Written by: Kamini Wood, 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 body’s reaction to any perceived threat in our environment, our body, and our thoughts. In other words, any challenge in the outside world and within us that overcomes our coping abilities may provoke stress. When you perceive a threat, a part of the limbic system in your brain called the amygdala stimulates endocrine responses that prepare your body for a “fight-or-flight” response , releasing hormones such as cortisol ( stress hormone ) and adrenaline in your body. As a normal biological process that keeps us going and urges us to do something about a specific situation, stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Nevertheless, prolonged or excessive stress doesn’t allow your body to recover after such a response. In other words, when adrenaline and cortisol remain present in your body for a prolonged time, things can go amiss and take a toll on your health. Do you constantly experience the fear of missing out (FOMO)? Do you struggle with tight deadlines and feel as though there is never enough time for all the things you need to get done? Do you feel anxious when you’re away from your phone or computer? Do you have difficulties falling asleep? Do you think about work even when you are at home/on vacation? Do you often do things at the last minute? Do you have difficulties relaxing and finding time for hobbies? If your answer to most of these questions is “yes”, you may be addicted to cortisol. Are you Addicted to Stress? According to the American Institute of Stress, 77 percent of people in the US regularly experience physical symptoms of stress while 73 percent of Americans struggle with psychological difficulties caused by stress. Similarly, a study by the American Psychological Association shows that 24 percent of Americans feel extremely stressed regularly. The main causes of stress among the US population seem to be the future of the country, money, job pressure, and health. Common signs of prolonged stress include fatigue, anxiety , irritability, a weaker immune system, a change in appetite, high blood pressure, and increased heart rate. But how to tell whether you thrive on stress? Here are three signs you might be a cortisol addict. 1. You are constantly tired . You are always busy. You simply move from one activity to the next feeling that you don’t have any free time. Even when you have a moment for yourself, you are too tired to enjoy things in your life. You are constantly complaining about how busy and tired you are. Yet, you feel as though there is nothing you can do to change this. 2. You’re Unhappy You struggle to recognize what makes you happy and don’t remember when was the last time you did something fun or relaxing. You don’t know how to enjoy your leisure time or how to stay in the present moment and appreciate it. 3. Your Relationships are Strained. Stress addicts usually withdraw from relationships and have difficulties maintaining healthy relationships. You may forget to bond with people and appreciate their presence in your life. You often feel disconnected and can’t find joy in family gatherings and get-togethers with friends. To start handling stress better daily, try relaxation techniques such as mindfulness meditation, deep breathing, and journaling. Exercise regularly, make sure to get enough sleep, and eat a balanced diet. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , or visit my website for more info! Read more from Kamini! Kamini Wood, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Kamini Wood is the founder and CEO of Live Joy Your Way and the AuthenticMe® RiseUp program. An international best-selling author Kamini is driven to support people of all ages to heal their relationship with themselves and to stop outsourcing their self-worth. As a result, her clients become their own confident, resilient self-leader with healthier relationships. Kamini is a certified life coach, board-certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, holds specialty certifications in Calling in the One®, Conscious Uncoupling®, NewMoney Story®, and teen life coaching. Also trained in conscious parenting, Kamini aims to meet her clients where they are, supporting and guiding them on their journey to where they want to be, both personally and professionally. Her mission: create space for each person to see the unique gifts they bring to this world.

Written by: McKing Lee, 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. Previously we ended off What Goes On In A Hypnosis Session Part 2 touching on regression. And if you don’t already know it, a regression is a hypnosis technique to go back in time to their memories. If you heard of Neuro Linguistic Programming or NLP, it is also known as timeline therapy To me, they are pretty much the same or similar methods The difference is which direction you are going, backwards into the past, or forward into the future Another difference is how you do the process, using visual or auditory means, for example Now we won’t be going into all those details Today, we will be looking into the 3 main types of regression Most people will know of current life regression, as well as past life regression I’ll save the third version to be revealed towards the end of this article So read on my friend! Current Life Regression Well, we usually don’t say current life regression, we just say regression or a hypnotic regression As mentioned above, it is a hypnosis technique to go back in time in memories So what is it for? Usually, we do this technique when there is an event that happened in the past and it left a mark in your unconscious mind So much so that it if affecting you in a number of ways Whether it is a trauma stemming from physical violence, or an accident that cause another negative pattern to be formed within A regression is an excellent way to find the root cause and resolve it cleanly so that you will no longer be affected by it To understand how this works, you have to first understand that the unconscious mind will store all information within Similar to a computer! And when you want to recall something, that is your conscious mind attempting to retrieve said information So even if you are unable to recall a piece of information, you might say you have forgotten about it However to me, you didn’t forget, rather you are currently unable to retrieve the information for whatever reason Maybe it is due to age, perhaps the connections are broken Just like how you might be unable to find a specific folder in your computer, but you know it’s there! Unfortunately, we do not have a search function in our minds (yet) So what happens is that when you have, say, an anxiety attack and it stems from your past An example of a regression technique will tap into that emotion of anxiety and follow the neurology back to the source This will bring you back to that specific memory, that event that planted the seed of anxiety in you in the first place And it can be in your childhood, or teenage years But you might even see yourself as a baby or even as a fetus in your mother’s womb! It is dependent on when the event happened Once there, we will resolve it cleanly and you are finally free Past Life Regression I know a lot of people are curious about this First of all, I usually do not recommend doing a past life regression for fun, for curiosity’s sake This is because you might end up in a past life that is potentially traumatic or eventful And if you are not ready to resolve it, you might carry the trauma back with you Ergo, opening a can of worms into this life That wouldn’t be very nice right? Anyway, so how does past life regression work? Are past lives even real? To be honest, I don’t know whether past lives are real or not Because technically, there is no way to prove or disprove it The weird thing is, that if the issue is from a past life, then doing this technique works Even if it isn’t from a past life, we can say that it is a symbolic representation of the issue And it still works anyway Now let’s pretend past lives are real So what happens is that the information is stored within the soul And when the soul reincarnates, the information from a previous life or past lives can thus be transferred into this life Think of it as you are transferring the programs from your previous computer into a brand-new computer With new technology, new parts, new wires And sometimes, the previous information had some bugs, errors or even a virus! Which you didn’t know and thus it got transferred into the new computer Heck sometimes the uploading of information is huge and that can cause bugs too Like some data got corrupted during the transfer and thus this might create some issues as well The funny thing is that even if you do not believe in past lives, if we end up doing this technique Your issue will still be resolved Ancestry Life Regression Ancestry Regression is the third type of regression that I can do What this does is to regress along your DNA into your ancestors’ lives! This is because sometimes the issue stem from something your ancestor did And no I’m not talking about karma, I don’t believe in that in terms of how people commonly believe in it For example, the seed of anxiety was first experienced by your grandfather And it got passed down to your mother, and finally into you Thus doing this ancestry regression will allow us to find the root cause along your DNA and resolve it cleanly from there There was an experiment done with some lab mice, where they were put in a little tunnel with cheese at the end In the middle of the tunnel was a wire with electricity, and so the mice will get shocked on the way to the cheese A few generations later, the new mice entered into this tunnel which they have never seen before and see the cheese at the end However, when they came across the wire (which is not turn on for this part of the experiment), they were afraid From here the scientists can conclude trauma can be stored as information in the sperm or egg, in the DNA And this is what we now call Generational Trauma The thing is, it might not just be trauma It can be behaviors or other patterns as well As long as the information gets stored in the DNA, and it is affecting you in a negative way Then the ancestry regression is the right method to help you resolve and be free You Learn Something New Every Day Fascinating isn’t it? And like I mentioned earlier, you don’t have to believe in whether past lives exist or whether the negative patterns was encoded from your ancestors for it to work Essentially, as long as you want to resolve an issue, and keep an open mind about it You can I once did a past life regression for a client with a hunger urge – she wouldn’t stop eating In that single session, she ended up in a past life of a prehistoric stone crab! She was so hungry as she crawled the deep dark ocean looking for food – hence the hunger We resolved it and a few days later I checked up on her She was happy to report that she no longer has the urge to eat Previously she might eat 3-4 plates of food and still be hungry! Now she can eat 3 quarters of a plate and be full If you want to read more weird things about the mind, be sure to share this article so you will be reminded about coming back to read more! Or you can just check out my blog. Thank you for reading and I’ll see you next time! :D Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Mcking! McKing Lee, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine McKing Lee is a conversational hypnotist, NLP Practitioner, and a student of life. After nearly dying in his sleep when his lung burst for no reason, McKing develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and fell into depression. He subsequently sought his own recovery through learning NLP and hypnosis. Having a unique understanding of how the mind works, he has helped many people with mental and psychological issues, relationship and emotional issues, and interestingly enough, sometimes physical ailments too. McKing was recognized and won APAC SEA Business Awards Hypnotist of the Year 2020, and has been featured in local and overseas media over the years. He aims to help people as effectively as possible, through sharing of knowledge and with the right application of skills.

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. Well done, you amazing soul! You are navigating into a new year, after all, we must follow the calendar. Yet. There is also your internal calendar – the one that says when you are inspired to do something, or not, the one that knows who you really are. The more we work and go about our daily lives, one can't help but notice how much information and noise is out there, and even more directions on what we are “supposed” to do, or where to go. Time to hear yourself, get your feelings and your routines aligned on your track. 1. Downsize the Drama This one is an everlasting exercise, even if you were not born into an Italian family, like your coach here, the Latin style may sometimes take hold of you, with some flying pillows and some Leo drama. The good part is that it can be used as fuel to act towards bigger decisions and dreams – once you chill down and star building a plan. Feeling your emotions is as vital as having a plan of action, they are both interrelated. Keep your amazing personality, yet play down the drama, for your sake and those around you. Try sports, time alone, not taking immediate decisions, unless it's an emergency, of course, and let time be your friend when dealing with emotions. 2. Grow Your Positive Actions and Feelings When facing a new year, or semester ahead, I find it useful to think in chunks of time. Even if you love micromanaging your business, family, kids, and vacations, give yourself permission to change your mind, or your plan – the well-known vison board, or planner, works very well for details – I would suggest adding a “drone view” on that. Like using one colour for a big chunk of tasks, or page, or even circling a whole goal and its topics, together. Fantastic ideas for the new year come in many ways and when you have them displayed like a chain of mountains first, in front of you, with different colours, you'll feel positive that the big picture will look lovely and work just fine, even if not all tasks are completed. 3. Travel Triggers After work and major life changes, it seems like travelling is a huge trigger – for good emotions and overwhelms too! Everyone has a story of how that amazing trip was just perfect, or not so much, with flight delays, and all. Or when after travelling for almost a month with your partner, your hand luggage disappeared at the train station. While you went a minute to the bathroom. And when you came back, your partner had chatted with some folks who were asking for information, the same that apparently snatched away the bag. With the camera and more than 200 lovely pictures of the trip. Gone. Give yourself a moment and remind yourself that the memories of that vacation will be with you forever. And material things are just that, stuff. There is so much to be grateful for, and arriving late sometimes, or even having plans cancelled is part of the journey, to also make you stronger and more flexible. If possible, try to see the humour in a situation because, generally speaking, we can control very little. 4. Choose Two Emotions to Deal With Sometimes it's a case of showing more of your emotions, and other times, you must season them better. First decide whether you have been holding on so tight to feelings, that you get stuck at work, or with talking to family. If you're holding grudges, or want a conversation about moving ahead at work, or finally booking your vacation, time to speak up. Practice alone at home, or with a trusted friend, or mastermind and coach, to release the tension, and then move on to the real thing – take a bold step into next year, by being a better, braver you. Here in the above situation, you can choose, for example, to deal with procrastination and courage. On the other hand, if you feel your heart is on your sleeves, all the time, you might want to find other opportunities to show all your emotions. Like in a movie, dancing, arts, writing, exercise. One excellent exercise to help you here is to practice being very objective and rational when talking to people – try being very to the point, even economizing words – until you find a good conversation style that balances you wanting to show some emotion, yet not feeling drained after it, or flooding the other person. Here you might want to work on sensitivity and rationality. 5. Declutter Your Mind Exactly! Emotions run wild when you're overstressed, overdoing and just not giving your mind and body time to unwind and relax. Whether you're a CEO, a mom to toddlers, and pets, or both, a struggling, or successful, entrepreneur, we are all trying to make sense of the next steps in a very fast world and economics – the speed has literally become almost invisible. Even when you are a nomad working in front of a sunny beach, or living in a more than 12 million people city, like where I live, very noisy and crowded, you must change environment and see new things. Change your routines for some days, or weeks. Yes, you are unique and important, and loved, and creative, yet allow yourself some time to feed into less Information, go quiet for a while, turn off the news and social media and just give your body and mind time to wander. 6. Review Your Travel Dreams You may be surprised, yet some people did not travel much, or at all, during their childhood up to their young adulthood lives. Yes, I was one of them! And I am confident to say that as much as I desired to see the world, I was always so grateful of being born into a loving family, who invested in our education, giving us the tools to then pursue our dreams. That is why it's important you get clear on your travel dreams too – you may want to travel for study, vacations, or family time. And you may not even want to budge right now. It's alright if you exercise your mind to imagine new places and expand your heart to understand and see that there are many different ways to live our lives on his world. Relive the places you've been, feel grateful for those experiences and plan for new things ahead – seeing new landscapes and people will inspire you to improve relationships, change jobs, start a business, and a family, hire help, reorganize your home, and so much more. For the next year ahead, use your feelings and emotions as fuel to move forward, think differently, and not to get stuck or overwhelmed. Make your desire to change a current reality into a beautiful plan to go bigger, ask for help, get your partner, friends, and family on board, if you so wish, and release your inner nomad, with feelings as tools to help you get there. Lots of love! Life is Nomadic by Essence! Helping 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 on feeling human, safe, and adventurous, by interconnecting with different generations on this article. 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: Kel Green, 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. This life is all about enjoying every experience to its fullest potential as the Real YOU! Don’t stay trapped in the programming of the thoughts in your mind which make you do what you always do. For example, ‘I just need to tick off all my tasks each and every day to achieve what I want.’ This way of thinking will not bring you peace of mind or happiness. Today our time and attention are flooded with distractions and demands for action. We are constantly making choices each moment to do, do, do. Consider… Is all of this doing bringing you closer to what you want or shifting you further away? When you achieve what you want, will it eliminate all your problems? Where did you learn that do, do, do is the pathway to experience happiness and success? OK. No more pretending! The constant repetitive thoughts looping on repeat in our mind and the heaviness of feeling in our bodies is saying something. It is telling us, ‘stop trying so hard to show up as something that we are not.’ We need to let go of always trying to be the perfect idea of ourselves, to remove the masks we have been wearing as we step out into the world. Let’s name a few of these masks. How about the perfectly finished mask, or the big butch protector mask? I bet we all are familiar with the ‘don’t worry it's all ok’ one, which is often coupled with the mask of humour. The latter gives us an excuse not to deal with how we are really feeling. The masks we wear represent the personas we have adopted in our minds to cope with, be accepted, or thrive in our constructed realities. Masks are not wrong, rather they help us to realise we have unconsciously become identified with them as who we are. This use of our mind keeps us trapped in a way of seeing and being in a world that is not based on truth. The only way out of the illusion is to free ourselves from the confines of the mind and become more self-aware. Too much of our time, energy, and effort is spent trying to be an idea of someone that we are not. We have been trained by society, our parents and even ourselves to use our minds and body to pretend. We do this in order to satisfy the desire for acceptance in a social, professional, or community environment. Many of us are waking up to the unreal communications of others delivered in sales pitches, networking, and presentations that don’t align with our values. Ironically, this increased awareness of the illusion has been fast-tracked through the explosion of social media. People are noticing more now when someone is not genuine in what they say or do. Why is this? Well, it’s more obvious because humanity is evolving, and our consciousness is elevating. We are all feeling the effects of a major shift in how we use the mind and body to deal with the massive changes occurring in the physical world. This is playing out in our experience of the relationship we have within ourselves and on the outside. Circumstances are calling upon us to discard false appearances and embrace authenticity. Today, we are being invited by the universe to embrace our true Self. It is time to ‘be’ real. To appear as our vulnerable, untarnished, unpolished, and imperfect self. So, take a deep breath in and then breathe out a big sigh of relief … with the knowledge that you can be exactly who you are. Being real takes courage, strength and vulnerability. It is the beginning of an acceptance of your personal truth. This is a willingness to feel with your body, the consequence of how you are living. It is a choice to hold the container of your experience and do nothing except ‘sit with it’. To understand what I am describing here is to be able to ‘experience’ knowing it, to know in a way, that is not an intellectualized thought or an in-your-head process. It actually means doing it – to take action and try it out for your Self. What have you got to lose? Or on the other hand…What do you have to gain? It is an understanding of your Self as a more powerful, expanded awareness of YOU! To access the real authentic YOU, requires you to pause. To stop, tune into, and then reflect upon your personal experience. Following is an activity that is all about you. Take some time to place your attention solely upon yourself, to contemplate and reflect upon your feeling experience. This will… Reduce and dissolve the feeling of disconnect between who you are and what you do. Make it easier to know when it is your intuition or intellect speaking. Increase your access to a greater sense of calm and balance Being the real YOU requires practice. When done consistently, you will develop a more intimate relationship with your true self. Awareness of the real YOU lies within. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Kel! Kel Green, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine The Art of Being You For individuals who aspire to ‘be’ their best self, to live an extraordinary authentic life. Kel Green M.A is a leader in ways to know your Self. An Educator, Speaker, Meditation Teacher & Self-Help Author who lives and breathes Self-Awareness. Kel provides you with uniquely crafted personal development tools, wisdom, and techniques incorporated into your daily routine to allow you to access authenticity and your personal power. Kel brings over 35 years of experience in IT businesses, eastern and western self-development tools along with transformative healing modalities. She has a Masters in Transpersonal Psychology, a business degree, has authored several Self-awareness books and is a long-time meditator and yoga practitioner. Kel is a Brainz Magazine Executive Contributor, a regular on the podcast for The Most Intelligent Selection. Kel uses her personal stories and challenges in breaking dysfunctional patterns to take the journey from head to heart. She draws on this as inspiration to provide programs, tools, and techniques to open your mind to a greater understanding of who you are.

Written by: Anuradha Rathore, 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 2022 is winding down, I have reflected on this year and all it brought for me. Here are some lessons I learned along the way. Before you invest time, money, energy, and effort into installing top-of-the-line systems, software, and processes to increase income, impact, and productivity, ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS. I don’t care how docile and harmless they seem; eliminate them ruthlessly. Empty phrases are empty until they are implemented. Here are some overused ones ‒ Get out of your comfort zone: Be authentic, Create your reality, and so forth. If you read a quote and it spoke to you, act on it. Consistency is a magical thing. It’s one of the most easily accessible but severely underplayed and underused superpowers. Whatever you are pursuing or hope to achieve, consistently define the small steps and act on them. It’s fail-proof and adds up like compound interest. There are only a handful of people whose opinions matter, and that too when they contribute to solutions, progress, and reflection. Audit them. Are they still giving you constructive feedback or making unnecessary noise? ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup.’ I aspire to live by it. Put yourself first. You can’t expect others to show up for you unless you show up. Prioritize. When you become too available to the world, you must operate based on the priorities set by others, which constantly change to serve them and you are left in the dust. Guilt is a useless emotion. It’s like vile burning lava that enters any open space in your life and solidifies to take shape. Fight it fiercely! And lastly, I learned a new word, ‘JOMO ‒ Joy of Missing out ‒ Feeling content with staying in and disconnecting as a form of self-care. This word is the antidote to hustle and mocks the status quo quietly with a smile. If you want to ride a bike, you must get on the bike, wobble through and push the pedal, fall in the process, and get some scrapes and bruises. To live a wholesome, purposeful life, we must learn and implement life's lessons, despite the bruises. Grateful for the lesson from 2022 and looking forward to 2023. The best is on its way for all of us. Follow me on LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Anuradha! Anuradha Rathore, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine To solve a business challenge, you must address the human challenge. More than ever, the world needs confident, compassionate leaders and high-trust, courageous teams that foster creative conflicts and embrace disagreements to navigate complexities and thrive in the face of relentless uncertainty. Anu Rathore is a Business Performance Coach, consultant, and mentor to leaders and entrepreneurs. She works with organizations and individuals to develop and amplify their latent, ineffable skills and mindset, which are not very well defined but are increasingly important in this ever-transforming ecosystem. Her clients love that working with her allows them to show up powerfully in the world while staying aligned with their true selves. She focuses on developing leaders as holistic individuals because, contrary to conventional wisdom, you shouldn’t have to choose between success, happiness, and joyous living.

Written by: Kel Green, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. When we think of relationships, our mind instantly moves to those we hold near and dear. It may be a romantic one or a role we play such as a parent, professional, sibling, friend, or foe. These connections represent our experience of the word relationship. Our thoughts and feelings about relationships are stored in our humanity. Our reference point for knowing the word relationship draws upon stories and beliefs about what it means to us, most of which come from the outside world. Many of us focus our mind's attention upon the external world, a world full of people and experiences that shapes our relationship reality. What we often don’t notice is how responsible we are for creating this reality. We are being shown through the mirror of our relationships, who we really are. We all have relationships that are not working. Let’s face it, who doesn’t have a bad relationship story! What I have realised, is that harmonious relationships are only possible when I bring my experience back to inside me. Can any of us say they are at peace with all persons near and dear to them? Letting you know that I am still working on it! You can choose to look at this from an expanded perspective by changing your outlook on the landscape of relationship. Let’s open up our view of relationships to include an observation of what is occurring from the larger perspective. From here, we can contemplate not just the individual roles we play, but the entire space of relating. When we use this point of view our mind shifts focus from a finite and limited way of seeing, toward a world of infinite possibilities and exploration of the unknown. Our awareness has been trained to focus on the physical form in the external world. Without realising it we have allowed our consciousness to become identified with objects or subjects as who we are. Directing our attention in this way has limited our ability to see the space in which the object or subject exists and the dynamics of energy surrounding it. This is a deeper understanding of how relationships work. The field of relationships also includes the point of view of energy. From this point of view, we understand relationships through personal experience as a dynamic process. Right now, you may be thinking…what’s this all about? I don’t get it! Well, I say great, awesome! It means there is an interruption in your brain’s normal pattern of thinking. This brain/mind dissonance represents a perfect opportunity to make a change to your point of view. So now I invite you to take a step further with your personal experience in mind. Think about a relationship in your life that is important or memorable to you. It may be that right now, you are thinking of a relative or a romantic connection. For this exercise, imagine there is a wide-open sports field, with you standing on one side and the other person across from you on the other. Next, bring your mind to the space between yourself, and the other person. Ok. Now think about your experience in the relationship with that person, (feel free to jot your answers down) How would you describe it? What emotions come up for you? What are you feeling in your body? See the field, with yourself and the other person on either side See the thoughts, images, and feelings you have about that person laid out in the open space across the whole field. Observe from above looking down upon you and the field. Look upon you the person on the field. This is the person that is thinking the thoughts, feeling the emotions, and in the experience. The field represents the landscape of the relationship between yourself and the other person. The landscape is scattered with obstacles of your mind’s illusion in the form of thoughts, beliefs, and judgments creating your personal experience. The focus of this process is for you to understand how you are using your mind to create the view of the relationship. It does not include the other person’s perception of the relationship which is to be acknowledged. You are first focussing here upon understanding yourself. If you want to have a peaceful, more unconditional relationship with a person then you need to shift your mind’s point of view. It is your mind’s limited perception, which includes your thoughts, words, and actions, that creates these barriers. All that is required to experience this, is for you to make a change in how you see the field of relating with this person whilst dissolving the obstacles held in your mind. Sounds easy right?! My guess is that your mind is still attached and coming up with reasons to maintain your current reality of the relationship. Our mind has a point of view that is unique to us. As we see the world, it discerns with its intelligence to see and define your relationships. The problem is that the mind’s point of view is not always clear, accurate, or helpful. When it comes to the mind; many of us don’t realise the central role it plays in our human existence. We have not yet learned how to use its full potential or to master it. The bottom line is, establishing a steady, calm, and clear mind is integral to living a full and balanced life. What is the mind? It is important to know that our mind is not simply comprised of thought. The mind also comprises the ego, our senses, an intellect, and a connection with the true self. The state or level of consciousness of our mind is influenced by our desire to become self-aware. To master our relationships, we must first explore the relationship we have with our true Self This means we need to examine not just our relationships outside of us, but also the relationship within, with our Self. This may sound confusing, even ominous; however, it is the only path to being at peace here in the world. All relationships with ourselves, others, and the world have the potential to heal, transcend and expand in a soul-aligned expression of who we are. If we want to improve our relationships, we need to first understand the relationship we have with the true Self. The first step is to take the journey within to get to know YOU. To learn more about Self awareness in relationships, click here to listen to Kel Green on Relationships with Paul Collins on The Most Intelligent Selection Podcast. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram, LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Kel! Kel Green, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine The Art of Being You For individuals who aspire to ‘be’ their best self, to live an extraordinary authentic life. Kel Green M.A is a leader in ways to know your Self. An Educator, Speaker, Meditation Teacher & Self-Help Author who lives and breathes Self-Awareness. Kel provides you with uniquely crafted personal development tools, wisdom, and techniques incorporated into your daily routine to allow you to access authenticity and your personal power. Kel brings over 35 years of experience in IT businesses, eastern and western self-development tools along with transformative healing modalities. She has a Masters in Transpersonal Psychology, a business degree, has authored several Self-awareness books and is a long-time meditator and yoga practitioner. Kel is a Brainz Magazine Executive Contributor, a regular on the podcast for The Most Intelligent Selection. Kel uses her personal stories and challenges in breaking dysfunctional patterns to take the journey from head to heart. She draws on this as inspiration to provide programs, tools, and techniques to open your mind to a greater understanding of who you are.

Written by: Kel Green, 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. Moving through 2022, WE NEED Self Love now more than ever. It’s Time. Self Love is the most important habit we can develop for life balance, personal satisfaction, and our health. The Big Questions are… Why do we do what we do, rather than what we know to do? Why do we make everything and everyone else more important than ourselves? Why do we always put ourselves last on our list? In this busy world and always ‘doing’ life, our energy and attention are in a state of constant distraction. When do we create the time and space to take care of ourselves with some mind, body, spirit, and positive self-love? In this moment; you are as resilient, strong and life powerful as you are ever going to be...unless you choose a different action, nothing will change. Draw a line in the sand, accept and decide that there is never going to be a better time than right NOW, to make YOU, the priority with a regular self love ritual. Your future self will thank you for your efforts. What are Self Love rituals? “Everything we do is sacred if done sacredly” Self-love rituals are regular routines that power up our everyday life. They are anything we participate in with purpose in thought, word, and action, accompanied by an attitude of sacredness and positive heartfelt intention. Personal Rituals such as taking a bath or tuning into our connection with nature were once part of daily life, but no more. Why is this? As technology has advanced, we have diminished the quality of the relationship we have with ourselves and our community. Our attention to the human connection has been reduced and swallowed up by the barrage and the speed of information delivered to us as we move through our days. We are “busy doing a lot,” and at the same time turning down our awareness and appreciation of the “present moment.” We are losing enthusiasm to consciously relate through our humanity and the potential this represents for a richer, fuller life. Self Love Rituals will help bring you into the moment. They slow down the pace of life, let go of the clutter of mind, tensions in the body, and relax our overstretched nervous system. This creates the space to reset ourselves for more vitality and better health. Self-love rituals build the foundation to deal with the interrupts to our day and the 'tough stuff' showing up in our world. They ground and stabilize our body, balance our energies, and restore inner peace. What I am referring to here are the self-love rituals that invite kindness and compassion from the greatness of our hearts. Those that encourage us to practice self-care; a conscious action to love, honour, and nurture ourselves. Self-love rituals are self love in action; a point in time, to feel, and to open to receive what we need. This vulnerability, this softness, is the new superpower for these turbulent times. The self love ritual is a way to give to you what you have been reaching out into the world to get just so you can feel ok about you. Thoughts may go through your mind such as if this person tells me he loves me then I will feel ok or when I buy this item I will feel secure, or If I can look like this then I will be happy. When we think and act on these types of thoughts, it is like we are grasping for a band-aid just to feel ok. We are in a pattern of thinking that looks outside of us for a solution to our internal challenges. This habitual way of reaching outside of us for external solutions will never satisfy us. Why? Because very little is in our control. The answer is to find a way to reach within to discover what you need, to give it to you, and establish a peaceful and easy feeling as a basis to view our world. Self Love rituals are a way to give us exactly what we need. “Clear the static, and get clear by listening deeply to you.” This is where the self love ritual comes in, with it we have the means to give to us exactly what we need. It may be that we want someone to hug us, to listen to how we feel, or just to ‘be’ and do nothing. When we slow down, pause, and sit with ourselves we become more aware of what is going on underneath the surface, inside of us. We may feel angry, sad, anxious, tired, tense, or afraid. This can show up in our body as pain, in the thoughts we have and in our energy. At this point, we may ask ourselves, “What do I need to do right now to love myself?” With this answer, we develop a personal habit to nourish our whole person. One which relaxes the body, calms the mind, and makes us feel more centered. How do we do the Self Love ritual? “Choose to be enlightenedly self- loving, it will build your energy for you and those you give to. It will create an alternate pathway for your life.” Before you begin your ritual…be aware that you need to make a choice, one which puts you as the top priority. You have to be willing to live life from the point of view that before you do anything you first need to honour yourself and how you feel. What is meant by the words ‘’self-loving’’ is different from what you may think. It means to constantly replenish yourself with peaceful and poised energy drawn from the well of love that you have for yourself. Begin with Deeply Listening to YOU! Set up yourself up for success by giving yourself some time in your day to regularly practice this ritual. Do the following: Breathe in…Feel…Breathe out…Feel. Breathe in…Feel…Breathe out…Feel. Breathe in…Feel…Breathe out…Feel. Now you are opened to deeply listen to feel, you. Ask yourself, ’What can you feel beneath your skin?’ Listen to all the parts of you. This is not just your ears listening; it's all of your senses in your human bodysuit. Feel how your body feels, its aches and pains, its places of peace and stillness. Notice your feelings and emotions, be aware of any areas of tension or ease. Observe your mind and the types of thoughts flowing through it. Sense, your energy, it may be calm and centered, scattered and erratic, or something else. Listen to all of you. Let's play with this a bit more. Breathe... Feel… Then pause for a minute or two. Listen, sense, feel your body, your feelings, your mind, your energy. Allow it all to be. When you are ready, become aware of sound and sensations outside of your body, deepen your breath, and come back. Notice, you, sitting in your experience. How was it? The invitation Join me for a short audio meditation guiding you through these steps towards learning to listen with love for what you need and build your resilience. https://bit.ly/deeplylistening Experience Self Love When you intentionally engage in a self love ritual you are provided with the love, healing, and nourishment you need. This, in turn, increases your inner strength and resilience. It establishes a balanced mindset and a peaceful, powerful perspective to deal more easily with whatever life presents. To make any real change in your life requires a different action. Actions done consistently amplifies the results. Your next step is to do the action! Click here to get your FREE E-book Seven Self Love rituals that you can do to reset, reenergize, and connect with you. Plus - how to make these part of your everyday routine. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram, LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Kel Green, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine The Art of Being You For individuals who aspire to ‘be’ their best self, to live an extraordinary authentic life. Kel Green M.A is a leader in ways to know your Self. An Educator, Speaker, Meditation Teacher & Self-Help Author who lives and breathes Self-Awareness. Kel provides you with uniquely crafted personal development tools, wisdom, and techniques incorporated into your daily routine to allow you to access authenticity and your personal power. Kel brings over 35 years of experience in IT businesses, eastern and western self-development tools along with transformative healing modalities. She has a Masters in Transpersonal Psychology, a business degree, has authored several Self-awareness books and is a long-time meditator and yoga practitioner. Kel is a Brainz Magazine Executive Contributor, a regular on the podcast for The Most Intelligent Selection. Kel uses her personal stories and challenges in breaking dysfunctional patterns to take the journey from head to heart. She draws on this as inspiration to provide programs, tools, and techniques to open your mind to a greater understanding of who you are.

Written by: Ketan Kulkarni Money is here to stay! It’s among the most talked about topics in the world! It’s something you simply can’t avoid unless you live completely off the grid! It just means that money is a necessity in this world. It’s the key to living life on your own terms in the 21st century and simply cannot be neglected. But when asked about money many people either (i) avoid the topic (ii) think about what they don’t have (iii) think about how they can may be strive to make more (iv) hate their current financial situation or (v) simply discuss how they can’t have what they want! Some other people simply show their resentment towards money or even despise money as root cause of all evil. Many despise their work. People even vividly describe how their bosses, or supervisors are so unfair and nasty. Many go another step further and suggest that many rich and famous used unfair means to make money and despise them! This article is not about how to invest. There is a lot of brilliant literature on that. What if you truly mastered money and your finances? What would that look like. What if you truly understand what money means to you? This article is precisely about that. Before we explore mastering money let’s consider a couple of examples CD is a 49-year-old corporate tax lawyer who lives in 4 million $ lake front mansion, drives a Ferrari, has a net worth of more than 10 million, goes to 4 to 5 exotic vacations per year, collects watches and works 5 to 6 days in his typical week In contrast, AB is a 49-year-old retired gamer who now works as a freelance coding consultant, lives in a 600K house, has a net worth of $1 million, works at his will, has a travel bug, plans on launching a startup in the near future. It would be very natural for many or most people to prefer CD over AB and consider CD a resounding success in the 21st century. After all he can afford all the modern toys and gizmos. But let’s consider some more information. CD has anger management issues, feels superior to many of his colleagues and counterparts, often feels disconnected from his friends and family, focuses mainly on $ the value of his work and things, and appears overconfident. She does notice that somewhere something is missing. In contrast, person AB has a stable family, lots of friends, lots of free time, coaches the next generation, volunteers a lot of time for veterans, and looks at life as an adventure. He is excited about what he can do in the next few decades of the gift of life. Suddenly our perception of financial success changes. We no longer consider CD a resounding success and many would prefer AB over CD. Most certainly if CD had the emotional stability, joy, fulfilment, and satisfaction that AB experiences it would be a different story. He could indeed be considered at the epitome of success. In contrast CJ is a young doctor who is seriously considering evaluating their financial goals, their understanding about money and truly wants to master money, especially after recognizing the comparison and contrast of AB and CD. CJ considers the following enduring questions. I need to make money but is money the end goal? Money is indeed a mean goal and not an end goal in itself. The ultimate goal of money is not just to acquire it. The aim should be to acquire money so you can achieve your end goals, whatever they may be. Data is abundantly clear that the sole pursuit of money almost certainly ends in misery. Many seemingly successful people lose themselves in the unending pursuit of more wealth, believing they are becoming more successful as they accrue more. They succumb to the classic “if-then” hypothesis thinking that they will be happy when they acquire certain assets or things or get somewhere in their lives. Truly speaking they are after the feeling they will experience when they get to their goal post. And then the goal post simply moves further! Instead, CJ recognizes the importance of understanding their why clearly in the context of money. Understanding your why Understanding why you want money is critical. What kind of lifestyle do you truly desire, what kind of relationships and experiences do you want to pursue? What about your health goals, growth goals and spiritual goals? What about your contributions? Your accumulation of wealth needs to support your why, whatever that why is! This will open the floodgates of fulfilment. CJ plans on precisely mapping their why and then pursuing the accumulation of money as a means to support the why. Emotional not rational CJ still remembers buying their first SUV and then regretting it. It costs them almost 1100$ per month in payments, not to mention the cost of insurance and maintenance. CJ always thought that driving a nice-looking SUV would make them appear very successful, so they prioritized this over their student loan re-payments, investments and even first home buying. And the SUV is a depreciating asset. CJ doesn’t want to repeat this mistake in the future and have appropriate priories for spending. Data is clear that a lot of our money decisions are emotional and then rationalized. This is contrary to the popular perception that human beings can be very rational and logical. Spending habits are often strongly driven by underlying emotions. Thus, recognizing and understanding one’s emotions around money is critical to develop good spending and saving habits. Social comparison Someone always has more, and someone always has less, CJ contemplates. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday. This is such a powerful insight! Yet, especially in the era of social media, this is something that virtually all of us fail to do, at least some of the time. The race isn’t with other people. Their goals may be completely different that yours! One needs to inculcate a culture of appreciation and acceptance rather than comparison. Capitalism and money CJ understands that money is a means to an end. Even if one had lots of money but no freedom (which would be a personal choice), extremely strong evidence suggests one will not be happy. Conversely, if you have relatively little money but loads of freedom, it is far more likely that you will be fulfilled. Yet a person’s relationship with wealth, material goods, possessions, status symbols, and other signifiers of money tends to be completely irrational. Much of this attitude can be attributed to modern marketing. In order to be happy, in order to be the best version of ourselves, in order to pursue our authentic goals and selves, CJ must sever the ties that bind us to an advertiser’s image of what happiness should look like. Relationship with money Everyone has a relationship with money in some form. They have deep seated thoughts, emotions, attitudes, and beliefs towards money. Most people, however, are not aware of their thoughts and emotions about money. And even less have evaluated their relationship with money. Furthermore, many tend to have a distorted relationship with money. This relationship is based on a range of factors including lived experience, family traditions, culture, peer experience, socio-political factors among others. The good news is that one can heal their relationship with money and develop a positive, healthy one. It requires investment in developing the appropriate money mindset, like CJ contemplates doing. Money mindset Getting to the core of one’s positive and negative thoughts and emotions about money is critical. Simply recognizing and evaluating your thoughts about money, wealth, and successful people can be a useful exercise. Ultimately, one needs to invest inner-work through these obstacles to clear the way for success. Understanding how one’s family, peer, lived experience, geography and such other external factors influence one’s views around money can be enlightening. Inculcating an abundance and growth mindset towards money can be a pivotal shift. Expressing gratitude for the money one has, the money one spends and the money one wishes to make is a wonderful start. CJ plans on starting to unravel their mindset. Thus, akin to CJ, everyone needs to understand and assess their Finance blueprint. Understanding and developing one’s money blueprint is key. Wealth is not just a number: it’s a feeling as well! This often requires Finance coaching. Developing a clear financial plan with healthy spending and saving habits, budgeting, living within one's means or creating the means to support one’s desired lifestyle is the key. It's not about money at all. It’s all about your relationship with money and your money blueprint! For more information you can visit www.thelegendaryquest.pro. You can subscribe to receive a free life satisfaction questionnaire. About the author Ketan Kulkarni: Ketan Kulkarni is an international award winning physician, entrepreneur, a clinician researcher (>125 published papers), a SELF (Success, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, and Finance) coach, author, an avid learner and networker, a traveler, an art enthusiast and antique collector and a music buff. https://www.brainzmagazine.com/post/meet-dr-ketan-kulkarni-a-multiple-international-award-winning-physician-author-entrepreneur The Legendary Quest: https://www.amazon.com/Legendary-Quest-Professionals-Excellence-Fulfillment/dp/B09TWPHFFR/ref=sr_1_1?crid=25K7XCWQWPD6I&keywords=the+legendary+quest&qid=1669732777&sprefix=legendary+quest%2Caps%2C117&sr=8-1

As one of the most influential public relations professionals in the United States, Adam Horlock has changed how businesses and brands use the powerful PR tool. He is a visionary leader in the public relations field, delivering innovative results and shaping how brands approach their public image. With a client roster that reads like a who's-who, especially in tech, financial services, and healthcare, Horlock launched Pinnacle Public Relations Agency in the Spring of 2022. Horlock, as Founder and Principal Strategist of Pinnacle, utilizes ground-breaking strategies in PR, leaving an unmatched imprint on businesses and industries across the United States. From helping entrepreneurs reach new audiences, startups seeking new capital, and companies needing strategy while navigating a merger or acquisition to aiding nonprofits with their outreach efforts, Pinnacle has experienced remarkable growth thanks to Horlock's strategic knowledge and vision. He has also taken on public policy initiatives and brought visibility to campaigns that have made an impact nationally. Adam Horlock is a noted contributing writer for Entrepreneur Magazine, and his influence extends to the highest media realms. He has multiple national television and media appearances, seeking to educate entrepreneurs, business leaders, and c-suite executives on strategies to utilize in their businesses. With a presence in USA Today, MSN, Yahoo! Finance, and Franchise 500, to name a few, Horlock continues to be an influential force in public relations and acts as a valuable resource for audiences globally. Adam G. Horlock,Founder / Principal Strategist How did you get started in the media? Working in public relations has been an enriching and varied experience for me. I've had the chance to be a part of some truly great projects, working with personalities and publications from Gordon Ramsay to Entrepreneur Magazine. Each day involves something new, requiring me to think and innovate faster and build lasting relationships within media outlets and industries. I started writing for Entrepreneur two years ago, reaching a global audience of entrepreneurs, founders, and executives. With my articles, content, and speaking engagements featured in the media nationally, founders, startups, marketing directors, and c-suite executives started to reach out and ask for assistance. From this point, I knew I needed to launch an agency of my own but build it differently from a traditional agency model – make it virtual, national, and adaptable to a rapidly changing and dynamic environment. Many marketing agencies offer PR as part of their overall services. What makes your firm different? While it is true that many marketing and ad agencies offer PR as a deliverable, it is often viewed as an 'add-on' service or included in a proposal but perhaps not pursued or pushed as hard as other services. In many cases, other teams or departments in the agency, such as social media, also handle the project's PR. Pinnacle is different from that model. Instead of viewing PR as part of other deliverables, we first view it as its own discipline. Second, we ensure the strategy is correct before even writing the first press release. In many cases, agencies will quickly draft a press release, thinking it should be a summary of what is newsworthy. We believe in strategy and audience first, then determine if a press release is necessary or if other options will produce better results. Our secret sauce is strategy. As I wrote in an Entrepreneur Magazine article, find a company's core, and build out from there. Many assume that because they founded, own, or work daily in the business, they know the core. We find the true core of the problem being solved or the solution that is served and build a winning campaign around the best way to reach the necessary audience. Reputation defense and management is a growing category in public relations. How does Pinnacle handle reputation defense for clients? When managing a brand's online reputation or even mounting an effective defense against slander and other malicious attacks, there is no room for no response or a weak, muted response. The rapidness at which information travels and the realm we communicate all necessitate that any response to negative publicity or attacks is swift, strategic, and decisive. Taking too long to respond can be detrimental, as those events that ignite strong emotions in the public sphere require quick intervention. Ignoring the issues entirely is not wise – remember: silence speaks loudest, and inaction says more than a string of words ever could. When facing such challenges head-on, Pinnacle builds a comprehensive plan as to precisely how you plan to counter negative reviews or press. Even if this takes time and research, action cannot wait: a thoroughly planned PR campaign that addresses the core of the problem can turn any situation around with tactful responses. Public relations content is created everywhere and all the time. How do you and your team at Pinnacle create content that gets people's attention? We pride ourselves in strategy first and using sound strategy to rise above the 'noise' of other PR efforts. So many of today's PR deliverables either do not resonate with the intended audience or don't help in new investment, sales, or industry verticals. With the right strategy, we build either a short or long-term PR campaigns with a direct path to the desired outcome. For more info, follow Adam on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and visit Pinnacle’s website! Read more from Adam!

Written by: Brian Wood, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. When looking at an identical image, different people will see different things. Our perspective is the byproduct of our environment, thoughts, and experiences. A transformational leader once told me "We are the experts of our experiences." It's not up to me to tell you how you should feel based on what you've experienced, just like you should respect an alternate interpretation based on my journey. There are fewer things more divisive than the definition, expression, and perception of patriotism. We tend to use absolutes when describing a “good” or “bad” American, but this designation shouldn’t be an absolute evaluation. Be careful as good or bad can get us in trouble especially when the either/or factor is included. You are either a good American who is loyal and patriotic or you’re a bad American who is angry, ungrateful, and always bringing up the past. Which one of the following sounds “good”? The person who blindly follows and agrees with everything our country has ever represented throughout the history of time without an ounce of critical thinking. The person who fails to recognize anything positive about the United States of America including the history of resiliency, the national parks, the people (including those who educate, put their lives on the line and provide health care). Neither of these options sound good to me! But between the two extremes, a perspective exists that includes the home team effect and situational emotion. Situational Emotion When emotions show up it can complicate matters, which requires emotional intelligence. So, recognizing the triggers that impact our behavior and tenancies during certain situations is critical. As an example, someone could default to blindly defending (like a parent might defend their son/daughter) any time a single critical word about the USA is voiced. That was a long time ago! We’re still the best country in the world! Emotional intelligence allows space for a variety of emotions based on the situation. My dad’s funeral was over 20 years ago. One of the emotions that I experienced at his ceremony was extreme gratitude for the veteran organization that responded and honored my father for his service in the Korean war. They showed him respect and brotherhood with that US flag and I will never forget the pride I felt when seeing our flag displayed at my father’s service. Another example of situational emotion also involved my dad, who was an African American born in 1932 and served in the US Army. Despite fighting and risking his life for his country, he experienced blatant racism and injustice for several decades. So, is it possible for me to reflect on my dad, look at our flag and contemplate the hypocrisy (while being outraged)? Yes. Situational emotion could surface for the gold star parent whose daughter was a causality while serving in the Navy. Imagine you are that parent, and someone tells you “You shouldn’t be upset when someone takes a knee during the national anthem – it’s not meant to be disrespectful to your daughter.” And the mother who tragically lost her son to a racist act of brutality. The person who murdered her son was never held accountable and justice was never served. Imagine the reaction if you told her “You should protest ‘this’ way but not in a way that desecrates Old Glory!” The Home Team Effect We can show up with both pride and animosity when routing for our home team because we desperately want team success. Despite this passion coming from a place of love for either perception ‒ pride or animosity – it can be misinterpreted. The pride of being from New Jersey (true story) resonates with me just like your home state, town, city, street might be a source of pride for you. Regardless of what state you’re from or region of the US you may reside, most people are excited to connect with others from similar geographic locations. On the animosity side, the fan (remember fan is short for fanatic) is outraged when the team underperforms, doesn’t adjust the game plan and/or doesn’t bring the effort. This fan is enraged because they love their team so much! And as a parent, you want your son or daughter to always improve and not leave any potential on the table. Do you push them and drive them because you hate them? You probably motivate them and help them understand opportunities for improvement because you love them unconditionally. Think about your experience if you’ve ever competed athletically. “What the Hell guys ‒ are we going to play some defense tonight?!” I only say that because I love my team and I know we can be better. I don’t accept mediocrity, average or pretty good because we were meant to be exceptional. There is not one approach that all members of Team USA must take to help our team win. Our flag can symbolize hope and inspire the goal of liberty and justice for all, and it can also serve as a reminder of how the nation has fallen well short of its noble ideals. It is a matter of perspective and there is room for more than one point of view. Don’t forget to lead by understanding other positions and perceptions. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Brian! Brian Wood, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Brian Wood combines 30 years of corporate experience with his background as an athlete, certified player agent (NBA, WNBA, and FIBA), and a certified professional success coach to provide clients with a unique perspective and guidance toward the next level of achievement. Wood is passionate about continuous personal and professional growth including organizational development, training, and gamification. He is enthusiastic about helping leaders leverage their gifts to drive impact and success. Wood supports major corporations, professional sports organizations, and municipalities. He provides confidential, professional, and executive coaching, speaking engagements, virtual and in-person facilitation.

Brainz Magazine Exclusive Interview Dr. Soliman is a physician (clinical psychiatry), scientist (genetics) and MBA (leadership and management). He uses behavioral dialectics to integrate the strength and weakness (cycles of motivation-demotivation, resilience-weakness, and cognitive abilities-disabilities). He utilizes evidence-based behavioral techniques to help professionals and leaders utilize their adversity as a growth path. He is American/Canadian; he also lived in 3 continents and appreciates working with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds. Dr. Soliman received his PhD at the University of Toronto and his MD and MBA at Cornell University. Mission statement: It is never too late. Please introduce yourself! Tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better. I am a physician in clinical psychiatry and a scientist. I am an international coach federation certified life coach, focusing on leadership and career transitions. Why I pursued coaching: I have - and had - dedicated mentors and coaches in my life and I would like to become the same for professionals who aspire to become both a better version of themselves and still in line with their essence. I would say I am a lifelong learner. My passion for coaching started when I was in high school reading personal development and psychology books, a passion that continued throughout my life. An innate curiosity led me to a long, satisfying science career, where I pursued my doctoral work under the direct supervision of a Nobel prize candidate. During my research years, I observed bright, entrepreneurial, and decisive minds struggle and are lost to behavioral health challenges. Losing one of my research advisors slowly to depression was a transforming phase of my career. It pushed me to read voraciously about the mind & body connection and brought me back to my interest in psychology and personal development. which continued during my medical training years at Cornell, NYC. My psychiatry active internships at Yale and Harvard Medical School taught me that it takes time and diligence to understand someone's story. No two people have similar stories. None. The clinical wards made me realize that a big part of a physician's life is managing and leading a healthcare team. I knew I needed formal system-level training to make informed team management decisions and to increase my own time management. This led to another unexpected turn in my career; I pursued an MBA. What came clearly through this experience is that human behavior is at the core of almost every consulting, leadership, or management endeavor. In the end, all our human endeavors are meant to fulfill our needs to become the best versions of ourselves. Fun facts: I am a triple citizen. I lived on 3 continents for at least 5 years. I have a YouTube Channel, @DrSolimanMD where I host authors and world thinkers to share their stories from striving to thriving. Can you briefly explain the service you offer and how you help your clients? My clients are professionals who appreciate independence in decision-making and seek coaching to gain clarity, well-being, and transition in their careers. I use a behavioral dialectic approach to help clients understand their strengths *in* weaknesses. For example, anxiety and perfectionism can be both strengths and weaknesses. Instead of trying to abandon these traits as weaknesses, we work together to see how to fine-tune them to reach the client’s goal. I use evidence-based behavioral techniques to help professionals and leaders navigate adversity and utilize it as an opportunity for growth. Given my background, I appreciate working with clients from diverse cultures who are struggling to integrate their authentic selves with what is expected from them. As a life coach, what would you say is the most important lesson you have learned after your years in the industry? Coaching is a co-creation process. It is different from mentorship or sport coaching in that sense. By nature, we do not like to be told what to do and, certainly, we do not tend to do what we are told to do! Two things we all appreciate are a sense of control and safety when it comes to making decisions. In coaching, clients are integral parts of the decision-making process. The more involved the client is, the higher the chances they will act on the shared decision. How can someone refine their active learning skills? I would say through performing, reflecting, and redoing. Performing: Experiential learning is one effective method of active learning. This occurs when we put ourselves in unfamiliar challenges. The challenges do not have to be extreme or totally unfamiliar. This requires commitment, agility and renewed engagement as the learning process can be ambiguous but fruitful. Reflecting: After expanding the comfort zone, we need time to reflect on what could we have done differently and also what we have done well. One way to think about it is to have your boss or your coworker give you suggestions regarding one thing you have done really well, one thing that you can improve on, and one thing that you need to stop. Asking, for one thing, helps make the feedback task-specific and helps you reflect on your performance Redoing: Now that you have expanded your experiential learning and have feedback on both strengths and weaknesses, you can incorporate this feedback into your performance and stretch your comfort zone a little bit further and start the "performing" stage again. You offer, unlike many others, Group Coaching - How does this differ from other types of coaching sessions? This is an important question! Group coaching assures clients that they are not alone and that other highly successful, talented people might have similar struggles. This lends itself to the second benefit: giving and receiving support which can be limited to one-to-one sessions. A third point is an opportunity to listen to creative ideas from people who have a similar problem. Finally, group coaching tends to be less expensive than an individual one. What would you like to achieve for yourself and your business in the future? I will focus on what I would like my clients to achieve from working with me. I would like to them a achieve sense of safety and a sense of control over their careers. For more info, follow Dr. Soliman on Youtube, Instagram, Tiktok, and visit his website!

Written by: Jessica Carper, 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. Year End. December 2022 is a busy time for accountants, tax preparers, bookkeepers, and auditors! It’s the year end, and we need to have all the financials ready and prepared for the full year of 2022 just in time to start tax returns for 2023 to meet those deadlines! Here at Bookkeeping & Payroll Services Inc., our bookkeepers are working extra hours to get all the accounting completed accurately for our clients. Our tax preparers are excited going into the new year to complete several tax returns! Bookkeeping & Payroll Services, Inc. www.Financial-Firm.Biz Here are some of the most CRUCIAL deadlines coming up for 2023: ‒ 1099s due by January 31st, 2023 Business License for city of LA due by February 28th, 2023 Quarter four payroll reports due by January 31st, 2023 Quarterly bookkeeping due by January 312st, 2023 Incorporation taxes due by March 15th, 2023 Personal taxes due April 17th, 2023 *** Personal taxes are usually due April 15th, but this year 2023 they are due by Monday April 17th, 2023. I am truly thrilled to be helping thousands of business owners keep their businesses aligned with the government and laws to run smoothly. Our team ensures that your bookkeeping and taxes are done accurately in a timely manner before the deadlines. Time to give: In addition to practicing accounting, I like to contribute my time to a variety of causes. I hold the title for Miss Holiday 2022. Instagram: JImperial7. I have donated time for a 5k run for the queen of New England, Queen Elizabeth. At the end of December, I will be donating my time to helping decorate the South Pasadena Float for the Pasadena Rose Parade of 2023. You will be able to watch the Rose Parade 2023 on TV on January 1st early in the morning. Thousands of people attend the parade. It gives me the joy to give time to these events in hopes of honoring multiple causes. I am the owner of Universe Beauties which is online pageantry at the moment. I have goals and plans to become LIVE asap. I have title holders all over the world! Here at Universe Beauties, we are about World Peace and Acts of Kindness! I am also featured in The Lens Magazine: and this is my final issue! It is a Playboy tribute, and it’s a digital magazine of over 25 pages Enjoyment of the Season My beautiful 15-year-old daughter is so grateful for all Santa has brought! Such a great feeling of all the excitement of gifts. Not only does it feel good to give, it is also a good feeling to receive. So much Joy the season brings! I was so excited to see the beautiful smile on her face on Christmas morning! Of course, Church on Christmas day! Thankful for all my blessings. Everybody is full of the good feelings of the season, and they enjoy the holidays. Many more companies to help with their bookkeeping and taxes. More causes to run and commercials/movies to get into. Much more fashion shows and pageant shows to attend whether it’s being a judge, model, or host. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Jessica! Jessica Carper, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine I am a born leader & public figure. Several titles; Mother, CFO, Owner at Universe Beauties, Owner at Bookkeeping & Payroll Services Inc., Ms. Top Model Nation Universe 2022, Professional Model, Actress. You have a full life why not enjoy it! I have several years of experience in all aspects of the financial industry. I own Bookkeeping & Payroll Services Inc. I have helped companies going bankrupt to success and millions within 3 months. I have helped several clients with tax problems and audits with the outcome of lower tax liability. I enjoy being the CFO. I am the Top Professional Model, Actress & Pageant Queen. I own Universe Beauties, we are all about world peace & acts of kindness!