Written by: Pia Antico, 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. Stepping into my 49th Birthday Month of celebrations I opened my cupboard doors & jumped in, ready to go on a magical transformative journey. No, it wasn't to Narnia! The transformative journey was to a world of kindness & acceptance of myself AS I AM NOW! The final frontier of self-love has definitely been one centered around my body. Finally being OK in my skin. I've spent my adult life from 18 to now in some state of bodily trauma or another - from my first UTI turning into a kidney infection that nearly killed me & that would then become the battleground for conscious & unconscious anxieties - my 'weak area' - which was my first experience of uncontrolled rapid weight loss. The teen years 'puppy fat melted away & skinny me walked into abusive marriage no.1. Praised for keeping skinny through my pregnancy & looking even skinnier with an 18-month-old daughter- none of it from deliberate weight loss & exercise- most likely through ongoing illness & anxiety from the abusive marriage. Skinny 28-year-old me trying to keep her head down in her marriage steps out into her first full-time job after childbirth & kidney recovery only to get run over at 100km/hr coming home from work. The impact of which saw me shrink even further after waking from a coma a few months later. Fast forward to 35, I got out of the marriage, experienced exponential recovery from my head injury & for the first time in my adult life started to put on weight. Started to dare to exhale & become visible. It was this visible me that met my second abusive husband in 2009 & this visible me that changed her Faith path that had as one of its misogynistic false requirements to conceal & be less visible. Hard to do when your boobs have their own postcode. In 2014, through no conscious effort of my own, but by the magic of trauma, & the effectiveness of the Pakistani D-diet; I shrunk again - praised all the way by jealous sisters-in-law for looking 'smarter'. Apparently, 4 university degrees doesn't make you look as smart as being emaciated. Of course, my tailor was thrilled that I kept visiting him to take in my kurta. But, being skinny did not stop my ex from abusing & neglecting me. Four years ago, skinny 45 year old me gets her arse on a plane escaping the marriage & facing life rebuild no. 3 back in Australia. The transformative journey of these last four years being the basis of my first Co-authored book SHINE VOL 4 - ch12 Living & Loving Heartfully my story of inspirational success over adversity. 💥 READ HERE: AU US Over these past 4 years I have become more visible again, my reframe for having 'put on a stack of weight'. Yes, even bigger than the me that went to Pakistan feeling 'grateful' a handsome guy in his 20s would find me desirable. Today, at the start of my 49th Birthday Month I stepped into my cupboard to go on a transformational journey into kindness, acceptance & self-love. I pulled out all the clothes I bought at the beginning of life rebuild no.3 & thanked them as I bagged them for the charity clothing bin down the street. I decided to no longer have the past, that no longer fits me, take up space in my closet. I decided to take a look in the mirror, take accurate measure of who I am right now, & wrap myself in color & style that compliments who I am as I am, & that excites me to be more. Today I celebrate every extra inch of myself that gets to dream beyond abuse & dare to begin to build upon an envisioned 6 figure business that I love. Yes, I want my final ground of mastery to be that of gaining a sense of confidence & strength in my body; the body that even when weakened & injured carried me to safety & salvation. So at 49, I choose the power of acceptance for what is, & releasing what no longer fits. Are you holding onto things that no longer fit in your life? Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Pia! Pia Antico, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine “In the middle of a storm, it is possible to find peace and strength when we tap into our innate Spirit-led wisdom and step heartfully into the present moment.” — Pia Antico. Pia Antico is the Founder of Essential Awakening Mentoring, a Relationships Reset Mentor/Coach/Trainer, Speaker, and Author. Pia is also in a Creative Partnership with the charity “More to her life,” contributing a percent of her sales/fees to inspire and support women to dream and build beyond domestic violence. She guides and encourages unfulfilled women over 40 who have spent their adult lives looking after others and following ‘the rules’ to courageously step into the second half of their lives with a total ‘Joy Reboot’ using her signature AWAKEN Model © of joyful living, based on a 3-step transformational journey embodying the 6 key elements of joy. This allows her clients to respond to any situation with calm, clarity, and confidence, enabling them to live and love fearlessly in the present moment. Pia holds three degrees in Psychology, Counseling Training, and Certification in the Inside-Out Paradigm. Additionally, she learned how to thrive after two toxic marriages and following an accident that left her with a life-altering brain injury; all while she raised a resilient, courageous, and creative daughter who has now stepped into her own light and soulful marriage.

Written by: Nadine Zeinoun Khoury, 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 of you had always dreamt of being an Executive or Senior Director in some organization, only to find that actualizing that dream added much more pressure to your life than true pleasure? What do you think could be the cause of all this pressure? In addition to all your great points and observations, one thing that has caught my attention when working with such leaders is the unrealistic “high level of expectations” they have placed on themselves. The need to always be right! The need to always know everything and have all the answers! The need to be the expert within the team! The need to be distant from team members, so they don’t take advantage of you! The need to always stay strong and never show your emotions or your weaknesses and vulnerabilities... and the list goes on and on and on! How would you feel if you had all the above beliefs? I personally would suffocate from the pressure! So, what can you do in such a situation? How can you relieve that pressure that is taking a toll on you and even impacting your performance? The first and most important point to start with is checking your perceptions and beliefs about Leadership? What is a Leader to you? And how would an ideal Leader behave? How would he/she deal with his team? How would he/she express their feelings and emotions? What are their perceptions about failure and vulnerability? My guess is that your beliefs about leadership and how an effective leader “should be” might be a bit off track. You see, our beliefs and perceptions about concepts and situations dictate our feelings and behaviors around them. If we have acquired some perceptions about a Leader (from our environment, other leaders, books, trainings, courses…) that put pressure on us and don’t serve us, then the only way to relieve this pressure is by changing these perceptions and beliefs and turning them into beliefs that serve us as leaders. What is worse than the pressure these “false Leadership beliefs” put on us is the fact that having such beliefs will also push us to become the leader we “should” be rather than the leader we “want” to be. This, of course, will drive us off track from our authenticity and who we truly are as people. And believe me, there is nothing worse than feeling like you cannot be yourself, and you are wearing a mask 24 hours a day! So, take that decision now and start looking into your current beliefs! How are they adding pressure to you as a Leader? And how can you adjust them? If you find it difficult to do that, I would love to support you by offering a FREE 45-min Co-Creation Session to help you co-create your empowering beliefs!!! Grab that chance NOW and book through the below link: https://nadinezeinoun.com/book-in-a-call/ Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Nadine! Nadine Zeinoun Khoury, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Nadine is a Leader in Emotional & Conversational Intelligence. After growing up in the Lebanese Civil War and having witnessed its drastic consequences in terms of hatred, polarization, disharmony, and low productivity at the country level, Nadine shaped her mission into dedicating all her efforts and her God-given strengths to unleashing teams' productivity through compassion, peace, and harmony. Having experienced the challenges of creating harmony as a corporate leader in the pharmaceutical industry, Nadine now works with corporate leaders struggling with disengaged teams that seem disconnected and do not take any initiatives. Nadine helps them become outstanding, emotionally intelligent leaders capable of exceeding business objectives while inspiring productive, harmonious, and happy teams who are keen on taking initiatives.

Written by: Jane Christine, 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 felt like you weren’t good enough in your business? That others might uncover you’re a fraud? You think your success is through luck? You are not alone! Having imposter feelings doesn’t automatically mean that you have Imposter Syndrome. Did you know that over 70% of adults will experience imposter feelings at one point in their life? So, understanding that having these feelings is relatively common can often lessen the blow that there is something wrong with us. Studies have also shown that Imposter Syndrome can disproportionately affect high-achieving people. So why is that? “Perfectionism has a link to Imposter Syndrome . ” High-achieving people have high standards for themselves that even they cannot meet. This has a direct link to perfectionism. The notion that everything must be perfect, and if it’s only 99% correct, perfectionists will solely focus on that 1% incorrect. Therefore, only ever seeing the missing portion. I am a recovering perfectionist myself, and through my research as a Mindset Coach and NLP Master Practitioner, I discovered why people experiencing Imposter Syndrome often second guess themselves, and this leads to feeling overwhelmed, which is followed by procrastination and then freezing when they are trying to reach that next level in their business. They have gotten stuck in the “Perfectionism, Procrastination, Paralysis Cycle.” Want the good news? There is a way you can break this cycle, challenge your imposter feelings, reframe your mindset and build rapport with your Inner Critic. You can talk your way out of Imposter Syndrome! Challenge Your Imposter Feelings Your imposter feelings are basing their evidence on something you have experienced in the past. Remember, our minds are only a database filled with stories we tell ourselves founded from our past experiences. So, challenging these stories with factual evidence, not only opinions, we have created. Thoughts are not facts! Start by writing two columns – “I can’t” and “I can.” You will then fill up these headings with reasons why you can’t do the task you believe you aren’t good enough for and the reasons you have been able to complete similar tasks in the past. See if you can challenge your “I can’t” column by finding real evidence, not only bias opinions. Build Rapport With Your Inner Critic The voices you hear saying that “you are not good enough, you are a fraud, you aren’t qualified to do this, you will get found out.” This negative self-talk is coming from your active Inner Critic. I like to think of your Inner Critic as a wise old friend that has tried to give you sound advice for years that you have just ignored. No wonder it is angry with you. Think about a time you gave your friend advice, and they didn’t take on board, then they came back to complain about the same thing. Did you respond nicely the next time you gave advice? I am assuming not. So, it makes sense why your Inner Critic is loud, authoritarian, and mean. Of course, knowing this now doesn’t take away the awful feeling you get from hearing this consistently. Next time you hear your Inner Critic, I want you to repeat what it says to you in a question form and add the word “and?”. You are now acknowledging your Inner Critic. Listen for the response and keep asking it “and?”. Notice if it becomes quieter, nicer, or doesn’t respond. You are now building rapport with your Inner Critic and opening communication for the first time. Relish in the inner peace when you don’t hear the negative self-talk. Reframe Your Mindset Now that you have found inner peace, there is space to start reframing your mindset. The saturation of negative self-talk does not consume you. You can breathe in the calmness. Start by celebrating the small wins – write down 3 small wins each week. Focus on all the good that you have achieved and not only the things you still need to do. Have a positive approach to your business tasks and writing a list of “Things Accomplished” instead of a list of things to do. Find your “good enough” standard so you can feel satisfied and not needing everything to be 100%. Small changes create big momentum. However, the biggest gift you can give yourself is to be kind and compassionate and use positive intentions to lead the change. You have the skills and have already accomplished so many wonderful things in your life. It has not been for luck. Luck is only the meeting of good preparation and divine timing. You are competent, and the fact you want to out talk your Imposter Syndrome indicates you are halfway there by reading this article. Even masters haven’t truly mastered their zone of genius. We are all in a permanent state of learning, and that is a gift. Be curious, learn about mindset, research techniques and see if they are a good fit for you, and most importantly, get support. Who you surround yourself with has a direct impact on your life. If you want to invest in yourself, work with a mindset coach who will take you through step-by-step to overcome your Imposter Syndrome. Follow me on Instagram , connect with me on LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Jan e ! Jane Christine, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Jane Christine is a certified Life Coach, NLP Master Practitioner, and author. Originally from Australia working in the corporate world until she questioned her life's purpose. Jane believed there had to be more to life, so she sold everything she owned and set off for a nomadic lifestyle traveling around the world searching for answers and a place to call home, which she finally found in Spain. Her search and transformation took her to over 37 countries. Life experiences and her own personal growth guided her to become a certified Life Coach. Her travels inspired her quest to learn about the world around us and why we do what we do. Since 2012, Jane Christine has been studying how our pasts shape us, the effects of societal standards, and the impact of values. With Neuro-Linguistics Programming techniques and through the power of transformation, learn how to; bridge the gap, define self-worth, set tangible goals, find comfort through change, and how 1% micro-changes can alter lives. Jane Christine is the author of "How You Know Already: Questions to ask yourself to find the answers within," as she believes we are all unique, and so are each of our paths to follow. She is dedicated to her clients and supporting their growth and journey. Her motto: Design your life, don't just live it!

Written by: Angelica Castellaneta , 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. Would you describe yourself as an optimistic, pessimistic, or realistic person? Glass half empty or half full? For a long time, I thought of myself as realistic — when I was, in fact, a pessimist. I thought optimism was for the ignorant — those who didn’t understand the realities of the world we live in. I thought being happy was overrated, and I didn’t understand the benefits of cultivating a positive mindset until my life and self-esteem were all but ruined. Eventually, I realized that my mindset was the problem. Having a positive growth-oriented mindset isn’t just about being happy. A positive mindset sets you up for success — and there is neuroscience behind why that happens. But first, why are humans wired to think negatively? The Psychology Behind Negative Thinking Unfortunately, many of us are conditioned to have an unhelpful mindset. How does this happen? Each of us learns how to relate to the world based on the following social agents — family, peers, culture, schooling, religion, the media, work environments, etc. And each of us comes to unconscious conclusions about who we are, what we are capable of, our ability to learn and improve based on our social conditioning. This means that much of what you believe to be true isn’t your belief to begin with. Through decades of conditioning and repeated messages, we end up with beliefs about who we are meant to keep us safe. And safe is the opposite of success. You may have heard of the ego or the unconscious mind. Your subconscious makes up about 90% of your mind and is responsible for your emotions, habits, long-term memory, and beliefs. Through learned experience and socialization, your subconscious mind has learned the beliefs that will keep you safe; these are doubt, fear, and scarcity. Through these beliefs, the ego works to protect you and prove itself right. If deep down you believe you are unworthy of success, the ego will dissuade you from any meaningful action in your career that might result in success. Let’s say you want a promotion, but you’ve been conditioned to believe you are unworthy through decades of negative reinforcement about your abilities by your parents. Even though you want the promotion and are qualified, deep down, you believe you are unworthy. Your mind will look for proof. That’s when our negative thinking begins to take over. "I don’t deserve the promotion . I’m not good enough. I don’t know enough about budgeting. What if I get the promotion and I’m not good at my job, and everyone thinks I’m an imposter?" This is how the mind works. It protects you from the unknown by bringing up fear of rejection, ridicule, and failure and might justify those fears with examples from the past. Neural Plasticity — aka the Biggest Secret in the World Is this making sense? Do you understand now why more people than not are negative by nature? Our overly protective minds are ancient machines that thrived in the fight or flight times when we were being chased by large animals and might be killed by a storm. Think about it, in those times, our Palaeolithic ancestors needed the brain to be overly protective because everything was a threat, and the unfamiliar was dangerous. In today’s modern age, we do not need the ego to keep us safe because most of us are fortunate enough to meet our basic needs. It’s time to update your programming. What do I mean by this? I mean that it’s time that you rewired your brain to be more positive. And yes, I do mean literally reprogramming your brain by creating new neural pathways. This is a concept called neuroplasticity, and in my opinion, it’s the best-kept secret in the world. How many of us grow up to believe that an old dog can’t learn new tricks? How many of us believe that our abilities, talents, and negative minds are fixed? This couldn’t be further from the truth. When we adopt a growth-oriented mindset, we slowly rewire our brains to be more positive and unlearn negative conditioning. Think of your brain as coming with a negative default setting—let’s upgrade. Your Mindset is Your Biggest Asset Now that we understand why most of us think negatively let’s take some time to dive into why having a positive mindset is important to achieve success. We already know that the brain likes to prove itself right. Now, we can either be positive evidence collectors or negative evidence collectors. I bet that you’ve gone most of your life being a negative evidence collector. What does this mean? It means that you’ve gone around for decades believing your life is terrible, and every time something terrible happened, your mind said, “aha! I knew my life is terrible!” Imagine what would happen if you told yourself your life is wonderful and went around looking for the positives in your life. I’ll tell you what would happen—your brain would start to look for more positives to prove this new story right. And what would happen after that? You would start to see opportunities to bring more of what you want in your life. See, most of us focus on what we DON’T want and are so fixated on the negative ideas that we never notice the opportunities because our brain isn’t looking for them. It’s simply looking to reinforce the negative. Now it makes sense why successful people have strong growth-oriented mindsets—their mind isn’t holding them back from success and opening up the possibilities before them daily. This is how the sequence goes: more opportunities = more success = more happiness = more ease = a better life. This is something I’ve experienced for myself and which I call the Rising Tide Effect. When you begin to work on your mindset, you start to see a ripple effect for the rest of your life. Then something magical happens — just like a tide lifts all the boats in the harbor, your mindset lifts all the other areas of your life, making change in any area easier than ever before. It’s easier to have good relationships. It’s easier to stick to healthy habits. It’s more enjoyable to take care of yourself. It’s easier to take action in your career. Everything gets better. Are you ready to change your mindset so you can change your ENTIRE life? Believe me. It’s worth it. My Top 3 Strategies to Cultivate a Positive Mindset 1. Radical Acceptance Most of us go through life resisting; we resist change, resist challenging situations, and resist the true nature of things. By radically accepting a situation for what it is, even if we don’t like it (instead of fighting against it or resisting it), we gain peace. Take this pandemic , for example: We can choose to rebel against the restrictions, complain about having to wear masks, and focus our energy and attention on resisting something that we cannot change, OR we can choose to accept what is happening in the world. We can choose to believe that although it's a terrible situation, we accept the pain. That's how we eliminate suffering—by accepting the pain. Something I tell all my clients is: pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. Suffering comes from resisting pain. When you resist something you cannot change, you choose to suffer, but if we let go and focus on what we can control, our perspective changes, and we free ourselves. 2. Repeating Affirmations Our subconscious mind is responsible for our long-term memory, emotions, beliefs about the world, habits and impulsive urges, and intuition and creativity. The only way we can rewire our subconscious mind is through repetition. So while you may think it's silly to stare at yourself in the mirror and talk to yourself, repeating affirmations is a psychology-backed strategy that will dramatically improve your life if you give it a chance. If we repeat the same thing over and over, we start to believe it. If we attach positive feelings to the new beliefs, our lives start to change. Positivity and negativity are like muscles. If you work out the positive one, you'll end up with a strong positive mind. And if you don't train the negative, it will atrophy. By strengthening the positive, you weaken the negative. Try repeating positively framed affirmations with the words I am. By saying I am, you are attaching your identity to new truths you want to affirm. Even if you think it's silly at first, repeating affirmations reprograms your brain to be more positive. 3. Reframing Thoughts The third strategy I have for you today will be a little challenging at first, but over time you'll strengthen your positivity. I call this strategy doing mental push-ups or reframing thoughts. The more mental push-ups you do, the better and faster you get at them. This is how we develop mental fortitude. When you have strong mental fortitude, it's like there is a force field around your mind, and negativity simply bounces off. So how do we get there? When we reframe thoughts, we first become aware of what we are thinking, quickly determine if this line of thought is helping or hindering us, and immediately challenge ourselves to think three positive thoughts. STEP 1: Become aware of your negative thinking STEP 2: Determine if the thought is helpful or unhelpful STEP 3: Immediately think of three positive thoughts and/or say them OUT LOUD Remember: you can't choose your first thought, but you DO have control over every thought after that. Cultivating a positive mind takes time and practice, but the more you apply these strategies to your life, the more you will see a difference in the way you think, and soon, your external world will be a reflection of your internal world. Conclusion Your mindset determines your outcomes in life. If you want to be successful and live a happy life, you have to commit to bettering your mindset by upgrading your unhelpful negative programming and creating new neural pathways. Neural plasticity indicates that we can reprogram our brain through these three psychology-backed strategies: 1) radical acceptance; 2) repeating affirmations and; 3) reframing thoughts. Though these are powerful strategies, it takes time and practice to cultivate a positive mindset, but the result is an overall better quality of life. For more info, follow me on Instagram and visit my website ! Angelica Castellaneta, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Angelica Castellaneta is an empowerment coach who helps women become their best selves and create the life of their dreams. She is the Founder and CEO of The Bright Babe Coaching, a Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner, and a Certified Wellness Expert. After nearly a decade of struggling with her identity, emotions, thinking, and coping habits, Angelica received a diagnosis for borderline personality disorder—one of the most stigmatized conditions—and committed to healing and recovery, leading her to an abundant life she never thought possible. Now, she helps women transform their lives through positive psychology and success habits so they can be happy, healthy, and fulfilled. Angelica uses her platform to spread a message of hope and possibility for those who are struggling; reminding them of their endless potential.

Written by: Linda Terjesen, 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. Lately, I’ve asked many people the question of if they want to be happy or satisfied, and as often happens, people can’t choose, so they say both. However, there’s a big difference between happiness and satisfaction. I’ll elaborate about why and what that is. Think about settling. Sometimes a person wants a nicer car, a larger apartment, designer clothes, a fancy purse. Then they start thinking….well, that’s too expensive, so I’ll just stick with what I have because what I currently have is ok. What I have is nice too, and I don’t really need anything else, anything better. So then that person settles. They settle for what they have. The truth is we can have our cake and eat it too. We don’t have to settle at just looking at the cake. People who are trying to lose weight often settle. They want to eat the cake and they don’t think they can eat the cake and lose weight. But they can. However, they doubt it, so they eat too much cake, and they stay satisfied. I’ve never been happy with settling for less. I always want more. The truth is I also feel worthy of more. Sure, I get scared and doubtful, but deep inside, I believe that when there’s a will, there is indeed a way and if someone else has what I want, I can get there too. A lot of this goes back to value. Valuing oneself and one’s self-worth. The problem is we often talk ourselves out of what we want. We get logical. We get logical, because the unknown is scary, and we start doubting ourselves. However, being logical is being satisfied. We can have more than we currently have. It’s totally possible. We can change. When we do more, we can have more. With effort, commitment and time comes change. Often, we have to get out of our comfort zone and do what many others don’t want to do. We have to really want it and follow our emotions. That is, if we really desire more than just being satisfied. If we want the results, the success, then it’s important we put in the work and change up what’s not working. Get out of the comfort zone. Build new habits and surround ourselves with those who have what we desire. There’s no inspiration, courage or happiness in logic. There’s only satisfaction. When we follow our emotions instead of our logic, we become happy. It’s never too late to be happy. Always know that we deserve the very best. We are all worth it 100%. For more information, follow Linda on Facebook, Instagram and visit her website! Read more from Linda! Linda Terjesen, Executive Contributor BRAINZ Magazine. Linda Terjesen is an International sought-after Certified Nutritionist, Health & Fitness Expert dedicated to helping middle-aged women worldwide build consistency, lose belly fat and boost metabolism to feel and look confident for life with a sustainable, real food approach. After Linda lost her only brother at age 45 to a sudden heart attack, Linda decided to follow her passion for health and fitness and help others live their healthiest life. As a relatable Coach who truly cares about her clients and their success, Linda has served over 100 Clients worldwide, providing a wealth of accountability, support, and education.

Written by: Sarah Needham, 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. Often in life, we try to be invisible. To 'avoid' embarrassment or conflict, or because it feels uncomfortable to get involved etc.. I get it! These are ‘valid’ reasons, aren’t they? But what choice are you making as you pull the hood of your invisibility cloak down lower? Does your action make you feel proud or content? If not, what are you feeling? Discomfort or perhaps, frustration, or even shame? These negative emotions indicate that something about the action (or in-action) you took is not aligned to your personal values. You have in some way dis-honored something which is important to you. What was it about that situation you wanted to hide from? What was hard? What was it about choosing not to engage (& be seen) felt easier in the moment but left you feeling uneasy? We make over 30,000 decisions each & every day. We cannot get involved in everything. We do always have a choice though what we get involved in & the option to share what is important to us. Getting outside your comfort zone feels uncomfortable, so those situations when you want to pull on your invisibility cloak are those you can grow the most from engaging in. Ask yourself this: What is important to you about this situation? If it is important to you, then share openly what you see or think, without judgment or the need to be right ..then see what happens! Tip. If you start the sentence with ‘I feel/ I sense/ I think…’, then you own your feelings & you create space for the others to do the same. Go on, I DARE you! You see EMOTION is Energy in MOTION. By giving voice to something which would otherwise have been left unsaid, you are changing the energy in the conversation. Your voice will create new motion & that creates new opportunity! For more info, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit my website! Sarah Needham, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Sarah Needham is a coach with an extraordinary vision: “To create a world where everyone feels they can stand up and engage in discussion about what matters most”. She wants us all to take off our invisibility cloaks, and share courageously what we think and feel. Sarah believes that we are all unique for a reason and we should challenge ourselves to step proudly into our uniqueness, our own SUPERPOWER! As a coach, she challenges herself to inspire people by holding regular sessions on this topic. Sarah’s work brings together her three core values: technology, sustainability and challenging others to embrace their uniqueness. She helps tech founders and leaders unleash their impact in creating a more sustainable life on earth whilst prioritizing their own self-care, and in doing so, creating a more sustainable business. Sarah is an engineer with many years as a leader at one of the world's leading global engineering corporations. She is British living in Potsdam, Germany with her husband, two adopted daughters and two cats.

Written by: Ilham N Musayev, 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 Best Leaders Have A High Consideration Factor. They Really Care About Their People” - Brian Tracy, motivational public speaker and self-development author. Before diving into details, let’s quickly explore what type of leadership is servant leadership: As per Wikipedia – “Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy in which the goal of the leader is to serve. This is different from traditional leadership where the leader's main focus is the thriving of their company or organizations. A servant leader shares power, puts the needs of the employees first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible. Servant leadership inverts the norm, which puts the customer service associates as a main priority. Instead of the people working to serve the leader, the leader exists to serve the people. As stated by its founder, Robert K. Greenleaf, a Servant Leader should be focused on, "Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?" When leaders shift their mindset and serve first, they benefit as well as their employees in that their employees acquire personal growth, while the organization grows as well due to the employees growing commitment and engagement. Since this leadership style came about, a number of different organizations have adopted this style as their way of leadership.” So, with this in mind, let’s explore what traits, skills and characters build us as a servant leader and is at all possible to become one? 1. It’s all about the mindset One thing which is common and key for all servant leaders and actually makes true servant leaders is their ability to realize and know that leadership is about others. It’s about serving first and leading second. And it is not about telling people that you are a servant leader and they can trust and follow you. It about people seeing this leadership in your actions and attitudes about leading (mindset), and your leadership behaviors are what will make that statement come true. So, what kind of ingredients, when they come together, build a servant leadership mindset? There might be many depending on cultural and organizational differences. And as much as they are really serving people and help them feel empowered, they are counted. Let me offer some which are very common and important ones to consider if you want to start your servant leadership journey: authenticity, empathy, honesty, caring, humility, collaboration, compassion, patience…. The list is endless, these are immediate ones to focus though. One important thing to remember that it is not an overnight job master on all the above. However, if you as a leader understand where you are on these and start your journey step by step, you most probably succussed sooner or later. It is a great idea too to ask people around you to give feedback. You will be amazed at how diverse feedback you receive and that would be your star moment. The tricky thing is that you may not always be getting positive and desired input. In such situations staying authentic and vulnerable about areas for improvement is a big step forward towards your servant leadership journey. 2. Another magic set is skillset Now when we understand a little bit about the mindset, the question is that what are those skills that really trigger us to become genuine leaders – servant leaders. The same as with the mindsets we covered, there many of them around. The truth is that there are “must have’s” we need to focus on in first instance. These are: Active listening, powerful questioning, commitment to grow people, building trust and a full pack of other coaching skills. Having coaching skills and practicing them masterly is a definite state which makes servant leaders different from others. Now let’s dive in and discover which of these skillsets are so important that they make a difference. All of them are! However, it is impossible to cover all of them in one article, but having an awareness of 3 important and key skillsets will lead you in the right direction. I personally believe the following are critical: Active Listening – when as a leader you start listening to people intently to understand what they are saying, without interrupting them, it will become a big game-changer. It’s not about listening with your ears only, its most importantly, listening with your heart. Only then will your people notice your deep commitment and full attention you give to them; they will catch your body language and many other magic things without saying. That will become a moment when you start gradually building a trust and hence getting into your people’s trust zone. Ask yourself a question – how many people’s trust zones are you in now? Empathy – For some people, this skill comes naturally, others must work to develop it. There are many ways on how empathy is being interpreted and related to servant leadership. The most simple and straightforward model, the way how I personally see it – is to understand the other party’s perspective on what is being said and even not being said. That means trying to get into what a person’s spirit and mind are telling. It also involves observing and absorbing all non-verbal signals that are being sent together with the words. Based on the above-said, empathy is not just a key skillset or practice for servant leaders, it is also a huge responsibility! Last but not least, empathy embraces genuine feelings, the emotions of other people and the ability to do that with no judgment and criticism. Focus on People’s growth – Servant leaders believe that all people are talented, and they deserve professional growth. Servant leaders cultivate an environment where every single voice is heard and there is no such concept of introverts or extraverts or maybe pro-active people and silent runners. All team members are so empowered and inspired that they are feeling adding value to the organization and also being highly valued. Hence, the servant-leaders are deeply committed to the growth of every individual in their area. The true servant leaders understand their people’s developmental needs and give them the skills they need to do their jobs effectively. On top of all other good things, servant leaders also strive to discover what people’s personal goals are and provide them an opportunity with assigning to the projects, giving additional responsibilities which stretch them out, but eventually helps them to grow as well. 3. Closing Word The subject of servant leadership has been brought to the attention today with the purpose to spark a light and make many leaders to reflect on their leadership styles. The article is also aimed to prompt active servant leaders to ask themselves on how genuinely they are leading, and they are truly servant? There are many young and middle career people these days who have a huge potential to transform into the great servant leaders. I invite them especially to reflect, brainstorm and consider this opportunity as the game changer and the magic way forward. For more info, follow me LinkedIn ! Ilham N Musayev, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Ilham N Musayev, is a mentor and coach (outside of the company his works for) who helps people to unlock their potential in career and personal development. He also helps in area of personal effectiveness, setting realistic goals and becoming organized and structured. Ilham also helps to re-gain the [lost] confidence and look to issues and problems from different perspective. Another area of his support is helping to cultivate servant leadership via coaching and mentoring technics. Overall, he is an energy sector professional with 22+ years of practical experience obtained by working in one of the leader companies in this sector. Ilham’s experience is very multilayered. He worked and gained his experience from following functions: Wells, PSCM, Operations, Global Projects by mainly providing project controls support. For the last three years he worked in Modernization and Transformation and Agile Design Teams and helped his company to transform to new ways of working. He currently is a part of Agility team and as an agile coach supports the company by implementing agile ways of working. Ilham holds following professional certifications and accreditations: EMBA, PMP®, ICP-ATF; ICP-ACC; PSPO I ; PAL I. He also is a Professional Life Coach and ICF Professional (Member). Ilham’s position is that staying open for support, serving people as a leader, and helping people to grow is what wins heart and minds and is the only answer to all questions. His mission: “Aspire to inspire, before we expire”.

Written by: John Kenny , 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. It is important that, as men, we recognize the signs of an unhealthy or even toxic relationship. There is a lot out there in the world that can help women become aware of these things, because in general, men are seen as being the toxic partner. But as a man who has been in toxic relationships, we need to be aware of the signs. We should know what to do if we are in them and how they can impact our emotional, mental and physical health. In the past, I may have been seen as the one with the problem (and I did have them), but it was my partner's behavior that was leading me to react in unreasonable and overly emotional ways. Although I need to own this as it is my behavior, it is vital to understand what triggers me so that I can remain in a healthy space and not react to the relationship I am in. A healthy relationship won’t feel draining, a hard work, or like you are on an emotional tight rope. If you find that your energy has dipped since you met the person you are with (who has constant issues) or you feel wound up or on edge a lot of the time, this list will help you to reflect and know what to be aware of now and in the future. 1. Being around them is hard work. When you are in a healthy relationship, then you should be enjoying each other’s company. It should feel pleasant to be around them and, frankly, an easy place to be. If this is not the case, then it’s a sign that you’re with someone draining. Here are 3 things to consider: a) You treasure your alone time. Does being alone for the weekend put a smile on your face? Do you feel excited looking forward to a day you’ll get away from your partner? This is a huge red flag. Your brain is rejoicing from a break from the person who is emotionally exhausting you. b) You need to recover after being together. Spending time with your partner makes you feel very tired and need to recharge. If so, it’s a sign that your relationship is draining your energy. If you usually have no problem living daily life but suddenly need a long breather after seeing your partner, something isn’t right for you. c) Conversations can be exhausting. Talking to your partner should generally be a positive experience. Although you will occasionally disagree, if your conversations are frustrating, exhausting, argumentative, and generally negative, then this is draining you. 2. You are constantly in a negative mood. Think about the moods that you have in general? Have you noticed that it is a bit blah? Is it hard to be positive? Do you feel a lack of joy and enthusiasm in your life? Take a moment and reflect on your mental and emotional state. Are you truly as fine as you pretend to be? And if you are fine , what does that really mean? Using the word fine can mean that you are not okay! Relationships that are draining your energy do not necessarily mean you’re always sad, angry, or in an awful mood. What they do typically cause is an absence of happiness or joy, leaving you feeling flat. You may even say things like I feel a bit depressed or I don’t have any energy. 3. Everything is about them. This is a really big one for most of us. Relationships are about equality. If your partner dominates every aspect of your shared lives, you are in a toxic relationship. Here are some examples: a) Conversations You may feel like your partner is always dominating conversations and every single situation you find yourself in. They might speak loudly or cause a scene to draw attention in public, or they may talk over you or cut you off. This can happen whether you’re talking in a group or it’s just the two of you. They seem to think their voice is more important than yours. b) Constant problems come up, and none of them are yours! When you bring up something troubling you, they might cut you off and insist that what they are dealing with is worse. For them, everything is more important than what you are going through, as it’s happening to them (notice the phrase to them – this is part of the victim mentality). They may also seem to be perpetually going through a rough time or feeling anxious. They are unable to step out of their own stuff. c) They are always on your mind. If you spend too much time fretting about your partner, they are draining your energy. You keep hearing their voice chastising you or can’t stop worrying about what they think about what you’re doing. 4. You walk around on eggshells. When in a relationship, you should feel relaxed and free and as though you can share anything with your partner and be yourself. If it’s reached the point where you have to constantly watch every move you make, you are in a toxic relationship. For example, you may: Feel nervous about talking about something because your partner might get angry. Constantly watch everything you do to avoid upsetting them. Worry that asking for something will cause them great distress. Avoid certain subjects as your partner will react badly. Fear that even the slightest misstep will get you into ‘trouble.’ 5. You Feel Controlled. In a healthy relationship, each person has their own agency and freedom. In an emotionally abusive one, you feel controlled all of the time. Your life may feel like it is under a microscope and subject to constant criticism. You can’t be at ease with yourself and always think about who you need to be for them. They may question you all of the time and make demands of you, such as: Where you are meeting friends How you spend money Why are you going out Ask why you need to text or call friends – ask you who it is – demand to see your phone. Become jealous or seemingly overprotective for no reason 6. Your self-esteem is not very high. If you’ve noticed a decline in your self-esteem/self-worth/self-confidence since you began your relationship, you need to recognize this and understand why it might be from your partner. Unhealthy partners can criticize you frequently or take advantage of your insecurities (that they have likely shown you it is okay to share with them in the first place). Successes, give you backhanded compliments, or just be generally negative about things in your life. These people are highly insecure and do these things to lift themselves. If your partner is upset when you decide to devote time to your improvement, this is a bad sign as they want to keep you in a certain space that suits them. 7. Your needs are ignored. As a follow on the above, partners are there for each other, to listen to each other, raise each other, support and complement each other, meet each other’s needs when possible and reasonable. If your partner seems to ignore what you want/need, say they will do something and never do, or generally ignore or dismiss what you say or what you want, then this is a bad place for you to be. Your relationship is being built around what they want, and you will never feel fulfilled. 8. Arguments are the norm – and worse, you take the blame or responsibility! Disagreements are a normal part of any relationship, but not regularly. If they have escalated to fights and arguments, then something is definitely not right. Does your partner tend to instigate these and ignores your attempts to de-escalate the situation, or you just can’t be heard or get through your point of view across? If you always seem to be at fault, your partner may be trying to shift blame as they can’t allow themselves to be in the wrong. They manipulate you to back down, accusing you of being aggressive or angry. 9. You just don’t know what to do. All of the things that you do in your relationship just leave you feeling as though you can’t do anymore. No matter how much you give, it is never enough or is never right. The ninety-nine things you do great are always overshadowed by the hundredth, which is wrong and the only thing they focus on, forgetting the rest! Leaving you at a loss of how this is ever going to be okay. 10. Love is a rollercoaster. Do you find that you can’t predict their behavior? Are they full of love for you one minute and then ignore you or horrible the next? This on/off attraction may keep you interested based on what you expect from relationships or think you deserve based on what your subconscious is telling you. It keeps you guessing, and on tenterhooks, you may find it exciting but will drain you eventually. You can be okay with peace and calm, with the occasional issue, but it may not be what you are used to or allow for yourself. It can lead to trauma bonding or be a sign of co-dependency – both extremely damaging. If your relationship includes even a few of the 10 things I have listed, it shows your relationship is unhealthy for you. If you address these with your partner and are not interested in changing them, it’s time to let go and move on. You deserve better! Be good to yourself. John For more info, follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my website ! John Kenny, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine John Kenny is The Relationship Guy - relationship coach, author of The P.E.O.P.L.E. Programme, documentary maker and speaker. After living a life full of unsuccessful and toxic relationships, John has created Interpersonal Relationship Coaching (IRC) to help successful singles who struggle with intimate relationships of their own. He has been in the field of personal development since 2004 and has helped thousands of clients to live the relationships and life that they choose, rather than the one they always have or feel they have to or should! John will not only help you to understand why you think, feel and do as you do, but also the intricacies of deeper human behavior.

Written by: Alyson Williams, 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. People these days are very aware of the need for self-care. We hear descriptions such as the airline safety message that ‘you need to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others with theirs’ or ‘you need to fill your own cup first because you can’t give from an empty cup.’ We are implored to take time out, to have a massage or do a spa treatment, to meditate, have ‘mental health days’ off work, or to spend time doing what makes us happy as an individual. These pampering activities are great for calming the nerves and soothing the soul in the short term. I wholeheartedly applaud each of these recommendations. In fact, I suggest them to many of my coaching clients and even follow some of these myself. However, there’s more to self-love than self-care. Self-care is, indeed, a vital ingredient in self-love, but it is not the entire recipe! Self-love is the ability to love oneself unconditionally. There are three key parts to achieving self-love — awareness, acceptance, and action. These three components encompass honesty with ourselves, accepting ourselves, self-compassion, and forgiveness, having the desire to change, and then taking action to change. Delving Deeper The first ingredient in self-love is awareness through honesty with ourselves. Without (sometimes brutal) honesty, it is not possible to move towards self-love. This can be quite confronting and even scary for anyone with deep-seated self-doubt or even self-loathing. But it is absolutely vital, for without complete honesty about the lack of love for oneself, there cannot be the desire to change the status quo. The next important ingredients are the desire to change followed by acceptance. Knowing that we want more or better for ourselves then leads to accepting the lack of self-love within. Acceptance of self is about knowing ourselves, accepting ourselves — warts and all, and treating ourselves with compassion. Accepting ourselves is being comfortable with who we are, being authentic, real, not putting on false airs or graces to meet someone else’s standards. It’s about being comfortable in our own skin. This stage is about identifying our strengths and weaknesses. Although someone with low self-esteem/self-love may find it hard to identify their strengths, everyone has both. Our strengths are generally based on our knowledge, skills, and attitudes; everyone does have these in some measure. Once we identify our weaknesses, we can then mitigate or flip them by increasing our knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the required area. For example, someone who procrastinates can learn some time management and motivational skills. It will undoubtedly be a challenge, especially for someone with low self-esteem, but it is possible; that’s the point — it is possible to change and improve! Similarly, our negative beliefs about ourselves can also be changed. Our past does not equal our future! If this was the case, then the world would not have seen the huge shifts in the lives of people like Abraham Lincoln, the 16th US President who experienced repeated failures in his personal, business, and political life and yet went on to become one of the best known of the US Presidents. Richard Branson, a successful entrepreneur and businessman, did not let the fact he was dyslexic or poor at schoolwork or have many failed business enterprises stop him from becoming a billionaire. I’m not saying changing negative beliefs is easy. I am saying that we do not have to let other people’s opinions of us (which is where most of our negative beliefs originate) stop us from living a life of fulfillment, of which self-love is key. (NB. Other negative beliefs come from our childhood either because we misinterpreted an event or incident or because we were labeled by people who themselves were ‘flawed’ or didn’t know any other way. I say ‘flawed’ without judgment because we all do the best we can with what we have at the time.) A third key element to knowing ourselves is knowing what we stand for, our values. Values are the important determinants by which we live our lives. They are the big-ticket items/the deal makers or deal-breakers that underpin our behavior and by which we make decisions. Take loyalty, for example. Someone who has loyalty as a value may not remain friends with anyone who repeatedly gossiped about them behind their back or be fulfilled in a relationship with a partner who continually cheated. A person with this value who accepted these behaviors from their friend or spouse would be extremely unhappy. On the other hand, someone whose value was freedom and believed in an ‘open relationship’ would likely not feel betrayed by their partner. A good friend of mine values quality over price; she prefers to save her money until she can buy a good quality product rather than have a cheap imitation more quickly. Acceptance is also about self-compassion and forgiveness. Forgiving others who have hurt us physically or emotionally is not about condoning or agreeing with the person or their actions. It’s about letting go of the hurt that we’re carrying. Forgiving ourselves for the past is also important; even if we don’t blame ourselves, it is still worthwhile to forgive ourselves. Forgiveness also assists us in trusting ourselves (again). Trusting ourselves is another important ingredient in the self-love recipe. Once we know who we are and what we stand for, it’s much easier to trust ourselves. Trust in our abilities and capabilities. Trust in our humanness, i.e., our honesty to ourselves about ourselves because no one is perfect, but knowing that we need to be honest about whether we’re living by our values and our highest purpose. Trust in the ability to keep our promises to ourselves and our willingness to stand up for ourselves because we are worthy. Having strong boundaries is also part of trusting ourselves. Boundaries are the standards of behavior we hold for ourselves and others. Our boundaries are closely aligned with our values. People for whom respect is a value are respectful to others and require other people to respect them in return. Another important component of self-love is championing oneself, which is about standing up for ourselves against others and not giving up on ourselves in the face of ‘defeat’; persisting to achieve our goals and dreams knowing that we’re worthy and deserving. Championing ourselves means no longer putting our needs last on the list, and it’s also being able to accept praise and acknowledgment, acknowledging our worthiness and deservedness in these instances. The final component of achieving self-love is action. Taking action can take various forms. Action can be getting assistance through learning — courses/workshops/on the job training; by doing the homework — following through consistently on the recommended activities, making one’s progress a priority, and practicing self-discipline. Having mentors, coaches, a strong support network in friends and family, accountability partners, and a like-minded community helps achieve greater self-love. A greater challenge is to cut negative influences/people out of our lives. Sometimes, it is impossible to cut free from all negative people, especially if they happen to be our boss, our spouse, or our parents. However, having a strong sense of our values and establishing firm boundaries are a good start to reshaping how people interact with us and establish a strong sense of self and self-love. Sometimes, it might mean letting go of these negative influences, whether it be a new job or a divorce. Not small decisions, but definitely life-changing if it leads to greater fulfillment and happiness. A key factor of action is celebration. Celebrating every little achievement goes a long way towards affirming our progress and the development of unconditional love for ourselves. As mentioned before, the self-love journey is not an easy one, but it is definitely an important one. It all starts with one step — best to start with baby steps! Even those who have achieved a strong sense of self-love still have instances of self-doubt or self-sabotage. The difference is they do not stay in that state for long. They can ‘pick themselves up, dust themselves off, grow from the experience and move on.’ This is not meant to sound glib; it is a generalization. Self-love is a journey, not a destination. Each of us is on our own journey, at different points along the road. We should not compare ourselves with anyone except ourselves. ‘Success’ is about moving forward at our own pace, and just one step forward is progress, worth acknowledging and celebrating. In a Nutshell In summary, the key steps on the journey to Self-love are: Awareness — know where you are and that you want to change. Get in touch with Who you are — strengths/weaknesses, negative beliefs, know your Values. Acceptance — accepting you are where you are. Being comfortable with yourself without shame/blame or guilt. Know that you want to change & you’re willing to do the work because it can be confronting, but it IS possible to change. Our past does NOT equal our future!! Treat yourself with compassion and forgiveness. Forgive those who wronged you. Trust yourself. Champion yourself. Take Action- get assistance — learn, do courses; do the homework; get support/mentors/coaches; cut out negative influences/people. Start with baby steps. Celebrate each win, no matter how small. Surround yourselves with supporters and champions! Alyson runs a 3-week course on Self-love called Your Journey to Self-love Course. The next one is on Wednesday, 14, 21 &28 April from 7-9 pm (AEST). It cost AUD 100. See Eventbrite for booking or click here. You can also DM Alyson for information on the upcoming course or for further dates. Learn more from Alyson’s article about Extended DISC and attend the free webinar called “Extended DISC — Your Key to Unlock the Mysteries of Human Behaviour” on 17 April 21 from 12-1.30pm (AEST). Book now or email at coach.pylc@gmail.com. You can also visit her website, linktr.ee, or contact Alyson via Facebook Messenger, LinkedIn, or via +61 432 580 886. Read more from Alyson! Alyson Williams, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine In her previous life, Alyson was a teacher. For 12 years, she taught first adults, then high school students. After that, she became a public servant, retiring in 2019 after 25 years with the Australian Department of Defence. She started coaching because all through her adult life, Alyson has been informally coaching and mentoring family, friends, and colleagues. Following the collapse of her comfortable life in 2013, she overcame several major challenges to now live a life of purpose and fulfillment in her new career as a coach. Alyson is an NLP Master Coach, Extended DISC practitioner, relationship coach, leadership coach and trained hypnotherapist.

Written by: Lee-Anne Mendel , Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Are you divinely connected to your Inner Goddess — your feminine energy? As a woman, did you know that our 'Divine Superpower' is our femininity? We are all energy. We are all love. Learning to love and accept yourself unapologetically, all of you, good, bad, and ugly, is key to tap into and awaken the wild woman that already exists inside you. Show her that you care. She’s waiting for you. Your Inner Goddess needs to be loved, nurtured, hugged, accepted, appreciated, expressed, and unleashed. The Wild Woman is the embodiment of Creative Transformation, helping your true wild heart to awaken. I know this from my own personal experience. Recently, I have ignited this spark inside of me. I have never felt more loving, strong, creative, excited, and connected to myself, my needs, my desires, my dreams — to try new things, be adventurous, go outside my comfort zone and stand in my own awesome amazing power, to be me, to not care about what people think or say, to get rid of what society says is right or wrong and dismiss the mundane. We only have one life, so it is up to us to live it to the fullest and not allow others to hold us back or fear to keep us stuck. Fear literally means fantasized events appearing real, so I keep reminding myself to push past those thoughts because the magic is waiting on the other side of uncomfortable. To be honest, if we are not getting uncomfortable every day, then we are not growing. So, I ask you, what is holding you back from lighting the spark within you? The bright light that burns so bright so you can live your fullest best life aligned and on purpose. A life of joy, peace, happiness, and bliss? A life that matters because you matter. Your wild woman matters. Your creativity and sexuality matters. It’s all connected. As a professional businesswoman and mum of two girls, I know what it feels like to be exhausted, stressed out, juggling a million things, and always coming from a place of giving. We all do it. We carry the load. We are the glue for our family and often will suppress our femininity. It can wear us down until one day, like I did, you look at yourself in the mirror, and you no longer recognize that woman staring back at you. Perhaps you are wondering where your fire went? That carefree woman filled with ideas, adventure, wild spirit, and fearlessness? I can tell you this for certain — she is still in there, and as a Holistic Beauty Coach, it's my job to help you find her again. Stop thinking and playing small. You are here to heal, rise, love, serve and make a difference. In a world of so much change and uncertainty, you become an abundance of limitless power by awakening your Divine Goddess. You can emit radiance, joy, and more love into the world. It all starts with you. The Divine Feminine is a creative force that brings all things into existence. It’s your warrior spirit, your wild woman, being deeply spiritually connected to your body, being grounded and aware of your thoughts and feelings, speaking your truth. You are powerful, a visionary, an endless source of creative inspiration. Are you dancing to the rhythm of your own drum? Are you showing up every day as a victim or victor? We all have a choice, so do you! Don’t allow what society says is right or wrong to stop you from doing what will make you feel alive. Be You. Do You. Own It. Goddess, you are healthy, beautiful, loved, and supported. You are unique. Here are my 10 sure ways to awaken your Inner Goddess: 1. Release toxic relationships, the past, events, situations, people, and everything in your life that no longer serves you. Set those boundaries and stay away from negative energy. Stop people-pleasing. 2. Meditate and create awareness. Still, the mind, be more. The answers you seek are within you. 3. Slow down. Be Present. Live in the Moment. As Wayne Dyer says, “The past is history, the future is a mystery, and the present is now,” and when you “change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.” 4. Connect with your body, listen to your body, what does she want? What does she need? To awaken your female energy, practice bringing your attention to your body and your world. Now visualize that everything in your awareness, everything you see, feel, sense, both inside and out, is made up of the goddess energy. 5. Show self-love and gratitude. Speak daily positive affirmations and nurture your inner child. She is deserving, worthy, and whole. She is craving your attention and love. Being grateful is a powerful way to raise your vibration and frequency. Even when things are not going your way, take the negative situation and make it a positive statement and express gratitude for things that you are yet to manifest. “I am opening my heart to love. I am a magnet for love. I love myself inside and out. I am allowing the universe to give me every good thing I deserve.” 6. Do things that make you feel good. Light candles, take a soak in a warm bath using your favorite salt scrub, pamper your body with essential oils or use a detox face mask. Listen to your favorite music, dance, chant, go for a massage. Walk on the beach and get your feet into the soft sand and in the ocean. Sit or walk in nature, ground yourself, read a book, connect with loved ones or friends, get more sleep. 7. Be open to receive, “I am ready and open to receive right now.” Let go of control and allow, be in the flow. That’s when the universe listens. 8. Activate your playful side, be more creative. Say, “I am going to have fun today.” 9. Surround yourself with positive, uplifting people. Your vibe attracts your tribe. 10. Remove negative self-talk and stop self-sabotaging yourself. Your mind will believe anything you tell it, so be mindful of your thoughts as these will create your reality. Wherever you are in your life right now; You have the power within you to make a change, to find that inner spark that already exists within you. Rise to become not only the best version of you but also the queen of your own life. You are worthy ; believe it in your core! Today I wear my crown proud! I am tapping into my own Inner Divine Goddess! I am enough. So are you! I am strong, and I am beautiful inside and out. So are you! You are worthy of achieving all the dreams you have set your heart on, knowing that you are loved and supported every single day and that everything is happening in your highest good. I actually, for the first time ever, can say I don’t need to worry about anything because I believe, I trust. I let go and let God. I have the divine within me. It’s changed my life. You are worthy of greatness! Yes, you are. You are worthy of beautiful friendships and honest relationships without judgment. You are worthy of love, kindness, joy, and abundance. You have a voice and worthy of sharing it in confidence with others to inspire those who need to hear it. Your Divine Inner Goddess awaits. Are you ready to awaken her? I would love to connect with you to support you on your journey of finding the beautiful Goddess within you. For more info, follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my website ! Lee-Anne Mendel, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Lee-Anne Mendel is a Holistic Beauty Coach, Professional Makeup Artist and Health and Wellness Advocate for vegan toxic-free and cruelty-free skincare, beauty and nutritional supplements. Lee-Anne’s coaching approach is a holistic one as she believes once you have your mind, body and soul all working in harmony that’s when you can become the best version of you and live a fulfilled life aligned and on purpose. She is passionate about supporting woman to awaken their Divine Inner Goddess, to tap into their own inner beauty and divine feminine, discover their true authentic self and ignite the spark and light within so they can glow bright, look and feel their best from the inside and out and be confident and comfortable in their own skin. Lee-Anne graduated from the University of Cape Town with a Degree in both Industrial Psychology and Economics and spent 15 years working in IT Distribution and Corporate. She emigrated to Sydney Australia in 2000 where she now resides with her family. In 2020 she traveled to India on a spiritual retreat and studied a Practitioner course in Love Soul Healing. She uses her own wisdom, healing experiences and self-love journey of Divine Transformation to support her clients through both 1:1 coaching and groups. Contribution is big on her heart as she spends time sharing her skills and passion with others and raising money for charity.

Written by: Suzanne Ellison, 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. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me!" I woke up with this old childhood saying in my thoughts, “Why, after decades, have I suddenly remembered this saying?" I repeated the saying again and suddenly realized that it wasn’t true! Sticks and stones may break my bones, but now, all these years later, I know from personal experiences and the work that I do that words can also harm me. In fact, they can be far more dangerous than sticks and stones. Once again, I was made aware of how powerful the mind is. I had been thinking of what I would write for my next article, and the next morning, this saying, which I hadn’t heard in years, was playing out in my mind. The meaning of words and how they’re spoken can be very insidious in affecting your confidence, self-esteem, and health in the long term. It was the perfect saying to use as an example of the power of thoughts. Every day I help people connect the dots between past experiences and current emotional and physical symptoms, such as anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and various health symptoms that seem to have no obvious cause. But there is a cause, and words are often the culprits. People use words as weapons to emotionally hurt themselves and others. Words are just words, but when you attach emotions to words, they can become tools that can inflict pain as bad as any sticks or stones. The difference is your body can heal from the damage caused by sticks and stones, but when you are hurt by the words people say to you, that emotional pain can stay with you for decades Causing low self-esteem, lack of confidence, and feelings of not being worthy. You can also create a toxic environment within your body, leading to physical symptoms, such as IBS, psoriasis, carpal tunnel, and innumerable other symptoms that seem to have no cause. But actually are, as a result of holding onto hurtful words that were said to you at some point in your life. Because so much of what you believe and hold onto occurred when you were young, you probably don’t even realize that these beliefs, which are like a computer program, are running in the background of your subconscious or possibly even deeper in your unconscious consciousness. So what can you do when suddenly overnight you develop a symptom or that voice in your head keeps putting you down and being critical of every thought and action you have, planting the seeds of doubt that keep you stuck where you are. A great starting point to clearing old negative emotions and thoughts is to become aware of daily thoughts. Ask yourself why you have that thought? Where does it come from? Why do you think that particular thought when you have other things to be thinking about? Sometimes just realizing why you have that thought can be enough to stop thinking it. But if you can’t remember the situation, then that’s where I would use EFT and start tapping on that thought. You would be amazed at the words and information that will come to the surface and give you the answers you’re looking for. I recently had a client who kept saying… “I don’t know why I have this thought.” “I can’t remember anything that would make me think this.” The whole time she was saying this and trying to remember, we were tapping on her negative thoughts, and then suddenly, as she was saying she couldn’t remember, in the same breath, she said, “Yes, I do, I know exactly the situation that has led me to think this thought.” This meant that we could then tap on the roots of that thought and clear all the negative emotions she had attached to it, and she carried for years. When your mind is filled with positive, constructive, interesting, and useful thoughts, you start to see opportunities all around you, and it is so much easier to create new and exciting experiences that move you forward in life instead of old negative toxic thoughts, which keep you stuck reliving a past you would rather forget. If you like what you’ve read, then come join my tribe of “Women with Ambition” Living life Without Anxiety in my Facebook group or visit my website. Follow me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Suzanne! Suzanne Ellison, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Suzanne Ellison is an energy healing therapist dedicated to improving the quality of life of people who suffer from chronic pain and anxiety to live life on their own terms.

Written by: Brooklynn Bradley-LaFleur, 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. Life before motherhood feels like a distant memory that I vaguely remember. One thing I remember is preparing to put myself on the back burner. There would be no more mani/pedi days, no more sleep, bubble baths, or lounging around, no more going out and letting loose, and certainly no more spa days. I was mentally preparing to give up myself for my child because that is what you are supposed to do when you become a mom… or so I was led to believe. In the early summer of 2019, when my son was 3, I enjoyed my daily run and woke up in the middle of the road with severely damaged legs, unable to remember what happened. I am sharing this with you to share the importance of what "self-care" actually means. We are under so much stress from our to-do lists, work, kids, extracurriculars, and home maintenance that it is important for our minds, bodies, and souls to decompress at the end of the day and to set time aside for ourselves once a week or at the very least once a month. Did you know that stress triggers Cortisol inside our bodies and, when ignored, can have negative effects on bone density and mental health? Similar to a diet, attention to your well-being is not a temporary change in habits to get you back on track; it's a lifestyle and mindset change that can drastically affect your mental health on both ends of the spectrum. Symptoms from stress may include: Headache Anxiety Muscle Tension Fatigue Low Sex Drive Irritability Overeating Undereating Lack of Focus And so much more. I carried a lot of trauma, stress, and anxiety around and not doing anything about it. I was depressed about the way I looked and was also having a hard time remembering anything. It affected my work, marriage, and home, but I had no idea what to do about it until my accident gave me a wake-up call. The doctors told me I just wasn't taking care of myself. That's what happens when you neglect yourself for so long. During each spa service or at-home treatment, you start to relax, decompress, turn your brain off and unplug, which are key components to strong mental health. Upon completion of these services, you will feel recharged from being able to unplug, happier because you had time to decompress, and have higher self-esteem as a result of being pampered which leads to better productivity and an overall better version of you. I know a lot of us, Mom*Prenuers, Entrepreneurs, and Goal Getters, don't always have a lot of time to unplug and recharge ourselves, so we have to make sure we are doing what we can to compensate. Come up with a self-care plan that works best for you and with your schedule. Don't overwhelm yourself with a plan you know you won't be able to keep up with. Keep it realistic to your lifestyle while still meeting each of your needs. Your plan may include: Nightly Regimen Daily Regimen Business Regimen Personal Regimen Monthly Regimen I came up with a morning regimen, nightly regimen, and a once-a-month regimen to go along with my personal and business regimen and hold myself accountable. I am much better for it and feel more in control of myself and situations. You also do not have to spend a lot of money to do this. Yoga, meditation, bubble baths, naps, binge-watching your favorite show, running, walking, and similar relaxation methods are all ways to decompress on a budget. You can also spend time with your family and unplug for the day. Anything you enjoy doing that helps you relax is your version of self-care. My nightly regimen consists of skincare, meditation, my acupuncture mat, and a good night's sleep. My daily regimen consists of running, skincare, a hot shower, and coffee. If there is a weekend I don't have anything to do, I unplug and spend much-needed family time watching our favorite tv shows and riding on the golf cart around our neighborhood. After implementing the self-care regimen(s) that works best for you, you will start to see an overall change in your mental health, emotional health, and even physical health, such as: Lower blood pressure Increased blood flow Decreased depression Fewer anxiety attacks, if any Less tension Better focus Better sleep Increased productivity More positive thoughts For more info, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube-Channel, and visit my website! Read more from Brooklynn! Brooklynn Bradley-LaFleur, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Brooklynn Bradley-LaFleur is the CEO & Founder of Brooklynn Three. Brooklynn Three is the parent company of Salon Rouge Spa, LaFleur Couture Wellness Boutique. She has published articles in two entrepreneur magazines, been a guest speaker on several entrepreneur magazines, and is an international best-selling author. Her mission is to help people transform their lives from the inside out by identifying internal and external complications you may be experiencing and connecting you with holistic based products and self-care services. She hosts a wellness web series every Wednesday at 11 am CST. The web series helps educate on the benefits of different products, suggests tips, and shares personal testimony inside the LaFleur Couture Facebook group. Shipping options and free self-care consultations are available. Website - Brooklynnthree.com Email - brooklynn@brooklynnthree.com Quote: “Self-care is not a luxury; it is a non-negotiable.”