As one of only 34 advanced certified practitioners of professional development assessment tools around the globe, Dr. Aparajita (AJ) Jeedigunta is a trained social-personality psychologist, a certified professional executive & leadership coach, an author, a podcaster, content creator, and a spouse and a parent. She is a two-time Traumatic Brain Injury survivor turned Mental Wellbeing Warrior and Advocate. Dr. AJ is an award-winning Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belongingness (DEI & B) & Leadership strategist, consultant, trainer and coach. She is the Founder of AJ Rao, LLC, a boutique firm whose motto is Making the Invisible Visible for Better Equity and Belongingness, that offers comprehensive strategies, solutions and trainings in Equity, Inclusion and whole-person leadership development to teams, groups and individuals. Companies most often hire Dr. AJ when the status quo "best practices" don't work for them. She works with leadership teams and decision-makers to help them create customized and comprehensive strategies and solutions for intentional equity and inclusion in their culture and operations. On the individual front, Dr. AJ loves working with high performing visionaries with big dreams to help them radically increase their leadership presence, social impact and income while permanently eliminating the discontent of being overworked and underappreciated. Dr. AJ is also the creator of the Culturally Competent Conversations for Equity and Belongingness (C3EB) Summit & Brand. What has been the most impactful occurrence in your life in 2020? I’ve had to go through COVID as an entrepreneur, a spouse, a daughter with immunocompromised parents, and a mother. To add to that, I’m also an Asian American woman living right outside of Detroit, which is predominantly black. It’s been heartbreaking to witness the aftermath of the gruesome murder of Mr. George Floyd. And then on top of all of that, to also see an invisible pathogen wreak havoc on global health and economy… It’s been devastating overall. Yet, through all of this uncertainty and liberal distribution of fear, 2020 helped me remember and reinforce that bad things will always happen, but how we respond to it determines our future. We're never going to have a perfect society. In many ways, perfection is an abstract ideal because we never truly get to that point of perfection. But it doesn't mean we get to stop striving towards the ideals of progress, innovation and the elevation of our consciousness as leaders. You experienced Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) that seriously influenced the course of your life. And you’ve recently talked about them as blessings in retrospect. Can you tell us about that? I've had two. Before the first TBI, I was groomed to be a medical doctor by my family, just like many other Indian and Indian American kids. That was the path that was laid out for me. There were no other options. I was a stellar student, extremely motivated, checking off the boxes on all sorts of accomplishments and accolades. With my first TBI, which was a concussion, it changed my life because, all of a sudden, nothing I was doing in life was making sense anymore. I realized I wasn't happy or fulfilled. I wasn't tapping into my purpose. My first traumatic brain injury helped me realize that. That’s why I call it a blessing in retrospect. After that, my life trajectory completely changed. I was determined to break past the boxes of others’ ideas of my success and create my own. I was in grad school when the second TBI happened. It was two days after I declared my doctoral candidacy. Again, I was working my butt off, doing everything right, checking off all the right boxes, albeit this time in the field I wanted to be in. In many ways, I was slated to be the next “big expert” in my niche that came out of that department. And then, I got hit by a car that ran their red light. I actually checked out of life for what felt like days but was only a few minutes before they brought me back. I had multiple clots in my brain, three skull fractures, a subdural hematoma, and my orbital socket around my left eye was damaged. When the medical team stabilized me, I didn't know my own name. I didn't know who my parents were. I knew I was in a hospital. I knew I was a doctoral candidate, but none of that made meaningful sense to me. In retrospect, I got an incredible opportunity to build my life from scratch, exactly the way that I wanted to. Not many people get to say that. I saw all of the boxes I once again put myself into, all of the ways in which I let other people dictate who I ought to be. In the building process, I got to permanently put all those outside expectations aside and focus on what brought me joy and a sense of purpose, what the source of my determination and inspiration is and so on. This launched me to where I am today. Did the medical treatment you received at the time influence any of the changes you ended up making? My business and life motto is “Making the Invisible Visible For Better Belongingness.” The way the medical community treated me was my first realization of all the ways in which I, as a whole human being, had been rendered invisible. I was on grad student insurance, so they stabilized my vitals and told me to go home. They did not give me a recovery plan. They did not give me any sort of outpatient therapy or rehab other than a 3-month follow up and a 6-month follow up with the same ER neurosurgeon who seemed peeved that he didn’t get to cut my brain open. My only option at that point was to figure out how to rebuild my life on my own. I had no other options. It was a lot of trial and error, pain, crying, migraines, cognitive symptoms that I had to figure out how to work through, and little tips and tricks for when I had aphasia. Grad student insurance covers almost nothing. And, I still had bills to pay. So, I ended up going back to teaching about 3 weeks after I got out of the hospital. I had to teach, work on my dissertation, be effective, and function. I couldn’t focus on recovery and healing. I figured out most of the functional stuff out in the first month. In many ways, I was able to do it because I didn’t have any parameters put on me by therapists, occupational therapists, psychiatrists, or neurologists. I didn't know my own limits. I didn’t realize there were limits. Can you tell us about your motivation for creating the C3EB summit, the Culturally Competent Conversations for Equity and Belongingness summit, with your first inaugural hosting in August 2020? C3EB came out of a pipe dream I had for about two years. I kept thinking about how we need to have more conversations about equity and belongingness and not just about business cases for diversity. I kept seeing companies or individuals say they're committed to DEI work, but they stopped once the boxes were checked. That's not the way to do it. In fact, that's harmful for the company and the personnel in the long term because stopping at checkboxes ends up minimizing or completely missing the real value of people’s contributions. Long story short, as I was working on this issue in my business towards making the invisible visible, 2020 happened! First, an invisible pathogen showed up and brought our previously unaddressed problems of inequities right into the front of our faces. It shed light on the intersectional and interconnected nature of healthcare, economic conditions, professional growth and just life in general. Then Mr. Floyd's murder happened. This heinous atrocity was seen all over as a catalyst or a rebirth of this social justice movement for Black communities. Even though this movement has been ongoing for 450 years because things have never been equitable for Black communities, after his murder, the majority of conversations and threads on social media that I saw were along the lines of, “Wow! I can't believe this happened. This is so atrocious. I thought racism ended.” And I was left thinking, “Inequities, disparities and discrimination have always been happening. This is just the first time we’re actually paying attention to them.” Historically, the structures and institutions we build in society have always marginalized the voices of some groups so that their stories don’t get heard. We’ve never had a diversity problem; we’ve had a seeing and hearing problem. So, I decided to bring some historically marginalized voices together and shine the spotlight on them so that all of us could see, hear and learn from these people with lived experiences and insights. This way, we could at least begin to have these conversations together because we're all shaping our collective future together. We could break free of the silos and vacuums we’ve been operating in. And I decided to flip the script on traditional conferences and summits with the mostly white male speakers, the 1-2 white women and the token non-white representatives, because I could as the creator. The C3EB roster was very different. Out of the 46 speakers we had, 41 identified as BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and/or people who managed visible/invisible challenges. We had corporate professionals, entrepreneurs, educators, nonprofit founders, marketers, coaches, doctors, lawyers across the board. So, what does the future of the C3EB summit look like? The response was phenomenal. I couldn't be more thrilled. And the biggest thing I realized is that the C3EB platform is a great vehicle to address two huge problems in the DEI space as we develop it to be self-sustaining. The first problem that happens in DEI work, especially in corporate spaces, is that equity and belongingness are not considered. Most people still call it D&I, but you can't have inclusion without equity and belongingness. The truth is that diversity has always existed in the spectrum of the planet. The entire world was built on diversity, whether you're looking at rocks, plants, animals, people, whatever. It's the equity and inclusion piece that's been the problem throughout human history. The other problem is that most traditional D&I trainings tend to happen as a singular seminar or workshop once or maybe twice a year at most, or they’re offered selectively to a select group of people. In a nutshell, they’re not accessible regularly. These are both big problems in the space. For it to be effective, DEI work has to be a part of the daily routine and operations. That's why the once-a-year conversations don't get results! With C3EB, I realized we had the opportunity to build that sustainability, that foundation where these conversations become regular, and not just as mandatory meetings that nobody gets anything out of. So, the new model going forward is that in addition to the big “hackathon for DEI” in Q3, we’re having targeted “mini” summits. We’ve started on this already with the next summit coming up on November 19-20, 2020. We are going to continue to showcase leaders from historically marginalized groups talking about critical issues, even the tough ones. We want to show that there is no shortage of diverse talent in our talent pipelines; we just need to fix the seeing and hearing problems that society has been conditioned to have. And, we’re going to offer annual access passes to the nearly 100 hours of yearly content so that those who are interested in becoming intentionally inclusive leaders, advocates and allies can learn and grow to be inclusive leaders at their own pace. What are your top 3 recommendations to help people approach leadership in a self-aware and centered way? First, take the time to think about how DEI & B principles can become a part of and the foundation of all your business goals and personal goals. Don’t relegate it to the storage closet of your “extras.” If it is not a part of daily work or keeps being just a box that you check off, that's not intentional commitment and will never lead to intentional inclusion. What are the things that you need to think about to make DEI&B a part of your daily operations? Where are you with DEI&B right now? Why are you doing whatever it is you’re currently doing? What are the gaps – both seen and unseen? What is stopping you from addressing the gaps right now? What resources can be created or reallocated to make DEI&B a part of everyday life? These are some of the first conversations I have with my clients – individuals and corporate – at the beginning of our professional relationships. They’re tough questions that provoke a lot of introspection and candid, blunt realizations, and, they’re often the most fruitful beginnings of phenomenal intentional change. Secondly, step past diversity and focus on belongingness. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion principles are all rooted in belongingness – a need that has to be fulfilled in all human beings for them to thrive, connect and contribute their best work. The Need to Belong is a human imperative. Think about it. You must have had at least one moment in your life where you felt like you didn't belong, where you’ve felt othered, alienated or marginalized. All of us have had such moments no matter who or where we are in life right now. When you realize how you felt in that moment and amplify it, you’ll realize that’s how members of historically marginalized groups feel every single waking moment of their lives. Once you realize this, you can start getting focused and strategic about your personal accountability and responsibility to create intentional inclusion in all the spaces in your life. You realize you can’t and don't have to fix everything because you don’t need to be a hero. Nobody needs you to be the savior; the world just needs you to be conscientious, ethical and intentionally inclusive in your own way. At the end of the day, real progress in Equity, Belongingness and Intentional Inclusion can only happen when you focus on your own whole-person, conscientious leadership development. It starts with you. It always starts with you. That’s the work I do. Finally, I see that a lot of people start this journey on their own only to give up because they get exhausted. It can be exhausting on your own. Get the support you need. That’s why people like me are around. Our entire work was literally created to support you on these tough journeys, so take that support. Don't shy away from it. You’re not the lesser person for seeking that support. In fact, you’re a great role model for those around you. When you do seek that support, and you say, “I want to be very committed and intentional about DEI & B, and I can't do it on my own.”, you can help other people realize that they don't have to do it on their own either. Everybody needs help with DEI & B. I wasn’t born a DEI & B and leadership consultant. I had to put in an enormous amount of work and have an entire support system built up so that I can be effective at what I do. We're having a lot more conversations right now, but I think a top struggle is that people refuse to hear different perspectives, especially in the D&I space. As a professional who works in this space, how do you stay so persistent in the face of such obstinance? When I first started out, I felt a great sense of uncertainty and hopelessness and fear of things never changing for the better. This happened precisely because I thought I had to be a hero. But then I realized that because I am just one person, the best thing I can do is to hold myself personally accountable to do what I can to make things around me more equitable and inclusive for my clients and my community. My optimism emerged from this determination. Usually, the resistance to be open to new perspectives comes from a place of fear; a fear that including those new perspectives somehow means excluding our own. This is a myth because equity, inclusion, and belongingness are not zero-sum games. This falsehood gets perpetuated through the fear of not having a seat at the table if we invite more people to it. The other big fear is the possibility of saying or doing the wrong thing as a leader, especially in this cancel culture trend we’re currently living through. Both of those fears, however, are textbook symptoms of a fixed mindset. I am very intentional about not operating from a fixed mindset. I do my inner work every single day so that I spend the majority of my day in a true growth mindset. That means stepping out of that fear by realizing that I’m a work in progress, understanding that including other perspectives doesn’t mean excluding myself, and, that I'm still going to learn something even if I do the wrong thing. The growth I gain from participating in the DEI & B space daily is far more beneficial than sitting back in fear of the emotional costs I think I might incur. And in a very real sense, being an intentionally inclusive leader and business owner is far more beneficial for me as a person and for the business. Would you be afraid to make money? No, right? Understanding the benefits of inclusion in my entire ecosystem in a holistic way empowers me to step out from a space of fear to compassion, conscientiousness and love. That's the space I operate from. I think that's why I'm able to persist day in, day out. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Exactly here, just as an even more evolved, aligned, and impactful version of me. That may be a boring answer, I know. I’ve finally built my life to where I truly love what I do. I get so much joy from it that I don’t want to imagine doing anything else. I'll probably be speaking a lot more because I’m getting more speaking engagements as a subject matter expert on this, but I’ve found my lane in life and I’m sticking to it. I will have grown exponentially. My team will have grown exponentially, so we’ll be able to impact even more people who are committed to this greater movement for equity, inclusion, and belongingness. I want to be a brand that people know they can come to and get the value they need to make themselves and our communities more equitable and inclusive. I'm always going to be an advocate for whole-person leadership development being the most sustainable path to equity, inclusion and belongingness. Speaking of always striving towards that personal and professional development, what's the first small step that people can take to become more conscientious and inclusive leaders? The first is realizing that being a leader means looking inward to develop yourself into the best version of a human that you can be. Leadership literally boils down to our humanity. Oftentimes leadership development initiatives and programs focus on the 9-to-5 and the processes instead of the people. They’re not too effective, in my opinion. Leadership involves inspiring, energizing, empowering, serving and taking care of people in all aspects of life. This also goes into the whole work-life balance thing, because that's a myth too. Work is a part of life, not separate from it. It’s life-life balance. When you realize that you get to be a leader and inspire, serve and lead conscientiously and inclusively, and that it entails all of your spaces in life, you balance yourself in ways that reduce or erase time and energy conflicts. The analogy I like to use here is that you can wear 15 different hats over the course of the day, but all of those hats go on the same head; that's whole-person leadership development. It’s only when you work on that head that you can begin your journey to becoming a more conscientious, inclusive leader in all of your spaces. You have to work on yourself first before you can make an impact on the world. Because even when we fix current problems, some other problem is going to come up. We're always going to have problems. That's the reality of life. Something's always going to come up. Focusing on the problem, however, is a band-aid solution. At the end of the day, our problems matter less than how we choose to respond to them. I'm here to help you reframe and rewire how you think about these things, so that when problems keep coming up, you can come up with sustainable solutions themselves. Of course, this is a bit of an oversimplified answer. I actually have a framework that I use to give away to those interested in going on this journey. If you want it, all you have to do is text “INNER FIRE” to 411321 (+1-909-741-1321 for International and Sprint US Subscribers). I use this text-triggered education tool powered by a company called ecoFiles® that came up with this environmentally friendly, beautifully accessible way to share documents. After all, if you’re reading this, chances are you have access to a smart phone or device with texting capabilities Have you experienced any obstacles as a minority and woman-owned business? Absolutely. Right off the top of my head, the most obvious one is access to equitable pay or capital. Then there’s the visibility and acknowledgment issue; it has to be noted here that Black women get dealt the worst of this type of treatment because of all the ways in which they’re stereotyped and marginalized. I’m not comparing oppression levels here, just stating a known fact in our society. It has to do 250% to be even 50% seen to get back to the visibility and acknowledgment inequity. It is a constant uphill battle to get recognized in ways that are even to the same levels of visibility and acknowledgment that our white, male peers and contemporaries get for their work. This is a sentiment felt by a majority of people who are in that “minority box” in any way, whether BIPOC, LGBTQ+, or people with visible or invisible challenges. I mean, in that sense, I check off almost all the boxes. So theoretically, just based on the diversity checkboxes, I should be on top of the world. Many of us should be. We should be at the Simon Sinek or the Tony Robbins level off the top of my head. Notice how those are two white men. Granted, those are two giants in the field, but how many women of color can you think of to put in the same category as those two? And how hard did you have to think to come up with this list? Because again, the problem isn’t diversity; it’s equity. The fact is that members of marginalized groups are overworked and underappreciated. It’s the definition of marginalization. It is also the biggest reason why employees leave their jobs. In my case, it was because I experienced these barriers that I knew I had an entrepreneurial mindset and that I could provide the solutions for them based on my experiences and subject matter expertise. This is how my business came into existence. These are the exact issues that I provide solutions for through my services, whether it’s an individual contributor, an individual leader, or groups or teams from within businesses. Looking at the DE&I space, I’ve heard there's a severe problem with companies hiring consultants to help them with DE&I, when those consultants are not part of these marginalized communities. What do you think about that? I think this is a serious problem in the space and that hiring someone who doesn’t have the expertise and experience is the wrong move for the business to make. A lot of companies are hiring consultants who don't have the lived experiences of marginalized groups but have gained expertise on DEI&B topics through their education. On the other hand, there are also companies who are hiring people from marginalized groups who aren't formally qualified to address the issues at hand, just to check off that performative box. In addition, it seems like a vast majority of companies are still dichotomizing inclusion and marginalization as a Black-white or a gay-straight issue when it's not. Just because you're an expert, it doesn't mean that you understand the nuances of lived experiences, especially lived experiences of systemic marginalization; and just because you've been marginalized, it doesn't mean you're qualified to be a DE&I expert. The best-case scenario is to hire an expert from a marginalized group who also has the education and qualifications to be a DEI & B driver in your company. And, the best-case scenario also means hiring someone who understands that inclusion initiatives have to make sure they make space for all perspectives, even those that fall out of the traditional Black-white or gay-straight dichotomies. For the clients/companies you work with, at what point will you consider a company to be authentically inclusive and equitable? In terms of the specifics, it really depends on the client and what their goals, benchmarks, and KPIs are. But overall, you have to make the investment towards it. Don't just be an information gatherer; be a doer by investing in it financially, and ideally in those experts who have been historically marginalized. You're going to get more value and return on your investment. Your buck is going to go further. It's also a very clear indicator that you're not just talking the talk; you're walking the walk towards inclusion and equity. So, make the investment. Then, actually listening while being open and vulnerable. When I point out problems and ask questions, “Why didn't you do X, Y, and Z? What stopped you from doing A, B and C?” I'm not coming from a place of judgment. Effective coaches don’t come from a place of judgment. If somebody feels judged, that's their internal stuff happening. You have put that aside, make the investment, and actually pay attention to what’s being asked from a nonjudgmental space. After that, you have to act on it by implementing these suggestions in your people and processes while understanding that change doesn’t happen overnight, and it requires consistent, persistent practice. That's when I know that they're committed to authentic inclusion. That's when I get a good indication that this is not performative. This is possibly uncomfortable as heck for them and they're still doing it because they're that committed. For more information, follow Aparajita on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit her website!

Written by: Linda Dent, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Do you understand your own strengths? I am not talking here about physical strength, emotional strength, or even mental strength. Rather it's about discovering what makes you unique and how knowing your strongest attributes can lead to effective leadership and following the right career path for you. As a business owner, it can direct you towards that sweet spot where you do what you love, and others love what you do. I first discovered my own top strengths by reading this book – Now, Discover Your Strengths by Donald O. Clifton and Marcus Buckingham, which teaches how to succeed using your most powerful natural talents. What about our weaknesses? It seems that many of us have little idea of our talents and strengths. When I ask a business owner what their strengths are, invariably, I get responses such as “Well, I am a good electrician, but I am not good at finding clients.” Why do we do this? – Talk about ourselves in such dulcet tones and feel the need to explain what we cannot do. I'm certainly not inspired by such a statement, so why would potential clients come flocking to your door? If you spent any length of time working for a company, you would have experienced performance reviews and learned to focus on your weaknesses or forego the bonus. How can anybody be perfect at everything? Sales, Admin, Finance, Strategy, Operations. On our CVs, we list all the tasks that we have performed over the years but not how well we performed them. If this is you, it's time to let go of the negativity! Do not stress about the things you cannot control and start a discovery journey – YOU and your strengths! Discovering Your Talent Once you discover your top strengths, you have a vocabulary to talk about yourself to other people. For example, my top strengths are analytical, maximizer, focus, deliberative, input, and relator. I can introduce myself to you as somebody who loves to ask questions (analytical), to understand how your business works and the challenges you are facing, and once I do to help you to enhance (maximize), the work you do through zoning in (focus) on different aspects of your business and coaching you to plan and consider risks (deliberative). I will help you by researching options (input) and then working out a plan of action together that works for you through a long term coaching program designed just for you (relator). Can you see how these sentences tell you more about me as a person and a businesswoman and leader? Whilst I may not be a strong Ideation (rocket scientist) or Woo (able to sell ice to Eskimos), these are not failings, but they highlight where I might seek help from others rather than others battling to be this person myself. Hitting The Sweet Spot Understanding your unique strengths can lead to a fulfilling career, whether you work for a company or own your own business. Helping others to understand their strengths can lead to better relationships, a greater understanding of the power each person brings to a team, and sustainable results. Start A New Journey Reach out for a Virtual Cuppa with Just Ask Linda to have a conversation about strengths. Connect with me on Social media. Links below. Follow me on Facebook , YouTube , LinkedIn and visit my website for more information! Linda Dent, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Linda is a Business coach with a solid background in the Banking Industry. She believes in building businesses through long term relationships and a partnership approach to grow and empower the small business owner through planning, actions and regular reviews of actual results vs. planned results. She is the Founder and CEO of Just Ask Linda Business Coaching, which was born out of a desire to Grow, Learn, Empower others and Enjoy her work, her very own GLEE philosophy. From understanding your unique strengths and how they apply to work, establishing where you are now and where you want to be in your business, getting to know your numbers and setting goals, managing your time, or rather how to do more of what you love each day, building a loyal team of employees or just listening to the business owners’ major business challenges and offering up new thinking, you can Just Ask Linda. If she can make a difference in a business owners’ life, helping them to overcome Money, Time and Team challenges to grow a successful business and share some part of their business journey; then she will be full of GLEE. Owning a business is an adventure, and she loves the one she is on.

Written by: Serena Fordham , Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. As we head into our second lockdown since Covid-19 hit the UK back in March 2020, many business owners are concerned as to what the future of their businesses looks like. Back in April 2020, HER Business Revolution asked our community of female small business owners how they felt their business would fare over the coming months, and responses showed that these women were divided into two camps as to their feelings towards how lockdown would impact their business; both in the short and long-term. The same feelings are being shown again as we head into the second lockdown. Even though some businesses have already developed and evolved to continue to deliver their products and services online, others who had reopened in their face-to-face format are now forced to close once more due to the pandemic. So, those two camps I talked about. The female business owners we spoke to generally fell into two categories: 1) Those who quickly identified what problems they had to overcome to continue business during this time, then brainstormed ideas and evolved their businesses as a result (or if they were unable to adapt used the time to train, plan and develop!) and; 2) Those who felt sorry for themselves constantly complained and did nothing. And following the first lockdown, guess which one of these business people came out stronger and more successful??? Of course, you guessed right - business owner number one! At HER Business Revolution, we believe that the mindset and well-being of a business owner/leader are just as important as their business strategy; therefore, changing the way the second lockdown is viewed can change the whole situation and allow businesses to evolve and adapt to survive and prosper. For example, rather than spending energy complaining, a make-up artist could offer one-to-one make-up lessons or group tutorials via Zoom/Skype/etc., or do Facebook/Instagram live videos to remain visible and grow their mailing list ready for post-lockdown? And if business owners can’t physically take their business online (i.e., hairdresser, tradesman, or travel agent), they could use this time to grow their mailing list and social media followers for the future success of their business or train in something new to help grow their business in the future. If you are a business owner and are spending your time focusing on the negatives of this second lockdown (rather than looking at the problems and adapting to solve them), then I’m sad to say that it is unlikely that your business will survive past this next lockdown phase. Especially as moaning and groaning will have no positive effect on your life or business. Instead, as business owners are bosses of their own destiny, then adapting a flexible mindset and trying new things in business will allow owners to take back control of the path their businesses will take. So, if you are finding that you are in that place of worry for the future of your business, you are now at a crossroads and have a choice - so choose to stop using your energy to worry and instead focus on working on your mindset and wellbeing, so you are in the best mind-frame to take positive action to move your business forwards. And ultimately, our advice is to BE STRONG, ADAPT, EVOLVE AND DIVERSITY TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE, plus seek support from a coach, mentor, or business support organization (like us!). If you are interested in speaking at, or attending, any of our events to train, inspire and empower female small business owners, please get in touch through www.herbusinessrevolution.biz & follow me on Facebook Read more from Serena! Serena Fordham, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Serena is an expert Business Strategist, Growth/Development and Empowerment Mentor to Female Entrepreneurs, as well as a best-selling Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur, and successful multiple Business Owner. Her main passion is offering business strategies, support, and empowerment to ambitious and high vibe business women both locally and internationally – through HER Business Revolution at www.herbusinessrevolution.biz . She is also known for her organization skills through owning Glow Virtual Assistants and for her support of women and child-related charities (also founding two charitable initiatives – Mums Empowerment Movement and SociaBubble)

Written by: Agnese Rudzate, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. The stress of constantly feeling overwhelmed when building your empire can become debilitating, affecting your health, relationships, and more. By consciously managing your money and time , setting clear goals, and planning your future, you will reduce stress, accomplish more, and love your life more than ever before. And this is my goal for writing this article. Ease and flow starts with proper planning - this is how you get your affairs in order. But organizing your life for success doesn’t have to be scary or overwhelming. Planning is freeing simply because it shows you steps to take to get where you want to go faster and much more effortlessly. With a plan in hand, you don't have to think about what to do every time you get sidetracked, because the guidelines are already set, all you have to do is follow the map. A 5-year plan is overwhelming, and you don’t have to have one. I don’t. And it turns out to be quite handy especially at times of uncertainty. It’s great to keep the big vision in mind ; however, planning 5 years ahead can turn out to be a waste of time . When setting goals that are too far away, it can become unreachable and dis-motivate us because they don't necessarily correspond to what you are doing right this moment. I ’ m a big advocate of simple ; therefore, a 1-year plan seems like a perfect time period for very realistic and reachable goals. I have prepared a plan :) for you to make this process as structures as possible to reach those envisioned goals faster. 1. Set your 1-year goal. Imagine your future self one year from now. She is opening a bottle of champagne and celebrating…. (fill the gap)! Looking back, she can see clearly what has brought her to this celebration moment. NOTE: Reaching a goal is a huge win and should always be celebrated. But every small win that has led you to the big win should be celebrated as well. A small win is still a great achievement, and it only brings you closer to your goal. By not celebrating ourselves, our wins, we can lose that excitement and motivation that is what can make us feel as though we are not succeeding, when in fact, we have achieved so much already! 2. Set your quarterly goals. Now let’s move backward and set some serious milestones along your journey of 1 year. If you divide your year by quarters, what would you want to be able to celebrate as your achievements? What is that reachable and measurable 3-month goal that, when achieved, will move you that much closer to a 1-year celebration? NOTE: Looking back at the data, statistics, facts will tell you a lot about your progress and will show you whether you are on the right track moving at the tase you were expecting. Don’t underestimate the poster of statistics. It gives such great insight without emotions being involved. 3. Set your monthly goals. These are great goals to test your abilities and chosen road because they are so close you can almost touch them. These are wins that can be reached quicker. Look at these monthly goals as steps to take towards that yearly goal of yours, and it will be much easier to prioritize what truly deserves your attention. 4. Set your weekly goals. The end of every week should feel like progress that was made towards big vision. It should be full of exciting productive action you are taking that not only proves to create tangible results but also increases effortless flow in your daily actions. Things to keep in mind when taking productive action towards your big goal and stick to the plan that you know will get you where you want to be in a year: A. Consistent productive action - success doesn’t come in one day, be consistent in your path. B. Commitment to follow the plan - winners don't procrastinate and postpone important tasks. C. Measuring every action - understanding statistics are as important as consistency and commitment - what we don't measure, we don't manage. Following through with your daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly goals will keep you on a consistent train that leads to your envisioned success. Consistency comes with planning. It doesn ’ t just happen! If you don't plan you are on the road to fail to reach your goals. Don’t make it difficult for yourself. Measure processes and actions and learn from your fails. They are your lessons and deserve to be celebrated. Tracking your progress should be planned in your calendar weekly, and if not every day, then every week. I can guarantee at least a couple of things that will be worth celebrating. Planning is exciting and freeing . If you think that it is too time-consuming, imagine how much time you will waste by blindly walking in the dark and testing new idea every week? Look at the data - it will show you where you should focus. And at the end of the day, it will save you loads of time. Don't limit yourself to a boring daily routine. Do what lights your soul up and mix things to stay motivated and get inspired every single day! For more info, follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , or visit my website ! Read more from Agnese! Agnese Rudzate, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Agnese Rudzate is a Business Productivity Coach and Time-management expert with a professional background in Quality Management and Empowerment Coaching. She has turned her lifelong passion for organizing into her mission, helping women gain the confidence, clarity, and time freedom they deserve by providing action steps, tools, and customized strategies. Agnese is a firm believer that anyone can achieve business or personal goals through a deeply focused effort, which is based on her coaching. Through structure, systems, and processes that bring results, Agnese teaches her clients to manage their business with ease, create time freedom, and scale in profits.

Written by: Andrea Ryan, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Right now, many of us are being challenged by an array of negative emotions washing over us without rhyme or reason. Turn on your TV, read a newspaper, walk past someone on the street or listen to the radio. You cannot, it seems, escape the news that is Covid. Anxiety, distress and depression are unfortunately fast becoming a normal state of being for many of us. So how do you manage these states and distract yourself from what you’re experiencing and refocus on what’s happening in the present moment? Acknowledge your situation The first thing is to recognize and acknowledge your situation. Let’s use anxiety as an example. As someone who may experience anxiety, you may become annoyed when anxiety strikes. “I don’t have time to have an anxiety attack right now,” “of COURSE this has to happen now,” “I’m meant to be meeting someone today, but I’m not sure I want to risk it” or “I am so sick of these anxious moments, I wish they would just go away,” “When is all this going to end!” When anxiety pays us a visit, it brings with it a sense of doom. Our hearts race, our minds get busy concocting all different awful scenarios, our breathing becomes shallow and we can sometimes feel light-headed. Suffering anxiety is not fun. Whatever the trigger may be, we suddenly find ourselves cocooned in a storm of feelings that nobody else can see. Whether you’re at work at your desk, or frozen at the kitchen sink, or standing at a set of lights – your stillness contradicts everything that is going on within your mind at that moment. Take a deep breath and acknowledge where you are in that moment. Then use this grounding technique to help create space from distressing feelings you are experiencing. Let Your 5 Senses Ground You This particular technique involves using your five senses and is often referred to as the ‘5-4-3-2-1 coping technique’. This technique is designed specifically to be easy to implement and effective in drawing your attention to this moment. It helps to calm your breath, settle your thoughts and bring your mindfulness to the present. Working backward from 5, use your senses to list things you notice around you. To get started, take in a big breath from your belly: 5. See – Look around you and find five things you can see. 4. Feel – Notice four things that you can feel eg your feet in your shoes, the itch in your arm, the clothes against your skin. 3. Hear – Take note of three things you can hear: traffic outside, the wind in the trees or your neighbors’ dog. 2. Smell – Breathe in and list two things you can smell. 1. Taste – List one thing you can taste. You may want to say these out loud as you go or just confirm them silently to yourself. Make an effort to notice the little things you might not always pay attention to, such as the color of the flecks in the carpet, the hum of your computer or the color of the leaves on the trees. For more information, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit my website! Andrea Ryan, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine I'm a transformational life and business coach for women. I support women to enable their journey of self-discovery and drive change through their personal journeys. Professionally I help female entrepreneurs align their mental and emotional journey with business guidance and mentorship. I have had a 15 year executive career, heading up business and marketing strategy, brand management and leadership in the disability employment sector, sport and as an award winning business development director in a mental health Not for Profit. Spending 3 years on the Australian National Committee for UN Women as a Committee Member and as a consultant to Human Right start-ups, I am constantly seeking board and volunteer roles that offer me the opportunity to utilize my skills to give back and contribute to the wider community. Quoted in Marketing Magazine Australia as the 'Accidental Marketer', I have a flair for the creative, which fuels my passion for supporting women to step into their power, thrive in their careers and become leaders who will instigate change to make this world a better place.

Written by: Arthur Gluzman, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Job boards may have been born out of the need to make job postings more visible and easier to access for job seekers. However, with the constant innovation of technology, Job boards might lose their value and effectiveness. Hence, potentially rendering it old-fashioned very soon. While job boards may have done a great job at bringing various job vacancies to light, this does not dispute the fact that its effectiveness is continuously declining. According to workitdaily.com, job boards have a 2-4% effectiveness rate, which is relatively low compared to networking, which has an effectiveness rate of over 50%. If we decide to dive into the numbers, you will discover that the statistics of job boards’ are appalling. For example, you must know that for the average two hundred and fifty applications received for a job vacancy, only two percent make it through the interview stage. Also, for every six candidates invited for an interview, only one ends up getting the job. Looking at these statistics alone, one is left to wonder if the stress of reviewing hundreds of jobs and applying via these job boards is worth it? So, if not job boards, you might wonder what else could be of great help to job seekers. Well, the answer is simple because Networking + Referrals = A Gold Mine. According to a study by LinkedIn, the preferred way for people to discover a new job is through referrals. Also, another research by Career Builder revealed that 82% of employers rated referrals above all sources for generating the best return on investment. Now, when we consider certain hiring metrics, you would discover that when it comes to hiring, referrals are better than job boards. To further strengthen the effectiveness of referrals, professional platforms like LinkedIn have greatly encouraged networking among recruiters and professionals. In such a case, it is not uncommon to see a job seeker network with a recruiter via LinkedIn. Sometimes, if the recruiter is interested in such a candidate, he/she might be willing to refer the candidate to a job that suits the individual's skills. Furthermore, with a platform like LinkedIn, sourcing for quality candidates for a job post has become more accessible. Hence, pushing networking to become the major currency shaping the recruiting industry. A 2018 Survey by Jobvite proved this to be true as it revealed that seventy-seven (77) percent of recruiters now rely on LinkedIn for their hiring purposes. Now, when we compare job boards to networking or referrals, we can't help but agree that there are better ways to apply or get a job than via job boards. So, instead of wasting numerous hours scouring through job boards, that time could be better-utilized networking with top recruiters and decision-makers. For more information, connect with me on LinkedIn or visit my website ! Read more from Arthur! Arthur Gluzman, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Arthur Gluzman, founder is CEO of a million-dollar recruitment company, and a career coach. For more than 20 years, Arthur has coached and helped various individuals to get their dream jobs within 30 days. He has also helped top reputable companies recruit the best-talent in their organizations. Using his 20 years of recruiting experience, he have helped CEO’s, CFO’s, VP’s, and Talent Acquisition Pros who are looking to hire and retain the best professionals and executives in the known Universe. "I encourage you to take your career to the next level. I believe it’s time for you to receive expert assistance in pinpointing your hidden strengths and passions while building unshakable confidence. Build your brand as an expert in your industry, just like any other leading expert. You will never feel stuck, undervalued, unappreciated, unrecognized, or underpaid - Ever again in your lifetime. So…"

Written by: Yogesh Osher, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Contacting the inner feelings is the key to overcoming procrastination. Why? Because it's where the Energy is. And only with energy we can move on and achieve our goals. Energy is the drive and the power to break through barriers and overcome challenges. Energy can come from different energy centers. But all are harvested through feelings. The mind is the guiding wheel and the heart, or the feelings are like the engine. What am I feeling? Ask yourself and be quiet, listen, accept, know the innermost recesses of your being... This will open the door to your feelings, to your power. Opening this door is like flooding the room with water , it may be scary at first, but if you can understand that the fear is nothing but an idea that these emotions will not change that they may be so strong that they will scare away others or annihilate you. You can overcome this underlying fear by taking a big breath and just sitting with it. Just allowing the emotions to manifest, they are within you, not the other way around. Be present with the rawness and truth of what you feel. Without judging, labeling or boxing, negative self-talk just be, just allow the space to really feel. By doing this, you’ll become the master of the feeling and no longer be ruled by them anymore. Fear dissolves when truth is observed directly. So take a breath and look deeply into yourself, be open to experience. Experience is change. Yet the fear is that experience will stay, but the truth is that fear moves and changes with the ability to see and feel emotions for what they are. The other barrier is resentment. Resentment happens when we disown the emotion , and by doing so, disempowering ourselves by thinking that it is due to someone or something else that we are stuck. Own it. And you’ll have the power to rule it. Without complete ownership, someone or something else will have the power over you. So, resolve to own your true emotions and regain the creative power to direct your life. Resentment is just a reflection that you are not holding the true power in your hands. Sure some conditions are out there that we don’t control but we can always control our responses and choices. Remember this. It’s like your Jedi Sword of truth. By learning to use the Sword of Truth, procrastination will no longer be a problem. There will be only the choice , the empowered choice to do what you want to do. To manifest what you want, and ultimately to be who you want to be. To your Success! Learn more about Empowerment Detox and Wellness here ! Read more from Yogesh ! Yogesh Osher, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Yogesh Osher holds a Masters Degree in Gestalt Therapy. He is a highly skilled Gestalt therapist and group facilitator as well as a certified Wellness Coach and Yoga teacher and a Detox Practitioner (Dip. Natural Therapeutics). He is the founder of Living Total Wellness and a co-founder in the global naturopathic movement of Natural Yogic Treatments. In the past two decades, he has been studying, practicing, and teaching Zen, Tantra Yoga Meditation, Gestalt Therapy and Functional Medicine. His life purpose is true wellness. Engaging a synergetic synthesis of east and west, and drawing on methodologies, practices and systems that bring real results. He currently offers online wellness programs integrating personal growth with detoxification and lifestyle changes. He brings a spiritual outlook to promote lasting transformations in the life of his clients. Using gestalt process, self-empowerment and practical wellness, Yogesh promotes a heartfelt integration and elevation of life as a whole.

Written by: Theresa Tirk, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Your self-confidence comes from your identity which needs to be self-generated, not shaped by others. You are less likely to be influenced by others when you are not seeking validation outside of yourself, when you are holding the power, when your confidence is based on your core values and standards. The key to restoring or stepping into your confidence is to identify what is holding you back in the first place. Then it’s up to you to action steps towards conquering those limits and living life your way. Most of the beliefs and blocks we carry around are not even our beliefs. They have been passed down to us from generation to generation. They may have been picked up due to a trauma we experienced. There are a wide variety of ways that our brain has determined these things are important to our sense of survival. The good news is that we have the ability to rewire the way our brain thinks, what it feels is important to our way of life. We have the power to change the way we think, what we believe, how we feel. I would also like to take a moment to discuss the difference between self-esteem vs. confidence. They are very often considered one and the same when actually they are two separate entities. Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself overall, in a general sense. Self-confidence is how you feel about yourself in particular areas of your life, in your abilities. Let’s talk about some of the biggest confidence blockers I have found hold my clients back. This is, of course, a shortlist of the biggest culprits I have found that stand in the way of feeling fulfilled with ourselves, feeling complete confidence in who we are as individuals. 1. Trouble making decisions. Being indecisive about decisions, whether big or small, always wavering. 2. Letting comparison take over. The constant need to compare yourself to those around you not only steals your confidence but, in turn, your joy. 3. Being filled with self-doubt. Always second-guessing yourself, never truly feeling worthy. Now that you have attached yourself to one of the above confidence blockers, let’s talk about how we start the process of breaking down that barrier. This leads us to the 6 pillars of confidence and how you can use them as stepping stones on your journey. 1. Awareness - understanding what areas you struggle in 2. Acceptance - understanding that it exists and that you need to take action towards change 3. Action - creating the rituals, the routines, the steps towards getting back to self-acceptance 4. Mental - releasing the limiting beliefs, start implementing mind shifts 5. Physical - body image, body acceptance, noticing the physical manifestations from the mental beliefs and blocks 6. Spiritual - connecting with your higher power, letting go of something bigger than yourself Awareness. This would essentially be the first step. If you don’t have awareness around a problem, there is no opportunity for change. Take the time to evaluate all areas of your life. Make a list. Determine where you feel you lack something, missing the confidence you need to succeed in that space. Acceptance. There is no such thing as perfection; it’s an illusion. The sooner you can hold onto that and begin to shift into accepting that there may be a block or belief standing in your way, the quicker you can begin to knock it down. Action. It’s time to release, time to let go of what is holding you back. This can be as simple as beginning with some positive affirmations. Perhaps it’s time to offer forgiveness, not only to others, but to yourself. Create daily rituals of journaling and meditating, put into place simple routines that allow you to take action towards your goals. Start small. Overwhelming yourself with a life overhaul is sure to end in failure, and that is going to diminish your confidence, not boost it. Mental. It’s time to really dig deep and work on those limiting beliefs that are holding you back. If you worked through awareness, then you made a list. The process here is to take one item at a time to work on. If you don’t feel comfortable working through these mindset shifts on your own, you can seek assistance through a coach, therapist, or friend. Sometimes it takes a different perspective on your beliefs to help you bust through them, and in order to get that shift, you need someone helping you through it. There is no shame in needing help; if you believe there is, that’s a blockage for you to work through. I will share a few journaling prompts at the end of the article with you to help you get started on your own. Physical. Do you suffer from poor body image? How about feeling comfortable in your own skin? Have physical symptoms manifested from your beliefs and blocks? Such as anxiety settled into a constant stomach issue? Depression as a non-stop headache? The physical does tie into the mental, as the body image issues may be deep-rooted beliefs that you have carried with you from childhood or some trauma you experienced. If you have actual physical symptoms, of course, you should consult a medical professional. However, it could be a deep-rooted emotional issue that needs to be uncovered. Spiritual. The importance of believing in something beyond yourself holds such power. I am not pulling religion into this conversation. It doesn’t matter what you choose to believe in, whether it be God, Angels, The Divine, The Universe, Buddha, what is completely up to you. It’s more of being able to let go of the outcome. To have faith and trust that everything is happening for you, not to you. Life is full of ups and downs. There are days it feels like we are being run over by a truck while in the middle of a tornado. If you can hold faith that there is something more powerful than you at play, maybe you can begin to shift into looking at those trucks and tornados as lessons and using them to improve your life instead of feeling like it’s tearing you down. That is a major step in your confidence boost. Now because I am also a Certified Aromatherapist, I’d like to share with you a Confidence Booster Diffuser Blend. Side note - not all essential oils are equal, so do you're due diligence and make sure you are getting responsibility sourced, pure grade essential oils. • 3 drops Grapefruit essential oil • 2 drops Thyme ct thymol essential oil • 1 drop Cardamom essential oil It is my duty as The Ritual Queen to also provide you with a ritual you can use to boost your confidence. This may be difficult or awkward at first, but I invite you to stick with it and see if it doesn’t get easier and actually begin to feel good. Every single day, stand in front of the mirror and look at yourself, in the eyes, really look at yourself. I want you to set an intention for how you want to feel about yourself today. If you are struggling for an intention, when all else fails, you can just simply set an intention of love. Next, you are going to say an affirmation to yourself. I like these simple ones: “I am choosing to learn to love myself” or “I am a confident woman who loves herself” say what feels good to you. Repeated practice of this ritual will help you feel better about yourself every day. Here are a few journaling prompts that may help you get started. On a scale of 1-10, where is your current level of self-esteem? What can you change to improve that one point? On a scale of 1-10, where is your current level of self-confidence in the different areas of your life? Which area would you like to focus on the most? What is one change you can make to improve that scale at one point? When you can uphold your own standards and values, that is where real confidence lies. I hope you can take this information and implement it into your day so you can begin to feel fulfillment, love, and confidence in the person you were meant to be. For more information, follow me on Facebook, Instagram and visit my website! Theresa Tirk, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Through her work as a Spiritual Life Coach and Certified Aromatherapist, Theresa Tirk empowers women everywhere to step out of overwhelm and into joy by awakening to their own validation and strength. Theresa creates massive impacts in her clients’ lives with dynamic daily rituals and simple yet powerful mindset shifts. Theresa was called to coaching through her own spiritual journey of self-discovery following a battle with depression and anxiety. Theresa is the host of The Ritual Queen Podcast and CEO of The Ritual Queen LLC.

Written by: Iliana Rocha, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. All organizations on some level understand that employees are their most valuable resource, though they may not always act accordingly. In a small business, the importance of hiring and retaining the right people is even greater. As a business owner, you may be an expert in your own area, but when growing a business, you can’t be a jack of all trades. You need to fire yourself from all those odd jobs you are trying to do and focus on the things only you can achieve – driving the purpose and direction of your business. That means that you need to be very careful as to whom you hire, what you offer your employees to entice them to stay, and how you develop their skills and capabilities so that they can grow alongside you and your organization. I am not going to lie – a lot of (old-school) managers would consider what comes next to be “fluff”. However, gone are the times when “just be happy you still have a job” could be used as a motivator for employees. Take it from me – I have never been as successful in my life as during the times when I have had a high-performance, high-engagement team by my side. The ability to build and maintain such a team though is directly dependent on you being able to identify, hire, and retain top performers. Top performers share some common characteristics, that are especially beneficial for businesses: They have high functional capabilities, driven by experience coupled with innate abilities. They display leadership skills even when not in leadership positions. They focus on and drive high-quality results. They are able to influence others through a combination of communication, coaching, and motivational skills. They seek continuous learning, which they proactively apply on the job. Now you have a relative way of determining who your top performers are. Something to keep in mind is that top performers behave very differently from the rest of your team members. They are motivated by different things, quite often being driven by intrinsic motivators. And there is quite a bit of research speaking to that. High performers place more importance on job satisfaction, the reputation and practices of the company they work for, work relationships, advancement opportunities, fairness of business practices, and flexible work arrangements. On the flip side, they place less importance on extrinsic rewards, such as base compensation and bonuses, nor do they stay in place just because they feel they have no other alternatives. Another less known fact is that the reasons that people stay with an organization differ significantly from those that cause them to leave. There are numerous factors that contribute to an employee’s decision to leave, but those need to supersede the reasons for staying (their engagement with your organization) for one of your team members to even consider looking for outside opportunities. In other words, by focusing on what keeps employees motivated and happy and acting upon those factors, you can greatly reduce employee turnover, especially among your top performers and rising talent. Employee engagement for high performers is mostly dependent on three summary factors: equitable pay, meaningful work, and tangible plans for career progression. It is important to note that you can’t rely on any factor independently – all three need to be in play for your employees to be engaged. So why do HR practices focus mostly on compensation and bonus structure and other factors that are less important to top performers and rising talent? That is due to the one-size-fits-all HR practices that do not take high-performers’ needs in mind. You can avoid this trap! You can tailor your retention practices to those employees who will have a true and lasting impact on your organization. Bonus points: if you retain your top performers while your business is scaling up, you are in effect training the future leaders of your organization! Reflecting on the context above, here are some practical recommendations for your employment and retention practices: Fair and equitable compensation is a basic requirement of high performers. Do some research on websites such as Glassdoor to find out what is considered equitable compensation for specific job functions. I’d like to point out – I know that as a small business owner, it is very difficult to find the funds to offer very competitive compensation packages. The good news is that if top performers feel that they are compensated within average industry levels, they are likely to decline highly competitive compensation packages in favor of meaningful work. Meaningful work makes significant and identifiable contributions towards your business objectives. High performers like to know what the direction of the company is, to believe in its mission, and to understand how they contribute to achieving business goals. Therefore, focus on the mission as well as on discussing with your employees how their contributions are helping you advance the business. And make sure to involve them in decision-making for additional buy-in and commitment. The quest for meaningful work also drives high-performing employees to look for progression in their professional careers. Don’t fret – career progression doesn’t always mean more money or having promotion opportunities. I know that’s difficult in small businesses. Career progression encompasses offering significant learning opportunities that enhance the employee’s skill and knowledge set, allowing for stretch objectives that allow the employee to take on a challenging project, or even having them get involved in another part of the business so that they can learn new skills. If you are feeling stumped, you can ask your employees how you can better support them in gaining access to meaningful work and career progression opportunities. It would take the guesswork out of the process and you will know with certainty that you are meeting your team’s expectations. I want to point out one nuance in the above recommendations – high performers place more value on work relationships and commitment to the organization. This is why it is so important to build a culture that drives employee commitment and engagement. And do encourage building lasting relationships within the organization. Team events and after-work hangouts certainly help. You may not have the budget for anything extravagant, but hopefully, you can buy the team a beer after work every once in a while (well, once we are done quarantining, that is). A final tip on that point – don’t make it a scheduled event. Frequent, small rewards at unpredictable intervals tend to be most appreciated by employees. So, the next time you have a success to celebrate, buy the first round or send a care package to your employees who are responsibly sheltering in place! For more info, follow me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn and visit my website! Read more from Iliana! Iliana Rocha, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Iliana Rocha is a senior business leader with extensive consulting and coaching experience in all things business. Iliana has been working hand-in-hand with businesses in optimizing their strategy and operations and is now President & Lead Coach at Clubnet Solutions Inc. Her focus is on working with entrepreneurs and small business owners on scaling and transforming their businesses profitably. She is in the process of publishing her first book:  Level Up! Low Hanging Fruit to Instantly Improve Your Small Business. Iliana holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Ryerson University, a post-graduate certificate in Strategic Relationship Management from George Brown College, and a Bachelor of Commerce and Finance, with a Major in Economics from the University of Toronto. She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), a certified Agile Coach (ICP-ACC), and is in the process of receiving an International Coaching Federation (ICF) certification as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC).

Written by: Amanda Cottrell, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. What is something you could do for hours and hours as a child? That activity where you time almost stood still and hours would feel like minutes? Take a few moments to envision what your childhood was like and what you remember loving to do. That may be your unique creative therapy. Some people may cringe when asked to think about their creativity. This may be because they have visions of having to draw in school and dreading every moment of it. The thing is creativity is not just about what you traditionally think of as the arts. There are so many different ways people can use their creativity. I believe that everyone has their own unique creative capacities. These unique creative gifts may be hidden by trauma from childhood or just not having the confidence in oneself to step out of their comfort zone and share their truest essence. I forgot what my truest essence was for years. I had always been good at drawing and painting. I remember I would spend hours and hours drawing as a child. I even won awards for my drawings. Yet, I never prioritized this part of me because I never felt that it was valued growing up. I also thought my art was not good enough to really ever do anything with it, so why bother pursuing it. So many people struggle with that sense of being “not good enough.” But here is the thing, what makes you feel your truest self may not be what you pursue as a career or what you spend the majority of your time doing. But it is the part of you where you feel the most alive, grounded or calm. Maybe you recognize that you have bills to pay and mouths to feed, and pursuing a career in your creativity will not put the money you need on the table. I am not talking about quitting your career to feel alive and striving to reach your creative essence. I am asking you to consider what piece of you from your childhood that you may be missing that you could possibly find again amongst your busy life. Once you rediscover it, you may find meaning, calm and a sense of wonder that you have not felt since you were a child. Even though what you loved doing for hours and hours as a child may not be what you can spend hours and hours doing as an adult and that is ok. What I am hoping you recognize is what that essence was and ask yourself, “could I carve out some time in my busy life to do something I love?” Could you find some time to draw, paint, sculpt, build or craft something just for the love of doing it, not for the end result? As adults, so many people are always focused on the end result. What children get that adults forget is, “life is a journey, not a destination.” Adults spend so much time focused on the end result that we forget to enjoy the path that we take to get there. When I teach art to both kids and adults, there is always this amazing energy shift in the room that I do not feel when I teach anything else. There is always a point in the creative time where the room is completely silent and everyone in the room is in their own zen space, just enjoying the moment. That “moment” is something that I rarely ever get teaching anything else. I have noticed this for years. Even in the most challenging classrooms or the chattest group of adults, there is always a moment where the entire energy of the room changes and it brings in this complete sense of calm to the entire room. When I teach adults this is even more noticeable. First adults are always more stressed out to start with. They worry about the colors and ensuring their lines are perfect. They stress about how they have set up their page or piece. They are always so worried about the end result of their art piece even that they often take the joy out of the process. That is until that moment happens when they get into their grove, they no longer care about the end result and they just begin to enjoy the process. Creative outlets also do not need to be traditional art forms. There are people who make gigantic art displays out of masking tape! Some people's creative outlets are knitting, or carving, or rebuilding an old car. Whatever your creative outlet is, I am challenging you to find more time in your week to do it. Even if you can only squeeze in 30 minutes once a week. That time you spend for you doing something that you absolutely love just because you love it will have an immense impact on your mental health and positive impact on your life. Go enjoy some aspect of life like you did as a child, embrace the wonder and you will find that connection to your inner self. Follow Amanda on Facebook , Instagram and visit her website for more info! Read more from Amanda! Amanda Cottrell, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Believe! Create! Inspire! Amanda Marie Cottrell is a woman who wears many hats with a B.A in Political Science, B.Ed in elementary education, M.Ed specializing in creativity and technology, Reiki master, yoga for young children instructor, artist, mom, author, illustrator and teacher. She also runs an arts-based business teaching art and mindfulness workshops. As an educator of young children for over 14 years, Amanda’s passion is education and creativity. She believes that everyone has creative capacities. Her mission is to empower people through tapping into their own unique creative gifts through connection and mindfulness. Namaste!

Written by: Mary Yamin-Garone, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise “Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving to be your best. Perfectionism is the belief that if we live perfect, look perfect and act perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgment and shame. It’s a shield. It’s a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it’s the thing that’s really preventing us from flight.” --Brené Brown Do any of the following apply to you? You spend more time on a writing task than you should because you want it to be perfect. You have high standards and sometimes will sacrifice your own well-being to complete a writing project perfectly. You’re the first to find errors and correct them, knowing that finding mistakes in a completed project will drive you nuts. You tend to reflect over past mistakes and always vow not to repeat them. You rewrite and edit your work excessively, even before finishing your first draft. You get caught up in fixing trivial errors. You become frustrated by your writing output even though you’ve made significant progress. If more than one of these describes you, you lean toward perfectionism. Related to more than that? You may be a full-blown perfectionist. Don’t worry. I’m right there with you. Perfectionists like us often get a bad rap but fear not; there are good and bad things about this trait. You’re most likely a determined, hard-working writer who’s constantly striving to improve your writing. You’re also probably good at editing your own work because you like finding flaws and fixing them. But there’s no doubt that your perfectionist personality is also likely to make it difficult for you to open up time in your schedule to write. How Perfectionism Can Hamper Your Productivity Being a perfectionist may seem to offer some benefits, such as being more organized and having a keen eye for detail. On the flip side, that same trait has its drawbacks. Here’s how perfectionism can hamper your productivity. It may result in procrastination. Those who believe things have to be done only if they can be done perfectly often end up procrastinating (Guilty as charged.). They wait for that “perfect moment” to write but the “perfect” situation to write never comes. As a result, they don’t finish their project. If you keep delaying your writing, you’ll do nothing or next to nothing. It can hamper innovation. In the search for perfection, innovative ideas are often destroyed. Too much time is wasted coming up with a new idea. However, the urge for perfect results in most of the ideas being discarded because they don’t seem perfect enough. It’s subjective. After investing your time to come up with an idea, the ideas you generated may seem perfect to others. Unfortunately, a perfectionist will continue to make small changes and pick out bothersome details (that’s sooo me). All too often, perfectionists rely on their own definitions of perfectionism. The result is constantly working and reworking the same thing. It can be extreme. In your quest for perfection, you’re wasting your time if you’re focusing too much on every detail. You’re also hindering your productivity. So, as perfectionist writers, what can we do? Are we doomed, or can we adjust enough to make more time for our creative work? How to Become a More Productive Perfectionist Writer Remember the positive side to being a perfectionist. You don’t have to feel badly about this trait. Instead, you must learn to embrace it so you can accomplish more in your writing. Find areas where you can loosen up. As perfectionists, we want everything to be perfect. Try to choose projects that don’t matter as much and practice letting them to be sub-par. Be sure to make time for your writing projects. Make a list of things that don’t need to be perfect and practice spending less time on them. Chances are won’t feel comfortable letting some projects go before they’re “ready.” You can, however, get better at it. Practice being productive. Studies show perfectionists aren’t as productive as others. When you’re agonizing over a writing project, you’re slowing down and taking time away from other things (like writing 😊). Shift your perspective. Perfectionism is a lens through which you can view your writing. The next time you start exhibiting perfectionist behaviors, take a step back and look at the situation in a more positive or forgiving light. Set realistic expectations. Perfectionism can cause writers to develop impossible standards. Try reducing your expectations slowly. If you’re not satisfied unless you’ve written for 60 minutes, shoot for 50 instead. Setting goals based on input rather than output can relieve the pressure perfectionists feel to produce. Thirty minutes of good work is 30 minutes, regardless of how many words you can write or revise. Purposefully fall short. Want to win your war against perfectionism? Try to deliberately fail to meet your expectations. Instead of writing 1,000 words, write 500. Set a timer for 30 minutes, then write as many words as possible no matter how it reads. During that time, you’ll learn that “failure” isn’t fatal. Rather it’s either a perception you can change or a misstep from which you can grow. Forgive yourself. As a perfectionist, we ruminate over every mistake. Doing so can stress your mind. Instead, we must practice forgiving ourselves. That typo in your blog post? No big deal. Forgot to do a spell check? It’s not the end of the world. Your new favorite phrase should be “it’s okay.” Make failing a game. Perfectionists fear failure. They take great pains to get everything just right, so we don’t fail. Make it a game to see how many mistakes you can make by trying new things more often. Practice fooling yourself. If your perfectionist tendencies make you prone to procrastinate, find ways to kid yourself into starting. Tell yourself you’ll write for five minutes or that this isn’t the “real” draft but a “practice” one. Set a timer and don’t let your fingers leave your keyboard until it goes off. Managing perfectionism is a lifelong process. Your perfectionism most likely won’t go away. It’s alright. To limit its potential destructiveness on your writing time, try changing just one habit each day. Baby steps are key to gradually allowing yourself to step away from the need to be perfect and get closer to “good enough.” Overcoming perfectionism isn’t a linear journey. You’ll have ups and downs, get frustrated with perceived failures and wonder why you should even bother. Don’t let the struggle defeat you. Unlearning harmful mindsets and behaviors takes time. At first glance, it might be difficult to recognize your progress but hindsight is 20/20. Keep fighting. Keep celebrating your successes, and most of all, keep writing. Your best writing life is yours for the taking. For more writing tips, visit my website. Join my Facebook Group and follow me on Instagram! Read more from Mary! Mary Yamin-Garone, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Mary Yamin-Garone is an award-winning writer, editor and book/writing coach. In her 36 years, she has seen most every facet of the writing world as the featured guest writing expert on a weekly radio talk show; the recipient of numerous writing awards and accolades; and the coach and editor for several best-selling authors. One of her proudest moments came after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Mary received the Communication Concept 2002 APEX Award for Publication Excellence for Magazine and Newspaper Writing for her work after 9/11. She recently launched her signature coaching program, Bring Your Words to Life. Mary will help you improve your writing and turn your most important life experiences and knowledge into your best-selling book.

Written by: Maggie Robinson, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. You’ve sorted out your website, filled it with SEO keywords, tagged all your photos and followed all the other ‘rules’ – so why aren’t you getting the results you expected? The answer could be a voice search. As more of us use virtual assistants such as Alexa or Google, either through devices in our homes or on our phones, the way we’re searching for information is changing. Google estimates that 1.6 billion people will be using voice searches by the end of 2021. Google continues to work on Google Glass and Amazon is introducing Echo Frames, both pieces of technology which look like normal glasses, but include the latest voice-activated assistance. While they’re not mainstream yet, it’s likely that this will increase the number of us using and wearing this technology and increase the amount of time we use it as we ask it to complete tasks and answer questions wherever we go. What’s different about voice searches? Traditionally, when we type into a search engine, we tend to use short search terms such as ‘best office desk’, whereas when we speak our queries, we use sentences – for example: ‘Alexa, what is the best office desk?’ or ‘Hey Google, what’s the best desk for my office?’ It’s already changing the way that Google displays its results. You may have noticed the ‘People Also Ask’ box on the first results page. This shows you actual, full-sentence questions that other people have searched for and displays the highest-ranking information for that search – you don’t even have to click on the link to the website. It’s all held within the search results page. It also influences when we search and where we are when we do it. With voice search available on our phones, we ask questions when we’re out and about and are more likely to be interested in the things geographically close to us – something that is likely to increase even more as wearable technology becomes more affordable and more widely available. This change in the language we use when we’re searching for information means that search engines are looking for different answers. As people talk in a more conversational manner, search engines believe that the most relevant results for the query are those which reflect that tone. Combine that with machine learning, which is getting better at learning how we speak, such as interpreting synonyms and understanding colloquialisms, and you can see why the SEO game is changing. If someone searches using a virtual assistant device, they may not even see the results. They’ll simply hear them – if your product or business isn’t top of the list, it won’t be heard at all. How do I rank highly in voice search results? The information on your website needs to directly answer the questions that your customers are asking. So, going back to our desk example, simply having the words ‘office desk’ on a webpage isn’t going to be enough to answer the question about the best office desk. You need to have a human response. This might mean that you find your keywords growing too, to include those common phrases. You might discover that a good keyword phrase is now ‘best desk for a home office,’ for example, and that long keyword phrases like this need to be woven through your content as well as the more traditional, typed search terms. What questions do people ask when they search? We’re using the ‘Five W’s’ more often – who, what, why, where and when, so making sure your website directly answers the questions your customers are likely to ask will increase your chance of being that magic answer selected by the search engines. And while the questions might be getting longer, the answers need to be brief. The average length of answer in response to a voice query is just 29 words on Google, so keep those key points short and sharp to increase the chances of coming top of the list. Putting all of this in place is more likely to get your information into the elusive ‘Featured Snippet’, another relatively new feature of Google’s search pages, which displays some text which directly answers the question you have asked without you having to leave the search results page. It’s also the piece of information Alexa or Google Home will read aloud in response to a question. Google finds these snippets by looking at the content of your website pages, not just the behind-the-scenes tags and URLs which boosted content previously. This makes it even more important to make sure your content is relevant to the search terms and helpful to the searcher. By including lots of relevant, succinct information that answers the questions your customers are asking, you’ll stand the best chance of ranking highly when it comes to voice searches. It’s always been the case that if your website has well-written, relevant content that your customers want to read, your website is more likely to rank highly – if you know what you’re talking about, your website content is going to be relevant and interesting to your customers. As search engines are continuing to develop their technology to help their users get the most relevant results in the fastest possible time, imparting useful information in an easy to read (or hear) manner is going to be even more critical for those businesses who want to claim the top spot in search engine results. If you need help and advice about writing clear, relevant website content which ranks well with search engines, contact Smart Thinking Consultancy or email Maggie@SmartthinkingConsultancy.co.uk Follow me on Twitter & LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Maggie! Maggie Robinson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Maggie Robinson is the founder of Smart Thinking Consultancy and works with businesses across the UK, supporting their digital and traditional marketing needs. Maggie’s all-round approach allows businesses to benefit from her knowledge and experience of all aspects of marketing, rather than being tied to just one activity. From website health checks to Google ads, brand awareness to marketing campaigns, Smart Thinking Consultancy can help your business achieve its goals. Whether you need one-off assistance with a single aspect of your marketing or a full, cohesive strategy, Maggie has the knowledge and experience you need. Maggie is a former South West board member and current Fellow at the Chartered Institute of Marketing. She has worked with well-known household brands as well as many small to medium-sized companies.