Written by Joseph C Pledger, Jr., Eds., Educational Specialist Joseph C. Pledger Jr., EdS, is an accomplished master of the storytelling adventure. Though shunned by world affairs dinner table guests, it became his civic innovation that was sought and bought by justice reform. Thus, “The Microchip” appreciated the wrongfulness of his actions. A Microcomputer Systems Manager, AI Scholar, and JEDI Developer. Ever since “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was penned by poet James Weldon Johnson and sung as the Negro National Hymnal, this is how composer Aaron Copeland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” reckons traditional America with her foundational grounding in a dark and blackened history. Irish-descended Chicagoan John Keehan and Welsh-born New Orleanian John Rowlands were two of the greatest showmen to ever influence the development of the Negro Diaspora. Together, they are better known today as Spanish Count Juan Raphael Dante and Sir Henry Morton Stanley, the “Deadliest Man Who Ever Lived” and the “Indomitable Spirit of Savage Africa.” Count Dante’s Black Dragon Society and Savage Henry Stanley's Congo Society blended their common manliness with a gimmick born of profound, tortured loneliness. Each individual lifted himself up, breaking down inferior burdens and bringing forth the beast within himself. American captains of her brave new world. These two men of Caucasian origin decided to rise above their stigmas of shame and regret. Declaring himself the undefeated champion of bloodsport fighting, John Keehan announced to the world that he was a better nobleman. One hundred years earlier, John Rowlands drafted himself out of his Civil War fighting uniform and stood up, assuming the name of his wealthy shipyard employer, because family engagement and entanglement had overcome them. Breaking with their occupational traditions, shame and regret had handed each burnings at both ends of life’s candle. John Rowlands never received his natural affection from a destitute workhouse mother. John Keehan became convinced that the fighting arts were best suited for street combatants of any race or nationality. Altering connections with their private heritage, they crafted a gimmick of “nom de guerre,” a public identifying with the dignity of the Black man. Because he journalized admitting himself to be a bigot to the core of his existence, Savage Henry Morton Stanley asked for public shame and for God to have mercy on his soul. He refused to canonize illustrations of indigenous ogres and trolls. Count Dante admitted that forty percent of “The Black Dragons” he taught his forbidden fighting art of “The Death Touch” to were actually American Negroes. Juneteenth is more than a date on the calendar or a holiday to commemorate freedom. It is a reminder of the resilience, creativity, and complexity of the Black experience in America, and the ways history is intertwined with personal identity. The lives of Count Dante and Savage Henry Stanley, though complicated and controversial, illustrate how individuals navigate, appropriate, and confront cultural boundaries, prejudice, and opportunity. Their stories compel reflection on power, privilege, and the moral ambiguities of heroism and legacy. As we mark Juneteenth, the question remains: What does freedom, history, and recognition truly mean to you? How do the lessons of the past shape our present and influence the paths we take forward? In asking these questions, we honor the struggles, the triumphs, and the intricate legacies embedded in the American story. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Joseph C Pledger Jr, Eds Joseph C Pledger, Jr., Eds., Educational Specialist Cited for his Strategic Expertise, "The Microchip" appears distinctly listed within the 76th edition of Albert Marquis' Who's Who in America for 2023. Trading business licenses with whoever purchases and browses such periodicals and literature to pick his brain.

Written by Nkemdilim Njideka Nwofor, Mental Health Coach I have a background in treating clients with ADHD, MDD, and ASD. In my psychiatric practice, I have seen that more than 50% of my clients struggle with sustaining attention, overstimulation, low motivation, low comprehension, and cognitive overload. Healing is often described as a forward-moving journey, something that happens as we “move on” from pain. But healing depends just as much on how well we can look backward. Two quiet, often overlooked skills, accurate recall and honest self-reflection, play a powerful role in whether we heal or simply carry our wounds in new forms. At first glance, memory might not seem like a healing tool. In fact, many people try to avoid remembering painful experiences altogether. But healing isn’t about erasing the past, it’s about understanding it clearly. Good recall allows us to revisit events with enough detail to make sense of them, rather than relying on vague impressions shaped by emotion or avoidance. When memories are distorted, either softened to protect ourselves or exaggerated to justify resentment, we lose the opportunity to learn from them. Accurate recall helps separate what truly happened from the story we’ve built around it. For example, someone might remember a conflict as “they never cared about me,” when there were moments of care mixed with moments of failure. That distinction matters. It shifts the narrative from absolute judgments to nuanced understanding, which is where growth begins. In my healing journey, recall became my compass long before I realized I was traveling. At first, it felt like memory was just something I carried, fragments of conversations, emotional echoes, patterns I couldn’t explain. But over time, I noticed something: recall wasn’t passive. It was active guidance. The more clearly I remembered my reactions, my wounds, and my repeated choices, the more I could see where I stood in the larger journey of my life. It was as if the universe was presenting the same lesson in different disguises. A similar conflict would show up in a new relationship. A familiar fear would surface in a new opportunity. Without recall, it all felt random. But with recall, patterns emerged. I could recognize, “I’ve been here before.” That recognition changed everything. Instead of reacting the same way, I began to pause. Recall gave me space, space between stimulus and response. In that space, I could choose differently. Sometimes I failed and repeated the cycle. But even that failure wasn’t wasted, it sharpened my awareness. Each time I remembered more clearly, I responded with more intention. This is how transformation began, not through sudden change, but through conscious repetition with variation. Healing, I realized, works like a class system. You don’t skip ahead just because you want to. Each “grade” represents a level of understanding, not just intellectually, but emotionally and behaviorally. You pass the grade when you can face the same challenge and respond in a new way. Until then, the lesson repeats. It’s not punishment, it’s curriculum. For example, if the lesson is about self-worth, the universe might send situations where you feel overlooked or undervalued. In early grades, you might react with anger or withdrawal. In later ones, you might assert yourself calmly. Eventually, you no longer need external validation at all. That’s when you pass. When you pass, something subtle but profound happens: the situations stop appearing. Not because the world changed, but because you did. Recall is what allows you to study for these tests. Without it, every experience feels isolated. With it, life becomes a continuous classroom, each moment connected to the last. You begin to see progress, track patterns, and recognize when you’re being invited to rise rather than react. Moving through the universe, then, isn’t about distance, it’s about depth. It’s about how many layers of understanding you’ve integrated. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s awareness followed by choice. The more you remember, the more wisely you choose. But memory alone isn’t enough. Without honest self-evaluation, even the clearest recollection can be misused. Self-reflection asks harder questions: What was my role in this? Where did I act out fear, pride, or misunderstanding? Where did I respond well? This kind of reflection isn’t about self-blame, it’s about accuracy. It allows a person to take responsibility without collapsing into shame. Honest self-evaluation also breaks a common cycle, repeating patterns without realizing it. Many people find themselves in similar conflicts or emotional situations over and over, not because they are unlucky, but because they haven’t fully examined their own behavior within those situations. Reflection shines a light on these patterns. It turns unconscious habits into conscious choices. There is, however, a delicate balance. Too little reflection leads to denial, while too much, especially when harsh or self-critical, can lead to rumination. The goal is clarity, not punishment. Healthy reflection sounds less like “What’s wrong with me?” and more like “What can I understand here that I didn’t before?” This is where reading quietly becomes one of the most powerful tools for healing. Reading expands perspective in a way that personal experience alone cannot. Through books, we step into other lives, other minds, and other interpretations of reality. We begin to see that our way of understanding events is only one of many possible interpretations. For someone in the process of healing, this expanded perspective is transformative. It softens rigid thinking, especially the kind that keeps people stuck in resentment or self-judgment. A novel might reveal the inner world of someone who behaves badly but is deeply wounded. A memoir might show how someone else made sense of pain in a way you hadn’t considered. Even non-fiction can introduce frameworks that make your experiences feel more understandable and less isolating. Reading also improves social connection in subtle but important ways. When you regularly engage with different perspectives, you become better at empathy. You listen more carefully. You interpret others’ behavior with more curiosity and less assumption. Conventional reactions become less about reacting and more about understanding. This increased empathy feeds directly back into healing. Relationships, past and present, begin to make more sense. Conflicts feel less personal and more human. Perhaps most importantly, you begin to relate to yourself with the same patience and understanding you extend to others. In the end, healing is not just about feeling better. It’s about seeing more clearly, your past, your patterns, and your place in the world. Good recall grounds you. Honest self-reflection helps you grow from it. Reading expands the lens through which you interpret it all. Together, these quiet practices create a kind of inner alignment. You are no longer running from your experiences or rewriting them to cope. You are learning from them, integrating them, and using them to become more aware, more connected, and ultimately, more whole. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Nkemdilim Njideka Nwofor Nkemdilim Njideka Nwofor, Mental Health Coach My journey into mental health began through my own struggles and ineffective coping strategies. Those challenges sparked a deep curiosity about how the mind responds to stress and adversity. I began seeking answers to better understand my thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. As I committed to healing, I developed healthier coping skills and stronger self-awareness. What once felt like setbacks became growth opportunities. The tools and insight I gained transformed both my perspective and functioning. Today, my experience fuels my passion to help others build resilience and access meaningful mental health support.

Written by Nicolas Grebenkine, CEO of Aetsoft Nicolas Grebenkine is CEO of Aetsoft, an emerging tech software services company. As an investor and an entrepreneur, he’s launched 10+ products across AI, blockchain, fintech, and sustainable energy. Recognized in international accelerators, he now helps startups attract venture capital and scale globally. When a tokenization project expands from Switzerland into the EU, teams prepare for a heavier compliance burden. The real challenge is subtler. The EU asks for the same things Switzerland does, in its own way, so reaching it usually means rebuilding a finished product to a new standard rather than bolting extra rules onto it. That gap, between the paperwork teams budget for and the engineering they actually face, is the cross-border tokenization problem in Europe. I have written before about why crypto products fail in production, and about why the real work of tokenization is the operating model rather than the token. The thread connecting them is that a regulated digital-asset product is a system, shaped by the constraints it was built to satisfy. Change those constraints and you have changed the system, even when the token on the ledger looks identical. A border changes them more than almost anything else. Both regimes ask for the same things There is a common assumption that the EU is simply heavier than Switzerland, and that crossing the border means a longer list of obligations. The reality is more particular. A regulated tokenized product has to answer the same core questions wherever it operates. Who may hold the asset and receive transfers. How and where it sits in custody. How it can be offered, and to whom. What has to be recorded and reported. Switzerland asks all of this. So does the EU. The two sets overlap heavily, yet they rarely line up exactly, and neither contains the other. A product that satisfies Swiss requirements is finished and working. It has simply been built to one specification, and that specification is local. The work is re-engineering The difficulty shows up when those shared functions have to meet a different standard. Take custody. A Swiss project can often work with a local custodian or banking partner that already understands digital assets, and that relationship is enough to operate. Bring the same asset toward an EU fund structure or a regulated counterparty, and the question narrows to something specific: is it held in a form their own rules recognise? Same asset, different yardstick. The pattern repeats across the product. Eligibility logic written for one market may not map onto how another defines who can hold what. Reporting built for one supervisor seldom transfers untouched to the next. Each of these is the original requirement redone to a standard set elsewhere, rather than a new task added on top. I have covered where those differences show up in more detail. Here, the point is the shape of the effort, not the catalogue of it. That is why the effort gets underestimated. A new feature is bounded and visible. Reworking custody, onboarding and reporting reaches back into parts of the product everyone had marked as done. Where the cost actually lands This shifts where the cost of expansion falls, usually away from where teams expect it. Companies budget the EU as a legal exercise: another opinion, another filing, another review. Those costs are real but modest next to the engineering, the work of reshaping the operating model so the same asset behaves correctly under a second regime. Price the border as paperwork and the rebuild comes as a shock. In the projects we have taken across this line, the hardest constraint has consistently been the engineering calendar, not the legal review. A team that treated the EU as a formality discovers, well into the move, that custody, onboarding and reporting all need rework before the first EU client can be served. The product rarely fails outright. It stalls. In a market where moving early still counts for something, a stall has a price of its own. "Teams expect the EU to mean more rules. More often it means different rules, and the same functions have to be rebuilt to meet them. That is engineering work, not a bigger legal budget." – Artem Kirylin, Commercial Director at Aetsoft and individual member of the Crypto Valley Association Why is this surfacing now? These teams are not new to production. Many have run tokenized products for years. The change sits on the EU side of the equation, not with them. The European target only recently became firm. On the crypto-asset side, MiCA reached full application for crypto-asset service providers at the end of 2024, and its transitional periods are now closing, with an outer limit of 1 July 2026 that several member states have already brought forward. Tokenized securities follow a separate track, under MiFID II and national securities and DLT regimes, which have been settling on their own timelines. Either way, a project that fixed its core design three or four years ago did so before today's EU framework was finalised, let alone enforced. There is a further wrinkle. On the MiCA side, running under a transitional or national arrangement does not by itself grant the EU-wide reach that full authorisation carries. A product that has operated comfortably in one market for years may still need redesign before it can serve the rest of the EU. These teams reached production long ago. The work in front of them is meeting a target that only just stopped moving. A decision worth making on purpose This does not turn every project into a two-regime build from day one. A company serving a single market is right to build for that market, and a single-jurisdiction product is a legitimate, simpler thing to run. The decision that matters is whether you expect to cross at all. Two-market design carries real upfront cost, retrofitting a finished product for a second regime usually carries more. If you know the EU is coming, accounting for it early is the cheaper path. If you know it is not, you spare yourself complexity you will never use. Both choices are sound. The one that hurts is the choice made by default, its consequences surfacing only after launch. What designing for the crossing looks like Designing for it does not mean building everything twice. The aim is a model where the parts most likely to differ between regimes, such as custody, eligibility and reporting, are treated as parameters set per jurisdiction rather than assumptions baked into the build. A custody model wired to one jurisdiction has to be opened up and reworked to serve another. A model that expected custody to vary absorbs the change with far less disruption. It also means keeping legal classification and product architecture in one conversation from the start. When a change in how an asset is treated forces a change in how it was built, the two were never properly joined. Build it to be re-pointed at a new regime, not torn down and started over. How we approach it This is the work we do at Aetsoft. We act as a product engineering partner for regulated digital-asset platforms, and increasingly that means building the tokenization solution so a single asset can meet a second regime without coming apart. The challenge holds whether a team is working on real estate tokenization, tokenized equities, or asset tokenization more broadly, so we begin with blockchain consulting that maps the regimes and the operating model before any code is written. Our own footing covers both sides of the question. Artem's individual membership in the Crypto Valley Association keeps us close to where many projects begin. Aetsoft's membership in House of Web3 Luxembourg keeps us close to where many of them need to operate. The cross-border question in tokenization comes down to one thing: how differently the same product has to behave once it serves a second market, and whether that was planned for or found out the hard way. Follow me on LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Nicolas Grebenkine Nicolas Grebenkine, CEO of Aetsoft Nicolas Grebenkine is an entrepreneur, blockchain pioneer, and CEO of Aetsoft. Starting as an Investment Manager, he built expertise in spotting opportunities for emerging technologies: AI, blockchain, IoT. He has overseen the creation of 10+ in-house products, several featured in international accelerators. He now leads Aetsoft, a software company that delivers complex emerging tech solutions for enterprises and startups.

Written by Stoyana Natseva, Global Mentor, Bestselling Author, and Founder Prof. Dr. Stoyana Natseva is a Full Professor, psychologist, researcher, bestselling author, and founder of Happy Life Academy. She is the creator of the Direct Change Solution® (DCS) methodology and the Internal Autobiographical Map (IAM), helping individuals and organizations achieve lasting transformation through science-based education. What if gratitude is not merely an emotion, moral value, or spiritual practice? What if gratitude is a neurological training process that gradually changes what the brain notices, emotionally reinforces, remembers, and ultimately experiences as reality? Modern neuroscience increasingly suggests that human perception is not objective. The brain does not passively record life as it is. Instead, it continuously filters, predicts, selects, suppresses, amplifies, and emotionally interprets reality according to previous experiences, emotional conditioning, attentional habits, and neural reinforcement patterns. In other words, people do not simply see the world; they see what their nervous system has been trained to notice. This is where gratitude becomes profoundly important, not as motivational positivity, but as a repeated neurocognitive process capable of influencing attention, emotional regulation, stress perception, behavioral expectation, and neural organization itself. For many years, science believed that the adult brain was relatively fixed. Today, however, research on neuroplasticity demonstrates the opposite. Neural pathways continuously reorganize according to repeated thoughts, emotions, behaviors, experiences, and attentional focus. The principle often summarised as “neurons that fire together wire together” reflects one of the most fundamental mechanisms of brain adaptation. Repeated activation strengthens neural efficiency, and the brain becomes faster and more automatic at processing whatever is repeatedly rehearsed emotionally and cognitively. This means that attention is never passive. Every repeated focus gradually becomes neurological prioritization. If an individual repeatedly focuses on fear, rejection, helplessness, criticism, comparison, scarcity, disappointment, or danger, the nervous system slowly becomes specialized in detecting more evidence of threat and inadequacy. Over time, the brain develops an attentional bias toward survival-oriented information. The person may begin experiencing reality as emotionally heavier, more hostile, more hopeless, or more threatening, not necessarily because objective reality changed, but because neural filtering mechanisms changed. This process is closely connected to one of the brain’s most powerful attentional systems, the Reticular Activating System (RAS). The human brain receives enormous amounts of sensory information every second, far beyond what conscious awareness can process. The Reticular Activating System functions as a neurological filter that determines what enters conscious attention and what remains ignored in the background. The brain continuously asks what is important, what deserves attention, what should be emotionally prioritized, and most importantly, what repeatedly matches previous emotional focus. A person who constantly thinks, “Nothing works for me,” “People always hurt me,” “I am not enough,” or “Life is unfair,” gradually begins noticing more experiences that reinforce those internal conclusions. The brain becomes efficient at confirming familiar emotional patterns. This mechanism is also related to predictive processing. Neuroscience increasingly suggests that the brain is not simply reacting to reality in real time. Instead, it constantly predicts reality based on previously encoded emotional and cognitive models. Human beings often do not experience life directly. They experience interpretations shaped by memory, expectation, emotional conditioning, autobiographical conclusions, and attentional reinforcement accumulated over years. This is why two individuals may live under nearly identical circumstances while psychologically inhabiting completely different realities. One nervous system searches for danger, while another searches for possibility. One brain automatically amplifies absence, while another notices support, connection, and opportunity. The external environment may be similar, but the internal neurological filtering is not. Gratitude becomes important because it interrupts automatic attentional conditioning centered exclusively around stress, deficiency, emotional pain, and psychological survival. Contrary to popular misunderstanding, gratitude is not denial of suffering. It does not mean pretending pain does not exist. It means intentionally expanding attentional awareness beyond pain alone. When practiced repeatedly, gratitude gradually redirects emotional and cognitive focus toward resources, connection, support, meaning, beauty, resilience, progress, and possibility. From a neuropsychological perspective, this repeated shift matters enormously. Repeated attention creates repeated neural activation, and repeated activation strengthens neural pathways. Strengthened pathways gradually influence emotional expectation, behavioral response, perception, identity formation, and daily psychological experience. This process may also influence stress physiology itself. Chronic emotional threat perception is associated with persistent activation of stress-response systems. Over time, continuous hypervigilance may affect emotional regulation, sleep, cognition, motivation, relational behavior, and overall well-being. Gratitude practices, however, have increasingly been associated in psychological research with improved emotional resilience, reduced perceived stress, increased positive affect, healthier interpersonal functioning, and greater psychological flexibility. This is because gratitude changes attentional orientation, and attentional orientation changes emotional processing. The brain slowly becomes less neurologically addicted to threat detection and more capable of recognizing safety, support, opportunity, and emotional regulation. This does not happen instantly. The nervous system changes through repetition. Small emotional shifts repeated consistently over time may gradually reorganize perception itself. At first, the change may appear subtle, as a moment of calm, a sense of appreciation, reduced emotional reactivity, greater awareness of beauty, less compulsive comparison, or more emotional presence. But repeated subtle shifts create larger neurological consequences because the brain adapts to whatever it repeatedly rehearses. Over time, gratitude may begin influencing: Emotional resilience Behavioral flexibility Relational perception Motivation Stress response Self-image Attentional filtering Emotional memory encoding Overall psychological well-being This is particularly important in a world where modern nervous systems are constantly overstimulated by fear-based information, comparison culture, emotional overload, social media hyperactivation, uncertainty, and chronic cognitive stress. Under such conditions, the human brain easily becomes conditioned toward deficiency-oriented perception. People gradually stop noticing what is functioning and become neurologically consumed by what is missing. Gratitude interrupts this pattern, expands awareness beyond deficiency, and retrains perception toward wholeness instead of permanent lack. Neuroscientifically speaking, gratitude may therefore represent far more than a positive emotional state. It may function as intentional attentional training capable of influencing how the brain organizes emotional reality itself. The human brain does not merely observe reality; it continuously edits reality according to repeated emotional attention, and gratitude may be one of the most powerful ways to consciously participate in that process. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Stoyana Natseva Stoyana Natseva, Global Mentor, Bestselling Author, and Founder Prof. Dr. Stoyana Natseva is a Full Professor, psychologist, researcher, international educator, bestselling author, and founder of Happy Life Academy. She is the creator of the Direct Change Solution® (DCS) methodology and the Internal Autobiographical Map (IAM), and founder of the Happy Life Institute for Direct Change Science. Through her internationally accredited MBA and professional education programs, she has trained more than 100,000 students from over 50 countries. Her work has been recognized with international awards, a Guinness World Record, and multiple World Book of Records distinctions, while her research and educational initiatives continue to bridge science, leadership, and personal transformation worldwide.

Confidence and self-awareness are often the hidden drivers behind meaningful career transitions. After years of navigating roles that didn’t align with her strengths, Emily Jackson discovered how deeply confidence shapes the choices we make, the risks we take, and the value we bring to any professional environment. Her journey from uncertainty to clarity has informed a practical approach to career growth, showing how understanding your skills, transferable experiences, and personal values can open doors to unexpected opportunities. In this interview, she shares insights on building self-trust, recognizing your unique strengths, and navigating career transitions with confidence, particularly for women rethinking their professional paths. Emily Jackson, Speaker, Author, Career Transition Coach What first made you realize that confidence and career direction are deeply connected? When I started out in the professional work environment right after college, I was definitely lost & remained lost for over 8 years in a career path that wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t right for me and the direction I wanted my career to be going long term. It didn’t allow me to utilize my strengths & my values. But here’s the problem, I didn’t know my strengths and values. Why is that? Because I had zero confidence! When you build confidence, you start to realize the importance of self-awareness and how being self-aware goes hand in hand with your confidence level. Once I was able to build my confidence and understand myself better, I was able to create steps towards my desired career path. Plus, once I had some success in those career steps, I was able to continue to grow because of my confidence in myself. How did moving from industries like fitness and aviation into tech sales reshape the way you think about transferable skills? I think a lot of us instantly get fatigued when we hear “transferable skills”. It seems like such a monotonous thing to figure out, plug into your resume, or talk about during an interview. But transferable skills are more than that. When I was looking at where to go next in my career (either by goal or force), I had to look at my transferable skills deeply in order to navigate how I could bring value to roles, organizations, and career paths that I had no obvious experience in. Diving into my transferable skills helped me build confidence in my capabilities to really go any direction I desired. Now, I re-evaluate my transferable skills consistently in order to understand any skills I’m lacking for success in my role & what headways I can start working on now to get to my 5-7 year career goal. What do most women misunderstand about career transitions when they’re trying to reinvent themselves professionally? Women tend to focus on what they lack first and foremost as opposed to what value they bring to the table. For example, when I was let go from my job in the aviation industry during the COVID-19 pandemic and looking for what’s next, I could have looked at the tech industry and thought, “I don’t have any background in tech specifically, so I shouldn’t apply to those roles.” But what I did instead was focus on the skills and value that I do bring to the table within my varied background. A lot of employers out there hire based on potential and personality, not solely on your specific experience for the role. We all know that the knowledge needed for the role can be taught, the right fit for a team cannot. Why do introverts often struggle to see their strengths in leadership and sales environments? When you hear the word “salesman,” what do you think of? You likely think of an outspoken man, possibly at a car dealership, who is pushy and won’t take no for an answer. Ultimately, when you think of sales, you think of an outspoken, loud, aggressive individual. When I first got into sales, I assumed that was the personality type I needed to fake in order to succeed. As an introvert, I went into my first sales role thinking I had to make myself stand out and I needed to play a part in order to be taken seriously. This stems from the negative connotations we often hear about introverts. Things like: “she’s oddly quiet”, “she never talks to me, she must think she is better than me”, etc. I’ve found that being an introvert has been great for a sales role. I am an active listener, empathic, and observant. Those are all great skills for sales success! What patterns do you notice in women who stay too long in careers they’ve already outgrown? Quiet quitting is the first thing that comes to my mind. I’ve seen many women (& experienced this myself) who are in a career/role that is no longer suited for them & they simply start to shut down and convince themselves that they don’t care and don’t have further aspirations. I’ve also seen women start to panic and feel burnt out and stressed, even when they have been achieving in a role for a long time. Once you are past your “expiration” date of a specific role or career path, you often start to have physical symptoms telling you it’s time for a change. This will happen before your mind even catches up with this need to change, so it’s important to stay in tune with what your body is telling you. How do you help someone rebuild self-trust after years of self-doubt or professional misalignment? Building self-trust is all about continual self-evaluation, giving yourself grace, and not being afraid to fail. Think about the most successful person you know. Do you think they got there by never failing and never having times of doubt and mistakes? Absolutely not! We all make mistakes, have moments of doubt, and make not-so-great career decisions. When that happens, you just have to keep getting up & learning from your mistakes. That’s where self-evaluation comes in. When I experience self-doubt, I think about all the WINS I’ve had recently. I think about all the skills and strengths that I have & I give myself grace for stumbling. Reference those transferable skills (hopefully you’ve written these down) and keep adding to them as you gain new experiences in your career. You are always growing professionally, whether you realize it or not. That is the best way to combat self-doubt. What does “confidence breeds abundance” mean in practical terms for someone trying to advance in their career? When you are confident, you take bigger leaps in your career. If I hadn’t built up my confidence, I never would have applied for a role in an industry that I had no prior experience in. I was confident that I could learn an entirely new industry, jump into a sales role as an introvert & continue to grow in my career with new challenges. Confidence breeding abundance also means that confidence helps to ensure you are in the right role, organization, and industry. I say that because you wouldn’t have confidence without knowing yourself fully. When you know yourself fully, you are leading with your true self & your whole self. This opens the door for leadership roles as it becomes apparent to your peers and colleagues that you are confident you will rise to any new challenges. How has your own experience with anxiety changed the way you lead and communicate today? My experience with anxiety and self-doubt makes me have more empathy towards those I lead. I am aware of what those on my team may be experiencing & am in tune with the type of support I should provide. Of course, everyone experiences anxiety differently and what worked for me may not work for others. However, as an empathic leader, I am always listening to those I lead and ensuring I am leading with awareness & the utmost support. This also makes me think about vulnerability and how that has been such an important growth driver for my issues with anxiety over the years. When I’m speaking with my team and mentees, I always encourage vulnerability & not separating out the “home you” from the “work you” as I did for far too long. If someone feels stuck but afraid to make a change, what’s the first step you believe they should take? If you are feeling stuck & afraid to make a change, the first thing I would do is reach out to your network. Reach out to mentors, friends, and associates that you are close with & ask if they’ve had this experience and what they did to take that next step. There is nothing more valuable than an outside perspective. What would be even better is if you know of someone in your network who recently made a big change. Reach out on LinkedIn; it never hurts to ask. People enjoy helping others. Plus, what’s the worst that could happen when you reach out? They ignore you? Who cares! When I encounter a tough situation in my leadership role, my mentors are the first people I go to for advice. Even if they haven’t experienced the same thing, their viewpoint is extremely valuable. Lean on your support systems! Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Emily Jackson

Growing companies often become dangerously dependent on owners, founders, and key employees without realizing the operational risk building underneath the surface. Amazon Best Seller Escape the Owner’s Trap explores why leadership continuity, accountability, and operational clarity matter more than ever in today’s business environment. Business owners across construction, manufacturing, trades, and service industries are responding to a message that many leaders already know deep down but rarely discuss openly: growth does not automatically create stability. In many companies, increasing revenue actually hides operational weaknesses that continue building beneath the surface until pressure finally exposes them. That conversation is helping drive momentum behind Escape the Owner’s Trap, the new business leadership book by international business advisor Dan Paulson, which recently achieved Amazon Best Seller status in multiple business categories. The book focuses on a challenge that affects organizations of every size: businesses becoming too dependent on owners, founders, long-term employees, or key leaders to function effectively. While many companies appear successful from the outside, operational strain often grows internally as decision-making, accountability, customer relationships, and critical knowledge become concentrated around too few people. As companies expand, those dependencies frequently become larger risks instead of smaller ones. What is the owner’s trap? The owner’s trap occurs when a business becomes overly reliant on one individual to maintain operational flow, solve problems, make decisions, manage relationships, or drive accountability. Founders often create this dependency unintentionally while building the company in its early stages. Long-term employees can also become operational bottlenecks when too much knowledge or responsibility remains isolated with one person for too long. Over time, the business gradually adapts around individuals instead of building systems, communication structures, and leadership depth that allow the organization to function consistently under pressure. Many owners do not recognize how serious the problem has become because growth can temporarily disguise operational fragility. Revenue increases, workloads expand, and the company continues functioning, creating the appearance of stability. Behind the scenes, however, communication breakdowns, leadership bottlenecks, employee confusion, and inconsistent accountability often continue growing alongside the business itself. Eventually, the organization reaches a point where everything still flows back to the owner or a few key individuals despite having more employees, more customers, and more operational complexity than ever before. Why organizational reliance has become a growing concern Economic pressure, workforce shortages, burnout, leadership transitions, and succession concerns have intensified operational strain for many businesses during the past several years. Companies are increasingly discovering that years of undocumented knowledge, unclear accountability, and concentrated leadership responsibility create significant risk when unexpected situations occur. A sudden illness, retirement, resignation, or leadership absence can quickly expose how dependent the organization has become on specific individuals simply “knowing how things work.” Research and analysis published through the Harvard Business Review have repeatedly highlighted how organizations become vulnerable when operational knowledge, decision-making, and leadership authority remain concentrated around too few individuals. Founder-led businesses are often particularly vulnerable because leadership authority, customer relationships, and operational decision-making tend to remain highly centralized for extended periods of time. According to Dan Paulson, many companies wait too long to address the issue because operational pressure constantly pushes long-term planning into the future. “Most owners are not intentionally creating unhealthy dependency,” Paulson explains. “They are trying to keep the company moving forward while handling constant pressure, staffing issues, customer demands, and operational challenges. The problem is that over time, the business slowly becomes conditioned to rely on the same people for everything. Eventually, growth creates more complexity, but leadership structure and accountability never fully evolve alongside it.” Why the message behind the book is resonating with business owners Unlike many traditional business books focused primarily on motivation or theory, Escape the Owner’s Trap centers on practical operational realities that many leaders experience daily. The book explores how communication breakdowns, leadership overload, undocumented processes, weak accountability, and inconsistent execution quietly create organizational instability over time. Rather than presenting growth as simply a sales or revenue challenge, the book argues that sustainable businesses require stronger operational flow, leadership development, and shared responsibility throughout the organization. Business owners across multiple industries have connected strongly with those themes because they see those challenges playing out inside their own companies every day. Many leaders recognize the feeling of carrying constant responsibility while simultaneously struggling to delegate effectively. Others see themselves in the operational chaos that develops when employees wait for answers instead of taking ownership. Long-term dependency on key individuals has also become increasingly visible as experienced employees retire, workforce turnover increases, and companies attempt to scale faster than their operational infrastructure can support. The book also addresses a reality that many owners quietly experience but rarely discuss publicly: business growth can become emotionally exhausting when everything continues depending on the same person regardless of how large the company becomes. Expanding revenue does not automatically reduce pressure for owners if leadership structure, communication, accountability, and operational clarity fail to mature alongside the organization itself. The MAAX framework and operational stability The concepts inside Escape the Owner’s Trap are built around Paulson’s MAAX framework, which focuses on Management, Accounting, Accountability, and eXcellence as interconnected drivers of operational performance. The framework emphasizes behavioral consistency, leadership clarity, communication flow, and execution discipline rather than relying entirely on reports, meetings, or overly complicated systems. The goal is not simply documenting procedures for the sake of documentation. Instead, the framework focuses on creating organizations capable of operating more consistently under pressure without constant dependence on one individual to hold everything together. One of the key themes throughout the book involves helping organizations identify operational vulnerabilities before major disruption occurs. Many companies do not fully recognize the risks created by undocumented knowledge, unclear leadership responsibilities, inconsistent accountability, or centralized decision-making until an unexpected situation forces those weaknesses into the open. By then, operational recovery often becomes significantly more difficult emotionally, financially, and structurally. Paulson believes the growing response to the book reflects broader concerns many organizations are currently facing. “Businesses today are dealing with more operational pressure, complexity, and uncertainty than they were even a few years ago,” he says. “A lot of leaders are realizing they cannot continue building companies where every major issue, decision, or customer problem still routes back through the same person indefinitely. Eventually, something has to change if the organization is going to become sustainable long term.” Why business continuity matters beyond the owner The discussion surrounding operational dependency extends far beyond business owners themselves. Employees depend on organizational stability for income, career growth, and security. Customers rely on consistent service, communication, and execution. Families are often heavily impacted when leadership pressure consumes an owner’s time, health, and emotional energy. Communities can also feel the effects when important local employers struggle because too much operational knowledge or responsibility remained concentrated around too few individuals. Healthy succession planning, leadership development, and operational visibility are ultimately about protecting people as much as protecting businesses. Companies that build stronger communication structures, leadership depth, accountability systems, and shared operational knowledge generally adapt far more effectively when difficult situations eventually arise. Organizations that delay those conversations often discover their vulnerabilities only after significant disruption has already entered the system. Related article: Why Revenue Growth Does Not Build Strong Companies As more leaders continue reevaluating how their businesses operate under pressure, the growing attention surrounding Escape the Owner’s Trap reflects a broader shift happening across many industries. Owners are increasingly recognizing that sustainable growth requires more than increasing revenue alone. Long-term stability depends on building organizations capable of functioning consistently even when leadership transitions, operational disruption, or unexpected challenges eventually occur. For more information about Dan Paulson, the MAAX framework, or Escape the Owner’s Trap, visit Dan Paulson Let’s Go or connect through the MAAX Systems LinkedIn page.

Written by Helen Kenworthy, Artistic Director Helen champions the arts as a tool for change. Now, as CEO of RYTC Creatives CIC and Give Get Go Education, she mentors young people, creates pathways for them to thrive in the arts, and helps launch successful careers. For the longest time, learning has often been measured by what can be seen, tested, graded, or neatly recorded. Young people have been encouraged to work towards academic targets, meet expected standards, follow instructions, and demonstrate progress through visible outcomes. These things still have value, but they do not tell the whole story of what a young person needs to grow, contribute, and thrive in a changing world. Today, the conversation around education and youth development is expanding. It is no longer enough to ask whether young people can remember information, complete a task correctly, or reach a fixed benchmark. We also need to ask whether they can communicate with confidence, work with others, think creatively, adapt to challenges, express themselves, solve problems, and keep going when something feels unfamiliar or difficult. These are not soft extras. They are essential competencies for life, learning, work, relationships, and meaningful participation in society. This is where the performing arts offer something powerful. Through drama, theatre, voice, movement, rehearsal, storytelling, and performance, young people are not only introduced to these skills in theory. They practise them in real time. They learn by doing. They learn by listening, responding, trying again, taking creative risks, sharing space, managing nerves, and discovering that their voice has value. At RYTC Creatives CIC (The RYTC), this kind of active participation sits at the heart of empowering young talent. Performing arts become more than a creative outlet. They become a living space for confidence, collaboration, creative problem-solving, emotional awareness, and personal growth. For young people who are brilliantly underestimated, this matters deeply because it creates opportunities to be seen differently, supported differently, and allowed to grow beyond the limits others may have placed around them. The development of 21st-century competencies cannot be left to chance. Young people need environments where they can practise the skills that life will ask of them, not only the skills that exams can measure. Performing arts provide one of those environments, and when delivered with purpose, care, and inclusion, they can become a transformative pathway into confidence, capability, belonging, and future possibility. What learning was once expected to deliver For the longest time, learning was often judged by what a young person could show on paper or prove in a test. They were expected to attend, listen, remember, repeat, complete the task, follow the rules, and reach the expected standard. In many settings, success was closely linked to grades, behaviour, attendance, discipline, and the ability to fit into a system that already had a clear idea of what progress should look like. Of course, structure matters. Knowledge matters. Academic achievement still has value, and young people need strong foundations to build from. But when learning is viewed only through results, it can miss much of what is happening inside the learner. A grade may show one part of a young person’s ability, but it does not always show how they think, how they communicate, how they recover after a mistake, how they manage pressure, or how they begin to trust their own voice. This has been especially difficult for young people who do not naturally shine in traditional learning spaces. Some are full of ideas but find it hard to express them through written work. Some are creative, observant, emotionally intelligent, or natural leaders, but those strengths are not always easy to measure. Some may appear quiet, distracted, resistant, or unsure, when in reality they are trying to navigate a system that has not fully recognised the way they learn best. That is why the conversation around learning has had to grow. It is no longer enough to ask only, “What can this young person remember?” or “What result did they achieve?” We also need to ask, “How are they learning to take part?”, “Can they work with others?”, “Are they growing in confidence?”, “Can they think creatively?”, and perhaps most importantly, “Do they believe they have something valuable to contribute?” What 21st-century competencies are really about At its simplest, 21st-century competencies are about preparing young people for the world they are actually growing into. They are not only about what a young person knows, but how they use what they know. They are about how young people think, communicate, collaborate, adapt, solve problems, manage change, express themselves, and take part in life with confidence. These competencies include collaboration, creative problem-solving, communication, confidence, emotional awareness, adaptability, critical thinking, resilience, and self-expression. They are sometimes described as skills for the future, but in reality, young people need them now. They need them in classrooms, friendships, families, creative spaces, communities, interviews, workplaces, and everyday decisions. This matters because knowledge alone is no longer enough. A young person may understand something, but they also need to be able to explain it, apply it, question it, share it, and use it with others. They need to know how to respond when something does not go to plan, how to listen to different perspectives, how to contribute ideas, and how to keep going while confidence is still developing. For many young people, these competencies are not built through instruction alone. They are developed through experience. They grow when a young person is given space to try, reflect, speak, listen, lead, make mistakes, solve problems, and try again. That is why active, creative environments matter so much. They allow young people to practise these skills in real and memorable ways. How the world has changed for young people The world young people are growing into looks very different from the one many adults were prepared for. Careers are changing, technology is moving quickly, communication happens across many platforms, and young people are expected to adapt to new information, new environments, and new pressures at a much faster pace. The old idea that learning is mainly about getting through school, passing exams, and then following one clear route into the future no longer reflects the reality many young people will face. Today, young people need to be able to think across different situations. They may need to work with people from different backgrounds, use creativity in practical ways, solve problems that do not come with clear instructions, and communicate their ideas with confidence. They may also need to manage uncertainty, navigate comparison, deal with pressure, and keep developing skills throughout their lives. This does not mean academic learning is no longer important. It means academic learning now needs to sit alongside a wider set of competencies that help young people use their knowledge well. A strong education should not only help a young person answer questions. It should also help them ask better questions, explore possibilities, build confidence, connect with others, and recognise where their strengths can make a difference. That is why learning spaces need to evolve. Young people do not only need information handed to them. They need opportunities to practise being active participants in their own growth. They need spaces where they can try, contribute, collaborate, create, reflect, and discover that they are capable of more than simply meeting expectations. Why this change in learning matters This change matters because young people are not preparing for a fixed world. They are preparing for a world that will ask them to keep learning, keep adapting, keep communicating, and keep finding new ways forward. If learning only focuses on memorising information or meeting narrow expectations, it can leave young people underprepared for the real situations they will face beyond the classroom. A young person may know the right answer, but still struggle to speak up in a group. They may have creative ideas, but lack the confidence to share them. They may be capable of solving problems, but become overwhelmed when the path is unclear. They may have talent, insight, or potential, but need the right environment to practise using those strengths in ways that feel safe, supported, and meaningful. This is why learning has to become more active, more human, and more connected to real life. Young people need spaces where they are not only told what to do, but invited to participate. They need to experience what it means to listen, respond, lead, collaborate, make mistakes, recover, and try again. These are the moments where growth becomes more than a concept. It becomes something they can feel, practise, and carry with them. When learning changes in this way, young people begin to see themselves differently. They are no longer just trying to meet a standard set by someone else. They begin to recognise their own voice, their own contribution, and their own capacity to grow. That shift is powerful, especially for young people who have spent too long feeling that traditional systems only notice what they find difficult, rather than what they are capable of becoming. The transformative power of performing arts The performing arts offer a different kind of learning space because they ask young people to become active participants, not passive receivers. In drama, theatre, voice work, movement, rehearsal, storytelling, and performance, young people are not simply being told about confidence, communication, collaboration, or creative thinking. They are practising these skills in real time, often without even realising how much growth is taking place. This is what makes performing arts so powerful. A young person learns to listen because a scene depends on it. They learn to communicate because their voice, body, timing, and presence all carry meaning. They learn to collaborate because creative work is shared. They learn to solve problems because the process is rarely perfect the first time. Something changes, something feels difficult, something does not work, and they have to find another way through. There is also something deeply human about creative participation. It gives young people permission to explore ideas, emotions, characters, stories, and perspectives beyond their own immediate experience. This can help them build empathy, emotional awareness, and confidence in ways that feel natural rather than forced. They begin to understand not only how to express themselves, but also how to notice others, respond to others, and share space with care. Performing arts also allow mistakes to become part of the process. In many traditional settings, mistakes can feel like failure. In a creative space, mistakes can become rehearsal, discovery, adjustment, or even the beginning of a better idea. That shift matters because it teaches young people that growth is not about getting everything right the first time. It is about staying engaged, being willing to try, and learning how to move forward with others. This is why performing arts should not be treated as an extra or a reward after the “real” learning has happened. For many young people, performing arts are where real learning becomes visible. They build confidence through participation, communication through practice, collaboration through shared creation, and problem-solving through lived experience. In that sense, the stage becomes more than a place to perform. It becomes a place to grow. The work of RYTC Creatives CIC (The RYTC) RYTC Creatives CIC (The RYTC) is rooted in the belief that young people grow when they are given meaningful opportunities to take part, create, express themselves, and be supported through the process. Its work is not simply about introducing young people to performing arts. It is about using drama, theatre, creativity, and active participation as a practical route into confidence, communication, collaboration, and personal development. Through creative workshops, rehearsal, storytelling, theatre-based learning, and performance opportunities, The RYTC gives young people space to learn by doing. They are not only asked to watch or listen. They are invited to use their voice, explore ideas, work with others, take creative risks, and begin to recognise their own contribution. This kind of participation matters because it allows growth to become something young people experience, not just something adults describe to them. The RYTC’s work also recognises that talent does not always appear in obvious or traditional ways. Some young people need time before they feel confident enough to speak. Others may show leadership through listening, empathy, imagination, humour, observation, problem-solving, or the ability to bring a group together. In a creative space, these qualities can become visible. They can be noticed, encouraged, and developed. This is what makes The RYTC a creative catalyst. It creates opportunities for young people to discover what they can do through practice, participation, and encouragement. By placing active involvement at the centre, The RYTC helps young people build competencies that support learning, life, creativity, and future opportunity. It does not only prepare young people to perform. It helps them practise becoming more confident, capable, expressive, and connected versions of themselves. Why this matters for the brilliantly underestimated At The RYTC, the phrase brilliantly underestimated speaks to young people whose potential is often missed, misunderstood, or not fully recognised in traditional spaces. These are young people who may have creativity, insight, humour, imagination, emotional intelligence, leadership, or deep sensitivity, but who may not always show those strengths in the ways adults expect. Their brilliance is there, but it may be hidden behind anxiety, low confidence, different learning needs, communication challenges, behaviour that is misunderstood, or systems that have not looked closely enough. This is why performing arts can be so powerful. They create more than one route into expression. A young person can communicate through voice, movement, character, storytelling, humour, imagination, presence, and emotional expression. Someone who seems quiet in one setting may begin to take up space in rehearsal. Someone who struggles with written work may show insight through improvisation. Someone who has been labelled as difficult may reveal leadership, empathy, or creative instinct when given the right support and responsibility. For the brilliantly underestimated, this is not only about inclusion. It is about recognition. When young people are seen through what they can bring, not only what they find difficult, confidence begins to grow. They start to experience themselves as capable, creative, and valuable. That shift matters because it gives them more than a place to take part. It gives them a reason to believe they belong. The role of parents, caregivers, and community Developing 21st-century competencies is a role for everyone. Young people need support from parents, caregivers, educators, creative practitioners, and the wider community around them. Each has a part to play in helping young people believe that their voice matters, their ideas have value, and their growth is worth supporting. This support does not always need to be complicated. Sometimes it begins with noticing what a young person enjoys, listening without rushing to correct, encouraging them to try something new, or giving them permission to make mistakes without shame. For a young person who is still building confidence, that kind of support can make participation feel safer. It can help them move from “I cannot do this” to “Maybe I can try.” Parents and caregivers play a powerful role in helping young people recognise their own growth. The encouragement they give at home can shape how safe a young person feels to try, speak up, make mistakes, and take part in new experiences. When parents and caregivers notice effort, confidence, curiosity, creativity, and progress, not only outcomes, they help young people understand that their development matters beyond grades or formal achievement. Educators also have an important role in widening how progress is recognised. In classrooms and learning spaces, they are often the people who can see when a young person needs a different route into confidence, understanding, or participation. By making room for creativity, discussion, group work, performance, reflection, and practical learning, educators can help young people build competencies that support both academic growth and life beyond the classroom. Community gives young people places to practise these skills in real and meaningful ways. Creative organisations, youth programmes, local arts spaces, mentors, and supportive networks can offer access, encouragement, and opportunity beyond formal education. These spaces matter because young people need more than potential. They need environments where that potential can be noticed, nurtured, and developed. When parents, caregivers, educators, and communities work together, young people receive a stronger message: their development matters in more than one setting. They are not only being prepared for exams, but for life, relationships, work, creativity, and contribution. That shared encouragement can help young people, especially the brilliantly underestimated, feel seen, supported, and capable of growing into the future with confidence. Conclusion Young people become more confident, capable, and creative when they are given real opportunities to participate, practise, and grow. They need spaces where communication, collaboration, creative thinking, adaptability, and self-expression are not only spoken about, but lived. Performing arts offer that kind of space because they allow young people to learn through doing, not only through instruction. This is why the work of RYTC Creatives CIC (The RYTC) matters. It shows that performing arts are not simply about being on stage. They are about helping young people discover what they are capable of, how they can contribute, and how their voice, ideas, and presence can have value. For the brilliantly underestimated, this kind of recognition can be especially powerful because it creates a different way to be seen, supported, and encouraged. As the world continues to change, young people need more than knowledge alone. They need the confidence to use what they know, the creativity to approach challenges differently, and the courage to keep growing. When performing arts are used with purpose, care, and inclusion, they become more than a creative experience. They become a pathway into confidence, capability, belonging, and future possibility. When young people are given spaces where they can try, create, speak, listen, make mistakes, and be seen beyond narrow measures of achievement, they do not only develop skills. They begin to recognise themselves as contributors. That is the deeper power of performing arts, and it is why this work matters. To explore more about this work and the wider Creative Pathway approach, visit here. Creative Pathway Methodology: Of Course You Can!™ serving the brilliantly underestimated The full portfolio can be found here. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Helen Kenworthy Helen Kenworthy, Artistic Director Helen Kenworthy’s career embodies the transformative power of the arts, from her early roles in the prestigious West End with Bill Kenwright to her impactful work in regional theatre. As manager of the Oxfordshire Youth Arts Partnership, she created pathways for young people to thrive in the arts, with many going on to successful careers. Now at RYTC Creatives CIC and Give Get Go Education, Helen continues to inspire and mentor the next generation of theatre-makers and community leaders, offering invaluable opportunities for growth and professional development.

Written by Nkemdilim Njideka Nwofor, Mental Health Coach I have a background in treating clients with ADHD, MDD, and ASD. In my psychiatric practice, I have seen that more than 50% of my clients struggle with sustaining attention, overstimulation, low motivation, low comprehension, and cognitive overload. Spiritual health holds a profound, often overlooked value in transforming emotional well-being. While therapy, medication, and coping strategies play vital roles, they often address only the surface. Spiritual Health reaches deeper, rebuilding the core of who we are - our sense of purpose, hope, and connection to something greater. When emotional pain overwhelms, it becomes the unseen force that accelerates healing, reduces suffering, and unlocks resilience like nothing else. A lifeline at rock bottom Imagine hitting rock bottom, overwhelming despair, suicidal thoughts clouding every moment, or exhaustion that makes even breathing feel heavy. In these dark places, logic fails and willpower crumbles. Spiritual health steps in as an anchor. Books and workbooks by T. D. Jakes and John Bevere become powerful tools here. T. D. Jakes speaks raw truth to crushed dreams, betrayal, and restoration, reminding readers that pain is a pathway to purpose. John Bevere confronts fear, unforgiveness, and spiritual stagnation with bold clarity, urging breakthroughs from bondage to freedom. When you immerse in their teachings during crisis: Hopeless spirals interrupt as scripture and wisdom reframe suffering. Isolation fades, you sense you are not alone in the fight. Suicidal despair loses grip when eternal perspective emerges, this season passes. These are not fluffy affirmations. They are battle tested weapons that shift mindsets from victimhood to victory, often pulling people back from the edge faster than therapy alone. Accelerated healing and unexpected self awareness Prioritizing spiritual health sped up my healing process and increased my self awareness sooner than expected. What I thought would take years unfolded in months. Daily prayer, Scripture meditation, and reflection, revealing hidden triggers and wounds I had ignored for decades. Self-awareness exploded when I saw anger rooted in unforgiveness. Anxiety traced to control idolization. Depression lifted as I released performance based worth. This was not vague insight. It was precise clarity, enabling targeted healing. Spiritual discipline acted like X ray vision for the soul, exposing roots so therapy and life changes could strike true. Medication works faster with open mind Medication stabilizes brain chemistry, but a closed, bitter heart resists. Spiritual health unlocks receptivity, making medications work faster by opening your mind. As faith softens defenses, treatments penetrate deeper. Antidepressants integrate more smoothly without subconscious sabotage. Therapy breakthroughs multiply because you are primed for truth. Overall healing accelerates, symptoms fade faster when spiritually engaged. It is synergy, pills rebuild wiring, spirit rebuilds willingness. No conflict, spiritual health amplifies medicine. From darkness to light: Symptom intensity drops Spiritual health decreases the intensity of your symptoms by taking you from a dark place to light. Emotional storms do not vanish overnight, but their fury dims. Panic attacks shorten, peace interrupts midway. Depressive voids lighten as joy sparks return. Overwhelm bows to purpose, pain has meaning. This is not denial. It is reframing, trials become training grounds. Intensity plummets because light displaces dark. Unmatched strength for leaders Leadership demands steel under fire, decisions amid chaos, carrying other burdens, modeling calm in crisis. Spiritual health gives you the most strength when you are in a leadership position, helping you rely on fewer coping skills. Without it, leaders burn out on shallow coping, alcohol, workaholism, people pleasing. Spiritual grounding changes everything. Rely less on band aids, draw from an infinite source. Pressure forges wisdom, not wreckage. Leaders stay grounded, deciding from peace, mentoring from overflow. Rock bottom leaders rise strongest, their testimony inspires teams, turning followers into family. Challenge Without Spiritual Health With Spiritual Health Rock Bottom Despair dominates Anchor + tools (Jakes/Bevere) break cycles Healing Speed Slow- years-long Accelerated, awareness sooner Medication Resisted, slower Open mind = faster results Symptoms Intense, prolonged Decreased intensity, dark to light Leadership Coping overload Peak strength, minimal crutches The future of Psychiatry: Integrating spiritual health The future of psychiatry is shifting toward holistic integration, where spiritual health becomes a core pillar alongside medication and therapy. Pioneering practitioners already blend faith based approaches, recognizing that patients with spiritual grounding show faster recovery rates, better medication adherence, and lower relapse, up to 30 to 40 percent improved outcomes in studies. Coming shifts include routine spiritual screening at intake. Hybrid protocols, CBT plus prayer. Psychiatrist training in faith dynamics. Precision dosing via spiritual receptivity. Institutions like John Hopkins validate that spiritual care rivals medication for depression. Holistic psychiatry, body, mind, spirit, unlocks unprecedented healing. Expect these changes: Spirituality assessments as standard intake, identifying beliefs that accelerate or hinder healing. Faith integrated therapy protocols, pairing CBT with Scripture meditation or prayer practices. Training mandates for psychiatrists to understand spiritual dynamics, collaborating with pastoral counselors. Precision psychiatry leveraging spiritual receptivity to optimize drug efficacy, mind opened by faith, medications working faster. Preventive models teaching spiritual resilience to high risk groups, reducing crisis admissions. This is not fringe. Leading institutions like Duke and Harvard are publishing data showing spiritual interventions rival antidepressants in mild to moderate depression. Forward thinking psychiatry will treat the whole person, body, mind, and spirit, yielding unprecedented results. Without Spiritual Health With Spiritual Health Reactive coping (distractions, outbursts) Proactive peace (prayer, wisdom) Symptom intensity: High, prolonged Intensity: Reduced, light displaces dark Medication: Slow, resisted Medication: Enhanced, faster efficacy Healing timeline: Years Healing: Accelerated, clarity sooner Psychiatry future: Siloed treatments Psychiatry future: Holistic integration Leadership: Drained Leadership: Unmatched strength, less coping The ultimate transformation Spiritual health is not optional, it is foundational. T. D. Jakes and John Bevere equip the journey, personal pursuit ignites it. It catapults you from survival to thriving, darkness to destiny. Start today, pick one book, one verse, one prayer. Watch healing accelerates, symptoms fade, strength surge. Your emotional health, and the future of mental health care, depend on embracing this hidden power. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Nkemdilim Njideka Nwofor Nkemdilim Njideka Nwofor, Mental Health Coach My journey into mental health began through my own struggles and ineffective coping strategies. Those challenges sparked a deep curiosity about how the mind responds to stress and adversity. I began seeking answers to better understand my thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. As I committed to healing, I developed healthier coping skills and stronger self-awareness. What once felt like setbacks became growth opportunities. The tools and insight I gained transformed both my perspective and functioning. Today, my experience fuels my passion to help others build resilience and access meaningful mental health support.

Written by Josh Sagar Chauhan I, C.E.O, Model, and Multi-Talented Artist Josh is a C.E.O., model, and multi-talented artist with over a decade of experience in financial services, renowned for delivering insightful, up-to-date coverage on international affairs, culture, and technology, offering clarity and perspective. The hyper-accelerated landscape of modern professional careers, the human body has become the ultimate ledger. It records corporate stress, registers systemic trauma, and increasingly bears the brunt of a vicious cycle of institutional punishment. When analysing the trajectory of professionals, particularly those operating under high visibility campaigns or intense management scrutiny a disturbing pattern emerges, the correlation between trauma modeling, sudden weight gain, and subsequent management hostility. To understand why professionals frequently gain weight during or after major campaigns, one must first look at the psychological models of trauma. Chronic stress triggers a sustained release of cortisol, a hormone that fundamentally alters metabolism and promotes adipose tissue storage. However, the psychological mechanism is even more profound. For many individuals navigating hostile or deeply predatory professional environments, weight gain serves as an unconscious defense mechanism, a physical shield against unwanted attention or an embodied manifestation of internalised distress. Yet, within modern corporate frameworks, this involuntary physiological response is met not with institutional empathy, but rather with punitive action. The cycle of management hostility and systemic abuse Why do management structures and campaign directors turn on individuals who experience unprecedented weight gain? The answer lies in the darker corners of organisational psychology: The aesthetics of compliance: In high profile careers, the individual is often treated as a corporate asset or a visual extension of the brand. Deviating from a prescribed physical standard is frequently misinterpreted by management as a loss of control, a lack of discipline, or a rebellion against the corporate ethos. Scapegoating and projection: Management teams under immense pressure often project their systemic anxieties onto vulnerable individuals. A change in an employee's physical appearance provides a tangible, albeit unjust, pretext for hostility, bullying, and marginalisation. The Isolation Tactic: By weaponising an individual's weight gain against them, managers undermine the professional's self-esteem. This systematic erosion of confidence ensures the individual becomes easier to manipulate and less likely to challenge predatory workplace practices. This specific dynamic mirrors the lived experiences of advocates and public figures who have challenged entrenched power structures. In postcolonial contexts and indigenous rights advocacy, such as the prominent work associated with figures like DJ Saguaro (HRH Sagar V. Chauhan I), the battle against institutional marginalisation often manifests physically. Activists and leaders frequently endure severe systemic blowback, where the toll of fighting deeply rooted biases leads to immense physical exhaustion and trauma induced weight changes, which corporate or adversarial entities then weaponise to discredit their authority and campaigns. When faced with relentless management abuse and the isolation of physical stigma, professionals increasingly turn to substance use to numb the psychological pain. The modern careerist does not merely seek recreation. They seek functional survival. Why management inflicts harm The psychology behind why management engages in this specific form of abuse is rooted in the preservation of hierarchy and control. "Organisational systems are illegally conservative, seeking to maintain established power dynamics at all costs." When a professional's body changes due to trauma, it exposes the toxic nature of the environment itself. Management does not wish to look into that mirror. To admit that the campaign or the workload caused the weight gain would be to admit corporate liability. Therefore, it is psychologically safe for management to pathologise the individual. By labeling the worker as unprofessional, unhealthy, or unfit for the campaign, the institution absolves itself of guilt and maintains its illusion of flawless operation. Until corporate structures move away from punitive aesthetic standards and address the root trauma models driving employee distress, the human cost of modern success will continue to be measured in both physical suffering and chemical dependency. The London initiation Upon entering the competitive London scene, the pressure to conform to a specific subcultural elite was immediate. The initiations were not formal. Instead, they were woven into the fabric of after hours industry events, backstage gatherings, and late night studio sessions. In these spaces, chemical consumption was weaponised as a metric of social capital and professional trust. To be considered relevant, one had to participate in the rampant drug culture that defined the era. Cocaine and synthetic stimulants were treated as standard workplace fuel, utilised to project an aura of effortless energy and creative invincibility. For Saguaro, navigating these rituals was not about recreation. It was an exhausting survival strategy to maintain a foothold in rooms where indigenous advocacy was frequently misunderstood or patronised. The constant hypervigilance required to balance cultural integrity with the demands of the London scene laid the groundwork for severe systemic trauma. The mechanics of weight gain The psychological toll of these drug fuelled environments quickly manifested physically. The human body cannot sustain prolonged exposure to chemical highs, sleep deprivation, and intense social pressure without consequence. As the initial artificial highs of the London lifestyle gave way to deep exhaustion, Saguaro's endocrine system experienced a severe trauma response. Chronic exposure to toxic environments triggers a profound metabolic shift. The nervous system, constantly operating in a state of fight or flight, floods the body with cortisol. This hormonal cascade actively promotes rapid, unprecedented weight gain, particularly as the body attempts to protect itself from prolonged psychological siege. For Saguaro, the sudden physical change was the direct, visible ledger of the trauma endured during those coercive initiations of coolness. The weight was not a sign of personal neglect. It was a physical shield developed by a heavily taxed system trying to survive systemic hostility. Management failures The true crisis, however, lay in the catastrophic failure of management and campaign directors to safeguard their talent. Rather than recognising the rapid weight gain as a clear diagnostic symptom of burnout and environmental trauma, the management structure chose pathologisation and abandonment. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Josh Sagar Chauhan I Josh Sagar Chauhan I, C.E.O, Model, and Multi-Talented Artist Josh Chauhan is experienced in banking, finance, luxury sales, marketing, advertising, and recruitment, with a desire to continually learn more. A proficient digital and creative consultant, Josh I has over two years of experience in niche brand and project delivery. With more exposure in advertising, television, and radio, as well as acting and live performance to national and international audiences, Josh Chauhan I is in research & development for his Incorporation Umbrella, Miwted.

Written by Guy Van de Putte, Spiritual Guide & Mentor Guy Van de Putte works as a guide for those looking for help navigating life's challenges or finding themselves at a crossroads. Blending shamanism, breathwork and constellation therapy with the non-dual and yogic traditions, he has a wide toolkit to support the power of presence and the healing words to accommodate lasting change. Have you ever had that feeling like there’s something you’re supposed to do here, but you can’t remember what it is? You’re alive, on planet Earth, with a body, a mind, and a billion options to choose from. The vast array of choices seems to paralyze you. You look around, or on social media, and it looks as if everybody has got it all figured out and under control. They’re living the dream. Or so it seems. All the while, you haven’t got a clue what to do or how to do it. You might try to give the impression you actually do, but deep down, something feels missing. A burning thought emerges. There must be more to life than this. A nine to five, pretty structured life, organized social activities, and interactions. Everything Hollywood promised you. But what’s the purpose of it all? Were you born to work, sleep, consume, be like everybody else? The fancy job title has lost its blaze of glory, and the glorious paycheck has become business as usual. The dreams you had as a child seem like distant or even repressed memories. It’s like you have forgotten all about that important thing you were supposed to be doing here. People call it a midlife crisis. Or a spiritual awakening. Or maybe just a phase. It might be the first time in our lives we have actually stopped and started asking ourselves those deeper questions. Our minds keep raging, looking for clues and trying to figure it all out. Life turned out boring, and we desperately want to reignite the spark we felt as children, when all seemed possible. We feel stuck. We might be tempted to take bold actions. Leave our jobs or relationships, or even take a gap year to travel the world to “find ourselves”. The purpose of life is just being alive and in life. To do what comes naturally to us. When we were growing up, everybody asked us what we wanted to do, or rather become, when we were older. The best answer to that would be “happy,” of course. But that’s not what was meant. What was expected was a job title like pilot, teacher, doctor, or nurse. At that moment, a seed was planted in our minds. We had to become something. Just being ourselves wasn’t enough. So we started thinking big, because there were expectations now. We had to make our parents proud. The most interesting people I know didn’t conform. They created. Some find it even hard to give themselves a job title. They do a bit of this, a bit of that. Whatever seems to pull them at any given moment. They seem to float along with life and always land on their feet. Some offer more distinct services. Others change with the winds, but their work evolves with their personal growth. Now you might be thinking there’s nothing out there for you because you can’t really think of anything. But you don’t have to. What’s holding us back is not the lack of a passion in our lives, but the ideas we have made up in our mind about it. So in that sense, that very mind that is trying to figure it out is at the same time sabotaging the possible outcome. You know what you like to do, but maybe you don’t see how you can make a living out of it. Maybe you think you’re not good enough to do it. Maybe you don’t know where to start. Or thousands and thousands of other possible reasons not to do it, not to take it further. Let’s say you like to write. Just start writing. Make time for it every day. You don’t need to have an entire novel in your mind. You don’t need to know how the book should be published or who would buy it. Take it step by step. Start acting upon it. Just for the pure joy of doing it. Maybe you’ll find out it’s not entirely what you prefer, but it will lead to something else. There is no destination to get to, carved in stone. So you cannot fail. Let your path unfold. Ask yourself the question at any moment. What would be the most exciting to do now? Without thinking what it should lead to. That’s the future. Stay in the present, in the now. Stay in this moment. Let the future figure itself out. The rosebud doesn’t think about when it should bloom or not. It just blooms, because it’s built into it. That’s how it works for all of life, all of creation. Accordingly, also for you. Since you are part of creation, part of life. You didn’t choose what you like. You were born with it. It was planted within you to share with the world. Just become still and listen to that quiet voice of intuition inside of you. Let that voice be your guide. Observe all the limiting beliefs that surface. All the ideas of not knowing how or not being good enough. By becoming conscious of what they are, you expose them to the light, and they can start to dissolve. You don’t have to let them decide anymore. You create a choice for yourself. When those automated beliefs and reactions become a thing from the past, you can truly start being yourself at any given moment. You’ll be in sync with the flow of life and all of creation. You’ll be in harmony. Trust in life and trust that the interests you were born with won’t lead you astray. Let them be your compass while you navigate this wonderful and adventurous journey called Life. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Guy Van de Putte Guy Van de Putte, Spiritual Guide & Mentor Guy Van de Putte works as a guide for all those looking for help navigating life's challenges or finding themselves at a crossroads. His passion is helping people who are ready to wake up go beyond the stories and patterns that unconsciously run their lives. Thereby helping them to debunk the lies they told themselves, that are at the root of all the drama in their life, and take back the power over their own lives. So the old wounds from the past can be permanently healed and a new life of true freedom can emerge out of that. A fulfilled life in service of and in harmony with their true calling.

APIs are the main way to access modern products such as mobile apps, SaaS dashboards, partner integrations, and even internal microservices. And in 2026, DDoS isn’t just about “taking a site down.” Attackers increasingly aim for the expensive stuff: API endpoints that trigger heavy database queries, login routes that force repeated authentication work, and traffic patterns that look annoyingly close to real users. While the technical stack is very important, it's also worth remembering that attacks don't happen in isolation. Understanding the human side of cybersecurity helps frame why protecting APIs is ultimately about protecting people and businesses, not just infrastructure. A solid API protection stack should do a few things well: absorb volumetric floods, detect abusive patterns at the edge, rate-limit intelligently, validate clients (not just IPs), and give you clean visibility when something weird starts brewing. Here are seven tools that are widely used for exactly that. 1. Fastly (Next-Gen WAF + Edge DDoS mitigation) Fastly is a strong first choice when you want DDoS resistance plus API controls close to the user before traffic hits your origin. The advantage of handling enforcement at the edge is simple: you stop malicious traffic early, which protects not only uptime but also backend costs. Fastly’s security stack typically shines in: Edge rate limiting for noisy endpoints (login, OTP, search, pricing, checkout APIs) Bot and abuse signals that catch “low-and-slow” attacks that don’t look like a classic flood WAF policies you can tune to your API’s behavior (including common injection and protocol anomalies) Fast incident response, since you can adjust rules quickly and push them globally If you’re comparing options for the best API protection for DDoS attacks, Fastly is often on the shortlist because it combines performance, edge enforcement, and flexible controls that fit real-world API traffic patterns, not just static websites. 2. Cloudflare (API shield + DDoS + Bot management) Cloudflare remains a leading choice for broad DDoS coverage and has an enormous network footprint. For APIs specifically, their API Shield approach (mTLS, schema validation, and discovery) is useful when you need to tighten who can call what, especially for partner or mobile traffic. Where Cloudflare helps a lot: Automatic DDoS mitigation (L3/4 and L7) API discovery so you can find “shadow APIs” that teams forgot existed Schema validation to reduce abusive requests that technically “work” but shouldn’t exist Bot management that cuts down credential stuffing and scraping that can look like DDoS 3. Akamai (App & API protector/prolexic) Akamai has profound experience in large-scale DDoS events and commonly appears in enterprise environments where traffic volumes are massive and attack frequency is high. If your APIs support high-value operations (payments, trading, account actions), Akamai’s mature security tooling and support model can be a real advantage. Typical strengths: High-capacity DDoS absorption Advanced L7 protection for application-layer attacks Strong enterprise support and SLAs Good fit for complex multi-region architectures 4. Imperva (API security + DDoS protection) Imperva is known for protecting applications and APIs with a focus on layered defenses, DDoS protection plus WAAP (Web Application and API Protection). It’s helpful when you want solid security coverage without assembling too many separate products. Why teams pick Imperva: API-aware protection beyond basic WAF patterns DDoS mitigation designed to handle both bursts and sustained attacks Security analytics that make it easier to explain what happened after an incident Policy control that can be shaped around sensitive endpoints 5. AWS WAF + AWS Shield Advanced (for API gateway / ALB / CloudFront) If your APIs are primarily on AWS, the AWS-native route can be clean and effective, especially when paired with CloudFront at the edge. AWS Shield Advanced is built for serious DDoS scenarios, while AWS WAF gives you rule-based filtering and rate controls. This combo is particularly effective when you want the following: Tight integration with API Gateway, ALB, and CloudFront Managed rules plus custom rules for your endpoints Rate-based controls (useful for burst abuse) Centralized security ops inside AWS tooling One caveat: you’ll still need thoughtful tuning. API traffic is messy, and “one-size-fits-all” rules can either miss abuse or block legitimate users. 6. Google Cloud Armor (with Cloud Load Balancing/Cloud CDN) Google Cloud Armor is a solid pick if your APIs already sit behind Google’s HTTP(S) Load Balancer and you want protection that feels “built in,” not bolted on. What most teams like is how quickly you can put sensible guardrails in place to block obviously junk traffic, slow down abusive clients, and keep your origin from getting hammered. In plain terms, Cloud Armor is useful because of the following: It benefits from Google’s scale, so big traffic spikes are less likely to become a “drop everything” emergency. You can put common-sense WAF rules in front of APIs (things like suspicious payload patterns, weird request behavior, or probing endpoints). It’s good for catching traffic that’s “not quite normal," the kind that isn’t a dramatic flood but still causes latency, retries, and cost blowups. It plays nicely with Cloud CDN and global load balancing, so you can keep performance up while you’re tightening security. If you’re on GCP, it’s one of the more straightforward ways to get serious protection without redesigning your whole edge. 7. Microsoft Azure WAF + Azure DDoS protection (for Azure API management / front door) If your stack is mostly Azure, this combination is the “keep it simple and consistent” option. Front Door gives you a clean global entry point, the WAF filters out the obvious garbage at the edge, and Azure DDoS Protection is there for the bigger, uglier spikes. It’s especially handy when API Management sits behind Front Door because you can: Enforce one set of WAF/rate rules across regions, Protect sensitive endpoints like login/token routes, Avoid your APIM and backend services taking the first punch. In practice, teams pick this setup when they want something that’s easy to operate day-to-day: fewer moving parts, decent visibility, and controls that are close to where the traffic enters.

Written by Leoniek van der Maarel, Academie voor Verlies/Grief Training Centre Leoniek van der Maarel is a Dutch psychologist, grief expert, author, and trainer with a clear and powerful mission. "Creating a world where grief is no longer a silent struggle, but a supported path forward." By protecting children from grief, you actually take away the tools they need to cope with it. You do it out of love. That is the first thing I want to say before I say anything else. When an adult decides to protect a child from the pain of loss, by not naming it, by avoiding the conversation, by saying that Grandpa has “gone on a long journey” it comes from a deep desire to spare that child. Not from indifference. Not from unwillingness. But the protection you think you are offering does not work. That is exactly what I want to demonstrate here. Children already feel the absence, even when nobody says anything Imagine this. You are eight years old. The atmosphere at home is different than usual. Adults speak more softly, or not at all. People come by and cry. Someone who was always there is suddenly gone. You feel that something is happening. But nobody explains what. Imagination is worse than reality What does a child do with that tension? They fill in the gap. With what they know, with what they suspect, with what they tell themselves in the silence of their bedroom. What children tell themselves is rarely less frightening than reality. Often, it is worse. Because imagination has no limits, and neither does fear. Silence does not protect the child. Silence enlarges the loss. It makes it bigger, scarier, and unnameable, and therefore unmanageable. Children are already aware of the atmosphere in the home. They are waiting for information. They are waiting for permission. Permission to feel what they already feel, to understand that what they are feeling makes sense. Permission to ask questions. Permission to be sad. Silence makes loss bigger and scarier than it is There is something remarkable about loss that is not spoken about. It grows. Not the loss itself, but the fear surrounding it. The uncertainty. The feeling that there is something you are not allowed to access, something too big to talk about, something that even the adults around you cannot handle. For a child, that is a disturbing message. If even the grownups cannot carry this, how am I supposed to? An honest explanation of what is happening What an honest explanation does, age appropriate, calm, without giving every detail at once, is bring the loss back to a human scale. It gives it a name. What has a name can be pointed to. What can be pointed to can begin to be understood. What is understood can begin to be carried. That is not a small step. It is precisely the difference between a child who learns to grieve and a child who learns to avoid. Children who do not learn to grieve carry it with them Unprocessed loss does not disappear. It moves into the background, but it remains present, as an unnamed emptiness, as a pattern of avoidance, as a sensitivity that suddenly appears later in life without the person understanding where it comes from. In my work with adults, I meet them regularly, people who experienced a major loss as children and never spoke about it. Not because they were not affected by it, but because the conversation simply never happened. The loss did not officially exist. Therefore, they could never officially stop and acknowledge it, cry about it, ask questions, or say goodbye. Those children are adults now. They are still grieving, sometimes decades later, sometimes without knowing exactly what they are grieving for. They carry a burden they were never given the opportunity to put down. Protection that was well intended at the time has, in the long run, stood in the way of something essential, the opportunity to learn that loss is bearable. That sadness is allowed. That it does not destroy you. Honest communication gives children language, it creates understanding Children do not need protection from reality. They need language to understand reality. When you tell a child that Grandma has died, that her heart has stopped, that she is not coming back, that you are sad too, you give that child something valuable. You give them words for what they are feeling. Words are tools. With those words, a child can ask questions. They can name their sadness. They can tell their teacher what happened at home instead of remaining silent out of shame or confusion. They can cry in bed at night because they miss someone, instead of lying awake with a vague fear that has no clear source. Being honestly age appropriate does not mean telling everything. It means telling the child what they are able to understand right now. Concrete, simple, without euphemisms that create more confusion than clarity. "Gone on a journey," "we lost him," or "he is sleeping forever" are phrases that mislead children. They are not accurate. Children sense that. Even phrases such as "Grandpa is a little star in the sky now" can be confusing, however understandable it is that adults use that language. A child who knows the truth, however difficult that truth may be, is stronger than a child who is left in uncertainty. That is not theory. It is what you see in practice, again and again. What this requires from you as a professional As a coach, therapist, or social worker, you meet parents and caregivers who want the best for their child but do not know how to have the conversation. People who are grieving themselves. People who barely have the words themselves for what has happened. Your role is not to take over the conversation. Your role is to help the adult around the child have that conversation. To show that honesty is not the same as causing harm. That a child who cries is not falling apart. That sharing sadness is something that connects people, not something that damages them. This requires knowledge. It requires an approach that creates space for the complexity of loss in children without losing your way. It requires that you know how to take the lead in that conversation, even when it becomes uncomfortable, even when the pain is greater than anyone expected. The five things you do not want to skip 1. Give words to what has happened Children sense that something is wrong, even when nobody names it. Help parents explain the loss clearly and honestly, using language that matches the child's age. No euphemisms, no detours. 2. Give permission to feel Many children try to be strong for the adults around them. Help them understand that sadness, anger, confusion, and fear are normal responses. Feelings do not need to be fixed. They need to be allowed. 3. Make space for questions Children process loss in pieces. They ask a question today and ask it again next week. That is not a sign that they were not listening. It is a sign that they are gradually understanding what loss means. 4. Involve the important adults Supporting a child almost always means supporting parents, caregivers, or other important adults as well. Help them start the conversation, tolerate emotions, and remain emotionally available to the child. 5. Take the lead when loss becomes complicated Children need adults who do not look away from pain. As a professional, you provide structure, language, and direction. You help the family make loss discussable, so the child learns that grief is something they can carry. Children can cope when adults are present Children can cope with big losses in their lives, provided they have adults who support them, who teach them how to cope, how to feel, how to find the words for feelings that just cannot be put into words. Children can cope when they learn that what they feel matters, that it is valid, that nobody tells them, "You should not talk about this" or "Let us just go on with our lives." We teach children how to live. Let us start teaching them how to deal with loss. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Leoniek van der Maarel Leoniek van der Maarel, Academie voor Verlies/Grief Training Centre With over 25 years of experience and a deeply personal connection to her work, Leoniek has become one of the leading voices in the field of loss and transition. Her approach is grounded in the understanding that grief does not always begin with death, and healing is never one-size-fits-all. Her career is defined by one central truth, grief is everywhere. In the aftermath of a death, a divorce, a broken family bond, or a lost dream, it weaves itself through human lives in ways both visible and silent. And yet, society still often asks us to "move on" too quickly, or without the right support. Leoniek’s life's work is to change that.