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. I was not surprised to see that 'Satisfied' from the musical Hamilton featured as my most played song of 2020, with 94 streams since July 7th . This song literally got me through the summer months of lockdown. The underlying message in this song really started to ring true for me. One of the big themes for me this year has been slowing down, this has been one of the hardest things for me to do, but it also allowed me to reflect on the fact that I was always trying to get somewhere. It became clear to me that I was so focused on reaching my next goal, I was not able to find peace in the moment. I constantly overlooked how much I had achieved and underappreciated all that I had created. This was a direct reflection of what had happened in my life & career to date, yet when I was given the time to slow down, instead of using it to take a break and acknowledge how far I had come, I redirected all of my energy into starting my business. I had got caught up in another hamster wheel of doing more and avoiding the uncomfortable feelings that were surfacing, which eventually resulted in falling out of love and losing connection with what I was trying to create. In a few short months, my business became more like a job and another thing that I wanted to escape from. I was constantly wanting to get to the final destination, always wanting more, and never feeling satisfied with where I was. This is an exhausting cycle to be in, and it left me feeling uncertain, unfulfilled & overwhelmed, forcing me to go inwards in a way that I hadn't done before. I never thought that it would be possible to feel that way about something I was so passionate about. Have you ever tried sprinting a marathon? That's exactly what I was trying to do. I hit the wall and was heading straight for burnout. I had literally set myself up for failure. Have you ever given up on your dreams because you thought there had to be a quicker way to get there? Or blindly followed a path that is not meant for you because someone else told you that was the way to do it? There is an illusion about what it really takes to be successful in your life & business. So many people are looking for a quick fix, trying to find the short cut to success, motivated by money and disconnected with who they are and what they truly desire. In order to create lasting change, we have to be willing to do the work that will lay the foundations for our future. If you are showing up as an Entrepreneur, you are already finding the courage and strength to face your fears, to be seen, to fail and to fly. You have taken center stage and the world is your audience, but what song are you singing? What message will you share? The real key to knowing what you want to do, is understanding what your driving force is and what you are passionate about. Are you making decisions from a place of joy or fear? Fear-based decisions carry an energy of lack and often leave you subconsciously feeling that no matter what you do, it will never be enough. Are you doing things because you are scared of losing something, or do you have a fear of not being able to keep it? When you do what makes sense based on what other people are doing, what you think is ‘right’ or what will pay back the quickest, you are neglecting the abundance that is available to you. When you align with joy and embrace the co-creation process, you will feel such certainty with every cell in your body that people need to hear your message, regardless of the outcome and without expectation. Playing the long game doesn't always return immediate financial results and it is by no means the easy road, but in my experience, it has been worthwhile. It has taught me forgiveness, compassion, self-love and resilience. It has not been without challenges, but the lessons have been invaluable. Are you prepared to take the road less traveled ? "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I. I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference." - The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost Many will blindly follow the path that those have trodden before them. There are those that will look at the path less traveled but decide not to take it, then there are the leaders and change-makers who know that it is their soul calling to choose the path where few people have gone before them. Here are my 3 top tarot tips & to help you navigate the road less traveled : Go back to basics When you feel like giving up, dig deeper than you ever have before. Use all of the Mindset tools and rituals that you have learned on your growth journey. Don't just show up and talk about them, apply them to your daily life. Create a solid morning routine. Every day make a commitment to get up, get dressed, brush your teeth and have breakfast. Set yourself up for success by giving yourself the best opportunity to clear your mind and breakthrough your fears and limiting beliefs. Lay your foundations Create structure in your long-term plan . Look at the bigger picture; use your logic & intellect to see past what is right in front of you and focus on the long-term strategy of where you really want to go and what you want to create. Explore your vision and gain clarity on what it actually takes to get there. Do what you love Believe in yourself and do what brings you joy. Practice the art of allowing your intuition to guide the way and listening to when your Ego is trying to take charge. Your Ego is telling you what you want but your intuition is guiding you towards what you need. Get honest with yourself about what it is you desire, your beliefs about making it a reality and release the feeling that you need to do anything else. The fastest way forward is to see what's right in front of you, deal with the situation at hand and work on releasing resistance to what is keeping you stuck so that you can find the strength to push through challenges as you come up against them. Remember, we all have free will. We always have a choice in everything we do. Making a decision is not final, it is the start of a new journey. Surrender the need to know where this path is taking you and trust that when you listen to your heart you cannot go far wrong. 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 in 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, so she could serve her clients through divine guidance and mentoring, energy healing & tarot, helping them to truly align, connect & transform their life 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: Stephanie Kable, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. This is a classic situation. January 1st, or even a few days earlier, you make a list of your new year’s resolutions: I will eat healthy meals from now on (after the family dinner for New Year’s Eve, of course), I will get up at 6 am every weekday, I will go to the gym regularly, I will learn English 2 hours a day, etc. Passed January 15 (in the best case scenario), all these good resolutions are forgotten, and your regular habits take over. This year, it’s going to be different. Let’s see how we can change our habits for the better. Know your why. Take some time to reflect on the reasons why you would like to adopt a new habit. The habit itself is usually just the first step to something much bigger. For example, you want to improve your English and will take an English course online . The reason behind it is probably that you want to be ready in case a new job opportunity arises. You feel you need more confidence when you speak English to have a more successful career. No matter what the reason behind your resolution is, make sure you reflect on it and remember your why. Write your goals and read them every single day. Writing your goals can help you remember your why and understand what you need to achieve them. You can stick your goals on the wall in the office, and you can put them in a diary or review them daily through morning affirmations. It’s very important to keep the awareness strong. So do what works for you. Make it a routine, commit to practice on a fixed day at a fixed time. Now that you know your why and are aware of your goals, it’s time to put your new resolutions into your weekly calendar. Ask yourself the question, if I want to achieve this goal, what should I commit to weekly? If you want to exercise more, let’s put “going to the gym” in your calendar. Ideally, you want to block judgment regularly each week or each day on your schedule. Stick to it for at least 30 days. Once it becomes a routine, you won’t forget about it, it will be part of your habits, and you are less likely to give it up. Be realistic with your goals. Many people are so enthusiastic with their new resolutions that they set goals that are completely out of reach. Instead of serving them, it actually causes them to lose motivation and to give up more easily. If you are not an early riser, don’t expect to get up at 5 am every day. Start putting your alarm clock 10 or 15 minutes earlier so that you progressively get into the habit of getting up early. Celebrate your wins The journey is more important than the finishing line. Enjoy the process of getting new habits that will change your life forever. Celebrate your wins throughout the journey. If you are on a diet and want to lose 10 kilos, celebrate each kilo you lose. Don’t wait until you reach your ideal weight to be satisfied with your new way of life. Talk about your goals, have someone accountable for them. This is something that I find particularly important. When you have a goal, talk about it, don’t keep it to yourself. This way, you will be more committed to it, and you will find support through the people you share it with. Do you want to write a book this year? Make it a public statement. You will feel closer to achieving your goal. Be careful when you take a break. We are all human, and sometimes we need to take a break from our goals and our new routines. Maybe because we are on holiday, or maybe because it’s just a bad day, acknowledge this without judgment, evaluate if they are still relevant to you, and get back into it as soon as you can! The path to success is correlated to how successful we are with our habits. On different occasions, like the beginning of the year, we get clarity on what we should do. If you take these steps, your new year’s resolutions won’t be just wishful thinking. Follow me on Facebook , LinkedIn , YouTube , Instagram , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Stephanie ! Stephanie Kable, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Stephanie Kable is the CEO of Live-English.net, an English online school that helps professionals worldwide feel more confident with their English as a second language. Through online one-to-one and group lessons via Zoom, the team of native-English teachers provides an efficient, convenient, and fun way to improve English speaking skills. Stephanie holds a B.A. in Management from the University of Paris-Dauphine (France) and an M.A. in Information Systems from Institut Mines-Telecom - Business School (Paris, France). Fond of languages, technology, business, and personal development, Stephanie combines all these fields of knowledge to offer unique English courses focused on each learner's needs.

Written by: Awaz Ahmed, 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’s a hard time for everyone, and sometimes we can’t control our emotions. Stress triggers the body to react to challenges or situations and often requires attention. Many people may experience stress one time or another, and each person responds differently. It’s important to note emotional self-awareness (being aware of own your own emotions) is essential in managing stress levels. If individuals don’t manage their stress, it may lead to mental or physical symptoms such as heart racing, sweaty palms, and chronic headaches. Have you reacted too soon? Was the situation emotional? Did your stress get in the way of your professional or personal life? Well, whether in a professional or personal setting, here are 4 easy and helpful tips to manage your stress. 1. Remember to stop, take a few breaths and reflect. This will create self-awareness, relax your body and mind. 2. Take your own personal time out. Go for a walk, a coffee, or anything for alone time. No one wants a break? If this occurs around people, encourage the group or individuals to take a time out. For example, you can say, I think tensions are running high; I think we need a break. 3. Name your emotion. Ask yourself what emotions you’re feeling and connect them specifically to a source or a situation, concern, or issue. 4. Diaphragmatic breathing. Breath in and count to five exhale and count to five, 5x. You can use your hand on your chest and/or abdomen to see how u feel after. This can be done to your comfort: sitting or lying down. Follow me on Linkedin and visit my website! Read more from Awaz! Awaz Ahmed MBPsS, Business Psychologist, Business and Emotional Intelligence coach Awaz Ahmed is a Business Psychologist and Coach, helping organizations and individuals in the workplace by encouraging and facilitating clients in a range of professional and personal areas. She has also worked internationally and is the founder of aweology; a company platform of Business Psychologists and professional coaches. With a MSc in Business Psychology and coaching Awaz Ahmed, is also a certified emotional intelligence coach, NLP practitioner, certified 70+ hours of ICF coaching training, member of the British Psychology Society, American Psychology Association, Society for Industrial and organizational psychology and currently studying her Ph.D. in Business Psychology. Through her extensive experience and education in Business Psychology, she is highly skilled and passionate about research, psychometrics, assessments, training, development, recruitment, and coaching.

Written by: Amanda Rose, 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. Entrepreneurs are plagued by conundrums regularly about which paths to take to run their businesses. One of those tough questions that entrepreneurs must ask is, "Should I list my prices or hide my prices?" If you are stumped on which direction to go, you're not alone. There are 2 schools of thought when it comes to this. Let's explore them both... School of thought #1: Keeping your prices hidden When I started as an entrepreneur, I was taught never to post the pricing of my products. The idea was to ensure that people did not pre-disqualify themselves because of the cost. In practice, this school of thought generally means you need to reel prospects onto a sales call, make them want your product or service, overcome their objections, walk them through finding a way for them to afford it, then close the sale quickly before they have time to think it over. After years and years in business and well over a decade in sales, I have concluded that I don't like this method, nor do I recommend it, for the following reasons: 1. YOU ATTRACT THE FREEBIE HUNTERS If your audience never sees you share your pricing, they may assume that promoting is free. Unfortunately, this means you will run into the issue of having many shocked and upset people on the other end of the phone when you drop the price tag on a sales call. PROSPECTS WILL ATTEMPT TO GUESS YOUR PRICES (MOST OFTEN, INCORRECTLY!) Several months back, as I was scrolling my Facebook Newsfeed, I saw an entrepreneur post an advertisement with a professional graphic and well-crafted sales copy for an upcoming 3-week course running without stating the price. Based on what I had seen, I assumed the course would be a minimum of $1500. I later discovered the course was only $97! HIDING YOUR PRICES REPELS MANY POTENTIAL BUYERS Shoppers are both aware and warry; they do not like getting onto a sales call blindly. No one likes being sold to or pressured into making a quick decision. Many prospects will move on and pursue another business for their needs if you are not transparent with your prices upfront. YOU ADD EXTRA WORK TO YOUR PLATE You will end up needing to do three times as many sales calls due to having a lower conversion rate when you wait until the call to let prospects know how much your product or service costs. When a prospect knows the costs upfront, they are already interested and more likely to say yes by the time they get on the call. PRESSURE-BASED SALES LEAD TO CUSTOMER DISSATISFACTION AND HIGH REFUND RATES Not only do you have to do more sales calls to make sales, but you are also having to do more customer service work to handle disgruntled customers who regret having said yes! You will be issuing more refunds, dealing with more bad reviews, and having to douse the flames of angry customers. On top of being time-consuming, this drains your energy, makes you feel bad, and can stop you from wanting to get on more calls. School of thought #2: Price Transparency This school of thought is used by business owners who are confident that they have nailed their ideal client avatar, who want to attract the exact right clients, and who are ready to invest. After I transitioned from hiding my prices, as I originally had been taught to do, and I began to get my pricing out front and center, my sales increased exponentially, and my refund rate dropped to next to nothing! I use and recommend this method because: THE PERCEPTION OF VALUE IS CREATED When your prices are out in the open, on social media, on your website, etc., then subconsciously, your audience begins to associate you and your business as being of value. Likewise, it repels the people who are looking for freebies and handouts, saving you a great deal of time. PROSPECTS ARE PREPARED TO PAY When you get on a sales call with a potential client who is already aware of your pricing, then they don’t have to overcome a sudden “sticker shock,” and instead, they will be ready and willing to invest. YOU WILL HAVE A HIGH CONVERSION RATE You will not need to do as many calls, and besides, the calls that you do get on will have a better percentage of conversion. Your sales calls will be geared towards start dates, proposals, objectives, and contracts rather than focusing on overcoming price objections and getting someone’s credit card number before changing their minds. In essence, the prospects you have lined up will be primed and ready to buy before they ever get on the call! How great is that?! IT EMBODIES CONFIDENCE When you aren’t trying to bury your pricing under red tape and know your value in the marketplace, it speaks volumes about your confidence in who you are and what you do. You will not care who your prices scare off because you know that listing them will attract the right people. You will also give buyers confidence in parting their money to you; people will only buy from people they trust, and your inner confidence will exude out and put prospects at ease to know they are making the right choice. PEEPERS AND CREEPERS When your prices are out in the open, you will attract the buyers, who don’t even need the sales call; they will hop on over to your website and buy! The Exception to the Rule: Market Price & Custom Jobs As with everything in life, there are always exceptions to the rule. Depending on your business and offerings, you may have a sliding scale, need to provide custom quotes, or offer market price* goods. In these instances, it can be beneficial to offer examples or price ranges. *Market price refers to goods that change value based on supply and demand. Conclusion Price transparency can give your business a major leg up by saving you time, bringing more of the right customers to you, and repelling people who are just looking for freebies! Ready to Maximize Your Marketing? Get signed up for Marketing Ba-Bling! The 10-Day Marketing Intensive will transform the way your business attracts customers - and get 50% Off with Coupon Code BRAINZ50. For more information, visit my website and follow me on Facebook! Read more from Amanda! Amanda Rose, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Amanda Rose is the founder & director of The Infinite Power of You Inc., a multi-published multi-genre author, business, wealth, & mindset coach, actor, motivational speaker, and online course creator. She is a multi-passionate entrepreneur who has been in the online space since 2013, and a sales expert for over 10 years. It's her passion to help her clients build lives of freedom and joy, and thriving businesses with multiple revenue sources, through strategies combined with mindset mastery. Amanda's mission to shift human consciousness to create soulful abundance through mindset practices.

Written by: AnYes van Rhijn, 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. 2021 is nearing, and most people can’t wait to say goodbye to 2020! But, when I ask people what will be different for them in 2021, I often hear them say they don’t know. In reality, they are “hoping” that things will indeed be different but haven’t looked into how they could make sure that they will be. They simply go with the wave of what life throws at them, which currently is not filled with a lot of nice things. But when I dig a little deeper, what becomes apparent is that there isn’t much for them to do as they don’t have a vision to work towards in the first place. That, to me, is a challenge. Not having a vision is like turning your GPS on when you’re driving away from home but not entering an address in it. That could lead you just anywhere! Is that what you want for your life? Let me give you four very simple steps that will bring you back in the driver’s seat! 1. Take stock of where you are right now. If you want to know where you’re heading to, you first want to see where you’re leaving from. Take a bird’s eye view in all areas of your life and ask yourself how satisfied you are with them on a scale of 1 to 10. These areas are: Romantic life Professional life Family life Social life/Leisure Finances Health and wellbeing Physical Environment (where you live) Personal Development/spirituality Once you’ve done that, take a closer look at each area and ask yourself: What do I like about it? (i.e., what do I want to keep or have more of?) What is it that I don’t like about it? (i.e., what do I want to get rid of?) What is missing? (i.e., what do I want to add?). You now know what your starting point is. Let’s now move on to step 2! 2. Write your vision But… I hear you say… “I don’t know what my vision is; how can I write it down”? The truth is, you know what your vision is. You just don’t know that you know! So, let me explain how you’re going to unearth it (and be prepared for an amazing ride because if you follow the process well, you will not only have a vision, but you will also be completely uplifted by it!). Let me set the scene: You have a magic wand, and everything (yes, I said everything) is possible. There is absolutely nothing that stands in the way (yes, all your worries have been taken care of). What does your life look like in, say, 3 or 5 years from now? You will take a deep dive in all areas of your life, one by one, and you are going to write it down in full detail. There are three keys here: Write in the present tense (you already have it), Write in the smallest details, Involve all your senses. More often than not, it’s getting started that is the challenge, but once your pen starts running, you will have a hard time stopping. So, you can, for instance, describe what your day looks like (e.g., “it’s 9:00 am, I’m sitting in my garden and am enjoying the smell of my coffee. I can feel the warmth of the sun on my arms, and I am getting ready to have my first client call”… you get the gist of it). If you suddenly start thinking that something is not possible, simply remember that nothing stands in the way. 3. Create a vision board You will now need cardboard or foamboard (as big as possible depending on the wall space you have available to hang it up), a spray of repositionable glue, scissors, and colored pens. What you’ve done in step 2 is you’ve unconsciously started creating mental imagery for your vision. This will make it very easy for you to resonate with images that you will associate with it. You will now use magazines or platforms such as Pinterest or Instagram to gather pictures (these may be things, places, words, quotes, etc.). You don’t have to decide at this stage which ones you want to keep. Just sort them by theme. Once that is done, lets the fun begin and create your vision board. There is no wrong or right way to do it. Just follow your intuition. You can leave lots of empty spaces or have it very crowded. Mine is quite busy, and I have created a flow by theme. It starts from the bottom center and moves as a spiral from left to right. 4. Turn your vision into an action plan Now you have this beautiful vision board, and you’re all excited about it, but if you leave it there, all it will remain is … a dream! Let me help you turn it into reality. It is a straightforward process: Ask yourself what you want to have achieved in three years from now. Then do a “brain dump”: list (one topic per Post It note) everything you can think of that you need to be doing to achieve your three-year plan. Extract from it what you need to do in the first year (at this stage, I suggest you move from Post It notes to a project planning or To-Do software) Then, what you need to do in the next 90 days Then, what you need to do this month, this week, tomorrow. Et voilà! Now it is your turn! What will you do to ensure that 2021 is different from 2020? If you follow this process, you will not only have a clear vision of what you want your life and business to look like, but you will also know what you need to work on in 2021! There is, of course, more to it. You need to know how to stay connected to that vision, how to stay intentional and focused on it when fear will creep in (and I guarantee that it will), how to build a mindset that focuses on possibilities rather than on the challenges that will come your way, how to handle the shiny objects that will distract you from your end goals as well as what tools to use to optimize your time. If you want help with all the above, I suggest you look at my Write It, See It, Do It - Turning your vision into action 5-week online intensive that is now open for enrolment. You can find more details and read the raving reviews here. For more info, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or visit my website! AnYes van Rhijn, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine AnYes van Rhijn is an award-winning Life and Business Strategist. Also known as The Reinvention Mentor, she helps female entrepreneurs and business owners who feel trapped in their life, create on their own terms the fulfilling business that will sustain the reinvented life they desire. She helps them clarify the vision of what they want their life and business to look like, build the confidence and the mindset to dare go after it, create a business strategy and a personal brand that is aligned with who they are and what is important to them and, last but not least, implement the systems/tools, personal effectiveness, work-life balance and self-care to ensure it is all sustainable.

Written by: Danielle Christy, 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. Simple by definition, is plain, basic, or uncomplicated in the form of nature, or design without much decoration or ornamentation. Yet, why do we make things in life so complicated, especially when it comes to health and nutrition? When we begin with simple and take things back to the root of what it is, things in life would be much more enjoyable. Keeping it simple, whole, and real is one of the keys to healthy living — from eating healthy, to cooking delicious foods, to being present when eating. The simpler we keep things, the more capable we are at achieving goals. The mind is wired to thrive in society today; however, everything is rushed and distracting, and is easy to lose sense of self. So much noise on what should be eaten and how to nourish the body that outside sources control is how we live. One way to take back the control is through the kitchen and finding out what you bio-individually need to thrive. Eating and cooking at home brings inner and outer health to ourselves personally and the family. A few ways to make it easier to cook and eat healthier are as follow: 1. Start small. Do you want to try and eat more fruits and vegetables? Make them the first thing you see when you walk into the kitchen. Place a bowl of fruit on the counter, put vegetables at eye level in the fridge, so you are encouraged to eat them as it is the first thing you see. 2. Count your plants and fill your plates with color. Cook foods you are comfortable making and flavors you love to eat. Bring fun and joy into the process of cooking, turn on your favorite tunes, get the kids involved. Cook a family passed down recipe. Choose one new fruit or vegetable a week and incorporate the flavors you love. Travel with your taste buds through food. Want to travel to Asia? Make a stir fry, Italy make delicious spaghetti and meatballs, the warm beaches of Mexico make a taco bar. Transport and make memories with simple whole foods. 3. Basic meal prep and planning. It is essential to keep things simple in the kitchen. Here are some ways to help make meal prep part of your lifestyle. Double up on what you are cooking and make use of the appliances as well. Roasting a chicken in the oven, throw in a few sheet pans of vegetables too. Blanching or steaming vegetables, add some eggs to the water. Make a giant batch of grains and freeze half for another meal in a few weeks. It doesn’t have to be fancy cooking. A few staples make it easier to go for the healthier choices and set you up for success. A little bit each day goes a long way. Celebrate the small wins and embrace the simple art of cooking and eating more whole foods. Open fewer boxes, bring more colors to the plate. Your taste buds and brain will thank you. Bring the joy back to your every day and live life to the fullest. For more information, follow me on Instagram and visit my website! Read more from Danielle! Danielle Christy, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Danielle Christy is a holistic health coach, and self-taught personal chef, dedicated to helping families and people around the world stop feeling overwhelmed with healthy cooking, by showing and coaching them on how to stock their kitchens with healthy ingredients, meal plan and get back to having family meals again. Danielle holds a BA in Hospitality from Northern Arizona University and Certified Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. She has helped families of all shapes and sizes, create and establish a concrete strategy to ultimate health through learning what individually works for them and using whole real food as the medicine of life.

Written by: Laura Flanagan, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. You might ask, "Why is meditation important?" One of the most important (and possibly overlooked) reasons is that the mind is your most valuable asset. What’s going on in your mind can make you happy or miserable, successful or broken, energetic or lifeless. In short, the quality of your mind dictates the quality of your life. So, then, what is the power of meditation? It helps you to know your mind and master your mind - gradually. And this affects everything else ... all aspects of your life. There are four main “skills” that meditation will help you develop. These are such important skills that you can consider them “superpowers.” 1. Focus. Focusing means that you can zoom your attention in on anything and sustain it there, ignoring distractions. The length of time you can sustain your attention increases with practice. The ability to focus is essential in all spheres of life: career, education, finances, and performance. We live in times of continuous distraction – our attention span keeps getting shorter. We lack focus because so many things are competing for our attention, and as a result, our mind easily gets dispersed everywhere. Focusing allows you to: Be more present in your daily activities, rather than getting lost in your mind Be a better listener and communicator Avoid falling into the trap of multitasking, enabling you to become more time and energy-efficient Enjoy the blessings of your life more deeply, however small (a good meal, time with your family, your favorite hobby, etc.) In meditation, we are training this skill every time we zoom in our attention into the object of our focus (breath, mantra, etc.). 2. Perspective. Meditation helps us over time to not get sucked into mental and emotional stuff. It’s the ability to see with clarity and serenity, to let go and move on. Oftentimes we don’t want to dwell on something, but we just can’t help it. Emotions are usually the driving force for this. They can get complex and messy pretty quickly. Maybe it’s a traumatic incident from your past or an addictive emotional pattern such as victimization or negative self-talk. Perhaps everything is going well with your day, until someone says something that triggers you to fall down a rabbit hole of confusion, anger, and doubt. Or maybe it’s just your thoughts bullying you into interpreting things through the lenses of fear and pessimism. In situations like these, finding perspective comes in handy. It frees your mind, allowing you to see the bigger picture. It won’t stop those nagging thoughts and feelings – but it will allow you to view them more like a cup of salt thrown into the ocean, rather than a cup of salt thrown into a small bucket. In meditation, we train perspective every time we realize that we’ve gotten sucked into a stream of thoughts, and reclaim our attention by removing it from that thought-trap. 3. Pause. People often refer to this as 'being present' - which many already understand as one of the powers of meditation. When we live in an unconscious, automated way, we become the product of our environment. We often react, rather than respond. This is the nature of the untrained mind. We act on the loudest impulse in our heads. We reproduce our past conditioning. Very much like a popular ski hill, when getting off the lift, our skies (if we do nothing to prevent them from doing so) will fall into the overly carved pathways of other skiers. Our untrained minds fall into the same neural pathways and we repeat our patterns over and over again. Living a creative and fulfilling life requires just the opposite. It requires that we are intelligently present in the moment, acting mindfully. For that, the ability to pause is essential. Pausing gives us space to: Avoid acting on anger or other destructive impulses that can permanently ruin relationships and prevent us from experiencing deep love and compassion. We have probably all experienced regret by acting impulsively and without pause. Without the pause, regret has an opportunity to walk through the front door and take a strong seat. Break bad habits. Remember the paths on the ski slope. Pausing before acting allows us to see other 'untraveled' paths along the slope so that we don't fall into the same grooves in the hill. Find clarity about what’s really going on. Make wiser decisions based on the needs of the moment. Re-align your actions in life to your core values. Think less, worry less, and be more. Reacting without thinking is easy – it’s the path of least resistance. Pausing is harder – it’s a skill that needs to be trained, a virtue to be developed. In meditation, we train pausing every time we notice that we’re distracted, and we interrupt that stream of thoughts. It’s a condition for you to be able to zoom out. 4. Reboot. The powers of focus, perspective, and pausing come together as the ability to “reboot". Think of your mental world as a computer with a hard drive, always near capacity. Some of your files and programs are informative, entertaining, or useful. Others are full of old, useless information. Some programs or files may be addictive, taking your attention away from new and healthy programs or files. The problem is that the computer doesn’t obey you all the time. The computer randomly opens programs or files that induce anxiety, fear, or negative emotion. Sometimes you try to open a new window on your computer, but after five seconds you find yourself back to the original window. The more you develop the abilities to focus, gain perspective, and pause, the more you keep your computer running efficiently and for your benefit. As a result, your favorite windows and programs get more screen time, and the crappy ones end up being deleted. The protocol for rebooting is: Notice that a negative program has come up. This could present itself as fear, anxiety, negative self-talk … even labeling the emotion can help. Pause it. Take a deep breath in and then step back with pause. Rather than fighting it, realize that you can choose not to watch it. Perspective. Take a 50,000 ft view so that you can see the bigger picture. Remember that your consciousness is larger than this thought or emotion. Don’t try to resist the thought but realize that you don’t need to focus on it. Open a new program. Just like opening a new window in the browser on your computer, open a more helpful or enjoyable program. This is rebooting. It is an exercise of harnessing your attention – developing the power to decide what it should be focused on. When we meditate, we train the mind every time we gently return our attention back to our chosen object (breath, mantra, etc.). And we may do this hundreds of times in our meditation. Think of the opportunity to strengthen the mind in this way! It is like taking our mind to the gym. If you would like to learn to harness these 4 Superpowers, the upcoming Change Your Mind, Change Your Life 8-week Meditation course could be for you! Or consider gifting the course to a loved one. It is a great way to start a new year. The class begins on Saturday, Jan 2nd, 2021, at 9 am CST. We meet weekly for one hour and you will be provided recorded guided meditations for the different focus each week. You will also receive an e-book to assist in learning the skills and methods we will use in the live course. To learn more, click here! Register EARLY for the upcoming 8-week Change Your Mind, Change Your Life course! See you in the New Year for a new YOU! Blessings & Light, Laura Follow me on Instagram, YouTube and visit my website for more info! Read more from Laura! Laura Flanagan MS, RYT, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Laura Flanagan is a Scientist by education and career, but she recently left her corporate job and moved to Costa Rica with her horse to open an Equine Therapy Center. Concurrently with her career as a scientist, she has been teaching Yoga and Meditation for over 18 years. Laura is a Yoga Instructor, YamunaÒBody Rolling Instructor, Meditation Teacher, and Director of the Socrates Center in Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica. She has helped thousands of clients with physical pain through her certification with Yamuna who uses a form of small ball therapy. She has used her Yoga, Body Rolling, and Meditation practices to assist in her own recovery from breast cancer. She is also enrolled in the Functional Nutrition Counselor program through the Functional Nutrition Alliance.

Written by: Desiree Bolin, 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. Two weeks until year-end. Yikes. This year has punched us, knocked us down, and forced perseverance. You deserve an unbeatable season and the best time to prepare for this is at the beginning of the year. Let’s get you prepped with these 6 steps: Ritualize Goal Setting Hold Yourself Accountable Adjust Your Mindset Focus on What You Can Control Get A System In Place Continue Your Education Ritualize Goal Setting Goal setting and a great action plan. Leading a company from the driving forces of who we are and why we do it should always be at the top of mind during these sessions. Also, having a firm grasp on what you want to achieve will supply you with extreme motivation & drive, increasing as does the momentum. Turn each goal into actionable, achievable, and measurable items. Breaking over-arching end goals down into smaller tasks makes everything more attainable and will allow you to direct the team and hold everyone accountable. If you have a team, share the plan with them, it is important the entire team/company is marching forward with the same goals. SMART goals are the best goals. Hold Yourself Accountable Accountability is a must-have. If you lose momentum easily and cannot see past the big picture, it’s time to find an accountability partner. A biz bestie (as I like to call it), a mentor, or even a colleague that you talk with daily or even weekly is ideal, but there are accountability coaches that you can hire & work with as well. Remember, action makes progress. Adjust Your Mindset Rid yourself of all negative, self-doubting thoughts that are limiting your ability to move forward. You got this. You started this business for a reason. Having an unimpeachable & empowering mindset for yourself and others and an exuberant confidence in all areas of your life and your business paves the road to limitless happiness & satisfaction. Believing is half the hurdle. Focus on What You Can Control Accept the fact there are SO many things that are outside of your control. Don’t live in this space. Align yourself with what you have power over. Surround yourself with those that will support, guide, and push you to be more, no matter what. Stray away from those that are false. How do we do this? Spend time concentrating on those things that you and your team have the capability of changing, shaping, and to mold. Actively pursue tasks that will elevate and take your company higher than ever before. Actively pursue things that make your life better. Get A System In Place Don’t know what a good marketing and sales process looks like? There are so many companies out there that focus on this, don’t let an area of your business fall apart because it isn’t your bread and butter. Reach out to an expert (including myself) for guidance & counsel. Already have a system in place? Analyze it. There are bound to be holes in the process. It is absolutely essential to nail down your processes and the best system that works for you. The faster you realize there are gaps in your business, the faster you are able to take action and set yourself up for a successful year to come. Also, remember this does not need to be done alone. Ask the experts. Know where you’re going before you get there. Continue Your Education Read a book. Take a course. Get certified. Peruse an article. Do a crossword. Do one thing every day that sparks your interest and enhances your thinking. Remember, this does not have to be something in your field or area of expertise. Expanding your knowledge in general will help in more ways than one. For example, you might not be a tech company, but keeping up on the latest will help your company in the future when making decisions about growing their internal tech pack. The most successful people utilize the practice of growth beyond their business’ four walls and, clearly, it pays off. Make yourself be highly successful. The beginning of the new year provides so much hope and opportunity. It feels like a clean slate and a way to start over. Putting these six simple steps into practice will allow the company to stay focused and accomplish everything they dream of for the year to come. For more information, follow Desiree on Facebook, Instagram and visit her website! Read more from Desiree! Desiree Bolin, Executive Contributor, Brainz Magazine Desiree Bolin is a highly recommended EVA and OBM, passionate about helping business owners and C-level executives create repeatable, scalable processes that have never failed to decrease stress and overwhelm. With no heavy lifting required, she will help you drive change and growth within your organization. She has helped companies of many different industries and structures attain exponential success. She will continue to provide high-level support and friendship to all who need her.

Sue Ritchie is a sought after Fertility Coach who is passionate about helping businesswomen who are struggling to conceive to boost all the areas that underpin fertility so that they increase their potential for conception even if they are undergoing IVF treatment. She takes a totally holistic approach that includes mind, body, and spirit. She covers areas that are generally not considered by medical professionals, simply because they are not part of their expertise, but are nonetheless important if you are looking to conceive. She loves to see her clients up-leveling all areas of their life, so that they go through this journey in great health and with a positive mindset, leading to a happy, joyful life where they will be empowered to become the best parents they can be. Who is Sue? I guess the best place to start is at the beginning of my career, which is quite a long time ago now, but it does play a big part in how I came to be The Fertility Coach. I had a successful career in corporate marketing before I became the owner of my successful direct marketing business and then following that I moved into my current business as a fertility coach which I am so passionate about. My life in my corporate marketing career and running my own business involved working long hours under high levels of stress. Like many women, I was putting everyone else first in my life and my work was a huge part of my life. I constantly pushed myself to the limit, trying to fit everything in, thinking my body would somehow keep going regardless. With hindsight, I can see that I was addicted to busyness and it wasn’t a good thing. Things came to a head around 10 years ago when I found myself unhealthy, overweight, and with low energy. A diagnosis of Hashimoto’s disease resulted in my doctor telling me that I would be on medication for the rest of my life. I was, however, unwilling to accept the prognosis of living a compromised life. This really spurred me into action and saw me taking responsibility for my own life and my health. As a result, I made some big life-changing decisions. I made a conscious decision to create a better work-life balance, taking time out to focus on healing myself. I also spent a lot of time researching how I could get myself well again and through this, I discovered the root cause lie in my gut health. By focusing on rebalancing my gut microbiome, as well as making changes to my diet and nutrition, I fully recovered within 18 months and lost 35lbs in weight. My big realization was how fundamental our gut microbiome is to our health, and this has led me to specialize and continue to increase my huge knowledge in this important area, particularly as it also underpins fertility. I have a huge love for children and from a young age, I always had a strong desire to have children. Life circumstances, however, didn’t quite go the way I wanted though. I didn’t have my first child, my son, until I was 36 and then my daughter when I was 39. I am hugely proud of them both and at the beginning of this year, I became a grandmother for the first time. A new role that I am delighted to be able to step into and my granddaughter is just beautiful and adorable, but then of course, I am a little biased! I live in Leicestershire, in the UK, with my wonderful husband and we share our home with my crazy cat Bella. I particularly love cooking, music, and foreign travel, and thoroughly enjoy photography and being out in and experiencing all the wonders of nature. What is it that you do for your clients? In simple terms, I help my clients to boost their fertility naturally so that they increase their potential to conceive and create that bundle of joy they desire. I do that by helping them to optimize all the areas that underpin fertility. Some of these often come as quite a surprise to my clients, simply because the traditional medical approach focuses on purely the physical aspects. Of course, having great physical health is really important and I help my clients to attain that in order to improve their fertility. But there is more to fertility than just that. Many people don’t realize that just living in today’s modern, busy world creates lots of factors that can negatively impact fertility for both the man and the woman. There are also factors in the environment both outside and inside our homes that can work against fertility. I teach them about all of these things and how they can take steps to reduce the impact of them on their fertility. I take a holistic approach, simply because as human beings, we are mind, body and spirit. All of those parts are interconnected and have an impact on each other. So, if we want to improve our ability to conceive, we do need to ensure that they are all working effectively and are in alignment with that same common goal to increase the potential to conceive. A key element is providing them with support. When you are on this journey wanting to become pregnant and it doesn’t seem to be happening, it can become a really lonely, frustrating and emotional place. Having non-judgemental support from someone who understands your challenges, and the emotions you are going through plus, helping you to stay grounded and in the positive zone is so important. On top of it all, I help my clients to start living a happier, enjoyable and more fulfilled life. Who should hire/work with you? There are really three different situations where women hugely benefit from working with me. Firstly, those female professionals wishing to become pregnant, but are finding that it isn’t happening as quickly as they had hoped, who are open to try a different approach and who would really value having the support of someone who understands what they are experiencing. Secondly, female professionals who have just decided that they would like to start a family and want to prepare themselves fully so that they increase their chances of conception from the start. I have always believed that if you prepare fully you are more likely to achieve success. Then, finally, those female professionals who are looking or are booked in to start IVF treatment. Particularly those who would like to increase their chances of it being successful and so reduce the number of cycles they may have to go through. They also know that going through IVF can be a stressful and emotional experience and getting support can be hugely beneficial. Tell us a little bit about the OptiMum Fertility Formula? What is it? My OptiMum Fertility Formula is a 6 month comprehensive and life-changing one to one program that is for couples who are open, ready and committed to doing everything they possibly can to increase their potential for conception, but equally the program can be done by a woman on her own, if that is her personal choice. There are six main core pillars to the program and these are: Physical health: We assess your current health and then create an eating and nutrition plan to improve the effectiveness of all the systems in the body so that they are ready to support conception. Thoughts: Here, we focus on managing the negative voice in your head and your mindset. Plus providing the support that resulted in a more positive outlook on life and increased resilience to cope with life’s ups and downs. This part alone has been proven in a Harvard study to increase the potential to conceive by 55%. Intimacy: Your relationship with your partner is one that can so often can come to the breaking point when you are on this journey. Receiving coaching and support helps you create and maintain a happy, loving and supportive relationship. Maintenance: Consistency is the key to success, so lots of support is provided to keep you on track. Understanding: This part is all about getting to know you and learning to love yourself, as well as healing and letting go of all the things that no longer serve you. This is a key area of this program that will enable you to step into parenthood and avoid healing your childhood wounding through your child. Motherhood: This is about teaching and advising you on how to become a conscious parent, to increase the chances of your child growing up to be a happy, fulfilled individual who has self-love. Plus, helping you to be more fulfilled parents. What is your big goal? Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now? My mission is to change the health of the next generation of children, because currently, children’s health in this country is poor. I know that when you have great physical health when you conceive, you are helping to ensure that you have a healthy baby. I would also like to see more parents step into parenthood as the best version of themselves. Where they make their health a top priority, they live life in the positive and they have built a loving and supportive relationship with themselves and each other. This will result in more children being brought into the world having self-love and knowing that they can achieve their true potential and be primed to live a happier life. Becoming a parent, to me, is the most important role that we have in life, but one where we receive no training except that we have learned from our own parents. For many of us, we come to realize in adulthood that the parenting we received may not have served as well as we might have hoped. I see myself in 10 years’ time having created a legacy of encouraging both men and women to step into parenthood as the best version of themselves, but also have created a Parenting School where both men and women can find training, resources, advice, and support that will take them from the point at which they decide to start a family all the way through pregnancy, and birth and then into parenting from early years through to adulthood enabling them to become the best parents they can be. For more details and how to increase your potential for conception, follow me on Facebook or Linkedin join my Facebook Community or visit my website

Written by: Amber Stephenson , 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 are your 2020 resolutions going? Did you smash them – or are you pretending you never made any? If you’re in the 2nd camp, don’t worry – you’re not alone. According to an article by Forbes in 2018, only 8% of people accomplish their New Year’s resolutions – and I’m not one of them. My resolution for 2020 was to pay off my family’s debt, which isn’t going to happen this year. I’ve learned a lot about goal-setting, and I want to share that with you so I can be a part of the 8% (together, we can raise this number in 2021). A lot of people these days swear by the SMART goal setting system, and it’s great – as far as it goes. But before we can actually start setting goals, there are a few things to consider. The first is the most important one to answer. What do YOU want? I’m not asking what you think you should be doing or what you’ve been told to accomplish. I don’t care what other people want my life to be (and you shouldn’t either). I want to know what YOU want. This really is square one of goal-setting – and most people are already lost at this point. They’re lost in other people’s opinions and desires. I don’t know about you, but I don’t live my life for other people, not even my family. I live my life for me. So before you start thinking about what’s specific or measurable – ask yourself what you really want because that is so much more motivating than trying to please someone else. Maybe you want to pay off some debt, or lose some weight, or get a promotion. Maybe you want regular trips to the masseuse, a wardrobe you love, or more time for the things you really enjoy, like art. All of these are valid goals, but let’s take it a step further – because when we dream big, we need lots of motivation. Remember when I said I wanted to pay off my family’s debt? I chose that because of the freedom it would give me. To buy a kickass wardrobe. To send my kids to daycare. To not have to worry about whether they would be enough money to pay the bills. To start saving for dream house. To have money for emergencies. To never have to check my bank balance in a check outline. To help my kids pay for school. To have date nights with my husband. Why is all of this important? Because achieving our goals isn’t going to be sunshine and rainbows all the time – there will be storms. And when those clouds roll in, we need to remember why we’re doing this in the first place. This is what keeps us moving forward when we want to quit. Once you’ve answered these questions, you can move onto the SMART system with the confidence that you can do anything. Within reason, which is where I failed in 2020. And remember – you’re a beautiful goddess, and you’ve got this. Good luck, and Happy New Year! For more information, follow me on Facebook , Instagram and LinkedIn ! Amber Stephenson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Amber Stephenson is a Master Transformational Coach who specializes in helping women who struggle to reach their goals to identify what's holding them back and shift into success. She's on a mission to empower women to be their most powerful, authentic selves while building lives they love and making their dreams come true. Amber is a rockstar coach, a dedicated wife, mother of four, insatiable reader and avid gamer.

Written by: Diane Demetre, Guest Writer 2020 will go down in history as one of those extraordinary years when the world underwent a seismic shift in human consciousness. A year when everyone faced some unexpected challenge, whether physical, mental, emotional, financial, spiritual, or interpersonal. And with 2020 hindsight, it will be evident that those who embraced the year as an opportunity to expand their consciousness not only met the challenge but succeeded by becoming conscious leaders in their business, family, and community. For the past decades, a leader has been described as someone who motivates a group of people to act toward achieving a common goal. In a business setting, this means directing workers and colleagues with a strategy to meet the company's needs. Though this leadership style has generated quantifiable results for companies and stakeholders, a new, expanded leadership model is now emerging to meet the expectations of 2021 and beyond. A model that goes further than the transformational style of leader to conscious leadership, where leaders are as committed to their team’s peace of mind as much as they are to the bottom line. Where leaders guide and inspire to replace fear with faith in the organization. And where leaders not only minimize and manage risk but elevate and encourage consciousness. The previous traits of great leaders such as highly developed communication, interpersonal, organizational, and strategic skills will still be crucial, but conscious leadership offers a more connected approach to self to lead teams to new levels of innovation, fulfillment, and success. 1. Begin Within Conscious leadership starts from within. Our primary role as leaders is to engage with our inner resources and develop discernment. We must be grounded in our inherent worth, value, and service to others before we expect our teams to succeed. Unless we have an unshakeable connection to our inner self and the greater good, we will never facilitate others in their growth or inspire them to stand beside us and succeed. 2. Expand Clarity Conscious leaders seek to expand and deepen their own personal clarity framework through defining their vision, intention, dreams, talents, goals, actions, and habits until inherent purpose reveals itself. Thus equipped, they become consummate communicators, and with their teams, design a corporate philosophy for the business—a living, breathing blueprint on which every SOP is based and compliance assured. 3. Align Decisions Conscious leaders understand that decisions design the organization’s destiny. No matter how small or seemingly inconsequential, every decision has catalytic power and sets in motion an outcome. Highly intuitive and highly organized, conscious leaders align their decisions with the corporate philosophy and, in doing so, increase the probability of success and personal fulfillment for their teams. 4. Focus Further With an unwavering faith in themselves, conscious leaders focus within before focusing on the future. They check-in regularly, accessing their inner resources, then focus their attention on the next course of action as intuited. They possess an acute sense of intention and encourage their teams to develop the same. 5. Ignore Limitations Ignoring limitations, refusing to take counsel from the naysayers, or allowing adverse facts to stand in the way of a good decision are traits attributed to all good leaders. Conscious leadership includes disregarding one’s own fears, doubts, and misgivings—to challenge conditioned thinking through innovation, creativity, and inspiration, knowing these are cultivated from within, not without. 6. Expect More The desire and expectation for more underpins conscious leadership—more meaning, more responsibility, more peace, more fulfillment. The getting of more is no longer the driving force. The being more is how conscious leaders live, personally and professionally. They adopt a mindset of more, knowing that there is always more than enough resources, money, talent, and skills to manifest success. 7. Lean in Leadership is more than just setting the course and steering the metaphorical ship. It’s about leaning in, changing course when necessary, realigning with a new direction, and moving forward without resistance. Conscious leaders practice the art of leaning into challenges rather than confronting them head-on. They understand that flexibility, willingness, and adaptability lead to peaceful resolutions and pragmatic solutions in the most time-efficient manner. 8. Unlock Power Knowing that everyone has the potential for greatness, conscious leaders actively seek to unlock this power in their teams. Demonstrating and instilling certainty, confidence, commitment, courage, compassion, character, consistency, competence, credibility, and congruence inspire others to tread their own path with gratitude, kindness, and shared success. The power of one becomes the power of many. 9. Energize Action Conscious leaders possess dynamic, energetic resonance through the application of conscious health and well-being habits. They understand the law of attraction and consciously apply and energize the law in their business, acting as if it is already so in the present moment. Knowing they have the power to create extraordinary results, they energize and align their actions for the greatest impact moment by moment. 10. Stay the Course Conscious leaders know that everything will be all right in the end, and if it’s not all right, then it’s not the end. They are determined, disciplined, and dedicated, not just to success, but to fulfillment and the joy that accompanies it. Despite the distractions, they stay the course until the job is done, facilitating everyone to be more conscious in the process. As the evolution of human consciousness undergoes an accelerated shift because of the domino effect of the pandemic, many will resist the transformation, wishing for the ‘way it was.’ But change is inevitable, and for those willing to consciously harness the energy of change, they will build empowered teams and stronger businesses. The days of profit above peace are coming to an end. It’s time for leaders to master their mindset, apply a positive, powerful meaning to challenge, and become conscious of the greater good. A new style of leadership is now upon us, that of the conscious leader. Follow Diane on Faceook and Instagram or visit her website For more about her Master Mindset Method courses, programs and life mastery retreats, visit Master Mindset Diane Demetre, Guest Writer Brainz Magazine Diane Demetre is a Master Mindset Mentor, Life Coach, Speaker and Author with a 40+ year career spanning entrepreneurship, personal and professional development, leadership training, performance coaching and energy psychology. She is on a mission to shift one mind at a time, one business at a time to a master mindset through her transformative work.

Written by: Ellie Shefi, 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. Where the industry stands today and what you need to know to pick the path to publication that’s right for you! If you want to establish yourself as an authority and have the opportunity to share your message with a wider audience, then publishing a book could be for you. The path to publication can often seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be! As someone who has ghostwritten and published thousands of pieces in a variety of formats and via the different paths to publication, I’m going to walk you through the main differences between the 5 key types of publishing so that you can choose the path to publication that best serves your needs. Traditional Publishing It used to be that if you wanted to see your book in the hands of readers, it was necessary to submit it through an agent to one of the big publishing houses (such as HarperCollins, MacMillan Publishers, Penguin Random House, Simon and Schuster, or one of their imprints). If you're lucky enough to be one of the chosen few, you might secure a contract under which the publisher holds an exclusive right to decide whether to publish your manuscript. That’s right, just because they purchase the rights to your manuscript doesn’t guarantee it will go to print! If you are even luckier, the publisher will actually publish your book. But, the book they publish might not be exactly what you imagined when you sold your manuscript. The publisher controls the title, cover, and content of your book (ironic, isn’t it?). As for your cut, you’ll typically receive a small percentage of revenue from sales as royalties. If the publisher’s initial marketing campaign doesn’t send your book viral, then you, as the author, are often responsible for further marketing (if you can afford to do any). When it’s all said and done, you might barely recognize the book attributed to you, and, after your agent’s cut, you would have little to show in the way of earnings. Although in some cases you might receive an advance on royalties, the amount advanced would have to be paid back through the royalties as they were earned, which might never exceed the amount of the advance. Publishing in this way is probably not nearly as glamorous or lucrative as you thought. So why would you want to go the traditional publishing route? Simple: prestige! Traditional publishing is the most selective, most prestigious way to publish your book, so it has the greatest effect on your credibility and position as an authority. Over the past few years, however, traditional publishing houses have consolidated and become increasingly selective, which means that the traditional publishing route is now foreclosed on to many. The good news is that we live in a time where the internet provides constant evolving options for communication, and there are many new ways to tell your story! Consequently, the majority of new authors are now opting for “self-publishing,” “independent publishing,” or “hybrid publishing.” Self-Publishing In the past, traditional publishing houses were the only way to get your book to print. Today, as an author, you can now publish your book yourself. But how, you ask? Once you’ve written, edited, and formatted your book, you can use one of the self-publishing companies to upload your manuscript, create your book’s cover, and secure your book’s ISBN (the unique identifier for your book). You can do this through Amazon’s publishing wing and then sell it through Amazon as a paperback or Kindle e-book, in which case Amazon would pay you royalties off the sales of your book. You can also publish through another print on demand (POD) company like Ingram Spark, Book Baby, or Lulu. While it is possible to get POD books into bookstores through expanded distribution networks, the percentage of royalties you earn in expanded distribution is much lower. A few things to note about self-publishing; however: while self-publishing is great because it is a publication avenue available to everyone, open-availability also reduces its effect on boosting your credibility. If you want to become a published author to boost your credibility and position yourself as an authority, self-publishing will not help you do that. Self-publication is best for those who simply want to publish because they have a story to tell, and they want that story out into the world. It is also important to remember that even if you choose self-publication as your publishing path, you will still want to have your book edited by someone else. It’s important to carefully vet your chosen editor and ensure that they have the knowledge, skills, and experience to get your book in tip-top shape. Additionally, while you can absolutely design the cover yourself, design the interior of the book yourself, and format the book yourself, if you’re not design-savvy, you may find this process challenging and extremely time-consuming. If that’s the case, you may end up needing to hire a person to format and a cover designer. Once you’re finding yourself needing to do that, it may be time to consider the next path to publication: Independent Publishing. Independent Publishing An independent publishing house takes your manuscript and handles the editing, formatting, cover design, and interior book design for you. An independent publisher has relationships with vetted and trusted editors, cover designers, content formatters, illustrators, printers, and marketing channels, which takes all the guesswork out of the process for you. Independent publishing is a great path to publication for you when you want a quality book without the challenges and headaches of trying to do it yourself. Another benefit of working with an independent publisher is that independent publishers have the freedom to structure their publishing contracts in innovative ways, which allows for the possibility of a much more collaborative relationship with you as the author. They can also structure royalty arrangements in any way they and authors doing business with them see fit. This means that you can end up with a much larger percentage of sale proceeds. Although an independent publisher can produce the same book formats (print, e-book, and audiobook) and access the same distribution networks through the same POD services available to authors who choose to self-publish, the main benefits of selecting independent publication over self-publication are three-fold. First, independent publishing is essentially a “done-for-you” service; it ensures that your dream of becoming a published author will occur quickly, easily, and with quality. Independent publishers save you the time, effort, and frustration of trying to navigate the sea of self-professed “editors,” “formatters,” “illustrators,” “cover designers,” etc., many of whom have little-to-no experience. You also don’t need an agent. Second, a reputable independent publishing house will provide you with a detailed production cost breakdown upfront, which allows you to know what your production costs will be ahead of time to make an informed decision before you proceed down the path of publication. Production costs from editors, formatters, illustrators, cover designers, and marketers can spiral out of control quickly when you attempt to do it yourself in a piece-by-piece fashion. Working with an independent publisher prevents that! Third, as mentioned above, self-publishing does not upbrand you, so it does nothing to boost your credibility and authority. Having your book published by an independent publisher, while not as prestigious as traditional publishing, allows you to have your book published by an outside source, which accomplishes the goal of boosting your credibility and positioning yourself as an authority. Hybrid Publishing As the name suggests, a hybrid publisher combines elements of traditional publishing, independent publishing, and self-publishing. The most important distinction between hybrid publishing and independent publishing or self-publishing is that a hybrid publisher does not accept every manuscript presented to them for publication. As is the case with traditional publishing houses, manuscripts must be submitted, reviewed, and accepted. While not quite as difficult to get your manuscript accepted by a hybrid publisher, hybrid publishers are, nevertheless, discerning. They have strict editorial standards about what they will publish. Hybrid publishers work in a few primary ways. Hybrid presses that follow a partnership model buy manuscripts they believe in and shepherd them through every step of the publishing process, from editing to formatting to marketing, just like a traditional or independent publisher would do. As with independent publishing, you as the author will have to front your book’s production costs, and you won't receive an advance on book sales; instead, you’ll earn a greater share of the royalties when books are sold. Hybrid presses that follow the crowdfunding model require you as the author to raise funds necessary to produce your book. This signals to the hybrid publisher that the book concept is solid, and once you reach a certain threshold in your funding, the hybrid publisher will jump in to craft a high-quality product. Since this model allows the publisher to gauge interest in the book before investing their time and efforts into it, if you, as the author, don’t manage to raise the minimum required amount, the book is subject to cancellation. Some hybrid publishers also use an agent-assisted model. In this model, literary agents who get their hands on promising manuscripts that they know will be tough sells to the major commercial presses — they might be beautifully written, but just a touch too quirky for mainstream success — might approach a hybrid publisher to create an agent-assisted hybrid publishing deal. Under this approach, the publisher and the agent can work together to leverage their collective knowledge of the industry’s best publishing and marketing practices. Because a literary agent is involved, you will receive fewer royalties under this model than the other hybrid publisher models. One thing to note is that, regardless of the hybrid publishing model utilized, hybrid publishing houses maintain high standards — not only with producing and marketing books, but editorially as well. If a publisher is willing to publish any author that is willing to pay them, then they’re not a hybrid publisher any more — they’re a vanity press. Vanity Publishing So what exactly is a vanity press? Simply put, a vanity press is a “pay to play” publishing option that does not require advanced review and acceptance of your manuscript. In other words, a vanity publisher will publish any book, regardless of quality, provided that the author can pay the vanity press fees (which are typically quite high). They present themselves as publishers, and they will produce your book, but they are not actually publishing houses in the true sense. They do not review and accept your manuscript. They do not oversee its editing, formatting, cover design, and production with experienced, quality, and vetted professionals. They do not market your book or share royalties with you as the author. Rather, a vanity publisher provides a paid book production service. Because manuscripts are not accepted for “publication” on account of their merit but based on your ability to pay for all aspects of production and marketing, books published by vanity houses do not enhance your credibility or position you as an authority. In fact, although your book may be published, it will likely be produced with a subpar quality and can therefore harm your credibility. Beware of vanity publishers! How Do You Know What’s Right For You? The first thing to ask yourself is: What is your goal? What do you want to achieve by being a published author? Do you simply want to tell your story? Has it always been a dream of yours to write a book? Do you want to leave a legacy and share your message with the world? Or do you want to use your book to gain credibility and position yourself as an authority? The answers to these questions will help you determine which path to publication is right for you. If you have questions or need help writing or publishing your book, reach out! Connect with me on social media or at AmplifyYourStoryNow.com. I’m always here to help you make your dream of becoming a published author a reality! Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my website ! Read more from Ellie ! Ellie Shefi, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Ellie Shefi is the very definition of tenacious. Having overcome a lifetime of adversity, including abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, cancer, and a myriad of other health issues that have seen her fight for her life for over two decades, Ellie has mastered mindset, resiliency, and resourcefulness, and she has dedicated her life to the empowerment of others. Ellie is an attorney, entrepreneur, coach, business strategist, keynote speaker, and award-winning author; featured contributor to publications, podcasts, and television shows; teacher, trainer, philanthropist, and engaged community servant. Ellie’s mission is to impact lives. A master problem-solver and opportunity creator who's determined to change the world, Ellie is the go-to expert for practical, easy-to-implement, results-driven tools, strategies, and resources that equip and empower you to take control and create the authentic, abundant life of your dreams. She is the creator of You Are Not Your Scars™, a movement that provides resources to empower women; Unlocking Your Superpower™, a program that provides resources to empower entrepreneurs; Creating An Impervious Mind™, a program that provides resources to empower the mind; and Made 2 Change The World™, a movement that provides resources to empower the next generation. Ellie is also the creator of Amplify Your Story Now™, a program that provides resources to authors and aspiring authors, and Sisters Rising™, a book series that provides women with a platform to tell their stories, showcase their businesses, and raise awareness of their work. An award-winning author, Ellie's books include: Unlocking Your Superpower: 8 Steps to Turn Your Existing Knowledge Into Income; Sisters Rising: Stories of Remarkable Women Living Extraordinary Lives; and The Authorities: Powerful Wisdom from Leaders in the Field (which she co-wrote with Les Brown, Bob Proctor, Marci Shimoff, and Raymond Aaron). Ellie is also the author of the upcoming book SuccessOnomics, which she is co-writing with Jack Canfield.