Written by: Dana Neacsu, 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 was a cloudy and cold October day. Even worse, a Saturday morning when everything is supposed to be sunny and warm, and great for things like a breakfast outside and a market stroll. But I really did not care much about that. I was on-call at the hospital, and there was something so heavy about the morning that it made me head straight for the Starbucks area amazingly available in the lobby. I know I should not like it, but there is something so comforting about the colors and the smell and everyone there is so young and happy and they call you by name... It’s just like a warm heavy blanket over unsettling emotions and worries. My pumpkin spice latte is ready! The calming energy and memories are flowing, the fall colors outside are now in my mind. The crispy air whiffs me to the mountains somewhere, happy and carefree... and then the phone rings. I reluctantly answer before taking my first sip, hoping there is no emergency. It was way worse than that: the lab tells me about the biopsy results for one of my patients, and it's bad. In fact, it is super bad - it's cancer. Suddenly, the coffee doesn’t taste good, the pictures in my head are gone, and I am back in the grayish-white hallway. My heart is really heavy. I got to know this patient well over the last couple of days. I met his wife, and we shared stories about our kids (theirs are much older than mine, lucky them). We discovered along the way that we are from Transylvania – the land of vampires thanks to Mr. Stokes and his book but in reality, the most beautiful land in Eastern Europe. We bonded over food and holiday memories, talked about upcoming trips, and what we would do once there. He was retired, so his plans were always longer than mine and made me sigh every single time. And now it's all gone. It’s cancer. It’s an upcoming fight and medications and hospital visits. I walked to his room and right before knocking; I just peeked inside. The big doors have a window area so I could see him and his wife talking and smiling at times. She was showing something on the phone and he was nodding. They were so much at peace in their own world. And that was when it hit me. I was about to shatter all that. Their world their peace their plans their life. Their life won’t be the same the moment I step into that room and say the word cancer. I don’t even need to say anything I have one of those faces easy to read - bad for gambling. And suddenly I could not do it. I could not make myself enter the room. In 18 years of hospital work, this certainly wasn't the first time I had to share bad news with someone. After a certain point, we as doctors get used to pain and have our armor up, so whenever moments like this hit, the shock is blunted and absorbed by it. But sometimes the pain goes through and you feel like hit by a bullet. So, I kept on watching them. I reasoned with myself: maybe I'll come back or at least I give them a bit more time before their life is changed forever. Just a few minutes. Why not let them have a bit more time with normalcy and calm and worry-free? "What are you dreaming of here?? Did you talk to them? I need him to go for the tests you all want. Go talk to him!" - she almost shoves me in. 'She' is one of the nurses on the floor, one of the best, in fact, but boy, she is not for the faint-hearted. She reminds me of Rachett, the nurse from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and here now I was the poor Jack Nicholson's character trying to rebel. But I knew better. Some nurses make doctors feel like young residents still, even with two decades of experience. And I knew she was right. I needed to tell them. So I walked in, and, yes, the moment his wife looked up at me - she knew, so her hand went over his. He was less attentive, probably still thinking about their conversation. But he was listening, and as I was talking, I could see the waves of emotions flowing through his eyes and the sadness was the worst of all. I made the message it as hopeful as I could while making sure I go over everything and trying to forget that I just shattered their peaceful day and I now will always be that mark in their life that changed everything for the worst. And they were so gracious. They accepted the news, asked their questions, and silently cried. And all this time I was apologizing for the news as if I were the cancer cell myself. And then they looked at me... and thanked me for being there for them, and taking care of him, and "just being an angel who tried to comfort" them. They shifted their focus to make me feel better and, my goodness, we are so funny as human beings – I did feel better! I eventually came out of the room and burst into: "They called me an angel". I couldn't help it – feeling a bit less heavy on my feet, seeing the light and the colors coming back. And right there and then: "You are an angel alright, the angel of death". The nurse's voice came out of nowhere and hit my bubble like a missile, exploding me back into the grayish-white world. I have been the angel of death many times before and after that. Sometimes it hurts like hell. Sometimes, we manage to hold our breath until the stinging pain is gone, and we can move to the next patient and fight the battle. Me and all my fellow doctors - we know that we do sometimes lose, even when we do our best. And the very next day, we have to stand up and fight again against sickness and death, fully knowing we might still lose and someone s life will be shattered. And it takes the life out of us so many times and leaves scars nobody will ever see. But we have no choice - we fight. In fact, even if I had had a choice, I would still do this. Every time. Because it’s a privilege and an honor to be someone’s angel even if in the end it’s the angel of darkness. I still bring compassion and care and a steady hand that they can lean on - until the end. And I just can’t think of a better place to be. This is a tribute to all my fellow doctors and nurses and everyone struggling to do their best during this year and pandemic. In this darkness, I SEE YOU! For more information, follow me on Facebook, Instagram and visit my website! Dana Neacsu, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dr Dana Neacsu is trained in both conventional and integrative medicine and her goal is to offer her patients the best treatment from both medical worlds. Her practice is a unique combination of ancient medicine techniques like Reiki, functional medicine cutting edge protocols and biohacking devices of the future. The core of her practice remains however the patients themselves and their incredible power of self-healing and courage.

Written by: Betsy Kauffman , Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. We all hear the terms “hustling” or “grinding” used to describe working hard or achieving breakthroughs in our work. Emerging leaders are a prime example of this description — they are talented high-achievers who thrive in their current roles. They regularly outpace their peers in their job performance, are considered subject-matter experts, challenge the status quo, and are driven to accomplish the lofty goals they set for themselves. But is there more to being an emerging leader than just grinding and outworking your peers? Absolutely! While having a strong work ethic, and being a high achiever are valuable and desirable skills, there are several other key characteristics an emerging leader should possess. ● Confidence : One could assume this characteristic comes naturally with being a high-achieving individual, but sometimes a lack of confidence can undermine and sabotage potentially great leaders. An emerging leader is confident in their skillset and ability to lead and possesses enough humility to know how to be a good listener when others offer innovative ideas. ● Emotional intelligence : Being calm under pressure and focusing on the solution instead of dwelling on the problem is a great trait in an emerging leader. It’s easy to lose your cool when things spiral out of control, but to have someone with a level head who doesn’t get caught up in blaming, self-sabotaging, or paralysis by analysis can be the difference between success and failure on a project. ● Resiliency : The real test of an emerging leader is how they respond to adversity. So that project they spearheaded didn’t go so well, or that new initiative didn’t accomplish what they had hoped it would. Their next steps are in the wake of failure or disappointment is what separates them from others—they take accountability, regroup, and dive fearlessly into the next project or challenge. Are you thinking of someone on your team who exhibits these characteristics? If yes, that is fantastic. If not, how can you build a culture that incubates these emerging leaders and creates potential within your team? I believe as a manager and a leader, you should constantly be looking out for potential talent and possible emerging leaders on your team. If not, I can guarantee someone else is, and they will quickly snap up these high-potential individuals. Now that I have shared my thoughts, I am curious to hear any additional traits you have discovered in your teams' emerging leaders. What do you think is the most crucial skill for emerging leaders to develop as we enter a new era of remote work? Follow me on Facebook , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Betsy ! Betsy Kauffman, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Betsy Kauffman is a globally recognized Leadership and Organizational Agility Coach with more than 20 years' experience working in Fortune 500 companies. Her company, Cross Impact Coaching, helps leaders create innovative, aligned, disruptive organizations. Betsy has observed and worked side by side with hundreds of CxO leaders and has seen just about every variation of how Leadership Teams operate and execute (both successfully and not so successfully). She deeply understands and has experienced firsthand when the team of individuals charged with leading the organization aren't aligned, focused, and working as one, the rest of the organization suffers. She is a published author providing thought leadership to both the agile and project management communities and speaks internationally on topics around leadership, corporate culture, and achieving organizational agility. She just completed her first TED talk - “How To Have Open and Honest Conversations at Work” in September 2020 in conjunction with the TED@PMI partnership and was selected by the TED editors to have her talk highlighted on TED.com in the near future – stay tuned for more details!

Written by: Samantha Touchais, 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 such an exciting moment the first time you think of a business idea and start mapping it out in your head. There’s a buzz that comes from all that possibility before your brain starts going over the details and some of the doubt sets in. While I have heard this from others, I am definitely speaking from my own experience. For over twenty years, I had a successful international marketing career with some of the world’s largest companies and have traveled and lived worldwide thanks to this career. For various reasons, I decided one day to put it all behind me and start my own business. The idea I had was a strong one and I validated it with several rounds of market research. I felt confident, excited, and really happy with the decision to move forward, particularly when one of my best friends decided to join me in the business venture. Fast forward eighteen months and we were feeling bitter, dejected and actually quite angry, as we had gone from the initial highs and elation of planning out a really exciting business to legal battles with a horrible supplier, fierce competition in the market that hadn’t existed when we started the idea [our business idea was stolen by somebody, but that is a whole other story!] and a high cost of delivery that couldn’t be circumnavigated and was pricing us out of the market. We lost money , time and sleep, three things we will never get back, but we learned so much in the process and that experience truly is invaluable. A big plus is I never lost my friendship, and I have gained so much insight into running my own business, and from the three subsequent successful businesses I have run, that I am now able to share all my learnings with my coaching clients. There are three key learnings I have taken from this experience and if I could go back in time this is what I would tell myself. Lesson One - Launching and running your own business takes enormous amounts of patience. I am a go-getter and like to get on with things almost before the idea is fully formed in my head. I want to take action and I want to see results and I want it now. I really was quite naïve when it came to how long it would take to see any form of success in my first business. This was partly from the fact that I had managed some of the world’s largest brands on a global level, which obviously meant I had a much bigger advertising budget than I did for my own personal business and a huge team behind me. While decisions would take longer, action could be faster, which meant results were often much quicker to achieve. It takes time , and sometimes a lot of time, to start to build a brand and get the awareness out there. While I am an optimistic person, this optimism is what led me to overestimate the forecasted sales and underestimate the reality of how long it would take to reach those sales. The market research had been so positive but setting up supplier agreements and sorting out logistics took a lot longer than I had anticipated. So my advice here is to be patient. Take your time to plan your sales forecasts, particularly for the first twelve months, recognizing that it may take longer than you initially anticipated to reach your target. Be clear on your business goals and break them down into actionable steps with associated timings. If you have someone you can trust, ask them for feedback on the timings you have given yourself, as an outsider’s point of view can be quite insightful. There are many associations for entrepreneurs, so find out what local resources you have, or alternatively I suggest joining some online business support groups or networking groups. Getting advice from someone who is further along the path than you can be invaluable. Lesson Two - Who you surround yourself with is crucial. Running your own business can be a lonely affair. I was surprised at just how lonely I have felt along my path to entrepreneurship, particularly as I had gone from working in companies with upwards of 100,000 employees to me. Just me. But I realized early on that having a business partner, where appropriate, can make a huge difference to how you feel emotionally about the business, and I found having someone else in the trenches with me when things got tough was crucial. If you are a solopreneur, then a business coach can be a great way to have someone on your side, supporting you and motivating you to stretch yourself and keep showing up. It is really helpful to have someone act as an accountability partner and a business coach can also fulfill this role. Along with Covid-19 and home-working has come an abundance of online support groups for home workers and entrepreneurs, and co-working spaces have become all the rage over the last few years. In order to feel supported and keep yourself feeling fresh, it is really important to connect and engage with others outside your business whenever you can. Those initial days of setting up a business can be tough and lonely, and so I always recommend to my coaching clients to have an accountability partner, someone they can share their visions and goals with who can help keep them on target. Business-focused Facebook groups are a great way to connect with others in the same boat as you, and you never know, you may even find some clients or customers in these groups. I don’t suggest you join them with the sole purpose of promoting your business but use these groups as a sounding board for ideas or to find support when you are finding things tough or need advice. Lesson Three - Knowing your why is critical to business success. For those stuck in corporate jobs that they do not enjoy, the life of an entrepreneur can seem very enticing. Social media presents us with stories of Lamborghini-driving 20 somethings who have made it rich running their own online businesses and what used to be the path chosen by few is now becoming much more mainstream. I have spoken to quite a few people over the years who have decided to launch their own business as a means of escape rather than basing the decision on an empowering dream of the future. They want to be their own boss; they don’t want to keep putting in long hours for someone else’s benefit, they no longer want a three-hour daily commute. While I can totally see where these people are coming from, escapism is not a good reason to become an entrepreneur. If you are not truly clear on why you want to start your own business, apart from trying to get out of a situation you are not happy with, then as soon as the going gets tough, you will simply want to run away again. Without a positive view of the future and an associated goal, you can easily lose your way and walk away from the success that could have been yours. One of the first questions I ask my new clients is why they want to start their own business. What are their dreams and aspirations for their life and how does this business help fulfill them? Your ‘why’ may be made up of one reason or several reasons. I find the most common ‘why’ is made up of a financial freedom goal as well as a lifestyle goal. Many of my clients have children and/or other life responsibilities and they want to free up their time to balance work with being with their children or fulfilling their other roles. It is very empowering to feel in charge of your time and your destiny and entrepreneurship is a great way to achieve this. Having a clear goal in mind for your life and your business is what will pull you through the tough times. When I have had moments of doubt or feelings of overwhelm over the years, I have remembered how running my own business is helping me achieve the work-life balance I wanted, and I compare my life now to my corporate life and then I know I have made the right decision for my family and me. That is comforting and inspiring and is what urges me on even though the going may feel tough. While the path to successful entrepreneurship can be difficult at times, the rewards are enormous, but you must set yourself up for that success in the first place. Anticipation and preparation are the name of the game, so I hope that these lessons have been useful to you. You may fail at times, but you will get back up, dust yourself off and keep going. Failure is part of learning, which allows us to grow and to ultimately succeed. Keeping an open mind, as well as your sense of humor, and your eye on the horizon where your goal is waiting for you, will help you navigate your way to the successful business and wonderful life you deserve. You can find Samantha at her website , wellbeingseries and LinkedIn ! Samantha Touchais, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Samantha Touchais is a Business and Mindset Coach helping women create a safe and secure path to launching their dream business by providing them with the support and tools to make it a success. She has over 20 years of marketing and strategy experience working for large international companies around the world and it was her love of how the mind works and how to create the right mindset for success that led her into coaching. She lives and breathes marketing and mindset, and loves sharing her learnings with others. Author of four books and the creator of the Well Being Series (a collection of apps and books that provide meditations and affirmations for well-being based on the latest neuro-science), she loves exploring Europe, where she has been for the last 14 years, but misses the beaches of her native Australia.

Written by: Sukanya Datta, 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. Perception is a way an individual judges another person based on behavior or personality. There are many factors that influence this. Let us consider the perspective from both beholder and target. When we look at a person, we look at their personality, attitude, facial expressions and energy vibes they give. This is what a first impression looks like. Sometimes a person’s work routine can also influence the outlook. But something that we see may not always be true. As it is said, “All that glitters is not gold”. When it comes to the target, they are looked at either as an individual or a collective race. Moreover, they are also judged on the basis of their background and ethics. A perception might go wrong and it might create differences at work. This usually depends on the type of situation the beholder and target are in. Most of the time we judge or are judged through a selective process. These are selective, halo, contrast and stereotype effect. We can link the above concept to individual decision making. The ability to make firm decisions, say no to illegal notions all depend on how we perceive the situation. Certain times, not all information is available and hence we tend to take wrong decisions. Most of the time, factors such as environment, background, other problems make us take decisions. Intuitive decision is another kind. Our sixth sense helps us in judging a circumstance. This occurs if we have dealt with a similar problem or experience in life. How does it affect daily life? We often find ourselves in the dilemma of judgment. And it seriously inhibits us from meeting people. People who are introverts and especially INTJ type personalities find themselves in the ocean of thoughts and fear that stops them from networking with people. Sometimes, the agitation of others judging us brings us to a halt with questionable pondering. “How should I approach them?” “What will they think about me” “How do I break free from this” This can affect adversely. You might be missing some major events in your life because of the low feeling that goes through your heart and mind. How to remain optimistic in every matter? Establishing a gut feeling to overcome these inhibitions is of utmost importance. The ability to understand different views of people and be open-minded to their perspective helps in developing our own mindset. When we lend an ear to someone’s issue, we tend to correlate it with our personal lives. This helps in developing a greater bond that helps us break through our own barriers. Developing a chart, where you could chalk out your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This is famously known as the SWOT (matrix) analysis. With this, I can 101% guarantee that you will be able to plan your present life and future. As you note down the weakness and strengths, you will soon realize how you can use your energy to overcome the shortcomings will make you see a positive approach towards every aspect of life. Visit my Instagram for more info! Read more from Sukanya! Sukanya Datta, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Sukanya Datta is an electrical engineer. Along with the tech side, she is also a certified fashion designer. Being a tech lover, she has had a penchant for creativity. Entrepreneurship is a big journey and both tech and fashion have been a boon in her life. From developing monetary strategies and embark on the body positivity mission across the world and bridging the gap between women and fashion.

In Lanna's words, “Life is much like a natural phenomenon to many who live here on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, Canada .” It has been said by locals here that this is the exact spot where the ocean meets the rainforest! Inspiration takes hold. Diagnosed with C-PTSD, clinical depression, anxiety, and migraine headaches due to childhood trauma and many hardships life threw at her. Lanna knew all too well that she had to pave her own path. She is the eldest sibling of four who grew up during the 1960s and 1970s with a family who lived in poor conditions due to a lack of financial resources, community support, basic life skills, and very limited paternal and maternal nurturing. Her siblings, whom she has great admiration for, had suffered frequent heartache, chaos, and lack of stability or support, yet they still move forward in the most positive light they can find in their path. The ability of her parents to nurture their children or guide them appropriately due to mental health challenges proved difficult for all involved. Yet, she still has empathy and awareness in her heart. From a very young age, Lanna's mission in life has been focused on advocacy, and Paying It Forward, as she puts it. As Lanna had left her family home a conflicted runaway just before her 15th birthday, she had survived a multitude of dangers, such as being sexually assaulted multiple times by a close friend's father when she was just 14 years old. Another dangerous and heartbreaking situation was losing a young friend to alcohol poisoning at 14 as Lanna attempted to revive her at an outdoor party. The most heartbreaking and dangerous experience was losing a friend who was sadly never heard from again after hitchhiking with her from Northern BC to Vancouver BC in the winter of the late 1970s. They were separated by Lanna accidentally getting on the wrong bus in Vancouver that was headed to the US. She frequently contemplated where her journey could have ended up or where her friend would be today. Sadly, there is no closure for the loss of her friend, and her friend's family still all wonder where she went or if she survived. Speculations of her disappearance from the police in recent years and evidence showed that some of her belongings, as well as DNA, were found at a Port Coquitlam pig farm, but has yet to lead to anything concrete. Lanna said, “This experience had taught her to be more cautious, empathetic, and to rely more on her instincts.” Eventually, Lanna put herself through college to improve herself after an unfortunate arrest in her early 20s and briefly losing custody of her beloved daughter. A court Judge was merciful to her and let her choose her own outcome as a first time offender. Her mission at that point and time was to be an appropriate role model for her own daughter and to live a calm life. “ I want to Pay It Forward, as I have a lot of Karma to work through!” she stressed. She’s not saying she never made any more mistakes; on the contrary, she made many after this! She called it “ A roller coaster ride to self-improvement.” Lanna spent over 3 decades working for nonprofits and spent many of those years also volunteering her free time helping those in need of resources. Now at the age of 58, a happy and proud wife, mother and grandmother, who is the founder, creator and designer of Expressive Designs by Lanna. She feels her journey could open eyes for many who feel trapped or hopeless to move forward. Her husband and daughter are Lannas most dedicated supporters; she includes they are her cheering squad and have helped her remain focused these past few years. Her husband and herself have two elderly cats who have provided much comfort on those days when she felt like giving up. She is a grandmother to two amazing teens! She couldn’t be prouder of these two young humans. She feels with young people like her grandchildren emerging into adulthood, the future looks brighter, knowing there are more humans like these to lead us into our future! What is it that you do for your clients? I am a graphic designer, multimedia artist and blogger/writer. As well as a social media manager/Virtual Assistant, I’m also an advocate for vulnerable people of society. What I do as an artist is I paint and draw various natural subjects, like wildlife and nature. As well, I enjoy drawing humans and pets. I can make prints for someone’s custom order or sell my own prints. As a graphic designer, I can make custom logos and web banners. Also, I design prints for T-shirts, accessories and gift items and have them shipped directly to my customers. I can do a custom design or sell my own designs on merchandise. As a social media manager/Virtual Assistant, I can help manage your social media accounts, write articles for your website, and write blog posts with SEO assistance; all Copyscape approved. Who should hire/work with you? Anyone who wants custom-designed merchandise, such as T-shirts, accessories, or home decor and poster/canvas prints, would benefit. Anyone who needs assistance with the virtual part of their business could save time by letting me do it for them. What do you do as an advocate? I am affiliated with a couple of nonprofits, raising awareness to the public and raising funds through sales in my store. One such nonprofit is an Autism Support Society called SASS. They are a family-run society in Sooke BC, Canada providing much-needed resources to families in need. For every item sold in the Autism Awareness Collection, $2 is donated to SASS. My hope is to raise enough funds to support families efficiently! I’m always open to accepting applications from other nonprofits, especially nonprofits who support mental health. What is your big goal? Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now? Now that is the question I’ve wanted to answer for so long! It’s interesting to admit that the answers are multileveled. If you had asked me this 30 years ago, I just would not have had a concrete answer how things change so much overtime with life experiences. One of my goals is to be completely independent in business. What I mean by that is to rely solely on my business with no outside financial assistance. I see myself retiring in the next couple of years from my job in public education, and to be financially secure by them while doing what I love, would be a dream come true! Another goal is to have my business affiliated with several nonprofits. Paying It Forward is a very real focus for me! Lastly, I’d like to be able to afford to one day employ people who are marginalized in society! Just because someone makes questionable choices at some point in their lives doesn’t mean they want to live that way. Most people, I believe, want to feel useful and have a purpose in life. I know it takes trust for people to accept help and for some to offer it. I have great instincts, especially now that I have trust in my own judgment and confidence to move forward. For myself, to Pay It Forward is the ultimate reward! Connect with Lannette on Facebook , Instagram and visit her website for more information! Read more from Lannette !

Written by: Moira Hutchison , 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 can you manage your feelings if you do not understand or know what they are? Only about one-third of adults can accurately identify their emotions, according to the bestselling book Emotional Intelligence 2.0 . Maybe you were discouraged from expressing your feelings when you were growing up. Perhaps you judge yourself harshly for becoming irritated with your children or jealous of your partner. Whatever the reason, bottling things up could be holding you back. Discover a new and more constructive approach to getting in touch with your emotions. Exploring the Benefits of Connecting with Your Emotions: 1. Gain self-knowledge. Increasing your self-awareness enables you to develop and grow. You can clarify your goals and direct your energies toward the activities that are meaningful to YOU. It is the first step in living with a sense of purpose instead of operating on autopilot. 2. Enhance your relationships. Understanding yourself and others also makes greater intimacy (* into-me-see) possible . You will be more sensitive to how your loved ones are likely to react to any situation, and you will be able to provide more empathy and moral support. 3. Build emotional resilience. Any challenge is easier to overcome when you can ascertain and regulate your emotions. You will have the motivation and the skills to deal with setbacks without letting them undermine your self-esteem. 4. Achieve more. Emotional awareness also maximizes your productivity . You can collaborate effectively with others and make sound decisions under pressure. Strategies for Identifying Your Emotions: 1. Name your symptoms . Try to label what you are feeling. Make your language as specific as possible. Sadness could mean grieving for a lost pet or feeling listless on a rainy day. 2. Look deep within. Keep in mind that your behavior may be deceptive if you tend to stuff down feelings that you think are inappropriate . For instance, do you hesitate to show affection because others might take advantage of you? Examine your true motives . 3. Listen to your body. Physical sensations can reveal important clues about your emotional state. A clenched jaw and creased brows could indicate anger. Relaxed muscles and a warm glow suggest you are happy about something. 4. Meditate regularly. Create a quiet time and place for exploring and acknowledging your emotions. Observe your feelings without making judgments . Strategies for Sharing Your Emotions: 1. Talk it over. Practice putting your emotions into words. Tell others how you feel and why. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable can be scary, but the rewards are worth it. You will connect on a deeper level and feel more secure. 2. Start small. If certain subjects seem too sensitive, you can prepare yourself by discussing things that feel less risky. As you become more confident in your skills, you will be able to address larger issues with ease . 3. Work out. In addition to conversation, physical activity can be another outlet for strong feelings. After a rough day at the office, invite your coworkers to join you for a CrossFit class or a long walk. Tensions may melt away without saying a word. 4. Do something creative. Art projects can tell the world how you are feeling also. If you struggle with painting or sculpting, you can choose any medium that works for you. Pour your heart into baking cookies or designing a board game. 5. Seek coaching, therapy, or mentoring. If you need more help dealing with your emotions, ask your friends for recommendations for a coach, therapist, or mentor you can talk with. Coaching and therapy can be a safe place to process past experiences and try out new behaviors. You may feel uncomfortable temporarily as the emotions you have ignored come to the surface but stick with it. Increasing your emotional awareness will prepare you for a happier and more successful life. For more info, follow Moira on Facebook , Instagram or LinkedIn , join her Facebook Community or visit her website ! Read more from Moira ! Moira Hutchison, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine As an Intuition Cultivator and Mindset Mentor, Moira Hutchison guides her clients to access the inherent power they have available when they ignite their personal trinity of trust, inner awareness, and self-confidence. Moira works with professionals who have a feeling that there is something better in life for them, but they have no idea how to access it. However, they have a yearning to be guided by their intuition and align with their unique calling. What makes her distinctive and different in this work is that she has developed the ability to take complex energetic and spiritual ideas and interpret them in ways that people find easy to understand, integrate and implement.

Written by: Joe McKee , 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. First of all, let's recap why engagement is so important for successful Facebook marketing. Interaction on a Facebook post takes place when the message makes an adequate influence on people (and frequently sparks organic involvement) that they feel obliged to respond. Influential time and emotional involvement with a target market are clearly at the heart of effective social media advertising and marketing. Human nature being what it is, seeing reactions and comments on a post will certainly spark interest and push more focus and influence. Nevertheless, for numerous services, the utmost objective is to have their messages shared because the content (and the business name) will certainly get to a whole new target market as well as the sharing itself adds an endorsement, or social proof, to the blog post. Facebook offers users endless content and entertainment. It can be difficult to drive interaction to your business’ Facebook page while keeping up with everything that users see on their Facebook feed. With all of the information out there, how can you make your business stand out? Interactive Social Media Contest Some of our clients have found ways to have more engagement and interaction on their social media pages by boosting monthly contests on their business page with a reward for the winner. It is a fun and simple way to gain more interaction from your current followers and build that relationship with them while seeing all of their creativity. For example, Riverside Grocery took part in a National Day of the Cowboy contest, where their followers had to post a photo of themselves dressed as a cowboy for a chance to win a $25 Gift Card from Riverside. As it turned out for their contest, Riverside reached 881 more people bringing it to a total of 2,170 people reached with this post and had a total of 40 participants in the challenge. The contestants also shared this post with their friends to like the photo they entered to have a better chance to win, which also drove more people to Riverside`s business page, giving Riverside more interactions with users that may not have seen the page before. Another example of how these social media contests provide more interaction can be seen with the Halloween Costume Challenge that Jawbone BBQ recently ran. Jawbone`s Halloween Costume Challenge reached 1,229 people and had 230 engagements while having 22 people participating in the contest. Although Jawbone`s contest doesn't seem very successful than Riverside`s contest, we must consider that Riverside`s following is much larger than Jawbone`s at this point. These contests can really be great for building relationships with your loyal customers as well as trying to build new ones. With outsiders seeing your business page's creativity and the chance to win free giveaways, people will be more likely to check out your page constantly. This is where you can promote your own businesses daily specials since now you have more and more people visiting your page looking for your contests. To learn more, visit Invoteq Read more from Joe! Joe McKee, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Joe McKee is the CEO of Invoteq, which offers free processing for credit card processing and full-service custom-designed marketing programs. Offering local companies a strategy to Strive and Thrive in the current economy and future economies that are still ahead of the service industries.

Written by: Vicki Chisholm , Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Did you ask for validation again? A second opinion from someone else, other than your instincts? Oh, how I remember those days of chronic self-doubt. Gaining validation from others can sometimes be the one thing that takes you from “Yes, I’ve got it” to “I’m not good enough.” Let’s compare these for a second here, “Yes, I’ve got it!” means you are following your heart. Compared to following others where their opinions give you a feeling of “I’m not good enough .” Not being good enough in business is a self-projection into business life, and this ultimately transforms to YOU being your business. Let us clear something up here; you are NOT your business. This is where many get emotionally enthralled in the rollercoaster of the Entrepreneur. You are an aspect of your business. Without you, your business would not exist. Without you, your business would not be a selling point. However, how you run your business DOES NOT DEFINE YOU as an individual. If you can master this, your emotional resilience will be phenomenal. Your inspiration and aspirations are TO DO, BE & HAVE. Trust yourself to have all these three. When you fully trust yourself, your gut, intuition, ideas, etc., you stop wasting time. The more you trust yourself, the more you can then learn to trust others too. In business, you need trust! Running a successful business takes strength and confidence. Confidence to make decisions, confidence to take a leap of faith and follow your intuition. The same goes for your life. To be clear, seeking feedback is not the same as seeking validation. This validation is quite different from feedback. Feedback tells you how your message/service/product is being perceived. Validation says, "I’m lacking confidence" and need approval that this is something I can run with. When you enter the validation stage of thinking, something in your gut is already telling you it is not right. Here are some things you can do to help yourself work through this: Take a step back, go for a walk, distract your mind from the topic itself. Once you have focused on something else for a while, you can come back to your topic and revisit it with a fresh perspective. Pick up a pen and paper and ask yourself what the pros and cons are. Tune in to your body’s response to what you want to do. Your body will give you the answers. On another note, seeking validation is a TRAUMA RESPONSE that shows up when you are about to do something that is moving you out of your comfort zone. Business owners find this a recurring theme. There is another way to clear this up, re-wiring your brain and falling back into love with yourself. When you learn that the old habits of fear and uncertainty are creeping in, you can choose again. (Gabrielle Bernstein taught me this phrase in her book, and it has stuck with me.) This is something I help my clients with on a daily basis, to learn to trust themselves in life and business, to follow their instincts to trust their guts, and to listen to the inner voice that is guiding them to be EXACTLY who they are, in life and in business. One of my best-selling programs is the "Fast Track Your Life and Business in 6 weeks". Using holistic therapy and coaching for the ultimate transformation, you too can learn how to trust your instincts again and overcome the fears of getting it wrong, build up your emotional resilience and succeed with the goals in your deepest desires. Book your FREE 30-minute session HERE , and let's help you fast track to success in your life and business. For more information, follow Vicki on Facebook , LinkedIn and visit her website ! Vicki Chisholm, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Vicki Chisholm is an International Personal Power Coach in the UK, combining coaching and holistic therapy to transform the lives and business development of mumpreneurs and female entrepreneurs. She is highly engaged in Transforming the Lives and Businesses of Mums and Female entrepreneurs around the world. Vicki transformed her own life from: Domestic Abuse, Autoimmune Disease, Anxiety, Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and is also a former successful Virtual Assistant. Vicki’s incredible intuition has guided her to retrain and overcome the impossible in her own life and now she shares this success with her growing list of clients. Vicki’s passion to lead women back to their inner empowering world is what makes her work priceless.

Written by: Sue Ritchie, 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 There is nothing more soul-destroying than being desperate to have a child and finding that conception appears not to be happening for you. I know. I found myself at 30, single and desperate to have a child. I understand exactly how it feels. 1 in 7 heterosexual couples today are struggling to conceive, but out of those 25% have no medical reason for why it isn’t happening for them. However, when you prepare your mind, body and spirit for conception, it can help to boost your fertility, even if there are physical reasons for why you are struggling to conceive. I feel it is interesting that we take the time to prepare for many things in our lives – we prepare for a job interview, we prepare for exams, we take the time to prepare for when speaking in public, we prepare for our wedding, to name just a few situations. Why do we do that? We prepare because we want to try to ensure that we have the best chance of success and it all runs smoothly. It seems though that very little is talked about why it is important to prepare for conception. Creating a new human being is probably one of the most important roles we have in life, but it is generally something that most of us do not do any preparation for. It’s not our fault, it is just something that isn’t really spoken about. It certainly isn’t currently taught in schools. The focus here tends to be on how not to become pregnant. Young people are not taught about how lifestyle, age and other factors can have a significant impact on fertility. I feel that this needs to change. The world we live in today is very different from what it was 30 – 40 years ago. Life is very busy, we are constantly switched on, and so many of us are constantly stressed. Our eating habits have changed; everything is about quickness. We have seen a huge rise in the consumption of processed foods, sugar, ready meals and the eating of take-aways. These are having a big impact on our health and our gut health. Our environment has changed. There is just so much more pollution and toxins around us. These all mean that it is more important than ever to prepare for conception, because they all have an impact on our fertility. What does preparing for conception mean, and why is it so important? As a human being, we have a mind, a body and we have a spiritual side to us. Each of these elements are connected to each other, and they all have an impact on each other. This means that when you work on improving all of the factors that can have an impact on your fertility, you increase your chances of conception. But that is not all. You will also be giving yourself self-love by nurturing and taking care of yourself, which is just as important. For me, there are 3 core key areas that you should be focusing on to increase your potential for conception. There are other areas, but I see these as being the most fundamental. These are: Mindset Physical Health including gut health Environment Mindset Management One of the areas that is rarely considered is just how much power our mind has over our bodies, but research has shown that it has a big impact. A Harvard Medical School study* measured what happened when women, who were having difficulty conceiving, were given specific support and taught how to manage their thoughts and their mindset. 55% of the women who were taught how to identify negative thought patterns and separate truth from fear, had a baby compared to only 20% for those who didn’t. When your thoughts are negative, your brain interprets that as a threat and you start to experience real stress symptoms of rapid heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, and a state of heightened arousal. Thinking negative thoughts affects our brain by triggering the same response as stress. Preparing, learning and more importantly, practicing how to manage your mindset on a daily basis, so that you live life in the positive zone will not only bring a much happier life in general, but it will empower you to handle life’s challenges along the way. It will also have a significant impact on your overall health and wellbeing, which in turn will help to boost your fertility. Physical Health The health of your body and the health of your gut, not only has an impact on how easily you might be able to conceive, but it will also have an impact on the health of your baby. A recent study published in Gut Microbes concludes that what mothers eat while pregnant shapes their gut microbiota composition. That, in turn, has an effect on the composition of their babies’ gut microbial community and on infant growth during the first 18 months of life. The study showed that the first 1,000 days of life are a crucial and a sensitive period in a baby’s life when the foundations for short and long-term health are laid. The study also found that “During pregnancy, in birth and later in breastfeeding, mothers pass on gut microbiota to their infants, which firstly start to colonize the babies’ guts and then contribute to the more diversification of the gut microbiota. When that early colonization is disturbed, there is an increased risk of developing a range of conditions later in life, including obesity, allergies and cardiovascular diseases.” We all want, of course, to increase the likelihood of giving birth to a healthy child. So, it makes sense to start preparing your body by ensuring that you are eating a healthy and nutritious diet that is based on natural whole foods and that your gut microbiome is in a good place well in advance of conceiving. This means ensuring that you are eating a diet that is rich in all the key nutrients, as well as ensuring that your body is properly hydrated. It might mean needing to look at reducing weight. It can take some time for your body to start benefiting fully from the changes you make in your diet and if you need to make major changes it is often best to do that gradually. That way it can be easier to make the adjustments you need to make. If you have been taking the contraceptive pill, it will take some months for your body to get back into the normal rhythm, so you do need to build that into your expectations on when your body might be ready to conceive. Lifestyle In today’s world, we have a situation where so many of us feel the need to be switched on and connected 24 hours a day. Constantly checking our emails, mobile phones, feeling the need to be constantly available in and out of work. There is a tendency to be trying to fit a million and one things into each and every day, with quiet time for relaxation and rest taking a distinctive back seat in priority. In light of this, you are more than likely to be living in a constant state of stress. Stress is a huge factor for so many people in today’s increasingly busy world and I personally know all about that. Up until around 10 years ago, that was me. Unfortunately, when you are continuously stressed and living in a state of fight and flight, it doesn’t create the right environment for conception for women, but it also has an impact on male fertility too. Stress impacts your physical body and your mental wellbeing and disrupts the natural balance of your gut microbiome. When you are in a constant state of fight or flight it is like you being back in caveman times and you are being chased by a saber-toothed tiger. You are going to need put all your effort into running as fast as you can to get away from the tiger and live to see another day. Your body responds by shutting down any system that isn’t necessary for survival and that includes the reproductive system. Preparing for conception will mean that it is important to review your current lifestyle and look for areas in which you will need to make some adjustments. Making the changes may not be an easy process. They are likely to need time and getting support can certainly help. But there is another factor, if you are constantly busy, filling every minute of your day with doing something, energetically you are not allowing any space for something new to come into your life. Environmental Factors The environment in the world has changed significantly over the last 30-40 years and there are many elements of this that are impacting our bodies, our health and our fertility. Chemical pollution is a problem and this affects us inside and outside of our homes. It has an impact on the foods we are eating due to the increased use of pesticides. It also includes the chemical products that we use in our homes and our gardens. We also need to be mindful and careful of products that we use on our bodies, some of which contain harmful chemicals as well as the use of plastics that contain BPA’s. With the rise in the use of mobile phones and Wi-fi, we now need to take into consideration EMF radiation, as scientific studies are showing that these have an impact on fertility, and in particular, on male fertility. The important thing is that with awareness, you can take steps to reduce your exposure to these environmental factors. Also, when your body is healthy, and is being fed the right sort of food, and is kept properly hydrated, it is in a much better place to handle the elimination of toxins. The Good News Like everything in life, taking the time to prepare can lead to a greater chance of success. Also, the great thing is you do have the power in your hands to increase your chances of conception. It just requires a commitment to take the time and effort to prepare yourself for probably one of the most important jobs in life. There is no greater joy for me than seeing couples step up in valuing themselves by wanting to significantly improve their health and wellbeing, both physically and mentally. Not just because they want to boost their fertility and increase their potential for conception, but because it is going to make such an improvement to their enjoyment of life in general and together. Plus, it is going to increase their chances of having a healthy baby. To me, and I hope that you will agree, the biggest benefit is that you will step into parenthood as a happy, healthy, positive couple who truly enjoys life. Given that children learn so much from the behavior of their parents, what greater gift could you give your child. *Source: Journal Fertility and Sterility (2000) 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 Sue Ritchie, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine 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.

Written by: Snježana “Ana” Billian, 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 Ranked on Inc.’s listing of the Top 50 Leadership and Management Experts in the world, and 1 on Huffington Post’s 12 Business Speakers to See, Steve Farber is a bestselling author, popular keynote speaker, and a seasoned leadership coach and consultant who has worked with a vast array of public and private organizations in virtually every arena. Farber is the former Vice President of legendary management guru Tom Peters’ company and is the founder and CEO of The Extreme Leadership Institute—an organization devoted to helping its clients develop award-winning cultures and achieve radical results. The Institute’s team has helped over 25 companies earn a ranking on the Best Places to Work list. Farber’s third book, Greater Than Yourself, debuted as a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller. His second book, The Radical Edge, was hailed as “a playbook for harnessing the power of the human spirit.” And his first book, The Radical Leap: A Personal Lesson in Extreme Leadership, was named one of the 100 Best Business Books of All Time. His much-anticipated new book, Love Is Just Damn Good Business, published by McGraw-Hill, has been featured on Wharton radio and The World Economic Forum website and has been listed by Book Authority as one of the top business strategy books of 2020. Farber is a member of the exclusive Transformational Leadership Council, and his column, The Extreme Leadership Chronicles, frequently runs on Inc.com. You've been named one of the best leadership experts in the world. A well-deserved title, considering your unconventional approach to leadership: for example, in your book Love Is Just Damn Good Business, you write about the importance of love in the workplace. That's not something we talk about in business a lot, especially not at the C-level. How do CEOs and other high-level leaders react when you talk to them about love? Well, first, we must be clear on what I don't mean by it. When you say "love in the workplace," that could imply that you're talking about romance in the workplace. That's not what I mean. I'm not saying everybody at work should date each other and fall in love. "Love" is a very big word. It means different things to different people. But, in the context of business, we're not accustomed to saying the word in the same sentence as "business." I've been teaching love as a business practice for quite some time, and I teach it to the most hardcore businesspeople from environments that would typically go, "No, we don't want to talk about that." Here's what I do mean by "love in the workplace" and why it makes sense for every business. It all starts with the customer. Without customers, you have no business, right? When we talk about love at work, it all starts with the notion that you need your customers or clients to love what you do for them, plain and simple. If your customer doesn't love your product or service, they have no reason to continue doing business with you. They can find a similar offer somewhere else, maybe even for less money. But, if they love your brand and the impact your product or service has on their lives, that's where your competitive advantage comes from as a business. How do you make that happen for a customer? How do you make a customer love you? I've been doing this work for 30 years now, and what I've seen is that the only way to make that consistently happen for customers is to create an environment that people love working in. If I don't love working here, how am I supposed to create that experience for my customer? And, as a leader, I can't inspire that kind of culture unless I have it myself first. If I don't love my employees, customers, and career, then it's difficult for me to create an environment that other people will love to inhabit. So, it all becomes personal very quickly. It's a powerful business principle, as long as we put it into practice. One thing that stood out for me while reading your book is that you make love so tangible. You even came up with a formula for how to define love in the workplace. Can you tell us more about that? Actually, there are many different ways to look at it and multiple formulas in the book. I'll talk about the one that I think you're referring to, which is: Kindness + high standards = love at work. In other words, sometimes people get a little bit nervous about the idea of love in business because they think it means trying to make everyone happy all the time, without any format standards. If that were the case, the leader would make decisions that people like instead of decisions that are important for the business. That's not what love at work is about. On the contrary, this is about raising standards. What I'm suggesting is that we need to hold people accountable to ensure they do great work. Sometimes you have people who are in the wrong job, and sometimes you need to let them go. Does that mean you don't love them? No. You could love them and know they'd be happier somewhere else, but you can do that with kindness. Anything that we need to do that may be unpopular in business can be done with kindness. When we combine kindness with high expectations and high standards, we create the kind of environment people love. People love being part of a team that wants to do great work. They want to grow, be challenged, and take risks. They want to change the world, even if it's just a small piece of the world. That means we have to hold ourselves to a very high standard of performance. The more we can do that with kindness, the more productive people will be. That's one formula. What's the other formula? The other formula is also the subtitle of my book, Love Is Just Damn Good Business, which is: Do what you love in the service of people who love what you do. In fact, the book is structured around those three sections: Do what you love In the service of people Who love what you do Doing what you love is the foundation for this formula. It's your personal connection to your work. But it's not enough just to do what you love, because, frankly, if that's all you're concerned about, then it doesn't matter how it impacts anybody else. That's called narcissism, and that's not what we're talking about. It's about doing what you love to serve others and positively impacting your customers, employees, colleagues, and community. When you provide such a degree of value to others, it results in them reciprocating—they love you in return. That's when your customers will say they love doing business with you and when your employees will say they love working with you. It's not about love as a sentiment; it's about love as a practice and discipline. And, of course, the book addresses questions like What should love look like in the way we work? How do we operationalize it as a business? What I've learned from you is that one way to operationalize love as a business is through a concept you call an OS!M. In your book, you write that leaders actually can't be leaders without pursuing their OS!Ms. Can you explain what you mean by that? What's an OS!M, and why is it so important? The OS!M stands for the Oh Shit! Moment. We've all had experiences where we step up to do something and we have to take risks. And, even though we might be wholly committed to it, it's scary. The Oh Shit! Moment is a combination of the fear and exhilaration that comes along with doing something significant while trying something new. You have that moment when you find yourself saying, "Oh shit, I can't believe I'm doing this!" You probably experienced an OS!M when you took on a new opportunity, or maybe before you got up in front of a group to make a presentation, or when you had a difficult but necessary conversation with somebody. The challenge with the OS!M is that we tend to interpret it as a sign that something is wrong. And sometimes it is, but in the right context, the OS!M is a sign that something is right. It means we're putting ourselves out there. When we combine the OS!M with the practice of love, we get an interesting dynamic because love is the motivator that brings us to step up to the OS!M. It could be love for a cause we believe in, love for the clients we're serving, or love for the great future we can create together. In some ways, the OS!M is what love can feel like in action. Operationalizing love as a business practice is not all hearts and flowers. It can be very challenging and scary. And I would even go as far as to say if you're not feeling scared at all while putting these things into practice, you're probably not doing it. This is counterintuitive for many people, but when you push it to the point that it scares you a little bit, now you're in the game. You'll love it so much that you're ready to do it, even if it's scary. This is so powerful. It's the love that makes the fear of doing something new worthwhile. What's an Oh Shit! Moment you've had lately? I've had significant OS!Ms throughout my career. Lately, my OS!Ms tend to involve publishing. Anytime I publish a new book, I have an Oh Shit! Moment, because writing a book is very much an internal process. I'll write a paragraph and say to myself, "That's a damn good paragraph." But the general public doesn't respond to it until it gets published. This is my fourth book, and whenever a book goes to market, it's an Oh Shit! Moment. Although it lasts more than a moment—it's more like an Oh Shit! Month. Now, that's a surprise. All your books have terrific reviews. Your first book, The Radical Leap, was named one of the 100 best business books of all time, and Love Is Just Damn Good Business was listed as one of the best business strategy books of 2020. And you still feel scared when you publish a new book? Even if I've had a success, there have been OS!Ms along the way. I'm sure there are people reading this who have had a book inside them for a long time, but they haven't done anything with it. If you're one of those people, ask yourself why you haven't committed it to paper or submitted it to a publisher. The only answer you get back from yourself is: Because I'm scared of the rejection. I'm scared of failure. If that's the only reason you're not taking the next step, then that's the reason you should do it. And this is coming from a guy who's written several books that have done pretty well. I have that OS!M, too. It's perfectly natural, and we all experience it. It's just that some of us hide it better, and, depending on our proficiencies in certain areas, it can look easy to other people. How can we make the Oh Shit! Moment feel less scary? I'll give you an example. Many years ago, I was invited to speak to a group of 300 surgeons in the United States. Right before I went on stage, the host running the conference that year said to me, "You know, we're delighted to have you here. I just want you to understand that you're about to speak to 300 of the biggest egos you've ever met. And if they don't like you, they'll make that determination pretty quickly and likely you'll have people that will get up and leave." That looks like an Oh Shit! Moment to me. Fortunately, I got along with them pretty well. They had the same, I guess, twisted sense of humor that I do. It suddenly occurred to me then that the OS!M is completely relative. To me, cutting people open is the most terrifying prospect I can imagine, but that's not the case for these 300 surgeons. To these guys, the most terrifying thing that most of them could imagine was standing up in front of 300 of the biggest egos they've ever met, talking to them with the fear of rejection. For me, it was great fun. One person's Oh Shit! Moment is another person's happy moment. Thank you for sharing these personal challenges with us. As we approach the end of this conversation, I'd like to ask one final question: Who is Steve Farber when he is not consulting C-level leaders and talking about leadership on stage? Thank you, that's a wonderful question. For me, there's not much of a difference between what you're experiencing right now and who I am, because this is who I am. But in terms of what I do and how I occupy my time, I'm a family guy. My wife and I have six kids between us, ranging in age from 25 to 42. I've been a family guy since I was a young man, and I raised teenagers for 25 straight years. I love my family. I love my friends. I love people. There's nothing more joyful to me than hanging out with dearly beloved friends and family. Nowadays, I don't get to do any of that other than through Zoom, and I'm getting a little antsy about that. I'm also a musician. I've been playing guitar, singing, and writing songs since I was 13 years old, which was a long time ago. When I put all these together, there is nothing better for me than playing music with friends. I'm a believer in people, and I've been fortunate to be able to create a career that allows me to bring my true nature into what I do. And I believe that all of us have that opportunity, whatever career we're in. To learn more about Steve Farber, his work and his mission, visit: www.stevefarber.com. Make sure to check out the Love Is Just Damn Good Business Podcast in which Steve and his guests share proven strategies and practical lessons on how to build team cultures based on love—the ultimate competitive advantage. For more information about Snjezana Ana Billian, visit her website and connect with her on LinkedIn & Instagram! Read more from Ana!

Arna van Goch is a business automations coach. She helps 5 figure entrepreneurs hit 6 figures by streamlining their businesses and strategies to work less & earn more. Over her own entrepreneurial journey, she has worked with online businesses to land 6 figure contracts and supported businesses reaching 7 figures. Besides working online, she has an avid passion for travel, energy work and awesome Netflix series like Next in Fashion. You are an inspiring entrepreneur and known as a business automations coach, which is an interesting title. Can you tell the readers more about that and the work that you do?  Indeed! I sometimes think that these terms can be misleading. When people think automation, they immediately tend to think of emails or sales, and that's not always the case. When I say I'm a business automations coach, I mean to say that I am the person you go to when you want to make sure that your business is running as best as it can be. We do look at automations in sales and emails, but also we look at numbers, at efficiency and even at what you can outsource to make your life easier for you. My signature program says it best: Step Into Your CEO. By following this program, my clients are able to start to detach from the admin side of things and actually start to look at a brighter, more exciting future.  What led you into business automation, and how come you have a passion for this?  I'm very lucky that I was exposed to entrepreneurship from a young age. My parents owned their own business, and as I grew up and technology changed, I was able to apply it into their business to make it run smoother, so you could say that automations have always been in my blood. It took me a while to get to the point where I was able to embrace my gift- before I turned business automations coach I was in administration and social media management. I think it's important to add here- I'm glad it took a rollercoaster ride to get me to where I am today. I have learned so many skills, seen so much of the world, and experienced so much over my short lifetime that I am able to bring into my coaching, it's truly been an honor and pleasure to be alive today!  Automations play a role if you want to scale your business, but one thing people might wonder is how to make automations more human-based and personal.  Do you have any specific tips on this?  That's a great question. This of course is when we're talking about front-end automations. Personally, I believe that using custom fields etc is the best way to bring in a sense of personalized automation. Did you know that today, 50% of website users are upset when websites aren't personalized? Isn't that interesting? Consider this: when I go buy my specialized eco-shampoo, I want them to remember me, offer me a discount code, and remember which shampoo I like. I want them to email me to remind me to stock up because it's roughly about time that my shampoo has run out.  The same goes for the latest chatbot building program I'm learning. I want them to remember where I last left off, to remind me when I haven't logged in to the course for a while, and to send me updates to the course.  This kind of personalization is key to building an automated relationship with your customer, and this takes some strategic thinking on your part! This is why I love using tools like Active Campaign and others to ensure that we are able to build an ever-more personalized experience for our clients. What kind of automation would you say are the most important ones to have?  Knowing your numbers. In my Step Into Your CEO course, we talk about how we can automatically track our digits. And I don't just mean sales or spending. I mean, what is it that you are really spending time on? I live by the CANI concept, constant and never-ending improvement. So I love looking at numbers each month going, "what did I spend my time on? What did I spend my money on? Where could that time be better spent?" It's this attitude that has helped me determine my success, stay humble, and keep growing and learning more as time goes on.  What are the biggest benefits your clients say they are getting from working with you?  Clarity. It's the number one thing that most people struggle with, and by using me as their bouncing-off point, they are able to stay on a clearer path in order to achieve more of what they were really after. A lot of people feel like they're 'lost in the weeds of administration', but by working through my process, my clients are able to be much more focused on their goals and how to get there.  Finally, what do you have in front of you and what’s your next big goal or project? I really want to take my Step Into Your CEO project further, so I'll be developing an entire ecosystem out of that program which should be very exciting. It'll be fun to build out, program, and of course, deliver to more people. Other than that, I'm also working on a book that talks more to the human side of my world experience: BeingDutchanese! So watch this space!  Follow Arna on Facebook , Instagram and connect with her on LinkedIn Read more from Arna !

Written by: Natasha Bazilevych, 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 creating videos for your audience or going live on Social Media? Did you know we've got only 3 seconds to grab the attention of our listeners? Especially if they're scrolling their social media feed and deciding whether to stop and listen to you or not. When I remember my first live broadcasts on Facebook, I want to hide under the rock. Everything was embarrassing about those videos. And people responded to them accordingly. It took me years of practice, lots of professional training, and a ton of courage to finally be able to deliver useful content to my listeners. However, you don’t have to spend years. Just apply all the tips in your future speeches, and you’ll captivate your audience. So, here’re my 5 secrets on how to grab their attention and hold it till the very end of your speech. 1. Be unexpected. Think of creative, unique ways to start your message, your speech. Be different, be unusual, be unexpected. Surprise them, and you'll definitely attract their attention. Don’t be afraid to be silly, look funny, or to embarrass yourself. Get out of that cushy, comfy place of yours. Sing, dance, act, use costumes, props. Have fun with it. 2. Use simple language. Don't overcomplicate your message. Use simple words, short sentences and simple sentence structures. People won't keep listening if they can't follow your train of thought. If you’re trying to show everybody how smart you are and lose them in the middle of a sentence, what do you achieve? I’m sure with your intelligence you can simplify and explain even the most sophisticated ideas. 3. Choose relevant topics. When deciding on what to speak about, select the topics relevant to your audience. What problem are you solving for them? How will they benefit from your talk? Don't just assume you know what they need. Ask them. Send a survey to your audience. Ask a question on your SM page. Write an email to your subscribers. Make sure you communicate with them regularly and know their thoughts, problems, and interests. 4. Increase the level of energy. You don't have to be super energetic if you're usually a quiet person. Don't become someone else. Be yourself, but turn the energy one degree up. Show enthusiasm, show your passion, and the audience will stay with you till the end. How can you do that? I sometimes just jump or dance a little bit right before the speech. Other people listen to energetic music. Find your own approach. 5. Share an emotional story. We all know the power of a story. And if you share a personal emotional story, it'll make an even stronger impact. You don't have to make your audience cry or laugh necessarily. (However, that would be the best.) You can just share an emotional moment to which they can relate. Trigger their emotion: happiness or sadness, embarrassment or surprise, disgust or excitement. Build a connection with them. It’ll help you win them over and hold their attention. These are my five secrets. Would you like to learn more? Contact me at nbazilevych@changeview.org I’ll help you build confidence, craft a clear message and deliver it with power. Request a 30-minute free call to see if we’re a good fit to work together. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram and visit my website for more info! Read more from Natasha! Natasha Bazilevych, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Natasha Bazilevych is an international speaker and business trainer. She teaches business owners, top manager and entrepreneurs to give powerful presentations and reach audacious goals. Natasha has been teaching business skills for 13 years, has two bachelor degrees and an MBA. Her signature program “Speak With Power” is a unique experience after which each participant knows how to overcome fear, craft powerful messages and deliver them with confidence.