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.

Written by: Jacqlin Richards, 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. These times of lockdown have created uncertainty and challenge for many. Especially for those of us who are also parents! We have a choice in how we respond to this new normal that has come about with connection in the online space taking precedence over the old-fashioned in-person, face-to-face kind. We have another choice now as we emerge from our bubbles and return to work and gathering as to how we move forward. School leaves the screen, and kids and adults are in close proximity again. Hooray! Recently I had a bit of sadness going on. I didn't spot it at first. It came up as irritation one morning when my boys arrived home from their Dads and immediately began asking to 'show' me things on screens. I've felt this irritation before many times. More recently, the time on devices increased inevitably during the lockdown circumstances as ‘school-time’ became more ‘screen-time!’ What I hadn’t got to was the sadness. When I felt it there under the irritation, I shared it with my boys. What this sharing led to was a beautiful, open conversation about when I was a kid. That back then, things were different. Very different. That we played outside with our friends EVERY day, we used to ride off on adventures all day into the bush, climb trees, build forts and only come back when it was getting dark, the food we had taken with us had run out, and we were starving! We only watched TV on a Saturday morning. It was a treat back then, and it didn’t matter because we had so much fun playing. Hanging out with all our friends who lived in the neighborhood. We would be outside all day, coming in only to eat and then straight back out to playing. A lot of time was spent playing games in the cul de sac street where we lived till well after the sun when down. Now, it seems we've entered into a world where screen time connection is the preferred way to relate to one another in place of ‘old-fashioned’ in-person connection, and it’s playdates that are the once-a-week deal! Talking with some of the parents I’m working with, it's becoming clearer that things have gotten a bit backward since our childhoods. That it was staying INSIDE that used to be the punishment. “You can't go outside and play with Jimmy because you did [insert undesirable behavior/action here]…. Now, it's the other way around. Now, it’s a punishment to go OUTSIDE! “You’ve been on that screen for too long….go outside!” “Go out and play! Be in nature! Get outdoors!” I can see it. How things have slowly shifted this way over the last few decades and especially the most recent circumstances creating the place we now sit as parents. I spoke with my boys about my sadness. Without charge or judgment around screens because that ain't helpful. We spoke from a balanced and integrated place around the impacts and benefits that screens are having in our lives. Especially in the most recent times. The really amazing things that the internet has brought to our lives and the not so amazing things to be aware of. We spoke about in-person physical connection. I asked my boys what they thought was the one thing they couldn’t get from a screen connection with a family member or a friend. We came up with a touch. You can’t get a hug through a screen! You can’t get a high 5 or fist pump! You can’t touch someone's shoulder, receive a comforting hand on the back, a kiss on the cheek, or a nose rub without being in close physical proximity! We like nose rubs in our house. You can’t get in-person, physical touch through a screen. And as humans, we need it to thrive. When we are babies, we need it to survive, and as adults, we need it to thrive. And many of us ain't getting enough of it for obvious reasons in recent times, and no matter how entertaining screens are, it doesn’t touch the human need for touch! It was a great conversation with my family, which ended in hugs, closeness, and card-playing for some afternoon! Before we headed out into the beautiful day. This is a massive topic right now and hot off the back of viewing 'The Social Dilemma' documentary. I am very keen to open the discussion. For more information, follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my website ! Jacqlin Richards, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Aka The FREEDOM Finder for Parents, Jacqlin is a Mother of 2, a Parent Empowerment Mentor, Speaker and Facilitator who is deeply passionate about bringing greater awareness to the way we raise our children. Raising empowered children takes empowered Parents and Jacqlin loves to walk alongside Men and Women as they empower themselves through her Mentorship and Programs into a very different way of being a Parent.

Written by: Maxim Minin, 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 no shortcut to success! Grit, persistence, and passion drives you towards turning aspirations into reality. While many people wish to start a business and be their own boss, manage their own hours, and work for their dreams instead of someone else’s. It is important that you are open about the realities of what it takes to start and succeed in a business and consider the less-discussed truths before deciding to plunge into your entrepreneurial journey.  In my career as a business coach, I find that a lot of first-time business owners are simply unprepared for what to expect, and that leads to their own demise. Here’s what you need to be aware of if you’re planning to launch a business anytime soon. Business is not for the faint-hearted:  If you’re looking to coast through life, avoid stress and minimize your risk, I don’t suggest you start a business. Being an entrepreneur requires patience, hard work, and perseverance. It’s a very different pressure you feel when it’s payday and you have to pay everyone who works for you irrespective of your company’s performance. The security of taking home a fixed sum every month is not a luxury you enjoy as a businessman.  Don’t plan to start a business purely because you hate your job and company culture:  Many prospective entrepreneurs fail to realize that office politics are everywhere and that you can’t escape them when you strike out on your own. You may still have to contend with rude clients and partners, with many situations feeling eerily similar to what you experienced in a job.  Your first few years are tough:  Would-be entrepreneurs who want to have a better work-life balance are in for a rude awakening. For at least the first few years, you may be on the job at all hours. If a customer has a problem in the middle of the night, you are the one who’s getting up to address it. As the founder, you will find that anything and everything is your responsibility. Nobody gives you direction on what to do ; you have to make the choices and also solely bear the consequences of your choices.  Profits are not guaranteed:  I know you don’t want to hear that, but it’s the harsh reality. Not planning for this will mean certain financial demise. In your first year, you will be pouring money — more than your budget, likely — into launching and gaining a foothold in your market. If you’re lucky, you can throw a little your way for salary. Smart hustlers find other sources of income to cover the first few years of personal expenses. If you’ve got savings, great. If you’re taking out a loan, build in your own income to that budget. As per stats, only 70 percent of businesses make it past year 2: Here’s another hard-to-swallow reality. Think of the businesses that had shuttered in your community, maybe before they even really took off. Imagine how many more online businesses disappear without warning. As I said at the beginning of this article: running a business is hard. Running one successfully — especially up to and past Year Two is challenging. You need people: Now, I know you probably think you can do it all on your own. After all, you’re smart enough to start a business! Surely you can manage it all by yourself as well. Let me save you some heartache: relying on people — the right people — will make your work so much easier. You’re good at some facets of running a business, to be sure. But there’s a lot I’m willing to bet that you’re less good at, like maybe accounting or designing your website. This is where bringing in a professional skilled in a particular area is a huge asset. It's okay if you don’t have skills, you need ideas, vision, and courage:  Related to the point above, you can’t be a master of all trades. It is okay if you don’t have the skills it will take to set up the business you envision. That is exactly why you need people. You need to focus on bringing together the ideas to push everyone towards your vision. Lack of skillset is an excuse for not starting a business.  You got to know your customers:  Another common mistake I see is entrepreneurs thinking that because they have a genius idea (in their minds, at least), they automatically have a business that will thrive. But the problem is: they don’t do any research to understand who would actually buy their products or services. They don’t bother to understand who their customer base is. And so, the business limps along until it collapses. You will doubt your abilities . Your business will challenge you. You’ll face forks in the road you could have never predicted. When you lose your first (or 10th) big client, your employees quit, you divorce your partner, your balance sheet looks dismal, or you can’t get financing, you will likely start to doubt yourself. Dig deep to get through these times. Ultimately, you need to be your biggest cheerleader. There is no such thing as overnight success.  No matter how you frame it, it takes years of hard work to become an “overnight success.” Just because someone’s business is a couple of years old and gets sold for a billion dollars doesn’t mean it was an easy path. I’m not saying the negatives of starting a business to deter you from trying, but rather to prepare you for the odds against you. If you know what you’re up against, you can arm yourself and fight, becoming just another failed business statistic. You can develop a plan that will safeguard you against some of the risks you’ll face. In my career, I have worked with online startups to ensure they launch, grow, and succeed. My final point of advice will be that there will be points in your business journey when you need help. Seek out for help and find the right people to be able to help you through your problems. A trusted and result-oriented business coach could be one of the best business investments. Someone who will not sugar coat the problems but fight reality to get solutions to help you succeed.  Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Maxim! Maxim Minin, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Maxim, Wellness & Business coach and Founder of www.livewithsmile.com , started his entrepreneurial journey as a personal trainer and wellness coach. Through the years of self education and working with clients in achieving their health goals, he realized that real wellness is achieved through a balance and fulfillment in finances, relationship, parenting, and of course, self-care. His mission is to help stay at home mothers, parents or those who are not fulfilled in their life to breakthrough their beliefs, transform their relationship and communication as well as start building an online coaching, consulting or experts business that will allow them to generate more income, free more time, promote self-growth and in the end lead to that desired fulfillment with finances, relationship, kids and well being.’

Written by Olivia Greathurst of Aviation Insider When I came to the conclusion that I wanted to become a commercial pilot at the age of 15 I had no idea just how much work awaited me. The flight schools that train future pilots ran a robust selection process as a way to determine which students they believe are most likely to succeed in training and possess the traits desired in a commercial pilot. An important thing to note about these pilot aptitude tests is that the applicant's ability to pilot an aircraft is not directly assessed so it isn’t always necessary for you to gain flying experience prior to attending an assessment day, however, there are other ways you can prepare. Tip # 1 – Practice Aptitude Tests Different schools use different aptitude testing programs in order to assess their applicants so before attending an assessment day I’d recommend researching what type of test is used by the flight training organization that you’ve applied to. The aptitude tests will judge your literacy, numeracy, spatial reasoning, reaction time, and multitasking skills so it’s useful to get in some practice so there aren’t too many surprises on the day. There are plenty of online platforms that allow you to purchase a subscription to their preparation material and they’re well worth the money; if you know of someone else attending an assessment day around the same time as you, you could always split the cost of the subscription to keep expenses down. At Aviation Insider we’ve partnered with pilotaptitudetest.com to help provide aspiring pilots with the best possible aptitude training so you can be as prepared as possible before the big day! Tip # 2 – Get in contact with current students A great way to get an insight into what’s currently happening at the training organization you’ve applied to and find out some more about the company is by talking to current students and getting advice from the people who have just been through the same process that you’re about to go through. Making contacts early on will help you throughout the rest of your career as you’ll always have someone around to give you advice/guidance and it will show the companies you’re applying to that you’re personable and forward-thinking. Tip # 3 – Brush up on your mental maths It isn’t necessary to be a maths wiz to become a pilot, however, having the ability to do mental maths (particularly the 3 times table) to a good standard will help you massively. Most flight school maths assessments will be a simple GCSE level multiple-choice test designed to assess your ability to quickly but accurately work out maths questions under pressure. Whilst flying, a pilot will be required to work out their top of descent (TOD), rate of descent (ROD), and time en route amongst other things so having a fair level of mental maths ability is desired. I’d recommend practicing your mental maths to the point where you feel confident that you will be able to complete the questions within the allotted time (the YouTube channel techmath has some very helpful videos on quick multiplication and division tricks that I found very useful when practicing for the assessment day). As well as mental maths testing you might be required to undertake numerical and verbal reasoning tests too so it’s important that you get some practice in these areas as well. Aviation Insider has developed online practice material in order to assist you in preparing for any flight school or airline that may require you to undertake these assessments. Tip # 4 – Do some research into the industry It is absolutely vital to keep your finger on the pulse with the latest news on the aviation industry. Interviewers want to see someone who has a genuine interest in the role of a pilot and aviation itself, as it shows dedication and commitment. It isn’t unheard of for interviewers to ask candidates to tell them about some recent aviation-related events that have happened recently as a way to see how well prepared you are for the interview. Arm yourself with 5 or so interesting things to discuss relating to industry news just in case you’re required to call upon this information. Keeping your knowledge of the industry currently is also a useful way to show a passion for aviation and gives you something to relate your answers to in order to provide another layer to your interview. Tip # 5 – Think of some good interview examples that satisfy the key competencies Interviews are the one constant in every job application. No one particularly enjoys doing interviews but it is the best way for a potential employer to see what you’re like in person and decide whether you’re the right fit for the company. Pilot interviews are heavily competency-based so I’d recommend thinking of real-life examples where you have demonstrated the skills that are looked for in a pilot. Potential questions include: Give an example of a time when you have worked as part of a team. How do you cope with failure? Tell me about a time when you've led a team. Give an example of a time when you’ve had to make a decision under pressure. Tell me about a time when you’ve had to work to a timescale when completing an important task. Give an example of a time when you’ve had to break the rules. When answering these questions I would recommend using the STAR method to structure your responses. The STAR model allows you to answer the questions efficiently without waffling and forgetting your point. S – Situation: Set the scene. T – Task: Establish the end goal. A – Action: What did you do? R – Result: What was the outcome of your actions? I would also suggest relating your answers back to becoming a pilot and how these skills will help you in a flying career, as this is ultimately what the interviewers are looking for. And don’t forget to prepare some questions to ask the interviewer at the end! Overall, although the thought of the application and assessment process can be daunting, as long as you prepare yourself and show that you have a genuine interest in aviation, it’s more than doable. There are plenty of platforms out there aimed specifically at helping aspiring and qualified pilots alike to achieve their goals and prepare for the challenges that face them. With a newly launched website and app, Aviation Insider is becoming the go-to source for pilot information, services, and products. Our aim is to provide you with a comprehensive package of products and services that enable a pilot to manage their career from start to finish, from “thinking about becoming a pilot” through to getting your command and more. It’s an unprecedented time for the aviation industry right now and everyone involved has to pull together. Aviation Insider will do whatever it takes to help pilots remain current and keep inspiring future generations to pursue this wonderful career.

Written by: Ikedah Alston, 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. Self-esteem can be very tenuous. As parents, when our children fail, it is easy to take it personally. The same principles apply to parents building confidence as to children who are developing confidence in themselves. Building greater confidence and self-esteem takes practice. But, the results are well worth the time and effort. Stronger confidence benefits you in every area of your life. Strategies to develop greater confidence and self-esteem 1. Learn from mistakes and failures It’s okay to fail. Failing is part of the learning process. This improves decision-making skills, enables one to think through long-term results of their choices, and accept feedback about their mistakes without feeling like a personal failure. Parents are also learning something new with each child. The process is the same - you learn from mistakes and failures. 2. See mistakes and failures as tools for success Confidence comes from learning to trust our instincts, skills, and abilities. It is gained over time through both success and failure. It requires taking risks and dealing with consequences. The more skilled our children become in making the right choices, the more confident they become. If you regularly use mistakes as a tool for success, when your kids fail or miscalculate, they learn that it was the thinking or process that was faulty, not the person. The same applies to you as a parent. 3. Never stop learning Parents are teachers. Your job is to prepare your child to be a successful young adult. It starts day one and never ends. You are not always going to get it right - nobody does. Like your child, you learn as you do things and improve as you learn. The chances are that you’ll feel inadequate at times and make mistakes. Own it. Be open about your mistakes and talk to your child about the lessons learned. They will benefit as much from your candid discussions as anything else you do. 4. Think positive thoughts about yourself If you struggle with low self-esteem, it’s important that you get help with that. Seek out a therapist if you need to. Your behavior and how you treat yourself is what your child absorbs. If you stand in front of the mirror making negative comments about your body, berate yourself when you make a mistake, or judge others when they don’t meet your standards, your child will do the same. 5. Learn to let it go Move forward after you discuss lessons learned - yours and your child’s. It is information that you will use to calculate choices in the future. If you dwell on it or label yourself, your child will do the same. “I made a mistake” can become “I am a mistake” if internalized. Get help if you need it. Perfectionism leads to additional challenges that neither of you need. Practice these techniques daily with your children. The more you practice, the easier these behaviors become. Once they become a habit, you and your children are well on the path to having an automatic process that supports greater confidence and self-esteem each day. For more details, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or visit my website. Be sure to join my private Facebook Community for valuable information on parenting tips and emotional intelligence. Ikedah Alston, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine The core philosophy of what I do is to “be who you needed when you were younger.” As a kid, I struggled with negative self-image, emotional outbursts, and lack of self-awareness, which followed me through adulthood. Over the past 11 years, I have worked with children directly through volunteering in my community as a mentor, scout troop leader, and as a mom, so I have seen firsthand the struggles that kids go through, including not knowing how to handle their emotions. And having gone through it myself, I felt that there is a gap that needs to be filled. That is why I started KIMA Kids Life Coach. I want to give our youth, the future of our world, the essential life skills through emotional intelligence to begin their journey of self-awareness, effective communication, and better decision making.

Written by: Dee Burrowes, 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. To You Dear Virtuous Dee, If I could only bring back the hands of time – but no, I cannot as time does not stay still just for me or for anyone else for that matter. Life is a constant journey, and no finish line has its own twists and turns, peaks and valleys, and some very high mountain to climb. It felt like just yesterday . I was celebrating the big twenty, the becoming of an adult. At the age of twenty with hopes, dreams, and goals to be achieved – high on energy yet adding a dash of self-discovery and trying to figure out life in all its essence. I was crafting the older and wiser mentality ; only time will tell. As you turn 20, fresh-faced and full of hope - it’s not a bother if you don’t have a plan, really. It’s not a bother if you are the only one who doesn’t seem to know where your life is headed or what you really want to do. Many would have told you that you must enjoy your 20s – why not? You will, for the most part, but there will also be challenging and awkward times. I wanted to have you sat down for a heart to heart, but I opted to write a letter instead, hoping it will be a treasured piece in many years to come. You cannot predict how your life will be in a few years or a decade, but I am here to tell you that no matter what destination the train of life takes you, it will be better than you could have imagined despite the stops and stalls. You never know where life will take you, and having a set of do’s and don’ts guidelines would have made life a bit easier. If it did, I possibly would have saved myself from unnecessary dramas, stress, and frustration as I was absorbed in my own agendas. Truth be told, turning 20 was a big deal – however it had its share of responsibility as I was learning worthwhile life skills, which eventually aided my flying the coop stance. I was ready (so I thought) to explore the world. Wisdom and maturity were far-fetched even though I knew I was much further in life than years previously. Life begins at twenty – the big two zero, I would often heard! At some point , you are probably in a place of solace or one that has not just given you resources to survive but an avenue to help you become who you want to be and truly thrive. Your own oyster filled with opportunities with the freedom to experiment in the hope of building a foundation for your future. No matter where life will take you, many valuable lessons will be learned. Things were challenging, and looking back on a certain period in time, you pondered, ‘I wish I knew then what I know now’ as the trajectory might have been so very different. Life might have been fair and unfair, reasonable and unreasonable. You’ve failed, felt rejected but yet smile through the tears as defiantly as sought redemption, knowing there were as many triumphs and cheers as well. Life, as you know it, isn’t the extraordinary one. Then again, it is unique to only you. It’s yours and yours alone - belongs to no one else. This existential awakening is too raw. Nonetheless, it still feels as if I am punching barriers after barriers pursuing my heart’s desires, albeit the fact that everyone around you is living their best life. Frustrated of wrestling and crave something that will cushion your breakthrough to last a lifetime. You’re often told to live without regrets, seize the day and, most importantly, start living intentionally as finding happiness in every single you do will serve you best. Twenty Thoughts of Substance 20. Be spontaneous Invest in experiences, not things. Spend more time outside and add a little spontaneity to your life. The more willing you are to go with the flow, the easier it’s going to be as anything could happen. 19. You mirror the five people you are always around Those you spend most time with does shape who you are. Make sure you associate yourself with movers and shakers whose attitude and behavior will reflect and dominate your attention. 18. Never become who hurt you Revenge might deeply worsened the wound. Don’t become cruel or hurt someone because you have been hurt. Rise above your self-imposed misery with a positive attitude and learn from the experience. 17. Choose yourself first You are the most important person in your life regardless of where you go or what you do. Taking care of yourself first enables you to be better equipped to help others. Put on your oxygen mask on you first. 16. Travel the World Enjoy a pina colada in front of a massive pool, basking in the sunshine, immersing in other cultures, and explore the world. Indulge in a taste for travel as it will make you incredibly well-rounded as a person. 15. Stop complaining Don’t let complaints become your way of life or gossip, which can be a slippery slope. Avoid complaining about trivial everyday things that you can’t fix. 14. Be intentional with financial education Learn all you can about managing your finances, value the relationships and behavior with money. Trusting others with your money or having a lack of it can evoke anxiety and emotional insecurity. 13. Watch the Sunset Often Every once in a while, take time for the sunset, it’s such a beautiful moment, and it calms the mind as you enjoy the beauty of the earth. It’s just the little things that count. 12. Seek support Cultivate wise and supportive people within your circle as having support will be a great stress reliever when the challenges surface itself. They will ease the burden a bit as you will have them as a sounding board. 11. Do what you love Don’t fall into the trap of the status quo and not living the life of your dreams. Get out of your comfort zone, take the leap of faith, and not settle for the bare minimum. 10. Be a lifelong learner With access to the internet and gadgets, there is no excuse to pivot yourself and career. Read books, go to events, listen to podcasts and take courses to improve your being. 9. Tune into to your gut feeling When you have that twinge in your stomach, always listen to it. Trust your intuition, and it usually right and will guide you to what is best for you. 8. Live without fear Don’t let your worries command you. Fear can hook itself taking up mental and emotional headspace, which holds you back from taking chances. 7. Money will never buy happiness Money can buy a lot of things; however, it cannot buy true friendship and contentment. Wealth can give favorable changes, but over time the temporary happiness boost will disappear. Your self-worth is not your net worth. 6. Life doesn’t come with a manual Many times, what we yearn for isn’t as clear cut as one thinks. There will never be all the answers – it’s an illusion. Your mood can be in constant fluctuation, from great to not so great in a second. 5. Prioritise your health Make small changes that will support a healthier lifestyle – nutrition, fitness, and self-care. 4. Better sleep Managing stress and anxiety will greatly improve your sleep – a good balance is getting enough hours in. Be nice to your mind and body. 3. Improve self-worth Treating yourself well gives off a positive vibration and a good feeling. Focus on how to. Identify and challenge both limiting and negative beliefs. 2. Curb expectations Putting high expectations on others can cause disappointments. You only have control over yourself, and many times they are not aware of what you expect from them. 1. Self-love The greatest love of all. You deserved to be loved by you. It’s not self-absorbed but rather being in tune with who you are along coupled with your happiness. Do yourself a favor, pause, breath, and start practicing self-love. With Profound Love!! Dee. xoxo For more information, visit my website ! Dee Burrowes, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dee Burrowes, Certified Professional Coach, NLP Practitioner, Speaker, Trained Teacher, International Awards Judge and Mental Health Coach with Behavioural Disorder helps you to gain more confidence in being more effective at bringing happiness into your life. By identifying your core values and what drives you, you will gain clarity on what your life and career vision should be. By learning how to eradicate self-doubt, boost self-confidence and form good habits, all of us are able to overcome our challenges and live more mindfully, consciously and authentically. Life passes us by and the fear of not being authentic kicks in and it is the right time now to identify your inspiration by designing a lifestyle that would capture the very essence of you. Dee is a visiting professor in Events and Hospitality management in both undergraduate and postgraduate studies. She continues to participate in the hospitality industry. Dee is very much passionate about Mental Health and as a Mental Health Advocate, she supports corporate companies on Mental Well-being .