Suzi Rose is a specialist oncology pharmacist and menopause coach who founded The MenoPharm to bring credible, compassionate, evidence-based support to women navigating midlife hormonal change. With over two decades of clinical experience, she has supported thousands of women through breast cancer treatments, giving her a unique understanding of treatment-induced menopause and the emotional impact of hormonal change. In this interview, she shares clinical insights, practical guidance, and lived experience to help women feel informed, confident, and in control of their health. The conversation explores early symptoms, hormone therapy, workplace challenges, and the role of pharmacist-led coaching in transforming menopause care. What inspired you to create The MenoPharm after years as a specialist oncology pharmacist? Working in oncology, I spent years supporting women through breast-cancer treatment, guiding them through complex medication regimens and managing side effects with supportive care medication. What struck me most recently was how often menopause was treated as an afterthought. Many of my patients experienced sudden, intense hormonal changes triggered by cancer therapies, yet the emotional and physical impact of those changes was rarely addressed with the same care as their cancer itself. That gap stayed with me. As I reached the perimenopausal stage myself, I realised that women everywhere, not just those in oncology, were navigating menopause with limited, fragmented support. They were being told to “just get on with it,” when what they needed was clarity, compassion, and credible guidance grounded in science. The MenoPharm grew from that realisation. It’s my way of bridging the clinical and the personal, combining pharmacy expertise with coaching to help women understand their options, whether hormonal, non-hormonal, or lifestyle-based. My goal is to make menopause care feel informed, empowering, and deeply human. What does a pharmacist bring to menopause coaching that women may not find elsewhere? The menopause space is crowded with conflicting information, rushed GP appointments, if you can get one, and a sense that women are left to “figure it out” alone. A pharmacist changes that dynamic completely. We’re trained to understand how the body responds to medicines, hormones, supplements, and lifestyle factors, and that depth of knowledge becomes incredibly powerful during menopause. Women often come to me confused about peri/menopausal symptoms, unsure about HRT risks, or overwhelmed by the sheer number of non-hormonal options. As a pharmacist, I can translate complex science into personalised, practical guidance, explaining how treatments work, how they interact, and what women can realistically expect. That level of clarity is rarely available in a standard 10-minute appointment. But it’s more than medication expertise. Pharmacists spend their careers listening, really listening, to people’s concerns and lived experiences. We’re accessible, unhurried, and comfortable supporting sensitive conversations. In menopause coaching, that means women finally get a space where their symptoms aren’t dismissed, their lifestyle and values are considered, their questions aren’t rushed, and their choices are genuinely respected. Why do so many women still struggle to get clear, evidence-based menopause advice? It’s brilliant that menopause is finally being talked about. For too long, it was hidden behind stigma, and the rise in conversation, especially online, has helped women feel seen. But with that visibility comes a new challenge, not all the “talk” is trustworthy. Social media is full of confident voices sharing tips, hacks, and hormone theories that sound persuasive but aren’t grounded in science. Women scrolling late at night are left trying to sift through opinion, marketing, and misinformation to find what’s actually evidence-based. Another issue is that menopause support isn’t regulated. Almost anyone can call themselves a menopause coach or hormone expert, even without medical training. Many don’t understand how hormones interact with medications, chronic conditions, or cancer treatments, yet their advice is presented as fact. Add to that short healthcare appointments, lingering myths about HRT, and outdated guidance, and it’s no surprise women feel confused. Pharmacist-led menopause coaching cuts through the noise. It brings clinical training, medication expertise, and evidence-based clarity into a space crowded with mixed messages, giving women answers they can trust. What changes would make the biggest difference to menopause support in healthcare and the workplace? The biggest shift we need is credible, consistent menopause support across healthcare and workplaces. In healthcare, women deserve longer appointments, better-trained clinicians, and clear pathways so they aren’t left navigating symptoms alone or relying on social-media “experts” for answers. In the workplace, the stakes are high. One in ten women leave their jobs because of menopause symptoms, often due to loss of confidence, anxiety, hot flushes, sleep disturbance, and urinary symptoms. These are experienced, competent women at the peak of their careers, yet they’re being lost because support is inconsistent. By 2027, all large employers must have a published ‘menopause action plan’, but many risk treating it as a tick-box exercise. Real change comes from embedding personalised, credible support, not just policies on paper. Having pharmacist-led menopause coaches within workplaces would make the biggest difference. They can advise managers and HR, deliver evidence-based education, and provide individual coaching that helps women stay well, confident, and supported. This is how culture shifts, and how organisations retain the talented women they cannot afford to lose. When someone feels overwhelmed by conflicting advice about hormone therapy, where should they start? When hormone therapy advice feels confusing or contradictory, the best place to begin is by returning to credible, evidence-based sources. There’s a huge amount of information online, some excellent, some misleading, and it’s easy to feel lost. Starting with trusted medical organisations, such as the British Menopause Society or NICE guidance, helps women anchor themselves in balanced, science-based facts about benefits, risks, and suitability. It’s also important for women to understand the wider health benefits of HRT. Beyond symptom relief, hormone therapy can reduce the risk of osteoporosis and future fractures, and for many women who start it under 60, it can also lower cardiovascular risk. These long-term benefits are often overlooked in online debates. From there, the most valuable step is speaking with a qualified healthcare professional, a women’s-health-trained GP, menopause-trained pharmacist, or specialist clinician, who can interpret evidence in the context of your own health history. It also helps to step back from social-media “hot takes”, where personal experience and commercial interests often blur facts. A pharmacist-led menopause coach can help you sift through the noise and prepare for a productive clinical conversation. The clearest starting point is trusted evidence and a qualified clinician, and building clarity from there. What are some everyday signs that women often dismiss but deserve a conversation about menopause? Many women experience early menopause symptoms long before they connect them to hormonal change. Everyday signs are often brushed off as stress, ageing, or “just life,” yet they deserve a proper conversation. Common early symptoms include sleep disturbances, especially waking at 3 to 4 am and struggling to fall back asleep. Anxiety, loss of confidence, and feeling suddenly overwhelmed are also very typical, and often misunderstood as personality changes rather than hormone shifts. Women may notice brain fog, forgetfulness, or difficulty concentrating, which can feel unsettling but are extremely common in perimenopause. Physical signs are just as important, hot flushes, night sweats, new urinary symptoms, such as urgency, frequency, or recurrent UTIs, and joint aches that seem to appear out of nowhere. Changes in skin, hair, or weight, or feeling unusually sensitive to temperature, can also be early clues. Because these symptoms appear gradually, many women dismiss them or try to “push through.” But they’re meaningful. They deserve a conversation, ideally with a clinician or menopause-trained pharmacist who can help women understand what’s happening and explore evidence-based options. Recognising these everyday signs early gives women back clarity, confidence, and control. How has being both a healthcare professional and a mother of three shaped the way you support women? Being a healthcare professional gives me the clinical grounding to explain menopause clearly and confidently, but being a mother of three daughters adds a completely different dimension to how I support women. I’m used to hormonal changes at every end of the spectrum, from teenage surges to midlife shifts, and that lived experience helps me understand how deeply hormones influence mood, confidence, sleep, and identity. In my clinical work, I’ve supported women through cancer treatment, complex medication decisions, and the uncertainty of perimenopause. At home, I’ve learned the importance of listening, noticing subtle changes, and understanding how overwhelming life can feel when you’re trying to hold everything together. That combination shapes my coaching style, scientifically precise, but relatable. Women don’t just need information, they need someone who understands the emotional load of work, family, ageing parents, and children, all while navigating their own hormonal transition. Being both a clinician and a mother allows me to support women with clarity, empathy, and genuine partnership, meeting them exactly where they are. If every woman approaching menopause could understand one thing before symptoms begin, what would you want it to be? I’d want every woman to know that menopause will happen to all of us, and the transition often begins far earlier than people expect. Perimenopause symptoms can start 7 to 10 years before menopause itself, which means many women in their early 40s dismiss changes in sleep, mood, confidence, or energy because they think they’re “too young.” In reality, 42 might be the very beginning. Understanding this early gives women huge power. Menopause affects every cell in the body, which is why symptoms can feel so varied, night-time waking, anxiety, brain fog, urinary changes, joint aches, hot flushes, or a sudden dip in confidence. These aren’t signs of ageing, they’re hormonal shifts, and they’re common, predictable, and treatable. If women knew this ahead of time, they’d approach midlife with far more clarity and far less fear. Evidence-based options exist, hormonal, non-hormonal, and lifestyle-based, and learning about them early helps women stay one step ahead. Most importantly, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Speaking with a clinician or menopause-trained pharmacist early on can help you recognise symptoms sooner and make informed choices that support long-term wellbeing. If every man could understand one thing about the menopause, what would you want them to know? I’d want every man to understand that menopause is a hormonal transition that can affect every part of a woman’s life, her mood, sleep, confidence, libido, and ability to cope, and none of it is personal. Symptoms like reduced libido, increased anxiety, irritability, or emotional withdrawal are physiological, not a reflection of how she feels about him. When men recognise this, they stop interpreting symptoms as rejection and start responding with empathy rather than frustration. Menopause can bring brain fog, night sweats, low mood, and a dip in self-esteem, and partners, colleagues, and friends who understand these signs can offer support that feels steady rather than dismissive. Listening, validating, and avoiding belittling or minimising her experience makes a profound difference. This is exactly why The MenoPharm also offers coaching for men. Men often need their own space to understand what’s happening, learn what to say, how to support without over-fixing, and how to protect their relationship by not taking symptoms personally. Coaching helps men feel informed, confident, and emotionally equipped, strengthening connection at home, at work, and within families. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Suzi Rose

In this world, the lights are on before 5 am. While most of the city is still lying in deep slumber, one serial entrepreneur is already awake and brooding over a cup of coffee- possibly not even the first of the day. When there are performance dashboards to review and a day that's about to span the running of three companies, time is definitely money. This founder (a fictional person, yes, but one that matches up with high-powered entrepreneurs all over the world) oversees an incredible number of employees, business decisions, training, supply chains… you name it. With her tech consultancy, commercial real estate business, and renewable energy company all vying for her attention, she has to be smart about how she uses her time… and she is. So much so that this piece is designed to be inspirational: an idea of what this lifestyle entails if you’re doing it right, and a window into the fast-paced world of commerce and how the ultra-successful swim through those challenging waters. Based on the best practices of the best in their fields, this boss babe has it down, and she has a lot to teach those ready to learn. Let's take a look at a day in the life. Morning moments Instead of diving headfirst into her emails, the first hour of The Founder’s day is protracted – a safe haven before the busyness begins. A leisurely cup of coffee, exercise, self-care and planning. Each is essential in the life of someone for whom time is money and physical and mental health are of top priority. This start sets her up for a smoothly flowing day that doesn’t become overwhelming without warning. When the demands begin, there are three main objectives for her day: anything not on that list can be either delegated, delayed, or politely declined. This kind of disciplined approach to her work keeps managing helicopter charters, client meetings, and product launches a simpler task. By 6 am, the course the day will take is clear. A full day 7:30 am - Leading business number one At the HQ of her local tech consultancy, the weekly leadership meetings move fast, but she’s ready. The department head presents concise, updated, and real-time data instead of drawn-out presentations with an angle “to impress”: she has taught practicality over flash. The discussions move the same way: removing obstacles, allocating resources where needed, and confirming accountability on all fronts. Her questions are often more valuable than how they are answered. She wants to know: Are there risks that we haven't considered? Are clients experiencing delays anywhere? Are there opportunities that deserve better or faster investment? An hour later, discussions are over, and decisions are made. The leadership team can move forward on their own: her role is not to micromanage, but to create clarity and a structure that can support confident execution. 9:30 am - She’s talking to the sky When your next appointment is 300 miles away, driving is simply not an option. Consuming that much of the day on the road is impractical: instead, she makes the most of her time on a private jet where calm, excellent service and a dedicated workspace await her. No minute is wasted, even when travelling: confidential reports are reviewed in complete privacy, investor calls are scheduled, and presentations are refined for the perfect finishing touch. 11:00 am - Construction site walk-through When the Founder lands, her focus shifts from strategy to execution. At her commercial development site, she dons a hard hat and high-vis vest before taking a tour of the location alongside her engineers, project managers, and contractors. Blueprints and progress reports are excellent, but they are no match for being there in person, and she's a hands-on lady. The visit holds another function: it proves to her employees that her leadership style is present and involved, not “from a distance” despite her physical location. Being there, listening to her frontline teams and connecting with her employees is essential in her mind. 1:30 pm - The last miles Thankfully, her next destination is a little closer by, but still a challenge to reach by road in good time. It's back to a helicopter flight (the jet is unnecessary for a shorter trip), and then a stop for refreshments and a lunch break (healthy, delicious cuisine focused on keeping her mind and body healthy) awaits her. She gains direct access, saves time, and treats her to a gorgeous view along the way. 2:30 pm - A last stop to shape the future At her last stop, the renewable energy facility, the conversations turn towards expansion and improvement. The executives put forward discussions on new project opportunities, changes in regulations, and partnerships that could be beneficial to both parties. Though each of her businesses is so different, she maintains her core management principles across each of her holdings; Build strong teams that can run themselves Measure what really matters Delegate where possible Focus on long-term values, not short-term distractions 4:30 pm - Wrapping up and the decisions that matter most By late afternoon, one jet flight and one helicopter flight later, she had made her return to her home base. Now it's time to tackle those decisions that she cannot delegate: senior hires, investment evaluations, acquisition proposal reviews, and the like – the business of the boss. Everything else has been handled by her trusted top-level team, but she knows when to take the wheel. The separation of strategy and operational tasks is key and a characteristic of all successful entrepreneurs. 6:30 pm - End with intention Even with as many businesses as she has, this Founder must prioritize rest. Evenings are dedicated to relaxation, family, and hobbies: relaxing with a good book by the fire, enjoying a leisurely meal or a long bath. She rests as hard as she works because she knows the value it holds. She knows that tomorrow is a new day with new challenges, and she's going to be ready for them…are you?

Written by Jonathan Barca, Founder and Executive Director Jonathan Barca is an independent brand founder and executive director focused on building long-term wholesale infrastructure and culture-led business ecosystems. His work explores the intersection of fashion, creativity, and sustainable brand development. Minimalism has become one of the most recognisable design movements of the past several decades. It influences architecture, industrial design, technology, fashion, and visual communication. Yet, despite its widespread popularity, minimalism is often misunderstood. Many people associate minimalism with neutral colour palettes, clean typography, or the deliberate removal of decorative elements. While these characteristics may describe its visual expression, they do not explain its underlying purpose. True minimalism is not simply about reducing what people see. It is about clarifying what truly matters. In business, this distinction becomes increasingly important. Minimalism is not a design style that sits on the surface of an organisation. It is a philosophy that shapes how decisions are made, how resources are allocated, and how long term identity is protected. The strongest brands are rarely defined by how much they create. More often, they are defined by what they choose not to create. Beyond aesthetics The commercial success of minimalist design has unintentionally created a misconception that minimalism is primarily visual. Businesses often adopt simplified logos, restrained colour palettes, or clean product photography while continuing to operate with unnecessary complexity behind the scenes. Visual simplicity without operational simplicity creates inconsistency. A minimalist website cannot compensate for unclear communication. A carefully designed product cannot overcome fragmented systems or an undefined brand identity. For this reason, I have come to believe that minimalism begins long before design. It begins with decision making. Every organisation makes thousands of decisions throughout its development. Which products deserve investment? Which partnerships align with long term values? Which opportunities should be declined? Which ideas genuinely strengthen the business rather than simply increase activity? Minimalism provides a framework for answering these questions with clarity rather than urgency. Related article: Why minimalist brands are scaling faster The discipline of saying no Perhaps the most difficult aspect of minimalism is not deciding what to include. It is deciding what to leave behind. Growth often creates pressure to expand rapidly. New products, additional categories, emerging markets, collaborations, and marketing opportunities all appear attractive because each represents potential progress. Yet, every new initiative introduces complexity. Complexity requires additional communication, additional management, additional resources, and additional attention. Over time, complexity accumulates quietly until it begins to distract the organisation from the very purpose that originally defined it. Minimalism encourages a different perspective. Instead of asking, “What else can we add?” it asks, “What deserves our complete attention?” This subtle change transforms the quality of decision making. Businesses that learn to decline opportunities thoughtfully often strengthen the opportunities they choose to pursue. Clarity creates confidence One of the greatest advantages of minimalist thinking is clarity. People naturally trust organisations that communicate with consistency and purpose. Whether interacting with customers, retailers, manufacturing partners, or employees, clarity reduces uncertainty and creates confidence. Confused organisations produce confused communication, while focused organisations produce focused relationships. When a business clearly understands its identity, every decision becomes easier. Products become more intentional. Communication becomes more authentic. Partnerships become more aligned because expectations remain consistent across every level of the organisation. Minimalism, therefore, becomes less about creating less and more about creating greater coherence. Simplicity requires discipline There is an assumption that simple businesses are easier to build. My experience suggests the opposite. Simplicity is often the result of considerable discipline. Removing unnecessary processes requires understanding them first. Refining a product requires repeated evaluation. Building straightforward communication requires clarity of thought. The same principle appears across many disciplines. The most memorable songs often rely on remarkably simple structures. The most respected architecture frequently eliminates unnecessary ornamentation. The most enduring products solve problems without unnecessary complexity. In each case, simplicity represents refinement rather than reduction. Business is no different. Minimalism requires organisations to continually ask whether each decision strengthens or weakens the overall system. Related article: The discipline advantage Protecting identity through restraint One of the greatest challenges facing growing businesses is preserving identity as opportunities increase. Success naturally creates more options. New collaborations emerge. Additional product categories become possible. Different markets become accessible. Growth itself is not the challenge. The challenge is maintaining coherence while growth occurs. Restraint becomes one of the most valuable leadership qualities because it protects the identity that made growth possible in the first place. Through my work with LML Clothing by Halfwait, I have increasingly viewed minimalism not simply as a visual direction but as an operating philosophy. Every decision is considered in relation to the broader system rather than as an isolated opportunity. The objective is not to pursue every possibility, but to strengthen the long term identity of the brand through consistency and intentional refinement. In this way, restraint becomes an investment rather than a limitation. Minimalism as leadership Minimalism ultimately begins with leadership. Leaders establish priorities. They determine where attention is directed, which opportunities deserve investment, and which distractions should be avoided. When leaders embrace minimalist thinking, organisations often become calmer. Teams understand priorities more clearly. Communication improves. Resources are allocated more effectively. Decision-making becomes more confident because every action is measured against a clearly defined purpose. Minimalism, therefore, extends far beyond product design. It influences culture, shapes behaviour, and defines expectations. Over time, it becomes embedded within the identity of the organisation itself. Looking ahead As industries become increasingly saturated and information continues to accelerate, simplicity will become more valuable rather than less. Consumers are overwhelmed by choice. Businesses face constant pressure to produce more. Leaders are expected to respond faster than ever before. In that environment, minimalism offers something increasingly rare, clarity. The businesses that endure will not necessarily be those producing the greatest volume of products or communicating the most frequently. They will be the organisations disciplined enough to understand exactly who they are, what they value, and where their attention belongs. Minimalism is not the absence of ambition. It is the discipline of directing ambition with intention. When understood as a business philosophy rather than a design trend, minimalism becomes far more than an aesthetic choice. It becomes a framework for building organisations that remain focused, resilient, and relevant over the long term. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Jonathan Barca Jonathan Barca, Founder and Executive Director Jonathan Barca is an independent brand founder and executive director focused on building long-term wholesale infrastructure and culture-led business ecosystems. He is the founder of LML Clothing by Halfwait, an international fashion label operating through a direct-to-retail model. His work explores sustainable brand development, operational clarity, and creative-led business strategy. Through his writing, Jonathan shares insights on building resilient independent brands in a global market.

Written by David Henzell, Sobriety Coach David Henzell is a qualified addiction therapist, accredited recovery coach, and founder of Phenomenal Sobriety, a transformative recovery programme built on his signature THRIVE Sobriety System. He brings eight years of personal sobriety and three decades of professional experience to everything he writes. Imagine a pile of Lego. Not a boxed set with a picture on the front and a numbered booklet inside, but a pile. More pieces than you could sort in a lifetime, every colour and shape ever moulded, heaped higher than you can see. Now imagine someone is led to the foot of it and told, simply, to make something. Watch what happens to their face. Most people go quiet. Not because they lack imagination, but because they have too much permission. A child handed three bricks builds without hesitation. The same child handed everything freezes. Possibility, past a certain volume, stops feeling like freedom and starts feeling like pressure, and the natural response to pressure is to reach for something the hands already know. So they build a car. Or a small house with a sloped roof and a door that does not open. The pieces were limitless. The result came straight from the first page of a manual nobody printed but everybody somehow carries. I think this is the single most useful image we have for understanding what is happening to people right now, in front of artificial intelligence. AI did not arrive as a tool with a purpose printed on the side. It arrived as a pile. A heap of latent possibility with no edges and no instructions, and we were all led to the foot of it and told to make something. We have done, by and large, exactly what people do when handed too much. We have built the car. We have built a little house. The overwhelm is rational, not lazy It has become fashionable to be slightly contemptuous of how most people use AI. They ask it to summarise the document they did not want to read. They have it tidy an email they could have written themselves. They use a thing of supposedly limitless capability to do, marginally faster, the things they already knew how to do slowly. The clever person response is to sigh at this. I want to suggest the opposite. The car and the little house are not failures of imagination. They are the honest, rational reach of a hand confronted with too much choice and no reason to prefer one option over another. Given a pile and no purpose, building something familiar is not stupidity. It is the only sane move available. This means the problem was never the people, and it was never the capability of the technology. The problem is structural. Possibility without purpose produces paralysis, and paralysis resolves itself by defaulting to the familiar. If you want different results, you do not need a more powerful pile, and you do not need cleverer people. You need to change the one variable that actually governs what gets built. You need to arrive with something the pile cannot give you. The rare builders are not seeing more There is a second kind of builder, rarer, and it is worth being precise about what makes them rare because the popular explanation is wrong. The lazy story is that they see more, that where the rest of us see a heap, they see a cathedral, and the vision simply arrives, fully formed, as a gift of temperament. This is flattering and false, and believing it is the single biggest reason people stay stuck. If the rare builders are simply blessed with vision, then there is nothing for the rest of us to learn and nothing to do but envy them. But they are not seeing more. They want something more particular, and they let that wanting do the sorting. This is the whole secret, and it is almost disappointingly practical. The pile does not become workable when you imagine something grand. The pile becomes workable when you bring a constraint to it from somewhere outside itself. Something you care about so specifically that it tells you, piece by piece, which of the ten thousand nearly identical greys is the one your thing actually needs and which of the others, however beautiful, are simply not for this. Read that again because it inverts the entire conventional wisdom about AI. We are told that power is the point. The bigger the model, the broader its capability, and the more it can do, the better. But the size of the pile is not the gift. The size of the pile is the problem. The care is the gift because care is the only thing that can cut a possible shape out of an impossible quantity. The most capable tool in human history is, to the open and undirected hand, very close to useless, and it becomes extraordinary only in the grip of someone who walked up already holding something. What it looks like to arrive holding something Let me make this concrete because principles are cheap, and the BRAINZ reader rightly wants to know how the move is actually made. To arrive holding something is to come to the pile not with the question, “What can I make?”, which is the question that drowns you, but with the question, “Will you give me the pieces for this?” The “this” is everything. It is the constraint you import from your own life, your own work, your own grief, curiosity, or sense of a wrong that wants righting. The constraint does two jobs at once, only one of which people notice. The job people notice is selection. The constraint tells you what to keep. The job people miss, and it is the more important one, is rejection. The constraint tells you what to throw back. Here is the part that genuinely surprises people the first time they feel it, most of what you throw back is not rubbish. It is brilliant. The pile is full of clever, dazzling, technically impressive things it would love to give you, and the discipline of building something good is mostly the discipline of refusing them because they would make your thing cleverer without making it better. Every piece that would have made the work more impressive and less true goes back on the heap. The unglamorous truth of good work with AI is that it is mostly subtraction performed in the service of a constraint. What is left at the end is smaller, plainer, and exactly right in a way the pile would never have suggested on its own. I know this because I spent a long time doing precisely this with a constraint I cared about more than I cared about being impressive. I was looking, in the pile, for a way to be present to people sitting alone with a quiet question about themselves, a question they were not ready to say aloud to anyone with a clipboard or a duty to record it. People who are not in crisis and not in denial, but somewhere honest and unmapped in between. That constraint did all the sorting for me. It told me, again and again, to throw back the cleverer version, the more capable version, and the version that would have shown off what the pile could do because every one of those would have made the thing colder, and cold was the one thing it could not afford to be. What survived was small, warm, and remembered you. It was nothing the pile would have proposed and everything the pile could provide once asked the right way. The question worth asking If there is a single thing to take from this, it is not a prompt technique, and it is not a list of use cases, both of which date within months. It is a change of question. The question the pile keeps whispering, “What could you make?”, is the wrong one because it has no answer, or rather, it has every answer, which amounts to the same thing. It is the question that builds the little house with the door that does not open. It is the question that produces a thousand nearly identical AI products, a million summarised emails, and a vague collective sense that this was all supposed to be more wondrous than it has turned out to be. The better question is quieter, harder, and entirely yours. Not, “What could you make?” but, “What do you care about so much, so specifically, that you would let it choose for you?” What would you walk up to the pile already holding? Because that, and only that, turns an impossible quantity into a single buildable thing. It is available to absolutely everyone, which is the genuinely democratic and hopeful part. The rare builders are not a different species. They simply arrived holding something, and you can too, the moment you stop asking the pile what it can do and start telling it what you cannot stop caring about. The technology is astonishing. It really is. But the astonishment was never the point, and treating it as the point is exactly what leaves people standing overwhelmed at the foot of the heap. The power of AI is the least interesting thing about it. What you bring to it is everything. The pile has been waiting a long time, and it is not waiting for the cleverest hand in the room. It is waiting for the one that arrives already holding something. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from David Henzell David Henzell, Sobriety Coach David Henzell writes at the intersection of sobriety, identity, and personal transformation. With eight years of personal recovery and a professional background spanning addiction therapy, creative practice, and academia, he brings a rare combination of lived experience and clinical insight to his work. He is the founder of Phenomenal Sobriety, a premium recovery programme built on his signature THRIVE Sobriety System, combining evidence-based techniques, AI companion support, and genuine community. David's approach draws on meaning-centred psychology and a restless curiosity, resisting the dogma of traditional recovery culture. His mission is simple, to help people who don't fit the conventional recovery mould find their own way through.

Written by Karmen Fairall, Speech Pathologist, Reflective Practitioner Karmen Fairall is a Speech Pathologist and reflective practitioner exploring sustainable leadership, boundaries, and well-being in helping professions. Drawing on lived experience, faith-informed values, and professional insight, she writes to support people who serve others in demanding roles. For many years, if someone asked me who I was, I would have answered with a list. I am a speech pathologist, a business owner, a wife, a mother, and someone who helps. These answers are all true. But recently, I have found myself asking a deeper question, "Who am I when I am not actively doing something for someone else?" It is a surprisingly uncomfortable question, especially for those of us who have built lives around responsibility, contribution, and care. When identity becomes attached to achievement There is nothing wrong with taking pride in what we do. Our work matters, our contributions matter, and the people we support matter. The challenge comes when what we do slowly becomes confused with who we are, when our achievements become the evidence we use to prove our worth, and when being needed becomes the way we measure our value. For many people in helping professions, this connection can happen quietly. Our careers are built around making a difference, and our success is often measured through outcomes, progress, improvement, and the impact we have on others. These are meaningful things, but they are not the whole of who we are. The hidden weight of being the reliable one I have always valued being dependable. Being the person others can trust feels important to me. It aligns with my values and my desire to serve well. But I have also noticed how easy it is for this strength to become a burden. When you are known as the reliable one, it can feel uncomfortable to admit when you are tired. When you are the helper, it can feel strange to need help. When you are the person who creates solutions, it can feel vulnerable to acknowledge uncertainty. Over time, the identity of “the person who can handle it” can become difficult to put down. What psychology tells us about identity Research in psychology suggests that healthy wellbeing is supported when people experience a sense of identity that extends beyond a single role or achievement. Self-determination theory, developed by psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, highlights three core psychological needs that contribute to human wellbeing, autonomy, competence, and relatedness.[1] Competence matters because we need to feel capable and effective. But wellbeing also requires connection and a sense of self that is not entirely dependent on performance. When one area of identity becomes dominant, particularly achievement or productivity, we can become vulnerable when that role changes or becomes difficult to sustain. This is something many people experience during significant transitions, including becoming a parent, changing careers, stepping away from a business, experiencing burnout, or entering a new season of life. The question becomes, "If I am no longer doing what I used to do, who am I?" Motherhood has asked me this question Motherhood has been one of the greatest gifts of my life. It has also challenged the way I understand value. Children do not measure their parents by productivity. My boys do not care how many emails I answered, how organised my systems are, or how many goals I achieved. They notice presence and connection. They notice whether I am available to enter their world, to play, listen, laugh, and slow down enough to see what they see. This has challenged me because it reveals how often I evaluate myself using measures that the people I love most do not use. Faith and identity My faith has also challenged me in this area. A recurring theme throughout Scripture is that identity is not something we earn through performance. It is something received. This is difficult for someone like me who naturally gravitates toward responsibility and improvement. There is always another thing to refine, another thing to achieve, and another way to become better. But perhaps growth does not always begin with striving. Perhaps sometimes it begins with remembering that before we contribute, achieve, lead, or serve, we are already valuable. Building an identity that can withstand change This does not mean we should care less about our work, nor does it mean ambition is unhealthy. It means our work should flow from who we are, not determine who we are. A sustainable identity has room for seasons. There are seasons when we build, seasons when we rest, seasons when we lead, and seasons when we simply receive. The challenge is learning not to measure our worth differently in each season. Two practices for this season Baseline practice: Notice your identity statements Pay attention to how you introduce yourself. How often do you begin with what you do, what you achieve, or what you provide? Try completing this sentence, “I am someone who values…” without mentioning a role, title, or achievement. Notice what emerges. Reaching practice: Reconnect with who you are outside productivity Set aside intentional time to engage in something that has no outcome attached, something you enjoy, something that restores curiosity, and something that reminds you that you are a person, not just a provider. A final reflection For a long time, I thought the goal was to become someone who could do more. Now I am wondering if the deeper work is becoming someone who can be fully present, regardless of what I accomplish. The people who matter most to us rarely remember our productivity. They remember our presence and how we made them feel. Perhaps the greatest legacy we can create is not built through everything we achieve. Perhaps it is built through who we become along the way. Continue the conversation I’m currently in a season of slowing down and exploring how faith, frameworks, and reflective practice can support more sustainable leadership and service, particularly in helping professions. If this reflection resonated with you, I invite you to stay connected and follow my journey on LinkedIn, where I’ll continue to share insights as this work develops. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Karmen Fairall Karmen Fairall, Speech Pathologist, Reflective Practitioner Karmen Fairall is a Speech Pathologist and business owner with experience across allied health, service-based leadership, and caregiving roles. Her writing explores burnout, cognitive load, boundaries, and sustainable leadership in helping professions. In this season, she is intentionally slowing down to reflect on how faith, frameworks, and systems can support healthier ways of serving others. Through her work, she seeks to help people lead and live with clarity, compassion, and care. Reference: [1] Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. [2] Stryker, S., & Burke, P. J. (2000). The past, present, and future of an identity theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 63(4), 284–297.

Written by Tara Polley, Realtor and Television Host Tara Polley is a Telly Award-winning TV host, media strategist, and national speaker with 25+ years of experience in luxury real estate, branding, and storytelling. She helps professionals grow their visibility with clarity, creativity, and an upcoming TEDx Talk on purposeful leadership. Every week, someone asks me a version of the same question. Is now a good time to buy? Is now a good time to sell? Should I wait? It is one of the most searched real estate questions in the country, year after year, and I understand why. People are not really asking about interest rates or inventory numbers. They are asking for permission to make a decision that feels too big to get wrong. I have been a real estate advisor in Sonoma County for more than 25 years. I have sold homes through booming markets and through the wreckage of 2008, when I watched my own business and my own confidence get rebuilt from almost nothing. That experience taught me something the national headlines never will. Timing the market perfectly is not the goal. Understanding your own readiness is. Why this question never goes away The instinct to wait for the perfect moment is human. We want certainty before we commit to something this significant. But real estate does not reward waiting for certainty. It rewards preparation. In the years after 2008, I watched neighbors and clients freeze. Some waited years for prices to bottom out completely, only to find that by the time they felt safe enough to act, the window had already closed. Others moved forward with a plan during the hardest stretch of the downturn and built equity that changed the trajectory of their families. The difference was rarely about market timing. It was about whether they had clarity on their own situation before the noise around them got loud. What actually matters more than timing After three full market cycles, here is the framework I walk every client through before we talk about a single listing or showing. Your timeline, not the market’s timeline. If you need to move in the next twelve to eighteen months for a job, a growing family, or a life change, the macro market matters far less than your own circumstances. Waiting for a hypothetical better moment that may never arrive can cost you more than acting with a clear plan now. Your equity position, not the headline price. In Sonoma County, value is hyperlocal. A home in Healdsburg behaves differently than one in Petaluma or Santa Rosa. National forecasts rarely capture what is happening on your specific street, and an accurate read on your equity requires someone who tracks recent comparable sales in your exact micromarket, not a national average. Your readiness to compete, not the rate environment. Buyers often delay because they are waiting for rates to drop. But lower rates tend to bring more buyers back into the market at the same time, which means more competition for the same inventory. Being prepared and preapproved when others are still waiting is often the real advantage. Your why, not your “what if.” This is the one most people skip. Before we talk about square footage or school districts, I want to understand the real reason behind the move. Clarity here changes everything downstream, from pricing strategy to negotiation posture to how quickly someone is willing to act when the right property appears. The lesson from 2008 I lived through the collapse firsthand. I lost my own home as a working real estate agent, and in the years that followed, I sat across kitchen tables with families navigating foreclosures of their own. It was the hardest professional stretch of my career, and it is also where I learned the most. That season taught me something about real estate, and about resilience in general, that I still carry into every client conversation. The market will always cycle. What determines whether you come out ahead is not whether you predicted the cycle correctly. It is whether you did the work to be ready before it turned. So, is now a good time? The honest answer is that the question itself is incomplete. The better question is whether you are ready, whether your local market supports your goals, and whether you have someone in your corner who understands the difference between a national headline and what is actually happening on your block. In Sonoma County, that distinction matters more than almost anywhere else I have worked. Conditions can shift from one town to the next, sometimes from one street to the next. Twenty-five years of watching this market move has taught me that the people who do well are rarely the ones who guessed the timing perfectly. They are the ones who got clear, got prepared, and moved when their own readiness aligned with opportunity. That is a decision I can help you make with confidence, whenever you are ready to have the conversation. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Tara Polley Tara Polley, Realtor and Television Host Tara Polley is a Telly Award-winning television host, media strategist, and national speaker with over 25 years of experience in storytelling, branding, and luxury real estate. As a host on The American Dream TV, an Emmy-nominated lifestyle show, she brings California Wine Country to a national audience through cinematic, narrative-driven content. Tara has a TEDx Talk upcoming and is known for her dynamic keynote appearances that blend emotional intelligence with actionable strategy. As a proven thought-leader, she helps professionals amplify their message, lead with integrity and authenticity, and build meaningful visibility across media platforms.

Genna Zimmel is accepting two select consulting or contract engagements supporting SaaS teams, enterprise organizations, and growth-stage businesses implementing AI-integrated systems. Qualified organizations are invited to connect through torussolutions.io by clicking "Chat About Your Project" to begin a conversation. Torus Solutions is a technical consulting practice registered in British Columbia, Canada, operating internationally. The company today announced availability for new client engagements in AI implementation, CRM architecture, and digital systems transformation. Their clients include founders, small and mid-sized businesses, SaaS teams, and scaling organizations that design and implement CRM, automation, cloud, and AI-driven systems by integrating AI agents, operational workflows, and digital infrastructure to support scalable growth. Services include: Technical Project Delivery: End-to-end delivery of digital and technical initiatives across web platforms, CRM ecosystems, cloud environments, and AI-enabled systems, including project audits, project recovery, stakeholder coordination, and full-cycle technical project management. CRM Optimization & System Improvement: CRM architecture, implementation, restructuring, integration, data cleanup, and workflow optimization across digital platforms and AI-enabled systems. AI Systems Integration: Design and implementation of AI agents, workflow automation, knowledge systems, and structured data architectures that enable scalable business operations. Engagements are available on both a consulting and contract basis, delivered remotely with availability for on-site work. Zimmel holds work authorization in Canada, Israel, and the United Kingdom and is currently accepting engagements with SaaS companies, enterprise organizations undergoing AI and CRM transformation, and growth-stage businesses. Zimmel brings more than ten years of experience designing scalable customer intelligence systems, CRM infrastructure, data-driven workflows, and cross-functional technical initiatives across North America, Europe, and Asia. Her experience includes a decade leading CRM infrastructure, customer segmentation, and lifecycle workflow initiatives. She has completed AWS Academy Cloud Foundations through the University of British Columbia and Python and AI-related coursework through Harvard University's online programs. She holds an Executive MBA from Hult International Business School and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta. Most recently, Zimmel has applied this systems expertise to Sibyl, a context-aware conversational AI project involving prompt engineering, workflow routing, memory architecture, and structured response design, providing hands-on experience in the practical implementation of AI systems. "Most organizations aren't struggling because they picked the wrong AI model, they're struggling because no one built the structure around it," said Zimmel. "That's the gap I help close, turning fragmented systems and unclear workflows into systems that are structured, scalable, and built to last." The Torus symbol reflects the practice's philosophy of building systems that are nimble, continuous, structured, and sustainable. About Torus Solutions Torus Solutions helps founders, SaaS teams, and scaling organizations design and implement CRM, automation, cloud, and AI-driven systems. Through technical consulting and implementation, the practice bridges business strategy and technical execution to build scalable digital infrastructure that supports long-term growth. Contact Genna Zimmel Founder, Torus Solutions genna@torussolutions.io torussolutions.io LinkedIn

Written by Janice Stieber-Rous, Somatic Healing & Holistic Wellness Educator Body Dialogue, founded by Janice Stieber-Rous and expanded with Madelyn Ilana and Mandie Jones, evolves the work of F.M. Alexander, Carl Stough, and C.G. Jung into a living somatic practice, blending movement, breath, and awareness to support embodied growth, creativity, and deeper connection to inner guidance. Today is my 76th birthday, and the most important realization I carry into it is how hard I have worked my whole life to be smarter, better, fitter, healthier, the best friend, the perfect wife, the ultimate mother. Guess what? That mentality has not made me more fulfilled, more loving, or more kind, either to myself or to others. “Try softer.” – Andrea Gibson I felt alone in my marriage. I felt alone as a mother. I was surrounded by people who needed me, giving constantly, and somehow emptier with each passing year. It wasn't that I didn't love them. It wasn't that they didn't love me. It was something else. Something I couldn't name for a long time. I was depleted, and I had no idea how to fill myself up. The Surgeon General of the United States recently declared that the greatest health crisis facing Americans is loneliness. He called it an epidemic, a disease. But I wonder if it's actually a disease, or if it's a sign of cultural intelligence. Maybe loneliness is the body's way of telling us that something is profoundly wrong with how we're living. Maybe it's not a malfunction. Maybe it's a signal. Here's what I've learned over seven decades, you cannot fill yourself up with other people. You cannot fill yourself up with accomplishment, service, or even love if that love flows only outward. You cannot fill yourself up by going out for a drink. You cannot fill yourself up by watching television alone in your living room, hoping the noise will drown out the emptiness. These things might distract you. They will not nourish you. I had a dream once, years ago, about going to the dentist. In the dream, the dentist was filling my teeth. But instead of the usual materials, he was filling them with light. When I woke up, I understood something I hadn't been able to articulate before. I needed to be filled, not by someone else, but from within, from source. It took moving to Florida, being truly alone for the first time in my adult life, to figure out what that actually meant. When you're connected to your inner source, to your inner divinity, you are never alone. That sounds like something you'd read on a greeting card, and I apologize for that. But it also happens to be true. The difference between loneliness and solitude is whether you've found your own companionship, whether you can sit with yourself and feel full rather than empty. Body Dialogue, at its deepest level, is about this. It's not just a body practice. It's a soul practice. It's about learning how to nourish yourself, how to fill yourself up, and how to connect to something larger than your circumstances while remaining rooted in your flesh and breath. Most of us were never taught how to do this. Certainly, most women weren't. Women are conditioned to believe that our worth comes from giving. We give to our children, our partners, our parents, our communities, our jobs. We give our time, our energy, our attention, our bodies and somewhere along the way, many of us came to believe that this giving was the whole point, that receiving was selfish, that needing was weakness. So we gave until we were empty and then we gave some more. I see this pattern in almost every woman who walks through my door, the overgiving, the depletion, the confusion about why she feels so hollow when she's done everything right. She's been a good mother, a good wife, a good employee, a good friend. Why isn't it enough? Why does she still feel so alone? Because you cannot pour from an empty vessel and you cannot fill that vessel with the same energy you've been pouring out. The math doesn't work. Men often approach this differently, though they have their own version of the problem. For many men, work is the avenue of depletion, the relentless drive to produce, to provide, to prove. Play becomes something that has to be earned, and it never quite gets earned. Rest becomes laziness. Receiving becomes weakness. Different conditioning, same emptiness. The energetic feminine supports. This is true whether you're a woman, a man, or anywhere on the spectrum. The feminine principle is the one that holds, nourishes, receives, gestates, and allows. In our culture, this energy is largely invisible, uncompensated, and unrecognized. We reward output. We measure production. The quiet work of holding space, of creating container, of simply being present with another person's pain or joy? That doesn't show up on any metric. Marion Woodman wrote about this brilliantly, the feminine as the soul of the world, the part of us that knows how to be rather than just do, the part that connects us to source, to earth, to the great mystery of being alive. When we abandon the feminine, in ourselves or in our culture, we abandon the very thing that could fill us. I've noticed that every woman seems to hit a wall somewhere in her forties or fifties. The children are grown or growing. The career has plateaued, succeeded, or failed. The marriage has settled into whatever it's going to be. Suddenly, she looks around and wonders, "Is this it? Is this what I worked so hard for? Why do I feel so empty?" This is not a crisis. This is an invitation. The longing changes as you age. When you're young, longing is often about acquisition, the partner, the career, the house, the children, the recognition. You believe that getting these things will fill you. Sometimes, for a while, they do. But eventually, the longing returns. Because the longing was never really about the things. It was about connection, connection to yourself, connection to source, connection to the aliveness that you knew as a child and slowly forgot. What does it mean to fill yourself up? It means nourishing your nervous system, not just your ego. It means learning what actually feeds you versus what just distracts you. It means sitting in stillness and not running from it. It means breathing fully and feeling what arises. It means finding practices that connect you to something larger than your to-do list. It means accepting that you have needs, that you are allowed to receive, that your worth was never about what you gave. It was always inherent. You arrived worthy. You got conditioned to forget. Body Dialogue is a practice of remembering, of returning to the body and finding that the body is not separate from the soul. That the breath connects you to spirit. That when you learn to nourish yourself from the inside, you stop looking for other people to do it for you. Which, paradoxically, is when you stop feeling so alone among other people. When you're full, you can actually be with them. When you're depleted, you're just performing presence while hoping they'll fill your emptiness. They can't. That's not their job. I don't have all the answers. Seven decades have taught me a lot, but mostly they've taught me how much I don't know. What I do know is this, loneliness is not solved by more company. It's not solved by more activity. It's not solved by numbing, distraction, or performance. It's solved by learning to fill yourself up, by finding your inner source, by remembering that divinity isn't somewhere else. It's right here, in your breath, in your body, waiting for you to come home. You were never meant to pour out endlessly. You were meant to be a vessel that fills and empties and fills again. The filling is not optional. It's not selfish. It's the whole point and your body already knows how. You just have to let it teach you. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Janice Stieber-Rous Janice Stieber-Rous, Somatic Healing & Holistic Wellness Educator Body Dialogue is a somatic healing practice founded by Janice Stieber-Rous and developed with Madelyn Ilana and Mandie Jones. Rooted in the Alexander Technique, Breathing Coordination, and mindful movement, the practices taught in Body Dialogue help release stress, tension, and heal habitual patterns. Using practical tools for body, mind, and breath, they guide participants to reconnect with the body’s innate intelligence and inner guidance.

Written by Anne-Sophie Gossan, Transformational Career Coach Anne-Sophie Gossan, founder of Inner Spark Coaching, supports individuals going through career transitions so they find meaningful direction, reignite their spark, and thrive. She brings calm, clarity, and deep empathy and asks the questions that unlock their truths while holding space for both vulnerability and growth. You're not stuck because you lack options. You have too many and no clear way to choose between them. Here's how to get clear, get moving, and build a second half of the year that actually counts. A client I'll call Sarah had been in career disruption for eight months when she sent me a message, 'I thought I’d done everything right. Updated my CV. Networked. Applied for roles I actually want. I feel like I'm going nowhere. Sarah wasn't doing anything wrong. What she was missing wasn't effort, experience, or qualifications. She was missing clarity, a clear sense of what she was moving toward, not just what she was escaping from. It's in July, the halfway point, when that gap tends to hit hardest. What career disruption does to your sense of direction Career disruption is not just a practical event. It's an identity event. Research by Harvard Business School professor Herminia Ibarra shows that when our professional role disappears, we don't just lose a job. We lose the story we've been telling ourselves about who we are. Ibarra's data found something that most career advice gets backward, clarity comes from doing, not from thinking more. The people who recover fastest from career disruption are not the most organised. They're the ones who experiment, take small steps in different directions, and use the feedback to refine where they're heading. For women, this is more acute. The 2024 Women in the Workplace report found that six in ten senior-level women report burnout, higher than at any point in the study's decade-long history. The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 found that 40% of employers expect to reduce workforces where AI can automate tasks, including middle management roles that disproportionately affect experienced women. "If you don't address the identity gap underneath the career gap, you'll keep applying for roles that don't fit and wondering why nothing is working." Direction is not the same as destination The biggest obstacle to getting clear is the belief that you need to know exactly what you want before you can act. This is the most common piece of career advice given to women in transition, and it creates paralysis, not progress. Direction is different from destination. Direction means I know what I'm moving toward, even if I can't see the full path yet. The kind of work. The kind of contribution. The kind of environment. Destination thinking ('I need to figure it all out first') keeps you stuck. Direction thinking ('what's one move this week that takes me somewhere real?') builds momentum. "Clarity is not a lightbulb moment. It's built incrementally through action, through small decisions, through noticing what feels right and what doesn't." I had a client (I'll call her Niamh) who spent five months post-redundancy applying for versions of her old role. Senior operations, financial services, same sector, same level. Every interview left her flat. In July, she finally asked the question she'd been avoiding, "What did she actually want?" The answer surprised her, sustainability consulting, something she'd dismissed as 'not serious enough.' By September, she had her first client. By December, she turned down the financial services job she'd finally been offered. Niamh's story isn't about everything working out. It's about what happened when she stopped running toward the familiar and asked a harder question. Four moves that actually work in the second half of the year Do a half-year audit, and make it useful, not punishing: The point is not to measure how far behind you are. It's to understand what you now know that you didn't in January. What's clearer? What surprised you? What have you learned about what you do and don't want? That's the data that matters. Make one directional decision this week: Not a big one. One that takes you toward something rather than away from something. Send the email. Apply for the thing. Use the response as data, not a verdict on your worth. Rebuild your network around your future, not your past: Ibarra's research is detailed on this, the network that helped you succeed in your previous role is rarely the one that will help you succeed in what comes next. Getting direction also means getting around different people. Use the summer slowdown deliberately: When inboxes go quiet, most people in career disruption panic. The women who use this period well treat it differently, as time for thinking and exploring that gets crowded out in busier months. September comes fast. Use July to arrive at it pointed in the right direction. "If you spend July measuring your progress against everyone else's highlight reel, you'll arrive at September feeling like you've failed. If you spend it getting deliberate, you'll arrive ready to move." The bottom line We're at the halfway point. Six months of learning, adjusting, sometimes struggling. Six months ahead. The question isn't how far you've come since January. The question is, what direction are you pointed in now? If you know the answer, July is your moment to act on it. If you don't, July is your moment to find it. Ready for your next step? If this has resonated and you're ready to get clear on your next move, not in theory, but in practice, get in touch and tell me where you're at. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Anne-Sophie Gossan Anne-Sophie Gossan, Transformational Career Coach Anne-Sophie Gossan spent 25+ years in the corporate world navigating high-stakes environments and career transitions. She spent years building a career and a home, juggling the demands of raising two boys while holding down a very demanding job. When redundancy struck, it shook her confidence and identity in ways she hadn’t anticipated. She decided to qualify as a coach and to create Inner Spark Coaching: Reimagine Your Story, a safe space where her clients can reclaim the unstoppable version of themselves that’s always been there. Through coaching, conversation, and deep transformation, she guides individuals into their next chapter with clarity, confidence, alignment, and renewed purpose. Sources: Ibarra, H. — Working Identity Lean In C McKinsey — Women in the Workplace 2024 World Economic Forum — Future of Jobs Report 2025

Written by Alja Mauric, Guest Writer In naturopathy, every person is unique. Understanding body constitution helps identify the body's strengths, potential weaknesses, and the lifestyle choices that can best support long-term wellbeing. Many people believe there is one perfect diet for everyone. In naturopathy, we see things differently. We recognize five different body constitutions, and each one has its own predispositions and areas that may require extra support. During a naturopathic assessment, we observe the iris, the tongue, and the skin to better understand your individual constitution and overall balance. Based on these findings, we provide personalized recommendations for nutrition, lifestyle, and, when appropriate, dietary supplements that best suit your body's needs. The goal is not simply to treat symptoms but to support the body before imbalance develops. When you eat and live according to your constitution, you can help improve your vitality, digestion, energy levels, and overall wellbeing. Because true health begins with understanding your unique body, not following someone else's lifestyle. One lifestyle does not fit everyone: Why your body constitution matters What if the reason a diet works wonderfully for one person but not for another is not a lack of discipline, motivation, or willpower? In naturopathy, we look at the individual as a whole. Your body constitution, lifestyle, daily habits, digestion, energy levels, and individual weaknesses can all influence which foods and routines are most suitable for you. Rather than following the latest universal diet trend, naturopathy asks a different question: what does your individual body need? Why does body constitution matter in naturopathy? Many people approach nutrition with the idea that there is one perfect way of eating. One person recommends a high-protein diet, another avoids all animal products, while someone else feels best eating mostly carbohydrates, and another one recommends a blood type diet. All of them may sincerely believe that their approach is the best. But the human body is not identical from person to person. In naturopathy, we recognise five main body constitutions. Each constitution has its own characteristics, strengths, and areas where the body may be more sensitive or require additional support. This is why the same diet, exercise programme, or supplement may have very different effects on different people. Understanding your constitution can therefore provide a more individual perspective on nutrition and lifestyle. Instead of asking, “What is the healthiest diet in general?”, we can ask: “What type of nutrition and lifestyle is most suitable for my body?” This individual approach is one of the reasons naturopathy places such importance on observation and personalised recommendations. The five body constitutions and their individual needs The five constitutions traditionally considered in this naturopathic approach are the kidney, heart, liver, lung, and spleen types. Each has different characteristics and may have different nutritional and lifestyle needs. These constitutions should not be viewed as rigid labels. In real life, people may display characteristics of more than one constitution. 1. The kidney constitution: supporting warmth, energy and strength People with a kidney constitution are often naturally slim, with long and thin limbs. They may eat a great deal without gaining weight easily, but they can find it difficult to build muscle mass. They may also tend to feel cold and have lower energy reserves. From a naturopathic perspective, their lifestyle should therefore focus on preserving energy rather than constantly using it up. For this constitution, overly intense cardio exercise may not always be the most suitable choice. Calmer activities such as yoga, pilates, meditation, strength training, or other forms of movement that support relaxation may be more appropriate. Nutrition can also be adapted to support warmth and energy. Foods traditionally associated with warmth and nourishment, such as beans, sesame seeds, chestnuts, cod, olives, dark grapes, may be included according to the individual's overall needs and tolerance. This constitution may also require particular attention to minerals and nutrients associated with bones and overall vitality. In naturopathic practice, personalised recommendations may include specific tissue salts or other nutritional supplements. The key message for this constitution is simple: do not constantly spend energy that your body is trying to conserve. 2. The heart constitution: supporting circulation and balanced activity The heart constitution is often associated with a naturally stronger build, heavier bones, and a tendency to gain weight more easily. These individuals may eat relatively little but still find weight loss challenging. For them, regular and moderate physical activity can be particularly important. However, more intense exercise is not necessarily always better. A sustainable level of exercise that allows the body to work without excessive exhaustion may be more appropriate. From a naturopathic perspective, nutrition may focus on reducing foods that are considered too heavy for the individual and increasing the intake of quality protein sources such as legumes, fish, and white meat, depending on the person's needs. This constitution is also generally advised to limit bread. The best foods for this constitution are red foods like beetroot, tomato (in summer), and berries. Lifestyle is equally important. People with this constitution may benefit from regular movement, consistency, and a balanced approach rather than extreme diets or excessive exercise. The goal is not to force the body into an unrealistic shape. Different constitutions naturally have different body structures. The goal is to support the healthiest and most balanced version of your own body. 3. The liver constitution: balancing drive, activity and recovery People with a liver constitution are often naturally athletic and may develop muscle relatively easily. They are frequently energetic, ambitious, active, and driven. However, their strength can also become their weakness. These individuals may have a tendency to overdo things. Even after a long day at work, they may still feel the need to exercise intensely. They can find it difficult to slow down, rest, or simply do nothing. For this reason, recovery is particularly important. Exercise can be highly beneficial, but it should be balanced with adequate rest and proper nutrition. A combination of cardiovascular exercise and strength training may be appropriate, depending on the individual's overall condition. In naturopathic nutrition, foods that may place additional strain on the individual are carefully evaluated. Coffee, chocolate, cocoa, rich and fatty foods, and certain dairy products are not recommended. Recommended foods for this constitution are green and bitter foods like artichokes, dandelion, arugula, celery juice, lemon, and grapefruit juice. The liver constitution may also benefit from attention to nutrients such as magnesium and B vitamins, particularly when the individual experiences high levels of stress or has a very active lifestyle. The most important lesson for this constitution is often: more is not always better. Sometimes recovery is the missing part of the lifestyle. 4. The lung constitution: supporting the upper body and respiratory balance The lung constitution is often characterised by a more pronounced upper body and chest area. From a lifestyle perspective, attention may be given to strengthening the upper body and supporting flexibility and mobility. People with this constitution may also be particularly sensitive to what naturopathy describes as an excess of “moisture”. In the naturopathic understanding of nutrition, certain foods, including excessive amounts of dairy products and white flour products, may contribute to this imbalance in susceptible individuals. This constitution should eat more warming and spicy foods such as ginger, radish and horseradish. The environment can also be important. Indoor air quality, humidity, and the conditions in which we sleep and spend much of our day can influence our overall comfort and wellbeing. Exercise may be particularly beneficial earlier in the day, when many people naturally feel more alert and active. As with every constitution, the exact approach should be adapted to the individual. The key principle for this constitution is to support both movement and openness – physically, through exercise and mobility, and environmentally, through attention to the air and surroundings. 5. The spleen constitution: supporting digestion and balance The fifth constitution is the spleen type. In naturopathic practice, this constitution is often considered in relation to digestion, blood sugar balance, food cravings, and the way the body responds to certain foods. People with this constitution may benefit from regular meal patterns, appropriate food combinations, and careful attention to excessive consumption of refined sugar and highly processed foods. A balanced diet based on fresh, nourishing foods can be particularly important. Vegetables, suitable sources of protein, and foods such as millet, pineapple, and broccoli are individually well tolerated and all have a place in the diet. The most important point, however, is that even within the same constitution, people are different. A person may have a particular constitution but also individual food sensitivities, lifestyle habits, stress levels, and digestive challenges that need to be considered. This is why naturopathic nutrition is not simply about giving everyone the same meal plan. Why the same food can affect people differently Have you ever wondered why one person can eat a particular food every day without any apparent problem, while another feels bloated, tired, or uncomfortable after eating it? There may be many possible reasons. Individual digestion, food intolerance, lifestyle, stress, constitution, sleep, and overall health can all play a role. This is why simply copying another person's diet may not produce the same results for you. Even a food that is generally considered “healthy” may not be suitable for every individual, every day, or in every quantity. In naturopathy, the quality of the food is important, but so is the question of whether it is appropriate for the person eating it. A personalised approach can therefore be much more useful than constantly jumping from one popular diet to another. How can naturopathy assess your individual needs? One of the most interesting aspects of naturopathy is the way the individual is observed as a whole. During a naturopathic assessment, different signs and characteristics may be considered, including the iris of the eye, the tongue, specific points on the body, skin, skin spots, and other visible signs. The purpose is to create a more complete picture of the individual. The iris, tongue, and body points are considered within the naturopathic framework as sources of information about constitutional tendencies and areas that may require additional support. This information is then combined with the person's lifestyle, eating habits, symptoms, energy levels, and personal experience. Based on this individual assessment, naturopathic recommendations may include: a personalised naturopathic nutrition plan; foods that may support the individual's constitution; foods that may be better limited or avoided; advice on meal timing and food combinations; lifestyle recommendations; suggestions for appropriate dietary supplements; tissue salts or other naturopathic preparations; recommendations for rest, movement, and daily routines. The important principle is that recommendations should be individualised. Nutrition is only one part of a healthy lifestyle Although food is important, a healthy lifestyle is not created by nutrition alone. Sleep, movement, stress, emotions, daily routines, and the ability to recover are equally important. A person may eat a very carefully selected diet but still feel unwell if they constantly sleep too little, remain under chronic stress, or never allow their body to rest. In naturopathic practice, even the timing of meals can be considered. The naturopathic approach may also draw on traditional concepts such as eating in accordance with the body's daily rhythms and supporting different functions at different times of the day. For example, the first meal of the day may be viewed differently from the evening meal. The type, quantity, and timing of food can all be adapted to the individual's needs. This is one of the reasons why naturopathy looks beyond the question of “What should I eat?” and also asks: “When should I eat?” “How does this food affect me?” “What does my body need more of?” “What might be weakening me?” My perspective: stop searching for the perfect diet One of the biggest mistakes people make is constantly searching for the perfect diet. They try one diet, then another. They follow advice from social media, eliminate entire food groups, start taking numerous supplements, and eventually become confused about what they should actually eat. My perspective is that there is no single diet that is perfect for everyone. The most useful approach is to learn to understand your own body. Your constitution can provide important clues. Your digestion can provide additional information. Your energy, cravings, sleep, body signs, and individual reactions to food can all contribute to a more complete picture. Instead of asking, “What is the latest diet trend?”, it may be more helpful to ask: "What does my body actually need?" A personalised approach can be more sustainable The best lifestyle is not necessarily the most extreme one. It is the one you can maintain. A personalised naturopathic approach can help you understand why certain foods, exercise routines, or supplements may be more suitable for you than others. It can also help you recognise that your needs may change over time. Your body is not a machine that requires the same fuel in exactly the same way every day. Your age, stress levels, physical activity, sleep, season, digestion, and overall wellbeing can all influence what your body needs. The purpose of naturopathic nutrition is therefore not to create fear around food or to impose unnecessary restrictions. It is to develop a deeper understanding of your individual needs and to support your body through appropriate nutrition and lifestyle choices. What can you learn from your body constitution? Understanding your body constitution can help you become more aware of your individual tendencies. You may begin to understand why you are always cold, why you struggle to gain weight, why you gain weight despite eating relatively little, why you are constantly active but unable to relax, or why certain foods repeatedly cause discomfort. This knowledge can be a useful starting point for making more conscious choices. Instead of forcing yourself to follow someone else's routine, you can begin to create a lifestyle that is better adapted to you. And that is perhaps one of the most valuable principles of naturopathy: There is no universal lifestyle. There is only the lifestyle that is right for you. Ready to discover what your body needs? If you would like to understand your individual constitution and receive more personalised naturopathic guidance, a naturopathic consultation can be a useful first step. During an individual assessment, the focus is on you as a whole person. Based on the naturopathic assessment and your individual needs, recommendations can be made regarding nutrition, lifestyle, and appropriate nutritional support. The goal is not to follow another temporary diet. The goal is to understand your body better and create a lifestyle that supports your individual balance. Your body has its own language. The first step is learning how to listen to it. Please note: naturopathic approaches are complementary and do not replace medical diagnosis or treatment. Individual responses may vary. If you have a diagnosed medical condition or are undergoing medical treatment, consult your qualified healthcare professional. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram and visit my website for more info! Alja Mauric, Guest Writer Alja Mauric, a graduate naturopath, certified auriculotherapy practitioner, certified nutrition consultant, group exercise instructor, and Access Bars therapy practitioner and owner of the BodiBALANS naturopathic studio. In April 2026, I published a book called 'With a Touch of the Ear to Body Balance,' which contains 69 auriculotherapy protocols and naturopathic solutions.

As organizations navigate unprecedented technological disruption, increasing complexity, and shifting workforce expectations, a new executive leadership immersion launching in February 2027 is challenging a long-held assumption: that better leadership comes primarily from acquiring more knowledge and better strategies. The Conscious Leader, a six-day executive immersion taking place February 3-8, 2027, in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico, was created by executive coach Lauren Utecht and consciousness facilitator Barbara Blum to explore a different question: What if the next evolution of leadership begins with the internal development of the leader? Combining executive coaching, embodied leadership practices, guided reflection, and consciousness-based methodologies, the experience is designed to cultivate greater clarity, presence, discernment, and resilience in today's leaders. The program launches at a time when organizations are investing heavily in leadership development while confronting challenges that traditional models were never designed to address. Artificial intelligence, economic uncertainty, rapid organizational change, and increasing demands on leaders have created an environment where technical expertise alone is no longer enough. "Organizations have become exceptionally good at developing leadership competencies," said Lauren Utecht, executive coach and co-founder of The Conscious Leader. "What many leaders are discovering is that the complexity they're navigating today requires more than another framework or management model. It requires expanding their own capacity to remain clear, grounded, and connected while making decisions in environments where certainty no longer exists." Unlike conventional executive retreats that focus primarily on strategy or productivity, The Conscious Leader begins before participants arrive. Each leader participates in executive coaching and preparatory sessions before the retreat, followed by a structured post-retreat integration process designed to help participants translate personal insights into lasting changes in leadership, decision-making, and organizational culture. For Barbara Blum, whose work has centered on consciousness development for more than two decades, the retreat reflects a growing recognition that leadership effectiveness is inseparable from self-awareness. "For generations we've measured leadership largely by external performance," Blum said. "Increasingly, we're recognizing that the quality of a leader's perception, presence, and self-awareness influences every conversation they have, every decision they make, and every culture they help create. Developing those capacities isn't separate from leadership – it may become one of its defining characteristics." The collaboration between Utecht and Blum intentionally bridges two worlds that have rarely been brought together in executive development. Utecht contributes nearly two decades of experience advising senior leaders through organizational complexity, while Blum brings decades of experience in contemplative practice, yoga, meditation, and consciousness development. Together, they have created an immersive experience that invites leaders to examine not only how they lead, but the deeper patterns from which their leadership emerges. Participation is intentionally limited to maintain a highly personalized experience. The inaugural retreat will be held February 3-8, 2027, at Equilibrium Healing Resort & Spa in the Sierra Madre Mountains near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Additional information is available here. About The Conscious Leader Retreat The Conscious Leader is a six-day executive immersion created by executive coach Lauren Utecht and consciousness facilitator Barbara Blum. Combining executive coaching, embodied leadership practices, contemplative inquiry, and structured post-retreat integration, the program is designed to help leaders cultivate greater clarity, resilience, presence, and alignment in an increasingly complex world. Media contact Barbara Blum Co-Founder, The Conscious Leader 1-415-309-3115 barbarablum.com

Written by Ariel Griglin, Health & Fitness Coach Ariel Griglin’s expertise lies in helping women journey toward Becoming Lighter in all ways. She uses protocols like The Metabolic Reboot to support them in overcoming weight loss resistance, hormone imbalances, and autoimmunity. Ariel is the founder of Becoming Lighter Retreats, where women gather for deeper spiritual immersion. Technology is incredible. Many of us describe artificial intelligence as amazing, terrifying, superhuman, or even the beginning of the end. We call it inconceivable, yet the truth is something much more profound. We conceived it. Human beings imagined it, engineered it, and brought it into existence. For those familiar with Scripture, you may think of Genesis 1:27: “God created mankind in His own image.” I have often imagined that verse as God looking into a still pond and seeing His own reflection through humanity. If that is true, and humanity begets technology, what might our technology reveal about us? I want to be clear. While I may explore the limits of artificial intelligence, this very article was edited by my lovely co creator, ChatGPT. Let us begin this adventure with my own personal experience. About a month ago, I went through an upgrade, if you will. It was time for a new computer. My AirPods were not holding a charge, my iPhone was glitching, and I was ready to invest in some new recording gear for my business. There was so much learning and organizing happening at such a rapid pace that I could literally feel my brain operating at an entirely new processing speed as I set up my new equipment. As I noticed myself processing all of this new information so quickly, I considered: What if this computer is not just a tool? What if it is a reflection? Here I was, feeling like I was operating at the speed of my M4 chip, this remarkable technology that allows today’s computers to process extraordinary amounts of information at incredible speeds. I wanted to understand it better. So, with absolutely no experience in information technology or engineering, I travelled down the proverbial rabbit hole. What I discovered surprised me. These sophisticated computer chips can be thought of as tiny cities, with roads, shipments, deliveries, routes, and teams all working together. As the technology has advanced, every one of those systems has been optimized for speed, shorter routes, and greater interconnectivity. As I learned that these microscopic chips continue to be built with their components in ever closer proximity to achieve greater efficiency, it led me to a series of questions. What if there were full integration? What if these microscopic pieces merged toward unity? If all of this is our reflection in the pond, what does it reveal about humanity? Some of you may be reading this with scepticism, wondering whether any of this can truly reveal humanity’s reflection. I know you. Before you run off too quickly, consider this. The human body, I would argue, is the oldest and smartest technology on the face of the Earth. Not only can we walk, speak, breathe, and chew without conscious thought, but we are also a species capable of transforming complex thoughts, ideas, and emotions into words and actions so that we may connect with one another. The same intelligence that builds cities, writes poetry and symphonies, creates the means to fly across oceans, and now builds artificial intelligence already lives within us. As a personal trainer and health coach guiding people through physical, mental, and spiritual transformation every day, I wholeheartedly believe our innate genetic makeup holds remarkable potential. Our creation of artificial intelligence merely scratches the surface of what we are capable of. Within this field of possibility lies the ability to see aspects of ourselves reflected in the world around us. Yes, every person, every machine, every thing and no thing, in varying degrees, of course, can offer us this reflection, if we choose to look for it. There is a sameness within us all. It is what allows me to teach my clients ways to improve their oxygen capacity and physical mobility while supporting healthier neural patterns. I make the case that human beings possess greater potential than any technology we have created, and that these technologies reflect the power and capabilities that already exist within us. Carrying on with our series of questions. Can this advanced technology move toward zero point? In some spiritual circles, zero point is described as a state of absolute neutrality, stillness, and limitless potential, a symbol of divinity, pure consciousness, and freedom from attachment. As I write this article, governments are investing heavily in the next frontier of computing: quantum computing. We have spent decades making technology smaller, faster, and more integrated. From room sized computers to devices that fit in our pockets, and now to processors operating at the quantum scale, we seem to be moving ever closer to the fundamental building blocks of reality. If this new computer of mine, so fast, so intelligent, and so intricately connected, can sit on the cusp of such remarkable integration, well, my friends, that is an interesting reflection to see in the pond. Shall we keep going? If we travel a bit further down the rabbit hole, we will find that healing crystals have become all the rage. It took me a while to realize this. I walked into a crystal shop for the first time in 2018, and whether you call it fate, the power of crystal energy, or pure coincidence, I met the love of my life there. At the time, I knew virtually nothing about crystals. What I did know was that my understanding of true and lasting healing was expanding, and somehow, I found myself walking through that door. Just a few short years later, crystals had become one of the biggest wellness trends and perhaps one of the wellness world’s favorite gifts. Coincidence? Hmm... In many healing traditions, crystals are understood to be naturally occurring minerals, each possessing unique colors, structures, and properties. Some believe these characteristics, including their vibrational qualities, may be therapeutic when paired with particular emotional or physical ailments. Another belief found within some spiritual communities is that, during this time of profound transformation, humanity is becoming more crystalline in nature as we ascend toward our highest nature. But does that biologically make sense? I love those rose quartz bathtubs I have seen, but I will keep my skin, eyes, and hands, thank you very much. Here is what does make biological sense: Your bones and teeth naturally contain microscopic crystals made from calcium phosphate minerals. In addition, some proteins, cell membranes, and other cellular structures exhibit forms of liquid crystalline organization that help support biological function, while your inner ear contains tiny calcium carbonate crystals that are essential for balance. Crystals are defined as solid materials whose atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in a highly ordered, repeating three dimensional pattern. Okay, so, an orderly body? Well, that sounds a lot like my definition of health. When our emotional patterns, biological systems, and organs function cohesively, we become vibrant, healthy, and holistic three dimensional human beings. Perhaps the aspiration to arrive in a crystalline state is really an aspiration toward wholeness, a state of organized harmony. Now, you are probably wondering how we got from M4 chips and quantum computing to meeting my soulmate in a crystal shop. It will not take long, I promise. Rather, I will pose it as a question. Where is the company behind the M4 chip based? Ding. Ding. Ding. If your brain, yes, that beautiful, intelligent, highly organized processing equipment you have, just told you Silicon Valley, you, my friend, are correct. And if you do not already know, the silicon used in computer chips has a crystalline structure. The reflection in the pond is getting more sparkly the further we go. Wonderful. That is exactly my point. As the founder of Becoming Lighter, my hope is that you begin to notice that light everywhere and perhaps recognize it within yourself as well. Modern technology is the offspring of human intelligence. If you choose, it can offer a reflection of our ability to store, process, and organize information with remarkable speed and efficiency. If you choose, it can offer a glimpse of the magnificence we have only just begun to uncover within ourselves. Perhaps that journey begins by supporting your own biological technology, caring for your wellbeing while navigating chronic symptoms, and moving through life with greater mobility, vibrancy, and joy. Perhaps that is what Genesis was inviting us to see all along. If we were created in the image of the Creator, then perhaps every act of human creation carries a reflection of that same intelligence. Artificial intelligence is not proof that machines have become superior to us. Perhaps it is a reminder of how extraordinary we have been all along. That, my friends, is a beautiful reflection to see in the pond. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Ariel Griglin Ariel Griglin, Health & Fitness Coach Ariel’s youth as an athlete, alongside parents with terminal diagnoses, primed her for the depths of healing. She became a NASM-certified personal trainer and developed expertise in reshaping the body. It wasn’t until she experienced death and divorce in her adult life that her work evolved beyond the physical, refining her true capacity to heal. Through that season, she was gifted what she now holds as the core truth of healing: Light. Today, Ariel is one of a select group of elite coaches trained in The Metabolic Reboot, a program that has helped tens of thousands eradicate disease and overcome weight loss struggles. She is also the founder of Becoming Lighter Retreats, an immersive spiritual experience for women