Written by: Traci Philips, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. In early 2013, while driving to an event, I had a sudden inspirational “hit.” As was customary for me, this download of information came in the form of a book title. In this case, it was The Conscious CEO. At the time, the wide-scale importance of true consciousness at the leadership level within the corporate sector was not yet present, but my felt sense told me that what was emerging would, potentially, change the known systems and paradigm through which “corporate structure” has been built, practiced and identified. “Human leadership has always been underscored by the principle that even in the world of business, who you are matters. I believe men and women who lead from the inside out have the greatest impact on their businesses and companies, and the personal and professional lives of those who follow them.” ‒ Paul Keijzer I began to consider, if written, what this book might be about. At the time, although exceptions existed, most top American and foreign corporations were run by men. I began to wonder what would happen if these corporate leaders were to have a deep, “coming home” experience with themselves where their consciousness raised and their authentic identity became aligned personally and professionally. How might this impact their approach to leadership and the concepts of value, power and success? How might this transform and amplify their relationships, with themselves and others, and the authority and very industries they so heavily influenced? These thoughts stayed with me throughout the following week, and the opportunity arose for me to share my insights with a colleague and friend who was running a transformational program for male inmates. Many of the men she worked with fit the profile of the successful, corporate leader I had been considering. All had experienced power, prestige and the pressure of performing in high profile positions. It was this power, prestige and pressure, they shared, that had led them down a path that had landed them in federal prison. “Many of these guys are the Bernie Madoffs of various industries,” my friend had told me. “I would love to have you join us and bring your skills and visionary ideas to what we are doing within this program.” That began a three year stint, during which time I learned, first hand, what it was like at the top of the corporate ladder. Every single leader I worked with shared that they wished they had known how to follow their hearts and instincts more. Working with these men allowed me to learn what was needed to bridge the gap between how things were and where things needed to change. I came to see just why “coming home” and claiming authentic ownership of who we are and why we are (value, purpose and mission) is crucial at any level or position in life, but especially critical when you have far-reaching influence that comes from a place of leadership and power. Fast forward to today. Much has already begun to emerge in this arena of conscious leadership. The past 3 years have challenged us in many ways. The time also permitted us to slow down and take stock. Going into our homes from 2020-2021 during the quarantine period provided the opportunity for many to come home to themselves and discover, define and align more of what their hearts and creative centers have been calling them to acknowledge and reconcile. The past year, as well, has allowed us to continue putting some of the changes we want and need into practice and identify more of who we are now and what works and what doesn’t. We have been given the chance to create better and healthier boundaries. In leadership, the current model speaks of the ability to develop higher levels of emotional intelligence. Empathy is spoken about more and bottom line less. Our ability to connect with people is leading the charge and heart-based leadership models are rolling out faster than the Model T coming off the first mass production assembly line in 1913. This time feels and is chaotic, because everything is changing. In the next few years, we are going to see massive innovation, as we pivot to create the procedures and systems needed to support a new paradigm. Heart leadership will lead us all into the development of more diverse, agile, collaborative and inclusionary practices and cultures. It will force us to think intentionally and build from our individual and collective core values and visionary goals. We cannot simply give lip service to these new ideas, approaches and practices either. It can and will be rightfully challenging to lead others who have opinions and perspectives that are different, and in some cases, counter-intuitive, to the way we want to lead and govern. We must be, legitimately, concerned and curious about the interests and needs of others and how our decisions impact them. We must refine our capacity to listen and learn, to be humbled regularly and turn from the need to look good, be right, comfortable and safe in order to feel “in charge.” We must learn to respect and make room for thoughts, perspectives and ways of doing things that are different from our own without creating cultures of polarity and separatism. It will take commitment, reflection, a willingness to fail and try again, and lots and lots of humility. The good news is that when we are truly coming from a place of heart-centeredness, this work becomes far easier. The heart wants connection, and all of these things breed connection. Paul Keijzer is the CEO and managing partner of Engage Consulting, a firm that helps transform top teams and manage talent across emerging markets. I love his advise for developing heart leadership. “I am of the firm belief that the first and foremost hallmark of a good leader is their ability to make their employees feel special. Heart leaders are generous when it comes to giving due recognition to the contributions that each team member brings to the company, because heart leaders take the time to get to know their employees on a personal front. Remember that your style of leadership depends on the conscious and subconscious rules you apply to the workplace. What you give to your team, and how you practice decision-making, are critical aspects of leadership. Notice the distinctions between your different points of view and observe which strategies you currently tend to use. Always be open to trying a variety of different strategies to see how you feel about them and what kind of outcomes are generated in your workplace.” So, as you enter this New Year, I invite you to use this heart-centered lens as you give meaning and apply action to the various experiences that you have. As we all attempt to create a new “normal,” there will be plenty of chances to listen to what our hearts are saying and where they want to lead us. I recommend we listen and allow ourselves to be transformed by the process. Want to learn more from Traci? Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin or visit her website. Read more from Traci! Traci Philips, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine As an Executive Leadership & Performance Strategist, Traci Philips supports visionary business owners and corporate executives to learn and practice better communication, resolution strategies, decision-making, and leading during times of change and when the stakes are high. A three-year stint co-facilitating a men's transformational program for industry leaders incarcerated in Federal Prison taught Traci more than she could ever have learned elsewhere about high-stakes leadership and the cost of bad decision-making. This experience fueled a passion in her to help top leaders learn what they needed to know so they wouldn't end up losing what matters most. Her ultimate goal is to support her clients to live authentically and lead powerfully by creating more awareness about who they are, how they want to be seen, and what legacy they want to leave behind. Traci is the co-host of Eavesdrop in the Moment, a bi-weekly podcast that discusses current trends and leadership. Her book, Looking In: Discover, Define and Align the True Value of Your Life, Leadership and Legacy is helping leaders around the globe increase their confidence and self-identity to meet leadership demands and their personal performance potential.

Written by: Richard Hilton, 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. Hypnosis has long been used as a therapeutic tool to help individuals overcome a variety of challenges, ranging from phobias and anxiety to smoking cessation and weight loss. Athletes from all kinds of sports have effectively used hypnosis to improve their game from being more focused to being better able to deal with fatigue in the boxing ring. One of the ways in which hypnosis may be effective is through its ability to help rewire the brain and create new neural pathways. The brain is constantly changing and adapting in response to new experiences and information. This process, known as neuroplasticity, allows the brain to reorganize itself and form new connections between neurons. Hypnosis may facilitate this process by helping individuals to focus their attention and enter a state of relaxation, which can create an optimal environment for neuroplasticity to occur. During hypnosis, an individual's brain waves shift from a beta state (associated with waking consciousness) to an alpha state (associated with relaxation and focus). This shift in brain waves can help individuals to access their unconscious mind and make changes at a deeper level. For example, a person who is trying to overcome a phobia may be able to use hypnosis to address the underlying fear and negative beliefs that are driving their phobia and create new neural pathways that are more adaptive and healthier. While hypnosis is not a cure-all and may not work for everyone, it has been shown to be a safe and effective tool for helping individuals to create positive changes in their lives. If you are interested in using hypnosis to help rewire your brain and overcome challenges, it is important to work with a trained and certified hypnotherapist. Together, you can develop a treatment plan that is tailored to your specific needs and goals. Follow me on LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Richard! Richard Hilton, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Richard is a former member of the British Army. Upon leaving the military he studied extensively in self-defense, Conflict Management. Due to going through a difficult period on leaving, he realised that he needed to make major changes in the direction of his life He then began to study NLP and Hypnosis. He is now helping veterans and first responders with the difficulties and challenges that they are facing on a daily basis. He has also self-published his first book "Whispers over Windermere"

Written by: Terry Tateossian, 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. Did you know that the average business generates 60% of its website traffic from just three pieces of content? That's because once you create great content, it's easy to share and repurpose it for greater ROI. In this blog post, we will discuss what content repurposing is, why it’s important, which content should marketers repurpose, and how to repurpose content (including examples of content repurposing). Stay tuned, because by the end of this article you'll be able to create more compelling and engaging content that will help your business succeed! What Is Content Repurposing? The average lifespan of a tweet is just 18 minutes. That's not very long, especially when you consider that it can take hours, or even days, to create high-quality content. So what can you do to make sure your content reaches the most people possible? One strategy is to repurpose it. Repurposing content means taking existing content and presenting it in a new way. This could mean rewriting it, turning it into a video or infographic, or publishing it on a different platform. Content repurposing can involve anything from rewriting to adding visuals, or even aggregating content from multiple sources. Repurposing your content allows you to expand your reach and engage new audiences that may not have seen the original version. Why Should You Repurpose Content? Content repurposing is a great way to get the most out of the content you’ve already created. Not only does it extend the content’s lifespan, but it can also help with SEO and improve engagement. By reusing content in different formats, you can keep your content fresh and appeal to a wider audience. It can also help your content show up in more searches, increasing visibility and driving more traffic to your website. Which Content Should Marketers Repurpose? When choosing the content you will repurpose there are two ways to go. Choose content that has already performed well and adapt it for a different audience (e.g. social, email, guest blogging), or take the content that didn’t perform well and give it a new life by repurposing it in a new format. The decision should really be based on your overall marketing strategy and goals. The important thing is that almost any type of content can be repurposed, but some types are better suited to repurposing than others. For example, blog posts tend to be easy to repurpose, because they can be turned into articles, infographics, or even videos. If you have an existing piece of content that you want to repurpose, ask yourself how you can make it more engaging or how you can reach a new audience with it. With a little creativity, you can find lots of ways to breathe new life into your content marketing efforts. How to Choose Which Content to Repurpose? Repurposing begins with analyzing your existing content and finding those pieces that performed well (or not), setting new goals for that content, and adapting it to serve your brand in other channels. Once you do that you should keep a close eye on how your repurposed content is performing and make the necessary changes or adjustments as you go. Here's a list to have handy in your content repurposing evaluation. Identify the type of content you have Determine the goal of your content Repurpose your content for different channels and goals Evaluate how well your repurposed content is performing Make changes as needed to improve results How to Repurpose Content? Now that we've covered the steps in choosing the right type of content to repurpose, let’s explore some of the ways you can actually recycle some of your content. Here are a few content ideas to get you started. 1. Convert Blog Content Into an Infographic Take your content, add images or screenshots and transform it into an infographic. Infographics are great for engaging readers quickly with visual content that’s easy to digest. 2. Create a Video Series Take the chosen content and break it up into bite-sized pieces that can be made into videos on YouTube or other platforms. You can also repurpose content from other parts of your website and use it as the script for a video. 3. Turn Content Into an Ebook or Whitepaper Take content from multiple sources, such as blog posts, articles, research studies, and customer stories, and compile it into an ebook or whitepaper. This is great for content that requires more in-depth content and detail. 4. Turn Content Into a Podcast Take content from your blog or website, combined with audio clips and interviews, to create a podcast series. This is great for content that would benefit from storytelling through sound. 5. Aggregate Content From Multiple Sources Into One Comprehensive Post Take content from multiple sources and compile it into one comprehensive post. This is great for content curation, content aggregation, and content refreshment. 6. Take Q&A Content and Create FAQ Pages Take content from questions and answers and create content, such as a FAQ page, to help readers quickly find answers to their questions. These are just a few content repurposing ideas to get you started, but the possibilities are endless. By repurposing content, you can save time and maximize the value of your content. It’s also a great way to engage new audiences and build brand visibility. So don't be afraid to repurpose content and get creative with what you’ve already created. By recycling your content you will extend its life, spread the word about your brand across multiple channels, increase engagement and visibility, and save time and resources. The more people see you on every possible channel the better chances you have to be seen by the right audiences. Conclusion When it comes to content marketing, creating new and original content is essential. However, churning out new pieces of content every day can be difficult – and costly. That’s where repurposing content comes in. And now that you know what content repurposing is, why it’s important, and how to do it, it’s time for you to start repurposing your content! By repurposing your content, you can save time, money, and resources while still delivering high-quality content to your audience. So what are you waiting for? Start repurposing your content today! Follow me on LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Terry! Terry Tateossian, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Terry Tateossian, Founding Partner of Socialfix Media is a fourth-generation entrepreneur who is recognized as an Inc. 5000 America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies, Forbes’ Top Women in Business, Fastest Growing Women Presidents by WPO, and 40 Under 40 Business Leaders by NJBIZ. Terry has been featured for outstanding leadership and career accomplishments in numerous industry publications as an engineer, a thought-leader in technology, and an innovator in the field of marketing. But her favorite and toughest earned title is being “Mom” to her 2 children.

Written by: Adrian Holguin, 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. Some of the world's best parties have taken place during these days. I'm not referring to Halloween or Thanksgiving. I'm referring to the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Over the course of 28 days, 64 matches were played between the world's best soccer teams to decide who would be crowned world champion. What is most important in this party is the learning we can take away and that I call the 3 Ps. 1. Passion. I will discuss today one of the most powerful forces that exist to move forward, to achieve dreams, goals, and objectives. Never feel that your efforts will go unnoticed if you give that fire within you to win championships, grow in your career, and keep working hard. Step by step, happiness is built. There is still that passion for that specific "something". It's asleep, but it can awaken at any moment if we stop mentally limiting ourselves with poisoned realities. Nowadays, it's amazing how people live. Passion, expectation, and faith were all present during the whole tournament. What are the consequences of this passion? A passion makes you want, makes you believe that you can, and makes you grow. You are motivated to get up every morning because of this enormous force, which means that the hours invested are not as important as the results achieved. It keeps you alert, awake, creative, lucid, and active, so you do not feel tired. You can use it to turn a free minute into an opportunity, look like Friday every day, or simplify a complicated task. The fire inside you brings out the best in you and in others. There is something that all of us are passionate about in life, which does not necessarily have to be a job, but gives meaning to our existence and can be applied in parallel to our way of living. Hard work, dedication, and perseverance are also qualities of passion. It is constantly worrying about whether everything goes well and whether it positively affects the people around you. A mobilizer is a catalyst for achieving what you want. By bringing up this subject, I am bringing up the passion of the World Cup participants, those who have traveled tirelessly to support their teams. One of the most beautiful aspects of this kind of passion is the relationships you build throughout the contest, not only with supporters of your team but also with other teams. The same passion that drives the players to give 100% during the 90 minutes of regulation time also motivates you because you want to see your team win the World Cup. The value of finding what we are passionate about cannot be overstated. It is challenging for employers and companies to understand the passions of their employees. Although not every employee can fulfill their dreams, they must encourage them to achieve results and goals. Rather than making them work under pressure, make them work under passion, because without passion there is no emotion, without emotion, there is no feeling, and without consistency, there is no performance. It is no longer enough to be knowledgeable and to arrive on time and comply in this world. You must fall in love, enchant it, make it worthwhile... Take the risk! The power within us is much greater than we understand. 2. Persistence. Attitude plays a big role in persistence. Everyone has experienced a variety of emotions during these soccer matches. However, I highlight the persistence and attitude of some teams. Despite losing, they have managed to turn things around. A quality like this is impressive, especially when there is so much excitement, pressure, and adrenaline involved. Being able to recover from a fall in such a short time is admirable, but it takes a lot of mental strength to do so. We have all experienced this: a deal does not come together at the last minute, things don't turn out as we wanted, and the first thing we do is fall apart and blame ourselves and the circumstances. In elite sports such as American football, basketball, and hockey, among others, these types of circumstances are common. The ability to persist in life is a very important trait to develop since it is closely related to one's own personal improvement and development. If you fail, you can only improve if you learn from those experiences and move on, having the persistence and determination to keep going. In the absence of persistence, your ability to grow and develop as a person, as well as your ability to succeed, gain wealth, and be happy will be severely limited. Many people believe that good training or talent guarantees success. However, if you are not persistent, talent and knowledge will be of no use to you. Hard work always beats talent. It doesn't matter how good your abilities are, what matters is how you perform. The fact that teams with lower FIFA rankings, lower economic values, and less individual talent (star players) were able to surpass world powers in this sport simply by not giving up, continuing to fight, and for persistently striving for a common good. This makes you feel that anything is possible, that you can step up and continue regardless of your fatigue or what people think. The most important thing is what you think of yourself and when the objective is clear; every step counts. Don't forget that. 3. Planning. Throughout all the World Cup matches, we have seen the coaches studying the techniques, formations, and talents of the players, so they know how to think about themselves before a match, but also how to adapt their strategy during the match. The purpose of planning is to answer the following questions: What is the best course of action? Who should be responsible for it? What is the best place for it to be done? What is the best time to do it? In what way should it be done? This is all about achieving the team's goals, such as those of a company, in the most efficient manner possible within a given time frame, using the material, economic, and, most importantly, human resources. In both soccer and business, two concepts stand out: Goals: Specific results to be achieved within a certain period of time. Plan: A sequence of actions ordered for the purpose of achieving a single goal. Planning is essential for a soccer team, just as it is for a company that wishes to survive in such a competitive environment. The team, person, or company won't know how to proceed if it doesn't know where it's going. A plan defines the process, allocates resources efficiently, avoids improvisation, removes uncertainty from the future, and keeps things under control. All experiences in life should lead to daily and continual learning, if you are learning you are growing. Developing your personal and professional potential, as well as breaking your limiting beliefs and patterns, is essential for growth. According to what you have learned from this incredible competition, in order to achieve your best self, you need to believe in yourself, persist in your goal, remember that persistence is more important than talent, and develop a plan to build your way forward without uncertainty in order to achieve your goals. A final ingredient in this great recipe is to enjoy the process, the journey must be more enjoyable than the destination, so victories are more emotional and rewarding. "Change your thoughts, change your life." Follow me on Instagram, and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Adrian! Adrian Holguin, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Adrian Holguin is a leading industry executive and thought leader. Holguin has developed long-term growth strategies for companies in order to increase their revenue. Holguin has collaborated with top executives to understand their demands, develop practical solutions, implement procedures to address your problems, and develop innovations and transformation strategies that create value. Throughout his career, Holguin has worked for international corporations as well as small and medium-sized companies in the food industry. He is dedicated to helping individuals change their mindset so that they can achieve everything that they desire in life. "Change your thoughts, change your life" is his karma.

Written by: Gina Lokken, ICF PCC, 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 I was single, life felt a lot simpler. Since I was only responsible for myself, it seemed possible to set up a regular and organized schedule. If I just worked hard and was intentional with my time, then surely, I could have it all: run a successful business, get more education, spend time with my friends, eat healthier, work out every day, see my parents, and have an Instagram-worthy home. I couldn't shake this romantic idea that a perfectly balanced life was available to me. I was always chasing after that goal, trying to live up to the expectations of others and copy what worked for them. And year after year, that unicorn life seemed further and further out of reach. Especially after I married and became a mother! What am I doing wrong? I would think while cleaning up a sink full of dishes while my toddler screamed in the background. What secret am I missing? And that's what this blog series is all about, friend. It's the secret sauce, the key to success. Are you ready? The secret is: there is no such thing as a perfectly balanced life. And the sooner you recognize that your life will be messy, out of balance, beautiful, and unlike anyone else's life, the sooner you can embrace your own personal rhythm. Because when we chase after someone else's idea of a perfectly balanced life, we are chasing after an illusion. When we take on or adopt their beliefs, values, and expectations, we lose who God created us to be: someone utterly one of a kind. So, hear me when I say that the number one limiting belief that we, as mom entrepreneurs, hold that keeps us stuck chasing after a perfectly balanced life is comparison. Limiting Belief 1: Comparison "Look how balanced and perfect their life and business look compared to mine." The world has conditioned us to buy into the lie that what we see is what we get. Someone's Instagram feed is an accurate depiction of their daily life. Their business success translates into a successful marriage. Their curated home means they have a curated life. If they look like they have it all figured out, they must be sailing through the week on a cloud of perfection. Comparison can play out strongly in our lives, especially as women. It's so easy to focus on what we don't have instead of what we do have, comparing our lives to those who "look like" they have it all together. But when we compare our life story to someone else's, we will never feel like we've "made it" in our life or business. Instead, we will spend countless hours and a vast number of resources trying to live a life that wasn't ours to live in the first place. Going through the process of life coaching helped me to stop holding my life up to other women's lives. It allowed me to discover and value the parts of myself that make me and my story unique. As you head into this week, lean away from the limiting belief of comparison and into this newly expanded belief: "I am exactly where I need to be, and I am becoming the person God already knows me to be." I wholeheartedly believe that your life will have beautifully balanced moments, but they won’t come from chasing after what was meant for someone else. So, stop looking in your neighbor’s yard and start celebrating things on your own. In any case, the journey is far more rewarding and impactful than the destination. Never stop improving, learning, and growing. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Gina! Gina Lokken, ICF PCC, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Gina is passionate about helping female entrepreneurs, business professionals, and leaders infuse God into their everyday personal and professional lives so that they can become the person He designed them to be. She firmly believes business and faith do not have to be separate, and business does not have to be boring. Gina specializes in strengths-based leadership and team building, creating cultures of joy through neuroscience practices, leadership and communication training, and creative coaching methodologies that propel her client's past what they originally thought was possible!

Written by: Oksana Irwin, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. I recently asked a question: What do you think is the most important part of running a successful business? And the answers I got were very interesting… People mentioned a lot of different things, like customer service, community, culture, consistency, integrity, having a big “why”, healing trauma, nervous system regulation, working on mindset, getting clarity on goals and vision, staying on top of a self-care routine, having fun, offering great services and products, having good people skills, developing genuine connections, loving what you do... and the list goes on and on. Someone even said “faith” and “smile” are the best business strategies. And while all of these things are very important, they will not make you successful or your business profitable. When business owners tell me that their businesses exist to ‘fulfill customers' needs’, ‘provide great service’, and ‘fulfill their passion’ (or anything else but create profit), I know with 100 percent certainty that they are struggling financially. Simply put, if there is no profit, there is no business. And because so many good business owners were sold this bill of goods, the success rate for small business survival, let alone thriving, is very low. Over 85% of them go out of business within the first 5 years! Unfortunately, passion and great customer service don’t pay the bills and business expenses. They don’t pay for marketing and customer acquisition. Business and financial literacy skills are required to be successful in running a business. To be successful in business—any business—you must master ONE skill: understanding your numbers, financial statements, and business economics. Business economics, profit margins, cash flow, and, most importantly, PROFIT are crucial to a successful business and will determine its longevity and sustainability. Without having to go very deep, one thing I know for sure is that those business owners who don't pay attention to their business economics, don’t look at their financials regularly, and don't use business success strategies ARE struggling and, more than likely, barely making ends meet. To help solve this problem, I’ve created a Business Mastery Accelerator workshop where I teach business owners the Business Success Formula that ALL successful businesses use. This workshop is a fast track to becoming ‘financially savvy’ without having to go to business school for 4 years! Most importantly, I teach business owners fundamental accounting skills that have a HUGE impact on profitability, as well as how to influence their business's economics by focusing on a few key factors that make the most difference to the bottom line. I'm demystifying the daunting parts of financials and accounting by making them easy to understand so that business owners can build profitable businesses that thrive. Join me at the Business Mastery Accelerator workshop to discover how to scale your business into a million-dollar company WITHOUT having to compete on price, work long hours, or sacrifice your health and personal life. Register for the workshop here. Connect with me on LinkedIn, or Facebook or visit my website. Read more from Oksana! Oksana Irwin, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Oksana Irwin is a certified Mars Venus Business and Executive Coach, a Gender Intelligence expert, a best-selling author and a speaker. She is a multi-faceted, passionate entrepreneur who has been in the business world for over two decades and is well known in the online space for her transformational seminars and workshops. She has helped many leaders, business owners and entrepreneurs create breakthroughs in their businesses, reach their goals and achieve success without compromising the quality of their lives. She coaches business leaders worldwide in the Mars Venus business framework, systems and methodology that help them earn more money in less time and create extraordinary results in their careers, professional and personal lives.

Written by: Chelsea Haines , 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. Food. Love it or hate it, you're in a relationship with it. Food fears, food anxiety, and body dysmorphia are at an all-time high around this time of year. Many of us go on vacations to the beach feeling nervous about our "beach body." In other cases, we're seeing family we haven't seen all year, and we want to present how well we've been doing, unconsciously equating thinness to having a more successful year. In a less positive scenario, you might have family members who grew up in an age rife with diet culture. You are anxious about seeing them and being the target of their inevitable comments. How is your relationship with food? Many people do not even realize that the thoughts and behaviors around food and their bodies are not healthy ones. I didn't realize how complex and entrenched my (then) unhealthy relationship with food was until a mentor called me out on some of these recurring thoughts. Are some of these thoughts and behaviors ones you regularly find yourself thinking and acting out? Do you: Label foods as "bad" and/or avoid food groups altogether. Skip meals after you had "bad" foods earlier on that day or the day before? Avoid eating with others. Avoid social events where foods on your bad list will be in abundance. Prefer eating alone because you don't want others to judge your portion sizes or choices. Consistently choose the healthiest option on the menu, even over the ones you'd prefer when eating out with others. Use food as a reward system and/or as punishment. You eat until you are uncomfortably full or even continue eating after you're full. You feel guilt or shame before or after eating. You feel shame around eating certain foods or about eating larger portions. You eat in response to certain emotions like anxiety, disappointment, nervousness, anger, or sadness. Your food choices determine your feelings about yourself and/or your day. Restrict yourself before holidays/ big events. Constantly try new diets, shakes, or weight loss supplements even if you are at/below a healthy weight. Weigh yourself and allow the number on the scale or your current clothing size to dictate how you feel about yourself and your food choices. Not remember a time when you were not "dieting" or trying to lose weight. You feel the need to work off the food you eat. You are inflexible to new foods or even others dishing up food for you. Deny yourself the food you enjoy because it deviates from what you believe you should eat. You always clear your plate even if you've had enough halfway through your meal. You identified yourself in at least 10 of these. These behaviors and thoughts are taking so much of the precious brain power that you could be using to be more present with your loved ones or chasing that purpose. Many people fear the loss of control they would experience if they healed their relationship with food. We falsely believe we would spend our time eating only pizza and flaming hot Cheetos. The reality, however, is that our bodies are incredibly intelligent in asking for (in the form of cravings) the micro and macronutrients it is requiring. A scarily large amount of us has had rocky pasts with food, causing damage to our metabolism and our ability to listen and trust ourselves. The ability to judge your hunger and fullness, as well as correctly assess your true cravings, does return with tactics like intuitive eating (plus time and a lot of patience). A healthy relationship with food: A healthy relationship with food is one where you no longer use food as a reward or punishment. Food is merely fuel - for body and soul. You are able to listen to your body's hunger and fullness cues as well as what you are craving. A slave to cravings no more! There's no need to binge because there are no "bad" foods that you are restricting. You are not constantly thinking about food because you consume enough variety and calories. To stop eating when you are full and feel no guilt in enjoying the foods you once deemed as "off limits" becomes your norm. You have jumped out of the restrict-and-binge cycle, so you feel confident in enjoying foods in whatever portion feels good to you in public, choosing the food you really want over the “healthiest” option. And you can now enjoy that healthier option when it is what you want without wishing you had ordered something else. There is no exercising as punishment or eating certain foods. You have come to realize diets don't work and never have. Trust becomes an integral part of your relationship with food and yourself because you know your body will let you know what foods it needs and how much of that food to eat. You realize there will be days you eat too little and too much, but you no longer punish yourself or feel shame and guilt around those days and/or your ever-changing body. Your relationship to food is an INTEGRAL part of gut health (hence the term: gut-brain connection). How you feel while eating and/or about your food directly affects how your body responds to food. Why heal your relationship with food? The paragraph above showed you ALL the reasons it would be incredible to heal your relationship with food. But an important aspect I want to shed some more light on is the impact your relationship with your food has on your health. The fact that you feel nauseous before a big presentation, butterflies at that cute moment, or a stomach ache when under a lot of stress all indicate that your gut and brain are closely connected. This is exactly why we incorporate subconscious therapy at The Gut Health Ag ency . We understand that everything from absorbing nutrients to what you crave is controlled by the gut. And our guts are directly linked to our emotional state. This means how you perceive the food can impact factors like how much you eat, how soon you get fulll, how much you enjoy the food, and even how much (nutrients and calories) is absorbed. This was both a terrifying and exciting discovery. Terrifying because an alarming rate of women have negative relationships with their food and their bodies resulting in not only the emotional issues involved but also stomach and intestinal problems like IBS, bloating, cramping, constipation, and loose stool. Healing your relationship with food won't only impact your relationships, willingness to engage in social activities, and how you feel about yourself and food; it is also a key component of gut health. This is the very pinnacle of holistic health. Now with more stressors than ever, is the time to heal your relationship with food to relieve you of one more of these daily stressors. Why HOW you eat can be more important than WHAT you eat. This link between the gut and the brain is also really exciting. Let this knowledge empower you to know that with small and consistent steps, you could heal more than your relationship with food, you could also directly impact your health by how well your body uses that fuel. We are living in an era riddled with chronic stress. This leaves us in a constant state of "fight or flight." When in that state, your body cannot prioritize things like digestion and absorption because it's flooded with adrenaline and cortisol while being focused on survival. Here are some guidelines on how to eat to start the journey of healing your relationship with food and, in the process, helping out your gut as well. How to start healing our relationship with food: Practice Mindful Eating Mindful eating can come in many forms. It can be taking some deep breaths before your meal. Eating undistracted or slowing down your eating. Chewing your food a minimum of 30 chews per bite. Or listening to a beautiful meditation while you eat. Stop Labelling Food This takes practice, but the first step is awareness. Begin by observing your thoughts and unconscious judgments over certain foods. Notice them and then reframe them with a mantra like "food is fuel, and I am allowed to enjoy all variations of it." Next, watch your language around food. When you find yourself saying things like "I can't eat that...". Pause and ask yourself, "can't I or have I just not ever allowed myself to enjoy this food?" Then be curious to see if you even actually enjoy this food or not and why you had this food rule before. Remind yourself that all foods can be part of a healthy and balanced diet. Start introducing the foods previously labeled as "off-limits" I know it's scary. But if we are going to heal our relationship with food, we have to go past not labeling certain foods as bad. We also need to prove to ourselves that the fear we have is not based on truth. Start small by incorporating this food into another snack or meal. For example, you can enjoy that cookie with your bowl of fruit. Notice those urges to binge on those foods that you previously restricted. Acknowledge that this is only because you told yourself it wasn't allowed. Remind yourself that things have changed and that you don't need to eat all of these cookies now because you are allowed to have them anytime you feel like them and that you will never restrict yourself again. That knowledge can be soothing to a desperate brain because the sense of urgency of "get it while I can" is no longer true. Instead, switch to an "I've had one already, I can have another one or all of them. Either way, there is always tomorrow." While this seems scary and might lead you to eat a little more than you'd like at first, it's a necessary step to healing your relationship with all food and eradicating that food fear and anxiety that previously plagued you. Try intuitive eating Intuitive eating scares anyone with a rocky past with food and their view of themselves. This is because we have learned not to trust ourselves. Through unhelpful methods like calorie counting and macro tracking, we have reduced foods to something that either gets us to our goals or weakens us. But your goal now is food freedom. A common fear is that if you left it up to your body, you'd eat junk food all day. Luckily this is a myth, and the more you practice listening and trusting your body, the more you start to realize your body is highly intelligent in the macro and micronutrients it needs. Start slowly by asking yourself at just one meal - what is my body really craving? Close your eyes and take a breath to connect with your body. Whatever it is - allow yourself that food and enjoy it. Once this feels less scary, start doing it at more meals and eventually for a whole Sunday, for example. Eat exactly what you've been craving all day. After consistently practicing this, I started noticing I was really craving green veggies, a salad, and even beans! On other days I wanted something chocolatey and delicious, but I realized that my body really just wanted to nourish itself and function optimally. And when I got out of my body's way - it craved exactly what it needed to do just that. Leave some food on the plate There is an idea known as hara hachi bu – the 80% rule. This is the idea of eating until you're 80% full. For many of us with disordered eating pasts, this can be really challenging. You might have lost the ability to correctly judge your hunger and fullness levels. But do not fret this will improve with time and practice. One way to practice this is by simply leaving a little food on your plate at each meal. If you are anything like me, this may seem nearly impossible at first. But I promise it does get easier. Go for seconds In some cases, what you need is not to leave some food on the plate but to allow yourself to have that second plate of food. Not restricting yourself is how you remove the urge to binge. Because without scarcity, there's no need to stuff it all down now. Bounce back after binges On the topic of not restricting yourself. It's important to build up that self-trust. If you are serious about healing your relationship with food and yourself, you need to commit to not restricting even if/when you inevitably have a day/meal where you eat past the point of being full. Or indulge in foods that used to be on your "bad" or "never" trigger lists. This tactic involves returning to your normal eating habits and meals after a binge.No more skipping meals or omitting certain foods to compensate. Research also supports that this is the healthiest option since restricting after a binge almost always leads to another binge. Because let's be honest - how many times have you said: "just one last time"? It's an excuse, and you don't need any excuses to eat food you feel like eating. This is a reality where there never has to be a "last time" because no foods are off-limits. Nourish Yourself (Your body and your soul) Adequate nutrition and calories are the best way to prevent binge eating, excessive cravings, and constant thoughts about highly processed snacks. Your body and brain are hardwired to know where to get those much-needed calories for survival. And when you're living your life trying to restrict your intake, it's no wonder you crave those foods. You're hungry! Craving an instant and easily digestible energy hit is your body looking out for you. When you're eating an adequate amount and enjoying a balanced lifestyle, those cravings become less and less frequent and also don't result in a binge. It's the most wonder fulltime of the year I do hope you found these tips helpful to start that journey to healing your relationship with food. Because this time of year should be about being present with your family and loved ones. Don't let your unhealed relationship with food steal those precious moments any longer. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Chelsea! Chelsea Haines, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Recently featured "The Gut Health Coach" by Yahoo!, Chelsea Haines has a unique way of helping high-performers heal. She doesn't claim to know best. Her mission: to remind you that YOU are the expert on your body, only you know precisely what you need, and you are not "crazy" for feeling how you feel. Her expertise stems from personally healing autoimmune disease paired with formal degrees in psychology, gut health, and mindfulness. She’s the Founder of The Gut Health Agency, where a team of health coaches & Registered Dietitians merge health coaching with clinical testing for increased patient compliance and lasting habit change ‒ a needle-moving combination not otherwise seen in the gut health space.

Written by: Natalia Jansen, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Does this sound familiar? You find yourself daydreaming and journaling about how you wish things would be different. You muse about what you would love to do, and you keep trying to figure out a way how to get there. The problem is wishing, hoping, and thinking doesn’t do anything. Hoping and wishing energy is weak. It’s energy that gets used up and only gives you a temporary lift, so you don’t feel so low. If you don’t make a real committed decision and don’t take any action, it’s nothing but a waste of your life’s energy, purely an act of mental entertainment. I used to wish and hope for years. My moment of clarity came as I was sitting in my bedroom, looking in the mirror, and I noticed a number eleven frown seared into my forehead. As I leaned in to take a closer look at my face, I noticed more lines around my eyes, mouth, and neck. I realized I have become the person who’d say: “I’d love to do that someday!” I became a “someday” person. I was 40 years old by then, and that day it dawned on me. There is no such day on the calendar. It’s an excuse to avoid making a decision and taking a chance on my dream. The dream I had when I was still in college was to be a person who makes things happen, who lives life full out, a person who doesn’t let anything or anyone stop her from doing what she wants. That person got lost in her busy, muted, single-mom life. I realized, I felt comfortable and safe in my familiar little world. Even though I felt unfulfilled and dissatisfied, sometimes even miserable and lonely, I played it safe. I played small. I used my daughters and my single-parent responsibilities as an excuse. I was afraid to truly live my life. I was afraid to take the risk to pursue my dream. I was afraid to bet on myself. Fear was keeping me stuck in the safe zone, the home of the familiar. I was living by default. Reacting to what happened, looking for blame out there, feeling stuck and powerless, and waiting for circumstances to change. That day, sitting in my bedroom and looking in the mirror, I thought, what am I doing? Someday is never going to come. Every day I am getting older, and I am still waiting for the right time to start living my “real life”. That’s when it hit me. THIS IS MY REAL LIFE! And I am wasting it. All I do is work long hours, barely making enough to cover the bills. I drive my kids to their activities after school, and in the evening, I watch fictional characters on the screen live exciting adventures, because I am too tired to do anything else. I know many of you can relate. This is not what I had dreamed my life would look like. I wanted more, much more out of life. What was I waiting for, anyway? Right time? Something to change? How could anything change if I was doing the same thing every week? Then I heard this voice: “Natalia, you have settled for a supporting role of a “tired single mom.” Then the voice said, “Natalia, wake up! No prince charming is going to show up at your door to rescue you. No one else knows you are miserable, but you.” I thought,“ You are right!” I felt panic rise up in my chest, and I was about to cry, but then I thought, “No! I can’t waste another minute.” And that’s when I finally made a decision. I decided to rescue myself, take the lead; be my own hero. I had no idea how yet, but I decided I wasn’t going to say yes to anything unless it was what I truly wanted. That’s when I discovered I didn’t really know what I wanted. That’s a problem most people face as they become adults and various life events occur. In the many years of research and study of personal development, which was the thing that kept me sane and moving forward for years, it’s become apparent, that most people never take the time to figure out what they want their life to look like. They may have had a plan when they went to college, or an idea of what they wanted to do when they were young. Those ideas are often heavily influenced by what our parents want or think is best for us, what our teachers and counselors advise us to do, or what we see as a trend in the media or society as we mature. In other words, they live by default. They are just reacting to what happens in habitual and condition-based common responses. Very few people take the time to look deep inside their own souls and figure out what they truly want. What would make them feel truly alive? These are the people who live by design. In order to create a balanced and successful life, you must choose to live by design. Designing your life begins with knowing what you want and creating that vision vividly in your mind and on paper. As long as there is breath in your lungs, you are creating life. Life is always seeking means of moving forward, always seeking to express more of itself through all living organisms – including you. The way life’s energy communicates with you is through feelings. Notice what you don’t want, what makes you upset, irritated, or frustrated, those are the discontents in your life. Notice them. Get curious and ask what lesson they are bringing you. Longings, on the other hand, are the desires, wishes, and dreams waiting to be expressed through you. Notice those too. That is the first step. Notice what you want and what you’d prefer not to have in your life. Noticing means becoming aware of things we tolerate. Putting up with those little annoyances that drain our energy and pull the focus away from what we want is draining our precious life force that could be used more productively in pursuit of our longings. The great news is, that it doesn’t matter how long you have been feeling stuck or afraid to build your dream and really go for what you want. The spirit, the real you, is timeless and physical age doesn’t matter. What matters is your desire and willingness to take action, however small, but consistent everyday action. Being a single mom was not my plan, but it’s not a stop sign for me anymore, it’s a qualifier. Every obstacle you face is simply a curriculum for your personal development and growth into becoming who you truly are. To create a life by design, you must answer your longing by taking action. One small step starts moving the energy in the right direction. However big or small the desire, it’s unique to you and it’s tugging on your heart because it longs to be fulfilled. Try an experiment with your life. Instead of wishing and hoping, identify one of your desires and take action on it. Take one step that will get you closer to fulfilling that desire, and see how much more alive you will feel. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Natalia! Natalia Jansen, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Natalia combines her rigorous certification training with Brave Thinking Institute by Mary Morrissey, her 20 years of experience as an educator and theatre artist with her passion for personal development and spiritual transformation to her mission to teach women ‒ especially single moms ‒ to embrace their spiritual nature, re-ignite their dreams, take charge of their life, and design the life they truly love living.

Written by: Kelsay Elizabeth Myers, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Are you drawn to the light or the dark? Do you focus your personal growth, your work and your creative endeavors on being positive, enjoying trance-like high vibes or on a mystical spiritual journey of ascension? Or do you focus your personal growth, your work and your creative endeavors on the struggles in your life, what’s wrong with humanity, the shadow self and descent into a shamanic underworld? In Asian cultures, we call it yin and yang. In Western European cultures, we have come to understand opposites as either/or—good or bad, dark or light, this or that. It’s one or the other. The opposite has become opposition, competition, and one side gets valued above the other. But as human beings, we contain both light and dark qualities. In yin, there is yang and in yang, there is yin. Neither has value without the other. At some point, we will have a dark night of the soul and be called to descend into our shadows and move through our struggles. And if we listen and learn enough of our own resources, we will be called to a higher vision, a higher purpose and rise again. And because we are human, we will also fall again and rise again. This process called life is our greatest source of material as creative beings, and we can respond in so many ways: resistance, exultation, anger, fear, grief, ecstasy, contentment, liberation, ferocity, softness, compassion, love, apathy, numbness, anxiety, stress, etc. Our feelings and responses to what we’re experiencing create who we are, but who we are is not static unless we stop using our creativity in how we respond to our life circumstances. We each hold darkness and light, joy and despair, shadow and spirit, human compassion and human fallibility. If we are triggered or have unmet needs and unhealed wounds, they will come out in our relationships and even in our interactions with random people, particularly if we’re experiencing low points in life. I recently had this experience with a former friend and roommate who is experiencing a lot of blows and lows in her life. Even though I am highly skilled, highly trained and used to studying human behavior, I was stunned (and equally fascinated) by the extent of her ability to be out of tune with reality and distort, and even forget, the things she’s doing and saying. And even though I am highly skilled and highly trained, I am also human and will react like any human when attacked, provoked, dismissed and abused—particularly when violence and delusion are part of it. We can either hold the darkness and lightness or succumb to it. In my line of work, we play with it! We use our very humanness to connect to as many parts of ourselves as we can, allowing them their full range of emotiveness in a safe container that honors our own capacity to tolerate and be with it. And that presence and ability to be with it and acknowledge the edges of our capacity is the difference between purely cathartic emotional release and the creative play that leads to healing and art. I offer you the following example of how I played with my own embodiment of some of my core values, beliefs and emotions that make up different aspects of who I am. I call these aspects personas because the idea of a persona allows more emotional distance for the creative self-play required. I’ve spent at least 6 years (some of them a good 12 years) on my own practice of embodying all of these qualities, values and emotions that I believe make up the foundation of who I am as both a person and as a leader. Are there 12 qualities, emotions and values that you hold dear—that make up the foundation of your core beliefs about yourself and the world? Write them down and notice if you can place them in 6 categories where at first glance, they might appear in opposition to one another or like yin and yang. Then spend one minute embodying each side of those categories through a shape, a gesture, or a repetitive movement to get the felt-sense of each quality in your body and muscle memory. In my work, we call these “movement expressions.” Allow each movement expression its full extent. You might feel comfortable doing it for only a minute, but if it takes longer for you to really get that felt-sense, take all the time you need until your body naturally releases, shifts or comes to a resting place. Then go to the next one. A week, a month, even a year later keep revisiting these qualities through movement expressions. Notice if the expression changes or evolves in some way. If you feel inspired, track those changes and create a story, an art piece, a dance or a performance ritual out of it that documents your own process. I found that after embodying all these shapes of my persona, I am able to be all of me: the light and the dark, the yin and the yang, the shadow and the spirit, the human compassion and the human reactions without self-restraint or shame. I am free to be confidently me finally. Are you confidently you? This article is adapted from one of my lessons in The Magic of Embodied Metaphor online membership course. If you find it helpful and would like to know more, consider taking the full course on my website! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Kelsey! Kelsay Elizabeth Myers, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Kelsay is a professional writer, artist, and registered somatic movement educator (RSME) with the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association. She is passionate about trauma healing and restoring connection to ancestral roots and wisdom for a fuller sense of self and creative expression. As an expressive arts coach and founder of Dialogical Persona Healing Arts, LLC, she helps people from all over the world that want freedom from inner blocks holding them back embody resources to transform their lives with soul-based expressive arts programs and courses. The mission of her work is to hold space for the full expression of a living, vibrant and multifaceted self through the embodied arts. She has trained with Tamalpa Institute in the Life/Art Process, Clean Language facilitation through The Academy for Soul-based Coaching and Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy approaches.

Joseph Drolshagen is a leading force in mental conditioning, perception shifting and reprogramming the subconscious mind. After 3 decades of study on how our subconscious conditioning affects the way we navigate our life, Joey has created the innovative Subconscious Mindset Training™ Method. He is CEO of IFGT Life Coaching, and Founder of the SMT™ Method, and continues to be a premier coach for entrepreneurs, business owners, and individuals looking to gain massive transformation in their business and their life. Joseph Drolshagen, Master Mindset Coach Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better. I was born into struggle… I was raised in a very low income blue collar family in Detroit Michigan, and I saw my parents struggle my entire youth. I saw how they exhausted themselves, working extensive hours just to try to keep a roof over us 5 kids and food on the table. I remember at 9 years old, thinking “something’s not right here”. I vowed at that young age not to live like my parents did. Then, in my early 20’s I found myself repeating those same patterns my parents lived with, in my own life. I struggled financially, regardless of my income. In fact, if something came easy to me, I felt like I cheated, or did something wrong. At 22 years old, this realization hit me that the purpose of my life was to inspire, motivate and lead millions of people to living better lives, and have been a student of the work I do today since. I am Joseph Drolshagen, founder of IFGT Life Coaching, and the SMT Method, which is Responsible for assisting HUNDREDS of Realtors, and Small Business Owners to TRANSFORM their results. I have spent over a decade traveling the world, as a full-time speaker, coach, and author, helping Realtors and Business Owners across the nation easily achieve growth, while maintaining a healthy life balance. Reprogramming the Subconscious has become my life works in helping entrepreneurs to identify & shift that underlying conditioning that’s causing limitation. When not sharing my passion through coaching, and speaking, I can be found trout fishing, motorcycling, and spending time in nature. One of my personal challenges is to step through my fears. In doing so, I recently ran off a perfectly good mountain top, strapped to a hang glider! I have the best dog in the world, Bella. She is amazing and has literally trained herself from the time I adopted her. Aside from my speaking and coaching, I am an ordained minister and love delivering empowering services that assist people in Aligning, Manifesting and Transforming their lives. What is your business name and how do you help your clients? IFGT Coaching/Consulting (the IFGT stands for It’s Freakin Go Time). I assist Business Owners, Entrepreneurs and Real Estate Agents to quickly and easily scale their businesses, while maintaining a healthy balance in all areas of their life, through developing unique systems of accelerating habits, in place of following someone else’s pathway. What are your current goals for your business? Aside from continuing speaking, authoring best-seller books, and coaching, to help more people understand the power of the subconscious mind and how it determines how far we can go in life, as well as how to shift it to open up worlds of potential, I started an organization Life Ignited Institute, to certify coaches in the SMT™ programs, in order to spread the footprint of my life works. What would you like to achieve for yourself and your business in the future? I would have to answer this in a 3-fold manner… To help people develop systems of accelerating habits that quickly bring about greater results. To help them realize massive action and exhaustive effort produce minimal results, so people don’t have to miss the real important life events with their family and friends. Just as personal, to ensure nobody has to live the way I experienced my parents life, of constant struggle just trying to keep it all together... My goal of impacting millions of people’s lives, as a result of my life works. What is your work inspired by? I laugh when I’m asked this because my works are based on my own personal desire to stop living my life so hard. To stop struggling in everything I try to achieve and to stop missing the important things in life, in the name of having a successful business. To assist as many people as I possibly can to not repeat what I saw in my parents’ lives. Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far. While a VP of Sales in Corporate America, I was able to increase revenue by adding $25M to a $50M organization, in one contract. Also leading multiple organizations from bankruptcy, back into profitability, within months. Although, I would not consider these my true greatest achievements. My deepest achievements are surrounding the almost 1000 clients that I’ve had the honor of being a part of their transformation and breakthroughs in their business, as well as their personal lives. Seeing people easily increase their business revenue, while developing healthy balance throughout their life is so rewarding to me. If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why? To stop teaching the necessity to take massive actions, or live underneath constant, non-ending to-do’s and extensive hours in order to be successful. Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today. One of many… little background… when I have married my wife and I was pregnant 5 times. The first two, we experienced births and 24-25 weeks and experienced this helpless new born’s hooked to machines and living for hours. Then came to my son, born healthy at 32 weeks. Then experiencing two more births very similar to the first two. I tell you that because when I say my son is a miracle in my life and that I adore him, I mean it! In saying that, on his 1st birthday, instead of being there to celebrate with him, I was in Indiana building a sales territory. I remember how much it hurt me to not be at home and how I spend the entire day unproductive and overwhelmed with sadness for not being there with him. But what I later realized is it was my subconscious conditioning that made that decision to be in Indiana. The conditioning that a man’s job is to support first and foremost. I’d give anything to get a redo on that day, but we never get to repeat a single day of our life… Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Joseph!

Written by: Annette Densham, 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. Anyone who’s worked in the marketing space for long enough knows that when things go sideways, spending on promotion and marketing are the first to go. The fallout the past year is no different. As businesses went into hibernation or pulled in tight, clients pulled in their marketing spend like a turtle withdrawing into its shell. This restraint to market and promote was not limited to a single industry; it was all encompassing, across multiple industries. COVID was an equal opportunity disruptor of business. Yet, there’s no better time to ramp up brand awareness than now. Businesses are slowly emerging from the fallout, licking their wounds, and assessing the best way forward … and investing in public relations (PR) is a great use of time and energy, especially if strategies you can learn to DIY inhouse. By investing in brand awareness, your agency can use PR to position itself as the go-to amidst all this craziness as a voice of insight, great information and rock-solid messaging. While mainstream media has also taken a hit over the past few months, with regional and suburban mastheads ceasing print publication and moving online, there are a plethora of PR opportunities out there, ready to be taken advantage of by savvy agencies. There’s such power in PR because it’s the ultimate in third party credibility and an impactful way to build know, like and trust. You cannot discount the value of someone else giving your kudos through the gamut of PR tools there to tap into. Businesses are going to be searching for a way forward, to recover lost business. Tapping into PR, sharing your stories across multiple platforms, will put you in front of them. With businesses feeling a little bruised and battered, the more stories you have out there, the more people can engage with your agency, the more you can earn their trust, the more clients you’ll attract. PR starting point The first place to start is spending time on reassessing who your ideal client is. Having a better understanding who your ideal client is means you can be laser focused on investing in targeting the right PR platforms. Knowing what industry, they are in, their job role, the size of the organisation, who their target audience is and what they are looking for will help you reach them quickly. Don’t forget those around your ideal client – the PAs and other staff who have influence within an organisation. When you understand your audience, content has cut through; it speaks in the language of the audience, the tone hits the mark, and it understands the pain points. Defining your audience correctly and precisely, means you can target those most likely to buy from you with information that adds value, solves problems, showcases the agency’s expertise and talents, and builds a connection. Targeting industry verticals Understanding your ideal client means you have a deeper insight into the media to use to reach them. With so many ways to communicate, it is never a good idea to go the scattergun approach; taking aim across too many platforms diminishes messages and waters down the impact you can make. By understanding what media clients tap into to stay informed and updated, an agency can hone in on them, like a heat seeking missile packed with information that resonates with their audience. Getting featured in mainstream media like Sunrise or ABC Radio is a great achievement but the challenge with this approach is if your audience are businesses, the likelihood of them tuning in is limited. That is why including a vertical media approach can elicit better results. Verticals media are specific outlets or platforms under an overarching industry. If your ideal client is in education, you could target break down your verticals into tertiary, secondary or private and public. Information can be tailored and speak directly to your ideal audience instead of a broader approach needed when targeting mainstream media. When you pitch to vertically, you can speak their language. When mapping out a PR plan, also consider vertical industry associations, trade shows and other events; they have newsletters, social media, and host industry events. PR is all about third party credibility, by tapping into industry verticals, already trusted by your shared audience, the battle for their business is half won. Cast a wider net There’s comfort and safety in sticking within an industry; like a comfy pair of shoes, well-worn and loved, many agencies focus on their own industry’s media. The problem with this is that is not where your target audience is; you’re talking to the converted. The only time to go to your industry’s media is for announcements. Spread your PR wings to include other types of media. Spoilt for choice Gone are the days when businesses only had Yellow Pages and mainstream media to rely on to get content out into the marketplace. There are so many platforms, to reach your ideal client. Since you have done that work, you can spread your stories far and wide. Consider: blogs – on your site and others. Blogging for aligned businesses/industries means being able to reach a wider audience industry newsletters websites social media – any of the platforms are a great way to reach potential clients online news – there are thousands of online magazine and new sites that are hungry for great content. Podcasts – give your agency personality and be accessible. With so many time-poor, these PR platforms are ideal for reaching an audience as they go about their day TV/radio – there’s enormous value in appearing on mainstream programs but do not overlook Facebook live, ads on social media, and live radio and TV created by those within the industries being targeted. Be generous with your content If defining your ideal client is your PR anchor, then the content is the sail. Gone are the days when businesses can just sell, sell, sell. People want to know the businesses they work with care about them. You can do this by creating content that not only showcases your expertise and skills but also generously provides content that educates, informs, inspires, and gives. The key is to not talk about the agency but to create content that shows how you help clients and showcases knowledge and expertise. An integral aspect of a PR strategy is the editorial calendar; content that provides tips, advice, latest industry research, stats and figures, case studies of those helped within a sector and how tos. There’s a reticence to give away too much information; the thinking being that by being too generous with industry knowledge, the client will not need you, but the opposite is true. By being generous, an agency can build awareness and a reputation for their brand as the go-to and as a trusted partner in business. When businesses need an agency to work with, where do they go looking? They Google it. Sharing content across a range of platforms, builds brand visibility; writing articles for online industry verticals, appearing on podcasts, writing blogs for the agency’s site and others, and being quoted in industry magazines helps with Google searches, pushing the agency to the front page ‒ organically. This is also useful because many journalists let their fingers do the searching, looking for great talent and stories using Google. If your agency is not prolifically creating content for PR purposes, you will be missed. All of this can be done inhouse – learning how to do PR adds another tool to your marketing toolbelt. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Annette! Annette Densham, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Multi-award-winning PR specialist Annette Densham is considered the go-to for all things business storytelling, award submission writing, and assisting business leaders in establishing themselves as authorities in their field. She has shared her insights into storytelling, media, and business across Australia, UK, and the US speaking for Professional Speakers Association, Stevie Awards, Queensland Government, and many more. Three times winner of the Grand Stevie Award for Women in Business, gold Stevie International Business Award, and a finalist in Australian Small Business Champion awards, Annette audaciously challenges anyone in small business to cast aside modesty, embrace their genius and share their stories.

Written by: Crystal Harrell, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. With the rise of technology and the shift to a global society, many people constantly check their phones and other gadgets for updates and scroll through their social media feeds. Although some people have deleted their social media accounts altogether, many use these tools to grow their online brand or company. You can even use social media to make money online! Social media can indeed be used for both good and bad. However, there is a difference between using social media to create vs. consume. And most of us have spent countless hours consuming miscellaneous information. Taking a break from social media can be rejuvenating and good for the mind. Limiting social media use could be just what you were missing in your self-care routine. The current article lists several key benefits of taking a social media break. Some benefits of a social media detox may surprise you! Here Are 7 Key Benefits Of A Social Media Break: 1. You will enjoy better sleep. Like most people, you probably spend a good chunk of your day scrolling through social media. But have you ever noticed that you tend to sleep better when you take a break from it? There's a reason for that. Social media is full of bright lights and stimulating content, making it difficult to wind down at night. While trying to sleep, your brain is still in "awake" mode and dopamine levels are high, making it harder to drift off. So, if you're having trouble sleeping, it might be time to disconnect from social media and give yourself a break. Moreover, you might be surprised at how much better you sleep when you're not constantly checking your phone. We all know that getting a good night's sleep is essential, but sometimes it can be hard to catch those Zs. If you're having trouble sleeping, you can do a few things to improve your situation. Start by keeping your phone away from the sleeping area So, you may also want to try to set a standard sleep schedule. Going to bed and waking up at the exact time every day can help to regulate your body's internal clock and make it easier to fall asleep. Finally, create a relaxing bedtime routine. This can include taking a warm bath or reading for a few minutes before getting out of bed. 2. Spend more time focusing on creating more inner peace Social media can be a great way to stay connected with friends and family, but it can also be a significant source of stress. So, constantly checking for new updates can lead to anxiety and frustration ‒ Especially if you're not receiving the same level of engagement from your followers. Furthermore, photos of other people's perfect lives can trigger envy and inadequacy. Never compare your reality to someone's highlight reel So, taking a break from social media is a good start if you want to reduce your stress levels. You may find that you have more time for activities you enjoy and can focus more on the present moment without being distracted by your online connections. Lastly, whether it's a temporary break or a permanent one, disconnecting from social media can help you to lead a less stressful life. And it is highly recommended not to use social media for more than 20 minutes daily. 3. Your mental health will improve over time. Despite its many benefits for business owners and content creators, it's no secret that social media can be a significant source of stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Constantly comparing your life to other people's "highlight reel" can leave you feeling inadequate, and the constant flow of bad news can be overwhelming. Similarly, taking a break from social media is a good start if you want to improve your mental health. Also, stepping away from the endless scroll of Instagram can help you to focus on the present moment. And taking a break from Twitter can help to reduce your anxiety levels. Of course, using social media in moderation is essential, but if you want to improve your mental health, taking a break from time to time is necessary. 4. You'll be more productive. Social media can be a huge time suck. Whether scrolling through your feed for hours or getting lost in a Twitter rabbit hole, it's easy to waste hours of your day on these platforms. The average person spends about two hours and 27 minutes daily scrolling through social media. That's enough time to get a second job! Better yet, you could invest that time in building your own company. This doesn't mean you have to give up social media entirely but taking time away from it daily can help you focus on other tasks and get more done. So, if you're looking to boost your productivity, consider taking a break from social media. You might just be surprised at how much you can get done without it. 5. You'll not compare yourself with others. Social media can bring out your competitive side, even if you aren't conscious. This is because gaining exposure through social media platforms like Facebook is fundamental to their existence. Also, the number of likes, shares, and comments a post receives is a good indicator of its overall popularity. Which might motivate you to try to top the performance of your peers and even yourself. Finally, this level of rivalry is unhealthy and has been linked to psychological issues, including anxiety and despair. So, taking a break from social media will refresh your mind and improve your focus. 6. You'll get more free time. We all know the feeling: you're scrolling through your feed, mindlessly scrolling through an endless stream of updates, photos, and videos. You're wasting time, and you know it. But you just can't seem to stop yourself. If this sounds familiar, then taking a break from social media is in order! So, disconnecting from social media can be challenging, but it's worth it. In addition, taking a break from social media will give you more free time to do the things you love ‒ Spend time with the people you care about and simply relax. And who doesn't need more of that? So go ahead and disconnect for a while. Enjoy the real world, take a walk, and live in the moment. Your friends will still be there when you come back. It is a Promise! 7. No more headaches ‒ Improve your physical health and wellness If you're feeling neck pain, headaches, or eye strain, it might be time to take a break from social media. And these symptoms are much more dangerous and alarming than they seem. That's right - taking some time off from checking Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media apps can actually help improve your physical health. Similarly, constantly looking down at your phone or computer screen puts a lot of strain on your neck and shoulders. And staring at bright screens for long periods can lead to headaches and eye strain. So if you're feeling any of these symptoms, it's worth taking a break from social media. Even a few days without scrolling through your feed can make a big difference. So go ahead and power down your phone and log off your computer ‒ your body will thank you. Conclusion Most of us can't imagine life without social media, for better or worse. However, we may employ it in a way that highlights its beneficial aspects, both for ourselves and others if we are more mindful of the time we spend on social media. So, avoid getting lost in the rabbit hole of algorithms, viral articles, and information overload by learning how to manage your time on social media. Finally, if used mindfully, with breaks, and in moderation with other pursuits, social media can be a positive outlet for communication and connection. So, after reading this blog post, we hope that taking a break from social media seems like an easy task. Thanks for the Read! Follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Crystal! Crystal Harrell, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Crystal Harrell, MS, MPH is a Yale Ph.D. student, certified Academic Success Coach, motivational speaker, and bestselling author of Crystal Clear: A Journey of Self-Discovery (From Public Housing to Ivy League). As a high school senior, Crystal secured over $670,000 in scholarship awards, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Millennium Scholarship. She has dedicated her work to helping others achieve their academic goals. Through her books and education blog, Crystal’s story has impacted thousands of individuals worldwide and created a push for personal growth in academia. Crystal’s ultimate goal is to raise awareness of our human potential and show that it is possible to rise against all odds and live out your wildest dreams. Learn more about Crystal and her work at www.crystaltharrell.com