Liz Jones is a Wellness Coach, Yoga Teacher, and Fitness Professional with over 10 years of experience, with numerous qualifications and recognized accreditations. Having worked in a wide range of environments, Liz has helped professionals, celebrities, and business leaders from around the world to transform their lives and become addicted to living that healthy lifestyle. Liz is the Founder of Mind Body House, where the aim is to help others to 'Live the healthy lifestyle they love.' She is the host of the "Ladies Go Live" talk show and podcast, aiming to connect the value of great wellbeing and your professional success. Liz Jones, Wellness Coach I’m Liz Jones, a London-based Wellness Coach. A fun fact I love is that my parents were an old-school love story – a town girl and a country boy. This meant there was plenty of time spent outdoors growing up, with a big focus on homegrown vegetables, home-cooked meals, and an encouragement to do extra-curricular activities. The one that stuck was sport! Yes, I achieved great things, such as competing in the World Sabre Fencing Championships in 1999, but nothing came without the dedication to the result. It wasn’t until after I left the military that this was connected with living a healthy lifestyle, which in turn created success with relationships, in your profession, and the whole uplift in life. Having explored various career pathways, I found my way to coaching to help others create the life they love, in a sustainable way. What is it that you do for your clients? Many consider what I do to be like a Personal Trainer, which in some ways it is. I help people getting fitter, stronger, lose weight, all through exercise and nutrition. But I also help them with their mindset, managing stress, changing their habits, and adjusting their routine so it works for them, not they work for it. Getting clients to change habits can be very uncomfortable, especially if they have been used to doing things a certain way for a long time. But the results speak for themselves. From increased self-confidence through weight loss or tone, more energy and enthusiasm, increased income, improved relationships – the results are amazing! I do run an online studio in The Mind & Body House® where anyone can work out within one of our classes, but coaching is about transforming the whole lifestyle so the focus is always on mindset and habits – the two things that truly hold us back. Although all coaching clients can access the studio J Who should work with you? I work with professional women on a 121-coaching basis. Many are mums who want to regain their pre-baby body or to feel like a woman again not just a mum, or women wanting to become a mum and need to get healthier so they can conceive. The great thing is I have worked in so many different health and fitness centers, different gyms, in different cities, and with a wide range of demographics, so I really do understand the constraints you might be under. You said that anyone can work out within your classes – can men join too? For sure. Over the years I have had both male and female training clients, and fitness is for everyone. It is just the personal coaching I work solely with women as that is where my specialty lies. In fact, all classes are always adapted to suit everyone, as modifications or adaptations are given throughout – even tougher options if needed! So, considering your main clients are women, what top 3 tips would you give to them to help them get healthier? Well, the first one is easy, don’t eat what your partner does. It is very common to cook a meal for you and your partner, but women have different dietary needs so it is important not to just eat the same meal for the sake of it. Ensure you have the right amounts for you. Secondly, train for your cycle. A woman will experience different periods of energy and strength over the rough month, so it is important to adapt to fit. This way you keep getting great results without feeling wiped out. Third, female supplements can be helpful, but many things you need come from different food. Sort your eating out first, then add supplements later as these should be minimal and simply to boost your body. Tell us a bit more about The Mind & Body House®? This was a pro of lockdown. Like so many, my business was hit as I had so much work that relied on centers being open. So, I had a choice – wait it out or adapt so that I could still help others stay active and care for their wellbeing. Initially, it was just the online exercise studio but has grown to provide DIY online courses, personal coaching plus a fab Members Area. Both the online studio and Members Area both operate on a group basis so are relatively low cost, as health and fitness are for all. And that is the aim of The Mind & Body House® — to help others create the healthy lifestyle they love. It would be amazing if we could reach 1 million people to help them, but that is maybe the 5- or 10-year goal; we are still in our first year. What is your big goal? Where do you see yourself 10 years from now? I would love to grow The Mind & Body House® so that I can really help more people to be healthier. Definitely for me personally I would love to get to do more speaking about health and wellbeing. This will certainly help increase who I can support with their goals, but one step at a time. In 10 years, it will be great to have a fab team in place so we can hit that 1 million reach. That would be an incredible goal to achieve. But I will happily miss this number if it means every client gets great results and reaches their goals. I never want to jeopardize quality for quantity. Follow Liz on Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter and visit her website for more info. Read more from Liz!

Written by: Sruti Kanabar, 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. Who knew 15 months ago we would all have to embrace some form of online and hybrid way of working? It has been a big change, hasn’t it?! Alongside this, I have had to review my own key stakeholders and their impacts on me and my coaching practice. This exercise has led me to revisit the qualitative research I have previously carried out on psychological contract breach and violation within the workplace and how coaching is one of the key practices for leaders to mitigate the negative effects their employee’s experience so that a positive psychological contract can be reformulated and both parties can move on to working more successfully. So, what is a psychological contract, and how can it be breached or violated within the workplace? A psychological contract is a set of beliefs, values, and expectations that employees have concerning the relationship with their employer (Middlemiss, 2011). As such, they are abstract in nature and unique to everyone. The psychological contract can be breached when relational obligations are not effectively carried out, such as weekly coaching and monthly 1 to 1’s. Instances of a breach can also happen when there is a poor employee engagement strategy in place and a lack of high-performance work practices across the business. When such instances regularly happen, they can lead to the psychological contract being violated, and at times great employees can leave the organization. The below diagram illustrates the different paths the psychological contract can take depending on whether it is greatly or poorly managed within the workplace. So, which coaching principles, competencies, and skills can turn the situation around? The truth is that as leaders, we can work on our skills as much as we want though if we do not work on having the right attitude, then we will not be effective and great within the leadership game. As you can see within the diagram, the research found a feedback loop between the employee and their leader, which is highlighted in red. This implies there is a big opportunity for leaders to make some great changes if they find from their employees that a psychological contract breach or violation has occurred. Here are some things to consider as a leader when you are running your next 1 to 1 or coaching session: Embrace Vulnerability! You cannot expect your team to be open, flexible, and vulnerable themselves if you, as a leader, cannot create a psychologically safe space for them. Being able to embrace vulnerability helps us all to lean into fear and opt for growth, positive change, and innovation. Coaching sessions are an opportunity for leaders to show how much they value the contribution and performance of their employees. It is especially important to provide positive, evidence-based feedback during a coaching session and even from the sessions before. You owe it to those you are leading to celebrate their success and help them uncover their strengths and resourceful selves before going into solution mode and exploring what improvements can be put into place. Coaching sessions thrive when leaders go back to the basics. It is so important for a leader to build rapport, show they are actively listening, help the employee uncover their needs alongside the business needs, foster trust, honesty and maintain a non-judgmental attitude so the employee can grow and enhance their performance. If this resonates with you, then you will love the leadership training that I am facilitating called. “Leaders stop and ask yourself, where’s your head at?” It has been created by leaders and forum theatre actors for leaders just like you by New Level Results Ltd and Acting Out Productions. You can find out more by contacting me directly or emailing info@newlevelresults.co.uk . Love, Sruti For more information, follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my web site ! Read more from Sruti! Sruti Kanabar, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Sruti Kanabar is a distinguished Life and Small Business Coach. During her journey with Depression and Anxiety, she has found her purpose in helping women accept that they are good enough to live the life and build the business they want. She transforms women by increasing their shame resilience, helping them heal from minor and major traumas from the past, and connecting to a great purpose in life. When setbacks, obstacles, and failures come, they are seen as a beautiful part of the journey than being internalized. She empowers women through wisdom and knowledge nuggets from multiple faiths and disciplines to get the right solution to their challenges in life.

Written by: Tracy Renee Stafford, 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. How important is it that we know our pelvic floor and how to nurture its optimum health? Well, considering that increasing pelvic floor strength & connection can help both women and men: decrease lower back, pelvic & hip pain improve digestion & elimination boost sex drive, performance, & pleasure recover from childbirth (obviously, for women only) reduce incontinence & prolapse accelerate recuperation from all pelvic surgery (including prostate surgery), and increase vitality through the whole body It behooves us to empower ourselves with solid knowledge & healthy practices for this foundational place in the body. Traditionally, pelvic floor exercises were only taught to women for post-childbirth pelvic health and to help with issues of incontinence & prolapse. More recently, the conversation has expanded to include increasing women’s overall sexual health & satisfaction by regularly performing ‘kegel’s - the contractions of the pelvic floor first designed by Dr. Arnold Kegel in the 1940s. However, it is increasingly being recognized that these same kinds of exercises can not only also benefit men, to treat issues such as erectile dysfunction, and to help with recovery from prostate surgery, but that everyone can benefit by increasing pelvic floor fitness, for all of the benefits described above, and more. Exercises to activate, tonify & stretch the pelvic floor have been part of the yoga tradition for centuries. Breathing exercises and muscle contractions similar to Kegels have been documented as early as the 12th century as a way to improve health, increase energy, and attain clarity of mind. In this article, once I explain more about what the pelvic floor is, I will share some basic breathing exercises that may provide you with all of these benefits as well! Please treat this article as an entry point to pelvic floor health and an invitation to learn more. Physiotherapy & related modalities are increasingly adding pelvic floor treatment to their scope of practice, which may also be helpful for anyone suffering from any of the issues listed above. What is the pelvic floor anyway? The pelvic floor is the part of the body that we sit on. The bones of the pelvic floor make a diamond: the pubic bone is at the front, the tailbone is at the back, and the 2 bones on either side are commonly called ‘the sitting bones.’ The pelvic floor is all of the muscles within these 4 bones. Some of the muscles travel front to back, some side to side, some on the diagonal. The superficial layer of muscles, closer to the skin, serves more for its role in sphincter control, and the deeper muscles, higher up in the pelvis, serve more for organ support. You can actually feel the superficial layer of muscles best if you touch just inside each sitting bone. When you do, you may notice that there is a difference in the tension, or tone, from one side to the other - this is quite common. It is also very common that the muscles at the front of the pelvic floor, near the pubic bone, are weaker & looser than the muscles at the back of the pelvic floor, near the tailbone. While not all of the muscles look the same in the male & female pelvis, we all have the same muscles, and perhaps surprisingly, they all have similar functions. While childbirth is unique to women, and male & female pelvises (or if you prefer, pelves) experience sex differently, there is a syndrome that is common to both men & women: Disconnection Most of us, regardless of gender, are not familiar with our own bodies, which is such a tragedy. Because of our generally repressed culture, we seem to enjoy either fetishizing or shaming the body (especially the pelvis) and sexuality along with it. As a result, the most common issue we all share is that the muscles here are weak, tight, and generally beyond our conscious control. It does not need to be this way. A holistic, reverent connection to the body is not only possible. It’s necessary if we want to have more agency over our own health & well-being. Breathing: the Gateway to Pelvic Power The pelvic floor muscles are often called the pelvic diaphragm because they engage similarly to the thoracic diaphragm in our ribcage. As we inhale, the thoracic diaphragm contracts downward toward the abdomen to help pull air in. This causes the abdomen to expand outward, in what is known as ‘belly breathing’ or ‘diaphragmatic breathing.’ On the exhale, the thoracic diaphragm relaxes up to help release the air out. This causes the abdomen to draw in. The pelvic floor is meant to do the same action as the thoracic diaphragm: slightly stretch down on the inhale and slightly lift up on the exhale. The problem is that we are usually breathing so shallowly in the upper chest that this natural action is not happening, or even worse, backward! As we breathe in, we may ‘suck in’ our stomach, tighten our hips, and lift our chest - all in an attempt to possibly look thinner, or taller, or more ‘in control.’ When we do this unnatural and ungrounded way of breathing, we deprive our abdomen of the massage that it could be receiving, thus affecting our digestion & elimination. Our nervous system is signaled to stay in a stressed state rather than relax with a relaxed breath. Our pelvis & hips stay clenched tight, leading to chronic pain, reduced mobility, poor balance, and even further disconnection of the body from our awareness. Breathing is something we do all the time. Just a few moments of conscious, relaxed breathing each day can begin to awaken our awareness to our pelvic floor and be the doorway to reducing low back, pelvic & hip pain, improving digestion & elimination, boosting sex drive, performance & pleasure, and all the other benefits listed at the top of this article. Step 1: A Relaxed Breath Come to sitting upright, with equal weight on the sitting bones, and the spine tall & comfortable, so that the pelvis, ribcage, and head are balanced one on top of the other. Bring attention to the breath without needing to change it. Let the breath do what it naturally wants to do. Simply encourage a feeling of relaxing the body - the jaw, the shoulders, and the chest. Let the abdomen also relax so that it can respond very naturally to the breath. Let the hips & glutes (buttocks muscles) relax. Now, bring attention to the pelvic floor - the muscles between the pubic bone, tailbone, and the 2 sitting bones. Have the intention to relax the muscles here, allowing them to respond to the breath naturally. At first, you may only notice a very subtle sensation here - let that be. You may notice some muscles contracting, others relaxing - let that be also. Simply observe what happens when you intend to relax the muscles here so that they can respond as naturally to the breath as possible. This in itself can begin to unwind tension and allow us to breathe with more ease & depth. Spending a minute or 2 here each day - sitting in your car at the stoplight, standing in line at the grocery store, or even lying in your bed winding down to go to sleep - could have huge health benefits. Step 2: Toning the Pelvic Floor The tone is different from tension. Tension is not useful, while the tone is - very. Toning could also be called ‘strengthening,’ but I prefer to say ‘toning’ because I want to emphasize our ability to both engage these muscles and relax them - consciously. Our pelvic floor is often weak, but it is often also tight. Women are often taught to ‘contract’ or ‘tighten’ the pelvic floor to do a proper kegel, but that’s like asking someone who has their shoulders up to their ears to strengthen the shoulders by raising them even more. We need to learn how to let the muscles relax fully to feel their full range of strength. This actually creates more power (Pelvic Power Go!) instead of more tension. In this exercise, we will exaggerate what happens naturally as we breathe to increase the muscles' engagement and tone. Start sitting in a comfortable posture as described in the first exercise. Inhale, intending that the pelvic floor lowers & widens, like a trampoline stretching down & wide or like an elevator going down. Remember, the thoracic diaphragm is also moving down, and the abdominals are also expanding slightly out. Exhale intending that the pelvic floor muscles lift up and slightly narrow, like a trampoline rebounding up or an elevator going up. Remember, the thoracic diaphragm also moves up to push the air out, and the lower abdominals gently draw in and up. You could also imagine the very center point of the pelvic floor (the center of the diamond) slowly lowering on the inhale and lifting on the exhale. To recap: Inhaling, the diaphragm moves down, the abdomen moves out, and the pelvic floor stretches down. Exhaling, the pelvic floor rebounds up, the abdominals draw in, and the thoracic diaphragm lifts. Remember, this is not a ‘technique, but rather the natural engagement pattern of the pelvic floor with the breath, and we are simply exaggerating it. Allow and notice, rather than make or force. I recommend taking time just to sense this before moving onto any other kind of pelvic floor exercise. If you are breathing very shallowly, you will not notice much pelvic floor activation. But, if you practice breathing slower than your normal pace, you may start to notice more activation of the abdominal muscles and the pelvic floor. While I recommend that you start with a very relaxed energy, ‘allowing’ the activation of these muscles, rather than ‘making’ them activate, you are welcome to ‘gently encourage’ this trampoline-like movement down and up, especially if it is very new to you. You need to get a sense of the movement. Over time, especially as the breath gets slower and deeper, this activation can become more accessible & alive. No Clenching! When the pelvic floor is being isolated, the feeling is internal, subtle, and smooth. A common error is to clench the glutes (the buttocks muscles) instead - but please, no clenching of the buttocks ever! In fact, there should be no clenching of any kind - not in the pelvic floor, abdominals, neck, shoulders, or jaw. This engagement should have a smooth flow, like the tide of the ocean moving in and out. We need to distinguish ‘toning’ the muscles from ‘clenching’ them. Toned muscles are engaged but allow for circulation of breath and blood, whereas clenching cuts off all energy supply and is not helpful in any way. Stretching is the key. Because tightness of the pelvic floor (and the hips) is common, whether there is a weakness or not, I recommend a little bit of stretching every day. A simple exercise could be lying on the floor with the legs up the wall and opening the legs out to the sides of the room. Many yoga poses & pilates exercises also focus on stretching & strengthening the hips, which greatly affects pelvic floor strength & flexibility. Bringing the awareness to the pelvic floor relaxing with a relaxed breath will increase the effectiveness of any stretches you do. Knowledge is Power Not only do I hope that this post benefits you, but I also hope that you share it with your dear ones. Pelvic floor issues affect over 50% of the population — both men and women — but we often do not address them because of cultural and social norms. My mission is to demystify the body and reclaim it so that no part of our physicality is out of our awareness, control, and enjoyment. If you would like to know more, sign up to receive my 5 Day Introduction to Fully Embodied Living, where I not only got more into detail about how to use the breath to tone the abdominals & pelvic floor, I also provide stretching for the hips, neck & shoulders, and daily guided meditation for reducing stress & deepening self-compassion. Follow Tracy on her Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and website for more info! Read more from Tracy! Tracy Renee Stafford, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Tracy Renee Stafford is a coach in Fully Embodied Fitness — a weave of yoga, pilates, dance, & functional exercise - and in Fully Embodied Living based on 4 Pillars of Well-Being: Connection to Body, Nourishment, Presence & Growth. Her mission is to help people discover how they can make self-care a celebration, rather than an obligation, & enjoy the body for how it feels, rather than just for how it performs or looks. She ran her own studio in the Canadian Prairies heartland for 20 very rewarding years - where she taught various forms of fitness, with a specific interest in injury prevention & rehabilitation and empowering students with information on HOW the body works best. She is a Mindful Movement, Holistic Living & Nutrition Coach, weaving together all of her expertise into her Fully Embodied Living Programs. She currently lives in Buenos Aires and keeps her passion for dance alive by studying Argentine Tango.

Written by: Janna Holterman, 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. Everyone is trying to be successful, so why do some people succeed while others spend their whole life searching? No matter how many courses you take or how much money you spend, you will not create the life you want unless you subconsciously understand these three things. Their “how” is not going to get you there. Following someone else’s step-by-step plan is not going to help you. You are a unique person with individualized skills and talents. What works for someone else isn’t going to work for you because it does not create the results. Action is important, but only when it is aligned with your self-belief model. Your thinking will always create your results. Everything you do is based on your self-beliefs, and a belief is just a thought repeated until it is engrained into your subconscious mind. Whenever you decide you want to do anything, your brain will take that desire and hold it up against your self-belief models. Does it match? If it does, you can achieve it. If it doesn’t, you got some brain rewiring to do before you will achieve it. Your behavior is based on this simple cycle. You have a thought that stimulates a feeling that causes you to create your current results in your life. When you consciously take an action that is not aligned with your thinking and feeling, you will not be able to create the desired result. Once you stop pushing, you will go back to your auto-programed think, feel, act cycle. Have you ever wondered why, even when you do something different, you always seem to create the same result? This is why. When it comes to success, you need to create thoughts that are aligned with the success you want. When you choose new ways of thinking, the more you can get into the feelings that are associated with the thought, the faster your subconscious brain will accept it as truth, even if it doesn’t feel true when you start. How you talk about yourself is creating your results. Notice what do you want to think now? To change your beliefs, all that is needed is to repeat thoughts that are aligned with success until they become beliefs. Not all your thoughts will always be aligned. That’s okay but aim to make success aligned thoughts a majority, 51% wins. You’re already the successful version of yourself. You are right now in this moment, the same person who can create anything they ever wanted. It’s easy to forget and get caught up in doubt, which is a normal protective mechanism of your brain. In order to create the success you desire, you need to become that version of yourself before any of the evidence is present. This self-success vision is what separates those who achieve their desires from those who do not. What does the successful version of you think about? What do they do for fun? What are they focused on? Answer these questions and start living them. When you need to decide, pause and ask what the answer from the person you want to be is? When you continue to practice living a life of success, even just in your brain, your subconscious mind will begin to find the answers and opportunities to create the success you envision. You are more powerful than you could ever imagine. Success is always within your grasp. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or visit my website for more info! Janna Holterman, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Janna Holterman uses her personal experiences in burnout as a Registered Nurse and entrepreneur. She transformed from hustling to the point of exhaustion and overwhelm to an energetic and self-confident entrepreneur. Now Janna helps ambitious women go from overwhelmed and exhausted to creating lives they’ve always dreamed they could live. Janna uses mindset, structure, and resiliency tools from her own recovery, along with training from CTI and The Life Coach school to create results that last a lifetime.

Written by: Trevor Folgering, 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. For over four decades, we have been told that fat is bad for us, and we should avoid fats at all costs. But where has that gotten us as a society? It has gotten us sicker, unhealthier, and yes, fatter. In the agriculture age, which started around the 1950’s we were told that to live a healthy life, we needed to consume carbohydrates and a lot of them! In fact, our whole eating day is consumed by carbohydrates. For breakfast, you could have toast with jam a bowl of cereal and wash it down with a tall glass of sugary orange juice. For lunch, why not have sandwiches with processed meats full of sugar, nitrates, and additives. Don’t forget the milk, which is loaded with sugars, because “milk does a body good.” Lastly, dinner was always mashed potatoes with gravy and steak. There may be a token vegetable on the side of the plate, just to add a bit of garnish. And this has been our eating style for the last 65 years. Overconsuming carbohydrates like they are going out of style. The problem is that eating Carbohydrates causes a lot of health complications in the body, including heart disease, strokes, cancers, Type 2 Diabetes, and increased toxicity. By overconsuming carbohydrates, you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of disease and obesity. To lose belly fat and create the body and health you truly deserve, you must change your eating habits and change them for life. This is where you need to start reducing the amount of carbohydrates you consume and start increasing dietary fats. Big fat lies “But wait, Trevor, I was told fat was making me fat!” Well, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Dietary fats, eaten in the right combinations at the right times throughout the day, will allow the body to decrease inflammation and start to heal itself. This is especially true for saturated fats, which have been villainized for over 65 years. Saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all or predominantly single bonds. Thus, a fat is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: glycerol and fatty acids. Fats are made of long chains of carbon atoms. Single bonds link some carbon atoms, and double bonds link others. Double bonds can react with hydrogen to form single bonds. They are called saturated because the second bond is broken, and each half of the bond is attached to (saturated with) a hydrogen atom. Contrary to popular belief, saturated fats do not clog arteries. They do not cause elevated levels of cholesterol (which is a healing agent in the body). They do not even cause heart attacks or heart disease! Why are saturated fats healthy for you, and can they help you lose weight? All cells in your body are comprised of saturated fats — 50 percent of the cell membrane is comprised of saturated fats. The body uses specific saturated fats (namely Palmitic Fatty Acids) as energy! Saturated fats are also the precursor to the building blocks of hormones. Specifically, testosterone! For men that are over 40, going on a low-saturated-fat diet will suppress your testosterone levels, leading to an increased level of estrogen and weight gain! Lastly, specifically saturated fats, like butter and high-fat whipping cream, can help with digestion and healing your Gastrointestinal Tract. Butyrate is a fatty acid that is converted from eating foods that contain saturated fats. So, as you can see, Saturated fats help the body in so many ways and do not contribute to weight gain. The issue is that when saturated fats are combined with starches and sugars, we see a huge rise in obesity rates. When you consume Carbohydrates along with Saturated fats, this causes a rise in Insulin and Glucose. Excess glucose in the bloodstream causes massive inflammation in the arterial walls, which brings about Cholesterol. Cholesterol is the healing agent that helps reduce the inflammatory response by forming plaque deposits. (Much like a band-aid when you cut your skin). The problem is that society has been told a big fat lie: saturated fats cause elevated levels of cholesterol in the bloodstream. This is false! It’s actually the overconsumption of Carbohydrates that drive up inflammation. Your body will also convert excess glucose into Triglyceride molecules. (Fat) and these Triglycerides float around the bloodstream, causing inflammation within the arterial walls. Think sandpaper rubbing inside your arteries! This brings about the Cholesterol to help the healing process begin. So, as you can see, eating Saturated fats have nothing to do with gaining weight or diseases within the body. It is the overconsumption of Carbohydrates that will cause obesity, sickness, and disease to spiral out of control. Fats help you lose weight! To lose your belly fat, you must be consuming a diet that is higher in saturated fats. The 1 reason for this is that fats generally do not affect our fat-storing hormone, Insulin. Insulin’s job is to maintain proper glucose levels in your bloodstream. If you are eating too many Carbohydrates, Insulin levels go out of control, forcing your body to store excess glucose as body fat. Now the opposite is true… If you consume a lower carbohydrate diet and higher in dietary fats, then Insulin levels will remain low, which will help drive your body to use its own body fat for energy. That’s the power of dietary fats! They allow the body to heal itself and create a fat-burning environment within your body. In our Biohack The Fat Body Transformation System, you can experience the power of eating a higher fat diet. Our clients start with a nutritional protocol that has them consuming 77 percent of their total caloric intake from dietary fats, and they are getting amazing weight loss results! All our clients experience amazing weight loss results because we work with their unique biology, driving their bodies to use their own body fat for energy 24/7! Now it’s your turn to experience the power of Biohacking! Enrollment is now open in the Biohack The Fat Body Transformation System. To get started in our system, all you need to do is book a call with one of our Biohacking Coaches! Visit this link to get started. By going through our Biohack The Fat Body Transformation System, you will be able to lose 40–60 lbs. of pure body fat without the need to go on a diet or restrict calories. Hurry, enrollment closes soon, and now is the time to lose belly fat and create the body and health you truly deserve! It’s time to get your body BIOHACKED! Click the link to get started today! See you in our system! You can lose weight for life; you just need the right system to follow! Trevor Folgering — Founder of Biohacked For more information, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit my website! Read more from Trevor! Trevor Folgering, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Trevor Folgering is a leader in the weight loss and nutrition industry. For over 22 years, Trevor has relentlessly pursued the truth regarding losing body fat correctly. By uncovering the truth about how our bodies utilize body fat, Trevor created particular nutritional protocols that allowed him to tap into his own body fat stores and lose 40 lbs. of body fat in a concise period of time. He achieved this without going on a low caloric diet or restricting the foods that he ate. As a result, he now helps men and women achieve the body and health that they truly deserve through the science of Biohacking. He is CEO of Biohacked, global online health and body transformation company. His mission: To shift the weight loss industry's paradigm and re-educate the world on the proper methodologies of losing excess body fat correctly.

Written by: Anna-Karin Lingham, 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 know that there is value in people talking well about our brand. But how much is it really worth? A little? A lot? Is it even critical to some brands? I´m confident that your company has a marketing budget that covers both traditional marketing and social media. You have valued which channel will give you the most value for your money, how often you need to be present in each channel, you have set your campaign themes and your always-on-messages. Did you include your brand ambassadors in this budget? Influencers would likely be a part of it if you work with them, but what about your colleagues? Their voices and vibes as they interact with clients, family, and friends might have a great value. How much? Well, let´s play with a simple example, to put some light on the value of personal voices. Let´s say that there are 100 coworkers in your company. Each of them has, on average 5 valuable personal interactions each working day. There are 200 working days each year. 100 coworkers x 5 interactions per day x 200 working days = 100 000 interactions per year, with a chance to create brand value. Let´s assume that each personal interaction is worth 20 times more for the brand than if the client had seen a product ad in the newspaper. In that case, the personal interactions equal 2,000,000 client attentions of the ad. If we would buy adverts to create this spread, they would probably cost at least 0,1 Euros per attention in a national newspaper. That would add up to 200,000 euros. So our 100 coworkers create a value each year which equals 200,000 Euro in adverts. And their salary is already paid for! This is just an example, of course, but if you add your own numbers to the calculation you will get a sense of the value for your brand. Can you afford not to make the very best out of it? Your coworkers are already there. Some are really engaged, love their job, and would appreciate even more tools to spread the vibes and rumor about your brand to their own networks. But some may not be as happy at work. Then you must be aware that they probably decrease the brand value with each interaction. The happy voices raise it. The not-so-happy voices lower it. You need a strategy for the different kinds of voices. You will find brand ambassadors in many different shapes—your CEO, your spokesperson, clients, suppliers, coworkers, influencers, friends, and family. Imagine the value of all the interactions that they have each year. It´s like a golden mine, ready to be discovered, uncovered, and savored. The gold is there for you. Bring out your spade! For more information, follow me on LinkedIn , Instagram and visit my website or Pick My Bra in ! Read more from Anna-Ka rin ! Anna-Karin Lingham, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Anna-Karin Lingham is a branding expert with a great interest in both business and people. Since more than twenty years back, she has worked with marketing, branding, and business development both in Sweden and in an international arena. She has had leading roles in companies like the Axfood group, the global premium brand Hästens Beds, the health company Apotek Hjärtat and the sports fashion brand Björn Borg. She has launched the concept of Ambassador Branding, where corporate and personal branding meets great financial results, strong job satisfaction, and brilliant ambassadorship on the market. Anna-Karin has been appointed Mentor of the year by the Stockholm Marketing Association. She has written a guidebook in personal branding and is an active business developer, speaker, and mentor. She is also an artist and outdoor adventurer, with a special fondness for high mountains. Her mission is to help companies and individuals to open their own windows and take place in greener and greater arenas.

Written by: Patricia Faust, MGS, 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. Burnout: a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands. It reduces your productivity and saps your energy leaving you increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. (help-guide.org). What a grim description that is. Yet unfortunately, throughout this pandemic, in trying to keep things as normal as possible, you might have set your brain up for burnout. And if you are perplexed as to why you are not happier that the world is opening up again, you might have brain burnout. There are many different areas of our lives where burnout can occur. Throughout this past year of isolation, you have been wearing many hats - with your job, as a caregiver, a parent, or even in your relationships. Each one of these roles can easily push you to the edge. If you have been an observer of someone experiencing burnout, it can be frightening. But experiencing burnout yourself can shake you to your core. What is the difference between chronic stress and burnout? Stress can involve too much: too many pressures that demand too much of you physically and psychologically. But stressed people can still see a point where they can pull it all together, gain control, and feel better. With burnout, there are feelings of not enough. Being burned out means feeling empty, with no motivation and, beyond caring. Individuals who experience burnout don’t see any hope of positive change in their futures. When you are under stress, you are aware of being in that state. Burnout can slide in without your conscious awareness. It can make a lasting impact on the brain’s physical structure. Severe chronic stress causes the shrinkage or enlargement, thinning, premature aging of the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) – these areas regulate our stress response. There is also a strong relationship between long-term stress and significant loss of grey matter, making our brains more vulnerable to neurotoxins. Chronic stress Our brains are hardwired to keep us alive. Passed down from our prehistoric ancestors, our brains are always on alert for threats. The fight-or-flight response is activated far before we are even aware of it. Whereas our ancestors recovered from their threat quickly, we live in a very different world. The 24/7 stress response takes a toll on our brains and our bodies. Persistently high cortisol levels interfere with body function such as sleep, digestion, and the immune system. Burnout If you are burned out, your brain has rewired to the survival mode. Burnout is when the body starts to have trouble producing cortisol – this is known as adrenal fatigue. The following is a comparison of stress versus burnout: Stress Characterized by over-engagement Emotions are over-reactive Produces urgency and hyperactivity Loss of energy Leads to anxiety disorders Primary damage is physical May kill you prematurely Source: Stress and Burnout in Ministry Burnout Characterized by disengagement Emotions are blunted Produces helplessness and hopelessness Loss of motivation, ideals, and hope Leads to detachment and depression Primary damage is emotional May make life seem not worth living Burnout symptoms Signs of physical exhaustion Chronic fatigue Insomnia Constantly falling ill Weight gain Loss of appetite Signs of emotional exhaustion Anxiety Depression Anger issues Tendency toward pessimism, cynicism, detachment A drop in productivity Start forgetting important tasks on a regular basis Inability to concentrate and pay attention Lifestyle choices that can prevent burnout. You can overcome burnout in much the same way as you would prevent it. Play. Stimulate the brain in novel and diverse ways. For example, embrace a hobby that has nothing to do with your work tasks. Others. Positive, meaningful social connections are a proven way to keep stress levels down. We are hardwired to connect. Find your ‘village’ and be a part of it. Downtime. This doesn’t necessarily mean a vacation. Our brain needs to unwind and recharge on a daily basis. For those returning to the office - go for a short walk on your lunch break. For those who continue to work remotely – plan for the time of day you will walk. Walking is an important part of having a healthy brain. When you walk, you increase the amount of blood, oxygen, and carbohydrates your heart is sending to your brain. This gives your prefrontal cortex the source of energy it needs to have your brain function on all cylinders! Try reading a book in the evening instead of surfing the web. Put your electronic equipment away so that you are able to fall asleep and stay asleep. Plan for this downtime so that you actually take it. Your brain will reward you for recharging it! This past year has been difficult. You learned how to accept a new normal, but now the new – old normal is set to begin again. Take care of yourself and your brain. You need the stamina and resilience to make this your best year ever. For more info, follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and visit my website! Read more from Patricia! Patricia Faust, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Patricia Faust is a gerontologist specializing in brain aging, brain health, brain function, and dementia. She has a Masters in Gerontological Studies degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Patricia is certified as a brain health coach and received a Neuroscience and Wellness certification through Dr. Sarah McKay and the Neuroscience Academy. My Boomer Brain, founded in 2015, is the vehicle that Patricia utilizes to teach, coach, and consult about brain aging, brain health, and brain function. Her newsletter, My Boomer Brain, has international readers from South Africa, Australia, throughout Europe, and Canada. Patricia’s speaking experience spans the audiences' spectrum as she addresses corporate executives on brain function, regional financial professionals on client diminished capacity, and various senior venues concerning brain aging and brain health issues. References: Alini, E. (August 2, 2017). ‘Burnout’ is a thing, doctors say. Here are the symptoms. Retrieved from Money/Consumer Online Global News. Michel, A. (February 16, 2016). Burnout and the brain. Retrieved from http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2016/february16/burnout-and-the-brain.html Minds for Business, Psychological Science at Work. Burnout leaves its mark on the brain. Retrieved from http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/mindsbusiness/burnout-leaves-its-mark-on-the-brain.html Preventing Burnout, Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Coping Strategies. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/preventing-burnout.htm

Written by: Mark D. Lakowske, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Have you ever looked at another person and thought — “They must live a better life than me. They have it all. They are successful. They are happy, etc.” Yeah, me too. When you think those thoughts and start comparing yourself, how does that make you feel? I think we can all agree that comparison is the killer of good self-esteem. Am I right!? It interjects into our own belief system that we aren’t good enough. We aren’t worthy or as good as someone else. It erodes all the amazing accomplishments we have done or do. It makes us forget what is actually going right in our lives. It holds us back from manifesting our dreams. In the past, I was stuck in that comparison loop, too. I wondered why things weren’t getting better for me. I looked at all the people around me who were seemingly happier or doing what I wanted to do and living my dream. I got down and discouraged. That’s until I started to realize that I wasn't supposed to observe these people as reminders of what I wasn’t or that they were competition, but rather they had shown up as examples of what I could do & desired to be. They could be role models, and I could learn from them how to get what I wanted. Instead of comparing myself to them and judging myself. I remembered that they must have gone through struggles that I never see. They have life lessons that are all their own. This started an empathetic shift in me, and it brought us onto a more even playing field. Then I thought - If we were more equal, then what was the difference that created their reality v.s. my reality? The key difference, I believe, is the stories that are being told. Changing your story is an important step to changing your life. The story I was telling myself didn’t match the dream. In other words - You can’t get healthy if all you talk about is how unwell you are. You can’t be happy if all you do is complain about everything. It’s the story that can change everything. Until I changed my story, the way I wanted to feel and the things in my life that I desired to change, do or have were being held apart from me and not getting better. The truth is, the current state of your life is a direct result of the stories you tell yourself and what you really believe is possible. Why is this so? I believe it goes back to the fact that we all receive what we tell our subconscious minds. It’s been proven that the mind can not tell the difference between what is made up or imagined and what is truly real. What the mind thinks is real will become manifest in some way in our physical world and selves. Just think about it. If you think or talk about being tired, what happens? You start feeling more and more tired. Right!? If you’re worried about going someplace or doing something, the nervousness is created by thought even before the event you’re dreading even happens. If I were to say to you, don’t think of the color red, don’t see it in the room, don’t see it in your mind’s eye, don’t spell the word red or seek it out. What happens? You saw red, didn’t you? Your mind created it, found it and sought it out, and brought it to your awareness. Our stories do the exact same thing for us! The story you tell will create your experience. What’s the story you’ve been telling? Maybe your story is that you’ll never earn over a certain amount of money. Perhaps it’s that you are not good enough. Do you think you’re not smart enough to succeed? How about everyone in your family is fat so you will be too. All of these examples are just stories. Changing your life starts with choosing to change. Realizing that the way things are, are no longer working for you or acceptable to you and that you will make achieving your goal non-negotiable. So make the conscious choice to go down a new road. Starting off this new road will mean identifying the limiting belief story you’ve been thinking/telling. Now, it might be hard at first. After all, you've been telling that old story for so long. You might not think of it as a story at all because it’s so practiced it feels like a fact. At its heart, it’s not a fact, though. It’s a way of being, thinking, feeling, and believing that has been practiced into a story, your story. Once you know what you don’t want, it is easier to know what you want! Use the contrast you're experiencing if you have “writer’s block.” In other words, think in opposites to flesh out what is wanted and create your new life story. You can write about it, think about it, talk about it, dream about it. Look to other people who are living the life you desire and model what they are doing well in your own narrative. Remember, your new story should be empowering to you. It should feel grounded and good & speak to what you desire. No negativity or negation allowed! Leave “shouldn’t,” “wouldn’t,” “couldn’t,” “won’t,” “can’t,” or “I hope” or “maybe” etc., on the cutting-room floor! Your new story should sound like you’ve already achieved success. It’s important that we prop it up! Once you have the new story, you can begin to find evidence around you that can support it. What’s in your life right now that aligns with that new story, and what does not? What in your life is moving you toward your goal or away from it? Looking at those aspects will help you clearly realize if you need to make any changes to your new story or life. A great question to ask yourself is: Is moving me towards what I want and who I want to be? Or is it a distraction and leading me away? You can use your emotions to let you know if you are in alignment or off the path. Facts that support your story will help you believe it, but associating it with positive emotions will anchor it into your life. Actions speak louder than words. If you had a gym membership and didn’t use it, you wouldn’t get the results you wanted, right!? Think of your story as your gym pass, but it will only get you so far. It’s not enough to know. You also have to do it! Make the conscious effort to speak that story into existence daily! Tell that new story until you start to believe it! Think about it, write about it, act upon it, engage with it, dream about it, add more details that feel good. Begin to notice more and more new opportunities that align with the story. It’s up to you to take those opportunities and even challenge yourself to move forward out of the old story and into the new! Remember, things won’t change overnight. Small steps in the right direction are still movements. During the process, if you are consistent, you will gain perspective & reconnection that will lead you into your desires. If you’re ready to turn the page, start a new chapter and move in the direction of your dreams, you can! Be brave and use comparison, not as a roadblock, but let it light a fire under you to spur you into action! Start telling a new empowering story. Tell it long enough and strong enough until it becomes your reality! Your Favorite Hypnotist, Mark D. Lakowske CTC® CMHT® For more info, follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn , or visit my we bsite ! Read more from Mark ! Mark D. Lakowske, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Multiple award-winning & internationally renowned clinical hypnotherapist Mark D. Lakowske has trained practitioners worldwide in his groundbreaking methods. Through this and his own practice, he has helped improve the lives of tens of thousands of people in countries ranging from the United States to Australia & New Zealand. Mark is an author of three books & regularly tours the world, contributing ideas to the development of hypnotherapy practice. His passion & drive is assisting people to overcome the overwhelming & live with more confident joy & happiness!

Written by: Imani Missouri, 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. At some point in your career, you have received an automated or direct message communicating, “you should apply for” “X Company is looking for *title*.” The algorithm seems in sync with either your past experience, searches, or current profile. The conundrum here is that you are pursuing something that hasn’t been obtained yet, and it is probably frustrating. The ideal progress in your process may be signaling a gap in your personal development that can then inform your professional pursuits. About a month ago, I received one of those very messages through LinkedIn. The opportunity appeared to be a good match until the path took a dead-end, literally. This “Director of People” role had key components that piqued my interest for consideration. It was only when I looked at the “Similar Jobs” section that a major awakening unfolded; 6 out of 12 of the similar jobs were for a Funeral Director. I went to scroll back up to make sure I was on the Director of People page. Indeed I was. So what could a Director of People have in common with a Funeral Director (6 at that)? What does this say about the culture of X company that it is linked with funeral parlors? Is this what I truly want? What was the message here? You spend the majority of your day looking for the next: If you are more motivated by looking for your next role than being present and/or productive where you currently are, that is a sign of major dissatisfaction. Alison Doyle mentions that “if you find yourself daydreaming about quitting on a regular basis, there’s probably a good reason for it. Take that as a sign that it's time to start job searching.” You have cast your net wide but no bait: Data shows that it is now a job-seekers market. There are more jobs available now than at the peak of the pandemic. That may or may not be reflective of your industry. Either way, when you don’t hear back or do hear back with rejections, it can take a toll on you. It could be time to take a break from ferociously applying and re-strategize. What you are reaping is not what you ultimately desire: Society has loosely mentioned: “you reap what you sow.” People of faith know the principle of sowing very well, as laid out in The Parable of the Sower. Consider the energy in which you are applying for opportunities. If it is with haste, you will reap haste. If it is with desperation, you will reap an opportunity to meet the desire of your desperation but not what you truly want. Note: It is a privilege to be selective. Not everyone has the “luxury” of being reflective if their basic needs are not being met. You are wandering aimlessly: You may be frustrated with your pursuits because it lacks clarity, center & accountability. Intentionality is key. You’re ignoring the dead-end signs: I illustrated it plainly to you. A Director of People role being similar to a Director of the Dead. All signs were pointing in the direction of a dead-end in that “recommended” role. I looked into staff reviews of that company, and let’s just say their souls were not coming alive in that environment. Consider why you are looking, where/how you are looking, and better yet, what is staring you right in your face. I know some of you will simply put this off as an algorithmic error. There are no coincidences under the sun. I chose to seek wisdom in this matter for which the truth came alive. My grandfather once told me as a child that the family would never be without work if we opened up a funeral home. I was terrified. I did not want to be the one saying “I see dead people” every day. As a side, hats off to those that work in this industry. This past year has not been easy for you or the families you’ve worked with. I, we, acknowledge you. I write this to encourage readers to be led by your spirit. The algorithms will not get it right, but you can be very intentional about your pursuits and rise above the fray. As Les Brown so poignantly shared before, “The graveyard is the richest place on earth because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.” What thoughts or behaviors do you need to let die to come alive in your personal development? What dream have you put to rest that is time to resurrect? What is your next step in making that come to life? For more info, follow me on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or visit my website! Imani Missouri, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Imani Missouri is the Principal Owner of Faith Forward LLC, where she leverages the essence of faith to coach leaders toward their purpose. She has a number of faith-centered sub-brands that motivate women of color to reach their full potential in the professional sphere and beyond. Some of which include the Forward 40 (4tea) podcast, which highlights the experiences of 40 women of color on the rise in the nonprofit and social enterprise sectors. She is also the founder of The Forward Academy, a faith-centered professional development platform for women of color seeking to define themselves beyond their titles. Her career spans experience in the nonprofit, community development, and education sector. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for DIFFvelopment, a nonprofit that creates historically and globally conscious Black visionary leaders who believe in Black business, take responsibility for developing solutions to the issues Black people face, and have unshakeable pride and confidence in themselves. She is also a member of the Medal and Nominating Committees for Smith College.

Written by: Janet Philbin, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Manifestation requires a shift that begins within you. It requires a shift in your mindset. It requires a shift in the words you say to yourself, think about yourself, and the words you use when you speak to others. Think about the words you use when you are thinking about yourself and the goals you want to achieve. Are your words and thoughts in alignment with the goals? Think about the self-talk you hear in your head and the energy of the words you speak out loud. Many of us use the words “what if” in our sentences about what we want to manifest. The problem with these “what if” statements is that they are not present. They are somewhere in the future, wishfully hoping that somehow the result you are desiring will happen. Here are a few examples of the wishfully hoping self-talk I am speaking about: What if I win Lotto? What if my relationships were more fulfilling? What if I loved my job? What if I loved myself? What if I lost weight? What if I yelled less? What if I was happier or more successful? All these questions begin with what if. What if it is passive, what if it does not allow you to act, what if is full of worry. When you are wishfully hoping, the energy of worry or anxiety is attached to it because we have expectations for the future. That leads to the next set of thoughts which are, “what if it does not happen the way I am hoping for?” Thoughts like these are anxiety creating and anxiety sustaining. You may want to manifest, but instead, you create blocks to manifestation because you are putting fear and wishful hoping in front of action and intention. What if is giving away your power and is asking a question. Do you want to live with a question mark hanging over your head? We cannot manifest a question; we manifest a declaration. Manifestation begins with clear intention. Manifestation also requires the energy of being in the present moment. In the present moment, we can make decisions, act, and have a choice. In the present moment, we are empowered, and we invite the future to us by stepping forward toward it. When you want to manifest, the place to start is with the words you use when you think about yourself and what you want for and in your life. Your words, actions, and thoughts all must be in alignment to manifest. This is not wishfully hoping. It is intention setting with an intentional mindset. Where did you learn to hope wishfully? Why is it you find yourself living with the question marks instead of actively empowering thoughts of manifestation? This is where I believe the subconscious mind has a role. There was a time in your life when you learned that it was too scary to believe in yourself or believe you would be able to get what you wanted or needed in life. To cope with your reality at that time, you began to wish and hope for change because you were in a place in your life where you were too disempowered or scared to create that change. That wishing and hoping became worry, fear, and feelings of lack. The words you used to think about yourself then are more than likely the same words you use to think about yourself now. We hold onto the thoughts and beliefs like a security blanket. However, what we hold onto holds us back. It holds you back from manifesting your heart’s desire and joy. It is up to you to do the inner work and begin to unravel the thoughts, patterns, and beliefs so you can lead yourself to where you want to be. Imagine the possibilities available to you when you shift your mindset to live each day with intention, and your words and thoughts are declaring your intentions. Here are some examples of present moment intentional thoughts and statements: I am living each day with all I need. I do what is for my highest and greatest good every single day. I am creating all that I need. I am earning the money I need to live each day with abundance. I am doing something good for myself each day. I am in healthy relationships with a partner, family, and friends. I am doing work that brings me joy and fulfillment. I love myself completely and unconditionally. This list has limitless potential. These are present moment statements that declare to the universe, with clarity, your manifestation, and intention. The subconscious mind has no sense of time. When you say statements like those above, which are present moment, the subconscious mind believes it is happening now. When we believe it is happening now, we have access to that energy and can use it to manifest with intention. Your subconscious mind will continue to believe that you need the old limiting thoughts until you release them and free yourself. It believed the thoughts because they served a purpose to keep you safe at an earlier time in your life. However, I challenge you to let them go. Here are some action steps you can begin to shift from wishfully hoping to an intentional mindset of manifestation. Pick one thought and let it go. Write that thought down and burn or shred the paper giving it back to the universe. Release it with a clear intention to the universe that this thought no longer serves you, and you are releasing it. Repeat this step often and with as many thoughts as you need to release. Replace that thought with the opposite and with a more powerful, positive, and present moment thought. Write down your intentions and declarations of manifestations in the present tense. Put your intentions where you can see them each day. Meditate on these intentions daily. Repeat them aloud to yourself daily. Journal the action steps you are taking as you move toward the goals and intentions you have set. Share your intentions with someone. Declaring your intention with another magnifies your ability to own these new thoughts. Remember your words have energy. Changing your thoughts change your energy and your mindset. It is important to remember there is no timeline for this. I realize we have become a society that wants immediate gratification. However, you must be patient with results and find the pebbles along the way that show you your progress to the goal. You are your own pebble. Each pebble is a thought. Each pebble is the energy you put out into the world. Make each one count. Be clear with your words and intentions. Do not be ambiguous. That only creates confusion. Have a clear desire for what you wish to manifest in your life, then create the thoughts and sentences in alignment. Bring that energy with you into your conversations, meditations, journal writing, and everywhere you go. Being clear, present, and consistently attracts to you what you desire. For more info, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit my website! Read more from Janet! Janet Philbin, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Janet is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Hypnotherapist, and Certified Conscious Parenting Coach. Janet helps adults heal from the emotional pain and trauma of their past. She is the owner of Janet Philbin, ACSW, private psychotherapy, and hypnotherapy practice. For 21 years, Janet has been successfully helping people recover from their emotional wounds and change their lives with the power of transformational healing and hypnotherapy. She’s the author of, Show Up For Yourself: A Guide to Inner Awareness and Growth. Her book offers readers a framework to heal their emotional wounds and become emotionally whole once again. Show Up For Yourself hit Amazon’s bestseller status and won as a finalist in the 2020 Readers Favorite book contest. She works closely with Dr. Shefali Tsabary, NY Times best-selling author and Oprah’s favorite parenting expert, as an ambassador in her Conscious Parenting Coaching Method Institute.

Written by: Eva Gregory, 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. Before you can successfully position your business so that the right people eagerly flock to high-priced packages and pay without a blink, you need to take out some mindset ‘insurance’ to ensure you own the confidence to allow this to happen. If you are sitting there, quivering internally at the thought of charging, say, $3,000 for a package instead of the $97 package you’ve displayed on your “Plans and Products” page for ages, charging higher prices isn’t going to work yet. You have to be comfortable enough in your own skin to really believe you deserve higher fees before you post these on any website. If you’re not comfortable with the idea of raising your prices, do yourself a favor. Identify the cause of this uncertainty and deal with it—as promptly, efficiently, and directly as your average high-end client would no doubt do. Here are three proven ways to genuinely elevate your ‘deserve level’: 1. Find out what your time is worth. If you want to know what your own time is worth, first find out what others in your field are charging. This is not to say that you have to charge the same fees, but you will see an average ballpark range. This concrete, empiric benchmark will help establish a realistic range in your consciousness and reassure you that you are not just pulling a higher price point out of thin air when you raise your rates. You will be able to identify where you fit in within the range you have determined exists. Here are two things you can do immediately to help identify your financial worth and place in your market: Google Keywords Use keywords that reflect the type of work you’re researching. Don’t overthink this: You can type in questions as simple as: “How to become a 6-figure business coach” or “How to become a 7-figure entrepreneur?” Google Others In Your Industry The other option is to search for others in your industry who work with high-end clients and command higher fees to see how they are positioned in the marketplace. Knowing what your peers are charging and how they are positioned will give you a more accurate picture of what you can charge and help adjust your mindset. 2. Deal with the secret saboteurs. Secret saboteurs might include folks like your parents or significant other. (Yes, the people who should be the most supportive may very well be saboteurs!) What is less obvious is the seemingly professional, together woman who remains trapped and haunted by negative experiences. She doesn’t even realize her own self-talk is deprecatory. She is the one who lowers her prices, makes exceptions, and goes overtime in coaching for free. This may be because she empathizes too much with her clients. Often it’s because she is coming from a background of being a rescuer, being helpful, and—the most damaging—believing her only value lies in how useful she is to others. (While helping is what we want to do, we’re talking about skewed thinking here. The reciprocity and balance in payment and respect of time are just not there.) People’s demons can vary from mild to crippling - from negative self-talk, you can easily identify and choose to re-frame into realistic, positive statements to deep psychological issues that have caused damage, such as severe depression. The choice is yours. You can seek professional help from a coach, counselor, or therapist if you think you need to deal with past history or patterns before you can move them out the way. Or, to move forward, you could make a few firm tweaks to your habits and mindset and focus on your ideal future. You may find that simply evaluating what your time is worth and getting a better feel for the income range in your field is all you need to squash feelings of guilt or hesitation. It’s important to understand that there is no right or wrong decision - just the decision that is right for you at this time. And then make a new commitment to stick to your own rules! 3. Increase small successes. Once you’ve determined what your time is worth, increase your successes—especially the small ones. Nothing will set you up for success and positively alter your internal ‘deserve level’ more effectively than actually experiencing success in areas that have traditionally and habitually been problem areas for you. Even one success, one incidence of public recognition, or a “lucky break” can leave you exponentially more likely to continue on this roll, with the successes increasing more easily each time. The exciting part about this is that usually, that first initial success has the most life-changing effect. For example, if you donated that first small sum of money to a lonely Kickstarter campaign, other donations from different sources quickly follow. Or if you give public recognition in terms of a favorable review to an author without reviews, other reviews quickly follow, and so forth. The practical application of this is that if you break a negative or spirit-flattening pattern or habit even once—you’re setting off that snowball of success. It can’t be stopped. For example, let’s say you habitually waste half the morning cruising Facebook after your morning coffee instead of writing the book you’ve decided to write. Five minutes becomes an hour; one hour becomes three. Not because you love Facebook so much, but because you secretly feel paralyzed about actually getting that book done. If you escape like this for several days, it quickly becomes a habit. Then as this habit reinforces itself and you find yourself opening up Facebook first thing morning after morning, your mood plummets. You feel like a fraud, or you feel voiceless. Pretty soon, you are saying things like, “Nobody is going to read it anyway” or “What could I possibly say that a million other people haven’t already said better?” What you could do is break that cycle by sitting down at your computer, setting a goal of writing, say, “five hundred words a day” towards that book you need to finish—first thing after morning coffee. Open up your Word document instead of Facebook, and do it. Work with a laser focus on your book. What often happens is that you find yourself immersed and ignited. Don’t be surprised if, at five hundred words, you’re moving full steam ahead and don’t want to stop. The progress that you made inspires and ignites you! Once this happens, you are much more likely to feel that you want to tackle that book. If you didn’t feel the flame of inspiration, this would probably wear with a compulsion to revert back to your old habit. But persevere, and you should find you have actually broken that old avoidance or procrastination habit more quickly than you ever thought possible—and gained true self-worth and (what is more important) self-respect. You may even notice that those negative, shaming self-messages have stopped as well. It’s much easier to replace them with positive feelings by creating, in this example, the small success of spending your morning on your writing. What self-defeating habit do you need to break? What secretly makes you feel like a fraud? Feel underserving? Inhibit your ability to go out right now and attract higher-priced clients? How can you shift your response and create a positive income? By giving yourself a mindset makeover to raise your ‘deserve level,’ you’ll feel confident charging higher fees that match your new market position. For more info, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, or visit my website! Read more from Eva! Eva Gregory, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Award-winning transformational catalyst and business mentor Eva Gregory is the founder of the Enlightened Business Success Academy. She helps established coaches, thought leaders, and spiritual entrepreneurs worldwide scale to six figures and beyond by integrating Inner Guidance with proven business strategies that are working today in an ever-changing market. It's the combination of practical, step-by-step business training and intuitive spiritual awareness that sets her apart from others in her field. Eva was named International Coach of the Year, was named one of Women E-Commerce Association's International Top 100 Who's Who Among Women, and received the California Excellence Award from the Small Business Institute for Excellence in Commerce. She was the recipient of The Law of Attraction Leaders Award for Best Law of Attraction Coach 2 years in a row. She is the author of "The Feel Good Guide to Prosperity" and "Life Lessons for Mastering the Law of Attraction," which she co-authored with Jack Canfield and Jeanna Gabellini.

Written by: Sharon Crombie, 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 never-ending list of to-dos. Does it ever get shorter? When you run your own business, you have to take care of EVERYTHING, so it can be hard to get any “real work” done. The more our business grows, the further it feels we are to working on the true goal of the business. By spending more time doing new tasks that running a business demands of us, we spend precious time learning these new skills that are required of us. That is precious time that should be put toward the business, isn’t it? If you are in agreement with this, you are not alone. Is outsourcing bad? Outsourcing has typically been a bit of a dirty word in the business world. The thought of outsourcing can be associated with poor work, missed deadlines, and a lot of mistrust. The global outsourcing industry has been growing over the past decade and in 2019, it was worth $92.5 billion, which was $15 billion more compared to 3 years prior. Around 70% of businesses in the UK outsource due to difficulty finding the relevant skills locally, cost-effectiveness, and improved results. Outsourcing does not need to mean offshore outsourcing, but it can do. Some businesses believe that outsourcing offshore is not supporting the local economy, however, I like to see it the other way. By outsourcing, whether locally or offshore, businesses are able to find efficiencies in costs and time and are therefore able to expand at a more rapid rate and compete on a global scale, which in turn supports the economy. What can I outsource in my business? So, what are some of the tasks you can outsource? Virtual Assistant A Virtual Assistant is like an assistant, but they are situated remotely and are not part of your staff. A virtual assistant can help with all of your administrative duties at a fraction of the price and frees you up to be able to spend more time on your business. Here are some administrative tasks you could off-load to a VA: Research Data collection Ghostwriting Surveying customers Analyzing data Building reports Document management Calendar management Travel arrangements Customer service emails Transcribing audio from videos or take meeting notes Personal errands such as banking or posting items Social media scheduling Receipt filing Social Media Marketing Social media is something a lot of businesses try to do internally. It requires learning a new skill and can soak up lots of time. I know! I went down this path and decided to outsource all of my social media marketing to a boutique business that I clicked with, and that has just opened me up to so many more opportunities. Not only do they do a better job than I ever could, but I also have more time to focus on my business. Bookkeeping and Tax Return Like social media, financial data can be another steep learning curve if this is not what you’re trained in. There are nuances to managing financial data, expenses, employee payments, and super, and there is little benefit to you as a business to try and learn this new skill and do it yourself (although I commend you if you tried!). I am not just saying this because I want your business. Of course, I do, but that is only because I want you to succeed and to free you up, allowing me to do my job so you can do yours! Cleaning and Housework A lot of us are still working from home from the pandemic, and even without the pandemic, a lot of startups will rightly save money on renting an office to work in their living room or bedroom. Cleaning your home office is something that will give you a lot more time in your business. Even if you don’t work from home and are fortunate to be in an office, hiring a cleaner for your home means you don’t have to worry and you can focus your non-working time doing things you enjoy instead of cleaning! What services have you been outsourcing in your life that you haven’t even considered? Childcare? Online shopping? All things to allow you more time to work and spend time with family and friends, doing more of the things that bring joy to your life. Outsourcing is not a dirty word! For more info, follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my website ! Sharon Crombie, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Sharon Crombie is a passionate, innovative entrepreneur; founding MicroChilli a bookkeeping and advisory practice, after becoming disillusioned with the corporate world and recognizing there was a huge gap in the market for micro-businesses needing accounting support. Fed up with being treated like a number by faceless CEOs, she has been on a relentless quest to create a community of quirky like-minded entrepreneurs where her core values of passion, connection, and friendships are intertwined with her love of numbers and the story they tell. Her mission: Taking micro-businesses from 'hot mess to flaming success.'