Written by: Heidi Richards Mooney, 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 participate in an online forum, one that has a small but targeted group of highly motivated, successful individuals each with a similar goal of achieving great success? These groups can have long-term benefits because you come into contact with people you might never meet or have the opportunity to interact with, without the platform that social media offers. They too can offer similar outcomes of the more traditional masterminds; to learn from a variety of perspectives, to get ideas from more people, to brainstorm ways to tackle everyday challenges… and more. My definition of a mastermind group: A group of people who meet on a regular basis to exchange ideas, seek the advice of the group, be held accountable to following thru on your commitments and to share resources; a mastermind group can be the epicenter of new ideas.” If you are like other small business owners, you may feel isolated and that no one really understands the challenges you face in your business. A Mastermind Group will help you feel less isolated and alone. Over the years, I have been involved in several masterminds. Some of them meet/met in person, some were and are online exchanges between female speakers around the world. Some were started by others and I was invited to attend, some were started or co-founded by me. Regardless of who started the group, each of them has helped me both professionally and personally, taking my businesses to new levels of success and helping me to crystalize my purpose in life and set the goals required to achieve my purpose) both long-term and immediate. My mastermind groups have helped me to find out what it was I was really working toward, helped me set and achieve goals as well as offering the kind of encouragement that was necessary when things didn’t always go my way. There are several benefits you can receive from participating in a mastermind group. Before deciding which group to get involved in or to start, you must first ask yourself what it is you want from a mastermind group as well as what you can contribute to the group. Highly successful mastermind groups work best when you follow a few simple guidelines: People - When deciding who would best fit in your group, choose people who have specialized knowledge you lack. Enlisting people with very different outlooks strengthens a mastermind group. Time - Make a time commitment and stick to it. It doesn’t matter if you meet once a week or once a month. The point is that when you decide the frequency, make the commitment, and don’t allow anything except serious emergencies to interfere with your date. Focus - Create an agenda to follow. This provides a sense of order during your meetings. Sample agendas might include an open discussion at the beginning of the meeting and then focusing on individual challenges for about 20 minutes each. One of my groups focused on one member’s challenge each meeting with the others offering their feedback or advice. Each member gets her turn to share. This is very powerful because each of us learns something from the other’s challenges. My online group meets in a “chat room” and we each ask a question (there are 5 of us). The other 4 offer their responses. We meet for approximately one hour and we have an open discussion at the end of the meeting if there is time. Simplicity - Keep it Small and Simple. If your group is too large you run into the challenge of everyone not having sufficient time to present their own challenges. Groups of 4 to 7 seem to work best. The Rules - Decide on your rules of engagement in the very beginning. In many of my groups, we openly discuss details of our companies with the understanding that our “inside” secrets” are never divulged outside of our group. What happens in a mastermind should stay in that mastermind. You may even consider having everyone sign a non-disclosure agreement before they are accepted into the group, especially if sensitive information may be shared. Structure - Depending on the nature of your group you might consider assigning a facilitator for each meeting to keep the group on target. You learn to facilitate by doing it. Be Accountable - Another key component I should mention is that a true mastermind has an accountability component – that means we help one another achieve our goals by asking how we are doing, offering encouragement and “holding our feet to the fire” when we share our goals and our timelines for achieving them. Loosen Up - Yes, it's important to take your work seriously as well as those of the other members of your group. But it's also important to make your meetings interesting, and yes, even fun. If it's too serious, it will be more difficult to create a feeling of camaraderie and trust. I love the interaction and dynamic flow of ideas that occur during my mastermind group meetings and cannot wait to get to work on everyone’s suggestions. It is exciting to see the results and bask in the knowledge that my goals were achieved more easily and, in less time, than had I done it ‘on my own.’ When you participate in a mastermind group you will see an immediate change in how you approach your own challenges. And the other benefit is that it makes you really look at problems from a new perspective – you find that business owners are more alike than different even when we “sell” a different product or solution to our own target audience. “Being involved in mastermind groups for more than 25 years has been more rewarding for me than I could ever describe, in that I have received so much more than I could ever give back.” If you are stuck, in a rut or simply need some guidance on the next steps to take to achieve your goals, consider participating in a mastermind group (or start one of your own). Amy Poehler said it best: "I want to be around people that do things. I don’t want to be around people anymore that judge or talk about what people do. I want to be around people who dream, and support, and do things." Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Heidi! Heidi Richards Mooney, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Heidi is a professional speaker (past president for Floridas Speakers Association) an author, coach, small business owner, internet marketing and social media expert who specializes in helping clients get their Website, Blog, and social media channels noticed. She teaches audiences how to GROW their business using targeted social media channels including Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest. Heidi is also the publisher of several online magazines including WE Magazine for Women, Women of Wisdom Magazine, Marketing Small Business Magazine, Inventing Women Magazine, and Flowers Galore Magazine. She brings a unique combination of experience, technical expertise, and traditional marketing skills as well as creative new marketing approaches to maximize her clients online and social media presence. "

Written by: Merrill Isherwood, 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. Time knows no status. We all have the same amount of time available to us each day. No-one gets preferential treatment. No-one is discriminated against. Whether rich, poor, old, young, educated, or un-, royalty, commoner, we get twenty-four hours per day. The decisions we make about how we manage that time allocation is up to us. Importance of time management We constantly read in the media how important time management is, but is it always? No, it isn’t. An old lady, retired for many years, comfortable in a retirement village, whose family she sees occasionally, has no time management stresses. Her only time responsibility is to be at the communal dining hall in time for her meals. Likewise, homemakers whose schedules, may include fetching children, are fairly flexible. As long as daily tasks are done, there are few time pressures. If one is working, commuting to work daily, caring for children, and have a busy social life, then yes, time management is important. For shift, critical care, health, or security workers, or in the event of a terminal illness, time is of the essence, or even critical. Time can never be recaptured or saved – all the more reason to spend it wisely. The acquisition of time management skills Several methodologies on strategic time management abound. The choice is yours, whether you use one in its totality, a combination of some, create your own version, or whether you use none at all. One of the simpler versions is the 4 D’s of time management originally outlined in the book, The Power of Focus, by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Les Hewitt. Do – take action Defer (delay) – postpone non-critical matters Delegate – reassign work, which may not require your specialised skills to others Delete – learn to say no without feeling guilty or justifying your choice. Eliminate time- wasters The 4 P’s (Coach Jenny Donato) Prioritisation – by deadline Planning – prepare for all eventualities. Get the required tools/information you need before you start Productivity – do not allow distractions. Split work into chunks. Focus on task until completion Positivity – Approach the task with positivity and energetically, assured of a successful outcome. Celebrate successes along the way My personal version of this is: Prioritise – what needs my urgent attention Ponder – contemplate the task. Ensure your and other stakeholders’ understanding of its intricacies Plan – what resources – info, tools are required to achieve the desired result? Put structure in place for each step of the process. Set time limits for each aspect of the task Push – push through to completion, avoiding distractions. Dwight Eisenhower’s Time Management Matrix A firm favourite, this was developed during his years as 34th President of the USA and in his roles of Supreme Commander and General in the Allied Forces during World War II. See below and example of the matrix. Example of Eisenhower’s Matrix (document formatting restricts the use of tables, see outlines below) Important & Urgent Do: Business report due tomorrow Finish project proposal Respond to all urgent emails Important, but Not Urgent Schedule: Staff meeting for next Tuesday Fine-tune project plan for September Start forecasts for next month Not Important, but Urgent Delegate: Minutes note-taking for staff meeting Responding to technical-related emails Arranging refreshments for meetings Not Important & Not Urgent: Delete: Unsubscribe to spam mails Cancel unnecessary meetings Reduce meeting lengths to 45 mins Stephen Covey’s Time management matrix and jar His matrix is similar to Eisenhower’s, but the jar story is unique. It tells the story of a philosophy professor who began a class by silently picking up a large, empty jar, proceeding to fill it with rocks about 2" in diameter. He asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed it was. He then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar, shaking it lightly. The pebbles rolled into the spaces between the rocks. He again asked if the jar was full. They agreed it was, laughing. He proceeded to pour sand into the jar, which seeped in amongst the pebbles and stones. He stated: "I want you to recognise this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, partner, health, children – things that if everything else were lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are other things that matter, like your job, house, or car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff. If you put the sand in the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you, critical to your happiness and wellbeing. Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter, the rest is just sand." GTD (Getting things done) A productivity system developed by David Allen, described as a time management system, where he states: "there is an inverse relationship between things on your mind and those things getting done". He recommends tabulating all information related to the task out of one’s mind onto paper, enabling the mind to focus on each step required. This is explained in further detail in his book of the same name, published in 2015. The GTD method is the forerunner of peoples’ love of making lists. Pomodoro Technique Developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980’s, this technique focuses on working productively in chunks for 25 minutes, with a 5 minute break, before moving on to the next chunk. This is also referred to as blocking or batching. In usual circumstances, it is not easy to have 25 minutes with no distractions, but one must create an environment where this is possible. Pomodoro apps are now freely available to help you manage your time this way. Parkinson’s Law This is an assertion that "work expands to fill the time available for its completion." Seen as a reflection on bureaucracy in some companies, it was originally stated by Cyril Northcote Parkinson in an essay published in The Economist in 1955. It infers bureaucrats fill their time with mundane tasks with little focus on productivity. Where is your focus? Working to strict timelines enables one to focus better and to avoid distractions until the task is done. What distractions do you face? Are they important or are you postponing dealing with the task? Why? Fear, uncertainty? Once you identify the reason for your procrastination, you can address the issue and move forward. A single focus results in high productivity levels. Good planning is key Planning is like constructing the firm, fixed foundation of a house. Without it there is little likelihood the house will stand for long. Here are some tips that work for me: Ensure you allocate enough time for each task Work accurately Ensure clear, comprehensive communication to limit unnecessary correspondence Clarify what is required so you won’t have to redo it Be discerning when setting or accepting meetings. Where possible make use of telephonic/virtual means Categorise clients for call scheduling – remember the 80/20 rule Limit personal calls so your focus is on work during work hours Turn off notifications for social media on your mobile phone. Place it out of sight so you do not see notifications come through (unless you’re an emergency worker or need to attend to critical issues) Ask yourself: Why do you feel you have insufficient time? Is it reality or your perception? What takes up most of your time? Conclusion Find a methodology that works for you, taking the most relevant for you from the above, and adapting them to your needs. Implement and manage this daily, ensuring you allocate time in your busy schedule for self-care too. After all, you do deserve rest and leisure time! Want to learn more from Merrill? Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit her website. Read more from Merrill! Merrill Isherwood, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Merrill Isherwood is a life transformation coach who has spent much of her life being of service to others in the corporate world and her personal life. She has an exemplary work ethic and is driven by living a life of integrity, having honesty, kindness, trust, and respect as her core values. Her psychological counseling degree, supported by her accreditation in life coaching, allows her to ensure her clients are suitably supported in transforming their lives. She specializes in body image, lack of self-esteem, overcoming abusive or toxic relationships, finding life direction, forgiveness, and overcoming adversity. To her, a life well lived means making a difference in each person's life that you are fortunate enough to touch, even if only in the smallest way possible.

Written by: Sharleen Beaumont, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Are you a people pleaser, or do you know someone who is? People pleasing is common. The traditional view of a people pleaser is someone easygoing, meek yet virtuous. They put the needs of others before their own to keep the peace and are agreeable. People pleasers can be CEOs, health care professionals, and teachers and come from all walks of life, believing if I do more, I will be more! Melody Beattie described people pleasing as a behaviour we may have adapted to survive in our family. We may not have been able to get the love and attention we deserved. Nobody taught us to please ourselves, trust ourselves, and choose a course of action that demonstrated self-trust. People-pleasing can be overt or covert. We may run around fussing over others, chattering a mile-a-minute rather than say, "I hope I'm pleasing you." Or, we may be more covert, quietly going through life and making important decisions based on pleasing others. People pleasing can come from low self-esteem to have people like us. People pleasing is not healthy for ourselves and our relationships. It is inauthentic, leading others to believe we are someone we are not. In this role, so much energy is exerted on others that people pleasers don't have the power to work on themselves and their own goals. This behaviour is a disservice to ourselves and others. People pleasing is not virtuous, although society may have us believe it is. When we people please, we say our needs don't matter. We disconnect from who we are. People pleasing is neither kind nor honest. Continuing down this path can also lead to burnout. We go, and we give away to others without refilling our tank. We have learned that persevering, forging through and suppressing our emotions and needs will create forward momentum. In reality, it keeps us stuck. We are left feeling irritated, fearful and stressed! When we people please, we abandon our true selves, which lessens the connections we can have with others. If we want genuine and valuable connections with others, we need to start with the most important relationship we will ever have; with ourselves. What can we do to get out of our people-pleasing ways? I believe the answer is strengthening our trust muscles. We do this by learning to trust ourselves. All relationships are built on and involve trust. Trust shows up when we confidently treat ourselves well. Additionally, we make good decisions based on what is good for us and our well-being. We put this above pleasing others. Know your worth today, just as you are. You are not on a sales rack, or worse, covered in dust and dirt on the floor of the sales rack. Remember, nobody can take away your self-worth. Remind yourself you are worthy because you are here! Another way we can trust ourselves is when we understand, articulate, and process our emotions. Processing emotions allows us to trust that we can overcome what is before us. We do this when we reflect on when we crushed a similar obstacle. We attach emotions to past stories, and if there is no resolve, they can bring us down. It is up to us to recall how we grew or were better for an experience by creating a new story or action plan. Our positive actions breed more self-trust. We often stay stuck in our failures for hours, weeks, months and years. When we win, we may have a short celebration, yet we tend to quickly move on to the next thing on our list of 'to dos' or accomplish. To build self-trust, we need to take the time to acknowledge our wins! We can also build our confidence and trust in ourselves when we don't let outside influences take us down. We are not dependent on anything external to us for our happiness and well-being. We trust we can create happiness within us no matter what. Yes, we are human, and this one takes self-awareness, choice and being in a place of empowerment. We are not responsible for other people's emotions, and it's ok to upset others and for someone to be angry with us. In letting go of the belief we can control the emotions of others, we allow the individual the opportunity to create their happiness. People pleasers should be on the lookout for how they are showing up! Learning to say no or take a step back before responding is crucial. Continual self-care is essential, and recognizing when you are not being honest with yourself. For forward momentum, become aware of why you are continuing down the people-pleasing path and how to make decisions from a place of empowerment that leaves you feeling like you have more energy, are happier and more yourself! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Sharleen! Sharleen Beaumont, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Sharleen Beaumont is an EQ Master Empowerment Coach and Founder of Brave New Ending. She helps clients get unstuck from their stories and manage their emotions. Her clients re-imagine their life, connect with their highest self utilizing the foundation of all change; emotions! After graduating from University, Sharleen's career began in Victim Services. She then became a Certified Mediator, and Mediated for her Community and Courts. Her career moved to Corporate Communications and Consulting, working globally. Next, she stepped into an Entrepreneurial life, helping take a new company to the multi-million dollar level. Deciding to live life on purpose, she received her Master Empowerment Coach certification and started Brave New Ending. Brave- a strength of character, courageous, faces fear, determined, passionate, on purpose. New Ending-keeps the end goal in mind to write their next chapter and life story.

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. “Mom, can you explain to Dad what I’m talking about?” My daughter stood in my bedroom door looking pressed and frustrated. I looked up. “Well, what is it, exactly, that you are talking about?” I asked her. She gave me an exaggerated sigh.“Why I have to take time to get ready in the morning. Dad keeps giving me a hard time for taking so long.” Having once been a 12 ½-year-old girl, myself, and remembering the time when my only focus was on what outfit I was going to wear and how that needed to look, I did understand where she was coming from. I looked at her with compassion. “You and Dad are viewing time differently,“ I said, simply. “He’s on Newtonian time and you’re operating on Einstein time.” I’m sure it’s not hard to imagine the look I got. “Mom, it’s 6 am. My brain isn’t awake enough to understand where you are going with this.” She looked at me painfully. I laughed. “Come on, let’s go in your room so you can keep getting ready, and I’ll explain.” She rolled her eyes and followed me across the hall. “The world we live in conditions us to the concept of Newtonian time. It takes its name from the physicist, Sir Isaac Newton. He taught a model of time that was linear, meaning time happens in a series of events and has a beginning and end. It says that time is absolute and finite, and not at the whim of personal perception.” “Okay, I think I get that,” my daughter said as she pulled her sweater over her head. “Einstein time is different,” I continued. My daughter interrupted. “Oh, we studied Einstein! He was also a physicist and came up with the theory of relativity, right?!” “Right,” I said. “That’s Einstein time. It basically says that time is relative or, in other words, it is measured not as an absolute that never changes, but rather, as in relationship to other things, and therefore, changes depending on its relationship with those things. Another way of thinking about it is with Einstein time, time is what we, individually, perceive it to be.” My daughter nodded. “I get it, but how does that help me explain to Dad where I’m coming from?” “With Newtonian time, the key word is ‘HAVE.’ We have time. Either enough, too much or not enough. The feeling we get, here, is that what dictates time is outside of ourselves, and, therefore, we don’t, ultimately, have control of it. It’s a limited resource to which we are a slave.” “That’s lack mentality, right, Mom?!” my daughter said excitedly. “It is,” I replied, smiling.“We measure time through a lens of fleetingness and a sense that there might not be enough of it.” My daughter made a face. I continued. “That’s why Dad gets worried about you taking so long to get ready. He’s concerned about you both running out of time and you missing the school bus.” “I can understand that,” my daughter said, looking thoughtful. I smiled at her. “When you are operating from Einstein time, which you have been since you were born,” I said with a wink, “the key word is ‘MAKE.’ You choose to either make time for something or not. Either way, it’s in your control and relative to the way you see things. In other words, it bends to the laws of where you place your focus.” Walking down the stairs to the kitchen to get breakfast, I continued. “Let me give you an example. Do you remember earlier in the week when I called you to breakfast and you came down all out of sorts because you weren’t ready and feared you wouldn’t have time to finish your breakfast, do your hair and be able to make the bus?” “Yeah,” my daughter said, taking a bite of scrambled egg. “Do you remember what I told you?” I asked, handing her a cup of vitamins. “Sure, you said I could spend my time focused on not having enough time, or I could focus on doing what I needed to do, one thing at a time.” “Right,” I replied, pouring and handing her a glass of water. “And do you remember what happened?” I asked. “Uh huh. I focused on eating my breakfast. You and I talked about the upcoming weekend while you did my hair. Then I went upstairs and focused on packing my cheer outfit for the game, brushed my teeth, finished getting ready and came back downstairs.” “Yep, and do you remember what time it was?” I looked at her with a grin. “Of course, because we were laughing about it! I got everything done with 3 minutes to spare!” We both laughed, again, at the memory. I looked down at her, smoothing her hair back from her face. “Yes, and you not only had enough time, but you hadn’t felt rushed or stressed, right?” “That’s right,” my daughter said with a smile, as she leaned over to rinse toothpaste out of her mouth. “When we make time, we find the time we need. Because we are focused, we are more productive and work more efficiently. We are also able to be present to enjoy the process we are in.” “Time slows down,” my daughter added. “Time slows down,” I repeated. “Time to go!” “Coming Dad,” my daughter called. As we walked downstairs together, my daughter turned to me, “thanks, Mom. I get it now and appreciate you explaining this to me. I feel better and think it will help me talk to Dad about it, too.” She slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed out the door. “Bye, Mom, I love you,” she called. And then, she was gone. I stood, for a moment, smiling. Making time. I looked at the clock and moved across the room to put the kettle on. It was now time to make a cup of tea. 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.

Written by: Marty Wightman, 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. Finding your joy in life is not easy. Life doesn’t come with a nice shiny map or instruction manual to follow, but you do have an inner compass. Your feelings. When you like something when you love something, when you are bored of something, or when you dislike something. Life also doesn’t have a destination, and then you’ve completed it. It comes with pathways and places to stop and stay. And at Betterr Life Coaching, we believe in three vital things that can help you along your way. The first one is called Interest, the second up is FLOW, and the third one is called Passion. All of these combined will help you find your next pathway and perhaps somewhere to stop and stay for a while. Interest Interest is when your attention peaks, a bit like a meerkat when she spots something out in the wild, or when maybe you stop scrolling on your socials and watch some content. Finding your interests is really easy, and all it takes is a simple log sheet. So, at the end of each day, all we need from you is probably 5 minutes tops to fill out your log sheet on what you did that day and score just how interested you were in that task. If you have an office job, checking your Outlook calendar is a great way to see what you did that day and give your meetings or time blocks some simple scores out of 10. One of our clients at Betterr filled hers out religiously for three weeks, including her weekends, and it was brilliant! It meant we could literally, hour by hour, spot when she was having a great time or a lackluster time and relate it back to that activity. Sounds really simple, and it is. When you learn what activities reliably engage you, you’re discovering and articulating something that can be very helpful in your life design work. Remember that designers have a bias toward action, which is just another way of saying that they pay a lot of attention to doing things and not just to thinking about things. Logging when you are and aren’t interested and passionate will help you pay attention to what you’re doing and discover what’s working. So before we go onto Passion, I want to talk to you about FLOW. FLOW FLOW was a concept coined by a very famous psychologist, ‎Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, back in the ’70s, and it was his way of describing that feeling when time flies by, when you are having fun when you’re totally in the zone with your headphones on, and bashing out the next chapter of your book, or you are buzzing off the walls when you are doing some brainstorming. Mine always comes at night and makes me a night owl by nature! FLOW happens all the time, especially with people who have designed a pretty good life for themselves. Their work day whizzes past, their weekend is gone in seconds, and Christmas comes around faster and faster each year. FLOW can happen during almost any physical or mental activity, and often when both are combined. FLOW is one key to a really rewarding and satisfying career and life. At Betterr, we like to see our clients improve their levels of FLOW as quickly as they can. It’s what massively improves your Life Assessment Scores (you can find your Life Assessment Workbook at (www.BetterrCoach.com) if you haven’t already downloaded that from the Better homepage. Next up is Passion. Passion Passion is your third biggest and best inner compass. They don’t call it Passion for anything! And the thing about passion is it actually uses up a lot of energy. When you are so disinterested and sitting watching a webinar or speaker for a full day, you literally walk away feeling so tired, and that was a Passion score of zero! However, you just had the best first date ever, the passion is off the roof, and your energy levels are high as a kite. That’s a passion score of 9 or even 10. Passion comes from our brain and in fact, the brain takes 25% of our energy levels every day (https://www.brainfacts.org/brain-anatomy-and-function/anatomy/2019/how-much-energy-does-the-brain-use-020119) even though its only 2% of our body. So, the power of passion becomes all that more important. We work mainly with our brains, long gone are the days of being a hunter or gatherer. You’ll find most of your tasks are using your brain rather than your physical body. It’s here we need to now start scoring the same tasks that you did in interest and now adding in the passion score. Once you have a handle on where your energy goes every week, you can start redesigning your activities to maximize your passion. Remember, working with Betterr is about getting more out of your current life and not only about redesigning a whole new life. If you can score high on Interest, score high on Passion, and be in FLOW, then happy days, people! Most people are taught that work is always hard and that we have to suffer through it. On average, here in the UK, we work 100,000 hours in our life, and I spent 20,000 of them in a thankless previous career in advertising. I lived in London all through my 20s and 30 having the biggest party of my life. I believed that I could be out all night (Interest, FLOW, Passion – tick tick tick) and then work 12 hour days in advertising, selling pipe dreams to clients. No interest, no FLOW, no passion, but the money was brilliant, and I walked away at Partner level in one of the world’s most well-known advertising agencies. Why did I walk away? Because my joy wasn’t there. And well, I was in my 40s, so the ‘being out all night’ disappeared, especially when COVID came and smacked us all around the face. So, I put my preach into practice, and l knew I loved to coach my team, coach my London office on performance, and get the best out of them. I loved working out shortcuts for strategies for my clients. You’ve never seen so much FLOW if you got me in a room with my work wives and work husbands and a whiteboard and brainstorm our way to world dominations. I also helped out my community in London. What I mean by the community were those people that I have seen regularly that could benefit from my skills. So, my personal trainer, my dentist, and my hairdresser all got advertising plans from me in return for a free haircut. Even my Cornershop, who I saw every morning and evening, got help to get onto Uber Eats when lockdown came in because all the offices were shut, so the Cornershop had no footfall, but people still needed their Chunky KitKats delivered. All of this gave me joy. Now, what makes work fun? It’s not what you might think. It’s not one unending office party. It’s not getting paid a lot of money. It’s not having unlimited paid vacations. Work is fun when you are actually leaning into your strengths and are deeply engaged and energized by what you’re doing. The Vowel Tool You most probably learned your vowels way back at school, and this tool is just as simple. The vowels AEIOU stands for: A. for Activities E. for Environment I. for Interaction O. for Objects U. for Users Let me break this down for you. So, you’ve written down your interests and passions for a few weeks and gave them a score beside each task. Now it’s time to understand this a bit better. You notice that you really have some areas of low interest, zero FLOW, and less passion than a second-hand mattress. There is something that always comes up on my own logging, and it’s my weekly expense sheet for the year-end tax assessment. I really hate doing it, but it has to be done. So, looking back at the AEIOU, I have: Activities: Doing my tax return Environment: On a Sunday morning, with half my attention reading the Sunday newspaper Interaction: Just me and my dog, and she’s looking to go out for a walk Objects: An excel spreadsheet that looks like a very complicated scientific equation! Users: Just me and Kiki (my dog), both of us have limited knowledge of the tax system, and our Excel skills are pretty basic. So, this task can take me over an hour on a Sunday, so 50+ hours a year. That could have been 50 hours of coaching or writing articles for Brainz. So, I have choices: I could decide that this activity is not for me and outsource I could decide to learn some nifty software that you see on your Facebook ads to make my expenses task easier I could get my other business owner mates over and do it over some breakfast I could have set a reward system so that every time I do my Sunday taxes, I get to buy anything I want from Amazon for under a tenner, and it has to be something I don’t need! You know, like a Good Luck Money Tree, which was my last purchase. And finally, could I have got some help why didn’t I jump onto Fivver and get a whizz kid to pull together a killer excel that would just do nearly everything for me with Macros. I hope you get the idea. Your interests and passions can now be examined even closer with the simple vowels we all learned at school. Give it a try, see how you can start to improve those annoying tasks, and bring those scores up! Key Takeaways for Figuring out Your Joy Jot down the tasks you are doing over weekdays and even the weekends, try for one week at a time, and then get another two weeks’ worth Spot what is giving you interest, getting you buzzing in the zone with FLOW, and what is peaking your passion What surprises are you noticing? Then add over the top the Vowel Tool (AEIOU), and then I think you’ll have learned just exactly where and how to create some more joy in your life. For now, let’s get a Betterr Life, a Betterr Future. This time for real. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Marty Wightman, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Marty qualified as a coach in 2007 when he set up his practice in London, UK. He holds a Masters's degree in Psychology, and he graduated from the University of East London. In addition to his academic qualifications, he is a member of the Association for Coaching, a Senior Member of the ACCPH, and trained by Stanford University Professors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans in Life Design. Marty takes a cognitive-behavioral, rational emotive behavior, and solution-focused approach to psychological coaching and its application to life/personal, health, performance, business, and executive coaching.

Written by: Joanna Stokes, 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. Challenging yourself is a brilliant way to create opportunities. And I don’t mean you have to turn into Wim Hof and throw yourself into extreme situations. In this article, I share how some of my challenges have created new opportunities for me, and I give you five ways to challenge yourself in the second half of 2022. “The only way to grow is to challenge yourself.” ‒ Ashley Tisdale The Oxford Dictionary definition of growth is the process of developing physically, mentally, or spiritually. As such it is very personal. For me, it means challenging my strengths, my beliefs, broadening my experiences and stepping into arenas that I wouldn’t normally venture into. I set myself challenges every year as part of my goal-setting process. The two go hand in hand. My challenges can be small or large, it all depends on where I am in my life and where I want to be. The nerve-wracking challenge 9 years ago, I carried out my first Ofsted inspection. Raining to be an Ofsted Inspector was a challenge I set myself which stands out for so many reasons. This is the short story of my first inspection and all its challenges. It didn’t start off well ‒ I left my suit jacket on the back of my bedroom door; 70 miles away! The first morning, my hairdryer blew up, fused all the electrics in the hotel bedroom and I had to move rooms with wet hair, whilst time ran away with me. I worked like a trojan trying to remember everything we were taught in training. What you could do, what you couldn’t do. Watching what I said and did all day. On my first evening, I drove around a town I didn’t know, trying to find somewhere to buy food that I could eat cold in my bedroom whilst writing up evidence sheets. I bought a salad; realised when I got to my hotel room, I didn’t have any cutlery. I was heading for a meltdown. I am normally an ultra-organised, collected person who was unravelling by the hour. I worked 12-hour days, frantically writing and re-writing my evidence forms to perfection. I spent all week chasing my tail, being just in time for everything, and despaired at my lack of time management. My stomach was in a permanent knot, my head ached from concentration. At the end of the four days, I drove out of the college gates and breathed a huge sigh of relief driving home in complete silence. I felt a huge sense of achievement knowing it could never be that bad again! I knew I had learnt more about myself that week than I had in years, and it was the best CPD I had completed. I felt a great privilege at being part of the inspection team, working alongside the college team which I had such a lot of respect for. I carried on being an inspector for 5 years and never stopped learning. My first inspection was a nightmare for me, but the challenge taught me so much, and having the Ofsted badge opened doors for me when I became self-employed and helped me gain work. What does a challenge give us? There is research that shows mentally challenging ourselves helps reduce anxiety and depression. From a personal perspective, I find challenging myself builds my confidence, helps me focus on improving certain areas in my life and eliminates barriers that were previously holding me back. For example, I was unhappy with my weight, general health, and fitness. So, in 2021 I decided to set myself the challenge of getting fit, healthy and becoming pain-free; I joined The Body Coach app in January 2021 and have completely transformed by health and body, losing over 13kg and dropping two dress sizes. This challenge gave me body confidence, taught me new skills in how to gain strength and fitness and re-ignited my love for cooking. Read how I did this in my article How to be fit, healthy and body confident at 50. When a challenge is uncomfortable, physically or mentally this is often a reason to keep going with it. When I decided to re-train as a performance coach, I had no idea this would be so uncomfortable, to the point of being painful at times. It took me out of my comfort zone in so many ways and held a mirror up to my life, which in some areas meant turning over some stones that had been buried for a long time. The change in me has been beyond my imagination and has opened the door to a new and rewarding career. I have learnt new skills, made many new friends, and it has opened my mind to new and interesting ways of looking at life that I had always previously scorned. I am a better version of myself since taking on this challenge. Not all challenges have to be life-changing of course. These are my 2022 challenges that are much tamer, but still stretch me. 1. To read more and watch TV less; I have joined Good Reads and set myself a challenge to read 50 books by the end of this year. This gives me less screen time, peace, and quietness, and I’m enjoying new books that I haven’t read before. 2. To cycle the Coast to Coast; I have been talking about doing this for too many years. This year, it is going to happen! This will challenge me physically, but the sense of achievement will be huge. 3. Learn to speak Portuguese; I have signed up to DuoLingo doing a 10-minute lesson every day. Learning a language does not come easily to me, but I’m making small progress every day, and it means I will be able to say a few words on holiday in July. How can you challenge yourself this year? Think about the different areas of your life, health, relationships, work and business, money, fun and recreation, personal growth. Ask yourself: What do I want to do more of? What do I want to do less of? What could I do that moves me out of my comfort zone? What could I do that stretches me? What opportunities would the challenge give me? Here are five ideas to challenge yourself this year: 1. A physical challenge: have you always wanted to run a half marathon, swim in open water, climb a mountain? Or maybe you have always fancied learning how to hula hoop, belly dance, or compete in a ballroom dancing competition. 2. A health and wellbeing challenge: do you want to sleep 8 hours a night, get fit and strong or go vegetarian? 3. Personal development: maybe you want to be a better listener or learn a creative skill 4. Work/business: turning your passion into a job you love and getting paid for it. Maybe you’ve always dreamed of starting your own business on the side to see if it can be a route to self-employment. 5. Educational challenge: how about signing up for that MBA you’ve always wanted to do or, like me, learn a new language. When you have thought of a challenge, write it down and decide when you are going to do it. Then tell someone this makes it real, and you are more likely to do it! Don’t worry if it feels scary, that’s the point of a challenge. The elation, triumph and sense of achievement will come at the end once you have completed it. The journey to that accomplishment is where you will grow by learning new skills, gaining new experiences, meeting new people (maybe) and sharing your ups and downs with friends and family. If you would like help in setting goals and challenges then get in touch, I would love to hear from you. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Joanna! Joanna Stokes, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Joanna Stokes is transformational leadership and career coach and a trainer and mentor to further education leaders. She has 18 years of experience in Further Education, the last 8 years as a senior leader in a variety of organizations including the CEO of an adult education charity. She was an Ofsted Inspector for five years. After experiencing the powerful impact coaching had on her career, her mission is to spread the power of coaching across the sector. She coaches education professionals and trains workplace coaches and mentors. She qualified as a personal performance coach in 2020 and is now on a mission to help education professionals create the freedom to live the life they want.

Written by: Anurag Rai, 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. "Stress is the trash of modern-day life. If you do not dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life." ‒ Danzae Pace I believe that whenever we are dealing with a problem, we must first ask three questions: What? Why? And How? In the same order. Let’s start by discussing What causes stress? What causes Stress? I have spoken to many friends, family, colleagues, and clients. Whenever they tell me what is causing them stress, it is one of these reasons: 1. Money: They do not seem to have enough. Surprisingly, some of them earn 1,000 pounds a month, while others earn 10,000 a month, they still both have the same problem. 2. Job or Career: They are not happy with their job or business. 3. Relationships: They are not happy with their relationships in life. This could be with their partners, siblings, parents, or children. 4. Time: This is one thing that gets many people. They never have enough time to do it all. 5. Future: This is the most interesting one. I know a lot of people who have everything but are worried that they will not have it in the future. I call it the What if? Curse. What if the economy is doomed? What if people stop buying my products? What if I lose my job? Etc. You get the point. What if I told you that all these reasons or any other reason which stresses most people are only due to one thing? You have created an expectation of how things should be, and the things are not going as per your expectation. Let me ask you a question. Is it a problem that you don’t have wings? Most people would think it’s a stupid question. Of course, it’s not a problem. At least not the one you stress about. But what if you did not have eyes? Would that be a problem? Most people would say ‘yes.’ But what if, as human species, we never had eyes, would not having eyes still be a problem? ‘No.’ Because we would have accepted it as something ‘we got to work with.’ Stress is caused when we don’t accept reality. Accepting the reality does not mean we won’t do our part to make it better. Accepting means, we realize that we can not control life and others. Why is it important to manage stress? To understand what stress does to your body, let’s go on time travel. Imagine a time thousands of years ago when we still used to live in Jungles. You are walking through the woods, and suddenly you see a tiger approaching you. The body triggers a stress response and stops doing whatever it's supposed to do to respond to this life-or-death situation. The brain releases adrenaline and cortisol, aka stress hormones. These are responsible for causing a lot of nuisances in our body, such as insomnia and premature aging. Your heart rate would go up rapidly to move blood through the body. Blood vessels restrict to allow quicker blood movement, which, as a result, will increase the blood pressure. Blood sugar and blood lipids increase, so there is more energy to move. Circulation in your gut decreases because digestion is not a priority when a tiger is chasing you. Immune function drops rapidly as the body needs energy to ‘fight or flee.’ The stress response is an essential function of the body in a life-or-death situation. The problem is that we give too much importance to everyday activities in our life. Therefore, our nervous system cannot distinguish between being chased by a tiger and being stuck in a Traffic Jam. According to research, 90 % of the total doctor visits are related to problems caused by stress. In the world today, most of us are not living our true potential as our body is using all the energy to be ready for a fight or flee the situation. This, in the long run, causes health problems and lower energy levels. How to Manage Stress? Now that we understand what stress is and why we should learn to manage it, I am going to introduce you to two models that you can adopt in your life so as never to feel stressed again. Model 1: Good thing Bad thing who knows I adopted this model from a beautiful old story of a farmer and his son. Allow me to share this story with you: Once upon a time, there lived a farmer with his son in a tiny village. The father and son did not have many material possessions. They still lived happily and in contentment. The villagers soon started to envy them and were always curious to find out the reason for their happiness. One day the farmer decided to use all his savings to buy a horse. Unfortunately, the very next day, the horse managed to escape and run into the hills. The villagers visited to express their sympathy. They remarked, “How unfortunate you are. What happened is bad.” To which the farmer said, “Good thing? Bad thing? Who knows? A few days later, the horse returned and brought with him another six beautiful horses. The villagers revisited the farmer. This time they said, “How fortunate you are. You lost one horse but got back another six.” To which the farmer’s reply was the same again, “Good thing? Bad thing? Who knows? After a few days, the farmer’s son fell from one of the horses and broke his leg. Even though his leg healed in some time, the injury left him with a permanent limp. The villagers came to visit again and remarked, “How unfortunate. What happened is bad. Who is going to help you in the fields now?” To which the farmer repeated the same words, “Good thing? Bad thing? who knows?” Soon after that, a war broke out. It was required for all the young men to join the army. However, the farmer’s son was spared due to his limp. The villagers once again came to visit him. They said, “You are so fortunate. Your son gets to stay with you, where we are not sure if our sons will ever return home.” The farmer’s reply was still the same, “Good thing? Bad thing? Who knows? And this continues. The moral of the story is that Stress is a choice, and if you stop labeling the outcomes in your life as good or bad, then chances are you will start choosing happiness over stress. Have you ever observed that a past occurrence that had seemed bad at the time turned out to be a good thing or at least not so bad thing when you are looking back at it? What has happened has happened and cannot be changed. But how you respond to it is your choice. You can choose to label it bad and increase your suffering, or you can walk away saying, “Good thing? Bad Thing? Who knows? Model 2: Focus on your actions and not your results I adapted this model from one of the most beautiful scriptures of all time – the Bhagavad Gita. Imagine a time when we used to live in the wild. A hunter is trying to shoot a deer with his bow and arrow. The hunter is very skillful and has never missed a target before. Does this guarantee that the hunter will be able to get his goal this time? No, not at all. The hunter has command over his arrow and its direction. The hunter can have command of his focus. But the hunter has no power or control over the deer, who may sense the danger and move at the very last minute. Such is life. In life, there are things that we can control, and then there are things that we cannot. Most of the time, things do not happen as planned due to reasons beyond our control. It is, therefore, important not to focus too much on the outcome. Instead, put all your focus on your efforts. Do not celebrate your results; celebrate your actions. It may take some time to adopt these models, but once you do, you will never be stressed again. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Anurag! Anurag Rai, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Anurag Rai is one of the UK's most sought-after Executive Coaches. A few years ago, a series of events forced Anurag into being homeless. After studying about the power of the Mind and doing a lot of experiments in his own life, Anurag went from being homeless to an Accountant working for a Big 4 firm, to becoming a bestselling author, to an award-winning Coach and Speaker. He is the founder of Superhuman In You, an organization committed to helping individuals uncover their Superhuman selves. His Clients include Police officers, celebrities, sports personalities, and some top-performing business leaders. He is the author of the US Bestseller ‒ "The Power Within" and host of the podcast ‒ "Unleash The Superhuman In You". His mission: A world full of Superhumans.

Written by: Sara Davison, 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. Divorce is known as the second most traumatic life event – second only to the death of a loved one. Statistics show that 42% of marriages end in divorce in the UK, so the notion of ‘’til death do us part’ is long-gone in modern-day society. We are fluid beings and what we want out of relationship can change over the course of a marriage. Especially if we’re sacrificing what we want and need for the sake of keeping a marriage together. Relationships end for so many different reasons and each situation is unique. Some fizzle out over a period of time as you slowly drift apart or stop communicating, whereas others come to an explosive conclusion, following a messy affair or betrayal. For some of us it comes as a complete surprise and is forced upon us. For others it is our decision and feels like the right thing to do is to walk away so that both of you can thrive. As a Divorce Coach, I often find that the reasons can be traced back to the early stages of dating, when niggling doubts surfaced but were overlooked. Over time, these same issues are compounded and become intolerable when you face the fact that they are never going to change their ways. With the recent introduction of the ‘no-fault’ divorce this year, which aims to end the blame-game, there no longer even has to be a reason for the breakdown of a marriage to file for divorce. This is a game-changer and will take the heat, emotion and cost out of the divorce process. Whilst the reasons for a divorce are always unique, here are the most common issues I see cropping up: 1. Infidelity Sometimes we don’t see this coming and the betrayal hits you like a freight train. For others, they have suspicions about their partner for a while. Either way the destruction of trust is devastating to any relationship and very hard to rebuild once it is gone. It feels like the ultimate betrayal and a clear sign that healthy communication broke down a long time ago. Whilst, it is possible to come back from, for many, this is the moment a spouse decides to officially check out. 2. Abuse We are seeing a lot of breakups from toxic relationships since the pandemic and domestic abuse support lines saw an increase in calls of over 300%. Domestic abuse varies from physical harm, to emotional abuse and coercive control, which are often much harder to spot. Being a victim of abuse is never your fault and you are not to blame. However, when an unhealthy relationship comes to an end it is important to get the support you need. It can take a while to rebuild self-confidence and learn to trust again. The key is to learn to trust yourself to make better choices in the future and this becomes easier as you learn to spot the signs of abuse to prevent you from repeating the same patterns. 3. Incompatibility Sometimes the rose-tinted glasses cloud our judgement and we fall in lust rather than love. When the honeymoon period is over, we are left with someone who we just don’t connect with. For others it fizzles over time and, by the time the kids leave home, they are left gazing over the breakfast table at someone they no longer have anything in common with. Marriage therapy could help to get the sparkle back so don’t give up, but also know that sometimes good things fall apart so better things can come together. 4. Children Having children totally shifts the relationship dynamic and can put pressure on the marriage as one partner feels left out or unable to cope with the new changes. Sometimes a difference in parenting styles can drive couples apart as they argue over the best way to bring up the kids. Give each other a break as more often than not you are both doing what you feel is best. Often, we learn parenting styles from our own parents and it isn’t a conscious choice. It can help to discuss calmly what you believe it most important and why and be open to listening to your partner too. Coming to a compromise and also agreeing to have each other’s backs in front of the kids is often a winning strategy. 5. Expectations It is interesting that many couples spend a long time planning the details of the wedding but little time discussing their expectations of the marriage. It is often assumed that because they are in love that they are on the same page for life goals and how they want to live their lives. Also, life events can change expectations too and when couples are not aligned this can cause cracks to appear. Talking it through and being prepared to compromise will enable you to get back on track. Although be careful not to make sacrifices that you live to regret. 6. Money This is often a topic that causes disagreement and conflict in a marriage. How (and when) you spend it, save it or make it can easily trigger tension in a marriage. Money can impact lifestyles and security and this can be frightening as it causes a lot of uncertainty. Where couples have fundamentally different risk profiles to money this can be extremely tricky to navigate. It is always helpful to agree budgets in advance and to stick to them, especially around big events like Christmas where financial pressures can be difficult to manage. 7. Lack of communication Ultimately good communication is essential for any successful relationship. Being able to openly talk to your partner about even the most difficult topics is going to enable you to navigate the challenges as they come up. Remember that your partner may have a different communication style to you – for example they may prefer to leave the room rather than raise their voice whereas you prefer to stay put and shout it out if needed until you find a resolution. Working together and being comfortable to air your different opinions respectfully with the common goal to find a fair resolution will keep your relationship on track. It’s easier said than done so make sure making up is fun too! 8. Lack of intimacy Dormant bedroom life is a very common factor I see in divorce. It’s the ‘I love you, but I’m not in love with you’ realisation. There is nothing wrong with a dry spell but a lack of physical affection can cause serious disconnect. Over time, this leads to both partners feeling unfulfilled and puts the marriage at risk. All too often this disappears after years of being together so discuss how you can keep this side of your relationship fulfilling for both of you. Remember how it used to be and make time to recreate those moments. Keep the playfulness alive with friendly banter, surprises and lots of laughter. Whatever happens please know that divorce can be a chance to redesign your life just the way you want it. With the right help and support you can speed up the process and create a life you love! CREDIT For 1-2-1 Coaching please visit www.saradavison.com Want to learn more from Sara? Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and visit her website. Read more from Sara! Sara Davison, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Sara Davison, best known as ‘The Divorce Coach’, is an award-winning authority on break-ups, divorce, and life empowerment. She’s the best-kept secret of society’s elite with a client list that spans actors, politicians, and sportsmen from all over the world. A twice bestselling author (Uncoupling, The Split), Sara’s empathetic and holistic coaching style empowers individuals to take back control and positively transform their lives.

Liina Fadaee is on a mission to support individuals and businesses with growth. She is proud to have supported hundreds of people from vast backgrounds and levels to achieve their goals, either directly or through the training and leadership of staff. Liina is the founder of Consult For Growth, an organization specializing in coaching and training across careers, change, and diversity. Before launching Consult For Growth, Liina served in management roles for leading corporate and not-for-profit organizations. She has been recognized and awarded for fostering rapid growth through strategic business development activities and implementing positive cultural change. Liina is a Certified Executive Coach, ICF ACC, a robust facilitator, and holds an International Business Degree. Liina Fadaee, CEO Consult For Growth I am Liina Fadaee. I like to say the world is my stage. I love the richness of being surrounded by diversity and learning about people from all walks and corners of the world. Whenever we get a glimpse of the world from someone else’s eyes we inevitably grow, especially if this person has a cultural background and world different from our own. I was very privileged growing up between Finland and Australia. Two amazing countries, but culturally very different. At University, studying international business, I was intrigued by cultural awareness subjects, and understanding how our culture and society shape our beliefs and behaviour. My career has allowed me to be immersed in diversity and continues to allow me to work in an international and diverse setting. I am incredibly lucky that my work takes me around the world from the comfort of my home office. I currently live in a rural setting in Valkeakoski Finland, with my Persian husband and our two young children Iida (4) and Armas (8 months). I absolutely love mushroom hunting with my daughter, you cannot believe the sheer joy I experienced when I found that we have porcini mushrooms growing in our backyard! Being close to nature grounds and recharges me. What is your business name and how do you help your clients? My business is Consult For Growth. We provide coaching and training that renews energy and brings in focus – increasing awareness, tackling it, clarifying strategy, building readiness, and making it happen. We are passionate about helping clients to grow to their full potential and embrace change. We help leaders to better lead through change, teams with successful integration and onboarding of international talent, and businesses to grow with the growth of their talent. We help individuals to find the best of their unique talents and understand their value and potential through coaching and career coaching. What kind of audience do you target your business towards? I am a very value-driven person, and my values are reflected in Consult For Growth’s values – Perspective - being able to identify the bigger picture at hand and look at the world in a way that makes sense to oneself and others. Honesty - being authentic and genuine, speaking sincerely. Acting with integrity, reliability, and trustworthiness. Fairness - Treating everyone fairly with equality and non-judgment, having an open mind, and giving everyone a fair chance. We target our business towards businesses and individuals wishing to grow who appreciate, share, or aspire to similar values. Who inspires you to be the best that you can be? My clients inspire me to be the best I can be, I value people’s time and want to ensure that each minute spent with me delivers value. This drives me to use reflective practice to help myself to continue growing to be able to serve better. My children also inspire me, since becoming a mum I have grown immensely. Each day I reflect on the events of the day and how I can grow as a mother. I want my children to learn by my example to love learning and be open to change, the importance of a balanced life, the humbling energy of helping others, and the value of patience, perseverance, and kindness. What is your work inspired by? Since I was a teenager, my favourite quote was by Heraclitus “The Only Constant in Life Is Change.” Throughout my career, I have been leading through and supporting change in one way or another. I was able to witness the impact of change when it is not managed well and on the other hand the magic that flows when change is managed well. Seeing someone or a business situation stay stagnant in an undesirable position/situation not reaching their potential due to fear of change or lack of support/knowhow divers me nuts. This inspires my work with change. When it comes to career coaching, for many of us, our careers are an important element of our lives, often shaping our sense of self-worth, belonging, and purpose. Over the years I have consulted and coached hundreds of people around their careers from many different walks of life and backgrounds. A common challenge is self-confidence and understanding and believing in their own value. Seeing a person light up, find hope and clarity of direction, grow, and seize their potential is just amazing and inspiring. Career coaching can have such a powerful positive impact on a person’s life, I have a gift and I want to share this. Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far. My greatest career achievement so far is to have developed into a position that enables me to bring consistent value to my clients. I am proud of what my clients have achieved, I feel real purpose and believe I am doing meaningful work when I can support others to grow and achieve their goals. Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today. Becoming pregnant with my first child was the moment I stopped and took a long hard look at my career, personal life, and my well-being. I realised this was not a life that would allow me to be the best version of myself for my children. I had accepted that a 60-hour working week was normal, I had neglected my social life, I had learned that alcohol was the best tool for stress management, I was anxious and losing myself confidence and self-worth due to a toxic workplace, and although I was making good money, I realized it was not worth it. My work was consuming me, I was not playing to my strengths or working in an environment that shared my values. It was at this moment, that I knew I needed a new direction. I turned to my husband and said I wanted to quit my corporate job. He hugged me and said ‘finally, yes I support your decision’. I resigned at 12 weeks pregnant. 18 months later, I launched Consult For Growth. Although running a business is challenging especially with a young family, when you are playing to your strengths, working in line with your values, and doing meaningful work that continues to allow you to grow, I feel I am living my best life right now. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Liina!

Written by: Amanda Rose, 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 sales expert for over a decade, and a full-time entrepreneur in the online space since 2013, I can tell you that no matter your sales medium, there’s one key element that radically boosts your sales: LEVERAGE! lev·er·age /ˈlev(ə)rij,ˈlēv(ə)rij verb Use (something) to maximum advantage. "the organization needs to leverage its key resources." Leverage is essentially a reason why your prospect should take action now. A sense of urgency is what’s required; not to be confused with pressuring, pushing, or rushing the potential client. Many entrepreneurs confuse these, so let’s clarify: PUSHING/PRESSURING/RUSHING We DO NOT want to push, rush, or pressure a prospect. I always say, “If you’re pushing a sale, you’re pushing the prospect away.” Rushing or pressuring someone into making an immediate decision doesn’t feel good for you or the prospect, and even if you close sales, you’ll find your refund rates go way up due to buyers’ remorse. Example: “If you don’t sign up right now, you’ll never get the results you want.” URGENCY We DO want to utilize urgency in our sales conversations. Urgency lets the prospect know the deadlines or availability so that they understand they need to take time to consider the offer if they truly do want it. Example: “We get started next week, and we’re down to our last five spots.” In business, sales are your lifeblood because, without sales, you do not have any business. So, what's the easiest way to get sales? By utilizing leverage. This is why the new product or service releases, launches, and discount sales, rack up a high-profit margin in a very short time period when implemented properly and effectively. Think about when new movies come out, trailers and teasers precede a new film coming to movie theatres, typically for 6-to-12-Months before it comes out! They constantly remind us that it's coming, creating desire so that when it's finally available, we clamor for tickets. Launches for new products and services create a powerful source of leverage for businesses; often promoting early sign-up discounts or bonuses, limited quantities, and/or a deadline by which to purchase, hence driving up sales within that timeframe. Despite the fact that leveraging has been proven time and time again to offer the best solution for driving up sales, many entrepreneurs still avoid implementing them. They complain that it’s stressful, they don’t know how to do it correctly, and they desire an “easier path” to sales. I want to clear this up once and for all: Launches ARE the easier path to sales! You already have to build the offer, create the sales page and/or checkout, write the sales copy, market your offer, and have sales conversations to actually sell your offer; all launching does is add leverage, AKA urgency that encourages your prospect to make a decision now! Launching is about amplifying everything you already need to do to sell your offers. Launching is about giving you leverage so that you can close sales faster with much more ease. It helps you to close those sales in bulk right now instead of over the next couple of years. It gives you a legitimate reason to follow up and to help your prospects to make up their mind either way. Ready to use Launching effectively to grow your business and make sales? Sign up for LAUNCH CODES and get 90% OFF when you use coupon code ROI at the checkout by December 31st, 2022! Learn More: https://amanda-rose.mykajabi.com/launch-codes For more information, visit my website and follow me on Facebook! Read more from Amanda! Amanda Rose, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Amanda Rose is the founder & director of The Infinite Power of You Inc., a multi-published multi-genre author, business, wealth, & mindset coach, actor, motivational speaker, and online course creator. She is a multi-passionate entrepreneur who has been in the online space since 2013 and has been a sales expert for over 10 years. It's her passion to help her clients build lives of freedom and joy, and thriving businesses with multiple revenue sources, through strategies combined with mindset mastery. Amanda's mission is to shift human consciousness to create soulful abundance through mindset practices.

Written by: Kristi Peck, 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. Many years ago, I woke early one morning and felt very excited. I lay there basking in the sunlight of my waking life as remnants of a dream world sizzled in my awareness. My body felt warm and juicy with this flirtatious notion of a gigantic bee, an enormous beehive, and honey dripping everywhere. As I laid there, I remembered thinking for a moment, “Did I dream about this, or did I see this somewhere?” Dreams are personal. They invite us into an opening that most often we are not conditioned to accept or regard with the utmost respect. “It is an insult to your Self to be born, live, and die without knowing the answer to the mystery of why you were sent here as a human being in the first place.” ‒ Paramahansa Yogananda Dreams are the language of the soul. They are also a sweetly orchestrated oracle for that which you are ready to know about yourself. To interpret your nightly dreams is an adventure. The remnants and pieces of our dreams puzzle us as our dream language is unlike our conscious aptitude for words and meaning. In our waking life, we have been organized into mastery for making meaning. That is exactly the function of the brain and the mind itself. To process images, sounds, words, and so on for the message being sent from another party. Dreams hold no mastery. Instead, they are a playground for the messy, understated, and often inconspicuous. Dreams are a stage for us to witness that have rough edges and extended textures that far reach into symbolism and metaphors, myths and fantasy, as well as contrasting polarization. They baffle us until we awaken to their significance for our everyday advancement and potential. My dream about honey, bees, and a ginormous beehive was not meant to display a truth I already understood, yet to excavate an unconscious treasure to be captured. The hunt for truth within the dream guides us to solve challenges in our current situations, commits us to an inner knowing and our autonomy to choose, and resolve a collective conflict surpassing current relevance. Dream interpretation is not for the faint of heart, for one must be willing to open the shades on what is unknown, rejected, and denied of the hidden self. If you are ready to extend your adventurous foreplay into your own psychic cave, here are five questions to help you enter into the unknown and uncover the expressive realm of your unconscious mind. These are the heartbeat of a dream: What does it mean in relation to my outer life/ my waking life? Who do the characters/things in the dream represent to me? For me? What needs to happen in my outer life/my waking life? What changes am I being invited to make? What about me do I need to see in a new way, or is it something I am not acknowledging? How can I serve a broader capacity to the consciousness of who I am? The value of your dreams is in no association with the value of your true and authentic self. Our dreams are merely thresholds for us to captivate a deeper understanding of who we are. They are fun and colorful modes of communication as they pass information about you to you and are always for you. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Kristi! Kristi Peck, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Kristi Peck is an intuitive life coach, a spiritual mentor, author of Coming Home – A Love Story, and a podcast host of Living the Liminal: Finding Joy in the Pauses of Life. Kristi is an engaging storyteller who inspires your heart and soul to take adventurous leaps, thus making choices that are aligned to who you are and your deep purpose. Kristi has a wealth of transformational life experiences and 30+ years as a resource for others. She has coaching certification in Jungian Psychology, Eastern Spirituality, and Social Neuroscience with extensive training in the currency of relationships, channeling, mediumship, and energy healing. Kristi’s warmth and vulnerability have been described as a “soft-toughness” as she leads by example and creates a safe haven for you to open your heart to courageous choice-making and a conscious lifestyle. Kristi has compassion for change and a deep understanding of the human dynamic, which makes her a sustainable source for learning."

Written by: Sara Loureiro, 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. Income goals can feel so energizing and appealing in business especially when we think of what we can do with more money in our pockets. But they often get too much attention. By overly focusing on how much money a business makes we often overlook other aspects that arguably matter even more in terms of how successful a business really is. Here are 3 other important metrics to consider the next time you’re writing down new goals to hit for your business. Time Freedom I know that the 6 and 7-figure businesses look very glamorous online but none of us really know what’s going on on the back end of that business. I’ve been interviewed by top 7 figure entrepreneurs that have jam-packed 40-60 hour/week schedules and I know that for myself I wouldn’t want to be at my desk for that many hours a week. I also know really successful entrepreneurs that work 3 hours a day and spend the rest of their time at the beach. Only you will know how much time YOU want to spend working. Spending your free time doing exactly what you want to be doing is just as important, if not more, than any arbitrary income goals. Profits You can spend 6 figures to make 6 figures, or you can spend much less and have a 5k/month business. While the bigger numbers look more appealing, they don’t mean much if you’re not taking the majority of that money home with you. None of us fully know how much each of our competitors are spending in their businesses to create the successful businesses they own so it’s important not to compare yourself and your business numbers to others. Instead, aim to have a healthy profit margin so that you’re able to actually enjoy the income you’re making. Fulfillment I’d argue that most people who read this magazine are looking for a fulfilling career that not only gives them a great income but that truly makes them feel that they’re changing lives. Income goals won’t mean anything if you’re not doing the work that lights you up. While making money and hitting new income heights can be exhilarating, make sure it’s not at the expense of having an aligned business that makes you happy you got started in your industry in the first place. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or visit my website for more info! Read more from Sara! Sara Loureiro, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Sara is a Soulful Business Coach who specializes in helping online service-based entrepreneurs sign-on higher-paying clients and hit 6-7 figures through a combination of strategic marketing, neurolinguistic programming, and energetic work. After bringing her own business to 6 figures and quitting her 9-5 to move from Toronto to sunny and tropical Nicaragua, she isn't shy about walking the talk and living a freedom-based life. She is the CEO of sarajloureiro.com and has inspired thousands of women all over the world to quit their 9-5s, step into their leadership, and do purpose-driven work while getting paid abundantly for it through her numerous free training, extensive social media presence, and her work as the host of "The Uplevel Your Online Business Show" podcast. Her mission: to inspire women to take up space, make more money and step into their fullest potential.