Written by: Jennifer Jank, 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 shocking how complex modern life seems to be. How many decisions must be made before breakfast, not even counting the ones you need to make once you get to work. As a result, many of us yearn for more simplicity. Especially when it comes to finances, the number of financial products available is staggering, and there’s little formal education. Though many consumers aren’t aware of it, often the so-called “new” products are simply old ideas renamed to be attractive in the current circumstances. The 21st century requires us all to deal with money, which seems to be increasingly more complicated. The question for everyone in business is how to work most efficiently with their money in both their personal and work lives. The secret is that finance doesn’t have to be complicated to get you where you want to go. Certainly not as much as it’s made out to be. Yes, you can drown in a quagmire of private equity, stock option trading, cryptocurrency, short selling, and remainder trusts if you like. However, it’s not required, especially for those of us busy with running our own empires. In reality, there are just three rules to focus on that will help you focus on what you need to focus on. (Say that three times fast!) They apply to both personal and business finance. 1. Mind the gap If you’re a Brit, this should be familiar! We’re not talking about the gap between the platform and the train when it comes to both personal and business money management. It’s the difference between income and expenses. And unlike railway construction, where finances are concerned, it’s in your best interests to make this gap as wide as possible. Increase income Making more money is a great way to enlarge the gap. In your personal life, this could include asking for a pay raise, looking for a job that pays more, or adding another income stream through a side business, or monetizing a hobby. In business, you may need to simply raise your prices. 2021 might very well be the time to do it, especially if you’re underpriced relative to your competitors or haven’t raised them in a few years. Also, consider adding a product line or revising your marketing or sales strategy. Decrease spending This one should be pretty obvious! You get a much bigger gap through increasing income and decreasing spending. Audit your budgets at home and work to see any recurring charges for things you don’t need or use anymore. When buying something new, consider the ROI or return on investment. Do you need the brightest, fanciest, loudest widget that’s also the most expensive? Can you use a different one that’s less expensive but still takes care of your needs for now? Sometimes you do need to buy the higher-priced option if it will last longer than its cheaper competitors. Debt decreases the gap Just a reminder that you have a lot more options when you're debt-free. In addition to the interest payments that bulk up your budget, debt itself reduces the amount of money you could be using to invest instead. 2. Use the power of compounding Speaking of investing! With compounding returns, the longer you let assets grow, the better off you’ll be. You’re probably familiar with stock market returns and interest compounding, but it works for non-financial assets as well. Personal Letting the power of compounding work for you is especially helpful when it comes to investing for retirement. You don’t have to set so much aside if you get started early and allow the money to grow. Don’t try to time the market. $10,000 with a 6% return grows to almost $18,000 in ten years and doubles in 12, without any additional cash injections. And more importantly, without any withdrawals of cash (before retirement). Treat your retirement portfolio as you would a surly teenager. You know how annoyed it gets every time you open the door to its room. (And you really don’t want a close look at what it’s up to in there.) Over time your surly teenager grows up and becomes a functioning adult. Eventually, you’ll have a reasonable portfolio on your hands, but the more you try to interfere with it, the worse it performs. Business Unless you’re a money manager, you probably won’t do a lot of investing in stocks and bonds in your business. But you will be investing: in people, in your own skills, in equipment, etc. Your firm’s growth compounds over time when you invest properly. Investigate the assets you’re considering carefully, human and otherwise. Investments are a major component of success. 3. Let it go There are things in life that you can control and things you can’t. Trying to manipulate outcomes when they’re genuinely out of your hands is a recipe for stress and distress. When it comes to money, there’s a lot that you have no authority over. Not just you personally, but most people have no say in them. Spend your energy on what you can affect, and let the others go. What you can’t control: this is a selected list, but there are plenty more! Market returns Recession and/or stock market drop within the first years of your retirement How any given asset class will perform in a particular timeframe The available investment options in your employer retirement plan Whether an expensive piece of machinery will break How other people invest How other people view you and/or your business What you can control (unfortunately, this is pretty much it): Your own actions. For example: How much you save How much you spend Whether you have exposure to different asset classes in your investments The principles and values underlying your life and/or your business Whether you prepare contingency plans By making these three actions into habits, you’ll take charge of your finances without introducing a lot of complexity. In your business, you’ll be able to make good investments that help grow it instead of slowing it down or saddling it with too much debt. Your personal money life will be easier as well. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and visit my website for more info! Jennifer Jank, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Jennifer “JJ” Jank works with women who are making the leap from employee to entrepreneur through courses and a book to be published in February 2021. She also helps businesses build their online credibility through eBooks, testimonials, and articles. JJ holds a BA in Physics from Rutgers University and an MBA in Finance from New York University. She is a Certified Financial Planner ™ professional. Currently, she’s the President for Women Leaders Forum in Coachella Valley, as well as the webmistress for the Palm Springs chapter of AAUW. She is also a speaker on various topics including personal finance and entrepreneurship. JJ has been published in Journal for Divorce Financial Analysts and Coachella Valley Weekly, among others.

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. Healthy eating takes the right environment to cook food! With these tips, you can make your kitchen the prime place for preparing wholesome meals. Healthy eating is a certain kind of lifestyle. It takes more than just buying healthy foods or making plans to cook from scratch. You have to physically set up your environment to accomplish your wellness goals. Simplicity One thing we do as humans is overcomplicate things regarding health, especially in the kitchen. Typically kitchens are stocked with every pot, pan, and spice imaginable. In most cases, this adds more clutter, stress, and wasted money. All you need are the basics 7-10 spices, a good cast iron skillet and a few different sized saucepans, and a kitchen knife. Of course, if you use certain tools all the time, you definitely want to keep those on hand as far as food goes; the fewer boxes and processed foods, the better. Stock your kitchen with whole foods that make cooking a breeze: frozen fruits and veggies, single packed frozen proteins, good quality oils, vinegars, and salt. Build layers of flavor with simple and delicious ingredients to master your health. Approachable Make healthy eating and healthy lifestyle changes approachable to what works for you and your schedule. Sure, diets and programs work but are they long-lasting and developed into habits. Take tiny baby steps daily to improve and reach your goals. For instance, if your trying to add more vegetables to your diet, start the day off right and make a smoothie blend in greens, riced cauliflower, and squash right in. Make a hearty bowl of soup. The vegetable possibilities are endless. Don't forget to write down your daily wins and give yourself credit for all the healthy steps you are making to change your life. Variety It is the spice of life. To keep your health journey delicious and exciting, variety is key—nothing worse than eating that same chicken breast and steamed broccoli every day. Switch things up every time you grocery shop, pick up one new fruit or vegetable you typically don’t eat, and add it into your weekly meals. Travel through food, find recipes from places you love to visit, and make a meal inspired from there. I mean nothing better than a delicious bowl of pasta from Italy! Even ask a friend or family member for one of their favorite recipes and have fun experiencing the flavors and memories from their kitchens. Organized Organized kitchens are the key to ultimately supercharge your health and life. The first thing to do for the organization is doing a kitchen purge of both food and cookware. Pull everything out of the cupboards and get rid of anything broken, expired, or never used. For food, read your labels and ask yourself, is there added oils and sugars? Where did this food come from? And will it nourish my body and mind or harm it? For cookware, look out for Teflon or nonstick there are a ton of endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in these, and you want to have stainless steel or cast iron. Once this step is complete, it is now time to stock the pantry with whole real foods and minimally processed foods. Keep an inventory and label what you have on hand in your fridge, pantry, and freezer. Also, set aside 20-30 minutes a week to meal plan, make your grocery list and set yourself up for success weekly. These steps will save time, money, and stress and bring joy into cooking again. Recipes Having gone to healthy family favorite recipes on hand makes healthy eating and cooking much easier. Get a binder with divider tabs and add your favorite handwritten, printed out, and torn out magazine recipes. It is also great if you have recipes from your favorite cookbooks to add in there too. Just make a note on what page and book the recipe is so that you are not hunting for the recipe before you make it. Also, if you make a recipe and make a few changes write it down, so you have that to reference the next time you make it. Lastly, make sure you read the whole recipe through before you start cooking. To ensure you have all the ingredients and tools on hand to make the delicious meal. These five tips can help supercharge your kitchen and health by keeping things simple, approachable to you and your lifestyle, have variety, be organized, and cook with recipes and the foods you love. Get a healthier kitchen and life one bite at a time. 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: Corey Butler , 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. As a motorsport fan and an aspiring sim racing driver, I often find myself scrolling through Youtube videos trying to find content on the subject. While trying to solve my slow lap times during my races, I began to look for some coaching advice, hoping I would find the answer. I found several channels dedicated to this topic, and one of them was an ex-racing driver Enzo Mucci. I subscribed and started watching the videos. It became very interesting to me that the ideas that he was talking about were the same principles that we teach our business clients, but with very different goals. I began to think about how the mental skills and the success mindset of a racing driver transfers to the entrepreneur's world. Like race drivers, entrepreneurs, business owners, and pretty much anyone who wants to succeed need to possess mental skills like: Performing under pressure Remaining mentally resourceful in times of crisis Overcoming mistakes and failures Handling competition Cultivating personal and interpersonal skills I recently had a chat with Enzo (who has worked with a number of Formula 1 drivers) to discuss how these principles cross over into completely different disciplines. I decided to ask him the principles that these elite-level drivers employ to transfer to the work of business success? Here are six things he told me: 1. Know what you want. That sounds simple, but most people are 'fuzzy ' at best when it comes to their goals. Create a clear mental picture of the goal in every detail. Then put it in writing and review it daily. 2. Become the person you need to become to achieve the goal that you want. “Acting as if” you already had achieved your goal means thinking, feeling, acting, and coming from a place of belief that your goal has already happened. Think like a champion! 3. Attach enough emotion to your goal so that it really means something to you. Can you evoke the emotions that you would feel had you just achieved your goal? Blending the right emotions with your mental images is the secret to moving your subconscious mind into action and making things start to happen for you. 4. Be honest about what has to be done to make progress. Are you an action taker? Are you prepared to get out of your comfort zone and do whatever it takes regardless of how scary it gets? Nothing happens without action, be honest with yourself. 5. Learn from your mistakes. Mistakes act like signposts to success, and they point the direction. I love the expression 'fail fast and fail forward.' Don´t let mistakes get you down. Use them to learn from and drive you on. 6. If you really want it, you will find a way, or you will find your true destiny on the way. These are all simple principles, they are all basic, but I recently listened to an interview with an expert that was asked, “why is 6 times F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton so hard to beat.” This is what he said: “He just does the basics better than anyone else.” Follow Corey and Gabriella on Facebook and visit their website ! Read more from Corey and Gabriella! Corey Butler & Gabriella Gozon, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Corey and Gabriella are leaders in high performance mentoring and mindset training. Corey became interested in how the mind plays an instrumental part in determining the success that people achieve in different areas of their lives after working with numerous professional tennis players to improve their psychology over a 15-year period. This led him to partner with Bob Proctor, the world's leading authority in unlocking human potential, and the Proctor Gallagher Institute to help entrepreneurs create quantum leaps in their businesses by raising conscious awareness and teaching how to unlock latent potential. Gabriella joined Corey in 2018, bringing her corporate experience and passion for success psychology. Together they created ‘The Conscious Entrepreneur,’ The two now work to help purpose-driven entrepreneurs create a greater impact in the world through the application and implementation of success principles that harmonize thoughts and actions with the natural laws of the Universe.

The founder of Mama Bear Domain , Kelly Hater, is not your average mom. She is a mom warrior. Her mantra, “Stop Existing, Start Living,” sheds light on how she overcame her struggles in motherhood, fitness, loss from suicide , miscarriage, and postpartum depression . Her 15+ years as an entrepreneur helped her take back her own life after grappling with tragedy. She is devoting her passion for fitness, health, and wellness to being a life coach for moms. Kelly’s services through Mama Bear Domain aim to help moms at the root of mom guilt discover grace so that they can prosper as a mom and a woman. She offers accountability, structure, expertise, and, most importantly, empathy to moms from all walks of life. Mama Bear Domain’s approach is one of a kind as this potent formula Kelly created first to help herself is getting known worldwide. Kelly gets her clients out of their comfort zone to embrace the fears holding them back from self-actualization. “Stop Existing, Start Living.” Kelly calls Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, home. Her husband, Nate, adore her, and they have two beautiful, flourishing children, Jaxon, 5, and Annabelle, 2. She and her husband “walk the walk,” as they say, by hitting their backyard studio gym together in the mornings before the sun is even thinking about rising. They enjoy a hard-earned retreat space on her weekends in rural Kentucky that she fondly refers to as “The Camp.” Kelly initially went to school to become a radiologist. She quickly knew that she needed a more social career and switched her focus to athletic training. When she realized that athletic training patients could avoid injury with a stronger fitness base, she knew Health Promotion specialized in Exercise Science was the perfect fit for her. It helps that she possesses her parents' best personality traits, such as spatial reasoning and entrepreneurial spirit from her dad and interpersonal skills from her mom. The rest is history, as they say. Kelly completed her B.S. in Health Promotion from The University of Cincinnati and started her own business as a Certified National Strength and Conditioning Association Personal Trainer. For the past 15 years, Kelly has helped dozens of clients achieve their health and fitness goals. Not only has she helped others achieve their fitness goals, but she is a decorated bodybuilding champion. Her titles include but are not limited to 2nd place Jr. Nationals Figure Championship 2012 and 4th place NPC USA Figure Bodybuilding 2012 appearances and a top 10 finish in 2017 NPC National Bikini Championships just 14 weeks post miscarriage. “I have a team of support.” While personal training and competing in bodybuilding afforded its rewards, being a mother has proven superior to Kelly. Her transition to motherhood was not without its struggles. Kelly’s fitness foundation gave her the confidence she needed to get back on track after several traumatic events took her down a dark path. Kelly knows firsthand how difficult and alone a mom can feel. This is exactly why Kelly is devoting her passion for fitness, health, and wellness to coaching other moms. Kelly said, “I have a team of support, Nate, Jaxon, my mom, and my mother-in-law, the list continues. Yet the transformation of the pain I was experiencing needed to come from within.” Kelly researched for more “mom help” while looking for a method to overcome these struggles. There was nothing that fit her needs. With her mindset, she created a formula based on her knowledge and life experiences to tackle the mom problems she was facing. The formula was so potent. She designed a program to help other moms. Using wellness and self-awareness to build true self-actualization. Kelly’s clients no longer let mom guilt, mom burnout, and self-loss steal their identity. “I was very coachable at a young age.” Kelly, 35 years, has always had a natural talent in the sports and fitness world. She has always enjoyed learning new skills and the physical and mental challenges presented by sport. Her coaches loved that she was so coachable. Kelly recalls being made the slap hitter on her softball team because she was the only one who could adapt to hit both right and left-handed. Kelly recalls many great coaches in her life, but her all-time favorite coach was her dad. He was Kelly’s biggest fan. He championed her entrepreneurial spirit and was her business mentor. He was an entrepreneur himself and helped her start her first LLC that is still operating today. Kelly was the sole breadwinner for several years, while her husband completed his education in nursing. Sadly in 2014, her father committed suicide—striking Kelly and her family with unspeakable grief. Waves of anger, sadness, despair flooded her thoughts for quite some time. Kelly says she still carries the grief with her today, especially when she craves her dad’s entrepreneurial insight and wisdom. Nate has not wavered in his support of Kelly through this loss. No doubt this tragedy folded a new level of devotion into their marriage. “I’m more than postpartum depression.” Motherhood looks natural for Kelly. She glows when she talks about her children. Even when describing her restless nights and bathroom battles with her daughter, she has a smile the size of Texas on her face. Kelly said, “Annabelle is my mini.” Her son, Jaxon, 5, sees the world in 3 dimensions and can build lego sets like no one's business. Kelly describes Jaxon as a calming presence in her life. Sadly, in her second pregnancy, Kelly experienced a miscarriage. She decided to compete in a bikini- bodybuilding competition to have something to look forward to after experiencing loss from her miscarriage. Her top 10 finish at the National Championship gave her the positive mindset she needed to try pregnancy again. With God’s grace, in 2017, she was blessed with a daughter, Annabelle. Annabelle’s birth was stressful, Kelly recalls. When it came time to hold Annabelle in her postoperative state, Kelly could not bring herself to feel joy. She remembers vividly giving a fake smile in the photo of herself holding Annabelle at the hospital. “I think my dad’s suicide saved me from taking my own life during my postpartum depression.” After returning home, things did not improve much. She continued to be overwhelmed. She felt guilt, lack of interest in life, and self-loss. She found it difficult to concentrate, and she even had thoughts of harming herself. Kelly knew the severity of her feelings from her experience surviving her dad’s suicide. She and Nate recognized that this was not the ordinary “baby blues.” It was something more grave. The “baby blues” and “postpartum depression” (PPD) are not interchangeable. Baby blues are a normal hormonal adjustment period after birth that usually resolves naturally within 3 weeks postpartum. After these feelings didn’t go away by Kelly’s 6-week postpartum appointment, she sought help from her obstetrician. She describes her admission of her depression to her doctor as a huge weight being lifted from her shoulders. She went through a full diagnosis and treatment care plan for PPD. Her recovery took over a year to come full circle. Kelly attributes her life today to her father. She says, “I think my dad’s suicide saved me from taking my own life during my postpartum depression.” And Kelly is not alone in her postpartum struggle. Approximately 21% of women experience major or minor depression following childbirth. (Wisner KL, Sit DKY, McShea MC, et al. JAMA Psychiatry 2013). Kelly’s medical care has been critical to her success in overcoming the PPD. One of the things the psychiatrist coached her to do that has helped is journaling. As an Ode to her late father, Kelly decided to journal in an online blog format. She felt as though others might be able to benefit from her experience. It turns out Kelly was right. Many moms could relate to her stories, and they even reached out to her for fellowship and support. By sharing her story, Kelly could most naturally support other moms who were also experiencing stressful motherhood. With each story shared, Kelly became more committed to helping other moms. This is how she discovered that her true passion is to help moms stop merely existing and start living a meaningful multi-dimensional life again. She narrowed her entrepreneurial efforts into what is now Mama Bear Domain , where she offers life coaching services for moms that aim to help them overcome motherhood complexities. Along with an eBook: Mom, Open your Eyes to Self-Awareness . “I looked at my current situation and turned it into opportunity.” Living through a worldwide pandemic has been eye-opening to Kelly. Of course, like many others in the fitness industry, she reports income loss, and some clients have not been able to maintain their regular work sessions with her though it is not because of anything that’s been within Kelly’s control. It has most definitely changed her daily operations to include various safety procedures. “For safety reasons, I had to stop all onsite fitness training with my clients, and many went virtual. I took on virtual preschool at home like most parents out there did during the stay at home orders. That was tough, and I prefer not to do virtual school.” By the way, she sends kudos to all the homeschooling families out there. From another perspective, though, it has afforded Kelly’s time. Time is a priceless gift, and Kelly took the opportunity to put some of it towards reflecting on her business goals. In doing so, she realized that risks in business could bring opportunities for the future. So this year, for the first time since her dad passed, she decided to expand her business. You can tell by the huge smile on her face during this interview that she is thinking about how proud her dad would be of her taking the risk to invest in a business expansion. Surely he is smiling down at her today even as this article is published. Kelly says that she does her best to practice what she teaches regularly. Kelly uses the 8 dimensions of health as a baseline when working with her clients. She preaches that one’s well-being cannot be fully balanced unless all 8 dimensions are being considered and addressed. “I am constantly balancing my wellness dimensions.” She recalls that two weeks into the stay-at-home orders from the governor's office, it was so obvious to her that her eight dimensions of health were out of balance. She needed to direct some attention to her environmental and occupational dimensions. And so, in true Kelly fashion, she did not hesitate to take action. Remember Kelly’s mantra, “Stop Existing, Start Living.” She truly lives and breaths this mantra every day. It is indeed inspiring. Kelly recalls with a stern face, “We sacrificed for so many years to become financially free . We lived bare-bones for 5 years, counting every penny, and it paid off, literally. We successfully rid ourselves of $70,000 in student loans. We paid off our home mortgage in full, and we paid off all our car loan debt. It was a huge weight lifted from our shoulders.” She said that in spending more time at home, it made us realize that we needed more adventure in our life while we were financially fit. She and Nate wanted something they could do together as a family. It took a financial risk, but they bought some land in northern Kentucky and have never looked back. It has been a blessing in their lives. Kelly says, “it’s called “The Camp.” It has become my ultimate zen space.” They’ve taken on some DIY remodeling of the manufactured house on the land, which has inspired Kelly. It’s obvious how she speaks about “The Camp” that she is proud of where her experience and ambition have taken her in her life. She is taking full advantage of all the opportunities, both good and bad, that life has to offer and not simply to exist anymore. FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEING A MOM: My absolute favorite thing is to hear my kids giggle. The sound of them laughing gives me complete peace. LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEING A MOM: I dislike the potty training experience. BEST ADVICE FOR TANTRUMS: When your kids are having trouble controlling their emotions and you find yourself in the middle of a toddler tantrum, I get a favorite book and sit down on the floor near them and start reading a book out loud. Eventually, they stop crying, and they will come to sit with me and listen to the story. Through this approach, I hope it will teach my kids to use reading and journaling as a tool to sort out their feelings. BEST ADVICE FOR SIBLING SQUABBLES: When my kids argue, I turn on music, and we have a dance party. FAVORITE TIME OF DAY WITH YOUR KIDS: Bath time is and always has been my favorite time of day with my kids because I am less distracted. I’m a sucker for cuddles. FAVORITE PAST TIME WITH YOUR KIDS: I love to play cards and legos with Jaxon, and I love to play dinosaurs color with Annabelle. FAVORITE PAST TIME WITH YOUR HUSBAND: I love when we wake up early and hit our gym together. We give each other the extra push to be better. We truly feed on each other as we continue to grow. Work with Kelly! If you are struggling with mom guilt, mom burnout, feeling overwhelmed, or just plain aimless. “Stop Existing, Start Living.” Look no further; Kelly is the Mom Coach for you! You plus Kelly versus your “mom struggles.” Follow Kelly on Instagram , Facebook , YouTube , Pinterest and visit her w ebsite . Please note: If you or someone you know have thoughts about hurting yourself, someone else, or a child or if you hear or see things that aren't there, get help right away. You can: ● Go to the nearest emergency room. ● Call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or reach them online. ● Contact the National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the U.S., anytime, about any type of crisis. For more information about Postpartum depression, please reference Postpartum Support International (PSI). It is a world-wide organization founded in 1987 that exists to provide support, reliable information, resources, and education for distress in pregnancy and postpartum. There are PSI coordinators and volunteers all over the world who help women, families, and providers find support and make connections. You can contact PSI at www.postpartum.net or by phone at 800.944.4PPD.

Written by: Xiomara Overman n – Firma, 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 read recently in an article online that “The Rise of Tech is the Fall in Business Operations” which I don’t think is going to be the case in especially Inventory Management and Quality Management at warehouses and manufacturing companies. What is going to happen in 2021 with the Rise of the use of Tech in Business Operations? In this article, I have shed some light on some of the important tech changes that benefit Business Operations. Investing is in tech the most logical decision in time. The Rise in Tech is the future, the next phase after the Integration of Kanban and Lean Six Sigma Manufacturing Management. The Rise of New and Tech Innovation will be the onset of new changes, including innovation in business operations in 2021 and beyond. In 2021, we expect an onset of innovation, especially in business operations, that is beneficial in warehouse management and manufacturing. The technology improvement in 2021 sets the stage for better development in business operations. The operations management are going through the following changes: 1. The tech with innovation in artificial intelligence is one of the investments that, especially the wholesale agencies and procedures in inventory management, will have more benefit. 2. The use of big data in finance management and manufacturing is essential. 3. The adoption of new tech in business operations is essential to lower operational expenses and a more effective inventory management. Those are the three areas that you are already able to see a significant increase and benefit starting in 2021. The advance in tech will have beneficial changes in the processes and procedures, having better quality control and better waste management processes in place. We can provide guidance in procedures and process management as an Export Business Agency. Are you looking for advice on which area you need to invest in at this time to be ahead of your competition? We can provide an extensive process management evaluation at your business installation to give you advice in which area to improve. In the monthly publications, you will read more about the new systems and business operational changes necessary to enter new international markets that I will write about that will be of interest to you. Next month, I will write an in-depth article about business operations and the benefits from the Export Canvas, one of our services especially for businesses who want to enter new international markets. For more info, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit my website! Read more from Xiomara! Xiomara Overman, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Xiomara Overman is an International Business Advisor with more than 8 years of experience in Strategy and Procedures Management. For the last 3 years she has worked with International Companies in improve their Business Processes for export from their Products and Services. She is the Founder and CEO of ActiV Business Development Services. During the Pandemia, she worked closely as a member of the Professional Team from the Ministry of Economy Development in Curaçao to help restructure Businesses in have Crisis Resistant Processes in Business. She has the possibility as a Partner from SUM International to help Businesses scale their Business in Central America, including Dutch Caribbean, and enter the European market successfully. She and her ActiV Team are ready to guide with Public Relations Services and Trade Documentation in 6 languages. She organizes Innovation Tour to enter New Markets in the Central and Latin America Region. Her mission is to develop Business Processes that are scalable and crisis resistant.

Written by: Christine Hansen , 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. 3 steps to avoid the main pitfalls coaches do when it comes to package creation and sales. I see it and remember what it was like for me all the time. There's the new (or sometimes even seasoned) coach who loves what they are doing, but things get tricky when it comes to selling their services. There is all this knowledge, but how do you package it? How much time should you spend with clients? And most importantly: how much should you charge? Enter the most common mistakes I see: 1) Comparison: This is one I see a lot: Stalking the "competition" and depending on how self-confident you are, then base your own work on that of others. 2) Taking on a blueprint advice: Unfortunately, many coaching schools, DIY programs, and even business coaches have a "formula" on pricing your packages. This article will let you know why that is not advisable to implement and what to do instead. 3) Calculating how many hours you think you will work and then multiply that hourly rate times what you just summed up. This very often leads to a ridiculously high number of working hours and ultimately burn out. If you recognize yourself in one of those three mistakes, don't fret. We have all been there, I assure you. So, what can you do instead to price yourself decently, have packages that rock and sell in complete integrity with your values? Own your method. The very first thing you should be doing is to create your own signature method. Let me fill you in on an obvious secret: There is only one of you in this whole world. Nobody thinks, talks, or coaches like you. Nobody has your experiences. Nobody has your personality. Hence, it is impossible to compare yourself with anyone else. Even when two people offer exactly the same product or package (think MLM services), people will be drawn to the person they connect with the most. And that is totally up to them and not you. So don't worry about comparison at all. Your method should hence be just as unique as you are. Here is how you do it: Analyze the steps/pillars/topics you cover over and over again with your clients that you know bring results. As an example, my Impact with Integrity Framework has 5 pillars: branding, finances, emails & tech, content, and PR. In my other company, Sleep Like A Boss, our method's pillars are: lifestyle, hormones, gut health, food sensitivities, thyroid, and minerals & metals. Once you know your core content, you apply it to all of your clients, package it by giving it a memorable name. Ultimately, you will then be able to use that framework for: your private services over a few weeks, you can simplify it as a DIY course, break it up into masterclasses or squish it all together for a VIP day. Bonus tip: Each of your pillars will make a great anchor for content creation/blogging ideas. Know your numbers. This might sound obvious, but, surprisingly, many people have no idea of how much they are actually spending on a monthly and yearly basis (former me included, I hated looking at my bank account, it stressed me out to no end). Knowing your numbers gives you so much power. Knowing how much you need for your business expenses in a year (and then dividing it up to know what that means in a monthly business budget) and your private expenses will help tremendously when pricing your packages because it helps you understand that what you are doing is a job in the end. We tend to avoid the word “job” because it often reminds us of our former work we fled, but in the end, we still need to pay bills and tend to ourselves and families/pets, etc. Pricing your packages when knowing this is not a vanity number, but a practical, objective necessity makes the whole process a lot easier. If you need to make $10K a month, for example, and you don't have the capacity to work with more than 6-9 clients at a time (remember they don't all start at the time), your packages could look like the following: 3-month package, 12 session: $3500, takes 3 clients, 9 clients max at once 1 VIP day: $5000, takes 2 clients, still capacity for more 1 course: $500, takes 20 people, once set up doesn't take any time at all Sell with integrity with ease. People smell discomfort when stating prices from miles away. And if packages are taken from comparing yourself (do you know how much the other coach, you took as a baseline, pays for rent or mortgage each month? New York is different from a cabin in the sticks in Canada, my friend) or given to you by someone else how on earth are they yours? How can they feel comfortable? Now, when they stem from your maths, and you owning that this is your livelihood and not just a hobby, you will be stating those prices differently because they make sense, and they have been created with respect versus greed or vanity. As your experiences rise, you can, of course, raise your prices to whatever you see fit (as long as you deliver on your promise, of course). Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Christine Hansen, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Christine Hansen is an award-winning business coach & consultant for online entrepreneurs who want to embrace their inner lazy, profit like a pro, and add philanthropist to their list of credentials—without ever undercharging or feeling like they have to be anyone but themselves again. With 10+ years as a sought-after TedX France and keynote speaker, Christine’s work is featured in Forbes, Business Insider, National Geographic, and more. Having built two successful online businesses herself, Christine found out the hard way—like losing money on sketchy business investments and ruined “put your damn laptop away!” vacation moments—that most entrepreneurs are closer to burn out than they are to reaching 6-figures. (And they’re still worrying, “Am I overcharging?!”)

Written by: Ceinwyn Rudnick, 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 the middle of February of 2019, and tax season is really starting to pick up steam. I have a great head start on our business client’s returns, and we have just started processing individual clients. First one client, then another, and another brings in a stack of charitable giving and purchase receipts with their mortgage statements. Just like every other year, right? Except it wasn’t. Due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the personal exemption disappeared, and the standard deduction more than doubled. To make use of all those receipts and trips to Goodwill, my married clients now had to rack up more than $20,000 in itemized expenses. For most people, the bulk of this expense has always come in the form of mortgage interest. However, even with an insane real estate market, most people aren’t paying more than $12,000 a year in mortgage interest. Well, unless you decided to stick it out in California, in which case, a Schedule A is the least of your tax concerns. Point being-the way of filing taxes that people were used to for many years was suddenly dead. I spent a lot of time that year explaining why. US tax law, to put it bluntly, is the strings that make all of us dance. During COVID, huge bills with unprecedented price tags were argued over for months while the rest of the nation tried to just hang on. There were a couple of stimulus payments. People were generally less than impressed. But what you may just be finding out now that it is tax season? Those payments-you must reconcile them on your tax return. But why? A tax return is a vehicle for information and also social behavior influence. With the advance payments of the EIP (stimulus payments), the IRS will get back a plethora of info on who did and did not get an EIP and who qualified, and who may still need a portion of their stimulus payment. However, this means there is yet another worksheet to fill out on this year’s taxes and another line on a return the system tried (and failed) to reduce to one page. Congress passes laws to encourage various behaviors, from purchasing large ticket items such as trucks and equipment to supporting charitable contributions, and they plug all these social engineering projects into the tax return. To be fair, it is a pretty universally utilized system in our country, and almost everyone files a tax return. However, this makes the system and the forms ever more complex as new laws are passed with each switch in a political party. I often say that the system can either continue trying to be “fair,” or it can be simple. Fair is determined by Congress continually passing different laws to appease different groups of people from businesses to married couples with kids. This attempt conflicts with simplicity, though, because each attempt at fairness requires more paperwork to reconcile. Simple takes away the complicated math and worksheets but removes rules that benefit many groups of people. I guess we can’t have our cake and eat it too. For more information, follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook and visit our website! Read more from Ceinwyn! Ceinwyn Rudnick, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Ceinwyn Rudnick is an Enrolled Agent and Certified Tax Coach based in the Pacific Northwest. She opened her boutique accounting firm, Veritas Accounting Solutions PLLC, to help business owners realize the benefits of transitioning their accounting services to the cloud. Recently she has completed advanced training through the AICTP to become a Certified Tax Coach-making tax planning, a leading service offered by Veritas Accounting Solutions PLLC. Ceinwyn has two degrees, a B.A. in English Education as well as a B.S. in Accounting. She loves helping her clients achieve a better understanding of the role accounting, money, and taxes play in their business. Her goal is to guide business owners to a place of peace and confidence regarding their taxes and finances through education and customized tax planning.

Written by: Julie Allison, 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’ve sat at the front of classrooms since elementary school. My last name begins with “A,” which puts me near the top of the list when teachers assign seats alphabetically. In college, I sat in the front row of Dr. Marshall’s accounting classes. Seating was no longer alphabetical, but I had learned that close proximity provided better access and visibility for questions. I didn’t want to miss out, and I was striving to get everything “right.” A lean man with white hair, Dr. Marshall wore wire-framed glasses, ironed dress shirts, and pants with sleek pockets. Facing the class, he would tap the back of the eraser against the board to emphasize key points. His classes and exams were hard. Like a European train, they started right on time and kept moving until the final destination. We had to jump on board and stay engaged or get left at the station. After class, we would gather outside his room to discuss test questions or new concepts. If we wanted to pass the certified public accountant (CPA) exam, we would need to master principles such as capital leases, deferred taxes, and pension liabilities. Public licensure would prove our knowledge of complex rules to prospective employers, but there was a lot to learn. Night after night, I highlighted page after page of Kieso and Weygant’s book of Intermediate Accounting in preparation for the test. I had yet to learn that the CPA exam was not the only big test I would encounter. Accounting principles were not the only lessons I needed to learn. Keeping a small business alive during a pandemic would prove to be harder and the stakes much higher. The ability to survive would be determined by good preparation and quick decision making as the train hurled down the tracks. The CPA Exam After graduation, I took the CPA exam over two and a half days in my seat near the front of the civic center field house. The days were long. The test itself was a blur. I remember rubbing the soles of my tennis shoes against the gym floor as I searched for the answers. Then in a moment, it was over. The envelope from the Committee of Accountancy arrived weeks later. Out of four parts, I had passed three: Audit, Theory, and Practice. For Business Law, I was still on the train but had not yet reached the final destination. I traveled on through more studying, a second exam, and finally, another letter. “It gives me great pleasure to inform you that the Illinois Board of Examiners has reported you successfully passed the CPA examination.” I expelled an outbreath of relief. I had reached the destination. Dr. Marshall had taught me well. More Lessons to Learn I took my first job at a Fortune 100 company, knowing everything I needed to know: sit up front, ask questions, and remember all the right answers. I chuckle now at this fusion of my innocence and ego. I imagine Dr. Marshall would, too. He knew better. Prior to teaching , he had worked for a chocolate company. He knew that “book” knowledge could only take the train so far. Seeking answers to complex business issues had more to do with good decision-making, business practices, and employee behaviors. During final exams , he handed out chocolate bars from his old company. I could see the joy he carried from his days at the factory, a reminder of the need to find the connection between accounting and the ultimate service or product. If you don’t feel good about the chocolate bar you’re helping to make, it’s time to move on. In a culture where materialism breathes life into “more is always better,” he spoke of identifying needs versus wants and fiscal responsibility. When I bought my first car, I could hear him telling me to keep it for ten years. Instead of buying a flashy new car when the loan was paid off, I could continue to make loan payments to myself. Years later, those payments would turn into a down payment for the next car. Flashy new purchases can be distracting for small businesses, too. He spoke of ethics, of course, and how one slip could ruin a career. I now wonder what he witnessed in his career, knowing what I have seen in mine: stolen factory parts, procurement schemes, and company checks making their way into personal bank accounts. Companies of all sizes need just as much help to implement business processes and changing behaviors as they do with accounting principles. Often times, changing accounting principles is the easy part. Hurtling Through a Pandemic The pandemic of 2020 was a new test altogether. For small businesses, the criteria for passing changed from selecting the right answers to surviving. For one of my clients, the train derailed in late April. Within a matter of days, they lost all revenue with no idea when it would be restored. It felt like we would need a construction crane to get us back on the tracks. While no business is ever prepared to lose one hundred percent of revenue, we were still in the conductor’s seat. We already had a monthly cash forecast process in place. I laid out the best- and worst-case scenarios and actions that could be taken to preserve cash and keep the company alive. The client had already vacated an expensive office lease in exchange for a smaller co-working space without a long-term commitment. They knew big leases were only flashy objects. They also had worked to negotiate an early termination clause in a key long-term vendor contract that was signed just one month before the pandemic hit. They terminated that contract without penalty, which eliminated the largest monthly cash outflow. We further revised the cash forecast to reduce all non-critical expenses until revenue was restored. The process was hard and painful. While the client had a relationship with a local bank and a pre-established credit line, they did not qualify for most pandemic relief grants. They also were careful not to borrow money without a revenue stream to pay it back. The cash reserves that seemed sufficient just months prior were at risk of being depleted before the end of the crisis. The organization made tough decisions that impacted employees, contractors, and vendors. But nine months later, the train is back on the tracks. Through negotiations and grace, some revenue has been restored. The organization is still alive because of preparations made before the pandemic that provided the flexibility to act with haste after it hit. Instead of chasing the screeching train down the tracks, we stayed on board and drove it. Jump on Board… or Get Left at the Station After twenty-five years of accumulating my own business experience, I think back to the importance Dr. Marshall placed on his anecdotal stories. These days, I think less about accounting for deferred taxes and more about the best practices to keep small businesses alive. Fortunately, you don’t have to pass the CPA exam to learn these lessons. Implement these practices in your small business today to improve your chance of surviving disastrous events tomorrow: Keep fixed costs, such as rent or utilities, to a minimum, especially during the launch of a new company. These costs can derail an otherwise healthy business during an economic downturn as they must be paid even when sales disappear. Beware of flashy objects. Everyone is out to sell your business a service or a product. Be judicious about what you really need. Seek legal advice before entering into long-term contracts, especially contracts that limit early termination without cause. If possible, negotiate better terms before signing. Develop a relationship with a financial institution and consider obtaining a line of credit while your company is financially healthy. It can take weeks or months to establish a new credit line with a bank. In addition, it is much harder to obtain a credit line when your financial statements are lackluster. Get it when you don’t need it so that you have it when you do need it. Before borrowing funds or using your credit line, think carefully about whether you really need the funds and whether you have the revenue stream to repay it by the due date. Significant debt on your balance sheet may limit your ability to borrow during a disaster. In addition, after the downturn ends, many small businesses may have more debt than they can reasonably repay. Ensure that your accounting software has both an income statement and a balance sheet and that your books are in good shape. Low-quality financial statements will hinder your ability to obtain a loan or appeal to investors. In addition, you lose important visibility into the financial health of your business. Reassess safety stock levels or “just-in-time” practices. As we saw during the pandemic, supply chain disruptions due to economic, civil, or natural issues are real. If your business relies on receipts from suppliers, consider using multiple suppliers or carrying more stock for key items. Diversify your revenue streams where possible. If you lose business in one channel, you’ll still have revenue in another channel to weather the storm. Make sure that your goals, priorities, and key performance indicators include cash . Small businesses are often so focused on revenue growth and earnings that cash isn’t even discussed. Depending on how long it takes to convert a sale into cash, most businesses should aim to have at least three to six months of cash on hand to cover short-term needs. Businesses with longer cash cycles should aim to keep higher reserves. Create a forecasting process to understand your financial health going forward . Many small businesses only look at their financials in arrears . Unless you are forecasting cash and your profit and loss, you are losing the ability to make day-to-day decisions that can correct your course in real-time. Create a culture with strong ethics and fiscal responsibility and put processes in place to safeguard your assets. Find a good financial business partner. Good financial resources do much more than calculate your taxes and tell you how to account for capital leases. They help you make decisions, plan for the future, and share the knowledge they’ve learned from helping other small businesses. They can help keep your train on the tracks. Stay engaged with local, state, and federal policy makers who have the power to enact laws benefitting small businesses. The ability to negotiate and influence may be the difference between some revenue and no revenue. It’s been a tough year. Sometimes, we pass the test, but it takes two attempts. Other times, we do everything right and still fail. We sit at the front of the class, ask all the right questions, learn all the lessons, and still run out of cash. Life is unpredictable, and so much is out of our control. It can feel like chasing a hurtling train down a never-ending track. Good preparation and sound business practices can help keep you in the conductor’s seat. From this vantage point, you’ll be in a much better position to guide the train to the next destination. Changes in behavior and processes can only be implemented going forward . The new car can’t be un purchased, and the business checks can’t be un deposited from a personal bank account. We can fight it kicking and screaming or be open to what the experience offers us. Learn and move forward. There is always another destination, and we are each being called to step up, jump on board, and not get left at the station. Follow me on Facebook , LinkedIn . and visit my website for more information! Read more from Allison! Julie Allison, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Julie is a passionate and experienced financial professional dedicated to helping women launch and manage financially sound companies. She believes that women's creative and collaborative approach makes them uniquely suited to mentor, guide, and lead. When women-owned businesses grow, so do their voices, influence, and communities. Julie has over twenty-five years of financial management experience inside major corporations working with marketing, manufacturing, and supply chain teams. She has learned first-hand the pitfalls of corporate greed and brings a holistic view of business success to her clients. Julie is the founder of Watch Her Grow , a company providing expert financial services to women-owned businesses.

Written by: Andrea Ryan, 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’ve made the move, your business name is registered , you have a website, social media handles, a business plan outline, and a marketing idea, and you are ready to go! Earth to you, what’s happening? Why haven’t you said yes to that opportunity that has come your way? Why haven’t you pressed publish on that blog post based on your expertise? Why haven’t you completed that campaign and launched it? Why do you think that I’m not good enough, I’m a fraud? Want to know why? You have an imposter lurking in the ranks. Which one is it? The Superwoman? Perfectionist? Soloist? Natural Genius or The Expert? Knowing who your imposter is and when they show up in your business is essential. We cannot function or run our business when paralyzed by fear, self-worth, and self-esteem issues. So what is Imposter Syndrome? Well Imposter Syndrome is the gap between who you are and who you think you need to succeed and lead. It shows up when someone like you, who usually is confident and successful, convinces yourself that you aren’t good enough and fear you will be ‘found out’ as a fraud – despite external evidence to the contrary. Don’t worry; you’re not alone. In the latest research on Imposter Syndrome, it was found that the highest rates of Imposter Syndrome were solo business owners, for whom a shocking 82% stated they had experienced Imposter Syndrome ‘regularly’ or ‘daily’ in the past year.* Imposter Syndrome triggers stress, fear, anxiety, and performance issues and affects relationships at home. You may recognize it as your actions, language, and behavior change to: deflecting praise instead of accepting it highlighting your faults and mistakes, especially in response to positive feedback considering taking another qualification in ‘that area’ to feel finally ready Not only does this behavior lead to missing out on opportunities, but it’s a costly form of procrastination, both for you and your business. It can lead to addictions and mental health issues, affecting productivity, how you show up in your business, and your bottom line. So how can we spot the warning signs? How can you press publish that article you have just written? Research shows that four key behavioral changes can be useful early warning signs. It is known as the 4P’s of Imposter Syndrome. 1. Perfectionism - you’re choosing to work much harder and longer hours, as though fighting or going to war with the project. This can lead to exhaustion, overwhelm, and mental health issues. Try to deliberately own and celebrate your successes and achievements. Learn to see mistakes as an integral part of your success, taking them in stride and owning it. 2. Procrastination - you are convincing yourself that small actions have to be performed to complete the project, that you can’t move forward without them. You are subconsciously using ‘busyness’ to hide the fact that you’re not taking real action because that could lead to you being ‘found out.’ Try to optimize your environment, be aware of technology, such as your email that keeps pinging and your social media notifications. Put your phone in another room until you have completed your task. Use an app that allows you to focus. Remember where focus goes; energy flows! 3. Paralysis - you’re misleading others and yourself to hide the fact that you are avoiding a task. You are a ‘rabbit in the headlights,’ unable to move or take action on the task, worried that the result won’t be good enough. Try to break things down into bitesize chunks, ask for help, and some of the best advice I have heard… just to start. 4. People Pleasing - you’re accepting work or saying yes to that deadline when you secretly wanted to say no. You’re trying to win favor by offering a discount on your service or product, for example, to feel like you belong. Try to set some boundaries. Time block your day, allocating time to work on your business and for you. Stop apologizing for owning your time and being accountable for it and buy yourself time by not responding straight away, process it first, and then do what your gut tells you. Ready to say yes to that opportunity now? For more information, follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my website ! Read more from Andrea ! Andrea Ryan, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine I'm a transformational life and business coach for women. I support women to enable their journey of self-discovery and drive change through their personal journeys. Professionally I help female entrepreneurs align their mental and emotional journey with business guidance and mentorship. I have had a 15-year executive career, heading up business and marketing strategy, brand management, and leadership in the disability employment sector, sport, and as an award-winning business development director in a mental health Not for Profit. Spending three years on the Australian National Committee for UN Women as a Committee Member and as a consultant to Human Right start-ups, I am constantly seeking board and volunteer roles that offer me the opportunity to utilize my skills to give back and contribute to the wider community. Quoted in Marketing Magazine Australia as the 'Accidental Marketer,' I have a flair for the creative, which fuels my passion for supporting women to step into their power, thrive in their careers and become leaders who will instigate change to make this world a better place.

Written by: Nilima Amit, 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. Blissful life is everyone’s dream. Everyone is aware of the habits or lifestyle one needs to have a blissful life. A few habits are a part of our lifestyle, but there are a few that we need to inculcate in our life. For example: 1. A few people always eat healthy food, and it comes naturally to them to exercise and stay fit, but for a few, it’s a task eating healthy and exercising. 2. For some, meditation comes naturally, and for a few, it isn’t easy to sit in one place with closed eyes. 3. Gratitude is ingrained in a few people’s lives, and for a few, it’s tough to be grateful when life is difficult. The most common reasons why it’s so difficult to stick to a habit that does not come naturally to us are as below: 1. We expect to see results almost immediately 2. We set unrealistic goals 3. We try to implement the new habit in each area, which leads to us being overwhelmed and, in turn, quitting it. How can we overcome the above hurdles and inculcate the habits that we want and make them our lifestyle ? 1. Start with small goals 2. Do with no expectations of results 3. Choose one area of life and apply only in that area for sometime Example how we can inculcate this: 1. Suppose we want to eat healthy and exercise . If eating healthy is difficult and leaves your craving for food most of the time, replace one meal with healthy options until you become comfortable and enjoy it. Exercising for an hour or more is tough, then start with lesser time and then increase once you become comfortable for a month or more. 2. Meditation is an area most of us struggle. When I decided I want to meditate daily first thing in the morning when I wake up more than a decade back, I knew getting up an hour early or spending one hour meditating would be difficult. I started waking only 15 minutes early and just sitting at one place for 15 minutes with my eyes closed. I didn’t expect to become thoughtless or become calmer. I just showed up daily for months and gradually increased my time. As time passed, I enjoyed it, and I started to see its benefits. 3. It’s easy to be grateful when we receive what we expect, but it’s the other way when we don’t receive what we expect. Try being grateful for things that are trivial or that you have taken for granted. Identify an area that needs to become better and look for what’s good in it and be grateful for them. Slowly and steadily, as time passes, you will find yourself appreciating everything around you. Baby steps are the key to build a habit and make it a lifestyle forever. It can be challenging but not impossible to achieve if we set smaller goals to lead to our final goal. Remember, habits are not formed overnight. It takes persistence, sincere and regular efforts to form them. You are an architect of your life, make it BLISSFUL! For more information, follow me on Facebook , Instagram and visit my website ! Read more from Nilima! Nilima Amit, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Nilima Amit is a Bestseller Author, Holistic Life Coach, and Reiki Healer. Her life is a beautiful and interesting journey from having an opportunity to be born to Osho follower parents to self-discovering her own Calling. This journey transmuted in the formation of her company, One Life Many Jouneys™. Coincidentally her bestseller book is also with the same name. The mission of One Life Many Journeys™ is to spread the light and guide souls in their quest in emotional and spiritual quest. Her book, handcrafted workshops, and Reiki infused products like affirmation box, wish box, Money, and Relationship box are created to help in the same.

Written by: Diane Forster, 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. If you do it right, you can turn a bad habit of hitting the snooze button into a powerful new mindset hack and manifestation tool. High achievers and go-getters will tell you to turn off the alarm and hop right out of bed and get your day going. And that’s great! But what if there was a better way to get out of bed every day? A way that allowed you to tap into the genius in-between states of the Alpha and Theta Brainwaves so that your subconscious mind could produce even better results for you in your life? Let me share with you a technique I call “3-Hit Snoozing.” The manifestations and results showing up in my life blew me away since I started doing this. So, I had to share them. 1. The first thing you need to do is spend an extra 30 minutes in bed. It sounds torturous, doesn’t it?! Either set your alarm 30 minutes earlier than usual, or make sure you have allowed enough time to stay there. 2. When your alarm goes off in the morning, hit the snooze button once. Before you fall back asleep, start listing in your mind all the things that you are grateful for — the bed, the pillows, the blankets, your warm body, your loved ones, your health, your home, etc. List those things in your mind as you fall back asleep. 3. In nine minutes, when the alarm goes off, hit the snooze button again. This time, as you lay down and prepare to fall back asleep, think about your big dreams and goals. Think about what you want your life to be like a year from now, two years, five years, ten years, or wherever you’d like to go. Imagine having, being, and doing all of those things you dream about as you fall back asleep again. 4. When the alarm goes off, hit the snooze button one last time. As you prepare for your final nine minutes of sleep, think about your day TODAY. Set intentions for what you WANT to happen on this day — how you want to feel, what does this day look like, a great cup of coffee, an amazing run, an invigorating shower, an easy commute to work, fabulous meals with wonderful people, signing that big deal you’ve been working on for months and all of it. Fall asleep to those thoughts one more time. 5. When the alarm goes off for the final time, turn it off, get out of your bed, and start your day. This accomplish several things: It’s a great alternative for people who struggle to meditate. You have now found a way to use your precious sleep time in a very productive way. Your frequency raises in that “feel good” state, bringing you more things to feel good about. You’ve just given your subconscious mind the programming, and now it knows its job — to bring you everything you asked for —magic! Start using “3-Hit Snoozing,” and let me know how it’s working for you. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Diane Forster, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Diane Forster is an award-winning life coach and intentional living expert. After several life events that led to an attempted suicide, Diane reinvented her life and found her true calling. Now, she helps others transform their lives to live with passion and purpose. As a mindset and manifestation master, she has helped thousands clear away limiting beliefs and feelings of low self-worth to instead bring their ideas to actualization and create the life of their dreams. Diane's TV Show and podcast, "I HAVE TODAY with Diane Forster" offers practical, actionable steps that you can do today. She is also an award-winning inventor, author of 6 books, and has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, QVC, ESPN Radio, KHTS Radio, and several other TV, radio, podcasts, and magazines. Her mission: Transform 1 billion lives.

Written by: Natalie Kerr , 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. Limiting beliefs stop us from stepping out of our comfort zone. They hold us back from becoming the best possible version of ourselves and what we believe to be the absolute truth. They are our model of the world and limit the way we live. Limiting beliefs usually show up in many ways, such as: You aren’t good enough. You aren't smart enough. Scared to get visible. Not lovable. Unworthy of love/success/money/happiness I don’t have enough time/money/experience… insert all the not-enoughness; I am going to fail People will think I am (insert those beliefs) My family never had any money, so I won’t either; Everything I do is a struggle; Nothing good ever happens to me. Procrastination; Self Sabotage You don’t believe in yourself. So, where does a limiting belief come from? Throughout our life we go through three phases. From birth to about 7 years old, this is called the Imprinting period . This is the time when we absorb all the events in our life from everything around us. The 2nd stage is the Modelling Period between the ages of 8 to 13 years of age. This is where we imitate our parents and other people we admire. The 3rd stage is the Socialisation period . This is when we leave the family and start our own lives. During this period, our social values and belief systems are formed. A lot of our beliefs are picked up from our parents, social media, our teachers, what we watch on TV, and so we model these beliefs. For example, I had the belief that making money was really hard. I thought I had to hustle and work all the hours to make my business a success because I was told as a child that you had to work really hard in school and in your job to get good money. This wasn’t said negatively; it was just what their parents had told my parents. I saw my parents struggling to make money and my family working really hard to get money, so I associated making money with hard work. Limiting beliefs are not empowering, and so this is what we call a fixed mindset. This means that your mind sees these limiting beliefs as the truth and acts upon that belief, meaning it becomes much more real. We have limiting beliefs that are subconscious and also conscious. The conscious ones say things like I am not good enough, I am ugly, fat, thick. The subconscious ones are deep. These are the ones that will have come from childhood, such as the example given above about making money is hard. So how do you start to shift those limiting beliefs? The good news is that we can rewire our brains so that those limiting beliefs become positive beliefs. Step 1 - The first thing to do is for the next 24 hours, keep a journal with you at all times and start to note down all the limiting beliefs that you have in those 24 hours. This is so important as you will start recognizing what thoughts you have, what caused these thoughts and how many you have throughout the day, and if there is any pattern. Step 2 - Under those beliefs, write how they are holding you back in your life or business; Step 3 - Then start to think about the subconscious beliefs. What were you told as a child, or what events have taken place that has made you have these limiting beliefs? Write these down. Step 4 - Now rewrite all those limiting beliefs into positive sentences. For example, I am not worthy of success, rewrite this to say, I AM worthy of success. Step 5 - Turn these positive sentences into affirmations, which you will pin up where you will see them every day. This is just the beginning of shifting those limiting beliefs, and it doesn't happen overnight. But once you start to realize that your thoughts are limiting beliefs and that it is just your mind trying to keep you safe, it will help you push yourself forward to create that life you desire. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my website ! Natalie Kerr, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Natalie Kerr is a Master NLP Practitioner and Business Coach. She started her mindset journey when she was paralyzed with limiting beliefs, anxiety and lack of self-worth due to a number of traumatic experiences throughout her life. This was having a huge impact on her showing up in her business which meant she wasn't getting the results she really wanted for her business in the same way she was getting results for her clients. She trained as a Master NLP Practitioner after working with so many other entrepreneurs who all came up with the same blocks which was stopping them from building a business of their dreams with true passion and purpose. She works with their inner child, heals trauma and helps them become the best possible version of themselves. Natalie is also a mother of three and believes that having the right mindset is key to a successful business and a happy family life.