Written by: Traci Philips, 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 2010, I was doing a talk and a man approached me to discuss coaching. Apparently, he had done his homework; checked out my website, my credentials and client testimonials. He told me he was impressed with my work. "I'd like to chat with you after your presentation," he said. "I'm in the market for a coach, and I am looking forward to knowing more about you face-to-face." Afterwards, the man came up to me again with an outstretched arm holding a business card. "I've chosen not to work with you," he said. "Give me a call if you'd like to learn why." He smiled and walked away. And that was that. Okay, you know those moments in life where you can feel you are being given a chance to learn something very large and profound? The hard challenge that provides the kind of development that you just cannot get any other way. Your brain gets all jumbled up and there is simply no other way to look at things? Well, that was one of those moments for me. In that brief instant, I knew I had a choice to learn and grow or, well, frankly, not to. I could, it seemed, embrace this awkward moment with resiliency and vulnerability, or I could just turn away. The adventurer in me could sense the call of discomfort... okay, here we go, it seemed to say! I chose to meet the unknown. The scary monster that threatened my ego and my feelings of safety in the world. The same monster that would force me to step outside of my comfort zone and grow. Now, don't get me wrong, my Ego had to have its say, too. It wasn't about to back down without some major resistance. And so I railed in my head (and probably out loud, as well) during my 35-minute car ride home. I allowed my Ego its full say... to attack full throttle. "Who the $%&# does he think he is??!!" "I mean, who DOES that??!!" "I'm sure this guy is just attempting to project some major insecurities on me!" "What an ass!" For a little while I felt protected in my righteousness, but I could not, however, get away from that deep, inner nagging. The communication that was rising to the surface telling me... there's something there. There is a gift in this if you allow it. If you test your boundaries, capacity, the need to look good and be safe, sure and right. That damn adventurer again! Hmmm... ALLOW... This word is often met with resistance by many a person with whom I've had the honor to work. Our culture makes it tough for us to allow. It sounds, well, too damn doormat-like to our conditioned minds. We are taught to do, make, fix. Action, action, action brings us what we want in life! Allowing, in our get-it-done world is just so ambiguous. I mean, what the heck are we supposed to do with that? Where are the delineating lines? What do we hang our hat on? In the energies of yin/yang, allowing is the feminine yin, while action orientation is the masculine yang. Another way to look at these energies is by addressing the characteristics of the heart and those of the head. From the beginning of time, humans have valued their intellectual abilities, especially, where they have set us "above and beyond" other animal species. Our capacity for reason and free will that exceeds the control of our instincts has been prized in numerous ways. I would argue, however, that it has also led us tremendously astray. To question our intuitive and instinctual powers and second guess what our hearts tell us... has this been a practice that truly serves us? A week after the interaction with the man who chose not to work with me (as family members referred to him), I sat across a café table from him with a cup of coffee in my hands. "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me," I began. "It takes courage," he replied, "to do what you are doing." I smiled. "That's me, " I said. "Courage is not something I lack." You know French, I understand," he replied. Again, I smiled. "I do." "Then, you know that the French word coeur means heart and that is where we get the word courage. Leading from the heart." "Yes," I said, simply. "Well," he began, "this is the ironic reason why I have chosen not to work with you. In the way you meet the world, it appears, your heart is not open. If I am to work with someone who can support me to the next level, this person must see and be seen through the heart." His words shot right through me. Like an arrow into my skull. Not from a place of wounding (well, maybe a little). But more from a place of truth. In that moment, I didn't know why or how, but I did know he was right. He continued. "I have studied with great masters around the world, and at the age of 65, there is one thing I know for sure. The only way in which we truly connect is through the heart." I sat for a good, long while, looking into his eyes. Finally, I nodded and he spoke again. "We have been conditioned to believe that it is the head that connects us. Through our ability to communicate our reasoning, we achieve connection." "I watched you, my dear. You are in your head. Although your smile shows warmth, you have an air of cool calculation. You have rationalized what works and what does not to the nth degree. Your look, your posture, your movements... perfect. Everything you said during your talk was, well, bred from a focus on perfection. You are very well spoken and quick. During the Q & A, your answers were intellectually impressive, but I had a hard time, even with your wonderful humor, to catch a glimpse of the human. She's there, you just appear to be afraid to allow her to be seen." At that point, my human came forward and the tears fell. I looked at the man silently. He gently took my hands. "Sweet girl, you are human and you do have a heart. Otherwise, you wouldn't have all that capacity for courage." He smiled. "You just need to awaken your heart and learn to trust it, too. Like you do your head." I don't know about you, but I believe in angels on Earth. I knew, then, I had been lucky enough to earn a visit and assistance from one. This angel had kind eyes and a heart wide open for all to see. "So?" my husband asked when I returned home. "How did it go? Did you change his mind?" "Nope, but he changed mine, " I replied. I told him about the meeting. "So now what?" he asked. "I'm going on a heart-opening journey," I responded, simply. "What does that mean? What are you going to do?" he asked. "I have no idea," I answered honestly. What I can say, now, looking back over the years since I first embarked on this heart journey is that the power of intention is real. I have had opportunities and experiences that allowed me to learn, first hand, what it means to be led by the heart. What it means to tell the real truth about who I am and how I feel. I have truly felt emotions that I had otherwise just rationalized. I have come to know both joy and sorrow in a very different way... the way I was meant to experience them. I have reconnected with depths of my humanness and feel so much more whole and alive for it. Of course, it takes both head and heart to be a completely functioning person. Yin without Yang would be but half of an entire whole. Yet, what I have learned has been, perhaps, the most valuable lesson of my life. It has allowed me to celebrate my heart in a whole, new way! Want to learn more from Traci? Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin or visit her website. Read more from Traci! Traci Philips, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine As an Executive Leadership & Performance Strategist, Traci Philips supports visionary business owners and corporate executives to learn and practice better communication, resolution strategies, decision-making, and leading during times of change and when the stakes are high. A three-year stint co-facilitating a men's transformational program for industry leaders incarcerated in Federal Prison taught Traci more than she could ever have learned elsewhere about high-stakes leadership and the cost of bad decision-making. This experience fueled a passion in her to help top leaders learn what they needed to know so they wouldn't end up losing what matters most. Her ultimate goal is to support her clients to live authentically and lead powerfully by creating more awareness about who they are, how they want to be seen, and what legacy they want to leave behind. Traci is the co-host of Eavesdrop in the Moment, a bi-weekly podcast that discusses current trends and leadership. Her book, Looking In: Discover, Define and Align the True Value of Your Life, Leadership and Legacy is helping leaders around the globe increase their confidence and self-identity to meet leadership demands and their personal performance potential.

Sally is uniquely world-experienced in building resilience, emotional fitness, and quality sustainable practices in leadership. Her experience across multiple countries leading high-performing teams in high-pressure outlying remote environments has amplified her ability to know what it takes to connect a conscious leader to their team, with outstanding results. Having spent decades on diverse projects in every climate imaginable, Sally discovered the critical aspects of authentic leadership and team alignment. She has now blended research-based, proven methodology with her pragmatic approach and ability to 'be herself' to create the transformative Align & Shine program. There, she guides formerly flustered, confused, and internally insecure leaders, to tap into their true classic selves, without the need to conform to outside pressures, helping them become bold, present, courageous, and energized leaders who genuinely connect with their team AND their business. Sally is co-author of Resilience in Leadership, Pt 1 of the book series, leader of both community and international hardship projects, and accredited in scientifically proven Human Behavioural Profiling and Meta Dynamics ' thinking-based methodology, adding to her Practitioner of Coaching credentials. Most importantly though, Sally, Founder of Team Resilience Method, is now on a mission to show striving leaders how to shine, gain clarity and create a ripple of positive change, from the inside out. Sally Higoe, Leadership Coach Please tell us a bit about you and your life and why you do what you do... we’d like to get to know you better. I’m an only child who grew up with a supportive and encouraging single mum. After completing tertiary education, I spent many years living for me and seeking adventure – from humble beginnings waitressing in 5-star establishments to managing chalets in the Alps, a hotel in Canada, interiors of super yachts, personal assistant to a billionaire and then managing a remote luxury establishment in western Australia. Always wanting to do something for me. I’d worked for many Companies in many leadership roles, travelled and worked around the world for over a decade- & felt like I had a good grasp on life, what’s important and what would make me happy. In a lot of my roles, I felt stifled, and what’s always stood out for me and something that I’ve always been lucky enough to notice is that I know me, who I am, my strengths and stretches and I’m happiest when I’m being me. I love leading teams, bringing them together and sharing knowledge with others on how they can be the all-round best version of themselves so they can create space for others also to shine. So I wanted to share with other people how they could also do that. The world is a better place when people are being true to themselves... they’re more open, more forgiving and kind and less judgemental - & this promotes creativity and support and light-heartedness - & that’s what I want my children to be surrounded by (I have two gorgeous kiddies by the way – Miss 8 & Mr 10). That’s the world I want them to live in. So I ventured out on my own to help others discover their greatness, their unique individual self, their place in the world, and dove headfirst into coaching – enrolling in a Master of Coaching. What is your business name and how do you help your clients? My business is Team Resilience Method and I help responsive leaders find their voice and understand their strengths so that they can use all of this to reach their full potential. My programs for both leadership and team development specifically help leaders find their authentic groove to create a world-class culture that’s sustainable and builds longevity. I’ve developed a powerful model that builds the 4 key dimensions of critical business success into the 3 pillars of focus. The 3 pillars are: Self-Awareness A deep self-awareness is an essential trait to build- & it will help you understand your emotions, your needs & habits, what you truly value and how all this affects your actions. We can then pinpoint how you really want to feel on a daily basis and how your goals relate to those feelings. I use Behavioural Profiling and the Emotional Fitness Formula to ensure my clients have high self-awareness and are comfortable leaning in to uncertainty. Communication Communication refers to both internally, with yourself and externally with others. We achieve this by looking at the states of being that have produced your results so far, your mindset strategies and who you’ll need to be, to reach your goals – we do this with behavioural profiling (and this can include a cross section of the team profiling) to gain an in-depth understanding of why miscommunication is happening and the exact form of communication that each person prefers and uses and to improve it with each other. Trust Trust is developed through self-awareness and healthy communication which builds confidence and respect. It is also created by implementing effective and purposeful systems, goals, guidelines, and structure. We bring in the right systems – and ONLY the ones that are needed. Who and what inspires you and your work to be the best that you can be? I believe culture is changed and created through relationships. If we can improve the culture in which we live – that is the feel of a place - then there is a ripple of ongoing positive affects across all areas of our life. And even if we are solo entrepreneurs, we still have a culture in our business. It’s the social norms and behaviours that we adopt most regularly - that is the culture of a one man show. I believe it’s about the right to be unique. Without the pressure to conform to society’s expectations. Acceptance in others will increase self-acceptance – or vice-versa... it doesn’t matter which comes first. When you can accept that everyone’s different, you give yourself permission to own who you are – to tap into your own uniqueness and embrace it – own and love it. And I’ve certainly noticed that when a person can do this, others find it very admirable. It; lowers judgement, increases respect opens the mind to new ideas which create opportunities improves self-confidence and trust helps you make better decisions – be more objective And when you really get that you can’t force others to feel or think the same, you naturally become more peaceful and calmer – this is attractive to others, and again, leaves you open for new ideas and actually better health as well. This belief is what inspires me. How do you stay motivated? For me it’s all the things I just mentioned. Balancing it so I feel fulfilled, this gives me motivation. We all have different needs, different things that motivate us so it’s a matter of working out what it is for you – depending on your dominant behaviour type and what you value most - so it’s really important to discover that about yourself so you can attend your own needs, fill your love bucket, and meet your personal needs. When you’ve mastered this, you don’t need motivation... you have inspiration If you could share one message with our readers, what would it be? There are so many factors that test the way we respond in life. There are so many times when you have to lean in, when you may fall, when you have to get up, when you have to try again. …When you can see and accept that, half the battle is won. These same factors are also opportunities. Opportunities to prove that you can trust and rely on yourself. …You simply have to look out for them and bring awareness to them. So along with a focus on trust, learning very clearly first-hand the importance of self-awareness is imperative. Through being self-aware, and consistently finding ways to build trust within yourself, you are also building your muscle of resilience...and I believe, this will help you get anywhere! "The best way to predict the future is to create it” ‒ Peter Drucker Follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Sally!

Written by: Jeff B. Miller, 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. Warning, this article comes from a Christian perspective, but it will not be anything you’ve heard before in church. You are experiencing one or both of these vicious phenomena: You are not as successful as you thought you’d be. You are successful, but you don’t feel that you are. I’d like to offer a reason for why this may be–-a reason and a solution: You don’t know what it means to be a human, and because of that, you don’t know how to know your purpose. Since you don’t know your purpose, you aren’t sure what you should be doing, and anything you are putting effort into, you are worried that it’s the wrong thing. Here’s another likely truth: You only have the barometer of what others are doing and what people think about you to know if you’re making it. The insatiable need for external validation is draining your life. This is a trap. It’s a myth that it matters what anyone else says. Your worth is both objective and subjective. It’s objective in the marketplace. You either have the skills to pay the bills or you don’t. The beautiful thing about this is that almost anything you need to learn, you can learn. But it's also subjective, because certain skills only matter in certain contexts. I was an opera singer, and I think I have a pretty good singing voice. It just so happens that in my ghostwriting business, nobody cares about my singing voice. And why should they? That’s a subjective skill, valuable to some, but not to others. But how does this truth make a difference when trying to answer the question "why am I failing?" The blame lies with my Christian worldview. I don’t mean a true Christian worldview, but a skewed one coming from the world of Churchianity. That version, which is not all bad, comes with a hefty dose of contradictions. Tim Keller, beloved pastor and author, says this in his The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness: “the problem with self-esteem – whether it is high or low – is that, every single day, we are in the courtroom.” I bring this up, because this is a common and mostly true opinion held by Christians. Keller’s work revolves around helping Christians apply the truth of the gospel to our lives. What he is saying is that understanding that God has done everything to accept you and loves you based on your transformation to a new creation in Christ (paid for by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross), you no longer need to measure yourself by anything you do. “Every single day we are in the courtroom.” But I would say that he is only partially right. It is gloriously true that our identity is in Christ. But he is misapplying it, because even when we accept this wonderful news, we are still in the courtroom “every single day.” “How is this supposed to make me not feel like a failure?” It’s not. That is, if you’re failing, I can’t help you not feel like a failure. I can only help you succeed. How? By showing you that what Keller is wrong about is his view of following God. He views it as a duty, at least regarding this statement. He would say that “because we are accepted, we will obey God.” True, but why? Keller is like all Christians I know, duty-bound to God. We obey God because of what he has done for us, because we love him, and because he says so. But I’d say that’s incomplete (while true). We obey God also because God’s ways, the righteousness he calls us to, are in alignment with the principles that govern the world. Morality is a code of conduct based on how the world is. For instance, You must “love your neighbor as yourself.” This is profound. It means you must love people, all people, yourself included. It means you cannot say you love others if you don’t love yourself. You cannot say you love yourself if you don’t love others. This is causality at work. Not duty. To quote Ayn Rand on this (yes, I know she was an atheist): Life or death is man’s only fundamental alternative. To live is his basic act of choice. If he chooses to live, a rational ethics will tell him what principles of action are required to implement his choice. If he does not choose to live, nature will take its course. Reality confronts man with a great many “musts,” but all of them are conditional; the formula of realistic necessity is: “You must, if—” and the “if” stands for man’s choice: “—if you want to achieve a certain goal.” You must eat, if you want to survive. You must work, if you want to eat. You must think, if you want to work. You must look at reality, if you want to think—if you want to know what to do—if you want to know what goals to choose—if you want to know how to achieve them. In order to make the choices required to achieve his goals, a man needs the constant, automatized awareness of the principle which the anti-concept “duty” has all but obliterated in his mind: the principle of causality—specifically, of Aristotelian final causation (which, in fact, applies only to a conscious being), i.e., the process by which an end determines the means, i.e., the process of choosing a goal and taking the actions necessary to achieve it. In a rational ethics, it is causality—not “duty”—that serves as the guiding principle in considering, evaluating and choosing one’s actions, particularly those necessary to achieve a long-range goal. Following this principle, a man does not act without knowing the purpose of his action. In choosing a goal, he considers the means required to achieve it, he weighs the value of the goal against the difficulties of the means and against the full, hierarchical context of all his other values and goals. He does not demand the impossible of himself, and he does not decide too easily which things are impossible. He never drops the context of the knowledge available to him, and never evades reality, realizing fully that his goal will not be granted to him by any power other than his own action, and, should he evade, it is not some Kantian authority that he would be cheating, but himself . . . . A disciple of causation is profoundly dedicated to his values, knowing that he is able to achieve them. (Philosophy Who Needs It p.98) If you’re still here, consider one of the last lines: “it is not some Kantian authority that he would be cheating, but himself.” Kant was the one, if I can oversimplify, who said anything we do that benefits us in any way is immoral. This is nonsense and has screwed up the world’s population since we swallowed it. This “Kantian authority” would be God in our example. It’s not God “that we would be cheating, but ourselves.” So, what about failure? One of two things is happening in your life. You are either failing to achieve the goal you have set for yourself, in which case you are failing, or you have not failed, but because you are duty bound, the standard is impossible to reach. It is an infinitely high bar, a goal post that keeps moving. I don’t judge my self based on a failure to achieve a goal except by objectively saying, “I failed to achieve the goal.” Then I ask, “was it the right goal?” “Did I try my best?” “Can I still achieve it?” “What have I learned from the failure?” The Power of I Am “I Am” is the statement that “I exist.” What did Rand say? “Life or death is the fundamental alternative” and “a basic act of choice.” Because I exist, I am, I must choose existence. With Hamlet, I have to consider, “to be or not to be.” He’s right, that is the question. That is always the question. If I am to be, then I must act accordingly by seeking God and his laws, which are all causal. He is saying, “Here’s how to live and not die.” God has said this from the beginning. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live. (Deut 30:19 ESV) “The wages of sin is death” (Ro 6:23). Sin is ignoring the path of life, the path of causality according to God’s design. If you put down the duty-bound standard of infinite perfection when you judge yourself, you will begin to think objectively. You may fail, but you will not consider your very Self as a failure. You will, in fact, constantly succeed in the things that are achievable. Once you begin to feel you have the power to do things, you will feel the stability of the fact of your existence. You will feel your agency. You will begin to accomplish everything you want to accomplish, so long as it is rational and possible. You will not feel like a failure, even when you are failing, because all such failure is temporary on the road to success. You have been created to succeed, and even failure is acceptable to your creator. The man with one talent was rebuked, not for failing to win, but failing to dare and try. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Jeff! Jeff B. Miller, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Jeff B. Miller has written hundreds of books as a ghostwriter and has begun to put his name on some things. He writes about faith, the agency we have as individuals with choices, and power we have to create our worlds through stewardship and owning our judgments. With a unique approach, JB helps clients and readers eradicate people pleasing, imposter syndrome, and makes them bullet proof to those who would abuse them or seek control of their life and choices.

Written by: Julia Akinyooye RN MSN, 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 healthcare industry has been booming whether you are in the healthcare provider services space, healthcare technology, or healthcare service-based industry. Starting your own home care agency is a essential service-based business that has consistently been in demand, can be very lucrative, and gives great satisfaction. Home care is a service provided to the ill at home. It can be provided short-term or long-term. It can consist of medical or non-medical care. You do not need to be a healthcare professional to start this type of business. According to Forbes, "the industry with the highest projected job growth is a home health and personal care, the home health and personal care industry is expected to see the highest growth". Furthermore, "Over the next decade, it is estimated to see an increase at the astronomical rate of 924%. ² This reveals projected growth within the home health and personal care industries, which is slated to increase in demand given the fact that the aging population is growing disproportionately larger ⁴ than the younger generations". The average gross profit margin in this type of business is a whopping 35% percent with the lowest at 30% and the highest at 40% making it profitable and scalable. Let's take this example of a 100-patient agency’s revenue by year 1 (slow and steady/about 8-9 patients a month) can equal 1 million in Revenue; no wonder why home care business owners and entrepreneurs are saying it's one of the best businesses to start in 2023! What does operating a home care agency/senior care business look like? Let's dive in, shall we? Home care Entrepreneurs and or the team they hire offer and coordinate services to the public which can include personal care, dressing, bathing, toileting, transferring, feeding, preparing meals, shopping, and attending doctors' appointments to wound care, medication management, footcare and so forth. Why is home care deemed an essential business, and why is it needed? Home care is becoming more popular as seniors that are aging prefer to age at home and require care, and individuals recovering from short-term surgery, rehab, or chronic illnesses prefer to recover at home and sometimes discretely. It's needed because of The rise in baby boomers which makes this a feasible business The Increase in chronic disease alternatives in health care Who are potential customers for my home care agency? Not only the sick and fragile but children, motor vehicle accident victims, chronic and short-term disabled, post-surgery, adults, pediatric, mother/ baby. Who will provide the care in my home care agency? Depending on your state and which type of agency you would like to start, it ranges from Nurses & Home Health Aides/Caregivers to skilled services like Skilled Nurses, Physical Therapists, Speech Therapists, and Occupational Therapists. Who are possible referral sources for my home care business? Doctors Social Workers/ Case Managers Nurses Hospitals/ Nursing Homes/ Rehabilitation Centers Government Agencies Certified Home Health Agencies Corporations/ Community/Friends Advertising agencies Online Who pays for home care services? Insurances example Medicaid/ Medicare Supplemental Insurance Workers Compensation Long-Term Care Insurance Patient self-pay/Family/Trusts Charity Care Who may be on staff at my home care agency? Owner/ Administrator Nurses Home Health Aide Billing/Bookkeeper Human Resources Administrative Assistant Scheduler/On-Call Coordinator Marketers Who will be my competitors? Home Care is greatly fragmented with large and small operators; few barriers to entry and increase demand makes it a viable business. How can I differentiate my home care business? Provide high-quality service/reputation/responsiveness, fast service Star ratings quality control/customer experience and satisfaction Satisfaction rate 90% employee and patients Niche-based care Preferred connected partners and insurance companies Technology-savvy agency New healthcare innovations Target location, language-specific Strong training, recruitment, and retention Obtain Accreditation Who can I market my home care business to? Physician networks Healthcare Facilities Doctors' offices Senior Center/Social/Medical Day Programs Senior Services and Social Service Agencies Elder Care Attorneys Newspaper TV/Radio ads Word of Mouth/ Networking Articles/Blogs/Newsletter/Mailers/Social Presence Hosting Community Events/Support groups Eldercare Resources and Consulting Services Key influencers (community & social media) Things to consider about starting your home care agency Expandable business model Rapidly growing industry according to the census bureau in 2015 percentage of the elder over 65 was 12% will increase to 16% in 2020 and 20%by 2050 10,000 baby boomers a day turn 65 By 2030 there will be over 70 million over the age of 65 Financial implications/pricing and bottom line of starting your home care agency Example, Home Care Services Caregiver rate is billed at $30 per hour x 40 hours a week= $1200/week x 52 weeks= $63,400k annual Revenue for 1 patient. Caregiver paid on average $20/hour- company profit $10/hour- $20,800 estimated at the low end of the profit margin What exactly do I need to start a home care business? An experienced home care business consultant and startup capital Startup funds Office space and office supplies (computers, fax, phone, internet, supplies, filing cabinets) (some states allow you to operate as a home-based business-like, Pennsylvania and New Jersey) Workers' compensation General/Professional Liability Unemployment tax How can I help you start up your home care business? I provide a premium full-service startup package - Everything you need to turn-key on your new business! I make the process seamless! I provide a full business startup. I will file your business with the proper documentation and take care of all your business essentials, including the initial home care licensure application from your state. I provide you with customized home care agency policies and procedures, home care agency forms you will need to operate your business I will apply for your home care license I will provide custom home care executive administrative training and office setup for a smooth transition from entrepreneur to home care business CEO and help you further understand home care fundamentals which are essential for running and operating your home care business You’ll receive guidance from an expert home care business consultant You’ll get a cost-effective startup bundle deal and I am always here for any continued needs. Why is starting a home care business the best business to start in 2023? It is a multi-billion-dollar industry with great profit margins You will have a booming business to hand down to generations Home care businesses provide a well-needed service-based business To find more information about running your own home care business and eliminate confusion in the process of building a home care agency contact Emmanuel Consulting Agency Inc at www.emmanuelconsultingteam.com Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Youtube, or visit my website for more info! Read more from Julia! Julia Akinyooye RN MSN, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Julia Akinyooye is the Chief Operating Officer at Emmanuel Consulting Agency Inc, a premium home care business consulting firm based in New York. Julia is a masters prepared professional Registered Nurse with over 15 years of experience serving the home care community as an operational consultant, former homecare business owner, & serial entrepreneur. Her mission is to provide homecare entrepreneurs, start-ups, & established businesses with premium training & education to ensure compliance with state regulations. She has developed & implemented frameworks & strategies to set owners up for success through hands-on execution of all necessary business tools to ensure a seamless & efficient run of business. References: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/small-business-statistics/ https://www.homecareanswers.com/BlogPost/18/Are%20Home%20Health%20Care%20Agencies%20Profitable%3F%20%20:~:text=The%20average%20gross%20margin%20is%2036.5%25. https://rosemarksystem.com/blog/calculate-margins-home-care-business/:~:text=There%20was%20a%20time%20when,fairly%20typical%20for%20the%20industry.

Written by: Tracey Sofra, 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. So, my favourite brand KAREN MILLEN emails me with a CLOSING DOWN SALE up to 75% off, and immediately my heart starts racing and I get a bit excited, to say the least. Filled with excitement and anticipation, I head off to the local DFO which is an outlet for those of you who don’t know, and its mayhem, women everywhere. As I’d already made a few purchases I had a few bags in my hand and now I was faced with the exhausting but exciting task of fossicking through each rack to find my little gems at less than a quarter of the price, I am up for the challenge. HELL YEAH! Let me tell you the desire to get a bargain far outweighs the pain in my arms as I continue to look through each and every item, hoping to find my size. Oh, and by the way, all the other women are trying to do the same thing so a bit busy and pushy, to say the least, but I am not deterred, I do not lose focus of my vision and goal, that is to buy every item I can at the best price ever. I can feel the weight of my shopping bags cut into my arm but I don’t care, hey this is the bargain of the century and I do love a bargain especially when it comes to such high brands as Karen Millen. I finally make it to the lineup for the change rooms and notice that one of the girls is frantically trying everything on outside the change rooms in a corner, she isn’t shy and is really comfortable going through each item and chatting to those around her. Immediately I join the conversation, I love this sort of comradery between women, this is when we bond and join in as one for the ultimate goal and that is to encourage each other to BUY. Might I mention that at this point in time, my girlfriend looked at the lineup and asked the BIG question “Do we really need these clothes this badly” to which I responded “YES!!!” Probably should have been “IS THAT A TRICK QUESTION!!!” It's interesting to note that throughout this conversation we support each other with comments such as; “oh, for that price you’re mad not to buy it”, “don't stress you will lose those few kilos”, “it’s not too tight it looks amazing”, “where would I wear this, I don’t have an occasion at the moment?” To which we all reply “for that price just buy it there will be an occasion and then you will be sorry if you don’t”. The encouragement and bonding are intense and we are all hyped up to a point of purchase frenzy, you know, the I have to have it type. Then the conversation turned to money; “when my husband sees the credit card, he’ll ask me why I spent so much”. The creativity in the explanations is funny and the right to spend is clear, this is where I start thinking about their financial reality. Wouldn’t it be lovely to spend without guilt, to spend without permission, and to spend without compromising your life now and in the future? To have the confidence to proceed and know that it’s OK to do so. If your answer is HELL YEAH then it’s time to take stock of where you are in your financial life right now. How confident are you with your money and making financial decisions that impact you daily? How confident are you about having enough for your future self? You know she is waiting for you, yes she is, make no mistake about that. I believe as women of the 21st century we are smart, savvy, resourceful, and resilient and we can do anything we put our minds to, so I challenge you to take the bull by the horns and become financially confident so you can make your own financial decisions to live a life of choice. I'm Tracey Sofra and I believe women should take control of their money and create the financial independence they deserve to live a life of choice. If you are ready to take the next step in your journey to living a life of choice take the Financial Confidence Quiz and find out how you score to move forward in your financial life. GET YOUR SCORE NOW! Tracey Sofra is Australia’s leading Financial Advisor specialising in Women’s Financial Confidence. As a Business Leader, Mentor, Financial Advisor, Author, Speaker, and Mum, for over three decades Tracey has shared her proven method for shifting mindsets and the limits to financial success for thousands of women. Her passion around financial freedom is infectious leaving you inspired to challenge the status quo, build confidence and create change. To enquire about her working with you or your organisation please contact us at info@wowwomen.com.au Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Tracey! Tracey Sofra, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Tracey Sofra, is Australia’s leading Financial Advisor specialising in Women’s Financial Confidence. As a Business Leader, Mentor, Financial Advisor, Author, Speaker and Mum, for over three decades Tracey has shared her proven method for shifting mindsets and the limits to financial success for thousands of women. Her passion around financial freedom is infectious leaving you inspired to challenge the status quo, build confidence and create change. Tracey is dedicated to Investing in Women's Empowerment across the globe as part of a greater social impact across the UN Sustainability Goals.

Written by: Christelle Soto-Suarez , 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. Do you ever look back at the early stage of your professional life, and think about the “things” you should have done, about the things you could have done better, or earlier? Well, I do… and I’m looking forward to writing a couple of articles on these topics which, I hope, will empower (even if only a little) young professionals to consider these actions and to see how they can adapt them to their own situation – and I’m especially thinking of young women at the beginning of a career in STEM/construction… But before looking at the “should have” and “could have”, I want to look at the “I’m glad I did” these “things” because they helped me, supported me, empowered me along my professional (and personal) journey! First, what brought me to do these “things”? The main reason that pushed me was the “wanting” to design, build and lead MY life based on “ who I was ” and “ who I wanted to be ”, as far as possible… Of course, “who I was” and “who I wanted to be” evolved with time… but the “wanting to design, build and lead MY life” has always been, and still is, present! What about the “as far as possible”? Well, we all have to deal with circumstances – but each of us deals with them in different ways. While one circumstance is easily overcome by one person, it can be an unsurmountable obstacle for someone else, or it may not be worth dealing with for another person… Next, how did I do these “things”? I’m not talking about the actual doing… I’m talking about the “mental state” I went through before and during the doing… I’m probably not the only one… But I often feel conflicted between what I need to do to become who I want to be… and enjoying a peaceful, smooth and comfortable life… I called this my “internal contradiction”… And my “internal contradiction” voices have recurrent, lengthy, argued conversations in my head… The decisive factor, for me, is the weight of “what I want” against the impact of the actions necessary to get this "what I want" in my life… What am I ready to do, or not? What am I prepared to lose, to say “no” to? Am I willing to be uncomfortable? Sometimes the answer is “yes, I am”, sometimes the answer is “no, I’m not” or “no, not yet”… Just having these conversations is uncomfortable, exhausting, sometimes stressful… but I always go back to “how much do I want this?”… Finally, what do I get out of doing these "things"? When the “thing” goes relatively well – that is, not putting me in a too uncomfortable situation – and the result is quite close to “what I wanted”, I get satisfaction, fulfillment, a great experience to build on, a pleasant adventure, happiness… I get to progress in designing, building, and leading MY life… However, the “thing” doesn’t always go smoothly… There are often unexpected circumstances, challenges, obstacles that appear along the way… I believe it’s called “Life”! If the result is still quite close to “what I wanted”, then, it was worth it: I may have had some very low and difficult moments, some that I would prefer not to encounter again, but at least I still get to progress in designing, building and leading MY life… It’s another story when the result is not at all “what I wanted”… Of course, there’s a lot of pain, regrets, remorse… but, as we say in coaching, those are the moments when we learn the most about ourselves, about how to do something, about how things work… It’s just that it can take a long time before seeing the “learning” from the experience… And now, let’s look at these “things” I’m glad I did… Moving away from home for formal education, further and further away… For me, education was always the main pillar to having a different life from my parents (although there is nothing wrong with their life!)… but I was living in the countryside... So, to get the formal education I wanted, I ended up: Going to boarding school at 15; Going to college in a “big city” a couple of hours away at 18; and Jumping on the opportunity to continue my studies in the UK. These experiences were a great introduction to “adult life”, step by step rather than everything at once… but it would have been “easier” to stick to mainstream education and avoid boarding school, to look at what higher education was available in the nearby town… Not waiting for someone to “discover” me … Especially if you and your family don’t know anyone who could open doors for you or who looks like you, and don’t have the finances to sustain a “wait and see” approach. Instead, practice keeping your eyes open for opportunities – for me, this included: The opportunity to study in the UK, thanks to some kind of partnership between my college in France and British universities, and additional financial support from the local government – this was the door to a potential international career! Taking my first proper job with a company doing fiber optic networks (a novelty at the time), which I knew nothing about – but was allowing me to be involved in a project at the negotiation stage, with new technology, in a great city (Paris!), in a bilingual environment! Noticing that parts of the work I was doing, and really enjoyed, were actually “specialties” one could specialize in, become experts, often getting a better salary. For example, I went from project management (quite broad) to specializing in delay analysis and then in contract and claim management. Realizing that I had to create my own network It’s relatively easy to move into an existing group (network) if you change "who you are" to “fit in”… But what are the consequences for you if you end up changing a lot of "who you are"? Circumstances taught me this lesson quite early on: I realized that I wasn’t prepared to change too much of “who I was” to “fit in”… and I also realized that I liked to be with people different from me. Thankfully, both my education and early professional journeys allowed me to meet people from all over the place… but it also meant that I often was one of the few, if not the only one: as a woman in construction, as a French person in a multicultural team, as a non-native English speaker… Of course, I had to integrate enough to be part of the team… But that environment also “forced” me to create my own diverse “bubble” of closer connections, in part because there were no existing obvious groups for me to join, and also because there was so much diversity that groups were created based on connections between people rather than similarities... Exploring and experimenting This sounds exciting at first, but then comes the anxiety… of doing something without knowing how it would end… But this is such a great way to learn about ourselves, about what's possible, as well as building up a professional profile that is different from others in your line of work! For example: Saying “Yes” to an opportunity to work in an industry I didn’t know (like fiber optic networks) or in an unusual place (spending 1 year on a construction site in Gibraltar); Packing up everything, moving to another country, learning the language, and looking for a job there; Taking the time to listen to the experiences of people around me – even if I thought their stories were from another time! Understanding what I wanted from my career I always had a good idea of what I wanted in priority : a good salary of course, doing work that I generally like, having multiple experiences rather than aiming at one of the most senior positions in one field, international experiences , being in a multicultural environment… However, my life did not start like that… Like many others, I had no connections and few financial resources, I wasn’t at the top of my class… and I struggled with learning languages at school… But having a good idea of what I wanted (even if the idea was not fully defined) made it easier for me to see opportunities and to do my best to catch them – like: Pursuing my studies in another country, although I didn’t speak much of the language; Learning another language because it reinforced my ability to work internationally; Improving my understanding of “specialties” I discovered through work, and getting a new job thanks to this; Accepting a job offer because of the experience it would bring rather than the salary. What about you? I’m curious… If you’re at the beginning of your professional life: How well do you know “who you are”? How well do you know “who you want to be” – say in the next few years What are you prepared to do to get to “who you want to be”? What ideas of “things” you could do came up in your mind when reading this article? And a final note: remember that we learn a lot through experience, even if only one small step at a time! Final words Interested in knowing more about my 5-step process to “Empowering Yourself to Create the Life and Career You Want”? Book a free 45-minute Empower Yourself Discovery Call ! Simply curious? Then check out Pistachio-Cassis Coaching website ! Subscribe to my Pistachio-Cassis Newsletter for monthly insights on Empowering Yourself to Create the Life and Career You Want. Follow me on LinkedIn for inspiration, motivation, and education about how to empower yourself. And please, reach out to me via LinkedIn or email to let me know you’ve read my article. I’d love to hear from you if you have any feedback, suggestions, or anything else you want to tell me! Visit my website for more info! Read more from Christelle! Christelle Soto-Suarez, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Christelle Soto-Suarez is a Personal Leadership & Development Coach who empowers Women in STEM / Construction to create the Life and Career they want, and is the founder of Pistachio-Cassis Coaching. She’s a certified professional coach and a member of the International Coaching Federation. However, coaching is her 2nd career. Previously, she spent 25 years as a construction professional, working on a wide range of construction and engineering projects and in different roles. She worked and lived in several countries, experienced working in multicultural teams, and speaks 3 languages. But however fulfilling and challenging these experiences were, the time came when she realized that she actually felt unhappy, unfulfilled, unsatisfied with where she was in her life… Through her own exploration journey to discover how to create the life and career she wanted for herself, Christelle realized she was actually following a life coaching process… That fascinated her so much that she trained as a professional life coach and she set up her own coaching practice to empower others to also create the life and career they want. Outside of coaching, Christelle loves expanding her horizons through reading, conversing with people with different backgrounds and experiences, and relaxing in nature.

Written by: Kari Kling , 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 is said that ‘comparison is the thief of all joy,’ and this couldn’t be more true when it comes to our parenting. Whether the comparisons that we feel come from social media or in conversations on the soccer field, they can feel unsettling and make us feel inadequate. Parenting may be the most important and rewarding, yet challenging, role any of us may ever have. It’s also the job that none of us may ever be totally prepared for no matter how much we want to be. Parenting doesn’t come with a manual and our culture may give us the impression that once we are a parent, we are magically supposed to know what to do. We simply cannot predict the joys and hurdles that will develop on our parenting journeys. Feeling shame or ‘less than’ because we compare ourselves with others may leave us feeling guilty, followed by the stigma that our children will somehow fall short because of our ineptness. There Is No Perfect Family Many moms and dads look at other parents and think that ‘they have it all together,’ as they watch other children listen and behave, do well in school, seem to be more responsible, engage in less conflict, etc. You wonder where you went wrong and why your children aren’t as whatever as the family that may look perfect from afar. I promise you that in every family, there are hurdles to overcome and problems that need to be worked through. Just because we may not see evidence of this in public, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening in the privacy of one’s home. Most families only allow others to see the highlights. Many times, comparisons with others about our parenting is unspoken or unintentional. Engaging in conversation with another parent and only focusing on the latest A+, award, or accomplishment can easily make the other parent feel that their child may ‘be behind’ and that ‘they’re not doing something right.’ These feelings of incompetence and shame are hurtful and don’t do anything constructive, except perhaps to make the mom or dad sharing to feel better about their own parenting. Here’s another type of parenting pressure and unspoken comparison. You may be visiting extended family that you don’t see often and feel enormous apprehension that your children must behave in exemplary ways so that your relatives will ‘approve’ of how you are parenting. You may be comparing your children’s behavior to the expectation of what you think your relatives may want to see. Being a parent has always been filled with making constant decisions about how to respond to our children, how to guide and shape their behaviors, figure out how they best learn, what school they should attend, what to do when they are ill, try to get them to do something without nagging, yelling or losing our minds… and the list goes on and on and on. No wonder parenting can feel so exhausting! Parenting in 2023 may be even more overwhelming and pressure-filled than ever before. We can all read about the post-pandemic studies telling us how behind so many of our children are in various areas and the rise in childhood depression, etc. Pressure on parents intensifies as we take in all of this data and try to get it right. It may feel like the more we try to do for our children, the more our worry and self-doubt skyrockets. We cannot go back and change what happened in our world over the past three years. We may not be able to wave a magic wand and take all of the demands and expectations away from what our children may need at this time. But that is a theme to focus on for another time. My focus and goal for this article is that it is vitally important to stop comparing ourselves to other parents resulting in feeling shame, guilt and inadequacies so that we can relish our time with our children and celebrate our role as a parent. Parenting Is Stressful Life is stressful. Parenting is stressful. So many parents are in survival mode and just trying to make it through the day. A sample daily routine for some families might be enough to take others down. Parenting is overwhelming enough without creating unintentional situations to compare one’s parenting with others. We may look at various families from the ‘outside,’ and think they have the ‘it all together and everything is perfect.’ None of us, including me, have it ‘all together, all the time.’ We are all human and we become tired, overworked, overwhelmed and may not always react to our children with a picture perfect response. I don’t want to believe that any mom or dad would say or do things to other parents with the intention of being hurtful. But sometimes, as parents we are only focused on our own situation and how it impacts our family, that we don’t realize that we are unintentionally creating comparisons for others. As a mom of 21-year-old twins, and an educator, counselor and parent coach for 40 years, I’ve seen and heard many stories where conversations transpired and left a parent feeling deflated and filled with self-doubt. We may look at a friend’s social media and see all of the smiles, awards, incredible family vacations and wonder why our children don’t receive as many accolades and wonder if our kids may feel deprived because we can’t afford to take extravagant vacations. Or, we may look at how other children behave in public and wonder why our own children aren’t as well-behaved. Are those parents better parents? What am I doing wrong? When we constantly compare our parenting, we create situations where many parents may begin to doubt themselves, their decisions, and the lives they’ve created for their children as somehow being lesser. Examples From Real Life I’d like to give you a couple of examples from my years of parent coaching to illustrate my observations. Please know that I pass no judgement about these situations that have transpired. My first example relates to Jill, a mom of a 9-year-old son, who I’ll call, Jeff. Jeff was having some severe and complex digestive issues. To look at Jeff, one would not have any idea that anything was wrong. Jeff’s mom was working with nutritionists and doctors to help him eliminate multiple foods from his diet in an effort to heal his gut and turn this problem around. Jeff also felt embarrassed about his condition and didn’t want the other kids to know anything was wrong with him. He just wanted to fit in. Jill took great care in preparing nutritionally sound lunches for Jeff daily and if he ever had a ‘playdate’ after school, Jill would either give Jeff a snack that met his dietary needs or ask the other parent if she could drop something off for him. None of the other parents had any idea what was going on with Jeff’s health and that was how Jeff wanted it. Not too long after Jeff had been at one of his friend’s homes for a ‘playdate,’ Jill received a phone call from the friend’s mom. She told Jill that “several of the moms were concerned that she was being way too overprotective of Jeff’s diet and that she should just let him be a kid.” She also mentioned to Jeff’s mom that “Jeff was probably going to end up with eating disorders because she was so strict with him.” Even though Jill knew that she didn’t have a choice in how she was preparing meals and snacks for Jeff based on his dietary requirements, this comment rocked her and she began to doubt herself. Jill felt guilt at many levels. Maybe she should have told the other parents more about what was going on with her son and gone against her son’s wishes to ‘fit in’ or perhaps she should have handled the situation in another way. Again, second-guessing and feelings of self-doubt filled Jill’s soul, even though there was an underlying medical condition that was unknown to the other moms. None of us may ever know what is really going on in the lives of other families, nor should we. The personal issues of what may truly be happening in another family is not our business and we most likely will never know all of the facts anyway. Another example that I encountered in my parent coaching included two moms, Lucy and Sarah. These moms were acquaintances and both had sons who were juniors in high school. One day after being at school for a meeting, they walked to the parking lot together and started talking. Their conversation quickly turned to their sons, current class schedules and future college plans. Lucy proudly told Sarah that her son was in an Advanced Placement Literature class and could receive college credit for it. Lucy also mentioned that it would probably be very difficult for any student to get into a great university without an AP Lit. class. Well, Sarah’s son was not in one of these advanced classes and she began to feel that she had been kicked in the stomach. Although Sarah’s son was a very bright and gifted reader, he had decided that he didn’t want to take the AP Literature class because he loved to read so much. He explained to his mom that if he took this class, he would have so much assigned reading, that he probably wouldn’t have any time to read the books that he wanted to read . Sarah believed that preserving her son’s love of reading was more important than taking a specific class. But Lucy’s comment, “it would probably be very difficult for any student to get into a great university without an AP Literature class,” really rattled her. Sarah second-guessed her decision with her son and wondered if she should have just made him deal with it to give him a better chance of getting into a great college with the hopes that his love of reading wouldn’t die. Sarah began to doubt herself and felt guilty that she supported her son’s decision to want to have time to read for enjoyment, but the fear she felt about making the wrong decision in that moment was enough to make her feel sick to her stomach. ( By the way, Sarah’s son never took the AP Literature class, still loves to read for pleasure, AND got into an excellent university where he is very happy!) From Comparison To Support I believe it’s time that we raise our level of awareness regarding our conversations with other parents and family members from comparison to support. I’m advocating that when we are talking to another parent, that we ask about how their child is doing and give our best effort to give a verbal pat on the back of support before we finish our conversation. It could be a simple as ‘How’s Joey doing in baseball?’ and then after the response to offer a supportive statement such as, “I bet it takes a lot of flexibility to figure out your schedule to be able to get Joey back and forth to baseball practice. Wow, doing all of the things we do for our kids as parents can really be a time management challenge.” If we have knowledge or a concern about something that we are seeing with someone’s else child and believe that providing specific information with them may shed guidance to improve a situation, I think that is an important gesture and should be attempted. But instead of just blurting it out in a declarative fashion or making predictions as in my examples above, my suggestion is to gently provide an invitation to do so. Reflecting on the first example above, the other parent could have easily called and instead ‘invited’ a willingness to help; “Because Jeff brought his own snack to eat after school, I wondered if he could possibly have special dietary needs. I just wanted to let you know that if you’d like to let me know how I can help, I’d be happy to try to accommodate the situation with an after school snack if you’d like to tell me what he is able to eat.” Or, simply mention a statement of support such as, ‘you’re doing such a great job and going out of your way to make sure that Jeff has the kind of food choices he needs at this time. Please let me know if there is anything I can do when he is at my home.” Parenting shouldn’t feel like a contest where we are silently comparing ourselves to other parents and their children. Perhaps by increasing our awareness regarding our conversations with fellow parents, we can transform our parenting culture from one of comparison to support. By doing so, every parent may experience more joy, laughter, and confidence while finding greater happiness in our most valued and important role in life… being a parent to our children. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , Linked In , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Kari! Kari Kling, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Kari Kling, M.Ed., Parent Coach Kari’s 40 years of experience as an internationally recognized educator, counselor, parent coach, and author/speaker has given her the expertise to guide thousands of parents to reach their parenting goals. Kari’s solid understanding of how we behave and learn is grounded in neuroscience. Kari is a sought-after keynote and featured speaker for national and international conferences. She loves to meet and work with parents and their families in her home state of Arizona, nationally, and globally. Kari states that her most powerful learning experience about parenting has been being the mom to her 20-year-old twin boys, as they have been her greatest teachers. You can email Kari to learn more about her parent coaching services at: kari@karikling.com or check out her website and social media.

A damning report has shone light on the underrepresentation of women in the global news industry. The report was commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and brought together millions of pieces of data from India, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, the UK, and the US. The team also conducted in-depth interviews with 41 senior news editors/editors-in-chief and “trailblazers from around the world”. The focus was on women’s underrepresentation and cultural exclusion at the top of news organisations and in the highest-profile beats but also on their invisibility in news coverage and storytelling. Whilst women are underrepresented across the board, women of colour are severely so. The report states: “Only three percent of political and four percent of foreign affairs editors in the US are women of colour. Even in South Africa, just 29 percent of political editors are women of colour, while their proportion in the working population is 46 percent.” The report’s author, Luba Kassova, is an evidence-based storyteller and TEDx speaker. She argues that an increasing presence of women journalists and more women featuring in articles would be financially beneficial for media organisations. The report details: “Our investigation…shows a potential cumulative revenue opportunity of $43 billion between 2023 and 2027 and $83 billion between 2023 and 2032 for the global newspaper industry if the 11-12 percentage point addressable gender consumption gap was completely closed.” Kassova’s team have included 12 solution themes that they hope will drive change. They also give plaudits to news organisations who have already made progress including Bloomberg, the Guardian and The New York Times. Kassova writes: “Drop by drop the river rises. Every one percentage point change along any element of the news value chain, starting with a gender audit, will bring news organisations a small step closer to a more equitable and profitable journalism.”

The tech world is facing yet more bad news after Alphabet, Google’s parent company, announced 12,000 employees are to lose their jobs. This amounts to around six percent of the company’s workforce and includes recruiters, corporate staff and people working on engineering and product teams. CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in a memo to staff: “This [decision] will mean saying goodbye to some incredibly talented people we worked hard to hire and have loved working with. I’m deeply sorry for that. The fact that these changes will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.” He continued: “Over the past two years we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth. To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today.” The announcement comes after a spate of job losses from the tech giants including Twitter, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta. Stockholm-headquartered music streaming service Spotify announced on 23rd January that it is going to slash its workforce too. CEO Daniel Ek said in a letter: “As you are well aware, over the last few months we’ve made a considerable effort to rein-in costs, but it simply hasn’t been enough… “Like many other leaders, I hoped to sustain the strong tailwinds from the pandemic and believed that our broad global business and lower risk to the impact of a slowdown in ads would insulate us. In hindsight, I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth.”

People often make the mistake of categorising confidence as something you either have or don’t have, or as regarding it as something that can be lost in the blink of the eye. The reality though is that confidence is something you amass and work on. To use an analogy, your confidence is much like your bank balance, you must constantly work on building it and maintaining it. Every positive action can be seen as a deposit and every negative action, such as self-criticism or negative feedback is a withdrawal. Whilst that might sound somewhat daunting at first, the positive news is that whatever your situation or background, you can get to work on building your confidence right away. In this article we have compiled 3 activities which, if you start doing today will help you to build your confidence bank account. If once you’ve finished reading, you want to learn more about the tools and techniques used by psychologists to help boost confidence, have a watch or listen of this podcast with Dr Nate Zinsser, author of The Confident Mind: Activity 1: Cold Exposure Shame is one of the biggest barriers to confidence and it tends to rear its ugly head when we make promises to ourselves that we don’t keep. Like the New Year’s resolution we make to run 25k a week or read 5 books a month. One way that you can flip the script on that shame loop is by committing to small, daily actions that are hard but can be overcome. Cold exposure, AKA cold showers or ice baths, are a superb way to help you build your confidence. When you step into a cold shower or ice bath, every cell in your body will be telling you to jump out and grab a warm towel. If you can sit with that feeling of uncomfortableness for a minute, your body will relax and adapt. After that your body will be flooded with endorphins, the feel good chemicals, and you’ll go into the rest of the day not only with a mental boost, but with the knowledge that you can do hard things and overcome them. Activity 2: Playing Poker There are plenty of games that you can play to build your confidence, but of all of them, poker is perhaps the most accessible. If you are careful with your budget and don’t overspend, poker can be great for your confidence. That’s because it teaches you three key lessons, the first being that you need to stay focused and present at all times, ignoring that nagging voice in the back of your head trying to distract you. Secondly, it is a game that constantly puts you out of your comfort zone, pushing you to your limits and forcing you to trust yourself. Finally, it forces you to think confidently and trust in your own judgement. Activity 3: Cardio If you can run, if you are unable to do for whatever reason, then find a cardio activity that suits you and throw yourself into it. Remember at the beginning of this article when we discussed how self-criticism can act as a withdrawal from your confidence bank account? Well, cardio is one way to silence that voice of self-doubt and to show you that it doesn’t need to be listened to in the first place. If you aren’t a big runner or have a low level of cardio fitness, the first time you go out for a run or cycle you’ll feel great for the first couple of minutes. After that, when the blood is pumping and your lungs feel like they’re draining of oxygen, your mind will start to tell you that it’s time to stop and that you can’t carry on. If you ignore that voice of doubt and push on you’ll quickly realise that you are far more capable than you think. Make cardio a habit and within no time you’ll learn that negative, doubting voice in your mind is nothing but a faulty alarm system and not something you need to take any notice of. In Summary Now that you know confidence is something you can build and nurture, it’s on you to start choosing activities that help you with that goal. All of the activities discussed above are great examples of how you can silence that voice of self-doubt and have more confidence in your abilities and your capacity to cope. Aside from these activities, look for ways to move out of your comfort zone every day as by doing so, you’ll quicker boost your self-esteem and confidence. Then you can start to change the narrative you tell yourself from, ‘I’m not a confident person’ to ‘I’m strong enough to deal with anything’.

Written by: Aisha Saintiche , 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. I think most, if not all of us are very familiar with the line “you get what you give.” Well amongst several other key mantras I am employing for 2023, the title of the article reflects more than just a mantra, but an actual state of being! As we bring the first month of a new year to a close (which in it itself is so wild to think about) I can’t lie…I feel like this year is going to be a major year for me. Not just from the business side, but from the energy side – meaning, the energy that I’m, with intention, showing up with is directly connected to the blessings that have already appeared, and those that will come to fruition in due time. Now while I am operating on a high vibration, I am also aware that people around me aren’t. For an array of reasons (and most of the time it’s not purposeful or even a state they wish to be in) protecting my energy and not allowing the negativity of others to penetrate the mind, body and soul is my consistent act of self-love and self-care. And so, what happens when you find yourself in spaces, places and with people who are giving off an energy that frankly – you ain’t here for. What do you do? The easiest answer is to remove yourself from the space, place and/or person – but let’s be real, if it were that simple…I wouldn’t need to address this issue or write an article in hopes of providing insight on what I know can be a really difficult thing to do. Cause the truth is, too often the “takers” of our energy are things that we are deeply connected to – like work, family and close friends. Now this by no means requires us to stay connected because of the title they hold in our day-to-day lives, but boundaries are not always easily established and or enacted in these cases. What do we fear when it comes to protecting our energy? Why do we feel obligated or guilty for allowing others to drain us of our energy? What do we believe to be the consequences for making our mental, emotional, spiritual energy a priority over that of someone else’s? What have we experienced in the past that leaves us torn between protecting our energy and not wanting to “hurt” someone else’s feelings? As a coach, one of the interesting and common threads that I have experienced with my clients is the overwhelming sense of guilt they feel when it comes to self-care (in its authentic form – and when I say ‘authentic’ I mean beyond the messages, bubble baths and ½ day breaks we believe will address the stress of a 60+ hour life and work week). I don’t know about you, but I have operated from a place of depletion and exhaustion and no one…and I mean NO ONE should’ve been in that space with me – I was not kind. BUT because I operated with the mindset that selflessness was the act of self-care, that what I poured into people and work would be reciprocated in a way that I would become replenished and rejuvenated, resulted in me sweeping a bunch of shit off my counter in a fit of rage (true story and I actually can’t tell you what had me that heated…I just remember being pregnant with my third child and tired AF). My energy is as valuable as my voice, my body, my mind and my mental health. Without it, I am operating in low vibration – which is not a desired state. Now believe me, while I’m writing this as though sticking to and creating boundaries that I know are going to put up a wall for certain people not to penetrate seems easy, or is done without fear or apprehension, I know it’s not. But what I do know, what I have experienced, what I have witnessed, and what I have supported and coached people through is that not seeing the protection of your energy as an act of self-care can cause harm in a variety of ways. If you’ve been following me over the course of my own journey, or if you’re new to my space (totally off topic. But who remembers “MySpace” …lol) I believe self-care is the greatest conduit to achieving our optimal state of being? To show up as the best version of ourselves, requires us to place time and effort into nurturing and loving ourselves so what we are giving is the best of ourselves and not what is left of us. To do so, this then requires that we get clear and hold strong to our boundaries and the minimum standard by which any one person (and I apply this rule to everyone – kids, parents, siblings, family, co-workers, strangers) can engage with me. My responsibility is to let those around me know the value I hold for myself so that they understand how they need to approach me, how they need to engage with me and what I will not accept or tolerate. I am wired to pour into others so that they feel and see themselves worthy of their own time, love and effort – but you better believe that the energy and time I am pouring into you has been given to myself first, and so if you think you are going to drain me of my energy – prepare for that eviction notice quick quick! Ok I’m not that harsh…really, I’m not, but what I am, is unwilling to not take care of myself, not protect this invaluable commodity in the name of someone else’s happiness. Perhaps for some this may seem harsh, but I want you to ask yourself, in those moments where you have been drained, or operating from a low vibration, where you have allowed the negativity of others to overwhelm you -what could you have done differently? No matter how you slice the pie or try to make the narrative in your head not seem so harsh, what it comes down to is putting up boundaries that ensure the protection of your energy. I’ve always found it interesting how we will ensure we eat well, sleep well, drink water, get exercise (in some shape or form) but we’ll hesitate to put the same effort in removing people, places and things that we know don’t serve us…or we’ll up our game in the other areas of our life thinking that eating well will outweigh the energy being drained. Sorry…but because we are a whole being – all things must work in simultaneously. Not necessarily at the same pace…but the trajectory must be in alignment if not – well you know how you feel! I was once asked…let me be real…I am often asked how I stay so calm, how I appear level-headed even in stressful situations, how I remain unruffled by other people’s bad vibe or why I don’t kick off at situations that perhaps warrant a clap back? The truth is, and I noted it a bit earlier in this article – I am not expelling my valuable energy or time on people, places or things that in the long run don’t really affect me. Now you come for my kids, partner, family and close friends – imma show you energy…lol… (kidding, not kidding), but my peace of mind and self-preservation will win everything. Look don’t let the pressure of perfection overwhelm you as you navigate the world of self-care…just remember that in everything you desire and do for others, you are worthy of that same time and effort – only first. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Aisha! Aisha Saintiche, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazin Aisha Saintiche is a certified Health Coach and the founder and owner of MetoMoi Health. With over fifteen years of experience in Mental Health, Accessibility and Diversity and Inclusion, Aisha has used her experience as a strategic advisor and health coach to understand the complexity and intersectionality of the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual barriers that keep people from achieving their optimized health and wellness. Aisha also holds a Masters in Public Policy Administration and Law, as well as a certification in Change Management, Advanced Crisis Intervention and Counselling and Health Coaching. She is also an Integral Master for the Canadian Olympic Committee of Canada, and most recently she became a Published Author. Always seeking opportunities to bring about change, she is also an active member and Board of Director for the Woman Abuse Council of Toronto (WomanACT) and the Board Chair for Afiwi Groove School. https://linktr.ee/Metomoi

Written by: Jack Carmody, 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. Does it ever seem like people don’t listen to you? Like your words aren’t getting through? Whether on a personal or professional level, we all want to be heard and it can be frustrating when we feel like no one is listening. Now the hard part. If you want to see improvement in this area, your assumption must be that the problem lies with you. If you can have the humility to hold the mirror up and do some self-examination, you will be amazed at what can happen! Here are five reasons why people might be tempted to tune you out, and what you can do about it! 1 Too Much Talking, Not Enough Listening Ironically, the best path to being heard is to listen. Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, observed that persuasion starts with understanding. People are more likely to listen to you if they feel understood. Take the time to listen and ask questions. If the person you are connecting with feels like you understand them and their world, they are much more likely to listen to you. And if you do a good job listening, your words will be more informed, which makes it even more likely that you will be heard! Be quick to listen, slow to speak (James 1:19). 2 Talking When the Other Person is Upset Each one of us has a rational brain and an emotional brain. When we get upset, our emotional brain can overpower our rational brain. Most of us know this to be true, but fail to take it into account when communicating. Have you ever tried to have an intelligent conversation with a child who is having a temper tantrum? Good luck! Adults are no different. If you are trying to talk rationally with someone who is upset, they are not going to hear you. The apostle Paul has clear instructions here: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). When someone is upset, the best you can do is to engage them on an emotional level. Once they have calmed down, they will be much more willing and able to listen to you! 3 Talking When You Are Upset Talking when you are upset has several pitfalls. First, emotions are contagious, so there is a good chance your emotions will inadvertently spill over to others. Second, when you are upset, you are not thinking, and therefore not communicating, clearly. Becoming extremely upset can even kick in the body’s fight/flight response. This type of arousal can have the effect of functionally lowering your IQ. The key is to have some self-awareness and be able to recognize when you are upset. If you can take a minute and cool off, you will find that people will be more likely to listen to you. 4 Speaking to Someone Only When There is a Problem If the only time you talk to a particular person is when there is a problem, they are less likely to listen to you. Consider a parent who goes weeks without talking to their child about his/her grades. The grades take a dip, and the parent comes down hard. The parent has just created a negative interaction with their child, without having any positive interactions to balance it out. This type of interaction can easily communicate, albeit unintentionally, that the parent cares about the grades, but not their child. The path forward is to build relational capital. Engage people on a personal level. Take an interest. Ask questions. These actions make relational “deposits.” If you can build this sort of relational capital, people are much more likely to listen to you, especially if there is a problem. 5 Using a Hard, Versus a Soft, Startup Marriage researcher John Gottman observed that the success or failure of a conversation is typically decided in the first three minutes. In other words, how you “start” a conversation makes all the difference. He divided “startups” into two categories: hard and soft. A hard startup can be characterized by a raised voice, stern look, blaming/judging language, and being impolite. A conversation started this way will often either shut the other person down, or put them on the defensive. Either way, they won’t be listening to you! A better approach is to use a soft startup, which puts the focus on your feelings, and what you need. Be polite, express care and concern for the other person, and they are much more likely to listen to you. Conclusion So what if you think you are doing everything right, and you are still not getting the response that you want? Even then, it’s still probably you! I am partly kidding. It is certainly possible the other person needs to take some ownership of the situation. However, it’s always best to start with you, since that’s the only thing you can actually control. Negative communication patterns are hard to change, but if one person makes a positive change, the other person will often meet them. Follow Jack on his Facebook, Linkedin and visit his website for more info. Read more from Jack! Jack Carmody, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Jack Carmody is a licensed counselor in the state of South Carolina (US), a military chaplain, and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America. Whichever of these "hats" he is wearing, his passion is to help people discover God's best for their lives. He is also the Veteran Coach for the TV show, "Military Makeover with Montel" which airs on Lifetime. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, running, and spending time with his family.