Written by: Stephanie Whitmoyer, 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. Perseverance: steady persistence in the course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially despite difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. You’ve probably never realized this before, but this one little word holds an enormous amount of power in your life. It has the capability to define both your success and failures. Success is not a constant, nor does it have the same meaning for everyone. Although what we can derive from the feeling of success is having peace of mind that every effort was made. Even if the outcome was not a complete win, knowing that you exhausted all possibilities allows you to accept the shortcomings. Sometimes succeeding is effortless; all the pegs fit perfectly in the hole. We are armed with knowledge, move forward with ease, and voila, another wrung on the belt or feather in the hat. So, what happens when it’s not so easy when the pegs are square, and there’s a round hole? These become defining moments in life. How we choose to greet them can be the difference between living an ordinary or extraordinary life. Being defined by our challenges rather than just our good deeds is ultimately necessary, so that growing one’s higher self is possible. When we are faced with adversity or met with obstacles, and the answer is not so clear, this is when the magic of our real essence is born. If we are not pushed to explore the uncomfortable, we will never know what we are truly capable of. Shortly after launching my first company, I had “one” wavering thought when money was going out but not coming in. I questioned whether to continue moving forward or pack it up and be done with it. The best thing I ever did was remain convicted in my desires and stayed committed to overachieving despite closed doors or halfhearted support. I learned very early on that I was going to have to work for what I wanted. There was no fairy floating around granting wishes. Not only was I going to have to work, but I was also going to have become nothing short of an industry expert in the fields I was trying to play ball in. I ran into a large spectrum of people who were readily excited and available to help me to those who weren’t. Managing to stay still on course and not letting those influences derail me, I recognized attitude sets the tone for everything you do. Filling yourself with optimism with the expectation something good will end up taking hold. Each one of us has been dealt a specific deck of cards for our time here on earth. My deck, at times, has looked grim. Having an undeniable sense of self and believing to my core that I could and would succeed no matter what. There appears to be a stigma that lofty dreams are rarely obtainable. What I say to that is, look around. If it weren’t for big dreamers, some of the world’s greatest discoveries would never be. Having something to work towards keeps us moving and evolving. Even when the odds are stacked against us, our dreams are our lifeline of hope. They make the insurmountable obtainable. Making your dream a reality is a process. You will hear more noes than yeses. You will be met with objections and discouragement. Most likely, you will fail. Knowing all this upfront will help you dig your heels in deeper. Let the power of proving yourself motivate you to overcome. Be proud of your resilience to be able to bounce back when things don't go as planned. Adopt a force within yourself that is determined. Not willing to compromise. Set forth on your journey expecting obstacles. Commit to getting back up when you fail. Getting back up when you fail a second time. Getting back up when failing a third time. Getting back up no matter what. Follow me on Instagram for more info! Stephanie Whitmoyer, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Stephanie Whitmoyer isn’t about being ordinary. This Warrenton, VA-based Designer and CEO has launched several successful companies, is an inspirational mother and wife, and treats her ongoing illness of MS as a fly in the soup of her life! Highly accomplished, Stephanie’s career is spotlighted with a background in management, aviation, design, and food. She possesses an ingenious entrepreneurial spirit where she is blessed with being adept and fluent in branding, design, marketing, finance, and communications.

Written by: Oksana Irwin, 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. I recently had an interesting and insightful conversation with a woman who was very anxious and frustrated about her love life and wanted to manifest her soulmate “as soon as possible .” She shared with me that she has been working on manifesting her “dream partner” for quite some time, and she put a lot of intentional effort into it. She was “doing” meditations calling him in She wrote long lists of his “qualifications . ” She journaled, and future paced her dreams every day She sage-cleansed regularly She did some relationship coaching and invested a lot of work into healing herself. But nothing was still happening! She is approaching 40 and is ready to settle down and start a family but is struggling to create anything of substance when it comes to her love life. I hear a lot of stories like that where women feel that they are doing everything “right” but still can’t manifest their dream partners. When it comes to manifesting your ideal partner and a relationship you desire, doing things “mechanically” as though you are going through a checklist won’t work, regardless of how many times you do it. The most important part of manifestation is your energy - the frequency you emanate. Your frequency comes from who you are being. Your belief system, attitude, self-image, relationship skills, appearance, what you think of yourself and others, confidence, your emotional state, and many other things contribute to your overall vibe, which is your energy. The Universe “reads” your energy and matches your life (your personal reality) to it. It acts as a mirror of who you are being and the energetic frequency you vibrate. If you live in fear, doubt, lack, or scarcity – that is what you are an energetic match to. Whatever energy you send out to the Universe, you will “receive” more of that . If you are worried that “time is running out” or if you gripe that “there are no good men out there” or if you believe that “dating and relationships are hard,” – you will manifest that reality of scarcity, struggle, and lack. When you are focused on your fears and shortcomings, that will become your “truth” and your personal reality. You don’t get what you want in life, you manifest a life that you are an energetic match to. The way to close the gap in manifesting your ideal match is by identifying where you are now and where you want to be and what work needs to be done in between. Spending your energy writing long lists of your ideal match’s “qualifications” will not get you there. Actively working on improving yourself to become an energetic match to who you intend to manifest will. Areas to spend your energy on improving yourself include: Upgrading your mindset and relationship skills to boost your confidence and get better results in dating and relationships. Working on your health, vitality, and appearance to feel beautiful and fall in love with yourself. Educating yourself about gender and relationship intelligence and their impact on modern relationships dynamics and their longevity. Understanding the “science of love” and developing skills in creating and sustaining deep emotional and physical attraction that lasts indefinitely. Embodying feminine energy and get comfortable with the energy of receiving, ease, and flow. Mastering powerful feminine communication that inspires attraction and effortlessly commands respect. Developing an abundance mindset and create an overflow of romantic possibilities instead of focusing on “the one” perfect “soulmate.” And most importantly, becoming a “Turn On ,” a “Magnet ,” an inspiring Muse that lights the fire and creates “sparks of desire” over and over and over and never lets the flame go out. When you become an energetic match to what you intend to manifest, the Universe instantly receives the message of your frequency! Once the message is received, the Universe will start “conspiring” for you and will rain all of your dreams and desires onto you, and next things you know, your ideal partner “will show up out of nowhere . ” Time to get started on having your reality match your vision! To learn more about; Manifesting your Soulmate; How to get in the vibes of effortless magnetism; What action steps to take to align your energy with your desires and; Become an energetic match to your dreams Please visit my L inkedIn , Facebook Profile, connect with me on Instagram , or visit my website for more info! Read more from Oksana! Oksana Irwin, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Oksana Irwin is a Certified Mars – Venus Life and Relationship Coach, trained by the legendary John Gray. She is on a continuing mission to change the world one love story at a time! Oksana is a leader in the dating and relationship coaching field. She equips her clients with powerful behaviors, winning mindsets, and gender intelligence knowledge that empowers them to unleash their mental and emotional constraints and achieve their very best in love, life, and career. Within 3 years of sadly losing both her long-term marriage and role in a thriving family business, Oksana has created a new loving, passionate relationship and built a successful coaching business. She turned her pain into passion, passion into purpose, and purpose into profit by helping many women along the way. She impacts her clients by unlocking access to feminine power, lowering stress, and skyrocketing confidence. Her clients learn effective and powerful gender dynamics, sufficient hormonal balance, and potent attraction and polarity techniques that produce outstanding results in creating loving and lasting passionate relationships and thriving, successful and fulfilling lives.

Written by: Janet Macaluso, 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. Did you get all that? If English is your native language, most likely you understood it, errors and all. Spelling mistakes did not materially impact the outcome. Unless we’re managing a nuclear energy plant or performing surgery, most likely precise perfection is not required in our daily lives and workday. Yet we often delay taking that next step forward because we assume everything has to be picture-perfect. Why? What’s this energy-draining inner obstacle? Well, deep inside most of us resides an overbearing, cantankerous, foul-breath beast — aptly dubbed The VOJ — our internal Voice Of Judgement. The VOJ is our inner perfectionista – a fault-finding saboteur who’s critical of ourselves, of others, or our circumstances. Sure, the VOJ is useful when editing papers, but without deliberate self-management, the VOJ exceeds its usefulness and stagnates progress. Here are a couple of hints to manage your inner perfectionista: Take massive imperfect action Instead of waiting for picture-perfect excellence, take action and assess the results. Rinse and repeat. Cultivate compassion for yourself—and others Imagine a wise and loving elder—perhaps a grandparent or mentor. What would they say to you when you have a setback or fear? Compassion paves the way towards persistence beyond failure. Self-Compassion builds a growth mindset by encouraging our courage. PRO TIP: Pay attention to your thought bubbles Discern “who’s” sourcing your thinking: the critical VOJ Saboteur or a life-affirming Sage? Which percentage of your thoughts are sourced by your VOJ? For every negative thought, deactivate it with at least three positive ones. Follow me on Facebo ok , Instagram , LinkedIn , Youtube and visit my website for more info! Janet Macaluso, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine After a 25-year corporate career developing executives, teams, and organizations, Janet founded Learning2LEAD, a Regenerative Leadership Development practice based in Cambridge, USA, and Malaga, Spain. No stranger to personal regeneration, Janet reinvented herself from a college dropout to a flight attendant and aerobic instructor to an award-winning coach and global executive with three academic degrees. Janet created Learning2LEAD to reflect the life, legacy, and impact she wants to leave. Applying modern science and ancient wisdom, Janet stewards successful mid-life change-makers, leaders, and rabble-rousers ready to transform their "1st-half" successes into "2nd-half" significance. Whether in virtual workshops or leadership hiking retreats in Spain, Janet nudges clients to move toward their Best Future Self Now - so they can do the same for their people and places. Her mission: To Ban Average!

Written by: Sarah Tricker Alchemy, 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. Women are damned if they do and damned if they don’t! What is the first thing that comes into your thoughts as you read this statement? If you are a woman, there are many different things that may come to your mind. Sit with that for a moment! If you are male, what comes to your thoughts? Our world has, and is always, changing. What was acceptable in society 100 years ago is not today. It was normalized back then and is ridiculed now. As a historian, you are asked when looking back at history not to judge it with your knowledge and eyes you look through today. This is easier said than done for many. The patriarchal system is discussed in great detail as we watch the shift in power over the last few hundred years in white western societies. The most prominent group was that of The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, which was formed in 1897. However, they had begun in 1832 to petition for women to have a voice in parliament. Some of the key changes that came about were women having the right to vote, to own property, the right to legal representation, healthcare, and education. The feminist movement over the years has a more negative connotation. Is this partly because women want equality and men are afraid to give up what they have held onto for many hundreds of years? Is it the distortion through media outlets creating the image of masculine lesbians who want to destroy men? As a white woman, it is certainly true that I indeed have a privilege over women of color, and that angers me. There is a new phrase that is circulating now of ‘feminine privilege’! The premise of this being that women can get what they want in life by the power of the pussy. Pretty girls only have to flutter their eyelashes and marry rich men to get all they desire in their life that. It is women who control the reproduction of their family and hold men hostage, using their childbearing as a bribe to get what she wants. The more ‘equality that women have, the more inequality we suffer. Many women may be triggered by this concept; however, before you scream and stop reading, hear me out. There is such a huge unrealistic expectation placed on the modern woman. Women who choose to be homemakers have given themselves up, women who focus on their careers who have children are uncaring mothers, women who choose not to have children well. They are not even women. For those women who try to have it all; the perfect family, the perfect home, the perfect career, the perfect body, the perfect children, nothing they do is ever good enough. Women are damned if they do and damned if they don’t! I think you may be beginning to see how emotionally charged this statement is. In all areas of her life, a woman has to make a choice. This choice is more often than not even a conscious decision. She can keep herself small as she is not good enough, or she can step into her power and risk being alienated or ridiculed. This shows up in the family, friendships, and the workplace. Socially these things are saturated in the way we bring our little girls and boys up, to how women are treated in the workplace and the home—picture two children playing in the playground. The little boy is encouraged to take risks and push any limits he may believe he has. The little girl is told to be careful. That’s not very ladylike, and you might hurt yourself. The sexualization of girls starts even as babies. How many parents put their baby girls in cute little outfits with sayings like ‘dad says I’m not allowed to date’ and how he owns a gun. Now move into the corporate world. If women do break the glass ceiling, they sure as heck are not allowed to be feminine and have to take on the masculine energy to succeed. For women, it doesn’t really matter the realm she steps into, as there is this unspoken choice that she has to make. With the removal of the feminine power in our world, the lack of honor of the feminine, and the rights of passage that were stripped from women, there has been a cascade of unexpected fallouts that have occurred. Our earth became a commodity and has been stripped in the name of profit. Think back to hunters and gathers. The women were are the center of the community; they bore children, fed the family, clothed, and nurtured. They asked the men to gather food and wood for the fire. When there was enough, they told them to stop. With the removal of the feminine power, there was no one to say it is time to stop. We have enough. With the shift to monotheism, the female was no longer honored. The life-giving and sacredness of woman was taken, and she became a slave to man. An object for the pleasure of man. In many countries, this is still true. In a western society with the feminist movement, there have been changes slowly. We still live in a culture where we teach girls how not to get raped. Don’t go out at night alone, don’t accept a drink from a stranger, park under a light in the street, walk to your car with a key in your hand, don’t walk down allies, don’t wear revealing clothes, and don’t go out alone. Who is teaching our men to respect women? Who is teaching our boys not to rape girls? It is true women are now working in realms that were male-dominated for hundreds of years. For women to work in those realms, she has to give up her femininity. She cannot show emotion. She has to become a b***. Otherwise, no one will take her seriously. She has to let slip the derogatory remarks and hands that touch her inappropriately. Her want to be successful comes at a steep price for many women. Price men most often don’t have to pay. It is important to point out a very important factor here—one which may have been overlooked for centuries. Women do not want to emasculate men and take their power from them. Women want to bring balance once again to our earth. Balance comes from both the feminine and the masculine energies working equally together. We are not here to take your place and enslave you as we have been. Women are the healers and the life bearers and want to be honored once again as such, heard, and understood. Picture this if you will find a society where there is true equality. Where we are all humans no matter of gender; the color of skin, ethnicity, religious beliefs, eye color, height, weight, childbearing or not, and their sexuality; everyone can freely be who they want to be. No longer are women passed over for promotions because they ‘might’ have children, no longer are women frowned upon for being emotional and instead celebrated, no longer are women of color judged and are fully accepted. Privilege is where the system is set up in favor of a particular group of people. Even as a white woman, I have privilege over my friends who are of color, and yet women still do not have the privilege of men. However, today I want to tell all women out there that It is okay for you to set high standards! It is time for us to step into our power and accept that we, too, are great and worthy of success. I challenge all women to honor the other women in your life. Hold out your hand and lift other women when they are down. We need to stop placing unrealistic expectations on each other and instead support one another. We have more power together than against each other. It takes great strength to stand up against the system. I challenge all men to honor women. Teach your sons to honor women. Empower women around you and watch how working together shifts the world you live in. If you are interested in hiring Sarah Tricker as your keynote speaker in a conference, event, or retreat that supports either women or men in empowering women-led, please find out more here . As an educator, Sarah has keynotes, breakout sessions, and workshops created. Your audience will leave your event with tangible tools they can apply directly in their lives. Your event will never be forgotten! If you are a woman struggling with stepping into your authentic self, Sarah Tricker hears you. There is hope! If you feel it is time to become the best version of yourself and search for the perfect guide, here is your sign. Follow Sarah on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and visit her website for more info! Read more from Sarah! Sarah Tricker Alchemy, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Sarah Tricker Alchemy is a change-maker and has the ability to see what lies in the unseen and unexplained. After realizing her dream to become an educator, Sarah soon understood she herself was not fulfilling her life purpose. In 2016 she began the journey of entrepreneurship and had been forging her way to true authenticity. Sarah is a Public Speaker & Spiritual Empowerment Coach helping women who are in transition within their life. With her gift as a healer, she facilitates women in finding their authentic selves as well as their life purpose. Every moment is a miracle, and there is always opportunity even when you cannot see it.

Written by: Cheryl Gray Hines, 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. Recently, I was purchasing tickets for an outdoor concert. One of the options was to select tickets in a VIP (Very Important Person) section. After checking the price difference, I bought the VIP tickets. When I think of VIPs, it’s often a designation given to someone of great stature because of their public persona, professional accomplishments, or close association with someone who falls into those categories. However, I was reminded that we have the choice to appoint ourselves as a VIP. In my weekly interactions with leaders in organizations, I often encounter leaders who don’t make time for themselves, nor do they make themselves a priority. They cram in breakfast or lunch in minutes, if at all — even while working from home during a pandemic. They grumble about not having any time to slow down during the day, yet it is in their absolute power to do so. I heard a heartbreaking story about someone I just finished a coaching engagement with during April of this year who unfortunately died in June. This person knew they needed to slow down and reduce stress; however, there was always the big project ahead that they needed to complete. The very same leaders that do not treat themselves like VIP encourage their employees and others in their lives to take care of themselves. When you profess one thing to others and do something different with yourself, that is a lack of integrity. You also send a message to colleagues, employees, and family about your believability in that area. Organizational norms and behaviors, which can be dysfunctional, are often established because of what people observe their leaders doing. So, being your own VIP is about more than you — it impacts others. I recently spoke with a colleague who, during our monthly calls, wanted to discuss making time for themself. I listened as they talked about the last-minute client need, and they had to be there for them that day. My question to them was, “What kind of example are you providing for that client when you don’t have boundaries or convey that you aren’t available at the last minute?” I also shared that the client’s actions were representative of what they were doing with colleagues and employees inside the organization. Whether you are consulting a client or a leader in an organization, your actions are always conveying a message. In Stress and Its Relationship to Leadership and a Healthy Workplace Culture , researchers David B. Ross, Julie A. Exposito, and Tom Kennedy write , “If a leader experiences stress, neurotransmitters, and hormones are released, and the leader may experience a short period of increased focus and reaction time. But if the stress exists for a long enough period of time, there will be negative consequences. Characteristics of these negative behaviors include (a) lack of listening, (b) over-analysis, (c) failure to make decisions, and (d) erratic, fearful or angry emotional decisions.” That is the impact of not taking care of yourself in the workplace. Things You Can Do As A Leader To Treat Yourself As A VIP. 1. Prioritize Identify the high impact, deadline-driven, and challenging projects to focus on first since your day will undoubtedly include the unexpected. Determine if every meeting you are requested to attend is necessary. Meetings you don’t attend, have an associate provide a summary of key points and next steps. This always creates opportunities for colleagues to gain exposure. Be aware of last-minute demands and determine if they require immediate attention. 2. Set Boundaries Only you can establish and maintain boundaries for yourself. Even though it may be uncomfortable or difficult, boundaries are set through having conversations upfront about what others can expect from you. Set specific times to respond to emails and calls. Identify your limitations. Ask questions about what’s required and the deadline prior to committing in order to prevent “scope creep,” which is doing more than you anticipated. Resist the need to offer reasons which can also erode your boundaries. Expect people to cross boundaries and anticipate how to handle them with confidence. Plan for your work and make time to reward yourself when it’s done. 3. Delegate This is an opportunity to develop people. Identify what work you can give others and communicate to learn if the person has time, capacity, and the skillset to complete the task. Share your expectations, communicate how you will support them, and empower them with the responsibility. Delegation can build confidence and/or the competence and expands your capacity in the process. 4. Make Time For Restoration Take a pause in a moment to not think at all and just breathe. Be kind to and stop being critical of yourself. There is a direct correlation between mindset and career success. Reflection enables you to increase your awareness, so you are able to reframe experiences to have a more positive perspective. Consider what you love to do, and include that in your weekly routine. Celebrate your accomplishments. 5. Identify Stress-reducing Activities In Your Day Consider using the Calm App on your phone, which has breathing exercises, emotional check-ins, meditations, calming music, stretching sequences, podcasts, and more. Learn about acupressure points that relieve tension and help with relaxation. Deep breathing is helpful to decompress prior to a meeting or presentation. Use a Fitbit or Apple Watch breathing prompts as a guide. Be the role model that you want others to emulate in and out of the workplace by setting boundaries, delegating, making time to recharge, and reducing stressful activities in your day. You can have the best of intentions, but when your intentions don’t line up with your actions, you diminish your integrity yourself. Be your own V.I.P. and make time for yourself. Follow Cheryl on Instagram , Facebook, Linkedin and visit her w ebsite . Read more from Cheryl! Cheryl Gray Hines, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Cheryl Gray Hines is an accomplished entrepreneur, executive coach, and mentor with a mission to support women to live authentically and be their best. Her deep expertise in leadership, organizational development, and business strategy have equipped her to coach executives and leaders through the most challenging transitions. Cheryl Gray Hines is the founder of C. Gray & Associates, author of In Support of Myself: A Woman’s Guide to Asking for Accepting Help from Others , and the creator of Gray’s Integrity Leadership Instrument (GILI) 360°, the only tool of its kind that quantifies leadership integrity. As founder of C. Gray & Associates, she teaches Fortune 100 corporations, federal agencies, and high-net-worth entrepreneurs that leadership integrity is the foundation of stellar business performance.

Written by: LaVonda McCullough, 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. "So is my word that goes from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." — Isaiah 55:11 I was a special education teacher prior to moving overseas. I have learned that consistency was key to success in the classroom. I must follow through on the consequences and rewards that I tell my students. If I don't, my students can't trust me. They can't rely or depend on the things that I say. I am so thankful that this is not something I have to worry about with God. God is Faithful, Honorable, And Consistent Whatever he says he will do, he does it. Every word that he speaks comes to pass. He is reliable. This is extremely important to remember when praying scripture. In Isaiah 55, God says that his word will not return to Him void. That literally means that when you pray his words back to him, something has to happen. It will, of course, all be in his timing, but you are guaranteed to see fruit from these prayers. I want to challenge you to take your prayer life to the next level and begin to pray scripture, and I promise you will see the fruit of these prayers. How can you take your prayer life to the next level? 1. Find Scriptures That Speak To Your Circumstance The first step to praying scriptures is to find them! Finding the scriptures is quite easy. You can read the Bible, ask a godly friend or pastor on the internet or join our Impact Community. What did people do before the internet? I can’t even imagine! You can use any search engine to find scriptures for prayer. I recommend typing in “scriptures for warfare”, “scriptures for anxiety”, or “scriptures for (Healing, strength, etc.)” These will pull up an ample amount of scriptures that you can use in your prayer time. If you find more than you need at the moment (as I’m sure you will ), you can bookmark them or copy and paste them into a doc/email for later use. Seek out a friend or Spiritual leader Have your friend look up one topic, and you look up a different topic. Then, swap verses. A different method is to look up the same topic and see if you have any different verses between the two of you. You can also go talk to a spiritual leader. They are full of wisdom and know many scriptures that will be applicable. I recommend bringing a paper and pen or taking notes on your smartphone. Be sure to be a good steward of their time and think of specific questions to ask beforehand. Some great questions to ask are: What are good scriptures for? How have you used scripture in prayer? Turn your phone on silent and focus your mind on listening to all of their wisdom! 2. Read the Bible This is the most obvious answer. When I find a scripture that I think I should use in my prayer life, I will highlight it and go back to my usual Bible study. In my bible, I have a system of highlighting my scriptures to pray in purple and my Thanksgiving/Praise scriptures in Pink. I highly recommend this. Begin to search the word and compile scriptures that you can use in your prayer life. Start off by choosing just one category to focus on, such as praise & thanksgiving. Each week rotate topics, and you will have a good scripture foundation in no time. You should make the scripture personal to you by inserting your name and circumstance into your prayer. Here are a few examples. “Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will come near to you.” —James 4:7 "God, according to your word, help me submit to you. Help me to resist the devil and come near to me. In Jesus' Name, Amen." “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” —Isaiah 43:1-2 "God, according to your word, help me to not fear, for you have redeemed me. You have summoned me by name; I am yours. When I pass through the waters, you will be with me; and when I pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over me. When I walk through the fire, I will not be burned; the flames will not set me ablaze. In Jesus' Name, Amen." When you personalize the scripture, you are putting yourself in place to receive the blessing. It makes your prayer more specific. If it is a scripture where God is speaking, change the I’s to you’d. If it is a scripture where someone else is speaking, and you don’t need to change the words, just make sure your mind and heart are focused on God as you pray the scripture. Many of the Psalms are good examples of this. “Hasten, O God, to save me; Oh Lord, come quickly to help me. May those who seek my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.” —Psalm 79:1-2 In this verse, you don’t have to personalize the words. Instead of the heart behind the scripture is what becomes personalized. You have to speak the scripture as if you believe God will be true to his word. 3. Make A Scripture Journal A prayer journal is a way to record scripture. If you take the time to begin journaling out scripture and your prayers, this book will be full of ready-made personalized scriptures and ready for warfare. There are two different types of journals that I suggest—one for home and the other a mini-on that you can have on the go. The one for the home can be divided into topics. So you can have one section of your journal for healing, strength, depression, etc. You will use the structure mentioned above for each prayer. Each page will contain a different scripture that was already written for you to read in your prayer time. The second kind of journal is a mini scripture prayer journal. You never know when you may encounter a person who you need to pray for on the spot or when you get in your car. I can't count the number of times this has happened to me while out shopping or on an errand to the grocery store. We all get those mass emergency prayer texts because someone has been in an accident, etc. In those situations, you can just pull out your journal and pray God’s own promises back to him. I don't believe it's necessary to divide into sections, but hey, grab yourself some colorful stickie notes, and you're ready! I hope you feel a lot more equipped to add scripture to your prayer life. A great way to start is just to keep 2 scripture prayers near where you get dressed or in the bathroom to just get in the habit of praying scripture. Just start small. Maybe each night, write one scripture prayer down and pray it. Soon you will have many recorded and memorized to use at any time! Follow me on Facebo ok , Instagram , LinkedIn , or visit my website for more info! Read more from LaVonda! LaVonda McCullough, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dr. LaVonda McCullough is a Christian Life Coach that uses her proven strategies to coach women leaders to overcome mindset limitations and emotional overwhelm to walk in their God-given purpose boldly and confidently. She has dedicated her life to helping countless women walk to freedom over shame, anxiety, depression, and unforgiveness. She travels internationally speaking on mindset renewal through prayer. She is the founder of Joyful Journey, LLC, and her signature RefresHER Women’s Retreat is consistently attended by women worldwide who are seeking to reach the divine power within to become confident in their calling. She is the author of “21 Days of Fasting & Praying: The Beginner’s Guide to a Disciplined Life” and the newly released online course “Rekindled: Igniting an Intimate Relationship with God through restoration and renewal.”

Written by: Tugce Ozdeger, 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 we invest in ourselves we not only give permission to tap into our own brilliance but we also let people around us experience the best version of ourselves. But wait, how are all these connected to each other? We are all humans here to grow and vibrate different frequencies on different energy levels. The more we dare to look inside and embrace all the good and bad, in other words, everything that makes us “US”, we unconsciously give permission to others to do the same through leading by example. When we do the inner work with coaches/mentors who have already done the work on themselves and let them inspire and guide us to take us to our next level, we will easily notice how this decision itself shifts our reality and affects the people around us in a more positive way. Only thing we know is when we were born and life is about to explore the “why”. The most interesting thing is that the answer lies within us. The courage to extract that answer by getting help from a coach/mentor, embracing what we found out and acting upon it, is what self-mastery is all about. We all project our limiting beliefs, brilliance, point of views, judgements onto others. How we see the world is basically how we see ourselves inside, it is therefore essential to fully understand that to make a positive impact in the world starts with us looking inside and see; how much we deeply love ourselves and be continuously obsessed with developing our mindset and unattached from the beliefs that does not serve us anymore. Seeing the world through a completely different lens will definitely make all the difference in the world. To be aware of how much of an impact an individual can make once taking the leap of faith and investing in her/himself is a game changer. The more we understand and learn about ourselves the more we can support others to do the same and to witness their transformation. So, the question is what is the next level in your evolution and how much are you willing to “go all-in”? For more info, follow me on Faceboo k , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my websit e ! Read more from Tu gce ! Tugce Ozdeger, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Tugce Ozdeger is a Senior Software Engineer and a Career Acceleration Mentor for Women in Tech. After a long corporate career, Tugce created strategies to level up her tech career on her own terms. She has since dedicated her life to helping women to unleash their full potential by defining a lucrative career that allows them to experience the life of their dreams in tech. She is the founder of Heart-Centric Tech Mentoring, an online tech career mentoring academy with students from many different countries. Tugce was featured in various digital publications and podcasts. She was a speaker at SweTugg, which is one of the prestigious tech conferences in Stockholm. Tugce was also the project leader for one of the most appreciated IT-Conferences for Women in Tech in Sweden, which was arranged completely digital. Her mission: More women in tech.

Written by: Stephanie Kable, 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. Business books offer invaluable value. Since 2019, I’ve been reading personal development/business books on a regular basis. Religiously, before going to bed, or while waiting for an appointment, or on public transport, I always have a business book to take me to a different world and help me think differently. The experience has taught me a lot, and I would like to share it with you today, as well as a few books that have left a mark on me. Learn From Other People’s Experience Many successful entrepreneurs have documented their success (and failure) in a book. Reading about them allowed me to see what pitfalls they avoided, how they managed to be resilient and think outside the box. For me, every entrepreneur should read The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz. In this book, the author shares with us his amazing entrepreneurial adventure that could have finished very differently if he had not had the strength to keep fighting for his business. Expand Your Skills Getting my business skills up-to-date was another goal that I pursued. There are so many fields an entrepreneur should understand: marketing, sales, management, strategy, technology, etc. As the business venture is growing or tackling new challenges, the entrepreneur should have a wide knowledge of business topics in order to communicate effectively with people in the team, freelancers, and other stakeholders. Business Made Simple by Donal Miller is a great start to expand our business skills. In this complete book, the author covers all the skills someone should get in order to run a successful business. Try New Things Reading books is great if it motivates us to take action on new things. What are the latest trends we should be aware of that we could adapt to our business model? What tip or nugget did we find? What interesting idea can I implement? For example, Sell it like Serhant by Ryan Serhant is a great book about selling. It includes the author’s best advice on how to sell effectively. Sales are the foundation of any company. Learning how to sell has a tremendous impact on the bottom line. Get Inspired Books have the ability to give you the inspiration you need to push your limits and leave your comfort zone. Business books allow you to dream bigger and transform the vision you have for your own business and for yourself. In High-Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way by Brendon Buchard, the author studies what’s in common between high performing people and draws conclusions and advice on what we should do to reach that level. It inspires you to adopt habits and routines that will take us to the next level. Discuss Strategies And Ideas With Like-Minded Entrepreneurs Business books are a great start. Unfortunately, once we close the book, how much do we implement? How much do we remember? In order to take greater advantage of this wealth of knowledge, tips, and advice and to maximize its impact, I’ve started my Online Business Book Club that gathers like-minded entrepreneurs who meet every month to discuss ideas from different business books. Join us. I cannot stress enough the importance of reading business books. It doesn’t have to be time-consuming; 10-20 pages a day can make a huge difference to your personal development and your business. Just give it a try! Follow me on Facebook , LinkedIn , YouTube , Instagram and visit my website for more info! Read more from Stephanie! Stephanie Kable, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Stephanie Kable is the CEO of Live-English.net, an English online school that helps professionals worldwide feel more confident with their English as a second language. Through online one-to-one and group lessons via Zoom, the team of native-English teachers provides an efficient, convenient, and fun way to improve English speaking skills. Stephanie holds a B.A. in Management from the University of Paris-Dauphine (France) and an M.A. in Information Systems from Institute Mines-Telecom - Business School (Paris, France). Fond of languages, technology, business, and personal development, Stephanie combines all these fields of knowledge to offer unique English courses focused on each learner's needs.

Written by: Emanuela Visone, 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. Many times, I’m often asked the following questions: “Are man-made vitamins harmful?” “How much is too much?” “What kind of damage do too many vitamins cause?” The following information will answer your questions. Vitamins are organic compounds, which means it contains carbon. Vitamins cannot be duplicated in a laboratory, and the ones sold to the public today are synthetic or crystalline-pure fractions of vitamin complexes. A fraction of a vitamin, whether natural or synthetic at best, is a drug and can only have a drug-like effect in the body, which is a stimulatory effect-not physiological or curative benefit. Taking vitamins as supplements can seriously damage the most important of bodily functions by contributing to a biochemical imbalance. And here’s why... Vitamins can be effective in the body’s cells only through their combined effects as a “complex functioning mechanism” rather than a single chemical effect. For example, ascorbic acid sold today as vitamin C is not true complex vitamin C as found in foods like Camu-Camu, and yet it is labeled in its supplement form as vitamin C. Ascorbic acid is only one part of several parts that makes up the complex vitamin C. It can be made cheaply in laboratories by combining corn syrup and sulfuric acid. It’s ridiculous to remove the ascorbic acid from the vitamin C complex and call this single component the “real vitamin”. A vitamin supplement is not the whole product. It is only a fragment. It leaves out many other parts which may be tiny percentages but significant just the same. When we take supplements, it’s rather like taking statements out of context; you think you're getting the full story, but more likely, what you do get is distorted and not the full picture or benefit. Picking and choosing the elements you think your body needs is risky at best. We are designed to operate as a whole entity, and therefore we should be getting our nutrients as whole entities too. You can take enough supplements in an individual nutrient form to cause symptoms of deficiency of that or other nutrients. For example, if you take vitamin E, you need to also take the mineral zinc to maintain the normal blood concentration of vitamin E. However, if you take too much zinc, you can block the absorption of copper and selenium. This is the same with taking too much vitamin C, and you can block selenium absorption in your body. Vitamins are dependent on minerals to function in the body. If you start the game of picking and choosing single vitamins and single minerals to take, you are playing a dangerous game that can cause a terrible chemical imbalance in your body. Isolated vitamins and minerals sold in supplement form do not have the same suitability for human metabolism as those found in whole foods. Our bodies were not designed to break down these inorganic supplements. The best source of supplementation today is food-derived supplements like bee pollen, wheatgrass, wildcrafted blue algae, wheat sprouts, etc. These supplements offer us all the ingredients necessary for our bodies to function properly. All nutrients work as a team to build and support health. Nature has always been the best manufacturer of our foods and the best teacher if we care to learn her lessons. The body understands the “natural law”. Just give it the full range of good foods and whole food supplements, and it knows what to do to create optimum health and vitality. I hope you found this article very informative so you can make a better decision for you and your family. Can you just imagine how much more energy you would have and just moving at a higher vibration through life if you were feeding your body nature’s most potent superfoods? What you feed your body today is who you become tomorrow. If you’d like to learn more, I’d be happy to schedule a zoom meeting, or you email me at embodyvitalityconsulting@gmail.com. You can also call me on 917-597-3512. My book Healing Through Nature’s Medicine, A Story of Hope, will also give you a step-by-step guide on how to choose the best foods on earth for your body. Follow Emanuela on her Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and visit her website for more info. Read more from Emanuela! Emanuela Visone, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Emanuela is a leading expert in restoring health and a Master Transformational, Health, and life coach. After 20yrs recruiting in the finance industry, she discovered her true calling for naturopathy and helping people and their pets throughout the US. The value she provides her clients has put them in a position to gain better health and live a more fulfilling life. Having restored her own health, Emanuela is excited to share her victory and help others do the same, from thyroid conditions, shrinking nodules, blood pressure, hormones, and much more. This inspired her to write her first book, “Healing Through Nature’s Medicine,” A Story of Hope. Having restored her St. Barnard’s health as well, Emanuela coaches many pet owners on how to become their own best healer. She loves spending time with her family and friends, the outdoors, and her deepest passion is helping others transform their health. References: Donia Alawi, Researcher

Written by: Miriam Petra, 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. An entrepreneur's perspective on failure, identity, and outdated business paradigms. Entrepreneurs play a critical and crucial role in their ability to challenge the status quo, driving regional to global social and economic growth, creating the vast majority of new jobs, and forging products and services that solve key problems and ameliorate circumstances. A number of researchers have taken on the task to decipher our special entrepreneurial power — ranging from a force of creativity, innovation, vision, resilience, amongst other cognitive, emotional and behavioral strengths, traits, and vulnerabilities. The Dark Side of Genius According to Michael A. Freeman, "While much is known about the personality traits of successful entrepreneurs, little is known about the mental health characteristics that may be associated with entrepreneurial success and failure," suggesting that the characteristics which compel us, entrepreneurs, to start our ventures have the tendency to also be responsible for entrepreneurs to fall apart and our companies to fail. As Aristotle put it, "No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness". Thought leaders, innovators, risk-takers, game changers are driven by an inner force that most will never experience. Whether we feel ready or not, we navigate the most diverse challenges others would not dare to even look at, we carry more responsibility than others could ever cope with, and are willing to look beyond every defined "out-of-comfort-zone" to seek true innovation, despite being called unrealistic or even crazy by literally everyone around us. "Being an entrepreneur has been characterized as one of the most stressful jobs, with average earnings that are lower than if one were to work as a paid employee," as a study from Aston University found. One could say, the permanent nature of our daily work and life is filled with enormous pressure and is highly stressful. Success and Failure are an Entrepreneurs Shadow While successful entrepreneurs are celebrated as heroes, valued in society, and their companies highly acknowledged, the amount of struggle behind the scenes is mostly hidden in the narrative of business and entrepreneurship, especially when it comes to the mental and emotional struggle. Psychologists have already agreed that an entrepreneur's so valued out-of-the-norm strengths are also behaviors of symptoms of a range of mental disorders - from depression, anxiety, chronic stress, despair, bipolar disorder, suicidal thinking, amongst others. And when taking the term "mental illness" further into a holistic perspective, according to Dr. Nicole LePera, "it is not about treating mental illness, but about treating trauma responses". While I had the privilege of top-level education in entrepreneurship, business, and management at leading universities in Europe and the USA, took part in noteworthy international entrepreneurial incubators, was a member of the most valued business organizations and mastermind circles, and had very expensive and renowned consultancies on board - the closest I ever got to the term "mental and emotional wellbeing" or "trauma responses" was: work-life-balance and mindset. The Lost Pages of the Story Tale of Entrepreneurship are the Key to it All. While most of my entrepreneurial journey was very lonely at the beginning, I remember being so proud to finally be part of the EO mastermind, sitting in a room full of other inspiring entrepreneurs, being able to openly talk about all the vulnerable struggles I was faced with, without the so-called "impression management" or fear of showing weaknesses stakeholders could play against me. At that moment, listening to all others speak of their struggles, I realized - "wow, we are actually all the same... we are all struggling with similar things, we all have our own fears, we all perceive personal limits... we are all human." Being an entrepreneur, a thought leader, a boss, a role model is often idealized to a point where we feel we aren't allowed to be as vulnerable as "normal people" anymore. It was the first time in years that I was allowed to look at myself as a human with all the mental, emotional, deeply disturbing roller coaster going on behind the scenes. Yet, the narrative was still limited to a set of "mindset strategies" and "best work-life balance principles according to social and psychological norms." While these principles gave me support, hope, and some level of guidance - they were like a plaster on a wound that wasn't spoken about. The Missing Piece Decides Our Destiny At 28, I had grown 3 companies to multiple 6 and 7 figures, met my soulmate and became a mom. I was managing a team of 36; my brands won multiple awards, I was part of renowned Business Masterminds in Europe, had elite mentors from google, amazon, Ernst & Young, amongst a number of other business consultants and honors. I raised millions in investments and hustled hard for success. At 30, seemingly out of the blue, my life exploded. I crashed and failed miserably - while everyone was watching. A major IT project in the company I had devoted my life to failed; we lost millions and filed for bankruptcy. I was diagnosed with functional abdominal pain syndrome, adrenal fatigue, and later on with PTSD from the pressure of juggling a newborn and growing company. The conflicts in my closest family had grown to such an extent. Nobody could sit together at the table. I had lost all my savings, we had to move out of our house, and my relationship was on the brink of divorce. Even more severe. It seemed like I had lost myself. “You cannot outperform your self-identity.” Failure — Why it Means so Much and Nothing at all As Ute Stephan in the Academy of Management Perspectives puts it, "for entrepreneurs, work is also an expression of their personality — arguably much more so than is the case for any other occupation." It took a few months until after the bankruptcy that I was forced on my journey of uncovering the root cause of my major failure, as I was still forcefully trying to stick all the pieces back together. I was used to "just functioning," despite how I was feeling, continuing in the rat-race of hustling through it all, making sure all parties are attended to - the staff, the investors, the lawyers, the family — and telling everyone around me, "it's okay, I'll fix it, I've got a new plan, everything will turn out great." However, the truth, I didn't even want to commit to myself was, I felt worthless, despair, anger, fearful, hopeless, and had no more reason to get out of bed. Nothing meant anything to me anymore. I felt all those years of hard work were completely wasted and didn't have a spark of motivation left inside me. "Not all storms come to disrupt your life. Some come to clear your path." The awareness of knowing failure is part of the game of entrepreneurship (and life) when you're sitting right in the middle of it is great, but obviously, that information alone and some motivational words or quotes won't get you through it. When you've truly hit your rock bottom, then you'll hardly be able to get out of it without a helping hand. Lessons of Overcoming Failure I was desperately looking for support and help to overcome the severe struggles everywhere. And first things first in the healing process — You need to literally sit in your shit first and never skip this step. My journey of making sense of it all led me to 2 weeks of ZEN fasting in complete silence. What I learned is that it's not the fear or pain of the negative event itself that's so devastating, but rather the meaning we attach to failure and what we make it mean about us. “The right person can do everything wrong, it will always turn out right. The wrong person can do everything right, it will always turn out wrong.” — ZEN Saying This lesson was a paradigm shift for me. It even takes the commonly known 80% mindset / 20% strategy success rule to a completely new level. The Message Behind your Hidden Veil Today, I’ve overcome major failure in many areas of my life, cleared millions in personal debt, realigned with my true purpose, and regained joy, health, love, and flow in life and my businesses. So what's the missing message on those lost pages in our storybooks that decides over success or failure? It's our very own personal human component that governs all our outcomes: our subconscious belief system that governs 95% of what we think, say, feel, do and believe. Specifically, what's hidden behind a veil of consciousness, deep-rooted trauma, and beliefs we aren't aware of, yet this is what controls everything we create in life and business. This is exactly why we can apply all the best blueprint strategies, have the perfect business plan, the most innovative idea, hire the most brilliant minds, pay the best consultants, thrive in some areas; and still have problems that seem to persist like superglue, invisible blocks we just can't seem to overcome, patterns of sabotage we battle in all different facets, and can ultimately also miserably fail. Research has shown, between the ages of 0-7 years, 80% of our beliefs are already installed. Thus, the trauma incidents during childhood, in which we acquired our belief system, need to be revealed, dealt with, and reprogrammed in order to clear the seemingly invisible blocks. Trauma-Informed Entrepreneurs are Less Likely to Struggle and Fail in Business and Life Coming back to the study of the University of California, knowing that especially entrepreneurs are 72% more prone to mental illness and disorders and linking the findings to what we know today about the subconscious mind and trauma responses suggests a potent inference: entrepreneurs need to be even more aware of their personal subconscious paradigms and operating system. Today, subconscious mindset work has become an indispensable training component of world-class sports icons. Like Jack Nicklaus, the world-famous golfer, explains he would not even pick up his cub until he has a crystal clear image of the golf ball flying through the air, hitting the ground, and rolling on the screen of his mind, calling it “going to the movies.” As the mere vastness and diversity of socio-economic environments and circumstances an entrepreneur is confronted with goes beyond any basic conditions, and one could say we are constantly confronted with our demons to a much greater extent. An Entrepreneurs Psyche - The First and Most Important Business Lesson Mastering our inner world of thoughts, beliefs, and emotions is not an option — it should become the 1 business lesson; as “preparing the mind, body, and spirit for entrepreneurship is like preparing the mind, body, and spirit for the Olympics,” says Suzanne Mulvehill in her book Employee to Entrepreneur. And when topping it off with the sheer simplicity of what my mentor, Marisa Peer, has taught me - that any successful, positive outcome is tied to our awareness of personal worthiness and subconscious identity - it is literally a matter of saving lives with this important narrative. In every event in life, there is a positive experience — lesson, growth, learning, a higher purpose to challenge for you to discover, become stronger, more resilient, deal with adversity and challenges. And it's a chance to shine a light on your shadows, your limits, your limiting beliefs, and your trauma keeping you stuck. As a certified entrepreneurs’ therapist, I’ve specialized in supporting leaders to overcome severe obstacles and failure, aligning them to thrive with purpose, ease, and flow. I created the signature fool-proof Bx3 Transformational Method to overcome massive failure once and for all, so you can realign to thrive with limitless ease. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and visit my website for more info! Miriam Petra, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Miriam Petra is your facilitator for deep and profound transformation. She is a trained therapist and serial entrepreneur, mentoring thought leaders to step into their full potential to create their dream lifestyle of vitality, impact, income, and freedom they desire. By aligning the subconscious mind and eliminating root causes for any issue, fast and lasting transformation is achieved for any area of their life, without the hustle, overwhelm, and trade-offs between personal and professional life, yet with joy, ease, and abundance. Miriam believes high-performing, successful and aligned leaders, entrepreneurs, and executives are changing the course of history. Healthy & ethically led businesses are the primary sources of innovation, bringing great solutions for more sustainable living on this planet for us and all future generations to come. Going through the highs and lows of being a multiple business owner, having overcome major bankruptcy and severe financial loss, as well as healing from chronic illness, depression and family division, she has become an expert in overcoming failure through her signature Bx3 method and subconscious therapy. Through powerful subconscious transformation on deep levels, she helps high achievers from around the world align to thrive and transform their lives from the inside out. She teaches you the research-backed tools to harness the power of your mind, body, and spirit to live your best life & be the best version of yourself for yourself, your life, your loved ones. In the past 12 years of building businesses, spending $600k+ on her education & training, working with the best coaches, international consultants, and hypnotherapists, it wasn’t until she started working with the subconscious mind and spiritual principle that her life & business truly shifted. "Your wellbeing & subconscious identity are directly connected to your level of performance & lasting success."

Written by: Sarah No, 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 use of social media is growing at a rate of at least 10% YOY and has risen exponentially owing to the pandemic. The expected growth for 2021 has already been surpassed, having reached 4.33 billion users in April 2021. That’s 6 in every 10 people! What Does This Mean For Brands? Having more online users translates to more opportunities for brands to connect with them. Even so, some brands have huge hesitation about embarking on the long road of social media . For brands who were not early adopters of social platforms, it can almost feel like it is too late to compare their growth to brands or influencers with followers in the 6 or 7 figures. The Fear To Start It is, without doubt, a long and daunting road, but it is essential for brands to dive in if they want a piece of the social media pie. It would be the equivalent of hesitating to open a store on the busiest high street just because there were already so many shops there. There may be an abundance of stores, but with an abundance of stores comes an abundance of walk-bys. Don’t you want in on that? So let’s explore the fundamental factors for any brand to organically, sensibly, and strategically achieve success on social media. But first, you need to know that this is not about gaining 10,000 followers overnight or doing 30 days of Reels on Instagram, or becoming a TikTok star. Just as much as it is about the tactics involved in social media growth, it is also about having the right mindset and realistic goals for your business, not someone else's. So, here we go! Expectations And Mindset Many times I have a conversation with a new client who is concerned about their growth when compared to someone else’s. When you compare your business to others, you need to factor in when they started, what their reach is in terms of their existing influence, and how big their potential universe is. A niche business owner selling candles comparing itself to Nike or a household brand is clearly inappropriate and unhelpful. A boutique selling candles on a shopping strip couldn’t expect to have thousands of people walk past, so they shouldn’t be expecting millions of followers online. Once you can get rid of any unrealistic social media expectations, it will be a lot simpler! When Is It Too Late To Start? Firstly, it is never too late, and here are two really good reasons for this. The first reason is that social media is not going away, and the second is that it is absolutely possible to reach your goals within a year. However, it requires hard work. The True ROI Of Social Media Brands that use social media and expect a sale from each of their followers have the wrong idea. Social media is a powerful tool that gives brands a much-expanded potential to achieve reach and brand awareness. Depending on your customer lifecycle and customer lifetime value, this can be an incredibly valuable asset. It offers a channel to attract prospective customers into your sales funnel and increase the customer lifetime value through nurturing and connecting with customers outside the store. Lastly, the platform provides brands with social proof not only in regards to prospective customers but also potential investors and retailers that otherwise would be inaccessible. Multipliers A common misconception is that social media will be a brand's savior when it comes to building sales. Rather, the more channels you can add to your marketing mix, the more ROI you will gain. It is called multi-channel marketing and revolves around the very basic premise that it requires more than just one touch to reach and convert a customer. Every channel you add can improve ROI and effectiveness by up to 35% . [1] What About Influencers? 40% of millennials say that their favorite influencers and creators on YouTube understand them more than their own friends do, and 60% would follow the advice of what to buy from their favorite creator more readily than from a TV ad or a celebrity. [2] In spite of that evidence, brands are often apprehensive about becoming involved with influencer marketing due to fear of brand values being compromised or concern that consumers might not “fall for it.” However, that fact stands that 40% of people have purchased a product as a result of seeing it being used by an influencer on social media, and 72% of customers have greater trust in a business when an influencer recommends it! [3] The key to making things work is to strike up the right influencer collaborations in order to ensure values are aligned, influencer engagement is of a good standard, and that there is adequate tracking in place to monitor successful outcomes in terms of reach or sales. Some brands are even acquiring influencers through their internal teams. How Does A Brand Start? There is a range of options - from employing someone to do it in-house, hiring a virtual assistant, bringing in a social media marketing agency specializing in the field, assessing your needs, and understanding the relevant platforms, strategies, and algorithms. This largely comes down to budget, time, and levels of in-house expertise. Regardless of how you choose to launch your brand, it is essential to be part of this ever-growing economy that resides on social networks in order to give your business the best hope of forging ahead and not being left behind. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn for more info! Sarah No, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Sarah No is a digital strategist and the owner of Brighter Co, a digital agency that helps small businesses and entrepreneurs reach their business goals. An expert in social media marketing, social advertising, eCommerce website development, and more, Sarah is passionate about developing marketing strategies for clients that are going to yield growth. Sarah's values include positive thinking, integrity, and kindness, and she wishes to see more of these values in business. References: 1. https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com / 2. Google-comissioned Ipsos Connect, "The YouTube Generation Study" U.S., teen YouTube channel subscribers who agreed that YouTube creators are "more like one of us" than traditional celebrities 3. https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/

Written by: Denise Ledi, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Do you remember your first steps into a formal leadership position? I sure do! Mine began with an unexpected phone call from a former colleague. Surprised and a wee bit curious, I quickly picked up. “Denise! It’s me, Don! How are you? It's been a while! I don't know if you’ve heard, but the big guy is leaving. The team wants you to apply. We want you back. We need you back. You know why. You know what's wrong and how to help make things right. I’m speaking on behalf of everyone, and I’m personally asking you to please throw your hat in the ring.” I was stunned, honored, excited, and felt validated all at once. This could be a wonderful opportunity in terms of my career and professional growth. But I also had a bit of trepidation. You see, while I knew nothing was a guarantee, I knew I had a very credible shot at being promoted if I applied. I worked there for 9 years and had only been gone for 2.5 and am still in touch with many of them. I knew the program, its challenges, and its opportunities. I had been their informal leader. However, I knew this wasn't as simple as “going home.” No matter the circumstance, nothing ever is. This situation posed a different challenge. I knew them. Oh, did I know that cast of characters! And they knew me. And therein lay the rub. Returning “home” meant returning to lead former peers and colleagues, many of whom I started my career with and were my friends! That could be disastrous and end any aspirations I had of advancing up the ranks before doing so because I knew this: one of the most difficult transitions new leaders face is moving from being a peer and workplace buddy to being in charge. Time and time again, the demise of many good, well-intended people is in part due to failure to successfully navigate this dynamic. As Don predicted, others reached out to me in a similar fashion. Suffice to say, I applied and was a successful applicant. But not before taking the time to reflect upon my reactions. I didn’t know it at the time, but doing so led to a series of considerations and decisions that would lay the foundation of my entire leadership career, my team's successes, and how I guide others as a coach. Here are a few decisions and steps I took that can help you steer clear of potential pitfalls when moving from peer to leader: Embrace & Leverage Your Position As An Informal Leader To Facilitate Change Going in, I had the advantage of already having credibility and their trust. Instead of shying away from this, I leaned in. The key was BUILDING upon this, not assuming anything, hiding from it, or taking anything for granted. Part of doing this was accepting that things were no longer the same. The minute I accepted this promotion, our relationships were irrevocably changed, no matter how much any of us may have wished it wasn’t so. Relationships needed to shift and be reshaped. I knew I had to proactively deal with potential gossip about “favoritism” due to who reached out and spoke with me, who I was closer to, and the like. You know, things like: “that Denise! She spoke to so and so and not me! And “did you hear that Jen and Denise use to go out for coffee? Or my former peers feeling slighted because I no longer talked things through with them like before ‘‘Why didn’t you come to me with what’s coming down the pipeline? We use to talk about this kind of thing all the time?” Yikes! Unintended challenges in team dynamics and relationships could take root before I even started! With this recognition, I made a commitment to separate personal from professional relationships and intentionally strive towards treating everyone with humility and respect. Did I always get it right? Nope. Even when I did, sometimes people still got upset; and that’s ok. It comes with the territory. Connect With Everyone 1 to 1 One of the first things I did upon arrival was immediately setting up 1:1 meetings with EVERYONE. Fulltime, part-time, and casual; those I knew well to those I didn’t, it didn't matter. The team was small enough for me to meaningfully do so. I wanted to hear how they felt about my return to this role despite what may have been previously saying. Candid dialogue with tons of questions and even more listening helped facilitate changing and establishing new relationships. It empowered all of us to “call out the lurking elephants and their associations,” trying to establish and or maintain their foothold in the group. 1:1s also provided the opportunity for me to share my views and goals for the program. The conversations in these meetings helped me figure out how to balance and incorporate what I was learning strategically and in a way that encompassed everyone. All of this carried forward into team meetings, shaping norms, setting clear expectations, and building culture. It also naturally inspired: Co-creating Vision And Results I recognized that my role was to encourage and empower the team to showcase their talents and expertise using their own approach. I was pretty good at that. I loved exchanging and building upon ideas and thrived in environments where this occurred. This was my sweet spot and provided meaning in my work. It helped others and was fun! Despite all of that, a big lesson I learned along the way was this: sharing “the answer” in some circumstances was less valuable than encouraging others to find the answers within themselves. I had to adjust how I was asking and or responding to questions to ensure input was heard, it was felt I was working with them, and the result was a shared endeavor. Oh boy! No doubt there’s a lot more. Managing former peers isn’t easy. Sometimes it really can be easier to supervise those you have never met or worked with before. Whether they are rooting for you and ready to follow you as I experienced, there’s no avoiding that there will be challenges and awkward moments. But you can face the potential pitfalls head-on in your own way, too, with awareness, preparation, and action. If you’re facing your own hurdles managing former peers and would like to develop and master the skills to do so - my group program “From Peer to Leader” is for you! Reach out to me here for a free consultation. To your success! Follow me on Faceb ook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Denise! Denise Ledi, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Denise Ledi is an Empowerment & Executive Leadership Coach based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada serving clients across North America. She has spent more than 20 years as a leader in addiction & mental health, forensics, and correctional healthcare and knows firsthand how complex and challenging it can be to lead in ever-changing environments. Denise integrates real-world leadership experience, experiences as a coaching client with expertise as a certified executive trained coach and Master’s trained Criminologist to provide a unique, innovative, integrative perspective to her clients to help them gain clarity and achieve the measurable results they're looking for. Denise has been a mentor to 100+ professionals and family, including her younger brother & sister after their mother died and as their father built his Engineering firm into a successful business as a new immigrate to Canada. Chapter Chair- Powerful Women Today Edmonton, budding podcast host, speaker, and presenter Denise believes that our highest potential is reached by helping others reach theirs. Her primary mission is to empower others to become their best selves, access their whole potential, and make an extraordinary impact on the world!