Gillian Managing Director of Emerge Development Consultancy which she founded 25 years ago. Emerge is internationally renowned for unlocking the potential that achieves transformation within organizations by providing a full range of bespoke development and coaching solutions. She is a master executive coach working with many CEOs and managing Directors globally. She is also an international speaker and in 2020 was named by f: Entrepreneur as one of the leading UK Female Entrepreneurs in the I also campaign. Gillian founded the RISE Women’s Development Programme which is delivered both in the UK and the Middle East, and Saudi and is her absolute passion. She is also the co-author of How to Create a Coaching Culture, 50 Top Tools for Coaching, and the author of Locked Down but Not Out which is a diary of the first 3 months of the pandemic to raise money for the bereaved families of the NHS workers who died during COVID-19. Gillian Jones-Williams, you are a women’s champion, best-selling author, Master Executive Coach, and international motivational speaker – what is your purpose and mission? My purpose is to enable every person to reach their potential, but I am really passionate about accelerating gender parity by helping women to be the best they can possibly be – their most authentic selves. It gives me huge joy to see women achieving their goals and designing their lives rather than allowing them to happen ‘by accident’. Tell us about your story – you founded your business 25 years ago, how did it start and where are you now? My mother had a chronic bipolar condition, so I had a very turbulent childhood. I got into college, but after 2 weeks I decided I needed to leave home and get a job, so I dropped out. It wasn’t easy to find my career path but after a series of bar work and secretarial jobs, I finally found a job I liked doing and was good at as a recruitment consultant, and this became my career. One day there was a case of sexual harassment at the agency which I stood up for and said I couldn’t condone the behaviour which led me to being escorted from the premises! However, one of the clients for whom we had started doing some training wanted to contract with me directly. I had no idea how to run a business, no company name, and no idea how to invoice. That was 25 years ago and the company, Emerge Development Consultancy was born, despite my children being incredibly young and my lack of experience in owning a business. I also received a lawsuit for breach of contract from the Employment Agency which I had to fight! It was hard, I was running my business from a tiny office at home, there was no internet, so designing courses took many hours of research and visits to the library to find books! In those days there was no social media, and the business was built on referrals and sales cold calling. Within 7 years we had started to turn over in excess of a million pounds and were working with some huge corporate clients. It felt such an irony for me as I was often the least educated person in the room, with a chronic self-esteem issue caused by my mother during childhood.But this drove me to seek strategies for coping with imposter syndrome and low self esteem that I could teach on my courses. What are the challenges in managing an international business? Each month brings new challenges with changing politics, the economic climate, and customers re-engineering their business. In 25 years, we have survived two recessions and then the pandemic hit. As 2020 dawned, everything had come together for the business, the order book was looking full, and I had been nominated as one of the top 100 UK Female Entrepreneurs in the F; Entrepreneur I also campaign. At the beginning of March, as the pandemic hit, I started to watch my business disappear. Every booking was cancelled, and we were suddenly left staring at an empty order book. We had only delivered our training and coaching face to face, and we had no idea how to deliver virtually. It was decision time – I had to decide whether to close the business or keep going. We agreed that as we had lost everything, we were now a start-up and we had to start behaving like entrepreneurs, creating new products and services, consistent marketing, and keeping our clients not just warm but ‘red hot’ by supporting them through their problems, and never entertaining failure. We worked like never before, and in September 2020 we started to break even and thankfully are now back to pre-pandemic profits. You have worked with many senior women around the globe – do you find there are common challenges to them being successful? Definitely – how they perceive themselves and the beliefs that they hold about themselves. When they perceive themselves to be powerful and eliminate their limiting beliefs everything changes. It is so easy to assume that just because someone is in a senior position that they don’t have any doubts. You founded the RISE Empowering Women’s Programme which has been delivered internationally, including the US, the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia, where it won an award. Why is this programme so important? I believe that women shouldn’t go on women’s leadership programmes, they should go on leadership programmes with men – giving them a separate programme suggests a deficiency. But they do need space to discuss their own issues i.e., guilt about families, hormonal impact, getting their voices heard and to help them learn, that, no matter where you come from or whether people believe in you, you can always succeed if you believe that you can. I love delivering RISE, particularly in the Middle East and Saudi. The women out there are incredible, intelligent, driven and highly Emotionally Intelligent – they just need help in getting their voices heard. If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring entrepreneur, what would it be? Don’t give up too soon, if you entertain failure and keep thinking about what could happen you are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. If your vision is strong enough and you really believe in what you are doing it will happen, so don’t falter in your conviction, and anticipate success. What is next for you and Emerge – where is the business going to? Going forward we plan to continue to grow the business, to develop more women internationally on RISE, potentially franchising the business and in March next year my daughter will be joining the business to help grow the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity offerings, so exciting times ahead. I also want to hang on to the lessons that I learnt during the pandemic, both professionally and personally to make every minute of my life count. For leadership, Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity or Women’s Development advice contact Gillian at info@emergeuk.com. Follow her on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and visit her website. Read more from Gillian!

Carolyn Wellington offers a wealth of experience in health, wellbeing, lifestyle, and sports therapy, successfully working with entrepreneurs, elite world-class athletes, television, stage, and theatre, plus achieving her own personal goals of being ranked 7th in Britain as a bodybuilder, becoming a multi health and wellness award winner and establishing herself as health and wellness writer. After training as a nurse, she realized she had a real passion for sport and helping others. She had grown up in a family environment of fitness, exercise, and positive thinking and knew that to achieve anything, you had to work hard, commit and be consistent. Her road has not always been easy, and she has faced many challenges, losing her sister at a young age, divorce, becoming a single parent, and many more. Her positive mindset and determination have proven to serve her well. She has become a highly sought-after coach, supporting others as they transition to become the best version of themselves. Her clients stretch from the UK, USA, and globally. Her mission states that "Positive thinking, positive actions equal achievements." At the age of 61, Carolyn is a great role model for what she stands for and promotes. Who is Carolyn? Wow, I must say that there is a lot to me. I am a multi-award-winning health and wellness coach, a sports-remedial therapist with a health and social care background. Health and wellbeing have always played a big part in my life; it all started at home. My father was always into fitness, music and dance. He and my mother were professional ballroom dancers representing Scotland. My father would always talk about fitness, healthy eating, a positive mindset and the importance of working hard to achieve your goals. I grew up with a wealth of knowledge before I even started on my journey. During my time in school, I had a great love of sport, enjoying team sports like netball and athletics. Aged 19, I trained as a nurse, following in the footsteps of my mother and other family members. At the time, I thought it was the right path for me but soon realised after completing my training, it was not. Like most people, my personal life has taken several twists and turns, with every life experience bringing me to where I am today and making me the person I am. Some of the saddest points in my life were my sister passing away at the age of 4 (I was aged 7), my mother passing away when I was only 21. Going through adult life without the support of my mother certainly had some testing moments. My father passed away when I was 50; this was a real turning point in my life. Without my father, suddenly I felt alone and lost, in a world of despair and grief. Time to dig deep, as my father would say, only this time I was digging deep to find my inner Queen and take control of who I knew I could be. I was always the person that would give my all to everyone and never leave anything for myself. Growing up, I never felt I had completed anything I started, so life, in general, felt unfinished and part of that was my father always telling me to try harder, dig deeper and achieve the bigger things in life. I quickly realised that what I needed to find was peace within myself; focus on my needs. A world of topsy turvy soon became a world of vision and clarity, with me finally in control. So here I am today, currently living in Derbyshire, UK. I have two grown-up children, a son aged 31 and a daughter of 21. I have had the challenges of being a single mom for several years, and more recently, I got engaged to my fiancé, who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. During the Covid pandemic and travel restrictions between UK and USA, it has been a little hard not being together, but with focus, commitment and determination, we both battled through and finally reunited after 18 months. We now have our wedding date firmly scheduled for August 2022; I will begin my permanent move to Phoenix, Arizona. Exciting times ahead. What made you become a coach? Life experiences and the love of people introduced me to the world of coaching. I have always had a natural talent to support people, helping them find the best within themselves. During the 80’s I was a competitive bodybuilder and fitness instructor, teaching me a new discipline and focus. I was learning the art of showing up, commitment and consistency. I developed a greater understanding of how the body reacts to what the mind is thinking and soon started guiding and supporting others to succeed in fitness, nutrition, self-development, gaining a positive image of themselves. In the 90’s I decided to train and qualify as a Sports Remedial Therapist and combine my nursing and fitness skills. I successfully worked with elite athletes in professional sport, entrepreneurs, television, stage and theatre, the West End and Broadway. Seeing the positive impact I was bringing to others, I trained and qualified as a Life Coach and Tutor, teaching and coaching the skills I developed over the years. Eventually, a business client of mine encouraged me to set up my own business; I soon developed a five-star reputation as a highly recommended therapist and coach extending my skills to coach people in the UK, USA and worldwide. My coaching style is natural, flowing easily and has developed over 40 years. My first coaching session was on my first hospital ward as a trainee nurse when talking to a relative whose wife had just passed away. That was where I learned my craft and the beginning of my coaching journey. What is it that you do for your clients? As a coach, it is vital to remember that every client is an individual. No two situations are the same. Firstly, I make sure I work with a person-centred approach enabling me to find the source of the problem. Not always easy to do! I support and guide clients through their health and wellness journey. The health and wellbeing industry is a vast arena and can bring many challenges. So, I start with a blank canvas letting my client paint their picture of life and the challenges they face. There can be a variety of things, for example: Lifestyle changes Sporting performance Goal setting Midlife challenges Relationship Fitness and exercise Stress, Anxiety Loneliness Self-development Bereavement & Grief Family conflicts I start by building a good connection with my client. It is essential to engage comfortably and build a trusting relationship, taking time to understand their needs and vision. Working in a group, one-on-one, virtual coaching, telephone coaching, texts, emails, a good coach should build good connections through all platforms, not just one. It is vital to observe my client, their body language, tone of voice and silence because somewhere in there is where the missing piece of the jigsaw may be or the source of the problem. I have had many years of perfecting my skill and continue to work on it. You can never sit back, thinking you know it all and have the answers because I can guarantee something will show itself; you will not be ready. So, for each client, I begin with a listening ear, no set plan of action, allowing the client to tell their story before I break it down and put a working plan in place together with my client. Do you work with men and women? Yes, I currently work with men and women across the UK, USA and worldwide. Due to the Covid pandemic, much of my work is now online. Who should hire you? If you are a business, an individual, a group or a sporting institute, anyone looking for a health and wellness coach, I am happy to discuss your needs and requirements. Since the Covid pandemic, health and wellbeing have become even more of a priority in the workplace; more businesses are approaching me to work with their employees to increase productivity, lessen absenteeism, create a better working environment and mindset What is your big goal and where do you see yourself 10 years? Oh, I am clear on my vision, the big picture. I have written my goal in my journal, every day moving a step closer to my dream. My goal is to become a recognised health and wellness coach on television or radio, speaking to large audiences on a large platform or stage. I am currently 61 years of age and believe I am a great role model for the health and wellbeing industry. I practise what I preach and confidently say, ‘Yes, coaching works because I am the product of my own coaching skills.’ Want to learn more from Carolyn? Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and visit her website. Read more from Carolyn!

Written by: Cynthia Omekam, 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 first step of healing is realizing & accepting that healing is a journey and not a destination. It’s a continuous process that we must wholeheartedly commit to. When we are in a state of healing the key is opening our hearts & minds to the process of learning, unlearning & learning again. It's about self-compassion, self-love, self-care, self-acceptance, self-empowerment & self-confidence. As you can see, ultimately, to be in a space of healing means accepting, loving, embracing & nurturing self. All of which can only be achieved by taking that first step & committing to doing the inner work. So beginning our healing journey means making that commitment to ourselves to do whatever is necessary to break through the blocks & weights that have been holding us back from showing up in our true power. No matter how ruff & scary it may get. The concept is simple yet the process can be challenging. But in no way does that mean impossible. Whether you choose to take this journey alone or with some level of support from family, friends, counselors and/or coaches, just remember the goal is to nurture the reconnection with your authentic self in order to return to a state of wholeness. Wholeness Simply put, wholeness is the harmonious alignment between mind, body & spirit. So in order to return to a state of wholeness we must focus on the physical, mental, emotional & spiritual levels of our existence. This is the only way to establish that balance & true fulfillment that we all desire in our lives. So ultimately, the key is to heal, develop & integrate all four of these aspects within ourselves. 4 Aspects of Wholeness Just to give you a more in depth view of what this looks like let’s briefly explore each element: 1. Physical (Physical Body): This is our ability to survive & thrive in the material world. Making sure that we are taking good care of our bodies with emphasis on our health. By remaining intentional about things like our nutrition, strength, flexibility, endurance, cardiac wellness & immunity. Nurturing this aspect yields a high-quality life that's comfortable & enjoyable. 2. Mental (Thoughts, Attitudes, Beliefs & Values): Nurturing our intellect & developing our ability to think and reason cultivates clarity, optimism & discernment. Our minds are so important because this is how we gather knowledge & wisdom from our experiences and the world around us. Which makes it a vital part of our transformational healing journeys. 3. Emotional: This is our source of meaningfully connecting & relating to the world around us. Allowing us to experience life at a deeper level emotionally & find fulfillment in our relationships. Nurturing this aspect leads to emotional intelligence which is key to cultivating healthy interpersonal skills. 4. Spiritual (Inner Essence/Soul): Spiritual wellness cultivates a deep purpose within our lives. Nurturing connectivity, allowing us to experience a sense of oneness & belonging. Which leads us to the discovery of our true power, inner peace & divine inner guidance. And as we do the work necessary to heal what needs healing & develop what needs nurturing, we then naturally reach a state of alignment. But as we all know, life is always throwing something new at us, so as you can imagine from time to time we all fall out of alignment. But this is why I began with the point that healing is a journey rather than a destination. So below are some ways you can begin nurturing this alignment daily: 5 Ways To Nurture Wholeness: 1. Solitude Start spending more time alone. Solitude is such a powerful practice! Honestly it’s the road to self-mastery because it’s where the outside chatter is nonexistent & you can truly go deep & listen to yourself, understand your beliefs & honor your feelings, needs & desires to assess how they align with your highest good. 2. Self-Acceptance & Self-Compassion Start doing the work necessary in order to create space for radical self-acceptance. No judgment or criticism. Rather honoring & embracing both your strengths & weaknesses from a true space of love & understanding. With self-compassion serving as your inner motivational coach, while increasing your self-worth & resilience to other stressors. Which significantly lowers stress & anxiety levels. Ultimately setting you free to live a happier & more satisfying lifestyle, despite the challenges that you may face. And this energy flows into every area of your life leading to better relationships & of course improving your physical, mental & emotional health. 3. Self-Praise Validating that your best is always enough is key to mental, emotional & spiritual resilience. It’s so important to remind yourself that you’re doing your best & self-praise is a great way to recognize & acknowledge yourself. While also keeping you aware & connected to your true power & capabilities. So make sure to celebrate every win no matter how big or small, using every accomplishment to keep you inspired, empowered & motivated. 4. Practice Mindfulness This is my favorite because it allows you to tackle all four dimensions as once. Through disconnecting to reconnect by unplugging & spending more time doing things like: praying, yoga, journaling, dancing, exercising, meditating, using mantras/affirmations, connecting w/ nature, volunteering, cooking & of course spending time with loved ones. It’s all about intentional living, making the most of the present & cultivating joy. 5. Practice Gratitude Not only is this very humbling & calming but it's also the key to attracting more abundance. This can be done daily or weekly & you can choose to practice out loud, through mental self-reflection or journaling. But the whole point is to take the time to reflect on how far you’ve come & to be grateful for all the blessings & miracles (seen & unseen). Truly immersing yourself so deep in your own accomplishments & blessings that you see nothing else, using this energy to affirm all that is & all that awaits you. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Cynthia! Cynthia Omekam, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Cynthia Omekam, the owner of Holistic Liberation LLC, is a Certified Holistic Life Coach & an Accredited Spiritual Healer with a BS & MA in Psychology. She is dedicated to supporting others as they break free from stress & anxiety and begin living more peaceful, balanced, and fulfilling lifestyles. She specializes in stress management, establishing inner peace, mindful living & spirituality. When she is not working Cynthia loves adrenaline-pumping adventures & anything that leads her closer to her higher self.

Dr. Tonia has been practicing as a Naturopathic Doctor since 2007. With contemporary neurological reprogramming techniques, she helps women overcome burnout, stress, anxiety, and fatigue. Essentially she helps them calm their minds, sleep deeply, and find joy and energy in their lives again. Guiding clients through a "Breakthrough" process, they recode their unconscious minds for change, self-care, and success, priming them to create new, healthy, sustainable habits. Dr. Tonia has been featured on CTV, the Costco Connection, The Elephant Journal, Conscious Nutrition, The Autoimmune Simplified Podcast, and the New Generation Entrepreneur Podcast. Ultimately she helps everyday people create exceptional lives for themselves and their communities. To learn more about her brain-based coaching breakthroughs, head on over to her website. Dr. Tonia Winchester, Brain-Based Transformation Coach Hi Tonia! Why don’t you start by telling us a little bit about yourself, both professionally and personally? My name is Tonia Winchester, and if we’re being official it’s Dr. Tonia Winchester. Professionally I wear 3 main hats. First, I’m a naturopathic physician and have been in practice for 15 years, helping people get healthy, happy, and doing what they love because I believe that healthy, happy people do what they love to contribute to a more healthy and peaceful world. Second, I run a multi-disciplinary, holistic health clinic on Vancouver Island, Canada, where an incredible team of wellness practitioners and I take care of the people in our community with various natural treatment modalities. Lastly and most actively, I’m a brain-based transformation coach, helping people to break through anxiety, stress, and burnout so that they can create exceptional lives for themselves, their families, and communities. Personally, I live in a rural neighbourhood in the middle of a temperate rainforest with my husband, vocal dog Achilles, and shy cat Maurice. When I’m not helping people transform their lives with my coaching programs or content creation, I’m dancing (mostly salsa and bachata, but also kizomba and zouk), doing art, getting lost - and found - in the woods, or being silly and spontaneous with friends and loved ones. I value growth, creativity, wellness, connection, impact, and prosperity. With absolute conviction, I can say the body and mind know how to heal, can heal, want to heal. Sometimes we have to adjust the circumstances for that to happen. I believe that everyone has everything they need within them to live a life that lights them up and makes a difference for the people and world around them. Enjoy this article on Brainz on that very topic. I’m excited about changing the wiring of people’s minds so they can take care of themselves in a sustainable and meaningful way. By filling up our own cups we can really make a difference for others in a way that doesn’t burn us out or cause resentment. I am committed to pioneering a new model of health and well-being. One that starts with the internal circuitry of the mind and expands systematically out into one's physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being. Ultimately I’m here to create a ripple effect that leaves the world a better place than when we came into it for generations to come. What led you to add brain-based coaching to your tool kit? Frankly, several years ago I was unsatisfied with my naturopathic practice. Optimistic about the change people can make in their health and lives, I would send patients away with an awesome treatment plan only to have them return and say, “Eating my broccoli is hard,” often with their arms crossed and a pouty face. “Really? Is eating broccoli hard?” I kept questioning this to myself as people would inevitably come back and tell me aaaaaaall the reasons they had for not following the program and consequently not getting the results they wanted. (By the way, “eating the broccoli,” is, of course, a metaphor for whatever it is that they need to be doing to take care of themselves. That could include things like getting to bed at a decent hour, setting boundaries, releasing toxic relationships, quitting smoking, moving their bodies more regularly, or eating nourishing, nutritious meals.) To continue the broccoli example, when properly cooked, it’s actually one of the easiest foods to eat. So how could people be telling me it was hard? Something wasn’t adding up. Patients not getting better was so frustrating and I became obsessed with figuring out how to get people to easily change their lifestyle habits. What I realized is that it’s actually the decision to take care of oneself that is hard, but not the act itself. When I realized this I knew I was onto something. My resourceful and solution-driven brain started me on a seeking path and after a few false starts, I landed on a brain-based transformative process called a breakthrough. It’s a swift and effective way to make the decision to take care of oneself easy and doable. What I know now is that the decision to take care of ourselves only seems hard because of the neurological programs in the unconscious mind. These are faulty belief structures that were built and locked in when we were very young. These programs were created after negative emotional experiences and traumas that we didn’t have the proper brain development to handle or resolve at the time. Maybe someone had an ill sibling when they were growing up, and all the parents’ time and attention was directed to making sure the sibling was okay. The person might have internalized the story that they didn’t deserve to be taken care of or to be well. Now as an adult that unconscious decision limits their ability to care for themself. Maybe they always put other people’s needs first. Or maybe someone had a parent who was very unkind and/or abusive. Perhaps that person learned (erroneously of course) that they were not worthy of love. Now they might abuse their own bodies with substances or other bad habits even though they know those things aren’t actually helping them to experience joy and well-being in their lives. They don’t have a solid foundation of self-love to make better choices. The problem in these examples is that these “reasons” from the past are driving our habits, choices and behaviors completely unconsciously. We’re not aware of them; they are happening on autopilot. Over the years in naturopathic practice, I’ve seen so often that people don’t, won’t or can’t take care of themselves. Not because it’s hard like I mentioned already, but because the decision to do so is hard based on their past experiences from which they created a faulty internal narrative. The good news is that the unconscious mind can change quickly and easily with the right tools and guidance in place. The brain-based programming tools that I offer reliably re-code the neurological pathways in the unconscious mind so that self-worth, -love, -acceptance, and -care became the new reality. What is it that you do with and for your clients? I love the blend of my neuro-linguistic programming certifications and experience as a naturopathic doctor. It’s a really dynamic interface where I can help people meaningfully and sustainably overcome the deep unconscious blocks that are in the way of them taking care of themselves. When we change how the brain is wired by clearing the past of negative emotions, trauma, limiting beliefs and decisions, it changes people’s habits. They show up for themselves authentically and consistently. This has a beautiful ripple effect into their relationships with their partners, kids, families. It changes the impact they can make with their mission or life purpose. This all happens through gentle, fast, and effective techniques that don't involve talk therapy or medications. As a certified NLP coach, practitioner, and TimeLine Therapy practitioner ®, I guide my clients - people who are stuck in negative states such as stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout - through a breakthrough process where in we communicate directly to the unconscious mind in a way that easily and effortlessly reprograms it and changes how people see and experience the world. I mentioned the process is quick - which I love. You want to feel better now, don’t you? My clients finish the main bulk of the transformation sessions in 3-4 weeks. This doesn’t take years of talk therapy or counselling. Can you imagine overcoming what’s keeping you stuck and miserable, and creating the life of your dreams in just 4 weeks? There are so many incredible benefits that come out of a breakthrough. There is a thorough list to read here. Ultimately what people get on the other side of a breakthrough is the ability to choose their response in any given situation. By releasing traumas, negative past experiences, and emotions, they no longer access automatic triggered emotional responses. This dramatically improves relationships including how they parent. This legacy and ripple effect get me so jazzed up. People get clarity on what they want and who they want to be, which in my mind is highly undervalued currency. If you don’t know what you want, how can you possibly get there? They become lucid with their life purpose and their driving values. They get the capacity to commit fully to their goals and to follow through on their desires. People smile more. That’s actually one of my favourite testimonials. A client emailed me, “By the way, my husband said to me in the shower this morning, ‘What is up? You are smiling.’ I made a comment about that and he said that I never smile in the morning, and I had no idea why I was smiling, but woot woot!” Life becomes lighter, safer, easier, more fun. Because the nervous system calms waaaaaay down, anxiety fades, sleep deepens, and daytime joy and energy massively increase. Personally, my body is releasing weight for the first time in 6 years after gaining 35 pounds when I turned 35. At the time of this interview, she has released 22 so far! The insane thing about this is that my breakthrough was in the area of career, not health. And still because of the new narrative that I created during my breakthrough, I was finally able to stick to an awesome nutrition and fitness routine that is definitely working. And I’m so in love with this process that I’ve personally done TWO breakthroughs this year. Onwards and upwards, I say! Who should hire you and work with you? I work with everyday people who are stuck and want to break through the pattern they are in. They typically come to me with burnout, anxiety, stress, fatigue and/or all the other challenges that can come with this cycle. They are often unfulfilled and unhappy in several areas of their life - from their relationships, parenting, and career. There is a certain type of person who responds the best to the work I do, and I call those people the Doers. Read more about the other ways people approach change in this Brainz article. The Doers are people who might know “what to do” but for the reasons, I mentioned earlier can’t make changes they know they need to make. The Doers take responsibility for their well-being and seek out help. They believe it is possible to change and also have at least a small inkling that the mind and body know how to and want to heal. They are courageous and curious and committed to what they want. Even if they don’t know how to get there on their own just yet, they are willing to take the guided steps to get there. Because at the end of the day, there is no way around this: change takes to change. What is your big goal? Where do you see yourself 10 years from now? Haha, once a personal transformation lover, always a personal transformation lover. 10 years from now, I see myself still transforming lives and wellness - including my own. I see my life being a bit simpler, maybe stepping back slightly from naturopathic practice and focusing solely on what I see to be the first step to wellness, rewriting the internal stories so that we can create the habits, health and lives of our dreams. It’s fun to be pioneering this new unprecedented way of healing the mind and the body and I’m excited to see how that will unfold. I might even create a certification program to teach people how to do what I do, blending brain-based reprogramming and natural wellness. What are your top three tips for readers when it comes to the transformation you offer? I’m in the transformation business, helping my clients create deep and powerful change for themselves and their families. When it comes to change there are three non-negotiables. The three requisites of change (which you can read about in more detail here) are: Clear the past. This is the work we do together in the breakthrough. Using a mildly hypnotic state and very specific neurological language we change how your unconscious mind remembers and codes your past so that traumas, negative past emotional experiences, and limiting decisions no longer impact your current day-to-day. This can be tricky to do on your own because your critical faculty can block you from accessing your unconscious mind in a way that allows it to change easily and effortlessly. Take massive action. Change requires change. You have to DO things differently if you want things to be different. Step one makes doing things differently WAY more doable. Focus on what you want. People are really good about focusing on what they don’t want. But what folks don’t realize is that the unconscious mind can’t process negatives so by thinking about what you want to move away from you actually stay stuck where you are with what you don’t want. You have to shift your thinking to focus on what you want. Step one makes this way more doable too. Where can people find you? My website is the best place for sure. That’s Toniawinchester.com. If you’d like to get a mini-course that will help you learn why nothing is working to break through your anxiety and burnout you can go to toniawinchester.com/vitality and sign up there. If readers are interested in a breakthrough then I suggest they read about it here and can book a discovery call here. That’s a great option because we can determine if a breakthrough is the best next step for where you're at and what you’re wanting. It’s been great chatting with you. Thank you so much. Thanks so much for having me, it was fun! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Dr. Tonia!

Written by: Claire Mason , 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. Halloween might just be over, but that doesn’t mean scary statistics have gone away. In actual fact, just the opposite. They’re multiplying in front of our eyes... These frightening statistics all have to do with thought leadership, and the opportunities great solo entrepreneurs and business owners are leaving on the table. And let me tell you... this is the stuff of nightmares. Boo! Alarming thought leadership statistics In the 2020 Edelman LinkedIn Thought Leadership Impact Study, the following findings emerged: 83% of actual buyers claim thought leadership content builds trust. But only 50% of B2B marketers believe that thought leadership is important to build trust. 88% of decision-makers believe thought leadership content is effective in influencing purchasing decisions. 17% of them rate the quality of most of the thought leadership they read as excellent. 3% of professionals on the LinkedIn platform are posting once a week consistently. What we’re seeing here is a huge disconnect between what buyers are telling us they want and what marketers are actually delivering. And if you’re a solo entrepreneur, then you’re your own marketer. The last figure, in particular, keeps me awake at night. Why you need a new approach to LinkedIn LinkedIn began life as a recruitment platform. It was an online place to post your CV and a game-changer tool for recruiters to access top talent. In 2021, the platform is still these things for job-seekers and those looking to hire. But the social media behemoth has also become so much more. Earlier this year, LinkedIn themselves revealed that there are now 740 million people on the platform. Yet, as we know, only 3% of professionals are posting content consistently once a week. Is this the way we should treat a database of 740 million potential customers? By not taking the time to build a relationship with them? By ignoring them? By expecting them to read our minds of what value we could deliver? By keeping schtum of how we could help them solve their problems? Um, no. You actually need to do the opposite. You need to take time to contribute. Marketers can go on a tangent about “building relationships”, but there is a reason why. Your potential customers want to buy from someone they know, like and trust - and they’ll find that easier to do with you if you are communicating with them. In other words, building a relationship with them. (And not ignoring them!) In other words, publishing content. Secondly, who has got the time to figure out what someone else might be able to do for us? It’s an added piece of work to throw on top of our cognitive load and no one needs that right now. Or ever. Explaining what you do, how you do it and how it can help a potential client is a service you need to be providing to your potential clients. Think of this as part of your UX strategy . Then, let’s talk about profiles. There is so much real estate available to us in our profiles that most people are using on LinkedIn. Treat your LinkedIn profile as a landing page. And make maximum use of every element you can, from a branded header image to your bio. I share how you can optimize your LinkedIn profile in my Ultimate Guide #1 to LinkedIn Marketing - Your Profile . The pandemic has accelerated the demand for thought leadership Just a few weeks ago, Edelman and LinkedIn published their fourth annual Thought Leadership Impact study. The insights make for fascinating reading: The demand for thought leadership content has increased. 51% of C-Level executives say they spend more time consuming thought leadership content than before the pandemic. 83% of a typical B2B purchasing decision happens before a buyer engages directly with a provider. 55% of buyers say a piece of thought leadership content needs to catch their attention in the first minute or else it’s bye-bye. But guess what? Quality is still a problem Only 15% ( a decrease from last year) rate the quality of the thought leadership content they see as good or excellent. In my next column, I’ll take a look at what goes into creating quality thought leadership content. For now, I leave you with the summary that your audience wants thought leadership content and most of what is out there is not hitting the mark. There’s your opportunity. Connect with me on Faceb ook , LinkedIn , and Twitter . You can also visit my we bsite . Read more from Claire! Claire Mason, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Claire Mason is a Content Strategist who works with solo entrepreneurs and founders. She helps them earn the publicity they deserve to grow their sphere of influence and sales pipelines. Claire has earned bylines from numerous publishers, including The Guardian, Marie-Claire, and The Sunday Times. And she has placed her clients’ stories in publications like Forbes, CNBC, and WSJ among others. Her clients regularly see increases of 40% or more to their pipelines after implementing her content strategies. Her work has been showcased as an example of best practices by HubSpot. Claire is also a regular contributor to Business2Community, Brainz Magazine, Tealfeed, and Digital Doughnut, and she writes regularly on how content marketing can move the needle for B2B brands.

Written by: Janet Philbin, 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. Have you ever taken time to pause and look at what motivates you to think the way you do about yourself? Have you paused long enough to ask yourself why you behaved in a certain way or made a decision that was out of alignment with how you really feel? These are just a few questions to begin to ask yourself on the road to feel more in control. When you were young you developed specific thoughts about who you were. If these thoughts were not positive ones, they may have become limiting beliefs about yourself. These beliefs stay with you and inform who you have become and who you are today. All paths to heal start with you and begin within you. What is a limiting belief? A limiting belief is a thought that you hold true about yourself. The beliefs show up in the way you think and talk about yourself. You base the decisions you make in your life from the perspective of these beliefs. These beliefs, because they are limiting, are not positive ones. They hold you back, cause you pain, prevent you from growing and healing. Some examples of a limiting belief are I am not good enough, love hurts me, I don’t do anything the right way, I must be perfect to be loved, life is always hard for me, I am not smart enough, I always make the wrong choice, I am not worthy. One of the most important things for you to remember as you begin to identify the limiting beliefs you carry is that at one point and time in your life these thoughts served a purpose. You developed these thoughts and beliefs because you needed them at the age you were to survive. I like to think about limiting beliefs as survival skills. They helped you get to where you are today. The problem is not in the fact that you developed these survival skills, the problem is that you have outgrown them, but your unconscious mind does not know that important piece of information. The unconscious mind does not know that you have grown up or that years have passed since the development of that survival skill. The unconscious mind has no sense of time. You still use that skill to function and cope in your daily life now. Therefore, it limits you; and is why the beliefs are limiting. The beliefs did not limit you at the time you came up with them, they helped you in some way. However, now in your life they: limit you, hold you back, keep you stuck, keep you small, create depression, anger, fear, or anxiety. When you are in survival mode you are in a fight or flight response. This means that the sympathetic branch of your autonomic nervous system is activated, and you are on alert. You are functioning out of reaction and from the part of your brain that is on the defense. In essence, your autonomic nervous system is not regulated. As a clinician and as a hypnotherapist I understand this with a unique perspective. First, through the lens of Polyvagal Theory and second through the lens of the unconscious mind. Polyvagal theory takes us through the experience of the autonomic nervous system and its three predictable pathways of response. These are Ventral Vagal, Sympathetic and Dorsal Vagal. Each pathway has unique adaptive responses to help us survive. We interpret these responses through neuroception. Neuroception is our ability to detect what is going on in our environment, this happens without conscious awareness, just like we are not consciously aware of how often we blink, blinking just happens. When we are detecting what is happening in our environment, we are always assessing cues of safety and cues of danger. Based on our interpretation of the cue, either safety or danger, we respond from one of the three pathways of the autonomic nervous system. When we are in Ventral Vagal, we are experiencing safety and connection. When we are in Sympathetic, we are in a mobilized fight-flight state. When we are in Dorsal Vagal, we are in a state of immobilization, conserving our energy and resources. The autonomic nervous system reacts, “in service of survival.” When the sympathetic pathway is activated, you look for a way “out” to survive in that moment. If you cannot find that way out then you move into a lower branch of your autonomic nervous system, dorsal vagal. In the dorsal state you freeze, shut down, hide, feel numb, dissociate, and completely disconnect to protect the self. Living in either sympathetic or dorsal is not what your autonomic nervous system is seeking. The autonomic nervous system is seeking regulation. To be in regulation, we must be in the other pathway of the parasympathetic branch, ventral vagal. When you are in ventral vagal you are safe, present, connected, and calm. This is the goal. This is when you feel good about yourself, who you are in the world and where you are in the world. From this place you can function and cope well in your life. It is important, in learning to understand yourself, to know that the limiting beliefs you hold about yourself, when activated, are not acting alone. When those beliefs are triggered, or as I like to say, poked or woken up, then your autonomic nervous system goes into action bringing you into one of these two survival states, fight/flight, or freeze. To begin to get to know yourself and the impact of your limiting beliefs you need to develop an awareness of how your nervous systems respond. Do you shut down and hide or do you react and fight or try to flee? You will feel these reactions and responses in your physical body. Some examples of a physical response you may notice are racing heart, an upset stomach, low back pain, experiencing digestive issues that become activated with stress and worry, or headaches. The limiting beliefs you hold in your unconscious mind are felt in your body and therefore your autonomic nervous system responds when these beliefs are activated within you. Again, this happens without your conscious awareness, and you react out of instinct or a learned behavior you have employed for a long time. When you react, it is like letting off steam and once released you feel a shift, but usually when you let off that steam it looks like anger, self-deprecation, anxiety, fear and is not helpful. You are just projecting your inner pain outward which does not solve problems it only perpetuates them or creates new ones. The way to begin to heal is to bring the unconscious to the conscious. You can do this. The first step is to slow down, pause and breathe each time you get poked, activated, or triggered. You create space for you. Here are some steps you can take to come into autonomic regulation and understand the limiting beliefs which have been controlling your reactions. Purposefully pause and breathe. Take a shorter inhale and a longer exhale and do that for two to three times. Write down the limiting beliefs you hold about yourself. When you see them on paper you can begin to be objective. Next to each belief write down how long you have had that thought or feeling about yourself or write the age you were when it began. Write down what was going on in your life at that time that led you to develop that belief. More than one belief can begin at the same time. Look at your list and see if any of them are connected to another. Identify for yourself where you feel a reaction in your body when you have this thought. Ask yourself what can you do to take care of you to help release this physical response? Do you need to exercise, meditate, journal, take more breaths? Write down the opposite of the limiting belief, changing the negative thought into a positive one. Say the positive thought out loud and experience how your body now responds. Imagine a situation in the future where the negative belief would have appeared and see yourself using your new skill of regulating breathing, tuning into your body, doing what you need to do to shift the physical response and using the new positive thought. Imagine all the details and allow yourself to see, feel and experience the improvements. If the difficult feelings and emotions, you struggle with each day were birthed from limiting thoughts and beliefs that means you can heal them. You can improve your mood, learn new coping skills, and put real, actionable changes into your life. You can shift the belief systems from the old faulty ones to new healthy ones that make sense for you in your life now. Learning to understand your autonomic nervous system, paying attention to the limiting thoughts and beliefs and being in tune with your physical responses allows you to affect positive change in your life. You get to take back control, you no longer have to be a victim to your own emotional hijacking and questioning,” what just happened?” “Why did I have that reaction?” Instead, you learn to purposefully pause, tune in to your body, recognize your thoughts, and take a few regulating breaths and once you feel calm then you can respond to the situation in a calm and connected way which will leave you feeling empowered and proud of yourself. For more info, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit my website! Read more from Janet! Janet Philbin, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Janet is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Hypnotherapist, and Certified Conscious Parenting Coach. Janet helps adults heal from the emotional pain and trauma of their past. She is the owner of Janet Philbin, ACSW, private psychotherapy, and hypnotherapy practice. For 21 years, Janet has been successfully helping people recover from their emotional wounds and change their lives with the power of transformational healing and hypnotherapy. She’s the author of, Show Up For Yourself: A Guide to Inner Awareness and Growth. Her book offers readers a framework to heal their emotional wounds and become emotionally whole once again. Show Up For Yourself hit Amazon’s bestseller status and won as a finalist in the 2020 Readers Favorite book contest. She works closely with Dr. Shefali Tsabary, NY Times best-selling author and Oprah’s favorite parenting expert, as an ambassador in her Conscious Parenting Coaching Method Institute.

Written by: Nurit Amichai, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. “When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are … when you wish upon a star your dreams come true.” So begins the wonderful world of Disney and a world where dreams do come true, at least on the big screen. What about real life? Many of us look at our lives and scoff at the idea of dreams coming true. Of course, there are all kinds of “opportunities” presented by those who guarantee anything from a mansion to a private plane for signing up, they’ll make your dreams come true. These opportunities appeal to so many who want their success to come quickly – by “doing what they love and getting rich doing it.” Millions, if not billions, are made on the dreams of those who believe all they have to do is buy the instructions. And there’s the rub. Dreams can come true. However, most of the time, for dreams to come true there has to be a gigantic shift in several areas to realize the end result desired. So, what does it take? Let me tell you about a client of mine, we’ll call her Carol. Carol came to me a few years ago in a last bid to see if life would be worth living. She was dealing with depression and a serious mental health issue which she kept secret from everyone and worked overtime to cover up, physical health issues including a brain tumor and she was overweight. The good news was that she has a loving husband and adoring kids who have accommodated her throughout their lives together. Much of this was hidden from me for a few months but, as we worked together and trust grew, she began to let me into her life. Carol had given up hope for any future. She had two dreams which she then believed were useless and pointless. One was to do a trek and the other to live in another country. As she surveyed her life, neither were options any longer. What was the point? It took time and a lot of hard work, but things began to change. Being able to rekindle the flame of hope in Carol’s heart that she could have a life worth living meant reprogramming thoughts and beliefs that were holding her hostage. In order to do that, she had to open up and talk about the issues in her life that she had kept secret in the vault of her wounded heart. The willingness to open up and process the pain, move forward, and let go of anger and judgments, revamp beliefs that didn’t serve her and give herself permission to get medical help were all part of the path out of the darkness of her life. None of this was easy It didn’t happen overnight. It took months of hard work. Buckets of tears. Cursing and crying. But Carol stuck with the process, even when it would have felt easier to call it a day and walk away. The breakthroughs began to happen… first a big weight loss success, which brought with it the hope that life could be better. Then, making the plans for and executing the long sought- after trek which lasted nearly three weeks. The desire to live was becoming stronger and stronger with each stretch. Finally, the willingness to see a psychiatrist to address the longstanding effects of OCD and depression and ultimately receiving medicine to treat the issues opened a whole new world for Carol. Within a year of that time, Carol purchased an apartment in the country she longed to live in before life turned sour and, as of this writing, Carol visits that place with her family on a regular basis. Okay, so that’s Carol… The point of the story is that being willing to do the hard work, make the changes, put in the time, and open up the wounds to heal were all part of the realization of the dreams that had been left to die. Certainly not everyone has as dramatic a story as Carol, but most of us have had dreams that we’ve put on hold because we haven’t been willing to do what it takes to make them come true. We haven’t been open to change, we continue to speak negatively about our lives and our situations, we hide the truth under a cloak of shame or pride, and we think that somehow, magically, our dreams will come true. Here’s the thing: Dreams are tied to hope. Hope is not static. Hope is active and very often requires action to see the thing hoped for, the dream, come to fruition. We have to put feet to our hopes and dreams wherever and whenever possible. As we make the changes necessary to prepare the place for the dream to open, then the universe comes to our aid and often hastens things along. How long does it take? It takes as long as it takes. Maybe a better question is, “How long are you willing to work to realize your dream?” Are you willing to face your inner and outer demons, just like Frodo on his way to destroying the one ring? Many people don’t want to go through the struggle, so they settle for what they have. However, what they fail to realize is that over time, settling turns into struggle. One the other hand, if you go after your dreams, fight the dragons, and overcome the obstacles, life will only get better. If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse. - Walt Disney Follow Nurit on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit her website for more info! Read more from Nurit! Nurit Amichai, Executive Contributor, Brainz Magazine Nurit Amichai is a holistic therapist and life coach who provides individuals with an opportunity to strip away old, unproductive and damaging habits and create new, lasting behaviors that support the dynamic and powerful life they really want to live. As a result of a devastating illness, she set about rebuilding her body and life through nutrition and fitness. Realizing that wasn't enough, she entered the personal growth world where she allowed her truths to surface by giving herself permission to face and then release the pain and self-destructive behaviors she had harbored for so many years. This experience birthed the desire to share these lessons and gifts with others. She has merged all of the disciplines learned over decades — nutrition, fitness, and mental and emotional health — into the true passion of her life: to help people heal and gain optimal health, giving her clients the benefit of many years of learning and experience, coaching them and giving them tools for finding fulfillment and unleashing their own personal power.

Written by: Trish Bishop, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. One of the most prevalent issues in today’s business cultures is that employees do not feel psychologically safe. Ask yourself if you’ve seen or experienced any of the following behaviours in your workplace: Sarcasm, which while entertaining is also incredibly toxic in a team. Gossip and cliques within a team. Us versus them mentality either within or across teams. Passive/aggressive behaviour. Being thrown under the bus by others so they can avoid accountability. Others taking credit for your work so they can get themselves seen. A sense of walking on eggshells because you don’t know how leadership will react to a situation. Working ridiculous hours and never meeting unrealistic expectations. Being blamed for the latest crisis by the very leader who asked you to do whatever it is you did. The workplace is very much like a field full of landmines that employees spend far too much time and energy learning to dance around to avoid the blast sites or collateral damage. For those employees who have learned how to navigate these landmines effectively, this also means their armour is made of titanium. Think about the above scenarios and imagine how much time is spent navigating landmines rather than focusing on doing the work. Think about how much unnecessary stress is created in this type of environment. Stress that doesn’t get left at the office, but that goes home with your employees, seeping deep into their personal life, removing any true ability to create work-life balance. If you’ve personally experienced this kind of work environment, do you feel that you were able to give your best every day, or were you simply showing up and trying to get through the day, going to bed each night wondering and stressing about what would happen tomorrow? None of this is conducive to creating high performance. Trust is the first step towards creating psychological safety. Here are the two things leaders can do to establish trust within your team: 1. Be Authentic. Yes, I know, this has been quite the buzzword for the last 10 years or so. However, here’s a new spin on what this means and why it is critical for creating trust. Your level of authenticity – in its simplest terms, being who you really are – creates an ‘energy’ of alignment. This is where what you say, think, feel and do are aligned and it cannot be faked. Here’s an example of not being aligned: I ‘think’ that John is inept and provides terrible customer service. I then ‘tell’ John that I think he’s doing a good job because I want to boost his confidence and be positive. What’s really happening here is that John (and everyone else in the vicinity) can sense that my energy is not aligned because what I’m thinking and what I’m saying is not aligned. They may not know exactly what I’m thinking, but they can sense the deceit and therefore, while they aren’t sure why, they inherently mistrust me. Therefore, you must first be authentic. You must do the inner work to get yourself into alignment in what you think, feel, say and do. If you have a concern with John’s performance, artificially attempting to boost his confidence is doing more harm than good. You’ll be better off being honest and addressing your concerns with John directly and honestly. While these are not fun conversations to have, you’ll find that more often than not people respect and respond more positively to authentic honesty than inauthentic deceit. 2. Be Consistent. This is extremely important. Many leaders think they need to show up a certain way, to appear professional, or to place themselves above others, as if being a leader makes them ‘more than’ somehow. The best advice if you want to create trust within your team is to just be you. You don’t need to be tough, strong or authoritarian or whatever other ideas you’ve learned leaders should be. What you need to be is YOU. When you allow yourself to be you two things happen: The first thing that happens is that you will spend far less energy trying to be something you’re not. This is an exceptionally freeing experience, where you don’t have to put on your armour and your mask each day. You can simply show up, be yourself and get to work. Imagine if you didn’t have to spend any time strategizing about how you should act in front of others, how to get the attention of certain people, etc. and could just be you? The second thing that happens is that others will sense your authenticity and will inherently trust you. There’s no energetic barrier between you and the person you think you need to be. That barrier (armour, mask, etc.) creates an energetic static barrier that means that others can’t read your energy clearly and therefore, again, will mistrust you without actually knowing why. The more you are YOU, the more others will trust you. No matter what your personality is, passionate and high energy, quiet and low key, introvert, ambivert, extrovert, leveraging more of your masculine or feminine energy, just be you and do it consistently. As an example, I am definitely passionate and high energy, which means my team knows that I will generally have passionate reactions to situations. However, they also know – because I show up consistently that: I focus on the issue, not the person. I will look into all sides of an issue before deciding on a direction. When kudos come our way I will step to the side and allow it to flow to the team. When the bullets are flying I’ll stand in front of the team and take the heat. It is important to understand that people can trust you and not like you. You can even have a high-performance team with people who don’t like you, as long as they trust you and trust in how you’ll show up when the crap hits the fan. I’m sure I have people on my team who may not like me as a person, I may even get on their nerves, however, when the heat is on, they know I have their backs and will absolutely put myself on the line before I’ll let any collateral damage affect them. The trust they have in that knowledge gives them a foundation of psychological safety and once that happens, they start to spread their wings and fly. They will take more risks, they become emotionally invested in the success of the team and will go the extra mile because they want to, not because it’s expected. You cannot buy that kind of energy and commitment. If you’re serious about creating high-performance capability in your organization, be authentically you and do it consistently. Understand that what you say is not where the trust comes from – trust is established energetically first and you cannot fake that – your energy will always tell the truth of who you are and your intentions towards others. Do the work, get aligned and be the leader you were always meant to be! Take the leadership challenge to find out where you might have some work to do in creating your high-performance team. For more info, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit my website! Read more from Trish! Trish Bishop, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine After launching and taking public, one of the first Internet Service Providers in Canada, Trish quickly found her niche as a ‘translator’ with an exceptional ability to translate business needs into solutions. She also discovered early in her career that she is highly intuitive and then honed that gift into her corporate superpower! She blatantly integrates both the corporate and woo-woo aspects of who she is and attributes this to the amazing success she has had in her career, including developing 6 high-performance teams. As an Energy Integration Coach, Trish teaches leaders how to create massive transformations for themselves, their teams, and their organizations by learning how to read and interpret energetic information (aka intuition!) In addition to being a highly successful IT Project Manager, Trish is also the author of 'The Question Journey,' a Shaman, Empath, and Certified Angel Guide. Her mission: to heal corporate workplaces one leader at a time.

Written by: William Lee, 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. “Wow… you’ve got such an amazing voice. Your technique is flawless. All you have to do now is, be yourself, be authentic, internalise the music, and get it across to the audience. You will be awesome!!” How many times have we heard this line from the various coaches in The Voice, across different continents, languages and cultures? To be successful as a performance artist, the critical task is to connect, engage and strike the chord on the desired audiences. When they resonate with the art and the performance, and they want more, there is a good chance to realise the planned outcomes, spontaneously. Simple. The sophistication lies on defining who are the audiences, what do they want, the fit between supply and demand, and the performance delivery that is better than competitions. The trick to simplify all these is right learning. Right Learning “There is no other way to learn. Just put our minds to it 學問之道無他，求其放心而已矣,” said Mencius (孟子; 372–289 BC). When we put our minds to something focused and unbiased, we feel 受 the worlds truthfully through our five senses. We spontaneously emotionalise this feeling, then internalise this combined information stream 想 to process and act on it 行, all guided by our sixth sense of (sub)consciousness and memory意識. See Chapter 1 – Born With It All (brainzmagazine.com). When pride, prejudice and other impediments are included in the said spontaneous mental reactions, our perceived world is twisted. This gives rise to a convoluted memory, that consciously or subconsciously affects how we think and act in the future. The more we associate irrelevant, or incomplete, events through mis(-managed)-information, the more confused we get. Oversimplified solution gained this way, then becomes flawed, misleading and disconnecting. “1. 天命之謂性 - 嬰兒入廟堂” So, the first step to the right learning is to create an environment where learners can feel the worlds truthfully, observe and memorize how their body and mind naturally reacts, and spontaneously build up their physical, emotional, biological and mental capabilities. Through well-designed tasks allotments, quality teachers, peers, systems, methodologies and texts can speed up the process, when they are carefully designed and selected to fit the learner’s progressive needs. When we do this right, we learn to know ourselves, what we can and cannot do, and what makes us and others authentic, connectible, resonant, energized, and so on. “2. 率性之謂道 - 婆羅門串珠” Next, string up relevant events logically, reasonably and critically, connecting the dots. Build up the memory bank with well-organised and categorised information streams and networks, utilizing the tool of 5H1W (when, where, who, what, why and how) and the concepts of Cause and Effect 因果 and Taichi 太極 (see Chapter 4 — Taichi Fortunate (brainzmagazine.com)). Here, we learn how to internalise collected information effectively and efficiently, and connect with others. Use the right language(s) and tools to organise the information. “3. 修道之謂教 - 樵夫砍柴” When enough database is established, start simplification through the combinations of trial-and-error 學 and inquisition 問. This may involve logically, reasonably and critically dissembling and/or reorganising the already organised and categorised information streams, to give valuable insight on achievable critical task(s) that fuels organic growths. Binary systems (left-and-right, tall-and-short, hot-and-cold, right-and-wrong, good-and-bad, x-y axis …), tertiary systems (3 dimensions, past-present-future, ontology-phenomenon-use, father-son-holy spirit, …), quaternary systems (birth-growth-sickness-death, 4 dimensions, leadership-team-partners-investors, CVP-profit formula-management & operations-go-to-market plan), quinary systems (5 elements, Porter’s Five, 仁義禮智信), mathematics, computing, accounting, data analytics, theories, hypothesis… etc, all are designed to increase effectiveness, efficiency and predictability of (re)organised information. Try as many systems and methodologies as possible at this stage. We increase our capabilities to connect and scale this way. “4. 修道之謂教 - 大象入荊叢” No system or methodology is perfect. It inevitably prioritises something more than others, while the worlds are constantly changing. Keep tracking while interacting with the real world adopting the said systems, and learn the effects of this interaction. Compare against others. And, repeat the first three steps, and constantly improve and simplify. We then become connected to and from others, with increased scalability and pivotability. Sophisticated Simplicity When I visited the Taipei National Museum of History in 2011, I was impressed by Pablo Picasso's early works. For a complete outsider like myself, it's easy to marvel at the photo-like paintings by the young Pablo, and pondered what it really meant for the impressionistic ones of the old. This understanding shifted as I matured. I started to realise that, photo-like paintings were replaceable by new technologies, such as photography or AI, if the purpose was to record the visual world, or beautify a person. When the purpose was changed to portray a concept, then the emphasis should be placed on the concept and the visualisation itself, not the time-wasting and material-consuming brushwork. But then, my 4-year-old’s artwork should sell millions, which was of course not true. So, what sets a master apart is, he or she is capable of convincing all kinds of people anywhere anytime with simple explanation. “Not convinced? Let me try another way.” With attention to details, an array of useful skills can be developed, accumulated and exploited at will, to match the desired outcomes depending on circumstances. That sophisticated simplicity, my friends, can only be attained through persistent accumulation of the right learning, good faith 仁, and capabilities to do good 義, by putting our minds to whatever we do 放心. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, or visit my website for more info! Read more from William! William Lee, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine William Lee, a business coach and expert in connecting people’s wheels of fortune together, excels at producing positive results in complex multi-stakeholder engagement, end-to-end customer experience satisfaction, and remote team management. Frustrated by years of conflicts and external negativities, William dug deep to understand how our minds work, how we interact with one another, and how good faith can improve our connected world together. Through a process called CentriFusion, William’s methodology and system provide an easy first step to vastly improve team empathetic capability. With increased presence and engagement, as a result, fertile mental grounds are sown to enable organic and spontaneous growth, aligned to a shared common purpose. William provides the way to attain TRUE and SUSTAINABLE COMFORT in your businesses. Enjoy life without complacency!

Written by: Dorothy Scown, 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. A major lesson coming out of the events of recent years is that we need more than one stream of income. We all need to diversify and include several ways to generate money that can be ramped in the event of other changes, be they under our control or not. The old adage of “don’t keep all your eggs in the one basket” has never been more relevant than now, and some coaches are advocating that their clients have around 10 possible methods for income generation. So how does a life like that look? Those of us in business can feel overwhelmed with just one business let alone adding others to the mix. Time management will become paramount when running more than one business, compartmentalising and firm boundaries will ease the process, but first, you need multiple options! Sometimes we are missing opportunities that are right in front of us. I was guilty of this just recently. Using my household as an example, we had been building up business concepts over the years and currently run 4 businesses, the larger of these is for sale so we will have a shuffle of priorities when that happens. Our Agri business has been our main provider for the last 20+ years, the next highest producer is my coaching business, then we have a “Shopping Club” and finally The Opal Bowl with my husband’s beautiful artwork for sale (this is yet to be launched online). We add to these my book sales, and then there is the opportunity I was missing previously (but have amended) which was Affiliate opportunities with other businesses. All of these can be ramped when needed, and you will need to look at opportunities like that for yourself if you are to retain a secure cashflow in the future. Lockdowns may continue to occur and the way people shop for nearly everything constantly changes. Let’s talk about the most popular of side gigs for women, which is MLM opportunities! I have over previous decades opted for a number of these, Amway, Tupperware, Enjo, Postie Fashion to name some of them. Can you produce an income from these? Absolutely you can, but is it secure and what are the mistakes I have made or seen others make? In the companies I mention, you are a distributor, you hold stock and inventory so you have money invested. Now that works really well if you joined to access the goods at a great rate, however many join being told that they can make large sums of money which in my experience would take more time and effort than some jobs. So, for a side hustle and some discounted goods, they are a fantastic idea, and you can make a few bucks and hang with friends while you do it. Very few people are able to reach higher levels and make the kind of money that is often presented in the promotions unless they are all in and that is the only focus (that defeats our purpose here). Things to watch for in those are Pressure to buy more to hit a level (excess stock and cost) A system that requires you to reinvest for new stock every month (see above) Forceful “encouragement” to recruit to help upline to reach levels. If any of these 3 occur, understand that the pressure will only increase! There are other options that have customer membership systems, not requiring regular purchases, these are great if you wish to purchase occasionally but if you wish to build a business system this lacks consistency in sales and lands you in the “call the customer to sell” with every new months promotion. So when researching this area, dig deep on yourself first, What do you want from the product line? Are they consumables that you already buy or is this extra money? Dig deep on the company for longevity and that of the person introducing you. What are some of the other alternative options out there? We see a lot about Bitcoin and Shares, they require in-depth research, and I have seen people do well and do poorly out of both. Get educated if you wish to pursue these, there are many scammers drawing people into these, I have seen some very savvy people caught. Affiliate marketing, what is that? Affiliate marketing is where you promote an associates product or service and they pay you for the sales made from your promotions. In the coaching industry, this is common practice but can be translated to other industries. If you purchase something through a link that I provide to an affiliates offering, then I will earn a commission. You can make use of this concept in either direction, if you sell a product or service that can be sold by others then you can offer affiliate links, thereby increasing sales and paying commissions, or you can request affiliate links from those you know offering products and services, promote for them and earn commissions. Dropshipping is another opportunity that does not take up massive amounts of time, this is a very broad area to look into as one can offer any product that can be found on the internet. Once again, get educated if you wish to pursue this concept, it is broad and you will need to test your markets, ensure your supply chains are reliable and that you are able to make enough of a mark up to make it worth your while. You have some options to look at now, do your own due diligence before committing, count your egg baskets at the end, making sure they can be scaled or ramped up to ensure a reliable cash flow for your future. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, or visit my website for more info! Dorothy Scown, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dee is an author and a Master Coach with SMJ Institute. She has many years of experience in both the corporate world and entrepreneurship, that experience spans both bricks and mortar businesses and more recently online offerings. Her book “Grand Plan Shattered? How to turn your life around after a crisis” takes the reader through processes to overcome massive challenges and emerge into new possibilities. Her coaching work echoes this as she expands her client’s horizons so they too can “live a life beyond convention”.

Written by: Magnus Ernegård, 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. Once the Angel investor and you have signed the Term Sheet, you will likely begin the Due Diligence ("DD") process now, which is an inspection of your venture. It means the Business Angles and their advisors review your venture and its documentation to confirm any stated facts by you as the founder or team members. Part of this process is in detail to check the financial situation, which the investor himself usually does. For some ventures, a technical DD is carried out if this is relevant to the operation. The investor's legal representative usually does the legal part of the DD. Your Business Angel won't simply rely on the information you and your team provide them. They will most likely perform external and independent checks like interviewing former and current employees and partners or contacting customers to get feedback on your product and their experiences with your venture. Sometimes Angel investors or its legal representative search about the Startup venture in the Tax Agency, in the Companies Registration Office, the Enforcement Agency, Courts in the region where the Startup venture operates, and the Domain Register. They could also check patents and patent applications in the Patent and Registration Office. Furthermore, the potential investor can contact industry-specific organisations for cases where specific permits are required for the venture's operation. So, get in touch with these organisations well before the DD process starts and check the information yourself before your Business Angel does. So, you now came to the vital Due Diligence-process, which can destroy the whole deal if not appropriately managed. Some entrepreneurs mistake doing very little to prepare for the DD and have a pretty deficient documentation structure. It would be somewhat discouraging for you and the investors to begin finding issues and significant shortcomings, realising your story is not as complete and attractive as the Business Angels first thought. A failed DD process can significantly devalue your Startup for a long time ahead. So, as the founder, together with your team, you must exhibit total transparency since any discrepancies discovered may jeopardise the whole deal. So always tell the truth. Even a small lie can destroy trust among you, your team, and the Angel investors (or VCs). And that when you are right at the finish line with your funding process. Nobody expects everything to be perfect in business life, especially not in Startups, but you should have a plan to face things going wrong. As an entrepreneur and founder, you should show that you can manage uncertainty and potential upcoming crises. But you have had a good order and structure during your Startup journey so far, so you will also impress the Angel investors in this part of the process. You survived and managed the Term Sheet negotiation well, and now there is this one more hurdle before the investor's check could be handed over. Your responsibility as a Startup seeking capital is to provide and fill a physical or virtual data room with all documents relating to the venture's operations and all information requested by the Angel investor and its advisers. DD is typically a pretty long process, and it could take a couple of weeks if you have all the documents ready and prepared. But gathering, organising, and systematising key documents and answering any irregularities in the material could take months. It could well be over 100 different files for an average venture to compile. So, the Angels will be excited if you have all the documents and information fast and efficiently available and thereby able to have all investors access to the same information material and at the same time. Several global players, including the most prominent data management service suppliers, provide document management systems that can be used for the DD process. However, most of these are based on archaic folder structures and are overly complex for what should be a straightforward early-stage funding round. That is why we at BridgeToAngels recommend and work with our partner DD-Ready based in Finland and operating globally. DD-Ready offers an innovative, intelligent and customisable tool that does away with the need for Excel and thousands of emails, all on one SaaS platform. It also provides templates, guidance and an entire network of partners and advisors that can help your venture get ready for Due Diligence and remain so at all times. In addition, their Virtual Data Room (1-click VDR) concept provides a stable solution for both you as the fund seeker and the investor. On the investor side, various investors have taken up DD-Ready and can even be branded to look and feel like the company carrying out the Due Diligence. Check out what they can offer well in advance before you start your DD process. We still see manual paper checklists provided by lawyers or on the net, which are time-consuming, complicated, and easy to make mistakes. So, seriously consider going for the fully automated DD, which will provide a good structure including all your upcoming funding rounds and until the exit. Like you, the Business Angels see a long-term business relationship, so it is worth your time as a founder to do the extra work setting up a proper DD structure and making the agreement a win-win deal for both of you. The DD work differs, of course, in its depths and width depending on where you are in your Startup journey. If the venture is in the very early stages, there is not that much to dig into. But some check-ups are more or less mandatory for the Business Angels to investigate, like any litigations, pending lawsuits, patent disputes, disgruntled team members, and all sorts of claims. The Capitalisation Tables One other critical area and a must to have absolute control of and that I would like to point out in the DD setup is the Capitalisation table. Your Startup's equity or ownership structure doesn't feel or first appear to be that complicated having a good grip on, but it could very well be. When your venture is in its infancy, it is more of "plain-vanilla" managing the Cap-table. But then you might get this complex ownership structure with several co-founders, Business Angels, Family and Friends, the team's option pool, different preferred share structures, anti-dilution rights, convertible debts, etc. Further, deals made with these investors and lenders may have other specific stipulations that will affect how your Startup is viewed in its funding stages. This might be even more complicated when new investors come on board and after additional funding rounds. So, the new investors will meticulously inspect the agreements between the venture and the previous early-stage investors during the DD. Consider using a secure and scalable Cap-table platform with analysis tools and modelling abilities to use from the start and the very first funding round until the exit. (We will elaborate more on the Cap-tables in a later article in the BRAINZ Magazine). What to check? Keep in mind that the objective with the DD is for you to share enough information so the Angel investors can make a favourable decision to inject equity in your Startup. But not that much for them to replicate your venture if the deal is not closed. Never forget that an investor can be a competitor in identical circumstances. So, check if your Startup venture is potentially competing with something or someone the investor now has engagement with or shares. If you haven't already, which you already should have performed at the early pitching stage, make sure you, as the founder, have completed an in-depth Due Diligence on the potential investors. Investigate what their investment focus and portfolio look like and where the investor has previously invested? Examine which industries, ticket sizes, business models, investment stages, and geographical areas the investor has had. Perhaps you can check with other ventures who completed one or two funding rounds and where these Business Angels have invested and get information about their working style, engagement, and seriousness. Many benefits for your Startup being audited If you or the Angels investor find a critical deficiency in your venture that you'll need to address isn't pleasant but can be highly beneficial for your Startup's future. Most seasoned Angel investors are very experienced and well-oriented in building and scaling a venture and will be able to point out what your Startup deficiencies are and how you can address them. They very likely know every early Startup has some blemishes, and things will happen that cannot be foreseen, and mistakes are bound to occur. From your perspective as a founder, you might see the DD as a pretty intimidating process, but do keep in mind that it's a normal activity and even an essential part of any Startup deal structure. You should see the Angel investors as a partner who wants to offer guidance and make your Startup journey better, more promising, and successful, not as someone trying to dig up dirt on your venture to cause it harm. Remember, the Business Angel is interested in your venture, which means they are at this stage of the process quite committed to the deal and have a favourable opinion about you and your team. So, it can offer many benefits for your Startup being audited. The process provides an impartial and detailed assessment of your Startup and gives your venture a good breakdown of its strengths and weaknesses. To sum it up. Of course, we do not want to exaggerate the scope of DD in smaller Startups which cannot, of course, be compared with a complex M&A deal. Since the Business Angel is likely only to be interested in a minority share and not a complete acquisition, the DD process will for sure be less extensive. But still, your Startup has an opportunity to put your best foot forward, to show evidence of outstanding organisational ability and well-structured business-operation skills. You will be able to strengthen the Angel investor conviction about you, your team and your Startup venture through a transparent, well-constructed and robust DD process. Until next time. Keep on Starting up! Follow me on LinkedIn, or visit my website for more info! Read more from Magnus! Magnus Ernegård, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Magnus Ernegård has over 30 years of senior management experience from different industries in multinational industrial companies in various countries. Background in CEO positions, CFO, management consultant, production, business development, innovation, corporate governance, and entrepreneurship. Further, he has, over the years, gained Board and Chairman experiences from Boards within the Automotive, Logistics, IT Consulting, and Textile industries. Today, he is the owner and founder of the Startup support provider company BridgeToAngels based in Sweden and Denmark. Magnus has a proven track record in starting/developing businesses, company split, corporate exits, and organizational effectiveness. Magnus also serves as Advisory Council Member of Gerson Lehrman Group. He holds an MSc from the University of Lund, Sweden.

Written by: Karen Stallard, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. When was the last time you got lost in play? Take a moment to recall a memory of when you last immersed yourself in a fun activity, let yourself remember how it felt, and reflect on how much time has past between then and now. For some lucky people work is play and they can enjoy the wonderful combination of having fun and earning money at the same time, but for many of us work is a serious business; maybe full of responsibility and fraught. On top of a busy day, we battle with internal voices telling us that we can only stop and play once the job is completed, fun is certainly not allowed whilst there are responsibilities to be fulfilled. Tasks are prioritised, relationships are put on hold, sleep is compromised and playtime is squashed into the twilight hours. We are socially conditioned to believe that we are only a success if we work for 70 hours a week; look after two children, a dog, a rabbit, and complete the housework without having a breakdown, this is surviving rather than thriving. My hope is that this article will encourage you to know that prioritising play every day alongside all the other important tasks you need to do is essential for your ongoing wellbeing. So rather than fitting in play when you can, you begin to make sure it is a protected part of your daily living. Of course, as with everything there is a balance to be had, we can’t play all day every day, but if you are ‘all work and no play’ then this article is for you. Watching children play freely is inspiring. It takes me back to my own childhood where I used to play a game in the school playground called ‘Down the plug hole’. In this game, my friends and I would be sucked down an imaginary plug hole into another land where pirates, cowboys, and astronauts ruled. Take a moment to recall what games you enjoyed as a child, can you remember feeling those moments of excitement and satisfaction when you were lost in play? We now know that children, when playing, are developing their brains in many different ways and that children stop playing when they are frightened, neglected, or anxious. A child’s lack of security and safety can deprive them of the huge benefits of play and this has a detrimental effect on their early development. When children feel secure enough then they can begin to play and learn again. As adults, we also stop playing when we are frightened or stressed and it is precisely in those moments that we need to calm ourselves down and find ways to play again. Play keeps our brains and bodies healthy for longer and here are some of the many other good reasons why we should play more: 1. Creativity is inextricably linked to play: without play we are arguably limiting ourselves within a narrow frame of conscious experience, reducing our capacity to think creatively and overcome life obstacles. Creative play particularly helps expand our creative capacity generally. 2. Practising mindfulness: whilst you are focusing on a game of chess you are not thinking about that stressful call you had earlier. Playing teaches us that our mind is so much greater than our worries. 3. Calming down our nervous systems: it is impossible to engage fully with play if we are feeling frightened or anxious, allowing ourselves to sink into a playful activity enables the ventral vagal nerve to be activated, releasing anti-inflammatory and natural opioids such as dopamine into our bodies. 4. Release of trapped emotional energy: this is particularly true with physical play. Lion cubs have been witnessed playfully re-enacting a life-threatening chase with each other shortly after escaping the jaws of a predator, as they are doing this their bodies are ‘finding their power’ again. Intense playful workouts can work wonders after a scary encounter with an aggressive boss. 5. Building relationships and bonding: children love to play with their caregivers as they feel seen and affirmed. This is also true for adults as play helps us to be seen and to see others in a relaxed and fun way. 6. Stimulating laughter: we all know laughter is contagious, there are many games which make us laugh and the simple act of laughing with others can completely change our sense of perspective as well as making our body feel great. 7. Connecting with the inner child: play keeps us feeling young, thinking with agility whilst helping us to let go of our adult responsibilities for a while. 8. A safe platform for feelings to exist and be expressed: playing can make us feel many emotions such as excited, happy, triumphant, defeated, angry, sad, ecstatic, and many others. Playing a game is a great way for people to feel and express all of these valid emotions sometimes in rapid succession and helps us experience fluidity of emotional experience rather than just getting stuck with one feeling. 9. Creating communities where people belong: In developing my own game ’20 Dreams’ I have had the privilege to get to know the gaming world and found it to be a community that is wonderfully welcoming and inclusive. Play always encourages a gathering of like-minded people. 10. Different types of play activate different areas of our brain: We can train our brain whilst having fun if we choose the right games to play, learning doesn’t have to be a serious slog. Also, certain games can help us achieve a difficult task; for example, sorting play is very good for improving concentration before going to work on something complex. You may well be drawn to one type of play depending on your own personal strengths and so I have created a list of types of play below. Take a look, have a think about which sort of play appeals to you but also remember it is always good to give something different a try especially if you want the challenge of developing your brain in a new way. Sorting Games - Collecting, sorting, arranging, e.g. Jigsaw puzzles. Games with Rules - Following patterns, strategic thinking, logical moves, e.g. Chess. Imagination Games - Storytelling, art-making, music-making, drama, improvisation, e,g. 20 Dreams. Powerful play - Rough and tumble, catch me if you can, contact sports, e.g. Rugby. Building Games - Bricks, lego, model building, e.g. Jenga. Role Play Games - Figurines, creating worlds, dressing up, e.g. Murder mystery I hope this has inspired you to set your work aside for a while and go and play, think about what type of play you might enjoy the most, schedule it in your diary, and notice the benefits of play on your body and mind. If you are interested in understanding more about the psychological and neurological benefits of play then here is some suggested reading for you: Nurturing Natures, Attachment and Children’s Emotional, Sociocultural and Brain Development by Graham Music. (Psychology Press, 2011) Playing and Reality by D.W Winnicott. (New York, Basic Books, 1971) The Polyvagal Theory by S.W Porges (Norton and Company, 2011) Waking the Tiger, Healing Trauma by P.A. Levine (North Atlantic Books,1997) Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and visit my website for more info! Karen Stallard, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Karen Stallard began her career, having trained in performing arts, working in the theatre. She went on to pursue a spiritual path by training in theology, becoming an ordained Christian minister and working in the inner city for 20 years. Her work included promoting spiritual and cultural care within the British NHS medical system and spending time creating community activities for people experiencing mental distress. Karen went on to work as the minister at Union Chapel, Islington, an award-winning music venue for 8 years where she led the church to become one of the first in the UK to authorise same-sex marriages. Whilst working at Union Chapel she completed training as an Integrative Arts Psychotherapist and now runs a successful private practice. Karen is currently a trainer and supervisor for Trauma-Informed Schools UK and has also created and published a card game, "20 Dreams", a unique game of emotions which is designed specifically to engage the right hemisphere of the brain. Karen is also an artist, musician and beer brewer in her spare time and is passionate about external and internal liberation.