How Writing for Brainz Magazine Helped Me Understand My Story and Might Help You Understand Yours

Written by Beth Jordan, Coach/ Mentor – You and Your Business

Beth Jordan, a woman of adventure and optimism. A businesswoman with over 25 years of experience in the fashion industry, working out of China and India, she is passionate about ensuring all parties involved in her business are treated with honour and integrity. She is now taking her business experience to assist others through coaching, mentoring, and advising, and is equally passionate about helping others achieve their dreams and ambitions.

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Anne Beth Jordan is not just a businesswoman, she is a woman of adventure, optimism, and unstoppable drive. With over 25 years immersed in the fashion industry, navigating the fast-paced worlds of China and India, she has built a reputation for ensuring that honour and integrity guide her values.

Now, she is channelling her hard-won expertise into a new mission, empowering others to break old patterns, unlock their potential, and achieve ambitions they once thought impossible. As a coach, mentor, and adviser, she blends sharp business acumen with deep human insight, guiding leaders and dreamers alike to step boldly into growth.

Her story is one of transformation, and she invites you to make yours the next.

When I began writing for Brainz Magazine, I was simply sharing insights from a long and varied career. What I did not expect was that each article would open a doorway not only into my past, but into a deeper understanding of who I had become.

Writing for an international publication did not just refine my voice. It clarified my identity. It revealed the qualities that had shaped my life for decades, curiosity, courage, reinvention, connection. These were not isolated traits. They were my inner narrative, the bridge between my inner world and the life I created on the outside.

And these qualities are not unique to me. They are universal. They belong to anyone who has ever paused at a crossroads and wondered whether they were capable of more.

Below is the story behind each article and why I believe readers can find themselves reflected in them.

1. How a Young, Inquisitive Entrepreneur Found Herself Trading with Communist China in the 1980s – And Built a Mini Empire in Linens

Published: 18 January 2025.

Writing this piece took me back to a younger version of myself, an untrained businesswoman, a woman who did not yet know the rules of business but trusted her instincts enough to begin.

There was no dramatic hardship. No cinematic struggle. Just a steady willingness to explore.

I remembered travelling to China for the first time, navigating unfamiliar routes from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, taking the ferry down the Pearl River, and stepping into a world of bicycles, factories, and cross-cultural negotiation. I remembered building trust with my Chinese counterparts, without a shared language, and discovering that I was capable of far more than I had imagined.

That part of the story belongs to everyone. Most people wait for confidence before they begin. But confidence is not the starting point.

Curiosity is.

Write down one thing you have been curious about. Take one small step toward it today.

2. The Tango Embrace – A Business Strategy Rooted in Connection, Adaptability, Trust, and Leadership

Published: 30 April 2025

This article allowed me to bring together two worlds that shaped me, business and Argentine tango, a dance that helped me reconnect with a part of myself I had neglected, a part of myself that helped me redefine my business.

Tango is not about steps. It is about presence. It is the moment you place your hand on someone’s back, breathe, and choose to trust. It is listening with your whole body, responding rather than reacting, adapting instead of forcing. Tango taught me how to connect with strangers, how to lead with generosity, and how to follow without losing myself.

It taught me something essential about leadership. Leadership is not a performance. It is a relationship - and it begins with the relationship within ourselves, to ourselves. Learning to relate to ourselves, understanding who and what we are, and what we want to be.

Tango taught me how to reconnect with myself, my clients, my suppliers, and the essence of my business.

Choose one relationship in your life and bring more presence to your next interaction.

3. The Biscuit Effect – Why Comfort Keeps Us Stuck, and How to Move Forward

Published: 25 November.

This was the most revealing piece because it explored the small comforts we all cling to, the ones that feel harmless but quietly keep us stuck. I was not really talking about biscuits.

I was talking about the ways we avoid our own potential:

• The extra hour scrolling

• The project we keep postponing

• The conversation we avoid

• The dream we shrink from

We all have our “one more biscuit” moment. Mine were often the MacVitie’s Digestive type familiar, comforting, and deceptively small. A ‘one more biscuit’ habit of needing a crutch, a taste, a comforting moment that kept me stranded. But comfort has a cost.

Writing this article helped me see the patterns that kept me safe but small. It helped me understand something universal, "People do not fear failure. They fear expansion." Because expansion asks us to let go of who we were and step into who we could be.

4. Procrastination, Burnout, and the Email That Changed Everything

This interview article was the moment everything came together. Speaking openly about burnout and procrastination was not easy, but it was necessary. These experiences are not signs of weakness. They are signs of misalignment.

Burnout happens when the life we are living no longer matches the life we are meant to live.

Procrastination happens when our soul knows the next step, but our fear keeps us manacled.

And sometimes, all it takes is one unexpected email, one moment of recognition, to remind us that our story is not finished. Your life can change in a moment. But only if you are willing to answer the call.

Identify one area where you have been procrastinating out of fear. Write down the smallest possible next step. Take it today.

Why this journey matters, for you

Writing for Brainz Magazine did not just help me understand my own story. It helped me understand the universal story:

• We all underestimate ourselves.

• We all cling to comfort.

• We all long for connection.

• We all fear change, even when we crave it.

• And we all reach a moment when life asks us to step forward.

These articles were not only about my journey. They were about our human journey. If there is one message I hope readers take away, it is this:

• You are allowed to rewrite your story. You are allowed to reinvent yourself.

• You are allowed to expand beyond the life you have outgrown.

• Your next chapter is waiting, not when you feel ready, but when you feel willing.

If something in this article stirred a recognition or a desire for more clarity, more confidence, deeper connection, or renewed curiosity, either for your business development or for your own personal development, you do not have to explore that alone.

I offer 1:1 coaching and mentoring for those ready to step into their next story, reinvent themselves, or step into a new vision for their business and life.

Connect with me on LinkedIn to begin, or email me at jordanabcoaching@gmail.com

Follow me on Facebook for more info!

Read more from Beth Jordan

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Beth Jordan, Coach/ Mentor – You and Your Business

Anne Beth Jordan embarked on her entrepreneurial journey in China during its early days of global reintegration. Her immersive experiences with diverse cultures have deepened her expertise in international trade and relations. Now, she leverages this rich background in her coaching and mentoring business, offering tailored professional development for CEOs and key management, as well as personal and leadership growth for individuals. Her mission – her belief that each person is unique, and so is her approach to every client.