Written by: Anna London, 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 important to be a life long learner. No one knows everything. I find it amusing (being facetious) that some people no matter what their life path is think that they know everything or have no desire to learn. Case in point… You’ve incorporated your business and now have a registered LLC, S or C-Corp and now because you are titled Founder or CoFounder and CEO or COO, you think you know everything about running and growing a business. You are a startup founder with an idea and feel entitled to VC funding even though you have not done the research to determine if your idea is a product market fit and something people would buy. You haven’t yet even executed on the idea to show reasonable traction. You’ve taken a few no code courses and now you think you know everything about developing an application. You took a few courses in cyber security or know a CISO and now think you are a cyber security expert. You watch football on TV and think you know better than the players and coach as to how to run the plays. As a celebrity, you feel that because you have a following and a few likes, that you know everything about every topic including getting involved in politics. As a parent, you feel that your kid can do no wrong and you know more than the teacher. As an American, you feel you know more about every other country’s problems even though most Americans have never left the state or city where they grew up and most have never left the continental United States. As magazine editors, you name only Americans “the most beautiful woman or man in the world” when have not even looked beyond American borders. You’ve been hired based on your resume and a great job interview and given a title of CoFounder, Director or VP and think that your title means that you do not have to work for or continue to learn new things or certain tasks are “beneath your job title”. When asked to perform a task, you refuse or when given constructive feedback, you respond with “I already know how to do that. You don’t need to tell me.” or “I cannot do that task, but I have contacts in my network that can perform this task” yet never live up to your words or expectations through providing that promised resource or doing the task yourself or even show the willingness to ask questions without being a “know it all.” Continued learning and remaining coachable is key to success in leadership growth and being an example to others in your organization through leading the way. Not wanting to learn yourself or be willing to take constructive criticism in order to continue to grow holds the entire organization back because employees mimic their leaders. If you are not willing to step out of your comfort zone to continue to grow, learn and improve, then why should they? Education is the key to growth in every aspect of life, business, sports, parenting et al. Follow me on Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Anna! Anna London, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Anna London is an US Army Veteran, Colon Cancer Survivor, Educator, Cyber Security Expert, Entrepreneur.

Written by: Kresh Pidial, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Being vulnerable with our emotions can be so hard to do. To be able to open up about our emotions, not only to others but also to ourselves, does not come naturally to everyone. We may not even be aware of what we are feeling; often it takes time to recognise what it is and to feel comfortable enough to acknowledge it. Why is it so important to identify our emotions? Being able to recognise the feeling, and understanding what it is, helps us to pinpoint it when it arises again. A lot of us have not been taught how to express emotions growing up, so then how do we know how to identify and then convey these as adults? We may have come from cultures or upbringings where expressing emotions were taboo. We may have been taught to quell our emotions, push them down, dismiss them, and “get on with things”. Emotions have power though, they can be indicators of what is going well in our lives and what is not working for us. They can let us know what our personal boundaries are, what feels good and what doesn’t. Dismissing our emotions hinders deeper connections that can be formed. But then facing our emotions takes vulnerability, so how do we get there? 1. Identify the emotion Acknowledge what you are feeling (e.g. sad, anxious, down, happy, excited). Having the ability to put a name to the feeling helps us to recognise it when it comes up again and helps us know ourselves better. 2. Determine when you felt it Being able to identify when the emotion arises helps us to become aware of what to do next. Are these emotions negative and triggered by a person or circumstance? If so we can avert this person/circumstance whilst we work through the emotion. Often we are not aware of our triggers and continue to expose ourselves to these, heightening the emotion. On the other hand, if we are feeling positive emotions, it is helpful to know what propels these; who doesn’t want to ride on the feel-good train? 3. Face your emotion If you are feeling depressed for example, talk to your emotion to find out why you feel the way you do. It may sound strange but try it. Ask yourself, “why am I feeling down?” Dig deep and have a conversation with yourself about what is causing the distress. Journalling can help ‒ write out your internal dialogue and release it all on a page with no judgement. Think of it as unloading onto a blank canvas and see what comes out, you may be surprised! 4. Allow yourself to be vulnerable It can be scary to share what we feel. But opening up to another about what is going on with us not only liberates the feeling, but also helps us work through the emotion. You may feel a release and that is a good thing! Being able to express our emotions is healthy. The alternative is to keep it all trapped internally which ultimately can build up over the years and cause havoc healthwise (both psychologically and physically!). Processing our emotions is so important for both our psychological and physical health, yet a lot of us have not learnt how to do this. Emotions can stay stuck in our bodies/minds for long periods of time, creating negative effects on our wellbeing. Moving through the steps above helps us to become more comfortable with our emotions, process them, and be vulnerable with them. Over time, processing your emotions will become second nature as you learn to identify and manage them. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Kresh! Kresh Pidial, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Kresh Pidial is a registered Psychologist passionate about helping individuals live a more fulfilled life. She is the founder of Joie Life, a warm, down-to-earth practice dedicated to helping individuals live more authentically. Kresh works with people that are experiencing life changes, anxiety, stress, pressure at work, career transitions, low motivation, low self-esteem, relationship issues and depression. She has worked in several professions and industries, including investment banking and consulting, providing her with a unique understanding of issues experienced in the workplace. Kresh holds a Master of Psychology (Organisational) and Master of Commerce (Marketing).

Written by: Laura Kingston, 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. Productivity is a bit like exercise. You know it’s good for you. You know you’ll feel better afterwards. But for some reason it’s so easy to put off and find excuses not to do it. Similar to exercise, one of the reasons can be that we don’t quite know where to start. ‘Productive’ is like ‘fit’. It’s the desirable result ‒ but getting there can be a mystery for many. For the last four weeks, I’ve been trialling different productivity hacks. Like many, I started from scratch. I’d wake up most days with a long to-do list and go to bed with an even longer one. I was tired from working all day but lay in bed feeling like I hadn’t really achieved anything. Let me tell you – productivity hacking changed this for me within days. Here’s how to get started. 1. Re-organise your lists Do you have one long to-do list with everything in a random order? ‘Pick up dry cleaning’ just above ‘Corporate values presentation for Friday’? It’s time to overhaul: Go through your list and assign each task to one of the following categories: Under 2 minutes Under 20 minutes 20-120 minutes (large projects, research or preparation) Personal Now split the categories up into brand new sections in your notebook (or whatever you use for your to-do list). So, you’ll have four lists which look like the below examples: Under 2 minutes RSVP to the event next week Email meeting agenda to the team Under 20 minutes Check website analytics from the weekend Design Facebook advert for product launch Prepare for 1:1 with Rosie 2. Prioritise your lists Hopefully, by breaking them down in this way, you’re already starting to feel more organised. The next step is to prioritise each item. This is so you don’t end up getting through all the easy jobs every day and neglect the project work that’s due on Friday. Use a numbering system to work across all of your lists as one. Try to stick to a rule that you cannot move on to task 2, until task 1 is complete (or you’ve at least made some progress), and so on. This will help you keep more accountability to yourself. It might look something like this: Blitz Under 2 minutes list (Under 2 minutes list) Read Board pack (20-120 minutes list) Walk the dog (under 20 minutes list) 3. Time-block your calendar Now that you’ve broken everything down into manageable lists and prioritised everything, you should be clear on what tasks need to be done, in what order. You might feel really on top of everything already, but trust me, don’t be tempted to skip this time-blocking step. For me, it was a critical to keep me feeling that I had achieved so much every day, and also helped me understand how long tasks actually take me, rather than how long I expect them to take. Divide every hour that you plan to work into task-specific blocks. Here are a few tips I’ve learned: I like to colour-code tasks using a different colour for each type of list. Remember to plan in personal tasks too, as well as admin tasks like responding to emails and breaks. You can schedule the ‘Under 2 minutes’ list into one half-hour block and blast through them all at once. The first week will be trial and error so don’t beat yourself up if you overrun and don’t get around to the next task. Knowledge is power and time-blocking is a brilliant way to help you understand how long you take to do things and leave enough time to get it done. 4. Focus on the task in hand If you’ve done time blocking correctly, you’ll have factored in time during the day to answer emails, make calls, walk the dog etc. So, when you’re in a time block, focus on that task and only that task. Close your emails. Also, unsubscribe from any irrelevant emails or mailing lists you don’t find useful anymore. You’ll be surprised how much better you feel. Put your phone on Do Not Disturb mode if you can – I like to use a free app called Forest which helps avoid the temptation of using your phone for 25-minute intervals. Listen to some focus music – there are plenty of playlists on Spotify or YouTube. 5. At the end of the day, prepare for the next As I said earlier, don’t feel disheartened if you reach the end of the day and have missed a task or two. Use the end of your day to time-block the following day, so you hit the ground running as soon as you open your laptop. Move across any tasks that you didn’t manage to finish – you’ll feel a great sense of satisfaction at the end of the working day when you know you’ve made great progress, everything is planned out for tomorrow, and every hour you’ve spent working has been focussed and productive. Now it’s time to switch off – you’ve earned it. Did these tips work for you? Send me a message on Instagram and let me know. Check out my digital magazine, High Life North. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Laura Kingston, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Laura Kingston is an expert in disruptive digital marketing, online publishing, trend analysis and leadership. Her expertise is in identifying key trends and implementing them into businesses to keep them ahead of the game. Laura specialises in building effective teams to ensure high-growth, high-energy businesses. She is Managing Editor of High Life North magazine which is disrupting the Northern publishing industry in the UK, providing an online platform to empower women and champion independent businesses.

Written by: Andrew David McDowell, 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. Choice… we take it for granted every day. Living in a democracy we are given the right to make choices for ourselves. Sometimes we make the choice to give our power away to others. Ego Is The Enemy Your boyfriend just made a comment to you that made you cringe. Out came words that criticized the way that you looked. It could be anything…your clothes…your hair…your makeup…a body part. It doesn’t matter what the target was…what matters is that he said it. It hurts. You want to lash out at him. Put him in his place. The ego just got called into action. Defend! Protect yourself! You lash out at him and an argument ensues. Maybe even a breakup. Exchange of Power Now, this presents you with a situation. You have to choose how you want to respond. If you decide to take his opinion as truth, you will begin to start to play tapes in your head that start criticizing yourself. “You are no good” you will say to yourself. Your ego begins to grow and you will defend yourself at all costs when faced with the same situation. You won’t open up to others and let them into your life. After all, you say to yourself, I am broken and can’t be fixed and who would want to love me anyway. What you have just done is give your power to someone else. They are right and you are wrong. Love Versus Fear If their statement is based on fear, they have just passed the baton to you and now you own the fear if you take it as truth. If what they are doing is criticizing the very item they worry about within themselves, their statement is based on fear. And now you own it. Not your power but their fear. That is what you now own. I changed the nature of my life when confronted with these statements when I started to dissect the reason behind what they said to me. Is it based on fear or love? If it is based on fear, then I won’t own it and retain my power. If it is based on love, then I will think about it and if I find in my heart some truth, I will put a plan of action together to improve upon it. Choose What Serves Your Life Purpose Your power lies in your ability to make choices that serve you. Choices that will enable you to grow into the person you want to be and are called to be. That is your power. When you make statements that others say at face value and don’t look at the motivations as to why they said them, you are giving away your power to make choices. We are here to love and to chase the fear out of our lives. That is the biggest choice you get to make. When you choose to love yourself, you are deciding to place a filter system in your experiences. A filter system that only allows words and experiences that serve your purpose to affect you. Be curious. Be critical. Ask yourself what the motivation is in other’s words. Only accept those that come from love. Understand where your power is and don’t give it away to others. Make your own choices…choices that serve you and let you retain your power. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Andrew! Andrew David McDowell, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Andy is an engineer by trade and a creative by nature. He spent 22 years with the Boeing Company, where he always felt more like a life coach than a boss. In 2002, he began his journey into entrepreneurship within a Corporation when he was asked to develop an Airspace Design Consulting business from scratch that would serve the global government market. Andy has a Bachelor’s Degree from Georgia Tech in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Computer Information Systems from Georgia State. Naturally, his aviation work took him around the world and enabled him to work on high-profile projects ‒ such as preparing the Beijing and Sochi Airports for their respective Olympic Games.

Written by: Alexandra Elinsky, 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. Coaching is how we fine-tune a good candidate into a fantastic one. Bad coaching, however, can set up the entire team for failure. How do you know you’re investing in the right kind of coaching services? When ongoing research finds Americans pessimistic and frustrated about their job prospects, it’s more important than ever to meet them halfway. Today’s coaching trends aim to provide empowerment and inspiration for future leaders. Let’s take a look at what you should consider when investing in coaching programs. Trend No.1 Learn By Doing Too many businesses today set themselves up for failure by not embracing workers’ unique learning styles. As such, clever coaching strategies have targeted learning styles as an area of focus. Psychological research has proven the kinaesthetic method – learning through action ‒ is the preferred learning method of nearly 27% of students. This is followed behind by visual and auditory learning styles. Learning by doing puts future executives and thought leaders in the driver’s seat, giving them the first-hand experience needed to understand the role. Trend No.2 Positive Feedback is the Best Loop Tough love is a faulty strategy. Positive feedback isn’t just lovely to hear, but feeds into a productive loop that spans across the entire team. When coaching your future executives, you need to dive into the psychology behind motivation and leadership. For example, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is one approach that focuses on a blend of physical and mental wellness within the business. Positive feedback includes (but isn’t limited to): Positive reinforcement Group accountability Personal investment Immediate rewards v.s. Long-term benefits Proactive communication Trend No.3 Increasing Coaching Access There’s a common idea in business that coaches should only be for top-level leadership. As it stands? Coaches can help every level of a business, from a part-time data analyst to a full-time CEO. Think about all the different niches that life coaches occupy. Sometimes they help people lose weight over the next six months. Other times they can help people finish their studies on time! The one-on-one strategy is how you connect with people on a personal level, prioritizing their unique growth over an ill-fitting one-size-fits-all formula. Increasing coaching access throughout your business will improve your entire team’s morale, helping workers target their shortcomings with professional help. Trend No.4 Specialized Coaches Provide Stronger Results Generalist approaches aren’t cutting it anymore. When today’s workforce spans multiple generations, it’s imperative you choose coaching services that specialize in their niche. Specialized coaching services can look like a coach specifically aimed at Millennials. It can also look like a coach that targets executive-level leadership decisions. Choosing a highly general coach runs the risk of applying generic advice to people who need more specific answers to their problems. Trend No.5 A Little Automation Will Help Immensely You may find yourself wondering how you can improve your hiring and retention rates while still saving time. Automated coaching services are one such way to streamline the process. Technology has leveled the playing field in business. Coaching services can now be streamed online from anyone’s home. Schedules across different states (or different countries!) can be synced up seamlessly to save teams time. While too much automation can run the opposite effect, there are ways to get more ROI out of the system. Are you ready to coach your next thought leaders? Empower HP offers basic, executive, and full coaching services for businesses. Trend No.6 Boost Soft Skills Focusing entirely on financial results is not a sign of good coaching. Businesses are built on the strength of their workers: nowhere is this more clear than soft skills. It’s essential you know the difference between hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are abilities such as technical writing, business math, or sculpting. Soft skills are more subtle abilities such as being able to network or connect with people on a personal level. They’re so important they can make or break a team. Not convinced? The U.S. Department of Labor has defined soft skills as one of the most in-demand features of future workspaces. Trend No.7 Reduce the Wait Time Coaching executives is often an arduous and time-consuming process. It doesn’t have to be. Streamlining the coaching process means thinking critically about old systems. Can a training session be completed in six weeks instead of eight? How effectively are we teaching people useful skills and how can we do a little better? Trimming the wait time for approval should be a major focus of any efficient, streamlined coaching process. The sooner a worker can get to work, the more money and time everyone will save. That said, you don’t need to rush unnecessarily! Conclusion Today’s innovative and empathetic coaching trends will set the stage for tomorrow. When’s the last time you cast a critical eye over your coaching process? There’s always room for improvement when it comes to your hiring and training model. To conclude, an effective coaching process should prioritize: Flexible learning styles, especially kinaesthetic and visual Positive feedback loops Increased coaching access across teams Specialization Automation Soft skills Shorter wait times for approval The best coaching resources are just around the corner. Contact Empower HP today to start empowering your employees and teaching them the skills they need to succeed. Follow me on LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Alexandra! Alexandra Elinsky, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dr. Elinsky lives to support professionals of all levels from all walks of life to book a call on her calendar, use this link – https://calendly.com/teamempoweryou/60min Dr. Alexandra Elinsky has a Ph.D. in Industrial Organization Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and is a trained Executive Coach, Corporate Trainer, and Researcher. Dr. Elinsky is the owner/founder of Empower Human Potential LLC and owns/operates another event planning business that builds confidence and leadership skills in children and teenagers. Dr. Elinsky has 10+ years of professional business and corporate experience and has built both of her businesses from the ground up with nothing short of patience.

Written by: Fiona Smith, 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. With record breaking inflation, geopolitical tensions, and Midterm elections around the corner, it's no wonder one of the biggest concerns of the American consumer is when will the next recession begin?Market experts have publicly announced there is a strong probability for recession in the next 6 to 12 months. However, getting your investment portfolio ready for a recession requires some preparation long before the recession actually begins. In this article, you will find some tips that could help you prepare your investment portfolio and ensure your overall financial picture is more resilient during the next recession. Summary: The best way to prepare for a recession is to have a plan in place If you are a long-term investor, then consider investing in low-cost index funds or ETFs that capture up to the 500 largest (and historically, most stable) companies in the United States If you want a 0% expense ratio, then consider the Fidelity(r) ZERO Large Cap Index Fund (FNILX) Since most mutual funds may have some turnover from their fund managers, it might make sense to hold these in tax-deferred accounts to minimize your tax liability for the current year In this article, I’m going to show you how a millennial investor is preparing her portfolio for a recession. If you’re familiar with Millennial investors, then you’ll know that we value several things such as: Growth Low Costs Transparency These 3 values not only guide my approach to life, but they also guide my approach to investing, specifically when it comes to building my portfolio in preparation for a future market correction. What I look for in ETFs and Mutual Funds when Preparing for a Recession One of the first things you’ll need to know about me is that I’m a strong believer in ETF and Mutual Fund investing. In fact, I prefer investing in index funds that passively track the S&P 500 index. And no, I’m not just following my intuition or my “gut feeling.” There are hard, cold facts that support the idea that passive investing in ETF or mutual index funds can actually work. First, let’s talk about the fees. Source: Financial Times At best, active funds and passive funds charge the same fees (which can average around 100 to 200 basis points). However, most passive index funds (whether ETFs or mutual funds) often charge less than 20 basis points, while actively managed funds still hover above 50 basis points. While the numbers may sound negligible, if you’re a long-term investor like me, then a difference of 50 basis points can make a very big difference. Let me illustrate this concept for you. Here’s the base case: Source: Omni Calculator Let’s say you invest in the popular ETF known as SPY, which tracks the S&P500 index fund. SPY’s gross and net expense ratio is 9 basis points, so for simplicity, I’ve rounded this up to 10 basis points, as shown in the screenshot above. If you start investing in SPY with $500,000, then you’d pay about $5 per year on a net expense ratio of 10 basis points. Now let’s say you decided to invest in an actively managed mutual fund for 60 basis points. Here’s how much money you’d pay on $500,000 of assets under management per year: Source: Omni Calculator With an expense ratio difference of just 50 basis points, you’d be paying 6 times more per year. Now imagine if you compounded the difference that you would be paying between the investment fund costing 0.10% and the fund costing 0.60% over the next several decades of your working career. These seemingly “small” numbers can actually turn into quite major investment expenses – and ultimately eat into your bottom line net returns. It’s not just my millennial mindset that has guided me to invest in index funds over actively managed funds. In fact, trends indicate that a majority of American investors are starting to move their assets to passive index funds, such as the S&P 500. While passive management may not always be the best investment strategy, it certainly shows results over the active management strategy. And that’s the second point of my argument for investing in index funds like the S&P 500: Performance. First, it should be noted that in 2021, about 75% of day traders failed to beat the S&P 500. In fact, according to a study by Bank of America, just 1% of fund managers focused on growth outperformed the S&P 500. Source: Financial Times In the scenario illustrated above, most fund managers did not seek (and capture) the available alpha. However, for value fund managers, the narrative was a little different, with many concentrating on the financials, and energy industry, which showed positive returns in 2021. Second, active management may outperform passive management during the short term, but the probability for actively managed funds to consistently decreases significantly with each passing year. Source: The Economist Since working professionals like myself and other Millennials still have several decades ahead of us before retiring and making use of our investments, it is important to me to perform consistently in line with the markets rather than having 1 outlier year in performance metrics but then lagging behind all other years due to incorrect assumptions and high expense ratios. Third, I consider the volatility of the investments that I select for my portfolio. While I know that as a young investor, I have time on my side, so volatility shouldn’t really matter, my personal preference is to invest in assets that show consistent growth over time. And once again, that’s where reputable indices like the S&P 500 come into play. A common measure of volatility is calculating an asset’s standard deviation. The higher the standard deviation, the more volatile. If an asset has a standard deviation of 0, then that asset’s returns would be consistent (like earning a 0.01% interest rate in your checking account). Below is a rough estimate of the standard deviations of the S&P 500 versus actively managed mutual funds: Over a period of 5 years, the standard deviation for some actively managed funds can be more than 2 times higher (and thus, more volatile) than passively managed index funds. Take a look at the SWPPX index mutual fund’s 5-year standard deviation of 14.98 below. Source: Yahoo Finance SWPPX’s standard deviation is much lower than ARKK’s 5-year standard deviation. Source: Yahoo Finance However, one should also note thatSWPPX’s alpha is slightly negative (which means SWPPX slightly underperformed the benchmark) while ARKK’s alpha is positive, which means ARKK has outperformed its index. As you can see, there are so many different metrics you can use to evaluate an investment in your portfolio. Whether you decide to choose an index fund or an actively managed fund really comes down to your: Goals Timeframe Risk tolerance Investment preferences You can never go wrong with doing enough research before financially committing. Why the S&P 500 and Why Long-Term Investing? You’ve heard me say it before and I’ll say it again: As a Millennial investor, my goal is growth, transparency, and low fees. That’s why I’m such a believer in the S&P 500 index and the corresponding S&P 500 index funds. The S&P 500 is nothing more than a large basket of high-quality, domestic companies. The historical trends also indicate that the S&P 500 is a consistent and stable asset (see the previous discussion about standard deviation). In fact, investing in an index fund like the S&P 500 can help you navigate fear in this new era of uncertainty: Geopolitical, economic, industry regulation, economic developments, etc. Source: Seeking Alpha Since the S&P 500’s inception in 1957 through early 2022, the index has averaged roughly a 10.43% average annualized return. Of the 500 companies represented in the S&P 500, the largest weights belong to some of the following giants: Apple Google Amazon Microsoft Facebook In fact, it’s mainly the tech companies that make up a large chunk of the S&P 500 composition. Source: Statista The tech giants that are mentioned above account for about 20% of the S&P 500’s makeup. Since the S&P 500 offers many pros for passive investors like myself, I’m in favor of four S&P 500 funds: SPY VOO FNILX SWPPX Personally speaking, I prefer to diversify my portfolio with both mutual funds and ETFs because I like to hedge. And while I don’t own every name that I just mentioned above in my personal portfolio at the moment, I like staying up to date. Since I’m not the biggest fan of volatility in my personal portfolio, I hold S&P 500 mutual funds since these are traded only once per day. My dollar cost averaging plan also purchases mutual funds over ETFs. However, since I also prefer to maintain some investments that trade in a similar capacity to stocks, I also invest in ETFs like VOO. For those dividend investors out there, I should note that the S&P 500 probably shouldn’t be your first stop if you’re looking for dividend-producing investments. On average, the S&P 500’s dividend yield hovers around 1.27%, which is significantly lower than other investment funds, which can offer dividend yields of up to 4% or more. However, if you’re a young investor with many years ahead of you, then you might want to think about reinvesting your dividends instead of receiving the dividends as a direct cash payout. Reinvesting your dividends can help you fast-track your wealth growth more than if you decided to take the cash instead. The only downside is that unless you hold the dividend-producing assets in a tax-deferred investment account, you’ll still have to pay taxes on dividends received, regardless of whether you reinvested the dividends or took the cash option. The Best Low-Cost Large Cap Funds [From a Millennial’s Point of View] Two of my favorite ETFs include SPY and VOO. Both invest in the S&P500, and both trade just like stocks. In fact, if you compare both SPY and VOO against the S&P 500 index, you’ll find that both ETFs essentially track at the same rate, with a negligible difference. Source: Seeking Alpha Not surprisingly, the asset that slightly outperformed both SPY and VOO was the S&P 500 index itself. There are some minor differences between the 2 ETFs, such as: Both ETFs also payout their dividends quarterly and have seen relatively steady growth. Other S&P 500 index mutual funds I’m considering for my personal portfolio also include SWPPX and FNILX. SWPPX is the Charles Schwab S&P 500 index mutual fund. Personally, I like SWPPX because of the low expense ratio (2 basis points). When compared to FNILX, Fidelity’s ZERO expense ratio S&P 500 index mutual fund, SWPPX actually has consistently outperformed FNILX. Source: Seeking Alpha Not only does it appear that SWPPX has better performance, but it also seems that SWPPX rebounds faster from periods of volatility than FNILX. Another item to notice is that SWPPX also not only has an alpha of 0, but the mutual fund also offers a standard deviation that's lower than FNILX. Here’s a snapshot of SWPPX: Source: Market Watch Now take a look at the FNILX snapshot, illustrating the lower alpha (so FNILX is underperforming the benchmark, which is the S&P 500 index in this case) and still has a higher standard deviation, which means FNILX is susceptible to more volatility. Source: Market Watch Even though these numbers may be very minute, over an investing time frame of several decades, those small numbers can make a significant difference. While both SWPPX and FNILX can be considered alternatives to SPY and VOO, I still prefer to maintain a mixture of both ETFs and mutual funds. However, it should be noted that both SWPPX and FNILXhave lower dividend yields than their ETF counterparts, but the dividends are also payout on an annual basis and not a quarterly basis. Personally speaking, while FNILX does offer a 0% expense ratio, its performance has been underwhelming. Below is a comparison of the 4 S&P 500 index funds, VOO, SWPPX, SPY, and FNILX, versus the S&P 500 index itself: Source: Seeking Alpha Once again, FNILX is the under-performer, while the other funds seem to perform in line with the S&P 500 index. For the Tax Savvy Investors: A Tax Neutral Investing Strategy Arguably, one of the most overlooked investment strategies is investing for tax neutrality. If you’re not following a tax-efficient investing strategy, then not only might you be leaving extra money on the table, but you might also see taxes eating into your bottom-line net returns. To invest efficiently from a tax perspective, you’ll likely want to place actively managed funds (such as mutual funds with higher turnover) in tax-deferred accounts such as IRAs or HSAs. Theoretically speaking, you won’t have to pay taxes in the current year. Let’s backtrack quickly to VOO, SWPPX, FNILX, and SPY. When taking a look at each fund’s turnover ratio, you’ll find several key pieces of information, such as: Whether you can expect a fund to be of a higher quality Whether you can expect a fund to generate more short-term capital gains (which are taxed at ordinary income rates) Here’s the breakdown of FNILX versus SWPPX: As you can see, it’s common for mutual funds to have a higher turnover ratio than ETFs. In other words, mutual funds are more likely to distribute capital gains (and possibly short-term capital gains) than ETFs at the end of each year, which could signal a taxable event. For this reason, I personally hold funds with higher turnover ratios in tax-deferred investment accounts. The ETF index funds with lower turnover numbers are held in my taxable accounts. And although I do earn passive income from the ETFs in the form of dividend payouts, because the dividend yields are so low, the income is negligible compared to other dividend income I receive. That’s why I hold assets such as ETFs with low dividend yields in taxable accounts. Any income generating assets that generate significant dividend income I hold in my tax-deferred accounts. The Risks to Investing in Large Cap Mutual Funds You’ve heard me preach about my fondness for large-cap mutual funds that track S&P500 like SWPPX and FNILX. While both Warren Buffett and I believe that investing in the S&P 500 is a good bet, I want to make sure that I stress that large cap investing is not the only strategy you should consider for your portfolio. In fact, investing in large-cap funds does come with some drawbacks, such as: You shouldn’t expect to outperform the market You may experience slow periods of growth versus if you invested in small-cap funds Mutual index funds typically pay only annual dividends versus quarterly dividends with most ETFs I should also note that if you decide to invest in index mutual funds, then these investments may be less liquid than their ETF counterparts. Take a look at the comparison of AUM between ETFs and mutual funds below: While total assets under management (AUM) shouldn’t be the only indicator as it relates to a fund’s liquidity (or lack thereof), the AUM numbers can provide you with a good indication as to which fund(s) may offer more liquidity than others, especially during volatile market conditions. And that idea brings me to my last point: Identifying key indicators and preparing for a recession. Will Rate Hikes Signal a Recession? The latest news from the Federal Reserve regarding rate hikes emerged in March of 2022, which saw the Fed announce a raise of 25 basis points of the fed funds rate. This tightening policy is the first time the Fed has made such a move since 2018 to directly confront the record-high inflation we’ve been experiencing over the past few months. Rate hikes can help ease supply-side frictions, especially by lowering the demand, which could help ease prices. However, if Fed Chair Jerome Powell increases rates too fast, economic turmoil may be triggered and at the current moment, prominent economic experts already have predicted the potential for a recession in 2023 to 2024 to hover around a 50% chance. While no one knows what will happen in the next year, let alone the next few months from now, the yield curve is a leading economic indicator that has almost always been a major signal of an impending recession. Source: FRED Historically, if the Yield Curve is inverted, then a recession has generally followed. In fact, a yield curve inversion has accurately predicted an upcoming recession, aside from 1955. And, in 6 of the last 13 economic cycles, the yield curve inverted within 1 year of an initial tightening move. In all inversion occurrences, the economy entered a recession within 12 to 18 months following the initial inversion. While there still may be some debate around the length of time that a yield curve should remain inverted before signaling a recession, undoubtedly the current yield curve has been flattening and trending downward, possibly toward inversion. Assuming the yield curve does invert in 2022, then this may be one of the strongest economic indicators that a recession may be around the corner. Moreover, if the Fed truly wants to move forward with their 7 expected rate hikes for 2022, then it might be even more imminent for a yield curve inversion in the near future. Other Considerations to Prepare for a Recession Since experts do agree that a recession is very likely to occur within the next few years, I’m preparing today to optimize my finances for a future market downturn. First, I’m a little overweight on my cash exposure. Typically, I try and keep my portfolio to about2% to 3% in cash. However, knowing that an economic downturn is imminent, I’m slowly building my cash reserves (possibly to 10% or 20%) to take advantage of a recession. Buying when equities are “on sale” during a recession is one of the fastest and most efficient ways to build wealth over time. Second, I’m also taking a closer look at my taxable account positions in an effort to identify investments that I could tax-loss harvest. In other words, I would analyze the capital gains and capital losses of my investments to see if I could offset gains with losses. Since markets have seen much growth over the past few years, it’s highly unlikely that I’ll find many positions with losses. However, should the economy enter a period of heavy volatility and consequently cause losses in my investments, I could immediately take advantage of tax loss harvesting. If you do plan to implement this tax-neutral strategy, just make sure you communicate with both your accountant and your wealth advisor to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Third, while not for me at this point in my life, I would also consider making Roth IRA conversions. Typically, this strategy is reserved for someone who has a lot of pre-tax investments and is looking to build up their after-tax Roth investment accounts. The point of a Roth conversion is to withdraw your funds from your Roth IRA during retirement without having to pay taxes. You don’t pay taxes during retirement because with a Roth conversion; you elect to pay ordinary income taxes today on the amount you convert at the historically low tax brackets we have today. On the other hand, if you leave your assets in your pre-tax account, you’ll more than likely have to pay taxes when you withdraw the funds. While Roth conversions really shouldn’t be driven by market conditions alone, they certainly are another planning strategy that you can implement today to lower your out-of-pocket expenses tomorrow. Once again, this strategy may suit some more than others and it’s always advisable to check with your accountant and wealth advisor first before proceeding. And finally, fourth, I’m also looking to align my inner money compass. In other words, I’m trying to better understand my own thoughts on money, my risk tolerance and of course, how I would psychologically react during a recession when I see my portfolio down by potentially 40% or more. Many investors believe that it’s so important to prepare financially speaking for a recession, and I agree that’s one piece of the puzzle. However, I also think it’s important to consider the psychological aspect since it’s not easy to see your own, hard-earned money seemingly disappear during volatile market times. So, understand how you might react during a recession and try to prepare yourself mentally for such a downturn. Conclusion As a Millennial investor, I’m looking forward to an economic downturn. Why? Because it’s an opportunity to buy equities“on sale.” I’m a bargain investor with a long-term focus, which is why I look for low-expense ratios and undervalued equities. However, the cost is not the only factor when I determine what to add to my portfolio. I also review the performance, allocation, alpha, and standard deviation to make sure the investment matches my overall risk profile. While there are many unique investment assets and investment classes out there, I personally follow Warren Buffett’s investment advice, which is to track the S&P 500 index fund. So, I have invested in SWPPX and VOO. I’m also thinking about adding SPY along with several other ETFs to my portfolio. Overall, however, the trick really isn’t to time the market or to carefully select an assortment of stocks. In the end, success in the stock market really does depend on consistency (how often do you invest in the stock market?) and timeframe (how long do you plan to stay invested in the stock market before withdrawing your assets?). And ultimately, time and a long-term focus are the key ingredients to becoming a successful investor. Follow me on LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Fiona Smith, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Fiona Smith is the founder of The Millennial Money Woman. She holds her Master of Science Degree in Personal Financial Planning and has co-founded a local non-profit community teaching financial literacy. She is the author of the personal finance book How to Get Rich from Nothing and her work is featured on Forbes, Oberlo, and FinCon.

David Malcolm is an accomplished real estate professional, influential business leader, and committed community leader. He has amassed five decades of real estate experience and has earned the premium CCIM real estate designation. After obtaining his real estate license while in high school, David began his career. He later graduated from the Harvard Business School's President's Program, and he is now a Harvard Business School contributing lecturer. Early in his career, he launched a business, gained exclusive rights to California's Rally Hamburger Chain for Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties, and managed over a thousand team members at 40+ locations. Based in San Diego, David Malcolm is the President of Cal West Apartments, which has provided financing for many commercial clients and home buyers and built thousands of apartments and homes. He has handled sales, management, loans, and acquisitions totaling over $4 billion. Besides working hard, David has held several civic offices and has served on many boards, including the American Cancer Society, San Diego Christian College, St. Vincent de Paul, and San Diego History Center. He is also passionate about his charitable work as an advocate for the homeless and is a generous contributor to many non-profits. In his free time, David enjoys spending time with his beloved wife, Annie, their children, and grandchildren. With a successful career as an entrepreneur and real estate expert, what does a normal day in your life look like? My morning routine has evolved over the years, but I enjoy starting my day with a four-mile walk up and down the hills near my home. Not only do I get a picturesque view of San Diego, but it helps me organize my thoughts, map out my day, and prioritize the challenges and opportunities facing Cal West Apartments. What significant challenges do you recall from the early years of your career? I began my real estate career at 18, full of youthful energy and fresh perspective. While these attributes were often an advantage, enabling me to work long hours and cultivate new ideas, this time was not without obstacles. Unfortunately, young business professionals can experience disadvantages due to their lack of experience, and I was no different. However, I ultimately overcame that through my perseverance and the relationships I developed with mentors. Because my mentors often shared their failures with me, it helped me avoid making the same mistakes. They also gave excellent advice to help me advance my projects. I strongly encourage those just starting in their career, especially entrepreneurs, to seek out mentors and treasure the time you spend with them. What inspired you to pursue a career in the real estate industry? After President Richard Nixon signed the 26th Amendment into law, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18, California followed suit and lowered most requirements, including the minimum age to obtain a real estate license to 18 years old. As fate would have it, shortly after my 18th birthday, I saw an advertisement in the local newspaper about an upcoming test to earn a real estate license. In April of 1972, full of confidence only youth can provide, I took the test and was fortunate enough to pass. Since then, I've been in love with the real estate industry and can't imagine any other career that would bring me as much satisfaction. Since 2018, you've served as the President of Cal West Apartments, a provider of quality housing in San Diego and South Riverside counties. Can you tell us how you stepped into that role? As a longtime friend and philanthropic advisor to Jim and Dianne Bashor, I was honored to become the President of the Bashor family of companies, which includes Cal West and twenty-plus related companies. The Bashor family has always been committed to excellence in business and community service, and I've been fortunate to work alongside them in both endeavors. Looking back on your diverse and extensive career, what has been your most satisfying moment? One of the reasons I remain as motivated as ever is that my work isn't defined by a single event but rather by a series of past, present, and future moments. To this day, I still get excited about every deal and receive immense satisfaction from closing a complex transaction. What does the future look like for Cal West and the real estate industry? Cal West, like most businesses, will look very different in five years. Staying in front of change is challenging but even more exciting and rewarding. ESG (environmental, social, governance), for example, is at the forefront of our decision-making, and we're always looking for expansion opportunities and creating a more diverse team. Simply put, these practices are good business. I'm confident financial rewards will follow if we can stay ahead of our competition in these areas. What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs? Every single entrepreneur is unique, just as every business is unique, meaning my advice may not apply to every situation. With that in mind, I believe individuals should pursue a profession that aligns with their talents and skills. Now, this advice may go against the grain since many people say to do what you love, but if you do what you are good at, the rewards will follow. Aspiring entrepreneurs must also continually pursue several ideas to hit upon a great idea. Many ideas will fail to come to fruition. But it's vital to be open to failure because it will be life-changing when you finally get the right idea. Lastly, as I mentioned earlier, find a mentor or several! Good mentors are priceless. Their advice and experience can help you on your entrepreneurial journey in ways that few other things can.

Written by: Morgan Williams, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. As a child, I was overweight. Kids picked on me, but no one was harder on me than myself. I remember being asked by a family member, “Who wants to go to Wendy’s and get a Frosty?” My eyes lit up and I exclaimed “ME!” The response to my excitement was “Do you really think you need one?” My heart was crushed. Don’t get me wrong, I adore this human more than almost everyone, but the memory of shame that I felt in my body that day has stayed with me forever. Now that I am older and have processed so much of this “stuff”, I realize that having grown up in a “big” body, resulted in me keeping myself small, trying hard not to be noticed. I have worked hard on my mindset, physical health, emotional health, and spirituality over the years, but this shame stayed stuck in my body for years. All of this work has brought me to a place of contentment, a place in which I can say that I truly and deeply love ME. It does not change where I came from or the deep shame that I felt in my body and have carried around for the last 30+ years. This mindset really shifted for me, upon working with my own coaches. Literally, talking to my inner child and saying to her what she needed and wanted to hear as an 8-year-old girl. Much of this shame was stuck in my body, so taking on a physical embodiment practice, in addition to the mindset work was key. It has shifted my life and my business. I no longer feel afraid to show up and speak my truth. I no longer need to play small. I get to share my story with the world so that I can show up authentically, lead, and inspire other women to do the same. Ladies who struggle with childhood trauma and shame around their bodies, I see you. You are whole, perfect, and complete just the way you are, just because you ARE. This is an invitation for you to step into your power and heal the wounding, shame, and harsh words that you encountered along the way. I see you. I honor you. I witness your courage. I invite you to heal these experiences and the parts of you that made you feel unlovable. My friends are nothing short of a miracle. If you feel called to connect and unleash your inner radiance, please reach out. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Morgan! Morgan Williams, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Morgan Williams, wear many hats and titles; however, it is the work with her own personal healing journey, which led her to the path of coaching and energy work. Morgan was a professional educator for 16 years, while running a small business for the last five. She is a single mom, to the BEST kid around, and she found herself totally burnt out. Something had to change, and it started with coming back to herself. She found yoga and coaching during this time. She remembers vividly, sitting there, paralyzed with a broken heart, and realizing that if her relationship with herself was better, no one person, could hurt her that deeply. It was her wake-up call and self-love, and true self-care was the first step and a total game-changer in her journey.

Written by: Jessi Risley, 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. Emotional understanding begins at birth and is taught throughout childhood, during a time of immense personal and emotional development. Thriving in an environment of emotional stability and safety, we learn to understand who we are, how we feel and how to interact with others. This is the formative time of relationships and emotional regulation. Communication plays a large role in our emotional development as children growing into adulthood. If the environment is unstable, leaving little to no room for emotional communication and security, it is likely that these children are raised disconnected from themselves and lack emotional stability of their own understanding. As we grow, our processing capabilities are limited to our experiences and ability to stabilize our internal emotional understanding of our environment. In order to become fluent in our emotional language and self-regulation, we must learn how to see outside of our own perspective of emotional attachment or disconnection. Here’s how to enhance your emotional understanding: 1. Differentiate between ego and intuitive thinking. Growing up in an unstable enviornment leads to insufficient emotional security, allows for extensive exposure to fight or flight stimulation, becoming more adherent to the characteristics of one’s personality, rather than an extension of their circumstances. This is a byproduct of fear-based thinking and rationalization. Intuitive processing is a natural flow of emotional growth from childhood into adulthood, allowing for a slower momentum of understanding and regulation. In this state, you are more apt to communicate and ask questions regarding how you feel, as opposed to suppression and regression. 2. Allow yourself to feel without guilt. properly grow in an emotional aspect, you must allow yourself to feel what’s happening within your mind-body connection ‒ to understand what the emotions are telling your physical body about the experience of emotional attachment to yourself, situations, circumstances, etc. To feel without guilt creates a new environment of peace and acceptance that may not have been apparent previously. As you begin to understand your emotional states and the messages of your mind-body connection, you will begin to acknowledge that regulation is an important aspect of personal connections and relationships. 3. Build a connection between who you were to who you are now. Personal expansion is best experienced by understanding the past. Once you harness the story of who you were and where you came from, you can cultivate a healthy present in order to build your desired future. Learning from the past is vital to ensure that your present is not a repeating pattern of unhealthy behavior and stunted emotional growth. Emotional healing is your responsibility; to change the narrative of your life experience and enhance your personal connections. It becomes easier to expand personally and in relationships after you have acknowledged where growth and healing were most needed and allowed the implementation of change. 4. Become aware of your internal dialogue. Your choice of internal conversation can become the epitome of external expression. Being aware of the impact you have on yourself, your healing and your understanding change the direction to which you transform. Your best attributes to your life and that of others is to better understand how your thoughts, actions/reactions, beliefs and self-reflection become the outward expression to the world. If it’s true that we teach the world how to treat us, we must learn to love who we are by embracing our story with compassion and a breath of transformational belief. If you’d like more information about emotional healing and how it will positively impact your professional and personal life, please visit jessirisley.com. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Jessi! Jessi Risley, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Jessi Risley is a relationship specialist and psychic medium to high-profile individuals, In 2018, she completed her life coaching and NLP practitioner education that empowered her to help others overcome emotional distress surrounding relationships. Shortly after, Jessi began building a career teaching meditation, how to harness their innate personal power and heal their emotional trauma to better relationships, both platonic and romantic. She uses her natural-born gift to spiritually connect with her clients to offer deep healing transformation. Jessi has been featured in several publications, is a published author and offers customized mentoring for her clients based on their needs.

Written by: Ilaria Storch, 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. Sometimes we keep ourselves small out of conditioning, or by living in a place, and even a city, or country, that has not found the capacity to inspire, or stir emotions, in us. It happens, sometimes specific people, or locations, do not motivate you to grow, to thrive – they fail to have an emotional and practical input on you, in order for you to create the desire to change and move forward. Some relationships and jobs can get you stuck as well. The world is big, there is room for your ideas, for celebrating and welcoming your vision and projects, wherever you are. 1. Notice the Size of the Places Around You Access right now the physical space around you ‒ is it spacious, tight? How long has it been since you moved the furniture around, or renewed the painting? This exercise here is to bring you into awareness of where you are and bring the emotion towards you. If you are at a big house, or by the sea, or country – do you feel at ease and grateful, really enjoying where you are right now? The practice here is to see if the place brings you joy, maybe even knowing, and learning, a sense of history about the place, and never letting yourself feel entitled by it all – just being aware and receiving the experience of basking in your own presence and venue. If you live, on the other hand, in a smaller apartment, condo, or home, is your heart at peace or longing for more? The sensation when you open your arms wide, take a deep breath and look at the things around you, whether you like them or not, is to get you out of automatic mode. It's about getting the motivation to match your inside desires with the outside ‒ by taking action, so that you feel worthy of what you already have, and worthy of those big dreams inside you. 2. Bringing in Joy, Not Comfort The famous comfort zone continues to be one of the best ways to just sit and let opportunities and joy pass you by ‒ halt here! As you are reading this, I can see your mind is already stepping up with ideas. Congratulations! You've tackled your surrounding on step one, here you may be feeling somewhat insecure, and almost convincing yourself "you've done all you can" ‒ to go bigger on your dreams, career, relationships, changing country, and even to seek more peace of mind. Do something different today, call someone new, set new boundaries, enroll in a class to uplevel your skills, come up with new routines for yourself. Your kids. Your loved one. At work. Here a story to tell you how conditioned one can get. Some months ago, I rearranged my kitchen cabinet, and moved the cups and glasses to the other side, and the plates to where the cups are now. On the first week it's quite normal to open the cup's, or dishes’ cabinet, forgetting the places were swapped. Yet after many weeks, and occasionally up to now, when I'm a bit distracted, or unaware, I will still go to the previous order of things. Imagine that one ends up doing that with many other bigger issues in life, so it's important that you set your intentions daily – from where you get your coffee cup, to where you want to go with your business, relationships, health, and all. Practice your sense of wonder each moment, think big, challenge your mind, shake it up! 3. You are Your Best Example Yes, you are the one that can keep yourself thriving, doing the growth and work ‒ or keep yourself small, by believing in people's ideas of who you are and what you do. You certainly have been through a lot and learned from so many personal and professional experiences – so remember to compare yourself only to your previous self, and it doesn't have to be linear, it just has to be your own road. Finding inspiration in others is wonderful – looking up to someone, to a parent, a teacher, sibling, or professional coach, or mentor – and a doctor (when mental issues are involved), gives you a sense of support and some idea of what is possible. It's a great starting point. You can temporarily borrow that energy, while you find your own roadmap, with your unique talents, capacities, and desire to think and create your delightful days and life journey. Travel is a great way for self-discovery, be it a mini short trip, a huge one, or even a whole day off, disconnected. Nothing like putting yourself in an unknown environment or situation to bring out resources you did not know you had! Time invested in knowing who you are, in self-improvement, in understanding life around you, is a very generous act, that will also make you available and compassionate of those close to you, wherever you are. Ask yourself: what things get you feeling that all is possible, which ones bring you down – now and in the past? Slowly build your today, bigger and renewed. See that unique smile of yours popping up, one that says, I'm here, I own my story and want to live it well, by my standards ‒ being big is not about being bossy or arrogant. It's about being fulfilled even in the tiniest challenge you've mastered, and feeling that you're larger than life, gratefully. Life is Nomadic by Essence! I help you navigate major life transitions with confidence towards your big goals and best life, wherever you are! Remember to get your “Free 7 Tips to Feel at Home Anywhere” on the site. Read more about self-discovery and nomad journeys here. You can connect with me also at Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or visit my website for more info! Read more from Ilaria! Ilaria Storch, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Ilaria Storch, a Life Coach Nomad, is the creator of Life Coach Nomads, where she shares her passion for travel and for inspiring people everywhere to access their true center and find more connection and energy on the way to more joy, fun, and fulfillment. She practices that following your emotions, wrapped up in a personal structure that can connect your goals, desires, and love, is the path to all real and true growth. Wherever you are, change is nomadic by essence, and it takes time, support and starts inside you when you absolutely desire to develop yourself and move on. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Advertising, speaks many languages, won a Fashion Illustration Award during College, and loves coaching her clients towards their expressive life journey.

Written by: Phillip Golding, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. What are you creating? There is one ability that human beings have that sets us apart from every other creature on this planet, and that is the dynamic ability to create as an independent, self-driven consciousness. We are all creators, but we don’t necessarily know or understand what we are creating. William Shatner, of Star Treck fame, recently wrote about his experience of actually entering space, for real, in Jeff Bezos’ "Blue Origin" spacecraft. Looking out into the dark, infinite expanse of space, Shatner described how he found himself not thinking about the adventure of "boldly going where no man has gone before", but instead, how cold, unforgiving and deadly space looked. When he looked back at earth, he described a profound feeling of how much Earth represented a sanctuary of safety and of life. He could see how fragile this sanctuary was, protected from space only by a thin layer of the atmosphere, which is kept in place by all the natural factors of Earth working in harmony together. He also reflected on the one factor within that perfectly balanced ecosystem that is threatening this vitally important balance, and that is humanity. Humanity, made up of human beings such as you and I, is out of balance with nature to the point of being in direct conflict with nature, each other, and ultimately ourselves, when in reality, we are all in this together. We are creators, but we are out of control and out of balance with creation itself. The First Law of Consciousness It doesn't have to be that way, however. As human beings, we also have the power to consciously create in harmony with ourselves, each other, and this gigantic spaceship that we live on. There are two fundamental principles, or Law of Consciousness, that guide our ability to create in harmony with all that we depend on. In fact, these laws were identified in the earliest known wisdom texts written five thousand years ago. These laws have remained a constant right up to now and continue to guide those who pay attention. In my first article for Brainz magazine, I wrote about the importance of Acceptance, and particularly Unconditional Self-Acceptance ‒ the essential factor that enables us to look squarely at ourselves without being pushed back by our own, often unconscious, self-rejection. This is the first of the two Laws of Consciousness. Being able to look squarely at ourselves means that we are learning to be consciously aware of ourselves. This implies that even though, as human beings, we may have the power of a dynamic consciousness, we have not necessarily activated the full potential of that power. With Unconditional Self-Acceptance, our power of consciousness is being activated to the next level of awareness. Here we are learning to observe ourselves from a higher, more enlightened perspective. I described this fundamental acceptance as an essential factor that enables us to heal our minds, learn, grow and evolve. I also pointed out that acceptance is a quality of Unconditional Love, which is how we perceive/feel Oneness. That might sound a bit mystical, but when William Shatner looked back at mother Earth from the cold, unforgiving expanse of space, he not only saw, but experienced that Oneness that he felt so much a part of. The Second Law of Consciousness From that state of wonder and connection, Shatner then felt something very different, and that was despair at the pointless disharmony and conflict that humanity engages in. This brings us to the second Law of Consciousness, which is Personal Responsibility. Personal Responsibility is the path of wisdom, integrity and genuine empowerment ‒ an empowerment that not only empowers ourselves, but motivates and enables us to empower others. Unconditional Acceptance/Love and Personal Responsibility, to be a force for good, must be combined, like the two wings of a bird. Without Personal Responsibility, Unconditional Self-Acceptance can become self-indulgent and can fall into the temptation of taking from others and the world, such as with thoughtless materialism. Without Unconditional Self-Acceptance, Personal Responsibility can become harsh and unforgiving, and can seek to dominate others to fulfil an underlying emptiness. We must combine these two Laws of Consciousness and live them as the foundation for our own relationship with ourselves and our approach to creating our lives. When we do, we enter the path of accepting full responsibility to love ourselves unconditionally. This means our self-worth no longer depends on things external to us. We no longer have to control, manipulate and exploit those around us to feel whole and secure. It also implies that Love does not come from outside us. Just like the empowered realisation that no one owns our worth, in the same way, no one owns our Love. In reality, genuine self-worth and self-love are the same thing. This takes a lot of thinking about, and can be a very confronting perspective for the ego to comprehend. In my experience, all that is in our minds that are confronted by this perspective is what creates disharmony, conflict and suffering. This perspective (accepting full responsibility to love ourselves unconditionally) is fundamentally important for empowerment and resilience. It is fundamental for creating relationship harmony. Sustainability in business also depends on these Laws of Consciousness. The most important factor in Personal Responsibility is taking full ownership of your own mind. You see the world through the lens of your own mind, which colours everything you perceive. In other words, you are accepting full responsibility for everything you think, feel, say and do. Taking Charge of Your Mind As adults, no one makes us think or feel. We have all grown through our childhood years to where we are thoroughly conditioned with beliefs and programmed life-strategies. What we think and feel in response or reaction to what is occurring in the moment is our choice, whether that choice is conscious or unconscious and depends directly on the meanings we project onto that moment. As adults, having the power of awareness, we are in charge of our own minds, just like we are in charge of the car that we are driving on the road. If we deny the road rules and impulsively do whatever we want on the road, regardless of the other drivers and also our own highest good, we are going to create chaos. In the same way, if we deny Self-Acceptance and Personal Responsibility, the laws of Conscious-Awareness, we will create some form of chaos in our lives, and within our own minds. Unlike adults, children have limited access to awareness. That’s why they need parents ‒ to mentor them into their growing potential of awareness. When parents deny responsibility for their own minds, the consequences are obvious. As I also pointed out in my first article, living these Laws of Consciousness does not mean that we are going to get it right. It means that we are going to have a go, while accepting our humanness as well as the outcomes of our efforts and decisions and do our best to learn something constructive from that experience. Living the Power of Personal Responsibility Let us see how these Laws of Consciousness work in a relationship that is harmonious, loving and highly functional. Such a relationship does not occur by accident. Each person in that relationship already knows how to love and accept themselves without depending on the other person to do this for them. They are not so much taking love from one another, but instead inflowing love into the relationship from the fountain of their own relationship with themselves. They are standing on their internal self-worth, self-love foundation. The more we depend on the other to be the source of our love and worth, the more we trap each other in expectations that we can’t live up to, resulting in conflict. In this harmonious relationship, each person takes ownership of their own worth, which also means they each accept their own humanness. They don’t blame/judge the other when their fears and insecurities are triggered. They instead recognise that their sudden vulnerability is revealing to their awareness where they have become confused, usually due to unhelpful conditioning from their childhood, that has led to unrealistic expectations. They don’t blame/judge themselves either. As a result of their own self-awareness and self-compassion, they, instead, see the opportunity to adjust their thinking for their own highest good, which also benefits the relationship. To the degree that we blame and judge the other or ourselves, is the degree that we won’t learn from our own mistakes. Also, to the degree that we blame and judge ourselves is the degree that we allow ourselves to be mistreated, or inversely, the more we try to prop up our self-worth with pride, denial and self-righteousness. When we run a business with this aware perspective, we are not depending on the business to prop up our ego. We are not running on empty, expecting business outcomes to fill us up. This existential emptiness, that drives all business practices that engage in exploitation of people and unsustainable use of natural resources, is driven by self-rejection. I suspect it also drives the boom and bust of the stock market. This self-rejection may be denied and buried deep within our unconscious, but it is revealed when enough is never enough. An important lesson I learned in business is to be able to let it go, to even have it fail, without my self-worth being reduced. I learned to not build my self-worth and identity around my business, which is a center for professionals in the field of mental health and personal development. Being in charge of my own worth and accepting my own humanness took the fear and stress out of building, managing and maintaining my business. It helped me be more patient and enabled me to see and operate from a bigger picture. My center is a stable home for a number of independent practitioners, who are there because they want to be there. It is like a home to them. There are no contracts locking them in. What there is is good will and cooperation, nurtured by Acceptance and Personal Responsibility. There was a time when my lease was under threat. This was a challenge, because the building we are in and its location is quite unique. During the meeting with the other practitioners to discuss the matter, they unanimously decided that, if need be, we would all move together and share resources to make that happen. That is what relationship means, business or personal. That is the harmony, the Oneness, that is created by having Acceptance and Personal Responsibility as the foundation of our lives. Being a Student of Life I also mentioned in my first article that through the power of Acceptance and Personal Responsibility, you are no longer a victim of Life, but become a student of Life. You cannot be consciously aware and be a victim at the same time. Every moment is an opportunity to look at how your own mind is reacting or responding to the moment, revealing how you are accepting yourself or rejecting yourself. Self-rejection is revealed by your vulnerable emotions of pain and suffering. Your mind is calling out to you to parent yourself with compassion, love and the power of Personal Responsibility. Through these Laws of Consciousness, you come to experience how Life is partnering you in your own evolution ‒ evolving you into your own potential. When observing life from this perspective, you will become aware of how life’s circumstances and conditions mirror so effectively what you need to learn. Knowing What Works and Why Look at the world around you and observe it from this empowered perspective. Where there is self-rejection, there is pride, denial and self-righteousness trying to compensate for it, or people allowing themselves to be mistreated and therefore conflict. Self-rejection creates internal conflict with our own selves. As a result, that inner-conflict is projected onto others, depending on our own conditioning and personality. These projections, driven by self-rejection, create fear, prejudice, dishonesty, division and inequality in the community. Out of their own self-created fear, people seek to reject, dominate or exploit others. In contrast, where the Laws of Consciousness are being lived, there is tolerance, inclusiveness, kindness, mutual respect, integrity, equality/equity and harmony, because people are in harmony with themselves. Perhaps, with our growing collective awareness, more than at any other time, we can see the consequences of the absence of these Laws of Consciousness and also when they are actually being lived. It is not always black and white. There is always a lot of grey. However, observing from this perspective will help you see what works and why it works. Have a look for yourself. Perhaps you may want to explore these laws of consciousness for yourself in your own life. What’s the risk? All you will loose is inner-conflict and suffering. What you will gain is inner-harmony, loving relationships, empowerment, sustainability and awareness. Live your life from the power of Self-Acceptance and Personal Responsibility and create a life that matches your potential. Follow me on LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Philip! Phillip Golding, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Phil has been on his own personal development journey since 1984. He overcame chronic depression and PTSD, which motivated him to continue to learn about emotional healing, psychology, and self-awareness. Phil’s qualifications and experience cover general psychology, existential/spiritual/transpersonal psychology and mindfulness and a post-graduate degree in psychology. With his personal and professional experience, Phil developed the powerful and effective mindfulness-based “Five Step Process,” which has been the foundation of his psychotherapy practice and mindfulness/self-awareness teaching. Phil is also an author and is in the process of completing the second edition of his book, “Five Steps to Freedom.”

Written by: Beth Johnson, 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. Early in my leadership career, I began to observe how people communicated in various settings. I soon realized that most interactions failed to foster understanding, engagement, and timely responses. It appeared that most people simply wanted to share their own agenda and opinions. I get it. I was one of them! Yet even the most seasoned leaders, whom I tried to emulate, struggled to communicate effectively. Too often, they fell back on directives rather than providing guidance or support, much to the detriment and progress of those in their charge. After years of observation and study, and with some help from my mentor John Maxwell, it hit me. During our school years, we received instruction on subjects or professions. However, little emphasis was placed on successfully interacting with our fellow humans. We graduated without understanding the nuances and complexity of communicating. A few years later, spurred on by a period of great discontent amongst my direct reports, I decided to change my own communication practices. Self-reflection, therapy, and most importantly, listening to employee feedback, led me to understand that their dissent had started with me. I committed to improve myself and help guide my team, but I had no idea where or how to introduce what I heard learned. In the end, I chose to use a common analogy - the perils of a busy highway – what I call our Communication Highway. Similar to navigating a fast-paced interstate, communicating with other people has its inherent hazards. Each time we ‘merge’ we make navigation decisions that may deliver us to our destination in a timely and safe manner, or perhaps the opposite, leave us stranded on a rutted dirt road preparing for a visit from Bigfoot! Yet, if we want to succeed, none of us can avoid this highway. It is a path required in helping us reach desired outcomes. Because, as we know, no one succeeds alone. We must engage others. It can be tricky to navigate a road shared with people whose style, experience,s and habits differ from ours. On the Communication Highway, tires go flat, wrong turns are taken, and vehicles cut you off. Deep ruts and damaging potholes develop when the highway is neglected. Forks in the road appear out of nowhere requiring decisions you had not anticipated. On the Communication Highway, we find people: Exiting (unexpectedly leaving a conversation) Avoiding Potholes (reacting versus responding) Swerving (changing conversational direction) Off-roading (going against the crowd) Detouring (straying too far off-topic) Stopping (shutting down) Congestion (too many people/ideas/emotions) Leaders, it is a safe bet you will run across these conditions multiple times a day when trying to influence or inspire team members. To successfully navigate each condition requires clear, direct and honest communication in its many forms. In short, everything you hope to accomplish is impacted by your communication decisions. It’s no secret that leaders today are heavily taxed on time and energy. When the rubber meets the road, deadlines and company objectives often take priority. Yet it is critical in these moments to communicate with the individuals and teams assigned to meet those deadlines, and achieve those goals. They will stall out if the vision, mission, and expected outcomes are relayed in a stunted or rushed manner, or worse, not at all. Having said all that, there are two hazards in particular that I find present the most danger and create the most chaos on our Communication Highway -- Assumptions and Expectations. Hazard No.1 ‒ Assumptions While financial and hiring assumptions have their place in business they do not belong in our day-to-day communication. If you prefer a favorable outcome, that is. You may feel you can relate to another person’s situation or believe you know how he or she feels or will act, based on historical data. However, even if you have a history or experience with them, it is unsafe and disrespectful to assume how they will respond. You can guess, but to plan your response based on your assumption is reckless at best. When responding based on assumption versus fact, a negative component of communication is introduced, one that can be perceived by others as: Deflection of your true feelings, beliefs or fears. Unwillingness to own your choices. Your desire to be right. Furthermore, when assumptions are made it is human nature for the receiving party to take a defensive position. They may fight (argumentative), freeze (stop listening), flight (avoidance) or fawn (submissiveness), all of which are counter-intuitive to engagement and progress. In his book, "Don't Make Assumptions: The Four Agreements", Don Miguel Ruiz outlines the damages we do to self and others when we assume. My favorite excerpt reads, “Because we are afraid to ask for clarification, we make assumptions; then we defend our assumptions and try to make someone else wrong. It is always better to ask questions than to make an assumption, because assumptions set us up for suffering.” Don reveals here the 1 tool for squashing assumptions. Ask questions. Be curious. Dig for truth and reality. Doing so will save you countless hours of frustration. Misunderstanding and conflict create time-consuming and unnecessary meetings, elongated projects, employee dissent, and team breakdowns. Asking questions can help mitigate these issues and so much more. Here are some other reasons why taking the time to ask, to converse, trumps assuming every time: When others feel heard, they are more receptive to what you have to say. When you build trust and establish two-way respect, people are more likely to follow. Your choices will be made using fact versus hearsay or intuition. Problems resolve more quickly with reduced focus on negative emotions. Connection and creative thinking happen organically, leading to better results. Assumptions are the termites of relationships. ‒ Henry Winkler Hazard No.2 ‒ Expectations For this article, I refer to expectations as the ‘unstated, unshared prediction of another person’s results, words or actions based on a hunch or an assumption’. Setting expectations of or for another human being without giving them a voice in the matter, no matter how honorable the intent, is simply an attempt to control both the outcome and other person. Left unshared, the other party (whether employee, colleague or manager) is working with a data set based on his or her interpretation, experience, and knowledge. If that data set differs from your expectation, your interaction will inevitably fail. Trust issues will arise, creating massive roadblocks for you both. Progress will stall. Relationships will suffer. Following are a few examples of unstated, unshared expectations that will bring open communication and collaboration to a screeching halt: I expect they will do their job the way I want it done. I expect others to keep me informed. I expect my employees to know and follow the company vision. I expect my teams to stay in constant communication. I expect all employees to understand and respect our current financial position. I expect my boss knows I will meet the deadline since I have clearly been working hard. Most of us struggle or even choose not to voice our expectations when under strict time constraints, heavy workload, or during conflict. Ironically, those are the most critical times to communicate. Unspoken expectations lead to misunderstanding, blame, and contention. All of which can be mitigated by clearly starting your expectation. Let’s look at this example. A leader has asked that a new training manual be written. The leader should provide the following five pieces of data, at a minimum: WHAT: A 100-page, 2-sided training manual for the customer management system. WHO: Who writes? Who leads? Who collaborates? Who reviews? Who receives the final product? WHEN: What specific day and time should drafts and final version be delivered? HOW: How should the manual be presented? Digital or print? WHERE: To which digital or physical address do you expect delivery? Assuming that the people involved in this project already know the answers to one or more of these five questions sets everyone up for failure. For instance, they may fall short of 100 pages, involve others too early, deliver past the time you needed to make your deadlines, present in a format that is difficult for you to review or requires a software you don’t have. Just one of these unvoiced expectations can create frustration, confusion, lost time and money, and more. So the next time you set an expectation, voice it. Share the specifics. The minutes you spend doing this can save you hours of future frustration. Not to mention that doing so gives all parties equal opportunity to participate, clarify and voice concern in the moment, reducing or eliminating long email threads, unnecessary meetings, and project delays. The short and long-term payoffs can be priceless. A clearly stated expectation can shift both parties' focus toward creating an intentional and mutually beneficial result. Expectations are like fine pottery. The harder you hold them, the more likely they are to crack. ‒ Brandon Sanderson When you make a commitment to ‘ask versus assume’ and to ‘voice your expectations’ you limit negative interactions and stabilize your own road conditions. Your Communication Highway is then clear of hazards and traffic will flow smoothly. Best of luck on your future journeys! For more tips on navigating your own Communication Highway, click here for a complete copy of my e-book The Communication Highway, a Guide to Navigating Conversational Potholes. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Beth Johnson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine ‘Culture Concierge’ Beth Johnson partners with gutsy leaders as they flip the script to cultivate and uphold people-first cultures. Beth focuses on 6 core leadership principles, all of which are inextricably tied to emotional agility, conscientious communication, and conflict management. As a leader in both the U.S. and Europe, Johnson reenergized and reorganized multiple teams formerly labeled as disengaged, fatigued, or failing. Beth has always promoted human-centric leadership and her 25+ years of leadership experience has proven that ROI follows.