Written by: Rita Farruggia, 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. This article could change your life if you implement these self-care practices daily. Stress is the top challenge all of us face in our day-to-day lives. We live in a competitive society with pressures that we face in our careers/businesses and personal lives. The feeling of not living up to society’s standards can affect our self-esteem, stress, and energy levels. We also experience stress by what we put on our bodies, our thoughts, and the choices we make throughout our day. Some of the most stressful things we can put into our bodies are sugar and processed foods. This extra stress affects our immune systems, energy levels, and emotional well-being. It is essential that our self-care practices do the opposite. In the past, I would neglect self-care practices allowing stress and anxiety to control my life in a toxic way instead of controlling stress and anxiety to release it in a healthy way using self-care practices. I would turn to a quick and easy method to feel good by eating excessive amounts of high sugar and processed foods such as pizza, cakes, ice cream, chips, cookies, and drive-through burgers. This would give me a temporary increase in my serotonin level along with a rush of dopamine to feel good at the moment. The reality is this easy, quick-fix behavior further damaged my mental, physical and emotional health through weakening my immune system, gaining extra weight my body couldn’t handle, then feeling bad about it. This is very harmful when we don’t release stress in healthy ways because this toxic behavior activates our amygdala when we are always in a state of stress. This trains our brain to always feel stress, so we always think there is danger around us even when there is none (feeling anxiety). It was a downward spiral affecting my energy levels, mood, and relationships until I gained control through exercising daily self-care rituals. Self-care is a pillar and foundation for self-confidence and vitality. Self-Care Rituals to Reframe Your Thinking to Calm Your Body and Mind To achieve high success in all areas of our lives, we have to have high energy, enthusiasm, and a relaxing presence to instill confidence in ourselves and be more charismatic, allowing others to have confidence in us to solve problems be great leaders. Therefore, we have to take care of ourselves if we want to uplevel our game of success. When we are not experiencing the results (successful business, successful career, happy marriage, or lifestyle of freedom & luxury) we want in life, we feel less motivated, thereby not wanting to do anything, which leads to depression. Self Care Strategy and Plan The first thing I learned on my self-care journey was to master meditation. Since our mind controls our behavior & body, it’s the first thing to master to change our behavior and focus. In moments of stillness and silence, we achieve peace and clarity. We are bombarded by the noise every day — the TV, the radio, social media feeds, ADs, traffic, our kids yelling at us. The loudest voice of all is the voice in our minds. We have, on average, 60,000 thoughts running through our minds a day. For some of us, 80 percent of those thoughts are negative. When we meditate to have moments of stillness and silence, it brings awareness to that internal voice, and when we have that awareness, that is when we can choose what thoughts we are holding onto and which we want to let go of. We can also adjust the volume on how loud that internal voice is. The first time I meditated, it was difficult because my internal voice got so loud with all the things I need to do that day — what to pick up at the grocery store, what rooms in the house need to be cleaned, what to cook for dinner and all the other things on my to-do list. After doing group meditation classes, I got better at meditating alone. I would start off with 5 minutes a day then upgrade to 10 minutes a day to gradually achieve one hour a day of meditation. I use tools to help me achieve long meditation sessions. I burn sage while meditating. It increases mental concentration and helps increase intuition, especially for answer-seeking meditation sessions. I place crystals around me and hold crystals to increase the intensity of my meditation session. During a clarity meditation to seek truth from my higher self, I hold an amethyst crystal in one hand and a selenite crystal in the other. For self-love meditations and increasing compassion for others, I hold a rose quartz crystal during meditation. Detailed explanations on what each energy frequency each crystal amplifies and meditation techniques can be found at HappyBeingWell. For days when I experience stress, I take long hot baths infused with bath salts, bath bombs, bath herbs, and bath oils. All these bath products have healing elements in them to increase relaxations in your body, thereby allowing your mind to relax and easily release negative thoughts. For example, bath salts eliminate muscle tension and stress, as well as increase magnesium absorption. Adding bath salt to your bath helps eliminate muscle aches, insomnia, moisturizes the skin, decreasing inflammation, relieves internal swelling, and many other health benefits. The second self-care practice that is vital for our physical, mental, and emotional mastery is moving our body. Yoga is a great body movement practice, especially for those who want to increase their mediation abilities. Yoga is great because it involves using our mental focus when holding a pose. When we move our body, it releases endorphins, which naturally reduces our stress, and it also produces a feeling throughout our body that is a similar feeling to Morphine. Even if you start with just 5 or 10 minutes a day, it makes a difference in your life as opposed to not moving your body at all, plus it creates a habit. As you progress in your yoga practice, gradually increase the time, you practice yoga since your body is getting used to doing yoga poses daily. For a list of basic yoga poses you can do at home, visit the website link in my bio (blog section). Live in an Organized and Clean Environment Living in an organized and clean space helps you feel calm, energized, and have mental clarity instead of seeing disorganization and taking extra time to find your things. Your mind will feel cluttered living in this type of environment. In fact, a study conducted by associate professor Nicole R. Keith, PhD, research scientist, and professor at Indiana University, discovered that people who regularly cleaned their houses are healthier than people that didn’t. Professor Keith and her colleagues monitored the physical health of 998 African Americans between the ages of 49 and 65, a demographic known to be at an increased risk for heart disease. Research participants who regularly cleaned their homes were healthier and more active than those who didn’t. Another study published in the scientific journal, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin discovered women who had clutter in their homes were depressed compared to women who had organized homes. In the past, I would look around in my house, look at the mess and the disorganization. I wasn’t great at organization and cleaning in the past. Things would build up and stress me out. It wasn’t like I didn’t have enough time because, in my leisure time, I would go on Instagram. I would go on there, and I would see everybody with their organized and clean house. I would say to myself, “oh my, I am the only person who isn’t organized.” There is more to this problem than just you not wanting to organize or clean. You have to look at your beliefs you have adopted over the years that lead you to neglect to organize your house's stuff. Clear Up False Beliefs Influencing for Your Behavior This is the process I use to understand and address problems based on what’s actually happening. This might change your life because when you start realizing that you’re dealing with a problem, your emotions are a result of the problem, and if the problem is left long enough, you might even form a painful belief about yourself. We have all experienced this before, for example, “I am bad at organizing.” “I wish I was like so and so” “No point in having nice things” The problem is this is a result of strong emotions. When we have a problem, let’s just put the problem (problem-emotion-belief) to the side. We can address the emotions, therefore, clear up the beliefs about ourselves that were painful before we did this. By doing this, you put yourself back in a headspace where it’s easy to clean the house, or it’s easy to solve that problem. You become self-actualized because your head is in the right space. If you have adopted false beliefs about yourself that affect your behavior that stemmed from your past, for example, perhaps when you were growing up, your mom always cleaned the house. Whenever you attempted to clean, she stopped you because she preferred to clean the home her way. Therefore, you adopted a belief you are not capable of cleaning. Discover whatever false beliefs you have adopted, say it out loud in a funny mickey mouse voice, then say to yourself, “That is not true; I am fully capable.” You can practice eliminating false beliefs in any area of your life that prevents you from taking action to achieve your full potential. Having a Skincare Routine Can Improve Your Self Worth, Confidence and Self-Love Think about it. When you consistently apply quality skincare to your skin, you see results when you look into the mirror and in your photos of glowing, radiant, and more youthful-looking skin. This would make anyone feel better about themselves. I feel calm when I apply skincare because the process of applying good quality facial cleansers, exfoliants, facial masks, and moisturizers feel great on your skin because I can feel the sensations of the soothing healing properties of the facial mask on my skin, and it feels good. The physical motion of a facial massage is soothing. For me, it is like meditation that gives me a feeling of empowerment and optimism. It also feels good when I see my skin improving. It helps increase our self-worth when we do things to improve ourselves. Plus, we can focus on how our body feels when applying skincare to help us go into our body more. It is important to pay attention to how our bodies feel because this is how we can get out of our thinking minds and into how we are really feeling in our body to listen to our truth and strengthen our intuition. It is also a great opportunity to say positive, empowering affirmations to ourselves as we apply skincare to our faces. One affirmation I say to myself as I apply my skincare daily is, “I am improving every day.” We must use organic ingredients in our skincare to feel the healing properties' sensations and get results of healthier, younger, and glowing skin. When you combine these daily activities, this will increase your positive mood, joy, cognitive abilities, and energy levels. This will allow you to be able to do more in life to ultimately lead to more happiness. Imagine if you practice self-care for 30 minutes a day. Ten minutes of mediation, ten minutes of yoga, and ten minutes of a skincare ritual and eating plant-based foods (List of healthy snacks on the go). That is over 180 hours of self-care in a year. People’s typical reaction is I am so busy to practice daily self-care. The solution is you can start looking at the 5 hours a day the average person watches TV or the 50 minutes a day we spend on social media. Use that time instead for yourself, for your future self that you are becoming right now by choosing to take action to mold your mind and body into the person you want to become. It is about showing up for yourself every day. What would be possible for you if you showed up for yourself? I would encourage you to choose yourself over and over again. Nurture yourself. The way that a person who loves themselves unconditionally would. It’s a sign that you are reading this article because you are on the journey of self-love/self-care. I commend you for that because that is not easy, and it is not a given. You are powerful, and I really love that you are on this journey to improving yourself. I am happy to have sparked some ideas, habits, and systems to make it easier for you to come back to feeling good and increase your motivation to choose actions that lead to more success and happiness in your life. Feel free to learn more about products to help with your daily self-care rituals at happybeingwell.com To stay connected daily with my insight on life strategies and products, connect on Instagram, Facebook, and my website. Rita Farruggia, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Rita Farruggia, is the CEO and Founder of HappyBeingWell.com with the mission of being the 1 Self-Care Community in the world. Her mission is to awaken a billion people globally to their love while teaching them how to love themselves, reprogram their subconscious, align with truth, universal laws, and create a daily spiritual practice that involves self-care practises. HappyBeingWell.com offers the tools/products, education and inspiration to use in our daily spiritual & self-care practice. Rita believes a daily spiritual practice is not limited to yoga and/or meditation. The truth is when we are manually cleaning our dishes we often go into a trance, this is also a form of meditation. Rita believes our personal hygiene (self-care) and home cleaning sessions can also be our spiritual practices. Self-care and spiritual practises changed Rita's life, increased her ability to love herself.

Written by: Vicki Ravangard, 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 found yourself in a situation of conflict with a co-worker, family member, or neighbor where you felt overpowered? Have you avoided confrontation only to find yourself in the same cycle of emotional turmoil? I recently experienced a major breakthrough that came about from an ongoing dispute with a neighbor. One of the most interesting revelations was how I thought I wanted to find a resolution, but on reflection, I realized that I wanted to have my feelings validated. I wanted so badly to be understood that I couldn’t see past my need to be right. So how do you break the cycle effectively to resolve conflict and reconnect with your inner peace? Read on as I share with you the 4-step process that helped me. 1. Witness the cycle. It can be tough to see yourself without bias, but the path to consciousness requires you to face yourself exactly as you are, without judgment, so you can transcend any illusion that you have created. I made assumptions in my situation based solely on what I had observed without seeing the bigger picture or seeking direct answers from the other party. This sent me into a spiral of catastrophising what was happening and seeing things as worse than they actually were, which left me feeling hopeless that things would ever change. When your body and mind enter a state of fear, it affects your capacity to think rationally and arrive at a logical conclusion. You only see the fear movie playing in your mind, even when you don’t want to believe it is true. Your body does not know the difference between what is real and what is imagined, so it will respond to whatever emotion it is experiencing. It is important at this stage to recognize the repeating pattern that is keeping you in a state of fear and judgment, witness it for what it is, not better or worse, and explore the ways that you can release this feeling. Journal Prompt: How can I remain objective and observe without judgment? Write down what you notice about your situation and how it is making you feel. 2. Create space for another perspective. I wanted to resolve an ongoing conflict of interest, or so I thought, but my passion for the matter at hand was clouding my ability to see clearly and find a balanced solution. As someone committed to my spiritual practice, I caught myself by surprise when I realized that I was only considering my side of the story. As I opened myself up to understand the effects that my somewhat innocent behavior could have on someone else, I was faced with a moral dilemma. If I continue, knowing the discomfort it may cause to others, I am consciously contributing to a problem, even if that is not my intention. If I stop, knowing that I am doing nothing wrong, then I am shutting myself down to please others; somewhere in between lies a compromise. The very nature of a compromise is one where everybody has to make a sacrifice to conclude, but I like to think of it more as a win-win situation where the objective is to arrive at an outcome that works in the best interest of everybody. I am a firm believer that there are 3 sides to every story: your side, their side, and the truth. None of these are right or wrong. They are all just different perspectives of what has happened. We all see and feel things differently, and simply acknowledging this and making room for the possibility that your way is not the only way is a step towards resolution. Affirmation: I continuously commit to holding space for others, to see them with compassion, and to trust that there is always a reason, even when it’s far greater than I can comprehend. 3. Communication is key. When in doubt, speak out. Where possible, speak honestly and openly about how you feel whilst holding space for someone else’s perspective. Holding on to your fears will keep you in a state of resistance to any peaceful resolution. It is important to remember when communicating your feelings that confrontation does not have to equal conflict. Confronting a dispute head-on can help you to understand someone else’s viewpoint. They may even present you with information that you had not previously considered. This can diffuse conflict instantly if you remain open to listening without judgment and communicating your feelings in a way that feels good for you. You don’t have to back down or hide from a conflict; you deserve to take up space, and your opinions are important. Dig deep to seek out the inner strength to deal with these challenges and know that when love is at the heart of your message, it will rise above any fear. Journal Prompt: How can I hear others without silencing my own voice? 4. Seek a peaceful resolution. The real question when you are faced with conflict is: Do you want a peaceful resolution? As I became more self-aware, I realized that this hadn’t been my priority, and whilst I did want a peaceful resolution, I hadn’t been actively seeking it. I wanted to continue what I was doing without adjusting my ways, yet once I realized this, my willingness to hear another version of the truth whilst speaking my own led me to make conscious decisions that aligned with peace. Leaders don’t have answers. They create solutions. Leaders have to think outside of the box and go first, even when they feel fear. They have the power to influence and create positive change in the world by expanding the limits of what is possible… and so do you. You can do this by remembering who you are and acting from integrity without hiding, silencing yourself, or backing down. You get to create your own rules as you seek peace on your path. Spirit will always help you find answers, even when it means venturing a little outside your comfort zone. Speak your truth, break the chains and lead the way. Follow me on my Instagram, Facebook, and visit both my Facebook-Group and page. You can also find more information on my website. Read more from Vicki! Vicki Ravangard, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Vicki Ravangard is an Intuitive Mentor, Certified Angel Tarot Reader & Part Qualified Accountant. Vicki spent 10 years working in corporate finance, and 2020 was placed furloughed from her job. She took this opportunity to follow her soul calling and birth her spiritual business - Take Her To The Moon, serve her clients through divine guidance and mentoring, energy healing & tarot, helping them truly align, connect & transform their lives, and raise their consciousness. Vicki has a huge passion for creating music, writing, traveling & Disney and is continuously inspired to blend the magic of these tools into her life & business.

Written by: Tricia Dycka , 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 ever notice when you hang up with a client, you are completely depleted of your energy, and you are not sure if you are ready for the next client? Empaths are highly sensitive and can pick up their client’s emotions, challenges, and obstacles, and if they do not realize it can take it on as their own. I had a client, and she used to say to me at the end of the day I just want my bed, I am tired and drained, and my family wants my attention; I do not have it to give anyone. I remember those days, where I just picked up on everything. Empaths are antennas for the energy that is moving around. I used to cry at the drop of a hat and try to think of ideas why I could cancel the next appointment with my clients. The problem with being so depleted at the end of the day is that my clients would feel guilty because they wanted to go and hide, not deal with their family or friends. This used to be my MO as well. Easy solutions to manage emotional overwhelm because I want you to get back to living your life. 1. Make sure you have 15 – 30 minutes between each client. This gives you time to eat and take care of your other needs. 2. Ground your energy which helps to make you feel more balanced and centered. You can go outside and put your feet in the grass; however, if it is rainy or cold, create a grounding bowl. I have a bowl filled with sand that I have added shells and crystals in. While you are on the call with your client and you start to feel emotionally overwhelmed, you can play with the sand in the bowl. Centers you and releases the negativity you may have picked up from your client. 3. Create a 5-minute meditation between sessions. Just some simple breathing exercises or watch clips of nature scenes or a fire burning on YouTube. 4. Get up and wash your hands between clients. That is a quick technique to easily clear the energy you may be holding onto. 5. Another quick clearing tool is the heart-centered intention. Ground your energy and imagine your heart center open and clear. You can use color in your heart center area as well. Imagine a gentle breeze going through your heart center, clearing out anything you may have picked up that does not belong to you. 6. Create boundaries for your business. Figure out what are your hours of operation? Ask yourself, what are you willing to tolerate? If a client comes to you after hours or on the weekend, do not respond until the next day you are open. Unless it is something, you are willing to do and make sure because it will set a precedence for that particular customer to do that again. Learning to say no in your business may be hard at first, you will learn what is right for you and remember that will always be evolving constantly. When you implement these easy tools consistently, you still have the energy to go out with friends or have some special family time at the end of your day. The guilt goes away because you are no longer shying away from doing things after working with your clients. You got into your business to make a change, not hide from the world because you picked up your client’s issues. For more info, follow me on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter and visit my website ! Tricia Dycka, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Tricia is an intuitive empath coach, Reiki Master, bestselling author, teacher, & speaker. Her mission is to help other empath coaches and healers go from emotional overwhelm to learning how to manage their own energy so they can be more visible and enjoy inner peace. Tricia has created quick and easy tools so people can recognize their own energy and quickly clear anything they pick up that is not theirs.

Viviana Di Leo is a Certified Peacefulness & Fulfilment Coach. She helps women on their self-healing journey to live a more peaceful and fulfilled life. She's an Expert in Biodecoding & Emotions. Who is Viviana? I am a 36-year-old passionate and enthusiastic Uruguayan living in a small 2000 people town in Lake Como, Italy. I am passionate about living a conscious, peaceful life, been honoring my name, which means living to the fullest since 2016, when I committed myself to make a shift. I was diagnosed with infertility back in 2014 and was incredibly angry and stressed living on complete autopilot. I disconnected myself from my body and kept going without acknowledging what I was going through. Until with life synchronicities, one free course completely changed my life and helped me jump into a new way of living. After less than 90 days of working on my healing with the help of a coach, I not only healed my diagnosis and became pregnant with my son, manifested my dream home drawing it after a meditation and got all the resources I needed to live a peaceful and fulfilled life. I love that I could not only become a mom to my amazing son Nahuel, but I also got to work from my window to the lake with him every single day in the most calm and peaceful way. We love swimming at the lake and enjoying our life, which seems like holidays every day. What is it that you do for your clients? My mission is to bring more peace and healing to the people I work with. I am certified as a Peacefulness and fulfillment coach, also add on alternative therapies and my expertise on biodecoding and emotions to help them fully change the perspective of life and heal. I am helping women to heal and become impactful leaders by giving them clarity and mindset strategies to attract peace and joy in their lives. I am blessed to be able to work at the Rockefeller foundation here in Bellagio, where I help artists, bestselling author leaders and change-makers that come as residents to finalize the specific project. I am filled with joy to help them have a peaceful stay and achieve those goals in 30 days. Who should hire/work with you? Great question. I will give you two main things people can hire me for. My coaching is focused on helping creatives, multi-passionate, and highly sensitive women that are feeling a lack of peace, frustration, and stuck due to self-doubt, lack of self-confidence and are mainly stopping themselves from sharing their voice and light into this world. For biodecoding can be anyone going through the same repeated patterns, health or financial and relationships situations that keep repeating. Also, if you are wanting to explore your subconscious blocks coming from their family tree. Biodecoding is a super powerful tool, and it has helped my clients break repeated patterns that are passed on by their family's subconscious mind. What would you say to someone that is struggling and wants more peace in his/her life? I would strongly say make that choice. Choose peace. Making that commitment with yourself is so important, because it is your inner peace, and it will only start with you. If you are not peaceful because of the outside, remember you can only control what it is in your control, what you think, what you say and what you do, and how you react to the outside. I love that quote from Wayne Dyer that says, “if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” If you can not see it, reach out to me, and I would love to change your perspective. Things can be hard until you decide to become an expert on it. What are 3 tips you can share today to connect with that inner peace during a pandemic? The first tip would be to stop feeding yourself with negativity, turn down that volume, and stop negative news, social media, and anything that you see triggers you. (Fear, anger, sadness) The second tip would be to create healthy boundaries for yourself to take time to unplug, from work, kids, family. (I have a morning walk when everybody is sleeping and meditate for 15 minutes by the lake). Last tip: Start journaling to reflect on how you feel and what things are making you feel that lack of peace. Change can only happen when there is awareness. Can you change your perspective on that? If it's fear, what evidence you have that it will happen? What is your big goal? Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now? I am highly creative, so my list of goals can possibly change. I am making a real impact on this world to bring more peace, impact one million lives in 10 years sounds pretty good challenge. I see myself having my anti-bullying foundation for kids and helping them get confident and heal those traumas. I was a part of the construction and presentation of a peace monument here at the Rockefeller Foundation, I would love one in Uruguay to create more awareness that anyone can access that inner peace and create that ripple effect. Being a part of the change-makers movement for inner peace for sure. I am looking forward to a conference like that. I am working on my book, and that will definitely be there. I am here to share my gifts to the world and make a difference, so sign me in for that in 10 years’ time. Thanks so much for your time and I really look forward to connecting with more amazing people and help them feel more peaceful. For more information, follow Viviana on Facebook , Instagram and visit her website ! Read more from Viviana !

Tripp Butler has almost 30 years of experience in the residential real estate market. His expertise is taking over real estate companies that are underperforming and increasing not only the growth but the profits by threefold. Tripp started his career at Wild Dunes Real Estate in 1993 as a sales executive, by 1998, Tripp was a Broker and partner of the firm. At the end of 2005, Tripp sold the Company to Lowes Management which was the 5th largest resort management Company in the Country. In 2008 Tripp purchased Southbridge Greater Savannah Realty and had made this Real Estate Company one of the premier real estate companies in the surrounding area. Southbridge Greater Savannah Realty handles the relocation work for some of the biggest companies in the Southeast. How and why did you get started in this line of work? I was born in Rome, Georgia and grew up outside of Atlanta. After graduating from The University of Alabama, I started my career in commercial real estate in Atlanta before moving to Charleston, South Carolina, in the early ’90s as a sales executive with Wild Dunes Real Estate. After being a full-time sales executive for a few years, I then took over as broker, then partner and finally CEO with full responsibility for P&L performance, goal setting, overall operations, marketing and sales management, managing a staff of 20. While working on real estate development projects in conjunction with Wild Dunes Development Company, I held responsibility for sales, marketing and infrastructure matters resulting in a rejuvenated residential development firm which at the end of 2005 was sold to Lowe Enterprises (the country’s 5th largest independent management company) after having increased annual sales by over $70 million. Since 2008, I purchased Southbridge Greater Savannah Realty which has grown to be one of the Top Boutique Real Estate Companies in the surrounding Savannah, Georgia area. Over 20% percent of Southbridge Greater Savannah Realty’s business comes from relocation work with some of the largest names in the country. The relocation companies choose to work with Southbridge Greater Savannah Realty because all agents work from an actual office location that allows the team to have daily walk-in/call-in traffic. Plus, the office location in Savannah is minutes away from Mitsubishi, JCB, Gulfstream, International Paper and more. Southbridge Greater Savannah Realty has built an extraordinarily strong team of sales agents with unprecedented passion, integrity, a strong work ethic, and market knowledge to meet the unique needs of each client. What do you look for in the sales executives you hire? I am always looking for genuinely good people. I do not need to have a sales executive with real estate experience, but I am looking for individuals with a great Attitude who realize we are in a 100% service-related business. This means returning all emails and phone calls by the end of the day at the very latest, and realizing every day is a gift from God, so live it to the fullest because it may be your last. There is a saying, “Successful people are not gifted; they just work hard, then succeed on purpose.” How would you describe your business to a potential client? Every day is a new and different day. When you get to work each morning, you truly do not know who may walk through your doors or be calling the office to either list their home or want to go look at homes to purchase. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of meeting professional athletes, entertainers, and CEOs of some of the biggest companies in North America. Your home purchase or sale is probably your biggest or one of the biggest investments in your life. When individuals call me and ask that I work with them, this is truly a huge honor. For more info, follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn and visit my website!

Written by: Jacqui Grant, 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 many times have you been on a diet, lost weight only to regain it again? Maybe you have had weight loss surgery (bariatric surgery) and not kept the weight off. Frustration becomes part of your life. Anger may even be present. You may be questioning how others can have long-term success, but you do not seem to be able. Why is it that no matter how hard you try, which diet you follow, the results do not stick? Why, why, why? Your mindset is of failure, leading to further frustration and anger, a sense of your goals being unattainable! I hear this question and others every day as an advanced weight management practitioner, personal trainer, and someone who has kept their weight off and living a healthy life for over 3 years. The key to long-term success is so simple, and I will explain how you can have long-term weight loss or, as I like to refer to it, long-term weight loss release in this article by making a few minor changes create a can-do mindset. 1. Clear Goals! Have clear goals and keep your goals to a maximum of five. Any more than five goals are too many, and your energy and focus will be scattered. I encourage my clients to have three goals, and they are each an extension of each other. Precise wording of your goals is also important, as this helps you to know and believe that you can and will achieve your weight loss goals. It is important to have a short-term goal or two, then a medium-term goal, and finally a long-term, big vision goal. Writing your goals with as much detail as possible helps you to feel connected to that goal and what it will feel like, what life will be like for you when you achieve it. 2. Can Do Language Self-talk is immensely powerful in either achieving your goals or taking you further away from them. When you speak, your subconscious mind is always listening and what you hear is what you believe to be true. You then go about seeking supporting evidence of your belief. For example, the word “Loss” subconsciously and consciously sets into action looking for what is lost. However, when it comes to weight, you do not want it back. Well, most people do not want to regain the weight. Therefore changing/replacing the word “loss” with “release” shifts to the mindset and belief pattern. You will focus on releasing the excess weight and gaining health and fitness. The language you use whenever you speak can be empowering and encouraging. If you find yourself talking about what you wish you could achieve or what is not working more than what is working, then I encourage you to stop, reflect and then choose different words. 3. Action When you have clear goals, use the can-do language, you then naturally take action towards your goals. This is because you believe that you can achieve your goals and see results, and then you keep making choices that support those beliefs. Your actions may include parking some distance from the store and walking a little bit further than normal as a means of adding in some form of exercise to your day or choosing to have a salad instead of fried food when out with family or friends. The more action you take towards your goals, see results, the stronger your mindset is, and your belief that you will achieve these changes will help you develop new habits which over time become normal—something you do naturally without thinking about it too much. Now let us bring it all together for you. Clear Goals, Can-do Language, and Action all help you to have a successful mindset or not. When you believe in your heart and mind that you can achieve your weight, fitness, and wellness goals, you will do everything you can to prove yourself right. After all, as human beings, we are always looking for proof that we are right. Being right brings a sense of achievement and pride. It feels good to be right. Therefore, as you apply these 3 simple steps towards achieving your weight goals and, in turn, improve your health, you will discover just how easy it really can be. There will be, at times, challenges and even setbacks. However, the more you focus on what is possible and why your goals are important to you, the more likely you will create new habits. Connecting with the right people such as myself to help you with breaking through barriers with your mindset and habits is also beneficial as I can help you understand why you have been taking the action you have and support you as you create new behaviors. Remember that you are worthy of living your best life and achieving long-term success with your weight, fitness, and wellness goals. For more information, follow Jacqui on Facebook, Instagram and visit her website! Read more from Jacqui! Jacqui Grant, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Jacqui Grant is a highly sought after Weight Management, Bariatric Surgery and Wellness Coach, Personal trainer, soon to be Advanced Weight Management Practitioner, International Best Selling author of 3 books, (Break Free & Go For It!, Life Beyond Obesity! (Jacqui’s story of transformation) and Can-Do Bariatric Surgery!) who is dedicated to help clients around the world to stop feeling overwhelmed, tired and embarrassed by their weight, by showing them how to create long term changes in their food choices, change their relationship exercise and develop a “Can Do” mindset to live their best life! Jacqui also helps those who have had or considering having bariatric surgery how to achieve their goal and keep the weight off and work with professionals such as personal trainers to understand bariatric surgery. Jacqui has worked as a nurse, coach, personal trainer, manager, and owns her own business, Break Free Consultancy, where she can work one to one with her clients or through her programs, courses, challenges, and her books. Empowering others to break free, go for it, and live their best life!

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. We have grown accustomed to not feeling our feelings, especially the feelings we don’t like. We keep them cluttered inside, much like our expired medications clutter our medicine cabinets. We are so used to feeling them we do not even see them anymore and have grown to believe this is who I am. We believe the limiting thoughts of I am sad, angry, afraid, not worth it, not loveable, not enough, not wanted, unimportant, shy, invisible, overwhelmed, stuck, ill and more. They have been there so long we don’t know who we are without them, and we are afraid to let them go, just like we are afraid to throw out expired medications because we may need them one day. This is dangerous thinking because you are not the same person today as you were when you began feeling the feelings that created the emotions and belief systems. Holding onto the old belief system keeps you stuck or may cause illness. Just like taking an expired medication may make you ill. Keeping the old, outdated belief systems keeps your insides very cluttered. The clutter does not allow space to let in something new. Have you become so attached to the clutter that you are afraid to look at what is outdated? As you clear the clutter, you will learn new coping skills by healing the emotional wounds that helped the outdated, limiting belief systems form. Take the first steps to clearing out the emotional clutter. Open the medicine cabinet, look at the labels and check the expiration dates. Clearing the clutter will allow you to move toward the emotionally healthy place you seek. Here is a framework to follow: 1. Sit down, feel your feet on the floor, place your hand on your heart and take a few breaths in and out. Feel your heartbeat and your chest rise and fall with your breath. 2. Write a list of all the limiting beliefs, thoughts, emotions, feelings that have kept you stuck, in pain, or hold you back in your life. 3. Number the list. One is the belief you can most easily let go of and continue from there until the list is numbered. Start with number one and ask yourself these questions: How old were you when you first needed this belief? What was going on in your life at that time? How did this belief help you then? How has it helped you over the years? How is it impacting you now? Can you see that it is no longer helping you? When you think about it now, do you experience any discomfort in your body? If so, where? Acknowledge and thank this thought, emotion, belief system for showing up and helping you as it did. Let it know you are all grown up now, it is hurting you, and you are ready to let it go. Place your hand on your heart, permitting yourself to let it go. Take as many breaths as you need to release it from your body. Identify the opposite positive emotion or belief? Is it joy, abundance, self-love, self-acceptance? Write down the positives with, “I am _______.” For example, I am hopeful. Say the “I am” statements out loud with your hand on your heart and breathe them into your heart and body. This will help you integrate the new coping skills into your life. This process will need to be repeated. You may need support from a therapist or coach. The good news is healing and transformation is possible. You are creating the freedom you desire. Feel proud of yourself for creating the space inside, which allows for healing, growth, and emotional wellness. For more info, follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my website ! 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 a 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: Jenny Dilts, 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 Law of Opposition is one of the governing principles of the Universe. In every aspect of nature and throughout the Circle of Life, this idea can be seen. Birth and death, day and night, water and land, the cycle of the seasons. In the Eastern tradition, this concept of duality is expressed by Taijitu, or the symbol of the yin and the yang. They flow into each other and complement each other perfectly. Neither can be found without the other, and their relationship changes with time. The Tao Te Ching states, “When people see things as beautiful, ugliness is created. When people see things as good, evil is created. Being and non-being produce each other. Difficult and easy complement each other. Long and short define each other. High and low oppose each other. Fore and aft follow each other.” A couple of years ago, a friend reached out to me when her sister died by suicide. She wanted help planning a memorial service for her that would honor her life. In the ensuing weeks, I supported her and, through her, her family in working with the traumatic and complicated logistics following the death. One night in particular, my friend called me because the darkness was so thick, and the trauma and the pain were so heavy. She was so scared that she was having difficulty getting to sleep. As we talked, I stayed with her and created a safe and peaceful space for her. When I shared the concept of the law of opposites, she saw how this applied to her situation. Without our dark and painful times, we wouldn’t know to appreciate the lighter and more pleasant times. And the light of the sunrise reminds us that the dark of the night doesn’t last forever. As we talked about this balance and opposition concept, my friend found a deep sense of internal calm. She felt that I had spoken Truth. By the end of our conversation, she left knowing that she could learn to value even this intense trial. My friend shared with me times when she and her family laughed together at funny memories from her sister's life. There were also times when she was curled up in a ball on the floor, stricken with grief. And they breathed through it all together. They found love and healing and miracles beyond their imagination as they leaned on and supported one another in the watchful care of their Savior. One of my favorite quotes is by Muhammed Ahmed. "When it's darkest, we can see the stars. They're always there. You just gotta remember to tip your head back and look up." If we didn’t experience the darkness, we wouldn’t appreciate the beauty of the light. And our perspective can make all the difference. If you would like some support finding the stars in your dark night, reach out to me, and we’ll stargaze together. Email me at jenn@grievingcoach.com and visit my website. You can also reach out by phone at +1-925-335-6437. Follow me on Facebook & LinkedIn! Jenny Dilts, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Jenny Dilts stands as a lighthouse for people in grief. Her naturally calming and soothing personality brings a sense of peace and security to those around her. Jenny's journey as a Grief Coach began when she sat with a friend days after her husband's sudden death. Holding that space for her unlocked and ignited a passion for supporting others in their grief. Another pivotal experience for Jenny was guiding a friend through the grief following her sister's death by suicide. Jenny's ability to appreciate both the darkness and the light guides others to move forward with their grief, create a new normal for themselves, and build a relationship with Grief and Gratitude. Jenny is the founder of Grieving Coach and host of the podcast Share Your Story where we explore humanity one soul at a time.

Written by: Marika Nikkinen, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. "What is the purpose of my life?" must be one of THE questions of life. How does it make you feel when you say it out loud? Excited, curious, troublesome, or irrelevant? Allow your emotions to emerge, identify them and stay with them. What are they trying to tell you? According to modern psychology, living aligned with your sense of meaning, your purpose, brings motivation and well-being to your life and is the foundation for a balanced, happy, fulfilling everyday life. Like values, we are born with our purpose. It is like a seed in our core that first grows into a sprout and, year by year, becomes larger and larger, finally becoming a blooming tree. It is something impossible to avoid. That's why we also sometimes start running faster and faster in life, to avoid the inevitable truth about ourselves or the direction our purpose is guiding us for. Some of us tend to naturally follow their purpose, but most of us, like me, need to fight out of the social norms, which hinder us from seeing what really matters for us and who we actually are. We have the choice of living free or staying in our golden cage. Freedom representing an uncertain future with the possibility of success and failure, personal growth and learning, and the golden cage, staying in our comfort zone, stagnating, and living passively, feeling numb, cynical, and grey. How do you feel in your everyday life? Let it guide you. Either way, it will not be an easy path. Indeed, it will come with its ups and downs. It takes courage to break out of the invisible cage we often are not aware of. What will others think? How will I manage my finances? Am I good enough? What will happen? Success and failure have a bound connection. After every win, there is a failure, and after every loss, there is a success. The key is to understand and become aware of life's cyclical nature and learn and grow with it. We are always going firmly forward, towards our purpose, whatever happens. Life doesn't need to be stellar or extravagant to live aligned with your purpose. It is about experiencing meaning in small things in life, at work, with yourself, family, friends, or hobbies, even when taking a shower. It's about becoming present, seizing the moment, and cherishing it. Feeling the beauty, love, and compassion around you. For long, I was seeking a single job that would fulfill my purpose. There were clues all the way, but I didn't pay too much attention to them; I was too busy building my life according to the external expectations, fears, and false beliefs I had. Burnout was a gift for me in a sense; it helped me start becoming aware of what took me in the wrong direction in life. I had aspired to a career that drained me instead of fulfillment; I worked in a culture that didn't support my values. I had two small children, and I wasn't taking care of myself. I hadn't worked with my beliefs and behaviors that took me in the wrong direction. I was not listening to the intuition that tried in so many ways to guide and finally stop me. The combination of coaching and therapy raised my awareness of my golden cage and what it was doing to me. The new understanding helped me to make active decisions in life. I chose to live happy, balanced life instead of being exhausted, feeling numb and grey. I began to listen to my intuition and let it guide my actions and decisions in all the areas of life, relationships, career, and hobbies. I learned to trust my inner knowing, the guidance of my body, heart, and soul, the armourbearers of my purpose. 3 Steps To Tune In With Your Purpose Before we start, I want to tell you that everything you need is within you. Your knowing might just be very silent compared to the other voices in your mind. Your thoughts are like a loud family trying to advise you in hundreds of different directions based on your beliefs, fears, expectations, and the norms in your culture. They don't easily allow you to listen to yourself at all. How then to find your way through that dense jungle of your thinking? I will guide you through a practice you may use to tune in with yourself. 1. Become Present In The Moment Close your eyes, have a relaxed posture, and inhale and exhale deeply. With inhale sense how the air fills in your nostrils and lungs, traveling all the way to the bottom of your stomach, expanding. With exhale, feel how the air goes all the way up, out from your nostrils, and squeezing your stomach towards the spine. Repeat for 5-10 times and sense how your body feels from top to toes, how your heart, soul, and mind feel. Listen to all these dimensions. What do you become aware of? 2. Visualise The World And Your Life As You Want It To Be Imagine yourself looking at the world, or just the city or the area you live in, from the outside. Holding it with your hands like a crystal ball, you can see and feel what's happening inside. What would you like your impact to be in what you see and feel? How would you like the world to be? Notice the sensations, visuals, or words coming to you. What are they telling or guiding you for? Stay here for a while, and when you are ready to go forward, open your eyes, make notes, and continue with the following questions. If there were no restrictions whatsoever, what would you do in your life? Where would you live and with whom? How would you like to feel in your everyday life? What are the dreams you would fulfill? Make notes. 3. Make It REAL Go through your notes. What do you become aware of? What brings meaning for you in life? Can you even come up with your purpose? Notice how you already are on your path. What do you want to do or change in your everyday life? What are the first small steps? What will help you succeed? Who will support you? What are the barriers (if any) on the way, and how can you go around or over them? And there you go, you have your next steps clear. Wishing you clear skies and tailwind on your path. And there you go, you have your next steps clear. Wishing you clear skies and tailwind on your path. Everything You Need Is Within You With all the individuals and groups I have worked with, I have found that becoming present with ourselves through meditation, meditative practice, or simple embodiment (connecting the body and mind), are the most powerful tools to connect with our sense of meaning. The purpose is part of us ; it isn't something external to find. Even how hard you fight against your purpose, it doesn't go away. It is like a tattoo on your face. Becoming present in the moment will help you to listen to your inner guidance. It is the key to truly tap into your essence and purpose. Ask questions from yourself and listen to the signs and replies. Don't look or listen to what others do; instead, ground yourself. Use the power of human connection . In connection with others, profoundly listening and sensing, we actually can see and feel ourselves more clearly. Everything you do will take you there, don't push or force yourself forward. Sometimes we want so hard to "make it" have our purpose crystal clear that it actually gets in the way. You are already there. How does that thought change your perspective? There is no single career in pursuit of your purpose; you can fulfill it in hundreds of ways. Share your compassion, love, joy, and gratitude ; they will take you forward—our purpose can't be less than to live happy, balanced, conscious everyday life. Life Purpose is about finding meaning in everyday life , following your intuition and inner guidance, and following your path, whatever it is, even not knowing the final destination. Living aligned with your purpose is about living aligned with your energy. Your comfort and discomfort in life show in your energy balance; tune in with yourself and let your body, mind, and soul guide you. If you want to have a sounding board for your purpose work, I can help you. Drop me a line through social media or book a free get-to-know session through my website. My next article will be about Silencing Your Inner Critic, so tune into your purpose work to be prepared for the next step. Thank you for reading. Follow Marika on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit her website for more info! Read more from Marika ! Marika Nikkinen, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Marika Nikkinen is a leader in inner guidance, self-leadership, and spiritual activation. After a series of hardships left her with poor mental and physical health, she decided to recover and find her own way in life. Connecting with her inner guidance, she found her strategies and she has since dedicated her career to helping her clients to unleash their inner power and to trust their inner guidance in life. With her company Conscious Leadership Coaching, she has been coaching organizations and leaders on value and purpose-based, conscious leadership in Europe and in Africa. Currently, she is focusing on working with her private clients worldwide and writing her first book on her journey and its learnings. Her mission: Every life matters.

Written by: Mandy Napier, 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 are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." — Aristotle. If you have ever struggled to change a habit, you are not alone. Perhaps you have taken a few giant steps forward and then a few backward? Or worse, quit and fallen back into your old ways again? If you’ve tried to lose weight, establish an exercise routine, plan your day or develop a great morning routine, it is a common story. Habits are an integral part of all success. In the words of John Dryden, whom I quote in the opening chapter of my book, Creating Healthy Life Habits; "We first make our habits and then our habits make us." — John Dryden. When you change your habits, you have the potential to change your life. Why is it so difficult to change our bad habits? Studies by neurobiologists, cognitive psychologists, and others indicate that from 40 to 95 percent of all behavior—how you think, what you say, and your overall actions—falls into the habit category. Even if you’re conservative, you’re on automatic pilot for about half of your life—a somewhat sobering statistic. You form habits because your brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort, energy and become more efficient. They make your life easier. Habits as defined by cognitive psychologists, are: “Automatic behaviors triggered by situational cues.” Specific behavior repeated over time becomes a habit. And habits are run in your subconscious mind, the part of your mind that runs most of your life. How long does it take to change a bad habit? Recent research led by a team at the University College London says that it takes on average 66 days to create a new habit. However, it can take up to a year to establish a successful, lasting habit. Furthermore, a key part of successful habit creation depends on the person’s commitment and desire to change. More importantly, it helps when you understand the science of how a habit is formed. Charles Duhigg explains this exceptionally well in his book, The Power of Habit. Your subconscious mind is a million times more powerful than your conscious mind. When did you last have to consciously think about how to tie your shoelaces, dry dishes, or wash your hair? While it’s great that you don’t have to remember how to do mundane things in life, there is a downside to changing your bad habits. The downside is that unless you’re intentionally aware of what you’re doing, it’s very easy to fall into default mode. This can especially happen when you’re tired or have decision fatigue. You simply use programs already installed in your subconscious mind, regardless of whether they take you towards or away from your intended goal or destination. This applies to your thoughts as well. Most of the time, you’re not aware of the constant chatter in your head. Many of these have been repeated so frequently they have now become habits. These thoughts are just as powerful, perhaps more so, than your habits of behavior because they are responsible for steering the course of your life. Here is an example of how this can happen. Mary, a single mother, often left her young daughter alone because she had to work. To compensate for leaving her on her own, she always left lots of food and treats for her. Sue, her daughter, soon formed a habit of eating when she was alone. As she grew into adulthood, she found herself turning to food whenever she felt alone. The feeling of loneliness was a trigger to eat. Consequently, Sue reached out to me. She had been trying unsuccessfully for over 10 years to lose weight. She felt she had tried just about everything, but she put on a little more weight year after year instead of losing weight. Unpacking the habit, discovering the beliefs beneath the behavior, and establishing a plan with new behaviors, small steps, and accountability was key to her success. There are numerous other examples like the above one that block people’s success. The power of these old patterns and habits is strong and hard to change on one’s own. Changing bad habits permanently takes commitment and desire. To change bad habits permanently, you need to: Desire to change your habit. Come up with acceptable alternative behaviors. Consistently and purposefully do the new behavior, whether you feel like it. Clear out any beliefs and thoughts that may be blocking success. Explore your habits. To start on your journey to changing your habits, answer the following questions: What habit do you want to change? Clearly identify the bad habit (negative behavior) you want to change. Is it a small one, or is it complex? Why do you want to change? Get crystal clear on this. What triggers this habit? Does it involve a total lifestyle change? How does this habit currently serve you in your life? And what is the reward or feeling you are seeking? As you answer these questions, approach them with a mindset of curiosity. Avoid judging yourself and instead focus on seeking answers. Additional steps to help you change your habit: Imagine yourself having changed this habit. How does it feel? Step out into the future and fully connect with the new successful you. Write down a plan for changing your habit. Keep it simple and identify the steps required. Writing helps lock in new opportunities and open up new pathways. Choose one small behavior that feels easy and doable. Schedule it into your diary to increase your chance of success. Start small. This is critical. For example, if you want to make exercise a part of your life but have always hated it, commit to walking for fifteen to twenty minutes three days a week. Later you can increase the intensity and frequency. Celebrate and acknowledge your wins. Much of what you do is motivated by reward. When you reward yourself, you are keeping the flame of motivation alive, and you feel better. Find yourself an accountability partner or an expert to help you succeed. Athletes know the benefit of engaging a coach. Embrace the mindset of a champion and seek expert help. There is always a cost to success. In forming new habits, it is giving up short-term gain and delaying reward for the future. Simple, yet one of the hardest things for humans to do. While there is no magic formula or quick fix to changing habits, small steps, desire, consistency, and accountability are all important components. If you are ready to change your poor behaviors and create better habits, I invite you to reach out to me. To connect with Mandy, visit her website and hop on over to my private Facebook Group Winning Mindsets. Read more from Mandy ! Mandy Napier, Executive Contributor, Brainz Magazine Mandy Napier is a Global High-Performance Mindset Coach, Professional Speaker, Author, Athlete and founder of Mindset for Success. With her results driven, neuroscience backed C.L.E.A.R ™️ Coaching Model, Mandy has helped thousands of high achieving professionals break free of their self-imposed limitations and create transformational results. With a focus on the ‘how-to’ change, training the mind and rewiring the brain, she helps her clients gain more clarity, purpose and direction. Her clients are successful in achieving their goals because she works with them to develop routines and habits that support consistent action. Mandy is the author of Creating Healthy Life Habits, has been featured on podcasts such as Success, Motivation and Inspiration and The Successful Advisor. She publishes articles that are shared on various global platforms as well as national publications. Her mission: Extraordinary Results for her clients.

Written by: Antoinette Njombua-Fombad , 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 as long as I have tried to understand being, purpose, fulfillment, happiness, and contentment, I keep leading myself to one conclusion. Our connection to our understanding of who we are determines our experiences with our world as we journey through it. The problem is, many of us find it hard to allow ourselves to entertain the possibilities of our ability for self-authority over our emotional, rational, andlogical attachments to the choices we make as guided by our interactions. Since our environmental exposure often influences our consciousness, we find ourselves subconsciously trying our best to navigate our connections as defined and acceptable by environmental standards and expectations. We fear the judgment that might come from without, which only grooms the mistrust of ourselves from within. The way I see it, we fear because we have created a state of being that is petrified of our audacity. We fear actively utilizing our autonomy might transform our image of who we think we have to be, so we shake off any attempts for allowance of full acceptance and accountability to who we are. Forming and understanding our values, belief systems, boundaries, and choices is directly linked to self-connection, a state of living fully present and attached to ourselves and how it influences our contribution and interactions. Being self-aware, knowing who we are, equally to where we are, why we are there, and accepting our imperfections and strengths, and using that as our ideal standard template to growing and becoming. I believe that identities and belief systems are formed as we grow through 3 stages of connection. Connecting with our humanity, connecting with ourselves, and connecting to our growth and becoming. 1. Connect with your humanity. The first step of connection starts before we understand what consciousness fully is. while in-utero, our exposure to our primal environment provides the opportunity to grasp and live in sync with the energy from our surroundings, from the vibration of the sounds, the smells we encounter, and the comfort of living in a vacuum. Although still very young, we can feel pain, love, sadness, and joy through our connection with the outside world from our mothers and our connection to life in a sac of living water. By the time we are born, we already have an elementary concept of what the world feels like. Our new environment, now a vast world with so much for our senses to take in, provides the opportunity to begin our journey of understanding both the physicality and fragility of our humanity. We learn what’s wrong from what’s right through actions and reactions. As children, the understanding of our humanity is mostly influenced by our environments and the standards they dictate. We start to form elementary values and belief systems as influenced by our parents, teachers, loved ones, and adversaries. Life is synonymous with who we connect with and where we experience it. Our purpose at this stage is connected to understanding the value of our humanity, and this is crucial to forming our identities as we transition to independence. Forming foundational values and belief systems are crucial at this stage and require environments that are conducive to the process. We develop into a product of our environment, so as children, we absorb and build on what we are taught. If we are lucky, we learn to be the best of ourselves rather than the best for others. What to work on to elevate our connection to our humanity: Recognizing our gifts as part of our humanity Adding values needed to improve balance Understanding the meaning of actions and reactions Keep our intentions positive and growth-focused Asking questions for a better understanding of experiences that require your contribution Gracing ourselves at all times with the understanding that we are not perfect 2. Connect with yourself. By the time we become adults, we have slowly transitioned from our organic understanding of what our world requires of us, to incorporate what we require from our world. This is the stage where we begin to understand and value our individuality and independence and start to use the lessons from connecting with our humanity to connecting with ourselves. It is no longer about what is wrong or right per environmental standards, but what is wrong or right regarding who we are. The need for self-understanding and awareness instinctively takes over because we have earned the emotional and mental maturity to live life on our terms. We no longer focus our growth on what we are taught but primarily on what we experience. Using our connection to humanity as a template, we now adjust, add, unlearn, build and form values and belief systems more suited to who we are, our capabilities, shortcomings, and dreams. We start to understand our purpose, the reason we are here, and how to contribute to what we receive. The journey to self-awareness, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, is inevitable at this stage. Although the case, it is the most challenging self-connection stage as we find ourselves living in a push and pull state. The need to maintain our connection to our humanity and what society expects of us, to the need to identify as unique and a truly independent contributor. This is why so many of us find ourselves stuck, with jobs that do not serve us, people-pleasing, thriving on limiting self-belief, depression, anxiety, pain, and anger. We find ourselves in a juxtaposition where we understand who we are, but our attachment to our environmental influence hinders our ability to define the meaning of our life, our purpose, and our growth. What to work on to elevate self-awareness: Intentionally working to rid off limiting beliefs. Evaluate our choices based on who we are, not who we are expected to be. Accepting and staying mindful of our nature, gifts, and shortcomings. Making self-care a priority. Decrease codependence and increase self-validation. Practice and cultivate habits necessary for self-improvement. Letting go of childhood traumas. Embracing our uniqueness and individuality. 3. Connect with growth and becoming. In this stage of self-connection, we start to contribute as who we are rather than who we should be, and the world starts to receive us as such rather than what it expects of us. Getting here allows for a full understanding of the value of connection as meaningful when aligned with our purpose. We are no longer attached to people or our environment. We are attached to our purpose to them. We understand the value of our connection to our humanity and ourselves and how they function in our growth journey. We fear neither and start to maximize the effectiveness of their connectivity rather than their conflict. What to work on to elevate growth and becoming: See every experience as a teaching moment and necessary for growth. Use the lessons to make necessary changes. Trust ourselves above all else. Make choices based on our values and the greater good rather than fear. Take accountability for our contribution regardless of the outcome. Being mindful of our intentions and letting them guide our energy. Use our understanding of self to construct our pathway. Connection is the key to living meaningful lives. It is essential to understanding our humanity, our relationships, and our purpose. it is crucial to our existence and the oxygen for living as we journey through building our values and experiencing our perception of our meaning of what life is to us as individuals and collectively as a people. It starts with understanding and utilizing self-connection as a guide to authentic interactions and experiences. So ask yourself, where am I with self-connection? What is holding me back, and what are the deeper roots of these barriers? It doesn’t matter how fast or slow, just stay intentional and keep using your truth to build yourself, as you become YOUR best version of who you define yourself. “Remember that you are human and deserve infinite chances for self-improvement in the process of your evolution” - healloveandgrow.com . Follow me on Facebook , Instagram and LinkedIn ! Antoinette Njombua-Fombad, Executive Contributor, Brainz Magazine Antoinette Njombua-Fombad is a Connection and Awareness solution-driven coach, helping individuals and groups understand the value of emotions as purposeful and vital to enhancing our perception for individual and collective growth. She is the founder of WITHIN life coaching services, a writer, storyteller, and motivational speaker working to inspire and empower individuals and groups towards a better understanding of self, for improvement in areas of awareness, mindset shifting, negotiation, Identity, presentation, and confidence, using a healing-loving-and-growing approach. She is a healer who believes personal growth is crucial to all other relationships and transactional growth. Her healing and coaching journey includes a combined background in caring for individuals as a Registered Nurse and Case Manager for the past eleven years. Her practice and writings are centered around the conviction that we are gifted beyond recognition with individual capabilities often suppressed by our fear of emotions, which continue to deprive us of the lessons needed to elevate ourselves and our relationships. As our humanity necessitates endless opportunities for healing, and loving environments to facilitate self-improvement in the process of our evolution, we need to keep looking within ourselves for a pathway to growing and becoming.

Alix is a Full Potential Speaker and Coach empowering women worldwide to build their most fulfilling professional lives. Before growing her current coaching business and its team, she started several other ventures; worked for the International Labour Organization (United Nations), several universities and a start-up accelerator. ​To date, she has individually coached 300+ female leaders around the world. She has led 10 leadership retreats around Europe; and given 50+ public talks. She has also created multiple online programs and transformative digital experiences. Alix is incredibly passionate about and committed to empowering women around the world to thrive on their full professional potential. So Alix, let’s start with your background. Could you first tell us about the path that led you to start your current 6-figure business? As a kid and teenager, I made jewelry out of recycled materials and sold it at events to friends and family. In my teens, I created a team around it by participating in a young entrepreneurs competition sponsored by Deloitte. We made more jewelry, sold it around Europe, and made a profit. We pitched our student company on stage and won an Innovation Prize sponsored by Deloitte. After a while, the team dissolved. We all went in different directions for our studies. I moved to The Netherlands and completed my Bachelor's (BA) and Master's (MSc) studies. Next to my studies, I always tried to find that “high” that my jewelry project used to give me. That satisfaction of creating something from scratch and then bringing it into other people’s lives to make their days a little better. Next to my studies, I developed various other student companies and organized and hosted entrepreneurship conferences with high-caliber speakers. I also worked for various universities around Europe and the International Labour Organization (United Nations). For the ILO, I was asked to develop a training to economically empower women in developing countries through entrepreneurship economically. I later worked for about 1.5 years at a start-up accelerator in The Netherlands. Within my role there, I built a team from scratch, and we developed an intrapreneurship software solution. Without really knowing it, everything I was doing was preparing me for what was to come. I gained lots of hands-on, practical experience in how to get from idea to actual value for people in real life. I was also increasingly passionate about women feeling professionally and economically empowered. So how did you make that transition from your last job into your current business owner status? It all started with a little voice in my head. Whispering, “there’s something more for you out there, and this is not it.” So I started investigating. Reading blog posts, learning how to meditate, how to find your most fulfilling purpose in life. Shortly after, I started getting myself into personal development retreats and seminars while still being at my job. Very quickly, I decided to hire my first business coach. I knew a change was coming, and I wanted a coach to help me rock the transition. Within one month of working with her, I quit my job. Within the same month, I started coaching a few female friends of mine I knew I could help turn their ideas into value for others. They noticed progress fast and quickly started referring me to their friends. Within about 1.5 months after having quit my job, I had tripled my previous net income. By the end of that year, I was having consistent 10k months while traveling the world and hosting retreats, workshops, and talks. As I quit my job, I knew in my bones I wanted to support women to execute their dream business ideas. I had years of both education and practical, hands-on professional experience I wanted to leverage for something useful that mattered to me. At the same time, I felt a strong urge to support specifically women with my naturally fired-up and action-oriented approach. I was also now being trained to become a high-performance business coach. So it all seemed to converge into a no-brainer coaching niche for me. Got it. So all of this converged into your current coaching business? Yes. And looking back, I know self-awareness was key for me. I had to take a good honest look at myself and my life. I knew that if I wanted to build a new chapter with more alignment and fulfillment, I had to start from within. Where was the converging point between my experience, my “superpowers,” my interests, and where I wanted to create an impact? Everything converged so clearly for me into empowering women to develop their dream business activities tangibly. On a higher level, I care about women feeling deeply empowered and fulfilled through their professional lives. I feel there’s still so much work to do here on a global level where women have, for too long, been conditioned to feel less entitled professionally than men. Fulfillment in any area of life comes from profound alignment with what you’re really meant to be doing and what you (or your soul) really truly want. For me and my business, this translates into women daring to develop their vision into business activities that fully align with them and economically fulfill and empower them. I feel this is so needed, so good to hear about your bigger mission. Okay, so we covered your background and how you transitioned into your current business. What happened after that? How has this grown into the 6-figure business you now run? It’s now been a little over 3 years since I quit my last job. I started this business right after. It has grown organically from the beginning. Mostly word-of-mouth and referrals. I have, in the process, documented my journey on socials. And consistently created content. But never really used any elaborate marketing plan, ads, or funnels. I have now coached a little over 300 leaders worldwide, hosted 10 leadership retreats around Europe, held over 50 talks and workshops around the world, and ran multiple transformative online coaching programs. For the first two years of my business, I was mostly a digital nomad. I quit my job shortly after spending time in Spain, Italy, and Portugal as I hosted retreats in beautiful places and coached my clients online. Then I decided to let go of my apartment in The Netherlands and took off for a solo tour of about 5 weeks across Latin America. I had never been to any of those countries before. I set up Facebook events at every city I visited and hosted coaching workshops just for fun that were almost always sold-out. I had the best time and met incredible humans. After this, I spent some time in Bali. In the last year, I’ve been more focused on streamlining and scaling my business. Since before I quit my job, I’ve been coached, mentored, and trained by about a dozen high-level coaches, mentors, healers, (Hypno)therapists,... you name it. To be the best coach I can be, I first need to do the work on myself. I can only coach others to the extent I have grown myself first. I’ve also surrounded myself by incredible people that have worked on my business. Various assistants, admin support, branding geniuses,... I feel so grateful and supported. Amazing. So, Alix, you’ve built a 6-figure brand in full alignment with you . Where will you take this next? My bottom line is to create maximum positive transformation in as many women’s professional lives as possible. How this looks like in terms of “format” is secondary to me. At the same time, I am on a journey myself. This is a lifelong journey for every human. It is important to me that whatever I create is in alignment with me at that moment. This is another reason why the personal brand/solopreneur approach has felt so expansive to me until now. I can grow and develop it organically in the way that most resonates with me as I go. In 2021, I’m mainly running 3-month mastermind programs as well as 3-day transformative weekends digitally. I also keep working 1:1 with a selection of clients. I am booked to be a speaker and panelist at various events for The next ~ 1 year. Together with my team, we’re also developing digital content so that more people can benefit from the framework I teach. Let’s dive into that a little - tell us about your framework and coaching approach. I call it Full Potential coaching. Designed for women to thrive on their full professional potential. Within it, I work with 3 main pillars: 1) State 2) Strategy and; 3) Action. With State, we address your mindset (internal narratives, beliefs, blockages, identity,...) as well as your overall energy level. I work on this pillar first because, from a better state, we’re better off to address Strategy. Within Strategy, we create your most aligned strategy blueprint. And then we move into Action - probably my favorite. I speak about “high-impact moves” versus “low-impact moves” to learn to consistently take the most empowering action for you to truly step into your full professional potential. Sounds epic. Do you have any last words of advice you’d give to anyone wanting to build their most aligned 6-figure business? Well, the most important is to allow yourself to get started and get going. Allow yourself to investigate who you are and why you’re here on this planet. We’re all here for a reason, with a purpose and unique blueprint meant to be leveraged to create value in the world. Also, focus on how you can add value in the world in your unique way to something that truly matters to you. And invest in yourself as much as you can. I mean, work with the best coaches you can afford. There’s just so much about your journey you won’t be able to understand just by yourself. Or it’s likely to take you way too long. A good coach will fast-track you into your most fulfilling growth. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my website for more info!