has this idea held such appeal as it does now. We live in a world which appears increasingly chaotic and has recently subjected us to a global pandemic, warfare, economic meltdowns, spiralling energy prices, a cost-of-living crisis and political turmoil, leaving most people hankering for something better. There is hope for an improved future, however, and the great thing is that we don’t have to wait for an archaeological expedition to uncover sacred ruins on the ocean floor. The search for that exalted state symbolised by the Atlanteans is an internal quest that starts by working on ourselves. The idea of a fall from perfection can be seen reflected in our own lives. Barring complications, humans are at the absolute peak of physical condition when we are newborns. That’s because as babies we breathe deeply from the abdomen as nature intended, ensuring that our blood is properly oxygenated and our organs functioning with optimum efficiency. We also have a completely untainted view of the world in our infancy. Everything is new and experienced through fresh eyes. We have yet to encounter regret, stress or worry. We live purely for the moment. As we move through life, however, and are subjected to increasing sources of anxiety and pressure, our breath starts to rise from the abdomen to the chest, making our bodies taut and tense and preventing the blood from properly oxygenating. We also become increasingly exposed to external influences as the pressure to conform with the expectations of our parents, teachers, siblings, peers and employers cause us to become further and further removed from the unique and joyful individuals we were originally born as. Curiosity is replaced by fear, boldness by hesitancy, joy by stress and individuality by conformity. The result is a craving for something better – a search for the inner peace and serenity we have somehow lost. Our subconscious remembers the blissful innocence of those early months and years and yearns for a return to that time when we experienced optimum physical, mental and psychological health. We can recapture that state, but it’s a process that involves stripping back the lifetime of accumulated ash and grime which has tarnished the brightly sparkling diamond of our true selves. Like peeling the layers from an onion, we must discard the false wrappings of our life experiences and embrace the true self within. The legend of Atlantis serves as a reminder of the existence of that lost paradise and of our innate ability to recapture it. The Ancient Greeks were masters at the use of storytelling as a tool for teaching and personal growth. They regarded myth-making as a science through which fundamental truths could be conveyed in a way designed to stir the inner knowing within man’s subconscious. At Phoenix Coaching & Therapy, and our associated esoteric training school AMHOP, we also make strong use of mythology and archetypes to help people uncover their own inner Atlantis. It all starts by identifying what aspects of your present life you can afford to let go and consign to the depths of the ocean floor and which traits are most in harmony with your soul’s true calling and need to be embraced and celebrated. It’s a process rather like the archaeological dig still ongoing at Akrotiri, involving sifting through the layers of volcanic ash and pumice to find the treasure buried deep within. This can be a long and painstaking process, but, as with the jaw-dropping discoveries at Akrotiri, it’s well worth the effort. If you’d like to know more about the services we offer, you can contact us at Phoenix Coaching & Therapy or AMHOP for details. For more info, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and visit my website! Read more from Andrew! Andrew Cowie, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Andrew Cowie is a transformational life coach, psychotherapist, and author dedicated to helping people overcome adversity and achieve their full potential. He came to the world of therapy after a 20-year career in newspaper journalism was brought to an abrupt end by severe burnout. In the course of his own recovery, he was introduced to meditation, mindfulness, hypnotherapy, yoga, martial arts, and NLP. He went on to retrain some of the world's leading spiritual and personal development teachers to become an expert in these fields. Andrew has since dedicated his life to passing on this knowledge, synthesizing the various disciplines into one overarching system blending ancient spiritual practices with the latest cutting-edge techniques from the field of modern psychology. He is the owner of Phoenix Coaching & Therapy and the founder of its associated 'magical training school' The Ancient and Mystical Hermetic Order of the Phoenix (AMHOP). His debut book Rise Like a Phoenix was published in 2021 and is described as a manual for personal regeneration. Andrew works with clients worldwide and is passionate about mental health and exploring the latent potential of the human mind.

Steven N. Adjei is a British-Ghanaian author, poet, healthcare consultant, entrepreneur, and pharmacist. He is the founding partner of BlueCloud Health (part of the Emerald Group), an advisory and consulting firm with offices in London, Dubai, and Delhi with clients all over the world. His first book, Pay The Price: Creating Ethical Entrepreneurial Success Through Passion, Pain and Purpose was an instant bestseller the very day it was launched on 30 August 2022. Steven N. Adjei, Author. Consultant. Pharmacist. Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better. Hello! I’m Steven, and it's great to meet you! I am a British male with Ghanaian heritage, and I am married to my beautiful wife Dela. Together we have two amazing teenagers, Nana, and Nshira. I live in a beautiful city called Plymouth in the Southwest of England. I love reading, running, and hanging out with friends, and I am passionate about all things Africa, entrepreneurship, reading, and the underdog! I hold an MBA from one of England’s most prestigious business schools, Warwick Business School, and am also a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, and a member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, West Africa. I am an avid lover of dogs, and even though we currently have no pets, one of my foremost goals is to have the time to add a lovely German Shepherd to our family one day! What is your business name and how do you help your clients? I wear many hats. My business name? It’s Steven N Adjei, and I am a best-selling author, award-winning pharmacist, entrepreneur, healthcare consultant, and diversity expert. Through my writing and speaking, I help entrepreneurs through finding a way through pain and failure and help them leave a legacy and build a business they can be proud of. I have written articles for many magazines, including The Pharmaceutical Executive and Brainz Magazine. I have also been a guest on many top-rated podcasts, including The EvolvePreneur podcast, the Unconventional Path, and Evolve to Succeed. I also speak at conferences on topics relating to small business, entrepreneurship, diversity, and legacy, the most recent one being the Africa Impact Investment Forum in London and the consulting firm EY here in the UK. I am also about to start our pioneering entrepreneurship course, The Flag Pain Response Course, which specialises in helping entrepreneurs about to give up or have hit a stumbling block through pain, the principles of which I spell out in my brand-new book, Pay the Price. There is more on my website, www.stevenadjei.com I am particularly proud to be writing this article during Black History Month here in the UK, as I feel that the voices of mainstream black writers are sorely lacking and underrepresented in business writing and speaking, and I am hoping that through this article, many British budding black entrepreneurs would be inspired to start writing best-selling quality business books, articles, and blogs. Through our businesses, BlueCloud Health (www.bluecloudhealth.com) and The Emerald Group, (www.emerald-mg.com), I specialise in finding solutions for our clients within the healthcare space, primarily clients who want to enter Sub-Saharan Africa. We also incubate several African start-ups and assist in market entry for quality medicines and healthcare products and equipment into the continent. As an example, we are currently raising $25 million for a start-up who have invented a scalable revolutionary device that treats TB and other diseases through simple Xray scanning, and we are working with a UK medicines manufacturer to introduce quality inexpensive medicines for chronic diseases. Through my professional career as a pharmacist, I have worked with independent pharmacies and England’s National Health Service to deliver COVID and flu vaccinations and pharmaceutical services to the Southwest of England. What kind of audience do you target your business towards? I am mainly passionate about two things: Helping entrepreneurs press through the pain and help them flourish through my writing, speaking, and consulting, and Bringing African SME businesses into the mainstream business world and helping them grow and expand to help solve Africa’s many problems, particularly in the healthcare sector. And everything within my businesses, writing and speaking, is geared towards these two ideals. Even though I specialise in healthcare, I work with all sorts of entrepreneurs, from Real Estate to Retail. What are your current goals for your business? For my writing and speaking, I am writing and aiming to publish my second book, In Search of Permanence, by September 2023, organise a major Entrepreneurship Summit for African Entrepreneurs in 2024, and sell 100,000 copies of both books by December 2025. I am also planning and laying foundations to be a regular speaker for conferences regarding Africa, Small and Medium Businesses (SMEs) worldwide, and Entrepreneurship. For our businesses, we are currently partnering with the charity Compassion to educate African children. We would love to expand this, so we are involved with 50-100 children by the end of next year. We would also like to grow the business to do multiple 7 figures by the end of 2025. We are also raising a $ 50 million fund for African healthcare start-ups, the Afya Fund, which we plan to be operational by December 2023. This will enable us to invest directly in African healthcare start-ups which will be a game changer for the Emerald Group. For my consulting and coaching business, we are planning to launch our specialist course regarding pain and failure in business in Spring 2023 ‒ please see for https://www.stevenadjei.com/services for a taster. Who inspires you to be the best that you can be? That’s an easy question. It’s my dad. I wrote about him in my previous article for this magazine: https://www.brainzmagazine.com/post/the-four-legacy-types-in-business-which-one-are-you-leaving He is such a gentle, hardworking man who instilled in us the values of humility, hard work, and treating others better than we are treated. Even though he is currently 84 years old, he still works as a consultant lawyer, and entrepreneur and still serves as a chief in our local village in rural Ghana, West Africa. What is your work inspired by? My work is inspired by my Christian faith, the Pathfinder legacy of my dad, as well as my African heritage. They remind me to treat people fairly, to show love, humility, respect, and compassion to everyone regardless of gender, sexual orientation, background, age, or race, and to be an excellent steward of all the resources I have been blessed with. Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far. That’s a tough question, but I suppose if I am pushed, I’d have to say my greatest achievement in my career so far is writing and publishing my new book, Pay the Price: Creating Ethical Entrepreneurship Through Passion, Pain, and Purpose. It was an instant bestseller the day it was launched, reaching No 1 in EIGHTEEN different categories on Amazon, including no. 1 in Poetry, No. 1 in Music appreciation, no. 1 Philosophy, and no.1 Ethics and Morality, a record for a debut author writing about Business and Entrepreneurship! If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why? I am passionate about ethical entrepreneurship, and I strongly believe that given the right support, it has the power to address most of the problems facing our world today, particularly in developing countries. I would like governments to do more to support small businesses and entrepreneurs and for PE firms and institutional investors to do more to support start-ups and SMEs, particularly in Africa. Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today. This is a great question and has a very unusual answer!! On 21 August 2021, I had a massive epileptic fit when I was doing some housework at the top of the stairs in our home in Plymouth, England. I passed out, fell a flight of stairs with a 15kg vacuum cleaner in my hand, crashed into the radiator downstairs, and badly wounded my back, arms, and pride – I have the scars to show it! But when I came to, all I could see was me writing a book, and I could even see the title of the book when I came round. That tragic moment inspired me to become a best-selling 1 author, which in turn has given me countless opportunities, even including writing this article!! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Steven!

Written by: Chris Janssen, Senior Level 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. Have you ever tossed a fear repeatedly in your mind until it became a harsh reality? What about the opposite? Have you focused so intently on achieving something fabulous that you made it happen? Chances are you got what you wanted when you created a trust-centered mindset and listened to your heart instead of your head—when you led your life with invigorating love, not debilitating fear. Maybe you’ve been on the flip side of fear-based leadership when a parent or authority led from fears of what you may or may not do instead of trusting in what you’re capable of doing. How did that fear-based leadership make you feel? Did you live down to those poor expectations and fears? Or did you use them as fuel to rise above and thrive? You get the result you anticipate—desired or undesired—so leading out of fear is debilitating—in parenting, business, finances, performance, and life. Mind your mind with these tips for creating a trust-centered belief system that works in your favor: Trust your gut if professional marketing advice doesn’t sit well with you. You know your product. Embrace great intentions for its future, and trust you’ll market it perfectly to the right buyer. Believe your children, students, or mentees are capable of miraculous things. You hold influence over whether they live up to your extraordinary beliefs in them or down to your greatest fears for them. Stop and get curious if something doesn’t feel right. Ask yourself if you’ve bought into a well-meaning loved one’s misdirected fears for you (or your own). Purge beliefs that don’t serve you to create space for those that do. Everyone has a right to their opinions and beliefs, and you have the right to decide how those beliefs land on you. You cannot control other people’s labels or thoughts. You can control your own. Leading from your heart instead of your head involves accepting what serves you and dumping the rest. Practice giving grace to others and yourself. Grace is the key to freedom. A whole new world opens when you freely accept and give grace. You’ll serve others and yourself best by embracing life as it is—not how you or others expect it to be. Lead with love, not fear. And get excited about what’s to come! Read more on this topic and others in Chris Janssen’s new book, Living All In: How to Show Up for the Life You Want. AVAILABLE NOW ON AMAZON! © 2022 Chris Janssen. No part of this article may be reproduced online or in print without the author’s written permission. Want to learn more from Chris? Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin or visit her website. Read more from Chris! Chris Janssen, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Chris Janssen is a Board Certified Life Coach and Author of the book, Living All In: How to Show Up for the Life You Want. With an honest, strategic style she helps her clients master habits and skills to move toward and thrive in what they love. Chris excels in working with high performers and understands the character traits associated with driven achievers. As a trained Business Coach, Chris specializes in closing the gap between where a company or individual is and where they want to be. Chris partners with her clients to access the creativity and resourcefulness necessary to achieve the sustainable results they want. She cares deeply about her clients' careers, relationships, spirituality, wellness, health, patterns, and mindsets. Chris says her clients are experts at what they do and she is an expert at the psychology of what they do. Together they are unstoppable.

I am Denise Stowe, I am a 40-year-old mum to My 13-year-old daughter Imogen, and I have been happily married to my Husband, Luke for nearly 18 years. I am a psychotherapist and I run my own counselling service for just under 4 years. I love true crime documentaries, reading nonfiction books, collecting shoes, and anything to do with Christmas. My passion is to support and advocate for victims of complex trauma. I am just about to embark on a Master’s Degree in Criminology and Forensic Psychology through Essex University. Denise Stowe, Integrative Trauma Therapist What is your business name and how do you help your clients? My business is called Infinite Hope Counselling service and I offer a bespoke counselling service to my clients. My specialisms are working with complex trauma, sexual abuse, rape, and Dissociative Identity Disorder. My aim is to offer a safe space for my clients to be heard and to begin to process their trauma. I also run a monthly therapy group for women who have experienced and survived sexual violence and endured complex trauma. What are your current goals for your business? I would like to continue to grow and develop my practice as well as begin to deliver workshops in local schools and businesses to explore consent, the disclosure of sexual violence, and the long-term impact of sexual violence on its victims. What would you like to achieve for yourself and your business in the future? My plan after completing my Master’s is to conduct in-depth research of repeat victimology, why the UK criminal justice system lets victims of sexual violence down, trauma, and the impact of trauma on the body; in particular, the links between trauma and nervous disorders such as Fibromyalgia. I intend to raise awareness about these subjects. Who inspires you to be the best that you can be? My daughter Imogen inspires me to keep striving, to fight for change and as cliched as it sounds, she reminds me that every day might not be good, but there is good in every day. I am truly blessed to work with the most amazing clients; their strength, vulnerability, kindness, and determination to overcome their trauma, ignites my passion to advocate and raise awareness for survivors everywhere. If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why? It’s hard to think of just one, but because the language used by non-trauma-informed practitioners and services it can lead to clients feeling as if they are being blamed for their trauma. So I was going to say more training for practitioners and agencies so they can work in a more trauma-informed way. However, I feel that UK statutory and charitable agencies are currently over-stretched, and therefore many people in desperate need of help who can’t afford support are stranded on long waiting lists. My hopes are to work on a range of free resources to help support clients who aren’t able to access therapy. Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far. I have been completely blessed in my career as a psychotherapist. There are two achievements that have meant the world to me. When I began my training to become a therapist in 2014, my dream was to become a therapist and work for a Rape Crisis Centre. In 2016 I was fortunate to gain a placement at my local Rape Crisis Centre. By 2018, I had successfully completed my placement and then gained employment there. After opening up my Infinite Hope in 2019, I continued in both roles for a little while before focusing fully on my counselling service. My biggest achievement is that, to date, I have been able to support over 500 clients and over 4,000 counselling sessions! My job is a true privilege, and to be trusted by my clients to walk alongside them in their therapeutic journeys is something that I will always be honoured to do. Follow me on Facebook, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Denise!

Written by: Jayne Sanders, 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. When I did purpose and life coaching, I always ‘assigned’ fun and joy as one each client’s Next Steps. A hike, coffee with friends, a weekend getaway – anything out of the day-to-day routine and experiences. People don’t take enough time away. They don’t put self-care first. They don’t plan ahead to ensure fun and joy is part of their coming weekend or week nights. No wonder so many people are burned out, bored, going through the motions, and living without joyful anticipation and happiness! We are so busy that we need to PLAN AHEAD and ensure fun and joy are an integral part of our lives. Why? Because there are numerous scientifically proven benefits! I did quite a bit of research about these benefits, below are most of the resources of the benefits that follow in this article: Lawrence, Rogers & Wadsworth 2015 Chida & Steptoe 2008 Boehm et al 2015 Kim, Smith & Kubzansky 2014 & 2015 Koelsch et al 2016 Berges, Seale & Ostir 2014 American Psychological Association Yale University WHO – World Health Organization After all, as Rita Ghatourey, an author in India known for her quotes, says, “You don’t stop having fun when you get old, you get old when you stop having fun.” I’m just going to list these benefits here, they are self-explanatory, some with a little overlap but in my opinion still worth including: Improved heart health Lower cortisol = ability to combat stress Stronger immune system Overall healthier lifestyle Can help reduce pain Increased life longevity Better quality sleep Increased creativity Better memory Makes you more likable Improves relationships Makes us smarter Balances hormones if physical activity Makes you more energetic & youthful Of course there are endless ways to have fun. I have listed just a few below to get your creative juices flowing: Games – board, charades Sports Pets Creative projects Picnic, hike Coffee with friends; parties Making money $$$ And Travel! Probably the fastest growing way to have fun, to bring bucket-list experiences and memories into your life, is TRAVEL. And travel also offers us many benefits, many of them similar to the benefits gained by fun and joy, and also scientifically proven: Reduce stress Enhance happiness and satisfaction Stronger immune system Reduce risk of heart attacks Improve creativity Lower risk of depression Increased life longevity Broaden your horizons – new people, cultures, locations, ways of life, languages Reduce prejudice and preconceptions Opportunity to learn about yourself – your tastes, likes, interests, feelings Gain new skills Boost your confidence Create memories Gain friends all over the world Increase gratitude for what you have and where you live So, the conclusions available through this information include: Being happy and joyful and having fun offer many benefits One of the most popular (and growing) ways to have fun and joy is TRAVEL Travel also offers many benefits One way to be able to travel more often for lower cost and hassle is DreamTrips, and you can make money while doing it! DreamTrips is fast becoming the world’s 1 travel membership company and has a 90% retention rate. Here’s a short outline of what’s available through DreamTrips: Business Opportunity Change lives with more fun, travel, and ++ income Incomparable, generous compensation plan $$$ Includes membership and an international trip! Membership Luxury travel and more at unbeatable prices Over 1MM members with 90% retention rate Curated trips in 70+ countries and expanding So, as Hans Christian Andersen once said: “Enjoy life. There is plenty of time to be dead.” Follow me on Facebook, Linkedin and visit my website for more info. Read more from Jayne! Jayne Sanders, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Jayne Sanders is a Travel Ambassador with Dream Trips International. She brings more joy and fun into people’s lives in two ways: 1. By helping them create an additional and lucrative income stream, and 2. By introducing them to more experiences and memories through luxury travel at unbeatable prices. In over 70 countries, Dream Trips is fast becoming the world’s 1 travel membership club and boasts a 90% retention rate – once on a Dream Trip, you’re hooked by their value, safety, experiences and fun! Jayne’s webpage is https://dreamtripsintl.com/jaynesanders, reach her at jayne@purposewhisperer.com.

Written by: Owain Henri Llewellyn Lalanirina Williams, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. “There is nothing more important to any business than sales. Without a sale, nothing else matters.” ‒ Billy Holmes, 1970. That is one of many quotes that you won’t struggle to find which iterates the point. Worldwide – a ridiculously high % of new businesses fail within 2yrs and this has been the case for decades worth of research, but why?! Do a search online and you won’t struggle to find lots of specific reasons why with the majority of sites and articles citing these as some of the main reasons: Lack of business plan Poor mindset Lack of funds Poor marketing Of course, these are valid reasons but all are sub-headings of the main reason……NOT ENOUGH SALES! If you’re about to start a business or your business is under-performing then be honest with yourself…are you completely focused on how to achieve the consistent sales results that’s going to mean your business stays open for… business?! A large % of businesses are set up by technicians or engineers – people who may have built their product & therefore know how it works BUT they’re not salespeople so struggle to understand who they need to target & how they set about doing that. If you’re an engineer or technician, how are you going to overcome this significant hurdle to the short, and long, term success of your business? What are the choices? Try to work it out yourself – yep, there’s a lot of free information out there which can help. It will be challenging trying to work out what information is good, what’s bad and, more importantly, what’s going to work for you! Recruit a salesperson – they’re the professional so will know more about successful selling and should be able to achieve what you can’t. Sure, that’s the ideal outcome as long as you hire the right person and, unfortunately, it’s not as simple as just putting an ad out there and interviewing until you find someone who you think is right. Ask your network of contacts for help – you’ve nothing to lose from doing this so you might as well see who can help you. You might get lucky and have an amazing salesperson as a contact who will give you free advice. If you do, lucky you – don’t look that gift horse in the mouth! Engage a specialist sales adviser who, for an interim period, can consult you on what needs doing and how you can achieve great sales results – clearly there will be an upfront cost to this and, to get the right advice, it won’t be cheap! Some would argue that the upfront cost should be far outweighed by the longer-term gains but, again, it really depends on making the right choice of adviser. Do nothing because your products so good that customers will come to you – erm, if this is genuinely your logic please stop right now before you stand to lose a lot more! You may well have an amazing website, a fantastic product or service, a great culture for customer service and some high calibre staff who are aligned to your plans for the business BUT all of that means nothing if you are not able to consistently sell whatever it is you offer. Making the website better won’t achieve that. Making your product even better won’t achieve that in itself. Building better customer service processes will be a waste of time too… you need to focus on your sales strategy and processes along with engaging someone who knows what they’re talking about and can get you the results you need. Maybe your distrust of salespeople is preventing you from taking action. Well, get ready for some tough love… HOW DO YOU EXPECT YOUR BUSINESS TO SURVIVE LET ALONE THRIVE IF YOU DON’T EMPLOY SOMEONE WHO CAN SELL??!! Maybe you’re like someone who, at the time of me writing this, very recently told me that he was too busy to sort out his business’ under-performing sales department. This guy approached me for help and told me that, if sales didn’t improve, his business would have to downsize significantly within 12mths meaning people would lose their livelihoods! This cartoon comes to mind… Long point short dear reader – as a business owner, you’re entitled to do what you want with your business but when other people’s lives come into play, the game changes. You may well not want to be known as a sales organisation and make your customers feel they’re being sold to which is fine but it still won’t change the fact that, without consistent sales results, your business won’t exist in the future so I ask you again… why isn’t getting it right your absolute priority? Follow me on LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Owain! Owain Henri Llewellyn Lalanirina Williams, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Owain is a Dad, Husband, B2B Sales Professional, food lover, and football player – listed in order of priority! Having worked in sales since 1998, Owain has only ever known life as a salesperson and a leader. Having set up his own consultancy in 2020, Owain now helps his clients to achieve consistently better sales results – whether that's a business owner who needs a sales dept to take the pressure off them to deliver results or whether it's a salesperson who wants to progress their career, Owain's experience helps his clients accelerate their results and avoid making the same mistakes that he has made!