Written by: Dhairya Udeshi, 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. There are 2 forms of Diabetes, one is Type 1, and the other is Type 2 Diabetes. The difference between the two is that Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune reaction in which the body attacks the cells of the pancreas which produce insulin. This is mainly a hereditary condition caused by inherited genetics and has nothing to do with lifestyle problems. In these cases, the pancreas produces no insulin at all, and people are dependent to take insulin injections. These could range from one shot to five shots a day. It mainly happens to children at their young age and a few adult population also has it. On the other hand, Type 2 diabetes is caused by lifestyle problems and genetics. In such cases, the pancreas produces some minimum amount of insulin. Hence, the patients rely on tablets instead of injections. Type 1 diabetic cases are on the rise in the last 10 years and the reason is unknown. Kids and parents are worried that taking insulin shots will add to many other complications at a very young age itself. But let’s look at the ways we can live with it to avoid all potential complications that come along with it. Type 1 Diabetes, if managed well, will help a person live the same way as a person who doesn’t have the disease. Three things are important to live a healthier lifestyle: Diet Exercise Sleep Dosage In terms of diet, diabetics need to avoid any forms of sources of outside sugar. Such as chocolates, Ice cream, sweets, Candies, sugar in food, and Jam. They can have it once or twice a month but in very moderate quantity and that too only one of the above things. The type of food that they need to have are foods which contain natural god gifted sugar such as Fruits, Vegetables, and Sweet potato. Less to no fried food is best suited to maintain the cholesterol level in the body and main preference should be grilled foods. With this, the sugar levels won’t shoot up and the energy the body needs will remain at least for the next 4 to 5 hours. Patients also need to make sure that they should not have over two fruits at a time, as this would spike their blood sugar levels. It is important to have all the meals at the right time with the right quantity. Avoid foods such as red meat, as these are high in cholesterol and affect the heart. In terms of exercising, type 1 diabetes patients can work out as normally as a nondiabetic. At first, they first consult with their doctor their bodies are ready to exercise after being diagnosed with the disease. They can start off with light workouts such as walk and gentle run for 20 to 30 minutes a day. Once they feel that the body is adapting well, they can join a gym if they are above 15 years of age and work with a personal trainer who would guide them about the exercises in terms of form and intensity. They can start off with lightweight training at light to moderate intensity and, as they keep getting better in terms of strength and stamina, they can then increase the intensity. Children under the age of 15 can do exercises such as Pushups, Squats, lunges, plank, running, and cycling. All exercises to be done in the same way as mentioned above. It will also be better if kids have a Personal trainer for outdoor workouts. It is important to check your blood sugar levels before workout and after workout. This needs to be reported to the doctor during your monthly visit as he/she would know if there any changes in dosage required. Patients must also inform their trainers regarding the same as the trainer would know what intensity he has to make the client workout at. All Diabetics must carry a chocolate or energy bar along with them during workout so that in case the blood sugar goes low, then they could eat the bar in order to increase the blood sugar level. Drinking at least 3 to 3.5 litres of water is a must for all diabetic patients, as this would help keep their kidneys and other organs hydrated. Sleep is a very important criterion. Our body metabolism functions when we are sleeping. If we sleep less, that is around 4 to 5 hours, then our metabolism slows down with which we would feel tired and gain weight as the insulin resistance decreases. With this, our sugar levels rises. Hence, it is important to have a good night’s sleep of 7 to 8 hours. With this, the metabolism will be in check and the blood sugar levels would be normal. For dosage, it is very important to take the exact dosage or units of insulin prescribed by the doctor. Anything more or less than have serious repercussions on the body. For this, every patient must check their blood sugar levels at least twice a day as in type 1 diabetes there can be a lot of fluctuations in the blood sugar levels. If doses are being taken less than prescribed by the doctor, then this would increase the blood sugar levels and if the dosage taken is more than the prescribed, then this would lower the blood sugar levels which would cause dizziness, loss of conscious, sweating, and increased heart rate. If blood sugar levels show less in the reading, which is below 80mg/dl, then the doctor would advise you to take a few units less than normal and if the sugar readings are more than 250mg/dl, then the doctor would advise you to take 1 or 2 units higher off that dosage. I hope that the above article was helpful for the readers and there was sufficient knowledge gained from it. If you would like further consultation, then don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Dhairya! Dhairya Udeshi, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dhairya Udeshi is the Executive Director of Shape Up LLC, UAE. His company focuses on providing Personal and Group Fitness training services either in the Gym, Outdoors, or Online training using a video call service. It depends on the client's preference. Dhairya's idea has always been to provide clients with many flexible options and make it easier for them to choose their preferences. Dhairya's aim has always been to build a big network of clients and potential clients as his mission is to help more and more people stay fit and healthy. This is why he implements the strategy of charging 20-30% lesser than the market rate and providing clients with even better services with more flexible options for places to work out. With 8+ years of Experience in Health and Fitness, Dhairya has trained over 500 clients with all kinds of Health and Fitness challenges such as Running a marathon, Playing at the national level, Heart issues, Disc injuries, Spasms, Arthritis (Both Rheumatoid and Osteo), Diabetes, Blood Pressure, Depression and Anxiety. Dhairya is also a Life Coach, and he takes care of the mental health of his clients along with their physical well-being. With his belief that he instills to the world that Mental well-being is as or more important than Physical well being his Clients are more than willing to take up Coaching sessions along with Fitness training sessions in order to focus on their all-around development. Very few kinds of companies provide this kind of service.

Written by: Mags Thomson, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Are you one of the many people who would just LOVE to publish a book? Maybe your manuscript has been gathering dust on a digital shelf for ages, waiting to see the light of day? Is the prospect of self-publishing too daunting? Take a breath and let me talk you through it! One of the questions I am asked most often is what the best place is to self-publish. My answer is that every way has its pros and cons, and that the best place probably depends on what you want to achieve with the publication of your book. If you want your book to enhance your online credibility, give you sales leads and help shore up your business without you having to do all the legwork? In that case Amazon is the best platform to offer your book. Unlike Other Platforms, Amazon Is a Search Engine There are other places you can publish your book, but one of the biggest differences is that Amazon is not just an online shop, it’s a search engine. For you as an author that means that—if you play your cards right—you don’t have to do all the marketing work by yourself. You don’t need to constantly get people to your website to purchase your book, you just have to make sure your Amazon SEO is in good shape and then create enough traffic to keep your book ranking in the search results. It’s all a question about playing with the algorithms and getting your book in front of as many qualified leads as possible, just like when you try to rank your website in Google or get your social media content to go viral. Why Becoming a Best-Selling Author Is a Good Strategy I am sure many of you have come across the offer to contribute to a co-authored book to become a best-seller? It is a service I offer at House of Hives too. For me, becoming a best-selling author really is only the start of the story and it is more a means to an end than anything else. I launched two books last month, one by a single author and one with a group of authors. Both became best-sellers in multiple territories and categories. The latter made it all the way to the number one spot in the entire Netherlands Kindle store! Yeah, it felt kind of epic to knock Stephen King off the top spot! Of course, it feels great to see the book rise through the ranks, but there are other reasons this is important. I’ve spoken before about the traction and credibility your book can create for your business in 5 Reasons Every Entrepreneur Should Write a Book – Now. Those effects are multiplied when you can call yourself a best-selling author, regardless if you did it with a solo book or as part of a group of authors. There are other reasons too though, and they have to do with the continued sales of your book. That’s because the Amazon algorithm learns from how many people click, look at and buy the book. You see, Amazon earns off your sales too, so they WANT your book to do well. When your book shows up high in categories and searches, it means that more people are likely to discover your title and that means more sales potential. With more sales, come more recommendations from Amazon to other users who have similar interests to your readers. That’s how you can get the ball rolling on your book sales, and how you can introduce more people to your amazing business. Making the Algorithm Happy Of course, the book needs to be good for it to sell continuously. Nothing beats valuable content and a positive experience for your readers. Reviews are an important factor in how the algorithm judges your book, and you will only get those from people enjoying READING the book. There are some tricks though to make sure that it stands the best chance of success in the Amazon marketplace. More sales and therewith more readers means more reviews, which means an increasingly happy Amazon algorithm. The Book Page Your book page doesn’t just have to grab your potential reader’s attention, it also needs to tell Amazon that the content of your book and the keywords you are trying to be listed for are connected. You do that by using your keywords in your book description. Keyword padding is a bit of an art. You want these words and phrases to be present in your description and even in your title and subtitle. However, you want the text to read well and feel natural to your readers. Just sticking on a bunch of keywords stands out like a sore thumb. People don’t like scammy sales techniques, generally. So, being obvious about keyword stuffing can put your potential customers off. The Keywords So, how do you know what keywords we wanted to use? There are three important characteristics of the keywords you want to select: Keywords people actually use Keywords people use to buy Keywords that are not too competitive You can rank as high as you like with a specific keyword, but if no one ever types it into the Amazon search bar, well then you might as well not be ranked at all! The same goes for searches that do not generate any sales or where you would be buried under a mountain of famous authors who are pushing your book to page 10 of the search results. For your non-fiction business book, you want to look at keywords that describe the pain point your reader is experiencing and the results they hope to gain from your book. You will also want to define your specific niche in your keywording. Create a list of some very specific key phrases and some more general keywords. Start with your brainstorm and then use the Amazon suggestions in the dropdown. These choices depend on the numbers, but also on the content of your book. As with your keyword padding in the description, you want the book to show up in the right searches. This is about the right buyers finding your book, and about building trust with both your audience and the algorithm. The Categories Finding the right categories to list your book in, is very similar to finding the right keywords. In picking the categories, you need to look at the relevance and the competition for each. Sales figures for categories (and keywords) of course change from one day to the next, depending on new releases and buyer behaviour, but you can look at the trends and find out which would be good choices. It’s important to realise that the categories that you can pick when listing your book, do not reflect ALL of the Amazon categories. In fact, Amazon has almost three times as many categories as you are offered when setting up your book. You can request you book to be listed in alternative categories though, once you have it all uploaded and ready to go. When checking out categories, check out the first three books in the category and check their overall Amazon best-seller status. This can tell you a lot about how much competition you might have in the category and if it will be a good choice for your book. If you’d like to know how much an author is actually selling—and therewith how many you’d need to sell to compete—by adding their best-selling rank to this Kindle Best Seller Calculator by The Kindlepreneur. Keeping the Algorithm Happy Amazon Optimisation helps your book gain traction from the launch date and makes for a happy algorithm that will happily recommend your book to new readers. To keep that momentum going, it’s important to get reviews and make sure you continue to send a steady stream of buyers to your book. A book is a great way for people to get to know you, your business and feel a connection to who you are and how you work. So, when you are doing podcast interviews, magazine features or guest blogs using your book as the Call To Action is an amazing way to deepen your bound with your audience and keep that Amazon algorithm purring. The happier the algorithm is, the happier the algorithm becomes… it’s like the law of attraction, but for computers! Not Sure Where to Start? Is all this talk of SEO, algorithms, and optimisation feeling overwhelming? No worries! Amazon Optimisation is one of the services I offer at House of Hives! Check it out on the website and let’s see if we can work together! Follow Mags on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit her website for more information! Read more from Mags! Mags Thomson, Executive Contributor, Brainz Magazine Mags is a story coach, impact co-creator, and the founder of House of Hives. She helps female entrepreneurs and change-makers use their personal stories in their business, bridging the gap between emotive storytelling and strategic marketing. Together with developmental editor Karina Asti and event strategist Ana Gallo, she helps women co-create books and collaborative online summits to empower themselves and their brands.

Written by: Serena Scarlett, 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. Not everyone can handle bullying and heavy-handedness from others in business. Inspired and excited, you join social media groups – Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, to name a few. You post about your business, your projects or offers. People Like your posts and comment – or not. You keep posting and promoting, listing the days when groups allow you to build up your visibility and getting a presence online. Swimming along, starting some paid work, things go well. Or are they? Are you earning enough, can you really survive on what’s coming in? Taking stock, you discover a lot more work is required to break even and start making profits that could sustain you. Building presence, you enthusiastically post in more places, only to be shot down in flames. Group admins and others write disheartening comments. You discover there is a culture you have to learn that’s tightly and firmly governed, sometimes by fierce and feisty types that you thought you had left behind in your 9 to 5 workplace. Your post has been removed Your comments go against group guidelines No selling or self-promotion You will be removed from this group if you promote Give more than you take In that culture, where the heck do you post so that you can be heard and seen by those you know need and want your services? You need a mentor, someone who has done this before and paves the way for greater visibility and credibility. It's becoming more urgent now. Money is tight, bills are building. Encouraged by ideas of return on investment you pay a mentor and join with others to build and prosper. You hone your focus and tailor your offers, post more and in different places where you hope your clients will find you and magically buy. Months go by, not much happens, more marketing is needed. Emboldened, you post more widely, finding more places. But instead of welcome and encouragement, now there are trolls and even more heavy-handed admins who jump on you for not meeting the group’s exact guidelines. Even when you think you have. Sigh. Posts are removed, you get kicked out for spamming, people on your email lists unsubscribe and it's becoming harder to get exposure in the places you need to be seen. Disheartened, you review and reflect, pull back for a break, and start again. You realise all businesses need sales – call it marketing at times – but at the last moment if you don’t have a way to sell when someone expresses interest you will go broke. Sales is hard. It takes a certain type of personality that can take many, many No’s before getting to a single Yes! Free offers, to attract and give value, are what you try next. People join your groups, but quickly move on, not being keen to pay money yet – they are starting up too and don’t have a lot to spend. Times are tough. Low-cost offers, to get known, work for a while. But you come back to the same need to upsell, provide value and be in a hot-selling topic or service to ensure ongoing custom. You wonder how long it's all going to take – it's been over 12 months now and while there was a flurry of business in your first six months, now it's stopped. What to do? What’s gone wrong? Visibility, presence, more and more getting known, being seen as the change-maker, a thought leader in your field. This is what’s still needed. It's hard to keep up a bright happy positive appearance when really you are struggling. You can't let anyone know – you must appear to be successful. Are others really successful? Or are they simply giving that impression? How long does it all take? Joining webinars and online groups, your network builds and a few jobs trickle in. Finally, you work up the courage to ask others how long it took them to build up their business. In a Zoom meeting, your question is ignored, passed over as too difficult. It’s hugely important to know now, savings are running out, income is vital. Complain to the organisers and, lo and behold, the question is given airtime! How long do I keep building my business before I will be sustainable? Answers. At least 2 years. It took me 3-and-a-half years, to be honest. I have other income. It's really hard, most people are giving the impression they are successful, but they aren’t either. Like me, they have very little work. I was successful years ago, then it all changed – people aren’t spending. I gave up, there were too many heavy-handed people being hurtful and after one awful comment, I couldn’t take anymore. I suffered the tall poppy syndrome. So many people wanted to cut me down. Wow, this is not what I thought! My writing is a need, people must have clever and engaging marketing to sell. But... should I give up, take a break or carry on? I gave up. I ended my business after 18 months or so of effort. Having other income still to work with, I pulled back from the online world, treating it now as a hobby business. A gently closed door. I still write and help others here and there. But it's no longer my shining goal, my dream job or retirement plan. The mean comments, criticism of my personality, the heavy-handedness and unbending rules – that’s just not my scene. That’s my story, and it’s not a happy ending. But I’m not here to shoot down your goals and dreams. I share my story as a hard lesson. If you can find resilience and take the knock-backs and the criticism you could thrive. But it's not for everyone. The end. Follow Serena on her Facebook, LinkedIn and visit her website for more info. Read more from Serena! Serena Scarlett, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Serena ignites messages while maintaining the business owner’s feel and stamp. Wholistic copywriting with alternative approaches are central for supporting unique businesses. When Magic (and the opposite) happens, Serena provides Mentoring. She delivers creative problem solving, outside-the-box solutions, and stratagems. Whatever the role or project, Serena powers it up and packs a punch. This includes presenting to a SharkTank / Dragon’s Den-style panel and a public audience at the Sydney School of Entrepreneurship in 2019. Copywriting for web pages and marketing materials are her core functions, and being a Wholistic Mentor for Entrepreneurs. The nitty-gritty / hard yards achieved: designed and ran spiritual groups, mindfulness, relaxation, and meditation classes taught conventional classes on marketing & small business management, financial (debt) management sessions, therapeutic counseling and case management, start-up and business mentoring copywriting, making business presentations, entrepreneurial pitches. International Business Mentor, with clients in the USA, Europe, and Australia. Companies that worked for include International Legal firm VisAustralia, Counselling services Converge International, Belconnen Community Services Canberra, Mission Australia, and Anglicare Canberra covering South East and South West NSW, Australia. And currently an Entrepreneur Serena Scarlett as a Spiritual Wordsmith / Wholistic Copywriting & Mentoring. KEY QUALIFICATIONS (Quals) Copywriting Training & Internet Marketing by Hot Copy, Graduate units Sydney School of Entrepreneurship, Ideation & Structure for Success in 2019 fuelled this further. Formal Quals include: B. App Sci Health (& Community) Education Post Grad Community Counselling Dip Financial Counselling. Create Your Destiny graduate with William Whitecloud April 2021 Mind Soul Spirit workshops (30 + years) The latter two being personal, spiritual, and psychic development.

Written by: Merrill Isherwood , 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. Futility at work or a necessary evil? So many of us, including myself, constantly strive for perfection, often to the point of burnout or exhaustion. Are you one of us, or do you know someone who is? I have often wondered why I had this trait, and I specifically use the word, ‘had’ for a reason, on which I will elaborate later. My assumption was that it was conditioning from my past. Having a father who persistently pushed me to do better, be better, and try harder… instructing me never to settle until I had done my best and more, and to never be satisfied at the outcomes or results of my efforts. When I saw and questioned others with similar character traits, their reason was similar, having been pushed to always excel, not just do. They, as did I, never felt like they achieved the level of proficiency they set out to achieve, in whatever aspect of their lives that was under their eagle-eyed scrutiny. A parent, guardian or mentor pushed them to achieve more, never to be satisfied unless they pushed themselves to the limit and beyond. Their best was simply never good enough. Heaven forbid they heard someone used the adage: “Well, I am only human, after all”…. ‘What a cop-out!’ us perfectionists always thought when we heard someone utter those words... I would always think: “That’s so lazy of you, keep trying harder, you can’t accept less of yourself than perfect”. I recall too, how many times I retorted to people when they asked why I pushed myself so hard, “ Because if you settle for less than perfect, you’re on a downward spiral to mediocrity and I don’t do mediocre”. I always pushed to be the best, not because I was competitive, I didn’t care too much about what others did, as long as I came out tops. To not be the best meant I was not an achiever and the thought of not being the best at whatever I did was like me giving myself the biggest slap in the face. I didn’t aim high for the recognition, rewards, or promotion, but for my own sense of self-worth. I used to think it was to make my dad proud of me or it would make him accept and love me. Later in life, I realised it made me feel good when I knew I had done my absolute utmost. He may have been the driving force when I was young and I suppose it became a way of life for me until such time as factors and events in my life caused me to review my viewpoint on perfectionism. Two lessons learned Fortunately, two lessons taught me a little about putting things in perspective about my drive for perfection. The first was a few months after my young sons and I moved into our new home after my divorce. I bought a bigger than needed home because I didn’t want my boys to feel I couldn’t provide for them in the way they had been accustomed, and I was determined to prove to my ex I was a great mum and capable woman. Every spare moment I was cleaning, reorganising space, cleaning, repacking cupboards, cleaning, making curtains, cleaning... You get the point. My OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) was getting the better of me. The obsession of providing a perfect home for them was getting to me and eventually to them. Fortunately, I noticed signs of them seeking my attention and realised, with a blow to my self-esteem, that I was not paying as much attention to them as they needed. I realised that in trying to be the perfect mum I was actually quite the opposite. I was the perfect housekeeper but my children didn’t need that, they needed me more. I turned my focus to them and the results were ginormous. They became confident, happy kids. The second lesson was a slightly harder one to learn. My father retired and planned to move from inland to a coastal village where he could live out his dream of living at the seaside. He needed to sell our family home and, feeling that no one could do as good a job as he, he set about sanding and repainting the roof and house on his own. Physically fit and slim, but over sixty years old, us girls asked him if he felt this was a wise decision. The house was quite large and this would be an intensive project for him to do on his own. He assured us he would be fine and set about the tasks energetically, planning t0 first tackle the outside, then the interior walls. He completed the sanding, undercoat, first two layers of paint and was on the third, proud of his accomplishments, when I called in to check on his progress one evening. I asked him if he was feeling okay as his complexion was slightly ashen and he stated he was feeling a bit tired but that was because he was pushing hard to get the outside walls finished by the end of the week. After a brief chat, I set out for home. The following morning I was aroused by a call from my sister to tell me I needed to meet her at dad’s house. I asked why and she advised she would tell me upon my arrival. Upon greeting her at my front door she shared the news my dad had passed on. The housekeeper found him dead in his room when she opened the house that morning. He had a massive heart attack. He would never get to live out his last days at the sea. I pondered whether this was a lesson I needed to heed, about whether trying to do a perfect job was worth dying for? My obsession with perfectionism waned a little after that. Who determines the criteria for perfect? I hear of so many people not reaching their potential in their lives despite working so hard. They never attain what they set out to achieve, simply because they feel whatever they are doing is not enough. Their book, document, presentation, speech, image, accent, is not yet good enough. I too experienced this early on in my business, but I have learnt how wrong it is. It is incredibly sad that so many are missing out on so much because someone is scared to put themselves out there… to ignore their insecurities or perceived shortcomings and accept who they are, so they can get the information or message they need to share with the world, out there. By doing so they are doing themselves and the world an injustice. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with doing your utmost and aiming high, but when it becomes detrimental to your wellbeing, your livelihood, making a positive impact on others, then our quest for perfection needs some serious attention. Who sets the standards for what perfect is? Yes, when it comes to spelling, grammar, mathematical statistics or formulae, data or reporting, technical or journalistic facts, accuracy is critical and there are ‘rights’ and wrongs’. When it comes to opinions, however, it is a different ball game. Whose image is perfect – in whose eyes? Which body type is perfect? Which outfit or type of clothing is perfect? What personality type is the perfect one? Whose voice, tone, pitch, is perfect? I could go on and on, but you get my point. Don’t lose out I urge and encourage you not to wait until you have the ‘perfect body, voice, or ‘look’, to go out there and live the life you are mean to live… one where you experience as much as you can, where you get to have fun going to the beach, swimming, working out, meeting up with friends, living a joyful and impactful life. Live your life fully, without pretence, without inhibitions, (aside from conforming to societal norms), by allowing yourself to let others see the real, beautiful, giving, kind, and caring you. If someone doesn’t like you for whatever reason, that is their opinion and theirs alone. One to which they are entitled, but do not hand them the power to stop you from living your life to the full. You are unique – live your unique life proudly and without reservation! Want to learn more from Merrill? Follow her on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit her website . Read more from Merrill ! Merrill Isherwood, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Merrill Isherwood is a life transformation coach who has spent much of her life being of service to others in the corporate world and her personal life. She has an exemplary work ethic and is driven by living a life of integrity, having honesty, kindness, trust, and respect as her core values. Her psychological counseling degree, supported by her accreditation in life coaching, allows her to ensure her clients are suitably supported in transforming their lives. She specializes in body image, lack of self-esteem, overcoming abusive or toxic relationships, finding life direction, forgiveness, and overcoming adversity. To her, a life well lived means making a difference in each person's life that you are fortunate enough to touch, even if only in the smallest way possible.

Written by: Bénédicte Sivarajasingham, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. You cannot repair your car when driving 200km/h max on the motorway. You need to stop on the side and repair it. It is the same for our body. You need to manage your stress, or better you need to create peace in your life. You have to be in a relaxed state, in order to heal. STRESS is one of the most overlooked areas in people´s health journey. The body can either be stressed or relaxed. It can not do both at the same time. Let's be honest, stress is inevitable in an entrepreneur, a mum´s life! So, how can you create peace in your life?! Bring awareness to what stresses you: What are the triggers? What thoughts do you have? Which emotions do those thoughts trigger? A 5-Minute A Day Technique to create peace in your life is to use your breath. When we are stressed, angry, or anxious we tend to have shorter breaths and we send a message to our brain that something is wrong, which triggers our fight and flight response. Our heart rate goes faster, our blood pressure rises! So when you mindfully decide to breathe slowly, you send a message to your brain that you are ok. Breathwork will condition your brain to relax even if the situation says otherwise. You will feel a sense of calmness and relaxation. You might already have experienced it while doing yoga or meditating. I implemented deep breathing in my life to manage my emotions (or stress response!) and now as a relaxation method for me and the kids. By making a simple change in the way you breathe can make HUGE changes to your overall health! When we switch off the lights at night, I lie with them in bed and ask them to breathe with me. After 3-4 deep breathing my kids will start yawning and will fall asleep shortly after. It is also a powerful technique to stop your thoughts from racing. Give it a try if you can't sleep or if you wake up in the middle of the night. This is the most powerful lesson and biggest impact, the busy mamas I worked with, report. If you feel stress is one of the issues holding you back in your health Journey, download my 5 tips for Easy Healthy Living Here or book a Health Strategy Call with me Here to chat and see what you can do. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Benedicte! Bénédicte Sivarajasingham, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Benedicte Sivarajasingham is an entrepreneur, founder of b well coaching and mum of 3 wearing all the hats! Corporate high flyer for over 20 years, she turned her health challenges into her passion. As a functional medicine certified health coach, Benedicte helps busy working mums to live a healthy more balanced life in just 5 minutes a day, connecting their mind & body for more balance and inner peace. She uses her own experience to empower clients to implement micro-moments into their day to refocus, get some clarity and natural energy to manage and reduce stress into their life! She is passionate about demystifying health myths, making living healthy easy and fun, giving her clients very practical tools customized to their Lifestyle to change the way they live and feel better in the long run. Benedicte loves connecting with people, especially on an intercultural level. She lived in 6 European countries, gave birth to her 3 children in 3 different countries, speaks French, German, and English loves cooking for her family and community and is eager to keep teaching her clients and kids new mind-body medicine techniques to bring the body and mind incoherence.

Brainz Magazine Exclusive Interview Nilesh is a certified high-performance coach, speaker, and lifestyle medicine doctor. His mission is to inspire a community to Believe In Growth. After witnessing his father’s illnesses, his son's developmental challenges, and resigning from a medical partnership, Nilesh dedicated himself to self-mastery to serve others. His award-winning coaching business helps entrepreneurs and executives serve from their highest potential without sacrificing their freedom by engaging them in a science-backed coaching program. In 2021, Nilesh's coaching business was recognized by Disrupt magazine as "10 leading performance coaches to follow." In the world of medicine, Nilesh is a four-time award-winning medical teacher, a director for the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine, and he sits on the UK's national sleep steering committee. Nilesh aims to spread a message of compassion, openness, challenge, and growth through all his endeavors. You're a certified high-performance coach, speaker, and lifestyle medicine doctor! You talk a lot about the meaning of “believing in growth” to succeed; could you elaborate on this and tell us more? After the birth of my son, things became a little challenging. We noticed my son was a little slower to respond; he had challenges with eye contact, speech, and development. There was one particular moment that called into question my beliefs. I took my son to a park on a muddy UK wintery day. He became covered in mud after slipping, and this resulted in a tantrum like no other. Anyone with non-neurotypical children, I am sure, can relate. He screamed for what felt like an age. I came home and sat and cried in my kitchen. I felt guilty, frustrated, and like I was the only parent who was experiencing this. Later that evening, I was reading my son a book called 'The Lion Inside' by Rachel Bright. It is a story about a courageous mouse who wants to learn to roar like a lion. In the book, one line stuck out to me. It said, " if you want things to change you first have to change you". Then I remembered a belief that had underpinned every previous success. A belief I was lucky enough that my parents instilled in me. A belief in growth. A belief that I could improve and positively influence those around me. I started to read obsessively on personal growth, lifestyle medicine, neuroscience, psychology, relationships, and parenting. All these books shared the same premise. "If you want things to change, you first have to change you." In a world where we have access to more information than the president of the USA did in 1994. I believe that a belief in growth is the most powerful belief you can hold. For our readers that are not familiar with the concept of a Lifestyle Medicine Doctor, what does it mean, and how did you move from Lifestyle Medicine into coaching? Lifestyle Medicine is an evidence-based specialty that looks to prevent, treat and reverse chronic conditions primarily through lifestyle change. Through my study of Lifestyle Medicine, I learnt a simple truth; our health depends on our daily habits. So with all the enthusiasm and zeal of a young doctor, I thought it would simply be enough to discuss the science with patients, and they would improve. Of course, it didn't work like that. I started to become fascinated with human behaviour and potential - what drives us to make decisions. Around a similar time, I was being coached through the NHS leadership academy. Around 1 year later, my coach messaged me out of the blue and encouraged me to train as a coach. I first completed a health coaching qualification, but once I found the certification from the High-Performance Institute, there was no turning back. It was the first coaching program based on the world's largest study of high-performers with 1.6 million data points from 190 countries. This led me to coach compassionate entrepreneurs today, helping them serve from their highest potential without sacrificing their freedom. You qualified from Southampton Medical school in 2011, and in only 10 years, you have achieved so much in your career. What has been the driving force behind this success? In a word, it's service. Once I started to meditate, I realized how interconnected we all are. Things became clear, and I started to see that our purpose is born out of three things; self-belief, skill development, and an overwhelming desire to contribute. I started to listen to my intuition which was guiding me in the direction of high-performance coaching. I deeply believe in the ripple effect and 3 degrees of influence described by James Fowler and Nicholas Christakis. This has meant that I have been able to trust in the process and focus on transformation over numbers. Most importantly, I have been blessed with a terrific loving family who have supported me every step of the way, even when some of my career decisions seemed unusual to them. I am forever grateful to them. Lastly, it is important to mention that I am only just beginning this journey and I am excited to see how I can continue to serve at the next level. You frequently speak about the vital importance of compassion - what is compassion, and why is it an essential skill for entrepreneurs? After receiving a patient complaint back in 2018, I went into a period of deep reflection. It taught me the value of shifting my thinking from 'me' to 'we'. It taught me the real value of compassion. I learnt that compassion was about showing an awareness of suffering and taking action to relieve that suffering. People can confuse compassion with empathy. We know that compassion and empathy have different brain signatures. Empathy says I feel you. Compassion says my intention is to heal you. Compassion is associated with love and care. Empathy with pain and suffering. If you are an entrepreneur, you are a problem solver - your actions seek to relieve the challenges and suffering of others. Unfortunately, many of us struggle with the essential skill of self-compassion. According to research from Dr. Paul Gilbert - we struggle with self-compassion out of fear, fear of being judged, being called unambitious, or lazy. This is simply not true as compassion requires action. We need entrepreneurs as they are the change-makers of tomorrow. However, unless we build our skill of compassion, we leave ourselves vulnerable to burnout, disconnection, fatigue, and frustration. Compassion welcomes all feelings whilst encouraging you to act from the gold that lies within us all. Compassion is what makes us human. It is innate and inbuilt in our caregiving system. Now more than ever, we need entrepreneurs who are working for the better of humanity. Finally, what’s the next big goal or project for Nilesh Satguru, and how can someone get in contact with you? I am working on an implementation coaching program coming out in January 2022 called Your Highest Potential where, each month, we will infuse Lifestyle Medicine with the science of High-Performance. Secondly, I will have a series of webinars released before the end of the year, which I will announce through Instagram. And, as always, I release weekly inspirational research-backed personal growth videos through the Believe In Growth video broadcast. I am mostly active on Instagram, and I love to connect with people. You can also find me through my website.

Written by: Jesi Carroll, 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. We all have a powerful story to tell. If we sat down and thought about it, I bet every single person would have a book inside of them. If you wrote a book, what would it be about? What would be the story you’d enlighten the world with? Do you think you could openly share that story? Or would you be too fearful to feel comfortable in the expression of vulnerability? Could you shout your story out loud with a sense of pride in your experiences? Or would you feel a sense of regret right after? What comes up for you when you think of expressing yourself? Your initial reaction and answer to this question can tell a lot about how you not only see yourself but how you believe the world sees you as well. It will show you the level of confidence you’re operating at. When it comes to communicating and expressing our expertise outwardly (because if there’s one subject we all know more than anything about and can be considered experts in, it’s ourselves) the thing that makes it possible is when we feel sure that we understand the subject matter enough to speak on it. So if there’s a part of you holding back on the idea of sharing the story of you… it’s not about the story at all anymore, but what’s beneath the surface. It’s about what’s happening in the mind. It’s about fear of worst-case scenarios while thinking we can predict the future. It’s about assuming we know what people will think and how people will react to our truth/story/experiences. And immediately expecting it to be undesirable. You see, when we are feeling inadequate even though we have every reason to believe in our possibilities, it’s because we are blind to our own patterns and autopilot we’ve been operating at. We see this reaction of feeling lesser than (due to the internal perceptions we have) as normal. Now think about anything in your life you hold back on. Think about anything where you argue for your limitations to make yourself comfortable. Think about anything you desire but say, “no way could I actually do that” or “that’s impossible” or “maybe if I did this thing or had that thing first.” That is the root of Imposter Syndrome. You and your mind are the root and nothing else. How can you uplift yourself more and diminish yourself less? Think on it. Follow Jesi on Facebook , Instagram, Linkedin and visit her website . Read more from Jesi! Jesi Carroll, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Jesi, certified Life Design Coach, specializes in mentoring career driven women to find more fulfillment in their life as she guides them through the navigation of chaos on the way to purpose. Having spent over 6 years working at some of the biggest corporations in the world as a Recruiter, she is a master relationship builder and understands how to help people achieve high levels of success while maintaining integrity along the way. She's ready to combine her career success strategies with her 10+ years of psychology and personal development education to show you how to have it all! She offers 1on1 Life Coaching, Mindset and Self-Love Healing, Career Transition Guidance, and Self-Purpose Discovery. It's time to heal at the soul level and get back to who you were truly meant to be!

Written by: Anna Dafna, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. With life's constant demands and pressure thrown at us, one can quickly think that getting things done successfully is determined by external factors. But this type of external motivation is short-lived. Luckily, there are these moments when you feel intrinsic inspiration from within, time stops, and you become one with the activity. Being in the zone, losing a sense of time, and stretching your mind and body voluntarily to its limits with effortless results that flow out of you, happen because you have entered a flow state. What is Flow State? A flow state is a powerful state of mind when someone feels fantastic, inspired, and focused on accomplishing something exciting and worthwhile. Flow state involves time transformation and transcendence and contributes to authentic happiness, wholeness, and wellness. When individuals are wholly involved, they immerse themselves and perform extremely efficiently at a peak level. What is Peak Performance? Peak performance is when an individual is performing at a peak level. The flow state is the pinnacle of peak performance. After transforming and shifting inertia, which is the opposite of flow, into the flow state and the flow state into an optimal action-oriented state, everyone with training and perseverance can achieve peak performance. How do you get into Flow State? Finding, staying, and reentering in the flow is a dynamic and ever-changing experience that does not happen by accident. Here are eight tips to trigger Flow State: 1. Find The Inspiration Connecting everything you do with your values and using the executive centre of your brain to master your priorities will ignite inspiration. You can find inspiration by creating your inspired personal mission statement and asking empowering questions: 'What do I want to achieve?' 'What are the benefits of taking inspired action now?' 'How does this activity help me move closer to my goal?' 2. Find Clarity And Set Goals Outlining inspiring yet challenging projects and SMART goals with a clear purpose aligning with your personality and vision will grow momentum. 3. Eliminate The Chaos You cannot experience flow with modern life's attention robbers. Eliminating distractions and multitasking will allow you to focus predominantly on your one task. Planning, prioritising and organising will increase your concentration and focus, allowing you to achieve powerful results. If the natural state of mind is chaos, start paying closer attention to your environment and mind details. 5. Manage Your Emotions Are you able to discern opportunities when you are being anxious, unresourceful, or disempowered? Anxiety, overwhelm, and self-criticism are momentum killers because they lead to a fight, flight, or freeze state. On the other hand, positivity and when we can experience success and happiness are the heart and soul of the flow state. 6. Challenge Yourself Select a task that will challenge you enough but not too much. You can set a goal that will have some calculated risk and reward. Finding the balance between challenge and skill-building avoids apathy and boredom and will push you out of your comfort zone and into a deeper state of flow. At the same time, select a goal pitched within your current skill set, so the task will not induce unnecessary anxiety or overwhelm. By trying new things regularly, not only will you become more skilled, but you will also be more likely to achieve an optimal state in the future. 7. Enjoy The Process As important as the end goal is, flow requires mindfulness and enjoying every minute of the process. These positive emotions that accompany flow can reinforce personal development and growth. The positivity has the added benefit of increasing your self-esteem and confidence in the areas and skills you choose to develop and grow. 8. Finding Equilibrium You can best achieve flow when your skill set aligns perfectly with the challenge the task presents because the flow is the conjoining among the level of your skillset and the size of the challenge. Flow is also congruent between action and awareness, cognition and behaviour, intention and application, conscious and unconscious. While we are open to novelty, we are laser-focused on the task at hand. We are enjoying the exploration, but we persist in the activity. We are integrating ourselves, and we feel connected, yet our self-consciousness is lost. The good news is that the flow experience is universal, and anyone can access and cultivate the flow channel. The Neuroscience Behind Flow The brain's prefrontal cortex is responsible for higher-level activities that require conscious, executive, organisational, emotional control, and metacognitive skills. When someone is in a flow state, there may be a decrease in activity in the brain's prefrontal cortex. This reduced activity in the executive part of the brain during flow state may allow the subconscious mind and other areas of the brain to communicate and engage in a creative process, which may trigger a sense of distortion of time, loss of self-consciousness, and lack of inner critic. In conclusion, cognitive abilities and intellectual demands must be in sync to achieve a flow state and peak performance. For neuro-diverse individuals, creating appropriate challenges that match their developmental level and push them to grow further will help them optimise their confidence and performance. Designing or redefining these accommodations and modifications in school, university, work, business, and life can induce flow state and peak performance. In education, business, or workplace settings, a flow state increases creativity. It cultivates innovative thinking, increases momentum and productivity and removes any resistance to get things done. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Anna Dafna, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Anna Dafna is a psychologist (MEd, MBPsS) affiliated with the British Psychological Society (BPS), accredited ADHD and executive function coach and qualified teacher (QTS). She is helping international neuro-distinct clients maximize happiness, confidence, and performance using a holistic and bespoke approach, her nearly two decades of specialist experience and expertise as well as the latest neuroscience and evidence-based tools. She has a global business that provides world-class, online coaching for children, adolescents, and adults with ADHD, ASD, dyslexia, executive function challenges and other needs. Her mission: To celebrate our uniqueness focusing on our superpowers and asking the right questions to empower and inspire from the inside and not the outside.

Written by: Dr. Pallavi Vasudha Vishwas, 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. “Things do not grow better; they remain as they are. It is we who grow better, by the changes we make in ourselves”. — Swami Vivekananda Self-improvement is a continuous process. It is the enhancement of one’s knowledge, personality, and education by making conscious efforts. It can take a year or a lifetime, which is why we tend to give up on ourselves. But what if you could better yourself in just one week. If you are focused on self-improvement, you can follow the best ways to be successful. Let’s look at some of those right now. The Best Ways to Help Improve You are: 1. Become Mindful The more mindful you are about what you want to change in your life, you can make yourself more aware of these changes. You can start taking efforts to make these changes you by giving yourself small reminders. When you are more aware of what you want to get better at you can post a reminder on your smartphone, etc. Shine light on what it is you want to get better at and what it is you are working towards 2. Be Accountable To Yourself And Others You need to be accountable to those around you as well as yourself. When you make yourself accountable you are much more likely to succeed at what you are doing. You will suddenly become much more serious about achieving your goal because you want to ‘save face,’ prove to others around you. When you make yourself accountable you will take your goal more serious. Let your friends, family, co-workers, social network friends, etc. know what your goal is – what you are trying to achieve. This will help you achieve your goal. 3. Keep Track of Your Actions To manage something, you need to track it. If you track something you can do a much better job of managing it. How will you know if you are getting better if you don’t keep track of your actions and your accomplishments? In your self-improvement mission make sure that you track the days and hours you spend on the changes you are making in your life. This gives you information that can help you decide if you are being successful. This will also provide you with data that you can review and use to make decisions. 4. Weekly Reviews This is a great way to decide how you are doing and to know where you need to do better. A weekly review tells where you’ve been and where you’re going. It shows your success and your failures. It’s a great way to learn about what your strengths and weaknesses are. 5. Do Better Create your own framework so that you can do better and achieve better. You will be able to better focus by doing so. When you are focused you are much more likely to be successful. Each day is an opportunity to do better. 6. Read Ample Books Reading is a powerful tool that can help you to navigate through the changes you are trying to make in your life. Self-improvement goals can be accomplished by reading a wide variety of books. In fact, you should read, every day. It might be just a few pages or a few chapters. Reading not only widens the knowledge but also gives a path to a self-improvement journey. 7. Repeat, Repeat and Repeat When you see that you are getting better, then why stop now? Build on the strengths you’ve gained and improve on weaknesses you’ve found. Make your list of strengths and weaknesses. It’s time to identify something else you want to work on. Perhaps this is the week that you are going to begin to train for a marathon. Maybe this is the week that you are going to sign up for that digital photography class. Perhaps this is simply the week that you are going to focus on doing better by eating healthy meals and exercising daily. Whatever your choice for the following week, you should be confident that you can achieve what you set out to do. Keep creating new goals and dreams. It will keep you moving ahead, and it will keep your life ‘alive’ ‘growing’ and revived. So, what are you waiting for? Start self-improvement by taking small steps daily. 8. Practice Gratitude Too often we are focused on what we don’t like about our lives or what we lack rather than being thankful for all the good in our lives. Make sure that you practice gratitude daily. When you wake up in the morning and when you go to bed at night, just make a list mentally of what you are grateful for. It will make a huge difference in your life. Practicing gratitude leads to a happier life. This will help in self-improvement. For more info, follow me on Fac ebook , Instagram , and Link edIn , or visit my we bsite ! Dr. Pallavi Vasudha Vishwas, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dr. Pallavi Vasudha Vishwas, Harmony Happiness Coach and Founder of HappyHarmony, inspires and empowers busy, ambitious, working women to manage stress effectively and integrate work-life successfully to pilot their flight of happiness with self-belief and confidence. Pallavi is a highly sought-after Harmony Happiness Coach, a Work-life Balance Expert, an inspiring speaker, a passionate Soft Skills Trainer, motivated Educator, an enriched Telecom Engineer, a poetess, an aspiring Author, and a nature lover. Pallavi holds a Ph.D. in her expertise of Work-life Balance amongst working women. Stress levels of working women is quite high due to managing work-life and constantly multitasking can be very challenging and taxing on their body and mind. Pallavi specializes in helping working women manage stress with a smile and design a happy work-life harmony in a matter of months rather than years so that they can live a purposeful and joy-filled lives. After 16 successful years in the Telecom industry and Education field, Pallavi found herself more passionate in coaching individuals carve their own Happiness journey. Her passion is empowering individuals discover their self-worth, unlock their unique potential, find true happiness, and live a life they love living. She has always been passionate about helping others and has touched hundreds of lives to lead a happy life. Pallavi has been awarded by a highly prestigious club, The Indian Achievers Club, in the category, “50 under 50”, the Indian Achiever, for the year 2020. Pallavi offers coaching, individual services, group programs, seminars, and workshops. Her motto is: Be Happy and live in Harmony.

Written by: Rosalyn Palmer, 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. My partner and I are fans of the UK Channel 4 ‘Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins’ TV programme (him being ex-forces and all). While the challenges are brutal, the conditions are brutal and most of the encouragement comprises: “Don't fu**ing f**k this up, dig deep, don't fu**ing fail!”, shouted repeatedly into the ear of a muddy, struggling participant, it is not all bad. When it comes to the debriefings, and the one-on-one interviews, the SAS guys are actually supportive. Clearly part of the remit of the TV programme is for them to get the celebrities’ backstories at such times. They give the participants the chance to open up about their childhoods, their fears, how they've got where they have what they worry about. It is usually couched in a shouty conversation that goes something like this: “What the f**k was going on with you today? You are not a weakling. We are not the fittest guys in the world, but we know that what it takes is mental fitness and a determination not to quit. Why are you quitting on yourself? What is going on in your head? Tell me about why you are here and your childhood?” And what we see over and over and over again, is the vulnerability below the veneer. One by one the celebrities reveal that they have signed up to this brutal challenge for various reasons; mostly to see if they can succeed or to stop being afraid. Particularly in the case of a very fragile and vulnerable, Ulrika Johnson who you can see was a former poster girl for the SAS guys, it doesn’t take their questioning to see that all of her confidence has gone. She admits to feeling utterly lost. That now her children have left the nest she is left with herself, and she is lost as to who that now is. What the celebrities find about themselves seems to be quite empowering. They all say that they have signed up for this gruelling test to tap back into themselves, find themselves or overcome something painful. Coming through the 90s in the era of Tony Robbins (who was a PR client of mine and whose entire Mastery University I completed around the world) it was pretty much about your power play. The focus was on pushing through your limiting beliefs, embodying the mantra of Susan Jeffers in her 1987 bestseller, ‘Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway!’. So, we completed massive burning firewalks, we jumped off telegraph poles, I did fire-eating and more. It was all about conquering your fears and smashing those old beliefs. I was fired with this reprogramming for a considerable time. “Hold yourself to a higher value and you’ll not fail” was the voice in my head. Yet it was rather like the recent publicity with gymnastics star Simone Biles at the Olympic Games after she pulled out of the women’s team final citing mental health reasons. There was much debate following her action with some old views expressed along the lines of, ‘You don’t get to that level and then let everyone down’ versus ‘It is not worth sacrificing your mental and physical wellbeing for a medal’. Whatever your view is on this matter, it is important to understand that if someone with so much to lose chooses to pull out of an event to stay mentally well, then that is something to learn from. It was reinforced in June when British tennis player Emma Raducanu withdrew from Wimbledon due to anxiety. She followed in the footsteps of world number 2 Naomi Osaka who dropped out of the French Open in order to protect her mental wellbeing. These are top-flight athletes who will have spent as much time in recent years with sports psychologists as they have with trainers for technique. I regard this new wave of athletes who are not willing to sacrifice all their wellbeing on the altar of ‘success’ to be a welcome development that we are not used to seeing but that will become the norm. Why shouldn’t they be the best they can be in both body and mind? Why should it be expected that the price of admission for world-class status is a broken brain? If such actions by athletes together with many admissions from well-known public figures about how they have struggled with mental health issues make it familiar for us all to talk about mental health in the same way we do about physical health then this can only help everyone who is pushing up against their limits. I reached a tipping point with pushing on through my limits in the early 00s while attempting to gain my pilot's licence when I was living in the Bahamas. The idea of learning to fly and island-hop was appealing but the books I had to study were like advanced maths and I dreaded them. Not that I’m bad at maths, I have A-level Economics and know my way around a spreadsheet, but I was exhausted having ‘retired’ and sold my PR business after years of merciless 80-hour weeks. It just wasn’t enjoyable and a voice in my head was saying: ‘This is no fun!’ on repeat. I stopped it and yet I felt like I’d failed. I felt like that after my second divorce. What a failure at relationships I must be. Now I see those things through the lens of experience and compassion. I succeeded at not exhausting myself more with the pilot licence study. I developed breast cancer the year afterwards, so I think my body was really trying to tell me something. The second marriage was not a values match. It was not a nurturing place to be so stepping away from it allowed me to grow and fearlessly thrive and be the woman I am today. Now, as a coach and therapist my whole core philosophy is all about alignment and balance. Plus changing that lens of what I call ‘The Ghost Ship’ of how you came to be where you are and who you are today. That's the secret I share. The secret is finding that balance between pushing yourself, challenging yourself, holding yourself to higher standards, overcoming the fear and not being held back versus something much more nurturing. It’s about listening to the inner part of your very being, your inner soul that is probably screaming: “Please stop and let me off! Let me just be. Let me just walk around in nature, feed the birds. Just be me or find me.” That secret lies at the midpoint of a line between the two axes of “Just Do It!” and “Just Be”. The sushi illustration below is what can happen when you feel you should do something or sign up for something and just don't enjoy it. Don't feel like a failure. Either buy your sushi in or decide that this is one of those challenges that you just never need to step up to. As Shirley Conran said in the 80s: “Life is too short to stuff a mushroom”. Follow Rosalyn on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit her website for more info. Read more from Rosalyn! Rosalyn Palmer, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Rosalyn Palmer is an award-winning transformational coach and therapist, combining advanced rapid transformational therapy/clinical hypnotherapy & NLP-based coaching to create deep desired changes. She works 1-2-1 with clients and via her group courses. As bestselling author of the award-winning self-help book: ‘Reset! A Blueprint for a Better Life’ and three other Amazon bestsellers, Rosalyn makes emotional wellbeing accessible to all. She enables high performers to live their best lives that feel as good inside as they look on the super-successful outside. Rosalyn draws on extensive business experiences - in top London PR & Marcomms (‘retiring’ as a self-made millionaire at age 40 after a stellar career helping clients including Tony Robbins and Edward de Bono) and the insight of being conflicted when the outward vision of your life doesn’t serve you. Added to this are her deeper values and life experiences born from many challenges including cancer; redundancy; bereavement; menopause; divorce; a financial loss that broke her open to finding out what really matters in life and how to live a life of balance and joy. As a natural communicator, she is the well-being expert for the radio show Girls Around Town, has a monthly newspaper column, and two podcast series: Monkey Business and Life Alchemy.

Zac is an Italian/American dual citizen, effective leadership developer, award winning author, and former professional American football player. Originally from a small, rural town in Western Pennsylvania (USA), he has spent his twenties living in 6 different countries while playing and coaching American football. During his time abroad, he developed the SWALeadership concept based on his many thrilling and eye-opening experiences within various leadership roles across cultures Who is Zachary? I am a proud uncle, a well-traveled, blessed, caring and adversity-shaped individual. I am a former professional American football quarterback in Europe and I currently live in Salzburg, Austria where I work as a fitness trainer, youth football coach, business owner, and published author. So I wear many hats I guess you could say. I am originally from Cecil, Pennsylvania but the majority of my family now lives in San Diego, California. What is it that you do for your clients? I do my best to aid my clients both in their physical and intellectual development. I strive to combine the importance of fitness/living a healthy lifestyle combined with personal development based on my effective, modernized leadership development concept. On the intellectual side, I provide services such as online courses based on my book to enhance soft skills and the understanding and acceptance of cultural differences in the workplace. On the physical side, I offer fitness advice/personal training. So taking both the physical and intellectual in mind, my ultimate goal is to help people reach their full potential and put themselves on the right mindset to leave behind a lasting legacy and a life of true impact. What is SWALeadership and how did you come up with it? SWAL stands for Sensible, Worldwide, Adaptable, Leadership. That is what I strive to be and who I want to help develop. I believe that the SWAL concept is a solution for developing effective leaders of the future. Taking on the characteristics of a Swiss-Army knife, I believe those who can adapt will be the ones who thrive and break down barriers. The bottom line is that we can't take our physical success and accolades to our graves. All we can leave behind is our impact. What are you excited about? Well, my book being released in the next few months is huge for me. Like all authors, I put a lot of time and effort into its content in order to ensure that it properly portrayed my journey, the lessons I learned and the SWALeadership concept. Anyone who is interested in the book please reach out to me and I will let you know when it is released on Amazon. I'd appreciate the support. Who should hire/work with you? I believe that my experience and passion for sports put me in a great position to help young athletes realize that their potential and identity exceed far beyond their sport. Therefore, any sports organization could use my services both in the physical fitness and personal development realms. However, I believe that any international organization could find value in my content and its ability to educate those within their organization to become more effective leaders of both themselves and their diverse teams. What would be your biggest piece of advice for those still searching for their life purpose? Having the courage to search is the first step. I am willing to bet that there are a lot of people out there who have everything they want in terms of money and worldly successes. However, deep down they are neglecting their true purpose and trading it for comfort. Finding your purpose is a risk. But nothing worth finding will come easy. Living with purpose starts with living on purpose. Those who seek will find and reap the ultimate reward of satisfaction and peace with themselves. I truly believe that if you are searching you have already won because you can live with the peace of mind that you didn’t settle for the norm. The question is, are you willing to face the adversity, uncertainty, and potential failure that comes with the search for purpose? Not everyone is, and that’s why so few people truly reach their full potential in my opinion. What is your big goal? Where do you see yourself 10 years from now? My goal in the next 10 years is to be in a position where I can continue to foster the platforms I have created for myself in both Europe and the USA. I would love to be able to spend half the year in Europe and the other half in the US. I also see myself writing more books and building a speaking career talking about the various lessons I have learned throughout my life abroad. I also see myself working with international organizations and/sports clubs as a trainer, consultant, and leadership development coach. At the end of the day, I just want to have an impact that creates positive ripple effects in the lives of others. I believe that this is my ultimate purpose and it is how I want to be remembered. Want to learn more from Zac? Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and visit his website. Read more from Zachary!

Written by: David Kegley, 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. Rising To the Top So many highly talented, bright-minded people pour themselves into their careers with the best of intentions, often to extremes. Our work culture is primed to reward those who appear on the scene downing a caffeine-spiked drink, rushing in from their last meeting somewhat breathlessly, welcoming the new list of to-dos. When asked how they are, the automatic response is something like: “busy, stressed and building-my-career-while-learning-to-fly.” Many, if not most people experience advances for this demonstration of delayed gratification and hard work. The promotions are not likely to remedy the habit of overwork at the expense of one’s well-being. Most people do not notice this pattern forming while they’re climbing the ladder of success, gaining status and pay increases. It is an insidious pattern and one we often do not want to be aware of. In his book Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science, Atul Gawande writes a chapter entitled “When Good Doctors Go Bad” where one surgeon, Hank Goodman, rose to the peak of his career. He was highly respected, sought after and highly paid (Picador, Henry Holt and Company, New York. 2002., pp. 88-106.). Over a period of time, he continued to take on more and more patients, earning more and more status, respect and expertise. But then he seemed to cross some hidden threshold. Beyond that threshold he no longer had the best interest of his patients in mind, even though he genuinely thought he did. He began to make surgical mistakes, ones that significantly harmed his patients and for many months he refused to admit that the mistakes were his. This refusal to admit that we are failing on our way to burnout is what Richard Boyatzis and other psychologists call “defensive routines.” This can happen to us when we build ourselves up to be successful, hardworking and in charge at the expense of our own psychological health and at the expense of those around us. These defensive routines serve to protect us from seeing the truth about ourselves, they essentially keep us in a downward spiral toward burnout. (Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting with Others Through Mindfulness, Hope, and Compassion. Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee. Harvard Business School Press, Boston. 2005. p. 44) The surgeon, Hank Goodman, ended up losing his career. By the time his colleagues could penetrate his defensive routines he had done enough damage to patients to become such a liability that no other hospital or clinic would hire him. Even When Red Flares Began Streaming… A professor of mine once warned my classmates and me to pay attention to our bodies. He said that we would inevitably get overcommitted, but our bodies would give us away. Unusual weight gain or loss, a rise in blood pressure, feeling stressed, inability to sleep, something will eventually send up a flare. “Watch for it and pay attention when it gives you a warning,” said this sage. It was excellent advice. Except, his warning was not good enough. The reason I say that is that we can get lulled into thinking that we are OK, when we are seriously not OK. Sleep expert and coach, Stella Loichot, tells of how she once was among the many who fooled her own body into functioning at a very high level for years while depriving herself of sleep. She did it through intense exercise, stress and caffeine. This came at a high price. Eventually the energy was simply… in one day… gone! Her body could no longer sustain the load she was placing on it and she collapsed. (Sleep It Off: A Revolutionary Guide to Losing Weight, Beating Diabetes, and Feeling Your Best Through Optimal Rest, Seattle, Allon-Z Press, 2020. pp. 25-26) Today Stella sleeps better, is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) and works with many people who are sleep deprived and at one time did not even realize that they were. Burnout is like that. We push ourselves with the best of intentions. Our bodies and our minds cooperate with the goal of high achievement. There is nothing wrong with high achievement. There is nothing wrong with a good doctor’s aim to treat patients. Nor is there anything wrong with the goal to achieve in any well-meaning profession. The rub comes when we are out of balance with our bodies and ourselves. We need to do reality checks so we don’t harm ourselves and others. We especially need to forestall habits that can cause long-term systemic damage. Here’s what I recommend today. Cooperate with your healthcare team and be open to what they are telling you. Listen to your significant other and invite them into your health and well-being evaluations. Hire a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach to follow through on your healthcare team’s recommendations. Your coach may be the best listener you have and you may be surprised by the impact of a good listener. Coaches know how to help you live into a desired future. With coaching, at least with the kind of high-end coaching I’m familiar with, you are not left with only the past and the present. Instead, you can create a new future. That’s what gets exciting! It’s Never Too Late Burnout is a serious work-related condition and it’s affecting millions of people world-wide today. It can sneak up on people and our awareness of it can be blocked by defensive routines. We can also be partially burned out which is easier to address. Wouldn’t it be nice if we caught burnout in mid-swing and could put a few corrections in place before things got the way they did for Hank Goodman? The key? Humility. If you and I can get to the place where we are open and ready to accept information that can change us, it’s never too late. Humility is that powerful. David is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC). Want to work with David to chart a new course? You can reach him at: drkegley.com, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Read more from David! David Kegley, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dr. Kegley specializes in coaching well-educated, progressive leaders and executives who have been stopped in their tracks due to health setbacks. His doctorate is in theology and preaching. His first 25-year career was in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., where he was a Pastor and Head of Staff. But, after getting nearly burned out, getting diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, and going through cancer treatment, he emerged as a credentialed coach. Now he Coaches in the areas where he experienced his own humility and growth: Health and Wellness, The Cancer Journey, Burnout Recovery, and Leadership and Executive.