Written by: Erlinda Vo, 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. The path toward prosperity is possible once you allow it. Every one of us has imagined a different life from the one we already have. Some people, even ourselves sometimes, desire a life full of luxury or even eccentricities. Others think about buying their first house or a brand new pair of shoes without worrying about the price. Our everyday life is paved with this wishful thinking about having more. Living a comfortable life is, for most of us, a dream we do not always know how to materialize. Beyond manifestation, there is a realm of energetic work that we tend to leave behind. You see, manifesting is not enough to attain the kind of prosperity you wish to have. Having a golden coin in the palm of your hand is not a thing that will happen miraculously. Wealth is a product of inner work, more specifically, an energetic endeavor. Aligning yourself with the right frequency is a key step toward achieving your goals. Bear in mind that abundance can also mean different things for each individual. For instance, not everyone wishes to own the fastest car or the most expensive jewelry. Being rich for some people can mean just being able to afford a house in a quiet neighborhood to enjoy a calm happy life with their family without financial concerns. While the Universe has all the abundance available to us, our limiting beliefs, low frequency or even our resistance to being successful can make prosperity unreachable. So, let’s do the work! Let’s delve into the infinite resources the Divine has ready for us to make our lives better, easier, and happier! Through Actualizing this is possible. Let me tell you how. Co-creating Abundance with the Divine Are you ready to build the reality you foresee in your dreams? A future with no limitations, no debt, and no boundaries between what is possible and what it’s not. Remember that we are a reflection of what we allow ourselves to think it’s attainable for us. This is when alignment comes in handy: believing that your dreams are valid and that you deserve them to be materialized in your life is alignment between your desires and your capacity to wish for a life outside of your reality. In consequence, you will engage in a co-creating process with the Divine, a process that will allow you to broaden your perspective about the things you wish and the things you need. The Universe will always provide for you in the same amount you provide the Divine. Remember that no matter your hardships, Divinity has your back. Actualizing channels your ability to take control of your life by materializing the reality you desire. Through focusing on the power of your thoughts, abundance can express itself in many forms—not just a brand-new car. Abundance can also entail joy, spiritual alignment, and of course, financial stability. As a first step towards Abundance, you must start by developing awareness around your thoughts. By noticing your patterns, you can rewire your brain to become a magnet for prosperity. Since a lot of what we believe is in our subconscious, negative thinking patterns can be embedded in our brains affecting our ability to attract Abundance the way we desire. If you continue to repeat those patterns it will be unlikely for you to move forward and achieve your goals. When you reprogram your beliefs to align with your desires you open a gate between you and the Divine. When you have the right mindset, you have more clarity about what you really want, aligning yourself with the purest most essential matter of the Universe: high vibrational energy. As you become a manifestator you begin to believe that the Abundance you dream of is actually possible for you. Thus, by changing your mindset around what is possible for you and feeling that your dreams are valid, you start raising your vibration and finding prosperity on your path. You step into a process of co-creation. Co-create and surrender As you establish a connection between your desires, your needs, and what the Divine has in store for you, chances are you will have access to limitless Abundance in your life. Having your hands open and trusting in what is meant for you is also a way to co-create. As long as you do your part, the Universe will do theirs just for you. Surrender and you will start reaping all the good things you sow with your energetic work. Imagine as if all the abundance of the Universe is coming towards you and the only way to receive it is by opening your hands with your eyes closed and a big smile! That’s how you Actualize your dreams! Do not resist, flow and trust. The Divine always has your back! Creating wealth and prosperity is not a miracle, it’s not magic. Actualizing is the result of careful and consistent inner work. A reflection of the energetic alchemy you activated in your body, your mind, and your spirit, will automatically project onto the Universe. As above so below, as within so without. If you want to learn more about Actualizing Abundance join our community and start your journey towards the limitless prosperity you deserve! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Erlinda! Erlinda Vo, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Erlinda Vo, the Energy Alchemist, is a visionary leader. A leading expert in personal motivation and breakthrough technology. As an experienced business and success coach, aka an Energy Vibe coach, she has developed a new modality called "Energy Alchemy" — a tool to empower others to produce life-changing results and to live a life that lights them up. Her mission is to Vibe Up the Planet. Join her community today to actualize career, romantic, financial, and self-expression goals using business and spiritual techniques.

Written by: Claude L. King , 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. Believe it or not, stress in the short term can be beneficial for you. The stress response primes your body to be able to respond, react, and process information very quickly. It gives us a boost of energy and allows us to combat the stressor. When the stressful situation passes, our stress hormones (cortisol & adrenaline) return to their baseline levels. But what happens if these elevated levels of stress hormones do not dissipate? This is when it becomes problematic! We all deal with stressful situations on a daily basis such as work, raising children, unexpected expenses, relationships, and occasional health issues. This is called normal stress . We are equipped at managing normal stress using a variety of different methods. Whether that be exercise, resting, talking to a supportive friend or family member, going on vacation, or taking deep, controlled breaths. But when stress overwhelms the body’s ability to cope, this will lead to traumatic stress . Traumatic stress, especially if it is chronic or ongoing, can cause considerable damage to the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of an individual. Your body is not equipped to operate with elevated levels of stress for prolonged periods of time. If you are not able to find healthy ways to return your body to baseline, you can become sick! Chronic stress can cause you to develop PTSD , Depression , and Anxiety Disorders. But it goes deeper than that… It causes inflammation in the body and affects your muscle-skeletal system, respiratory system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, and reproductive health. What happens next is your body tries to find ways to attack and eliminate these bodily stressors. Occasionally the body becomes confused and will start to attack itself leading to the development of autoimmune diseases like: Type 1 diabetes, Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis, Multiple sclerosis, Lupus, Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Graves’ disease, and Multiple sclerosis (MS) to name a few. In addition, chronic stress promotes the growth and spread of cancer, especially ovarian, breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer, as well as tumors and growths in the body. So, what do we do?! There are several things we can do to combat the physiological consequences of chronic stress. If you have been stressed about something for several weeks and it is not going away, it is time to take it make it a priority. If you are not talking to a therapist already, it is time to start. If your stress is work-related, reach out to your supervisor and explain how you have been feeling. See if a temporary lessening of workload may be possible. If not, prioritize taking time off work. This can be a couple of days or extended leave which is determined by how serious the issue is. Many people are interested in medication such as anti-depressants and anti-anxiety. Medication is a helpful tool, but it should never be solely relied on. Medication makes the symptoms more bearable but does not address the source of the stress. It is the equivalent of putting a brace on a broken leg to help you walk. You may be able to move around but the break will not heal properly until you receive surgery. When visiting your PCP due to a medical issue, do not forget to mention the stressors you are experiencing as well as they may be interconnected. Throughout the week, make time for self-care. Disconnect from electronic devices and other things that are addicting and distracting. Make time for peace, quiet time, and presence. This time is essential for helping the body self-regulate. It helps our minds and body to maintain a healthy equilibrium. Our society prioritizes, work, making money, and being there for everybody during their time of need. We are really doing ourselves a disservice by neglecting our mental health which is causes us to get sick. So, I hope that reading this article will encourage you to make mental health a daily priority. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Claude! Claude L. King, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Claude L. King is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and is the owner of CK Psych PLLC, a therapy practice located in Chicago, Illinois. In addition, Claude serves as an Employee Assistance Consultant for corporate clients providing short-term consultations and corporate-wide trainings in the areas of mental health, wellness, and other issues that impact work performance. His passion is to advocate, promote, and increase access of mental health services, especially within marginalized communities. Throughout his career as a clinical therapist, Claude has provided individual, group, and couples therapy for those impacted by traumatic stress, community violence, depression, anxiety, work stress, parenting stress, and issues affecting sexuality and intimacy. As a speaker, he has been featured on Newsy TV and served as a panelist for Amazon.com, Inc., Discover Financial, The Chicago Urban League, and various colleges and universities. His mantra is "Transformation Through Conversation."

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. As an accomplished, decorated, and talented 13-year-old basketball player (not true) spending time to refine my game in preparation for freshman team tryouts was a big deal! But there was a disturbing rumor circulating throughout the community. Turns out our new coach was going to ask us to shoot left-handed layups. Wait – I’m right-handed. Is that demand even legal? I realize this might sound odd to many of you as we currently live in a world where it seems like everyone is expected to decide their sport of choice by the age of five. And at that point the routine, strategic practicing and specific drills begin. But this was back in the 70’s. So, despite the objections from my legal team (again, not true) it was horrifically clear that learning how to use my left hand more effectively on the court was inevitable. Our coach was both disgusted by our performance while secretly enjoying the humbling emotional pain we experienced during the initial left-handed layup drills. Upon further review, coach had it figured out for the purpose of basketball, leadership, and life. “What got you here won’t get you there” ‒ Marshall Goldsmith We can create our own version of the left-handed layup for growth by reinventing how we process doubt and how we respond to victim thinking. Saboteurs - Listening to the negative voices, the gremlins, the doubts that frequently show up. Although doubt lives within each of us, the way we process this inner negativity can make or break our success. For some reason most people have a subconscious tendency to run away from success when achievement seems eminent. One strategy is to recognize the specific tendency that we each use to escape success and sabotage ourselves. Now it becomes a matter of interrupting that pattern and putting in the reps. The only way to get more comfortable shooting a left-handed layup is to put in the deliberate practice – even when we’re tempted to use that right hand. Paraphrasing a poem from Marianne Williamson: “Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure” Victim thinking – The feeling of hopelessness. “I will never be able to shoot a left-handed layup.” That is a completely differently mindset compared to a problem-solving approach, showing up with imagination and thinking with an inquisitive strategy. How can I get better? What can I do differently? What does the solution look like? There is something you can do about the challenge in front of you. Identifying the next best move is about recognizing victim thinking and confronting this mindset by exploring possibilities and imagining what can be done. There is a solution – find it! Another option is to succumb to destructive thinking. “Whether You Think You Can or Think You Can’t…You’re Right.” ‒ Henry Ford This is not to suggest that we will never head down the path of victim thinking, but it is a reminder of the urgency to not stay in that space. Whether it’s left-handed layups other athletic endeavors, leadership, business or life, uncomfortable opportunities are typically growth opportunities. Convincing ourselves that staying in a zone of comfort is a good idea is a lie that doesn’t serve us. This is an illusion that prevents us from reaching our potential and sabotages our ability to drive positive change personally, professionally and at an organizational level. Lean into the discomfort and change the narrative to remind yourself that each challenging situation you’re navigating through can contribute to your best future version of yourself. 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.

Written by: Aisha Saintiche, Senior Level Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Real talk…this is legit the sixth iteration of the title for this month’s article. You know what my problem is. I don’t just sit and write out an article. I write some words, based on my vibe or the thoughts that are overpowering my head at that moment and then I get up and some new profound thought or experience happens that completely sways me away from what I was originally trying to write. AAARRRGGGHHHH ‒ this is what I get for such brilliance! Lol. I digress and appreciate you following my inner thought that I felt needed to be shared with all of you! Can you imagine that we are only days away from a new year? Like how are we even here! I am pretty sure I only finished my “year in review” reel for Instagram not that long ago, and here I am trying to find the best photos that I can squeeze into a minute and a half clip that reflects and represents another incredible year of self-awareness, self-discovery and self-actualization. As I write my last article (not forever of course) for 2022 (a girl has been elevated to a Senior Executive Level Contributor oookkuurrrrr) I am finding it hard to get my thoughts straight on all the things I want to share with you. I mean there has ONLY been 365 days of individual life lessons, experiences, challenges, triumphs and revelations that we are trying to speak to in the limited space offered on most social media platforms. Thankfully Brainz magazine is gracious with their word count so here it goes. In bringing the year to a close, I, like many, will spend time thinking about the greatest lessons learned this last year, where and how I want 2023 to look and feel, what I want to leave behind or take with me (and that includes people, places and things) and most important what am I committing to with intention and purpose. Sidenote: Just a quick observation I’ve always wanted to make. So, for so long I entered the closing of one year and the beginning of a new year as if there was about to be some cataclysmic reaction (remember the whole hype about Y2K). Like when the clock struck midnight, we would be overwhelmed with this sense of new because it was a new year, but when you woke up the next day the same dirty kitchen you left behind when you went to sleep was still dirty in the new year! What am I getting at? Nothing changes in a new year except for your mindset and understanding of YOUR importance in completely navigating your purpose, power and greatness. And that can happen on a Tuesday at 6 pm in April – you see what I am saying! Our responsibility, the commitment we must make on a continuum is the opportunity to celebrate (ourselves), elevate (our people) and motivate (others to celebrate and elevate). You don’t need a new year to start seeing yourself as worthy of time and effort. You don’t need a new year to make a commitment to your personal and professional growth. You don’t need a new year to reduce or remove the people, places and things that you know good and well ain’t serving you. You don’t need a new year to start that business you’ve been wanting to start. You don’t need a new year to change you habits. You don’t need a new year to do anything – other than to remind you that another birthday is approaching! I’m about to really date myself, but who remembers the song “Right Here Right Now” by Jesus Jones. The opening paragraph of the song goes “A woman on the radio talks about revolution; When it’s already passed her by; Bob Dylan didn’t have this to sing about; You know it feels good to be alive.” How many times have you found yourself talking about what you need something to be, and you miss out on what is? How many times are you so focused on the future and the desired change you feel needs to happen that you don’t take stalk of the lesson(s) you are actively learning right now that may give better insight into what your future will look like versus what you believe it should look like. If there is ANYTHING that we have learned in these last two plus years is that time is more precious that any gem, because it doesn’t always last. Write your resolutions, create those vision boards, manifest all your desires, beef up those affirmations, but understand that all of this holds no greater weight on January 1st then if it were tomorrow, June 18th, September 30th or November 2nd. The act of personal growth, like change, is constant. Understand that the change you seek is not governed by a change in time or year, but fully enabled and enacted by your commitment to self-discovery, self-love and self-actualization. So, if you’re reading this article a minute before the clock strikes 12 or six months from now – my wish remains the same. See yourself worthy of celebration, elevation and motivation 365 days a year. Be Bold. Stay Committed And Live Unapologetically. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Aisha! Aisha Saintiche, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazin Aisha Saintiche is a certified Health Coach and the founder and owner of MetoMoi Health. With over fifteen years of experience in Mental Health, Accessibility and Diversity and Inclusion, Aisha has used her experience as a strategic advisor and health coach to understand the complexity and intersectionality of the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual barriers that keep people from achieving their optimized health and wellness. Aisha also holds a Masters in Public Policy Administration and Law, as well as a certification in Change Management, Advanced Crisis Intervention and Counselling and Health Coaching. She is also an Integral Master for the Canadian Olympic Committee of Canada, and most recently she became a Published Author. Always seeking opportunities to bring about change, she is also an active member and Board of Director for the Woman Abuse Council of Toronto (WomanACT) and the Board Chair for Afiwi Groove School. https://linktr.ee/Metomoi

Written by: Dr. Erika Montgomery, 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. One of the most important things that you can learn in order to have mental wellness is how to master your mind. According to neuroscientists and cognitive-behavioral practitioners, your thoughts are the building blocks for your experience. What this means is that what you think about all day, eventually becomes what you experience in your life. The problem is that not many people have been taught how the mind works and thus, don't know how to control their thinking. You have the power within you to change, simply by mastering the thoughts of your mind. Here are 4 rules of the mind that facilitate change and support your mental well-being. Rule No.1 ‒ Your mind's job is to keep you safe. By remembering what caused you pain and avoiding it, your mind keeps you safe. When you express negative words or feelings about a situation, thing, or person, your mind works to avoid the pain of that experience. The problem with avoiding the pain is that you will allow fear to paralyze you. Avoidance will limit you to only doing the things you are unafraid of doing. The key is to tell your mind, that even though you may be afraid of a new experience or it may cause you feelings of anxiety, you are still choosing to have the new experience, you will trust your mind to keep you safe, and your mind will gradually and ultimately dissipate your fear. Rule No.2 ‒ Your mind does what it thinks you want. It doesn't know the difference between what is real versus what is imagined. Your mind must believe that this is what you truly want. Knowing exactly what you want and creating a powerful image in your mind makes you feel the experience. The key is to decide what you want and make a daily practice of writing, visualizing, and speaking it into your life. When choosing your words, use words that are powerful, commanding, and provoke strong positive emotions. Use highly descriptive words that create a detailed picture you can see with your mind's eye. When the experience becomes real in your mind, the energy of your mind and body begins to attract the experience to you. Rule No.3 ‒ Once the subconscious mind accepts an idea or a thought that you habitually entertain as true, whether true or not, it responds according to your belief. When you give your mind a command, you will get a reaction or response from the subconscious mind according to what you believe. The subconscious mind is irrational; it perceives the world intuitively, it is the seat of emotion, the storehouse of memory, and does not reason. It's amenable to suggestions. The subconscious mind is most receptive to suggestions in the morning when you awake and right before you go to bed. The key is to impress upon your mind at these times, what you desire in words, prayer, gratitude, images, song or meditation. The use of repetitive and habitual affirmations or affirming statements spoken with strong emotion or written daily, helps to strengthen your belief. Rule No.4 ‒ The conscious mind reasons, evaluates, decides, and perceives the objective world through the senses. It is the watchmen at the gate, making sure your life is predictable and safe. It assumes past experiences will become future experiences, it likes what is familiar in order to avoid unpleasant experiences. The key to mastering the conscious mind is to become aware of your habitual thoughts. Awakening to your habitual patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting, you can decide if your current beliefs serve you in a psychologically or emotionally health way. The key is to understand that your thoughts are simply ideas, suggestions of the conscious mind, they are not true, and they have no power over you. You ultimately have control over your conscious mind because you choose what idea you give your attention to and what thought you focus on habitually. Where you place your focused attention, your energy will follow to intensify your experience. The key is to only give your focused attention to an idea or a thought that supports your emotional and mental wellbeing. Remember, you are what you think. Here is a powerful analogy. Your mind is like a garden of soil that is fertile for growing seeds. Your thoughts are seeds that become beliefs planted into the soil of your mind when focused on habitually. And overtime the fruits of your beliefs are harvested as experiences in your life. So when you have repeated experiences, good or bad, question what seed or belief have you planted in your mind? Remember, you have the power to change within you. The key to mastering your mind is planting seeds that will harvest your desires and not your fears. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Dr. Erika! Dr. Erika Montgomery, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dr. Erika Montgomery is a Clinical Psychologist and Life Coach with 25 years of experience providing mental health treatment. Dr. Montgomery owns an online CBD dispensary with Wakanna, a Female Black-Owned CBD Company, and advocates for the daily use of CBD for mental and physical health. Dr. Montgomery is a Mental Health consultant with the Social Security Administration for the past 11 years. Dr. Montgomery hosts a weekly podcast called, "Master Your Mind with Dr. Erika," on the Law of Attraction Radio Network. Dr. Montgomery believes every human is worthy of unconditional love and has the power within to change. My motto: "Mental Health Is Human Health." References Murphy, J. (11/5/19). The power of your subconscious mind. Dispenza, J. (3/26/20). Breaking the habit of being yourself.

Written by: Nicole M. Augustine, 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. Learning how to be a successful business owner is an ever-evolving process. There are always new skills to learn, obstacles to overcome, and mistakes from which to glean wisdom. As the year comes to a close, I realize I have learned a lot! I'm sharing two lessons (so far) that have helped me grow my business and achieve some significant milestones. My disclaimer is that I have no formal business management education. I share these lessons from the school of the lived 'experience.' If you're an entrepreneur, I hope you find these lessons helpful too! Sharing lessons and offering others the gift of vicarious learning is essential. Lesson One: Create a business, not a job. I first heard this phrase in the audiobook: Scale: Seven Proven Principles to Grow Your Business and Get Your Life Back by David Finkel and Jeff Hoffman. I immediately recognized that I had created a job, not a business. Like so many social entrepreneurs, I started my business from a place of heart and passion. My business was my side hustle for the first six years of existence (2015-2021). In the summer of 2021, I decided to quit my job and take the leap of faith toward building a business. This decision was not made lightly or without massive amounts of support. I had been the recipient of mindset and business coaching since Fall 2020, and both my coaches were simply waiting for me to leap. So in July 2021, I left the W-2 world and entered the unknown journey of being a business owner. In those first six months of solo operation, I booked as many gigs as possible, and truly I was everywhere! I essentially scaled my side hustle into a full-time job. As I contemplated the authors' words, I knew I had done what so many other entrepreneurs do: I created a job for myself under the umbrella of building a business. The true test of this reality is whether the business stops when you aren't working. I remember reading the following reflection question: If you lost the ability to work, for how long would your business survive? The answer was dismal, and I knew something needed to change. I began to take a critical look at what I was doing and what I wasn't doing. I needed to build a company that was not owner reliant, which became my mission for the 2022 calendar year. To start, I had to take a look at the tasks I was doing daily and identify those that were not directly contributing to my bottom line. This came down to web development, social media management, graphic design, and even email management. These skill sets are invaluable for any business owner, yet should be outsourced whenever possible. This shift in perspective is what led me to the second lesson I learned. Lesson Two: Outsource as many tasks as possible. The book that really seeded this lesson was Life Leverage: How to Get More Done in Less Time, Outsource Everything & Create Your Ideal Mobile Lifestyle by Rob Moore. This book really started to change fundamentally how I think about the "need" to do everything myself. I started my business journey as a solo entrepreneur. I worked as a solo entrepreneur running every aspect of my company until June 2021. It was at this time that I quit my job, hired a virtual assistant, and decided to apply Lesson One in my life. My first experience with outsourcing was initially nerve-wracking. I struggled to 'let go' so my assistant could assist me! I could not imagine trusting someone to manage my business email. What if they missed something important? What if they sent an email with a typo? What if I'm judged for having an assistant? My mind was racing with fear, anxiety, and limitation. Through my lived experience, I realized that outsourcing was the best decision for my business. As I began to trust and take the leap of faith, I was able to focus on what really matters: creating high-quality products and building the business instead of working in the business all the time! How can you ever create time for strategic thinking if you're responsible for every aspect of business operations? This shift has been revolutionary. I have gone from one virtual team member in July 2021 to a team of nine virtual team members who are foundational to my success. I am because WE are! Shout out to the RIZE Consultants virtual team. Thank you! Running a business is a labor love, and the rewards when successful are priceless. I encourage any other entrepreneurs out there to take your own leap of faith. The leap is different for every person, so don't judge your experience by what someone else is doing. Be courageous, and you will be pleasantly surprised by how it turns out. There's a quote I lean on from Wallace D Wattles, "Desire is possibility seeking expression." Your desire to do a particular thing is the only evidence you need for what is possible. Look around you. The world is full of inventions that were merely in someone's imagination. Inventions that were said to be impossible. Inventions that even the inventor's family and friends did not believe were possible. All it takes is a leap of faith and the desire to make something new. Once you take that first step, no one can hold you back. 2021 vs. 2022 Business Net Income Comparison ‒ 411.916% increase As reported by the P&L report in QuickBooks Follow me on LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Nicole! Nicole M. Augustine, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Nicole M. Augustine is a social entrepreneur, public health professional, and social justice advocate. She was born in Inglewood, CA, in the early 80s during the decade in America known for the "crack epidemic ." This was her first experience with social injustice, racial inequality, and the roots of trauma that plague many people. Her tale is one of resilience and opportunity, as her grandmother relocated the family to moved Edmond, OK, in the early 90s. After experiencing the stark contrast of both living environments, she became intrigued by the core reasons for differences in community outcomes. Nicole found herself studying sociology and public health and was drawn to understanding the root causes of health disparities. She received her B.A. in Sociology from Cornell University and her Master of Public Health from The George Washington University School of Public Health. Throughout her career in public health, she has focused her work on understanding health disparities and social inequality. Her personal life mission is to drive community and societal change while creating generational shifts in community wellness outcomes.

Written by: Jill Witte, 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. Muscle memory is what our body uses to perform repetitive tasks that we do every day. Not all muscle memory is good and sometimes we need to replace old ones with new ones. This may be hard to do because our body and brain have gotten used to performing certain everyday tasks. Here are a few ways you can change and build new muscle memory for both the body and the mind. The Body: When we start to exercise we need to make sure we have proper form. If we don’t then we create poor muscle memory that can lead to weak muscles and injuries. Poor form can be causing your issues. Listen to how your whole body is responding to the exercise and make sure the appropriate muscle(s) are being used. Every time you perform the exercise, listen and feel what the body is doing so that the new muscle memory can become stronger and override the old one. Notice how the other muscles around the muscle you are working can be used to help support you while performing the exercise. If the weight you are lifting is too heavy and you feel that the muscle you are supposed to be working is not being worked, go down to a lighter weight. Stay at a lighter weight until you can feel that muscle working again and then gradually go back up. Be careful not to fall into autopilot. If we don’t recognize that our form is poor it can lead to injuries and weak muscles. As we get older our bodies change. We should always be listening and reacting to how our body is moving during an exercise. Finally it is very important after coming back from an injury, illness or surgery to create a new muscle memory when exercising. The body may not be as strong as it was and may not function like it used to. Create muscle memory to fit the new you. As we go through life we have had negative experiences and have heard stories of other people's injuries. This can create a negative muscle memory and can stop us from doing activities or tasks. As we get older and a negative muscle memory is activated, it has the potential of crippling us. The brain starts to make us anxious which causes the rest of the body to do the same. The Mind: When the brain and the body start to become anxious we have to calm the brain before pursuing the task or activity. If we don't, our potential for falling and/or hurting ourselves becomes greater. Once the brain is calm, assess the situation. If the task is getting from one place to another, see if there is an easier option. If there isn't, visualize what you are going to do before you start. Take your time because rushing can lead to accidents. When you have accomplished the task, take the time to create a positive muscle memory which will help you get through future situations without issue. The more positive muscle memories we create the more confident we become. Just be careful with becoming more confident because like being on autopilot while doing an exercise, negative muscle memories can be formed. We are always changing and learning new things. Take the time, listen and create new muscle memories so that we can have healthy, balanced minds and bodies. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Jill! Jill Witte, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Jill Witte, is the founder of True Fit Balance. She is a personal trainer who is certified as a Senior Fitness, Cancer Exercise and Clinical Exercise Specialist. Jill also has certifications as a Nutrition, Brain Health and Life Coach. She created True Fit Balance because of her past experiences of trying to find what exercises and foods worked for her. Now, Jill helps her clients find what works for them by connecting the brain, body and nutrition to create a healthy balanced body. Jill also hosts "Can You Relate Fit and Health". A podcast were she talks with people about their stories of overcoming injury or illness.

Written by: Clare England , Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. The new year is here. Resolutions, diets and resolved plans to eat in a certain way are everywhere. Here are four reasons to reject all the pressure of a strict diet and instead try going plant-based in January. Plant-based eating can improve your health. Eating a whole food plant-based diet can offer a well-balanced, healthy, nourishing dietary plan. We know that eating fruit and vegetables is good for us. Eating fruit and vegetables in abundance is even better for us. Swapping out meat and dairy has positive health implications. It offers the option to reduce cholesterol and saturated fat intake, both responsible for cardiovascular disease, stroke and type II diabetes. It also boosts our fibre intake. Fruit and vegetables are packed full of fibre. On average, each person in the US consumes 10-15g of fibre per day. That is well below the recommended daily amount of 25-38g. Eating more fibre is linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, type II diabetes and certain cancers. ( https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/should-i-be-eating-more-fiber-2019022115927 ). Our bodies thrive when given all the vitamins and minerals they need to carry out the complex work of breaking down and building up cells. Eating plant-based is an easy way to introduce more fruits, vegetables and legumes into your diet, packing it full of fibre and supercharging your health. Plant-based eating can help the environment. Eating a plant-based diet is very likely to reduce your CO2 emissions. Removing meat consumption and switching from dairy to non-dairy are two of the biggest things people can do to reduce their carbon footprint. At a time when we all need to do our bit to help our planet, going plant-based is a winner. Studies show that over 80% of humanity's land footprint is devoted to livestock. ( https://earth.stanford.edu/news/could-going-vegan-help-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions ). By reducing our consumption of meat and meat products we can give the land back to mother nature and help to reverse the damage done to the planet. Similarly, swapping from dairy to non-dairy milk can massively cut our carbon footprint. In a study in 2022, 1 litre of dairy milk produced 3.15kg of greenhouse gas emissions through the whole process of manufacture and distribution compared to 0.98kg per litre for soy milk, 0.9 kg per litre for oat milk, and 0.7 kg per litre for almond milk. ( https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impact-milks ). Plant-based diets offer an opportunity to live more in harmony with nature. When eating more fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds you often want to know more about where they are from, how they are grown, whether they are organic, and how they change with the seasons. You might well seek out your local green grocer or farmers market and become enchanted with the array of varieties available. Suddenly, a lettuce is no longer a lettuce, it is a way to help the planet and leave green footprints for the next generation. Eating a plant-based diet can be cheaper. The cost of living is increasing. Food prices are rising. We are all looking for bargains, two-for-one offers, and 25% discounts, but there is one section of the grocery store that will always look after us financially – the fruit and vegetable section. Seasonal fruit and vegetables offer a cheaper way to live, especially when combined with store cupboard staples such as rice and beans. Simple, nourishing recipes don't need to cost a fortune. Feeding a family on a budget can be very hard but plant-based recipes offer the opportunity for tasty, healthy, cheap meals. We must also recognise that there is a hidden cost to cheap, fast food. It doesn't look after our health. Health is our most prized possession. It allows us to work, exercise, spend time with friends, have energy for the kids, to enjoy life. Without health, life can become very hard indeed. What we eat has a direct impact on our health and our longevity. Plant-based meals offer the opportunity for low-cost AND healthy options. Here are a couple of recommendations for simple plant-based recipes to inspire you: https://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes/ https://deliciouslyella.com/recipes/categories/savoury/ You can still eat chocolate on a plant-based diet. Dark chocolate is nearly always in the plant-based category. It makes sense as chocolate is made from the seeds of a fruit. Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants and minerals which means that it can legitimately be part of a healthy, balanced diet. Look for chocolate high in cocoa solids (65% and above), enjoy the different flavours of cocoa from around the world and watch out for the addition of dairy milk or butter oil. Choosing a plant-based diet is not necessarily an easy choice. At first everywhere you turn you are faced with cheese and every label you read has milk on it. It quickly becomes clear that packet foods often contain things that perhaps they shouldn't. It becomes easy to look to whole foods as friends. They are pure, with no hidden ingredients. With planning and simple cooking, whole foods taste incredible and do incredible things for our health. Good luck giving plant-based eating a try. If you need further help, Veganuary is a non-profit organisation that encourages people to try going plant-based for one month. Last year more than 620,000 people signed up to try a month of plant-based eating. Their website is full of tips, tricks and support ( https://veganuary.com ). Follow me on Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Clare! Clare England, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Clare England MSc is a Registered Associate Nutritionist specialising in plant based nutrition and living. She is a talented recipe developer with specialist knowledge in chocolate, vegan, and non-dairy innovations. Clare takes great pleasure in sharing the joy of chocolate and educating people in the art of plant based living. A lifetime learner, Clare is always seeking to improve her knowledge and skills through continued research and education. She has a passion for sharing this learning and does so with warmth and integrity.

Written by: Karen Peddie, 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. Plan – Noun an intention or decision about what one is going to do. Verb decide on and make arrangements for in advance. We plan for all kinds of events, births, marriages, moving home even holiday itineraries so why not Life Planning? Probably because many people resist talking about death and dying until they really have to. Sadly, in some cases this is too late and others will then make decisions for you. Medical staff always have the final decision unless you have written documentation in place, stating your wishes. Is that what you want? Making a plan for the future is NOT just for people with a terminal or life-shortening diagnosis. It is for ANYONE who wants to make sure their affairs are in order, should they be taken ill or die suddenly. Think of it in terms of insurance – we take out policies for our vehicles, homes even lives, but hope we never need it. But, should we ever need it, it is there to support us and help us through difficult times. In my last 2 articles we talked about having the conversation with our loved ones and the benefits of doing so. If you missed them, click the links to read them and help you get started. To get you thinking about creating your own plan, here are some questions for you to ponder on… Who would you want (and trust) to make decisions for you, should be unable to yourself? Do you have elderly parents or young children who depend on you? Who would look after them? Do you have any pets and who would care for them? If you already have a Will, Power of Attorney or an Advanced Care Directive, where are they kept and would your trusted person know where to find them? Do you want a funeral, if so, do you have any special religious or spiritual requirements? Do you have online bank accounts, social media profiles or cloud storage that would need to be accessed? These questions are not exhaustive, more are likely to pop up as you begin to work through them. Don’t be overwhelmed and take your time. It might help you to journal on your thoughts and feelings as they come up. As part of my Facilitator training, I am offering my help at a reduced cost until the end of January 2023. So if these few questions have encouraged you to make a life plan of your own, please email me at karen@karenpeddieholistics.co.uk or message me on Facebook and we will work together to Know Loose Ends! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Karen! Karen Peddie, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Karen is a natural, intuitive Energy Healer who uses Reiki, Emotional Freedom Techniques, and Meditation to help her clients improve their health and well-being. She works with them to identify and heal the root cause of any dis-ease which could be blocking the flow of energy either physically, mentally, or emotionally. As someone who suffered from anxiety, stress, and depression for many years, Karen's experience makes her a genuine, empathetic therapist who creates a safe, calm space in which to start the healing process

Written by: Vince Morales, 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. “Self-motivation is the only kind there is” I was reading a book when I came across this statement and had to pause to think for quite a while because it spoke against everything I believed until then. I had been watching many motivational speakers and had become what I could call a ‘motivational speaker junkie,’ so this odd statement took a considerable toll on me. The irony of it coming from a book I would classify under motivational non-fiction made this pill even harder to swallow. It was not long before I saw and began to appreciate the truth in the above words greatly. Motivation, just like self-image or self-worth, comes from within yourself. Indeed, other people may help you become aware of certain good things about you, but it is only when you fully accept them yourself that you begin to live up to them and exhibit them to an even greater extent. Inside of you is a switch no one else has access to by which you can power on and off your positive energy and make decisions that will help you get on in life. Of course, it is crucial to listen to inspirational talks, watch sermons, and read good books, but what is more important is what you do after gathering the complete information meant to help you. People who say their life trajectories changed by a book they read are usually not telling the whole story. Behind the scenes of that miraculous change of mind, change of attitude, and change of behavior was a lot of inside work. Changing one’s schedule does not happen with no inner battle to fight. There is always a need for a significant effort to make a plan for change and stick to it even when it is not convenient or fun. We often wait on other people or demand that they make us feel good. As a disastrous approach to life, it weighs down on the other person who also has struggles and sets us up for major disappointment. Your partner, spouse, friend, or parent cannot fully carry the responsibility of validating, complimenting and making you feel good. They were not designed for that because inside of you are the necessary tools to do that; you only need to look hard enough. Here is a funny thing I have observed concerning human behavior: People tend to want to help those that seem least likely to need it. Be needy and see how people flee from you. A disabled person, for example, who takes it upon himself to do the best he can despite the handicap tends to get people wanting to sponsor him and help him get along, while he who turns to beg for the same does not get much of the pity he desires. It is the same thing when it comes to being overly needy for validation from other people, and you make them reluctant to give it to you. What, then, should you do? Own your self-confidence, peace of mind, and happiness in general. These things are too expensive to outsource. You are who you believe and say you are. Raise the standard, and believe you are more robust, powerful, and successful than others think you are. Only you know your big dreams; when you tell them to others who do not believe in them as much as you do, they will only hinder your progress. So why give them that particularly significant role of telling you what you can and cannot achieve? Maybe your parents did not give you the love, affection, and affirmation you believed you deserved as a child. Know this: people can only give what they have. Why do you not let it go and realize that they probably did the best they could under the circumstances they had (most parents do)? With that same understanding, allow love to flourish in your heart and get on an intense self-development program to empower yourself and your loved ones with the love you missed. “The problem with letting others define you is they cannot even define themselves yet. French-born American writer, Anaïs Nin, said, ‘We don’t see things as they are. We see them as we are.’ So, there you have it. People’s definition of you will always run through the filter of ‘as they are.’” – Vince Morales Life should be lived forward and not backward. If you decide to take charge of your life today, no matter how old or deeply scarred you are by people who did not love you as they should have, you can begin to make a difference in your life. Decide whether you will live up to your definition. You will see life through your lenses. They will not give you compliments when you look good. Well, look at yourself in the mirror and give them to yourself! You are worth it, and you are not here by accident. For more info, follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and visit my website! Read more from Vince! Vince Morales, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Vince Morales is a mindset, self-image, and resilience coach. In addition, he is skilled in leadership consultation and development. From April 2016 to June 2017, Vince was a homeless veteran in San Diego, CA. While homeless, he made a powerful decision to change his thinking and mindset, launching into life coaching. He developed a niche for resilience and mindset coaching. The growth of his business ultimately led to the end of his homelessness. Vince is the Founder of Validus Coaching & Consulting, formerly Zoe Transformation. His story has been featured in online articles and online news outlets all over the U.S. He is a certified John Maxwell Team Coach, Trainer, & Speaker, as well as a motivational speaker. In 2021, Vince earned his Master's degree in Psychology of Leadership from Penn State University and is currently a doctoral student pursuing a Ph.D. in Performance Psychology. He is a 2020 inductee into The National Society of Leadership and Success.

Written by: Prof. Dr. Frank Lee Harper, Jr., 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 article continues my discussion on “Growth Mindset," the “G” in A.G.I.L.E.—the first quality of “The Agile Leadership Framework™”—which requires seasoned and aspiring leaders to become flexible. The first article overviewed the ten growth goals for developing a Growth Mindset. The article shared snippets of the first six (6) of the ten growth goals to provide nuggets to growing yourself. Once you become a leader, your value is measured by how well you grow others. Here I will focus on the final four (4) growth goals to help seasoned and aspiring develop others. Recall my motto “Leaders Are Born to Be Made!" Achieving the responsibility and accountability of becoming a great leader requires character, awareness, courage, and communication. Character is the infrastructure. It is the backbone of agile leadership built on trust based on various attributes. Awareness is insight. Here emotional intelligence (EQ) is vital. EQ awareness is self-awareness and then others' awareness. In other words, to empathetically connect with others, you must fully "know thyself" before you can come to know or connect with others. The list of things many people don't understand includes: Why they behave the way they behave, react the way they respond, or believe what they believe; Why do people annoy and rub them incorrectly, or why do they care about specific issues and not others; Why do they feel comfortable in particular environments but not others; Why do they feel frustrated, stressed, angry, anxious, nervous, and uncertain in certain situations where others do not; and Why do they need help staying focused, disciplined, consistent, and sustaining self-control on those things they say they are committed to. Most will find that upon self-assessing themself; they don't know themself at all. Courage is initiative. To quote Aristotle, “Courage is the first human virtue because it makes all the others possible.” Leaders must have the will, strength, and confidence to go outside their comfort zone. And finally, communication is the influence demonstrated by having the ability to connect and move people into action. Developing these pillars of outstanding leadership [character, awareness, courage, and communication] start with individual growth, specified in article one, and then translates into the individual growing others. In focusing on growing others, this article emphasizes “Leader of many” in the following phrase: “Leader of one; Leader of many; If you can’t lead one; you can’t lead any.” ‒ Dr. Frank L. Harper, Jr. Help Grow Leaders By Teaching Individual growth to become a leader requires achieving the first six (6) goals discussed in the first article: understand the terrain, seize the opportunity, find a mentor, radiate zeal, work with tenacity, and give mind-boggling service. Once you have become a leader, your role is to grow others. Great leaders accomplish this by achieving the final four (4) goals: build a team, do more with less, notch it upward and onward, and give back to your community. These are the focus of this article. The more these goals are present in a business and life, the more the practitioner develops. The following presents snippets of information about each. A detailed discussion of each appears in my book, "A.G.I.L.E. L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P. with a G.R.I.P.™: A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY JOURNEY: From Street Hustler to Strategic Hustler™.” Growth Goal No. 7 Build a team Objective: Create a high-performance, results-oriented, and customer-driven team that consistently deliver value to the customer. This type of team can only be created by a leader who demonstrates the previous pillars of outstanding leadership. As an athlete, you learn the value of being a great teammate and having great teammates. As a coach, you understand the importance of building a team that does the job. Having been both, I confidently argue that successful leaders/entrepreneurs thrive on the experience of others. We all lack some of the deftness required to maneuver expanding enterprise, so enlisting cohorts to fill in the voids—and in some cases, straddle the chasm. You must be a super team builder who can quickly put the puzzle pieces in place. This means finding players with compensating talents, enthusiasm for teamwork, and fervor for the startup environment. Bringing in strong team members early, then sharing the credit and rewards is critical to getting new ventures over the inevitable humps of being an entrepreneur. Leaders who hold on to everything and try to do it all themselves usually sputter and then tumble. Through teamwork, a good leader delivers solutions through effective delegation. Here are my thoughts on teamwork. 1. Only some people will take the journey. Some people don't want to go for personal reasons. For other people, the issue is their attitude. They don't want to change, grow, or conquer new territory. They hold fast to the status quo. All you can do with people in this group is kindly thank them for their past contributions and move on. 2. Only some people should take the journey. Other people should not join a team because of their agenda. Where you're going isn't the right place for them. They have other plans. The best course of action for people in this category is to wish them well and, as far as you are able, help them on their way so that they achieve success in their venture. 3. Only some people can take the journey. For the third group of people, the issue is ability. They may need to be more capable of keeping pace with their teammates or helping the group get where it wants to go. How do you recognize people who fall into this category? Well, they are relatively easy to identify. Often they: Can’t keep pace with other team members Don’t grow in their areas of responsibility Don’t see the big picture Won’t work on personal weaknesses Won't work with the rest of the team Can’t fulfill expectations for their areas If you have people who display one or more of these characteristics, you need to acknowledge that they are weak links. If you have people on your team who are weak links, you have only two choices: train them or trade them. Refer to my book to read and learn more about building a team. Growth Goal No.8: Do more with less Objective: Become effective, then become efficient. Effectiveness is achieving your goals; efficiency is doing it with as few resources as possible. When delivering technical training on designing/architecting effective and efficient computer software applications, I would quote Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a German-American architect. He sought a rational approach that would guide the creative process of architectural design and was known for using the aphorism “less is more.” The architecture of all digital transformation projects adopts this aphorism as one of the benefits being drive efficiency and cutting costs. Growth Goal No.9: Notch it Upward and Onward Objective: Continuous Improvement. The one word that brings home this goal is transformation. In today's bumpy environment, a leader must be able to adjust and move forward. Here's what happens repeatedly. First, small and attainable goals are set. Second, a simple plan is devised for accomplishing the goal. Third, the plan is executed with zeal and tenacity. And fourth, the objective is achieved, and the thrill of success is enjoyed. This process provides experience, new contacts, increased confidence, and energy to tackle something a little more challenging. The cycle begins again as the same sound principles are applied at a higher level: objective, plan, work, and success. Influential leaders cycle through an upward spiral of incremental steps, each building upon the last; these propelling events thrust the leader forward following each success and as new opportunities arise. The forward movement comes in two flavors. First, leaders continue to expand what they are already doing—notching it upward. And second, they extend into new products and services outside the business—notching it onward. Adaptive design thinkers constantly monitor their customer’s changing needs and stay attuned to notching it upward and notching it onward. Companies and individuals who fail to make this transformation are doomed to failure. Blockbuster and Starbucks are a couple of examples. Blockbuster lost market share and eventually went out of business because it refused to embrace this goal requiring them to change. Netflix created a digitally enriched business model, and then Redbox kiosks and the whole digital disruption eliminated the need for consumers to go to a different DVD store. Starbucks has rapidly lost market share to Whitbread, McDonald's, Dunkin, Subway, and Costa. Growth Goal No.10: Give back to the community Objective: Use your God-given gifts to create a better world. I take pride in living my life under the motto "Pay it forward." Earlier I mentioned my high school experience working with kids to prepare them for the Connecticut Special Olympics. A record number of these athletes won a record number of medals. I not only taught these kids valuable lessons, but they also taught me a precious lesson—never give up! My years of volunteer work with at-risk youth, Sunday school, computer literacy advisor and teacher, and various not-for-profit institutions are attributed to my never-ending thirst to give something back. Oh yeah, "until it hurts"; I've invested thousands of dollars of my own money and thousands of hours of my time reaching back to uplift my community. Giving something back provides a reason to contribute to something bigger than you. One only has to look at the many professional organizations in business, and sports whose community outreach programs contribute resources—people, money, facilities, etc.—to benefit others less fortunate. The discussion of “Growth Mindset” is now concluded. The next article will begin a multi-part series discussing topics associated with the letter “I” in A.G.I.L.E., “Intelligent Mindset.” Excerpts from the book: A.G.I.L.E. L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P. with a G.R.I.P.: A Twenty-First Century Journey from Street Hustler to Strategic Hustler; available on Amazon, Amazon.India, Createspace, and Pakistan Representatives. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Prof. Dr. Frank! Prof. Dr. Frank Lee Harper, Jr., Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dr. Frank Lee Harper, Jr. is the founder and world champion of agile leadership concepts. He is President ‒ UBTS International Corp having strategic affiliates in over 55 countries, Provost / Associate Professor ‒ Cambridge Corporate University, having branches in over 25 countries, while serving on for-profit and not-for-profit advisory boards. He is an award-winning IT leader and published author who is adept at influencing and teaching strategic transformations across multiple countries, industries, disciplines, and technologies for businesses having global revenues ($1+ Trillion); savings/growth ($10+ Billion); with budgets ($4+ Billion). His favorite motto is, "Leaders Are Born To Be Made."

Written by: Marja West, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. The Holiday Season officially began post-Thanksgiving with Black Friday, followed by Cyber Monday. Kicking off the shopping preprogrammed madness were the countless email adverts in our inboxes hijacking our attention through cleverly crafted headlines whose sole intention is to engage our click-baited and scroll-away fingers to press the FOMO button and eventually commit egregious retail exploits. Fortunately, although I adore shiny, beautiful objects, I’m not a shopper and am impervious to manipulative marketing ploys. As a former 1980s “Yuppie,” I’m not a fan of being all that you can be and Hustle Culture in any form, shape, or fashion, nor the coercive falseness of mass-consciousness programming of willfully going against Nature at this particular time of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, with Mother Nature calling us to slow down, go within to rest, get cosy and hibernate—metaphorically and literally. In the Southern Hemisphere, 21 December kicks off the Summer season, leaning toward less work, family vacations, and more enjoyment. Still, regardless of which hemisphere we reside in, somehow Pop Culture has brainwashed our society to step it up, rev it up, go in the opposite direction of Nature, and go into overdrive—not just workwise so we can end the year with a productive bang, but onboard with the Holiday Season hysteria of obligatory shopping, gifts, celebrations and gatherings. Cultivating The Art of Saying No As a Trauma DeActivator of over three decades, the Holiday Season is my busy time for last-minute emergency sessions, handholding men and women all over the planet who are feeling bullied, anxious, guilty, and overwhelmed by helpless frustration regarding how they are doing it all again—and hate themselves because They Don’t Want To! The palpable intensity driven by habituated seasonal insanity gives us the green light to bulldoze our sensitivities and exhaustion and do the things we’d rather not but are afraid to say. We overextend ourselves, over-eat, max out our credit cards, endure the nightmares of long shopping lines for gifts and groceries, party-prep, travel locally and abroad during the busiest travel season, and indulge our codependency by steamrolling over our basic needs for boundaries and practising The Art of Saying No without losing our shit. I feel the over-the-top collective energies of that Hallmark-style of mind control beckoning the masses to holiday comply, in overt and beguiling means to go there with gusto. The tension of this toxic empathy is enough to make my heart pound and go into a panic attack filled with social anxiety hell if I’m not vigilant about staying conscious and away from the fray. Ready or not, Christmas and New Year’s Day are underway. I call it The Holy Haze Daze Craze because I’m a tongue-in-cheek bah-humbug person, recovered from years of raising kids and getting caught up in the whirlwind of allowing myself to be bullied by the automaton holiday cray-cray of doing it all. I quit a decade ago. Many of my friends did NOT like the new Me and desperately wanted her back. Of course, they did. If I could’ve cloned myself, I would’ve: I bought cool and thoughtful gifts and wrapped them artfully and festively. I’m also a great cook and entertainer. I’m the hostess with the mostest, and I delight in my guests enjoying themselves, but then they eat and run, leaving me alone to deal with a huge mess to clean up. The nerve of them all leaving without offering to help sort out the aftermath. Yeah, I know, my bad and my responsibility to own up to and ask for help. We learn through contrasting experiences. My studies of the Abraham-Hicks Law of Attraction teachings made this infinitely clear. I was a hot mess after hosting my final holiday soiree. The mixture of tears, exhaustion, anger, years of silent resentment, and hunger was a lethal emotional cocktail to swig down and digest. I sobbed for hours while putting leftovers into their properly-sized containers, picking up trash and dishes left behind strewn all over my home, scrubbing away the baked-on food from my numerous heavy Le Creuset pans, sweeping the floors, and then letting Roomba loose. My self-talk was not very nice; the expletives ran wild and free in various languages. Suddenly, as I sipped the last bit of holiday cheer, Madonna’s rendition of Santa Baby skipping in the background made me laugh my ass off and spew my beverage, thankfully on the tile floors, not on my white carpet. The absurdity and poignancy of that moment of epiphany made my processing and decision-making clear: A new strategy was being birthed! Permission to Opt-Out Although opting out of the Holiday Season isn’t for everyone, I’m encouraging all introverts and those who feel bullied and anxiety-ridden by the saccharin-ness of “Tis the season” to allow yourselves the option NOT to participate. That means if you’re tired of cooking for everyone or travelling or the holidays stress you out– don’t do it anymore. Simple. Open to the possibility of doing something different, like accepting an invitation to be an honoured guest, or plan a staycation and enjoy being home in your own space, alone or with select beloveds. “Yeah, but.” I hear, “I can’t do that; they expect me to do it yearly.” Okay, I understand, but what you do is dishonest, NOT sustainable, and unhealthy for you and everyone else. Squares Journalling Exercise Here’s a simple journalling strategy offering to process your anxiety of feeling bullied and burdened about the Holiday Season obligations so you can get clear next time around to either make a change or continue with a better attitude from a place of love, acceptance, and enjoyment: General directions: Using one page of paper per heading, write down the title of each heading on the top of the sheet. Under each heading, write down everything that comes to mind and write, write, write until you feel complete-- do not censor or second guess or be concerned with grammar; let it flow in one word or phrase--a stream of consciousness-style, you may fill a page or two, allow whatever unfolds. Move on to the next heading and repeat the same process. Be curious and have fun playing with this. Once you’ve completed all the headings, with your right hand on your heart and left hand on your belly, recite this Blessing/Prayer asking for the integration of all that you’ve written: Mother, Father God, Essence, Great Spirit, All that Is, I recognise these polarised states that exist in my mind and ego patterning. I offer them up and ask that they be merged into a place of oneness and clarity so that I may see who I really am more clearly and live my highest truth. I ask this with gratitude, knowing that my prayer has already been answered. ~ So mote it be. Here are two Squares to consider or make up your own. Square 1 Headings Desire to Opt-out of the holidays. Fear of Opting out of the holidays. Desire to NOT Opt-out of the holidays. Fear of NOT Opting out of the holidays. Square 2 Headings Desire to Say No. Fear of Saying No. Desire to Not Say No. Fear of NOT Saying No. You can utilise this brilliant exercise on any topic. The point of the exercise is to unpack and excavate all the polarities and possibilities/thoughts/outcomes onto the page; in writing, you will discover something interesting without labelling them as positive or negative/good or bad. This exercise illustrates the Totality of Human Experience as a thought moves from your mind, activating your writing and dumping it through your hand-via pen/pencil onto a page, releasing it from your mind. Let us affirm the following to realign with Mother Nature and empower greater self-awareness and self-compassion during this emotionally loaded time: I align with Mother Nature and honour her cycles as my own. It is okay for me to say No to Hustle Culture. I give myself permission to Opt-out of any activity that makes me feel bullied and anxious, especially during the Holiday Season. I appreciate and honour my sensitivities as an invitation to deepen my self-care. I enjoy discovering what is right and true for me. I reexamine automated obligations and update them accordingly. And so it is. Thank you so much for reading along. I trust you’ve found this article helpful. For video How-tos and Do-It-Yourself Reality Creation and Self-Clearing processes, please visit my LoveTruth&Beauty YouTube Channel. Click here for the playlist. Blessings to you this Holiday Season! Until next time, here’s to Love, Truth, and Beauty, Marja (mahrrr-ya) Important Reading links: The Art of Saying No Book by Damon Zahariades The Marriage of Spirit: Enlightened Living In Today’s World by Leslie Temple-Thurston and Brad Laughlin Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Marja! Marja West, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Marja (pronounced Mahrrr-ya) West is an author, mentor of The Hermetic~Natural Law Principles, and a leading expert in Energy Mastery, Reality Creation, and Trauma-Based Mind Control DeActivator focusing on handholding survivors of Human Trafficking, Rape Camps, Satanic Ritual Abuse, Cult/Tribal, and NSP Abuse (Narcissistic-Sociopathic-Psychopathic), to evolve from Victim to Victorious. Well-known for her zero-filtered-laugh-out-loud humour and disarming, electrifying presentations, Marja is the author of the book F'd Wide Open: The Rude Awakening of the Heart-Based New Humanity. She is also a medical intuitive, martial artist, singer, multi-instrumentalist-musician, dancer, and plant lover.