Collaborated post All businesses run on a systemic basis. Without processes, guidelines, protocols, your business is unlikely to function correctly. At certain sizes, it will not function at all. This is why we hire employees, to become caretakers for certain processes and to keep their success regular under such stewardship. For instance, we cannot expect a CEO to come down to the mailroom and package the products themselves. Much in the same way we rely on our blood cells to transport oxygen around the body, a business leader must trust every node of employment under their care to correctly perform their job. Furthermore, the role of employment policies and procedures allows for quick and thorough replacement should they become unable to perform that task. But these systems are not perfect, no matter how excellent our hired staff are. From time to time they need improving, optimizing and developing. In other words, lubricating the systemic processes within your business can help it operate like a well-oiled machine, avoiding problems from becoming worse, or preventing them outright in the first place. With that in mind, we’d like to recommend the following advice: Reviewing Policies It’s not enough to review policies after they have contributed to a calamity. For instance, if you find that staff aren’t obligated to report safety equipment failures for up to twenty-four hours, that’s an obvious hole that needs fixing. It can be worth working through your hiring practices. For instance, removing the first and last name, nationality and gender from all applications that are reviewed can ensure no subconscious social bias is ever-present when choosing applicants to interview. Little improvements like this can help you optimize your firm a little further. Reviewing Results Reviewing the results of policies can also be a great place to find inconsistencies or difficulties in your approach. To use an example, you may find that your cleaning services seem to clean your bathrooms less frequently or deeply than they used to, and from that point on finding a new service could be important. After all, office hygiene is paramount. It could also be that in an effort to improve your environmental impact, you recommit to recycling. Maybe you wish to buy red diesel drums from suppliers that care about their proper handling this time. Little adjustments like this are well within your powers to apply, and could offer a real beneficial result. Streamlining Appropriately Sometimes, streamlining departments or tasks can be a great idea. For instance, you may decide to carefully develop your HR department to be more front-facing, dealing with payroll issues as well as helping your staff more appropriately adapt to working from home. Perhaps enabling all meetings to be taken via conferencing software can also help you, especially now, but as a continued norm that saves time and energies in the future. These are two examples, but we’re certain you can find many more of them as you consider your own systemic setup, and how the firmament-shaking influence of 2020 has given its own opinion on the matter. With this advice, we hope you can more easily lubricate the system processes found within your business.

Written by: Krystal Thompson, 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 Many of us have seen videos of stage hypnosis where volunteers end up clucking like chickens. But to simplify the power of hypnosis to that and nothing more would be like judging the entirety of a national forest by a single tree within it. Hypnosis is simply an advanced state of relaxation, and one that we experience regularly. You know that sort of trance-like state you sometimes fall into during repetitive activities such as driving or doing the dishes? Those are hypnotic states. Familiar, right? Hypnotherapy is working with a trained practitioner to use that state as a path to the subconscious mind, and to make specific changes on that level. Conscious Vs. Subconscious I’m sure you’ve heard of the conscious and subconscious minds, but what are they really? How do they interact, and how do they affect our day-to-day lives? I’d like you to imagine your mind like an elevator with ten floors. The 10th floor is where we live our conscious, day-to-day lives. This is where we experience the physical world: other people, our careers, our thoughts, our bodies, etc. Because it’s all most of us know to consider, we tend to think that this single floor - the conscious experience - is the extent to which we have access. But your subconscious mind, floors 1-9, dictates what that conscious experience actually is. What’s manifesting on the conscious level is an indication of what’s present at the subconscious level. Your subconscious mind is a program; you can imagine it like a Google Doc. Everything in the Google Doc is a reflection of the environment you grew up in: your family, your peers, your community, your culture, and all of the beliefs and expectations that exist within those. As young people, we build our map of the world as it is shown to us, and the subconscious mind encodes it as a replicable program. You can print from a Google Doc countless times, right? Your subconscious mind is the same way: it will run the same program until it’s altered. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, but if, for example, you grew up in an environment (poverty) that doesn’t match the one you want to cultivate for yourself as an adult (abundance), you may have some subconscious shifts to make. If you’re an entrepreneur or business owner, are you experiencing the level of success you want? Are you consistently hitting the goals you set for yourself? Do you see your work making a difference in the world? Do you feel like you’re living your purpose? If not, this could be an indication that your subconscious mind is running programs that no longer serve you, such as fear, doubt, limitations, or scarcity. How Hypnotherapy Works Again, hypnosis is an advanced state of relaxation. As the physical body relaxes and we settle into the parasympathetic (resting) nervous system, the doors to the subconscious mind ease open, and we are presented with a pathway to make lasting changes. Hypnotherapy is specific suggestions and reframes given directly to the subconscious mind. Returning to our previous metaphor, hypnotherapy is an active process of editing the subconscious “Google Doc.” This process literally creates new neural pathways (changes your brain), directly affecting the way you show up and behave in your life. How This Affects Your Success If you’re an entrepreneur or the head of any team, your mindset directly affects everyone and everything under you. If you’re a Creative Entrepreneur, for example, but you grew up in an environment where artistic pursuits were belittled (“You’ll never make any money as an artist,” “You should do something more stable,” “You’ll never make it,” etc). Those programs are still at play in your subconscious mind and will affect how successful you allow yourself to be. Because some subconscious part of you expects to struggle (based on all of the direct and indirect suggestions you were given throughout your life), you will consciously create situations to match the program. We all know this process, we just tend to call it by a different name: self-sabotage. So, Can Hypnotherapy Help Your Business? Absolutely. Hypnotherapy can help in any area of your life where there is a gap between where you are and where you want to be. How to start? Take inventory. Get clear about what you want and what you’re working toward, and be honest with yourself about what isn’t working yet. Reflect on how you can show up and behave differently: how much of the action you’re taking is aligned with old fear or scarcity-based programming? How can you empower yourself to make your first shift right here in this moment? You can connect with Krystal and learn more about starting your own journey by visiting her website and connecting with her on Facebook and Instagram Krystal Thompson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Krystal Thompson is a Los Angeles-based Self Worth + Success Coach for heart-centered people with big dreams. Her approach is a unique blend of conscious mindset work, subconscious reprogramming, energy healing, and inspired action coaching. Everything she teaches is a process she has been through in her own transformation, and is done with one goal in mind: to elevate the collective by reigniting the individual. By uncovering what’s kept them stuck, she helps her community tap into the clarity, confidence, and self-empowerment to build the life they want, not the one they think they have to settle for.

Written by: Jessica East, 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 Social media is the great equalizer. It allows small businesses to compete with giant corporations at costs they can afford. Social allows us to connect with friends and loved ones who are no longer geographically close. Social allows us to educate ourselves on matters of government, health, and safety. But. Social is also used to confuse, frighten and destroy. Tiny bits of truth are exploited for cash through clickbait-y headlines, mismatched images, and doctored memes. Hate groups and conspiracy theorists peddle personal feelings as facts to divide us all. The last few weeks have been hard. Heck, the last several months have been hard. Why would someone who helps clients manage their own social accounts put out such a message? I have seen so many people spiral down online rabbit holes into debilitating fear, incoherent thinking, and uncontrollable rage -- especially these last few weeks. They can't leave their homes; they're barely functioning. It's not healthy. "The best way to feel better is to get your hands dirty doing something to help someone else." It’s not that social media shouldn’t emotionally influence us, instead, we cannot become overcome to the point we’re living in fear and not present to fully live our lives. If you find yourself pulling away from friends, family, and activities, it’s okay and advisable to take a break from social media. The length of the break is obviously up to you. Some people find it useful to set time limits per day to catch up on the news, while others find themselves needing a complete shut-off for several days or even several weeks. If you have to be engaged with social channels for work, try smaller breaks during the day: take a walk, cook a good meal, volunteer at a neighborhood non-profit. Our communities all have so many opportunities to plug in and give back. The best way to feel better is to get your hands dirty doing something to help someone else. We can't work towards making our neighborhoods better if the negative emotions consume us that too much bad news can do. Be well. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and visit my website for more info! Jessica East, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Jessica East entered the creative scene in 2001 when she started her design career at MeadWestvaco. From her initial position as a junior graphic designer, Jessica advanced to a small marketing firm, picking up marketing, social media and event planning skills, and then on to a position as creative services manager for Five Rivers MetroParks. At MetroParks, she took on the challenging role of utilizing and policing new brand standards for an organization that previously lacked any formal marketing department. During her watch, the parks were pulled out of their staid ’70s look and blossomed into a new, energetic brand that matched the organization’s values of making the community healthy and vibrant. Jessica started her own agency, Noir Marketing and PR, in 2012. Ms. East obtained her degree in graphic design at Bowling Green State University, where she joined the Phi Mu sorority and remained an active alumna in her local chapter. In addition to making dazzling designs, this marketing maven has collected enough ADDYs to back U.S. currency. Other awards and recognition include a laundry list of local and national design and professional awards, including several Mercury Awards and nominations, ADDYs of all metals, OPRA and NRPA awards, recognition in Print and GDUSA magazines as well as Teen magazine’s “50 Hot Picks for School.”

Written by: Thokozile Eunice Mahlaola, 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. Every artist has a reason for creating his or her art. The artwork usually lives up to the artist's intentions and when it does not, it means the art project was not successful. It also means that the artist will not be displaying that artwork. Each of the artworks produced by the artist is unique , and they invoke different reactions; they convey specific messages and they require distinct viewpoints. That is why they say we must study the artwork and read up on the artist's notes. This is because the artist leaves clues that can help us to better understand what she is communicating through her art. We, as humans, are artworks and our Creator is the artist. He has a specific purpose for each one of us. We can know what our different purposes are if we can read up on His notes and study ourselves as artworks. We live up to His intentions and become successful when we are who He created us to be and do what He intended for us to do. On the other hand, we become rejects and will not be displayed when we choose not to follow through on His intentions. We then start to realize that we are all original artworks and not copies when we open ourselves to knowing Him and ourselves. We come to understand that every stroke on us is divinely placed, and our different shapes are exquisitely chiseled that way. We start to see that we are beautiful in every way when we see ourselves through the Creator's eyes. We realize that each one of us is a masterpiece: unique, magnificent, and worthy to be displayed in grand galleries. To live an artistic life, we need to align with the Creator's intentions , fully embrace the types of artists we are, and express our art in our diverse, authentic ways. When we do this, we step into our greatness and stop living aimlessly. We then zone in on what makes us who we are as individuals, and that discovery becomes the foundation of our unique artistry. When we know who we are, where we are going and why we are going there , our lives start to change. We start to appreciate life and treasure our given time on earth because we now have direction. We begin to have something to live for, and we discover that it is beyond us. We realize that we are part of a bigger picture and we move on to play in a higher league. We understand how important our lives and contributions are as we step into our distinctive roles and do our parts for the greater good. Knowing who we are means that we are ready to start creating. While we live in a world where some create by mistake and many do not create at all, when we create because we know that we are artists, our artworks shift from being typical to being exceptional because we are intentional about our creations. We are all creations who create and once we embrace that, our lives become worthy of being displayed on prominent stages. Our lives then become an inspiration to others and impacts on the world. We go on to produce legendary work whether we are painters, pilots, or parents because we comprehend that all human beings are creatives at their core. Therefore, let us welcome being both the artwork and the artist because they feed off each other. As we unravel our truest selves let us go ahead and reveal how extraordinary we are. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and visit my YouTube-Channel ! Thokozile Eunice Mahlaola, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Thokozile Eunice Mahlaola is the founder of The CherryBlue House, a consortium where they deal with career development, personal development, content writing and music entertainment. Since 2015 she has self-published three books and has two books as well as a music album coming out in 2020. Her online courses have changed the lives of people from different parts of the world. She has studied Creative Writing and Editing through the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism as well as Language and Literature and Public Relations Management both through the University of South Africa. The eighteen years of combined corporate and entrepreneurial experience she has gathered has prepared her to work with individuals, employees and new entrepreneurs who want to know their life’s purpose; align their priorities with their values and be more productive in their lives, work, and businesses.

Written by: Andrea Cristancho, 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. Your Niche is that sweet spot between the people you serve, the situational problem you help them solve, and your signature system. Indeed, the exercise to narrow down your focus and concentrate on those who resonate most with your calling isn’t new. Identifying the sociodemographics of your target audience is a long process that only in time we get to refine, then again when in business for years or for a couple of months, it’s wise to have clarity on whom you’re speaking to. That’s what we call identifying your Niche. Moreover, it doesn’t stop there. The next step is to single out your ideal persona. He or she becomes the single point of focus when creating, writing, speaking to, or directing your marketing efforts to your ideal customer, and this might help the new avenue to explore. Once we have reached the level of being comfortable to speak to one when referring to your ideal clients, we’ve reached that sweet spot of your Niche. Would you like to give it a try? It is easier said than done, I must confess. Hence, I’ll share my top 3 secrets on working with a Niche and why it’s beneficial to any female entrepreneur in any industry. Whether you’ve been in business for years or just started out, this principle applies to you. The difference lies in the feedback your current clients share with you and, what you originally started out doing versus what you’ve discovered your core audience really wants. The commonalities become the golden nuggets every entrepreneur is after. The most frequently asked questions, your top service/s, the highly-rated component of your service, and ultimately the common traits of your favorite clients. Fears Along the process of defining a Niche, you might face the fear of missing out (FOMO), leave someone behind, lose opportunities, insist everyone can use what you have to offer, and my ultimate favorite: myopia on the common traits of your best clients. Why? Why do we get stuck in narrowing doing something that should be quite straight forward? Simply said, because clarity doesn’t come by easily. However, the opportunities you’re going to gain by having a clear, lucrative Niche will astonish you. So, here’s secret # 1: When you go deep into your Niche, you open up a world of possibility that is creative, exciting, and full of opportunities. You’re not going to feel you’re leaving anyone behind or missing opportunities because you’ll be busy helping your ideal people and growing your business. You’ll become a magnet! Tribe Have you ever consider how your service could be potentially beneficial to a category you usually don’t work with? For example, a new group of people that you may not have previously thought of and who have the money to pay for your offer. Keeping an open mind in order to identify specific “communities” of potential ideal clients within your category might serve as a starting point, don’t decide just yet. Instead, think about clients that have the most potential for being lucrative, fun, and plentiful to work with. Bringing us to secret # 2, testing for your Niche. As your brainstorming process is going, ask yourself, is your Niche big enough? Is your service offer in demand or you’re pioneering the market? How important will the people within your niche rank solving the problem you help them with? Do you love working with them? When answering these questions, you’ll be able to identify your tribe. In the words of top renown marketer, Seth Godin, “what people really want is the ability to connect to each other… A tribe helps like-minded people find each other.” So, by identifying the individuals that you’d like to invite to form your tribe, identifying the commonalities of one individual, making him or her feel special, belonging, identified with your offer, you’ll then be able to describe your persona. Now, why do we search for a single person? Just because when we as creators can speak to that “one” person directly in our mind and in person, the creation process becomes smooth, effortless, hence our deliverables resonate with our tribe as the natural solution they seek, and we never run out of ideas to help our audience grow. Let me ask you, as a female entrepreneur, wouldn’t you like to be in constant conversations with your ideal people? If you ask me, I’ll give you a sounding YES because I believe this is the only way you free yourself from a job (even if it’s one created by you) and truly start living what you love doing and making life, not just a living, in your own terms. Message Once you’ve come clear with your persona, the next natural step is to test him/her out by drafting your marketing message. There are 6 components in your message, and that is secret # 3: Whether it’s your elevator pitch or your tag line on your landing page, these six elements should be working simultaneously speaking to your Niche. First, it starts with a single call out to your ideal client, followed by the struggle they face, and their desires. Fourth, the mention of what you bring to the table and how they can achieve results. And last, any other component that is key to your magic (product or service). In a couple of sentences, this message becomes your invitation to whom you are, to work with you, or test out your product, in a simple and straight forward call to action. As the end result, you’ll see it will resonate with some, not all, and that is good. You want to craft your ideal clients in time and foster a close line of communication with them. At this point, the effort of crafting a Niche will only seem as natural and spontaneous. However, as you evolve in your business your Niche will evolve with you, so you want to always keep a close eye on that message, that invitation, you present to the world regularly and let people part ways easily if you no longer speak the same language. So, let’s get into action, are you in for a challenge? Apply the 3 secrets I’ve shared with you just now, and once you’ve crafted your new marketing message, I challenge you to share it with 25 people this week. As responses come back, note the traits these people have in common and next think of 5 new places where you can connect with your new Niche. Get ready to be surprised, welcome new clients, and drop me a line if you’d be interested in getting 1:1 support in this journey to UpLevel your current offer. It’d be my pleasure to guide you through your discovery process, simply book a clarity audit session with me, no cost. To your success! Follow Andrea Cristancho on Facebook, Instagram and visit her website for more info! Read more from Andrea! Andrea Cristancho, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Andrea Cristancho, founder of www.andreacristancho.com is a Holistic Business Coach helping female entrepreneurs in the wellness space. Through her signature program The UpLevel Method, Andrea integrates the entrepreneurial mindset with practical business tools that re-engineer existing businesses to achieve their next level of growth. As an international business mentor with Latin roots and serial entrepreneur, she has run her own businesses in 3 continents in a number of different industries. In the process, she has discovered that having a signature program, a personal brand and the right mindset is the key to taking off your entrepreneurial success. Learn more about her work by claiming your Free Business Cleanse Checklist here.

Collaborated post Progressing in the career of your choice is a great achievement. It can give you a great sense of accomplishment and take you one step closer to achieving your career goals. As you progress to jobs with more and more responsibility, however, some people can start to doubt their ability to do their job and worry that those around them will notice. Doubting yourself doesn’t mean that you don’t have the ability to do your job to a high standard; you were able to get the job because of your knowledge and experience. Doubting yourself, could, however, have an impact on how well you do your job and how those around you see you, but it doesn’t have to. Following some of the tips below will help you to become a respected colleague, and gain more confidence in yourself and your ability to do your new job. Dress well When you want to feel confident in your workplace, one of the simplest ways of doing so is to dress well. It may sound strange that what you wear can change how you feel about yourself, but it really can. If you work in a more formal workplace, dressing more formally will help you feel like the kind of business person that you want to be. It can lift your mood, help you feel more confident, and affect how you are perceived. Dressing well can also earn you respect from those around you. When you start a new job, it will give everyone a great first impression of you and can establish you as someone whose word should be taken seriously. It doesn’t have to be difficult deciding what to wear for work. Buy outfits especially for work that can be worn over and over again like a uniform. You don’t need to have a lot of options to be able to dress well at work. Be prepared Being prepared at work can mean different things for different people. It could be reading up on various processes, refreshing your training, or researching work that you will be carrying out to refresh your memory. It could be that you work in an industry where you need safety glasses, so you ensure you have your own prescription safety glasses. When your colleagues or employers see them , they may be impressed at your commitment to the job. Taking the time to be more prepared will help you to feel more confident, as you won’t be worrying about all the things that you could have done to make yourself feel better about the job you are doing. Work hard to complete every task on time Working hard will prove to yourself that you are capable of doing your job, but it will also show those around you what you are capable of. When you are at work, make sure you are working and not spending time distracting others, as this will also take away from their work time. Ensuring that your tasks are always complete on time will also show that you are reliable and that people can count on you. It may be challenging to complete some tasks when you first start at a job, but don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it or to push yourself, as that is how you will grow and develop your skills and become more confident in your abilities. Be patience When you are working with others, you have to learn to be patient with them. Collaboration is great when you give everyone a chance to get involved, but you have to remember that everyone works and learns at their own speed. If a task involves you helping others to get to grips with new software, then you will need to show them patience. Show your confidence in what you are teaching them, but don’t expect them to pick it up quickly. You should also be approachable so that nobody will fear asking you for help. Get to know your colleagues Going to work isn’t just about the work, although that is an important part, it is also about the people that you work with. The relationship that you have with your colleagues can affect how you feel about your job. Creating a positive relationship with them will help to improve your job satisfaction, but it will also mean, when you are going through a hard time, they will be there to support you, and when they are going through hard times, you can support them. It will help to create mutual respect and make it easy to collaborate with others and ask for help when necessary. Stay out of workplace gossip Although it is essential to get to know your colleagues, it is important to try and stay out of any office gossip. It may be fun sometimes, but it can usually cause a lot of unnecessary problems. Gossiping may lead to friendliness with some, but it will also give the impression that you will not be able to keep sensitive information to yourself. It won’t lead to people trusting and respecting you, and could also make it seem like you are less dedicated to your work . Handle conflict maturely In any situation where you are working with other people, at some time, there is going to be conflict. How you handle this conflict can determine how your colleagues see you. The best way to handle conflict is by confronting it so that you can come to an amicable resolution. Letting it simmer, or talking about it to others could make things worse in the long run. Handling it directly with those who are involved will ensure that people know you can be professional in any situation, and you will be respected more. Stay organised Just like how the way you dress can make you feel more confident, having a neat and organised workspace can help you to feel more equipped to get on with the job at hand. A cluttered or messy workspace can make it harder to concentrate, and could also give your colleagues a negative impression of you. Keep your space organised so that you can spend your time working on improving your skills and gaining confidence in your work. Fix your mistakes Making a mistake can knock your confidence, but you can learn a lot from them. Everyone has made a mistake at some point in their life, so it isn’t a big deal, but how you deal with the situation can be. The best thing to do is to own up to your mistakes. You will earn respect because it will show that you are humble and confident enough to admit when you do something wrong and apologise when you need to. Fixing the mistake will also help you to learn the correct way to do things. If you need to, you could ask for help, but one thing is for sure, once you take the time to fix the mistake, you probably won’t make the same one again. Ask for feedback It can be nerve-racking to hear about how you are as a worker, but it can help you to gain more confidence and give you the chance to improve in the areas that you need to. The feedback could be from your boss or your clients, but it could also be from your colleagues. Always striving to do the best that you can at work, and taking the time to learn and make improvements will allow you to feel confident in your work.

Written by: Hoda Elsobky, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. We are already midway into 2020 and the Pandemic has been the toughest of the challenges we had to face in our age. Lockdown has been the norm, social distancing and remote working have been the new slang of everyday activities. Yet we had a counter dialect emerging fast in our lives too: We had Empathy rising up to the surface, Compassion and Kindness reemerging in our relationships with others. We had simplicity revisited. We had been offered the opportunity to go back to basics, to purity and to rawness, and to get rid of the clutters the sophistication and disruptions of the modern world. Today as the world is reopening again after six months since the first hit of the Coronavirus in Wuhan. Here comes my invitation and my insistence to go back to our true authentic selves, back to nature, back to intuition and back to happiness, true happiness. Yes, we learned to be happy with what we have, we learned to be happy wherever we are and under whichever circumstances. Allow me to ask you to just PAUSE and RESET. Pause exactly here, and start all over again, but start with grace. Have a clear mind and a clean heart. That is all you will need in your new journey; and here is the answer to your golden question: Where is Happiness? Let me tell you, I hope you found it! Happiness is there, you can achieve it, you can own it and you can sustain it; and here is the answer to your long-awaited question: Happiness is all of the above, happiness is the outcome of the Coronavirus-and please don’t get me wrong, nobody can underestimate the losses we had and empathize with-. But, if you haven’t found it yet, then you haven’t benefited from the experience! To make it simple, here is the equation: Compassion + Kindness = Happiness To elaborate more, compassion is a direct route to happiness, and it is the foundation of Kindness. So, both together form the shortest cut to happiness. Study after study recently showed that helping others brings about the same sensational or neurological response in the brain that is normally attained by realizing one’s own wants and lusts. The good question now is: Is compassion a built-in attribute, or it can be acquired? Luckily, studies pointed out that children who are securely attached to their parents tend to be more empathetic with peers. Meanwhile, Parents who use reasoning and rationalization to communicate with their children tend also to have the most sympathetic children. In the end, have I not known the value of empathy, I wouldn’t have nurtured it, until it grew and flourished and gave meaning and purpose to life. 3 Tips to help raising Compassionate Children: When someone is sick in your circle of family or friends, talk to your children about it and encourage them to go and visit him/her with you. Buy them flowers on the way. This will help Children build their own empathetic system. You are the Role Model, be Compassionate and Empathetic and be of help to others. Your Children will follow if not copy exactly. Educate your Children to evaluate things through their real worth and merit, not their price. By that way, you are raising strong, Emotionally Intelligent humans, and not just materialistic beings. Now, that you have all the three pillars to go ahead with your life, are you ready to press the button? Are you ready to reset? Let me tell you one thing before I conclude, I forgot to mention that Happiness like anything else in life; it has its own terms, and amazingly its terms are: Kindness, Compassion, and Empathy. To dig deeper into the true meaning of happiness, download the first chapter of my book for free here! To learn more about Hoda and Happiness - follow her on Facebook, YouTube, Join her free Live every Thursday  and Monday on Instagram, and visit her website. Read more from Hoda Hoda Elsobky, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Hoda was born in Cairo, Egypt. Graduated from the American University in Cairo in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majored in Economics and minor in Business Administration. Later, She received her MBA in Marketing. Her greatest interest lies in the fields of philosophy and positive psychology, with a focus on self help and wellness. Above all, she is passionated about happiness as a way of living! She have worked in multinational IT companies in Egypt, like IBM and Oracle, in sales, marketing and business development capacity, from 1994 till 2005. At that point she flew with her husband to live in Vienna for three years and then to Dubai. There she discovered her passion for writing.

Written by: Edna Keep, 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 Raising money from investors is a major milestone for any business. But even getting the chance to talk to an investor is still a huge opportunity, and needs to be taken seriously by any business owner. There are many factors that come into play in order to guide your business venture to success over the years. For example, your own efforts at planning, your well-developed and thoughtful research on a given property, and even your drive and motivation will all play a role in your venture's overall profitability. In Real Estate, if you want to start talking to Investors about capital, first of all it is best if you already have some experience, or are partnering or teaming up with people who have some experience. But a lot of times, even if you have that opportunity, there are still people who will say "Edna, I don't know what to say. I don't know, I just find myself stuck. I don't approach people even when I get a chance to”. so this is what I am going to help you with today. First of all , take the focus off of yourself. A lot of people are worried that they are going to screw up, thinking they´re going to say something wrong. Instead, get to know the other person first and use the power of networking. Find out what it is they are looking for. How can you help them in their lives? It may not be investor-related today, but if you can show other ways that you are a good source of knowledge, you can help them in other ways. They will start looking at you as a different person, and that's when you start building your confidence. For example, let's say that you are really good at vehicles, and if that person says that I have a challenge with my car, and next thing you know, you're working in their garage. They might ask what you do? How is it that you can be home during the day? What's up with that? From there, you could start interacting with them. - you know what, I am a full-time Real Estate Investors and I help people create passive income through Real Estate. And that is how easy the conversation can come up. But if you look at people as if they are your lunch, they might not be open to do business with you. So, where in your life can you start adding value to people? One of the things that I teach to my students is that people need to understand Real Estate before they invest in it. Maybe you start doing Facebook videos, or perhaps you start writing articles or doing some newsletters. And you begin sharing with those people. It could be as easy as you are going through your phone list and trying to figure out who might be interested. And you know you will never know 100% until you ask people. So, don't be scared to ask. One of my students told me he liked both traveling and Real Estates. So, I think it's great that you can have two topics to be interested in. My significant interest is Real Estate and Mindset. I love studying Mindset, so it's a good fit. Or sometimes you want to work on a lifestyle change, and you are talking to somebody you know who is in the same position as you, and you let them know what you're doing to make changes in your life. Or ask them what they are doing to build up their passive income. One of my favorite quotes of all time is: "if you don't build up your passive income, you will work until you die" . Other people don't always know that there are opportunities available for passive income. So, share what you have learned. To learn more on how to develop your confidence to talk to potential investors ; Watch my Facebook Live . Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , YouTube and visit my website for more information! Right now: Free Book: Multiple Ways to Wealth (Only Pay Shipping Charge-$7.00) Edna Keep, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Former Certified Financial Planner Edna discovered the power of real estate in 2007. Since then, Edna and her husband Warren have amassed a $60M Real Estate Portfolio primarily multi-family and primary with OPM. Since 2014 she has been training and coaching real estate entrepreneurs who wants to scale their real estate business into multi-family with Investor Capital. Along the way, Edna has learned that Mindset is 90%, or more, of a person’s success and specifically attributes her success to studying and always working at improving her Mindset. Thus, she focuses a lot on her students on Mindset training.

Nicola Blackstock, CEO of Nik Makeup Artist, is an Author, lecturer, multi-award-winning makeup-artist, beauty expert, stylist and creative director. Her work has been featured in numerous magazine publications worldwide, and she has a passion for teaching and passing on her skills to others. In 2020 she is launching her new Pro brush line, a book, and accredited makeup courses to help women and men worldwide understand how to use the correct tools for makeup applications. Whether you're a complete novice or a makeup maestro, Nik Makeup Artist has a course and mentorship membership program suited to anyone looking to succeed and excel in the beauty industry. Who is Nicola? Please introduce yourself - That is a good question, and I can only reason why I can answer it is because I have been on a path to self-discovery these past few years after losing my mother very traumatically. It changed me and my perspective forever. - I am a mum myself to my adorable son James aged 5, and wife to my new husband Peter (married October 2019 - engaged since 2009!!!). These two keep me going and focused on my goals; they are my driving force. - I am a caring and loving soul who wants to help others overcome traumatic experiences by explaining how I overcame mines, and offering guidance along the way. My passion is makeup and beauty, and I really like helping others succeed in the Industry and create dynamic solutions to makeup and beauty related problems. We live in a flat in Paisley town center, the place the Paisley pattern was born. The flat is currently on the market and we plan to move to our dream home by the sea imminently. You graduated from James Watt college in 2012 with an HND in Makeup Artistry. What was it that made you so interested in Makeup? ​ - I've always had a passion for makeup, and even though I was known as the local Tomboy; Growing up, at friends sleepovers, I was always the one doing the makeovers. Strange to think how now, as an adult, I have made such a successful career out of it! I also decided to quit my career as an air hostess when I met my new husband back in 2010 as I knew if I wanted a happy family life, creating a flexible business was the ideal setting for us. When did you start with this artistry, and do you know why this subject is so exciting to you? - Makeup is so transformative and being creative, I knew I found my calling the first day of the HND makeup course. I love how woman's self-confidence can be skyrocketed by applying the correct types of makeup for their skin type and age. It really fills me with joy to see their reaction and hear how they felt with the makeup on at their events!!! I love dreaming up a look in my head and implementing a team to see the creative project through. The absolute buzz when the designs end up in magazines all over the world, I sometimes got to stop and remind myself that this came out of my head and now it is all over the news! Reading on your website, it is clear that you made a career within the industry pretty fast. Why do you think you were so successful? - I noticed in college very early on that I had a talent for makeup, and also it was clear how competitive the industry was. I am so driven and as I decided to quit a career in the skies to pursue my dreams, I knew I had to succeed and prove all the naysayers wrong! I also found once I focused on my work and not of other people around me, my career hit new heights. At one point, you decided to become a freelance. How was it compared to being employed? - I am not going to lie here. It was frightening, hard, terrifying, challenging and exhilarating. All at the same time. You go from having paid holidays and security to be a one-man-band, which can sometimes get lonely, but the trick was to keep pushing and follow my dreams. Slowly but surely, the more successful I became and the less lonely it was. It really all started to fall into place. It is easy to say that you´ve built a powerful brand of yourself. Could you share your three best tips to our readers? - Set goals, meditate, take action! We are thrilled to have you on board here on Brainz Magazine. What can our readers expect from you? - Honest accounts of what being in the beauty biz is like, all the best makeup and beauty tips from a working professional and how success is not easy, but if you work hard, you will get there, my friend. What is your big goal? Do you have a dream? Where are you in 10 years from now? - The BIG goal is to help women and men worldwide by growing my courses and having makeup learning centers globally, supported by an innovative makeup product and brush line. Follow Nicola on Facebook, Instagram and visit mer website for more information! Read more from Nicola!

Yunlong Wang, is apart from being the CEO & Founder of Vikcess Business Group, also a VC, Writer, and Startup Coach. His main focus is on how the innovation tech changes the business and our world. He devotes most of his time to innovation management, achievement transformation to adapt new markets, technology transfer to apply in a wide range of industries, and startups acceleration with the support of capital. He is playing the role of a bridge, as Vikcess does, which connects Europe and China, to pursuit communication, collaboration, opportunities, and the future. Tell us more about yourself. What kind of person are you? – I came from China 6 years ago. Before that, I studied and worked in Beijing (PPSUC, the Top 1 university for police education in China) for 10 years. Later I studied political science at Gothenburg University (European Studies program) and I started to run my own business when I move to Sweden. – I am a person who is fundamentally optimistic in life and keep my passion for work. I am intensely curious about all creative things, innovative tech, crazy ideas, and persist it with no fear of failure. I enjoy social time and love to work with peoples who has different backgrounds and ideas. I am reading voraciously, constantly updating myself with the latest information, and I like sharing my experiences. I am keen on exercise and have participated in 7 Marathons already. Try to describe yourself in 3 words only. – It is hard to say, well… I think the words would be: perseverance, creative, ambitious. What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur? – I want to create change. – You know, “Entrepreneurship”, for me, is a symbol that gives you the possibility to work with your passion, but it also comes with responsibilities. You should work on it to create change, for your family, our society, environment, even the world, to make things better. That is the key meaning for me as an entrepreneur. How did you come up with the idea and concept of your business? – Well, I have been doing business in Europe for years, we understand the needs of different markets. Originally, we planned to do local incubators for startups with some VCs partners in both China and Europe. But in the process, we saw the infinite possibilities created by the largest market in the world, I mean China. Now both China and Europe are accelerating industrial upgrading, developing towards digitalization and intelligence. Simultaneously, the Internet Industry is wavering too, towards emerging technology that combines big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence... This trend will bring a new round of technological revolution and industrial cycle, also a trillion-scale market in the future. So, I decided to build a “bridge” between Europe and China to meet the demands from all directions. – I got inspired and started Vikcess, aiming to serve the innovation, and assist the companies in Europe and China to explore more opportunities, to boost more potential connections and cooperation, and achieve win-win. Considering the fierce competition in Today’s business world, how would you highlight your company’s competitive advantages? What makes it stand out from the crowd? – We know China, very much. "We devoted most of our time to try to establish the best sort of resources and networks in China – and we did it." – In fact, we're a young business, but we're growing very fast. We have a solid foundation and a huge business network in China. At present, we are working with some of the top enterprises, business groups, capital groups in China, such as ZGC Information Valley (one of the largest Tech Community in the world, according to Forbes), Bluefocus (Top 1 marketing enterprise in Asia), K&WM (TOP 1 Legal Firm in China). Moreover, we and Nudge Technology and other 10 tech+capital companies set up CEICLC (“China-EU Innovation Capital Linkage Center”) in Shanghai this year. We collaborate with 13 VC and Fund firms in the EU, China, and Silicon Valley as partners, and have raised more than 3 Billion Euros to support startups in need of early phase or growth investment. We also work with 200 Billion Euro Industrial Funds with our partners, mostly are Enterprises Groups, Listed Companies, and Industrial Parks in China, to accelerate the business with the power of capital. – We devoted most of our time to try to establish the best sort of resources and networks in China, and we did it. How is your life in Sweden? Do you like it? – I love Sweden where I can easily find my inner peace. Now Gothenburg is my second hometown. It has been rated as the Top 1 Sustainable City in the world for three years in a row since I moved there. I like the city, it is creative, international, and friendly. I love the food here, and the lovely people. – Now I have my own family here, my wife Yang, she is a talented, brilliant data scientist. My son Dino and my little girl Qiqi. Also, my big guy, Kaisa, a strong Alaska malamute. – I feel free to focus on my own things here. Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur? – Not like a formula, I think there are key mindsets which the successful entrepreneur has. – They have the courage to face the obstacles, loneliness and darkest moment. They have ruthless persistence, they have strong ambitions and never give up. They like challenges, they create the changes and capture the opportunities from risks. They focus on the things that really matters, and learn from the failures. "You Can Never Cross The Ocean Unless You Have The Courage To Lose Sight Of The Shore” – Christopher Columbus. I have many friends who are excellent entrepreneurs in their field, both in Europe and China. I admire them and learn from them. They are smart and they're working hard. What keeps you motivated? "Being a father is more difficult and meaningful than being a boss." – My family. My wife supports me a lot from end to end, and motivate me all the time. Also, I want to be a good role model for my children. – You know, being a father is more difficult and meaningful than being a boss. Who would you say is your role model in entrepreneurship? – For me, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. I remember he was once in an interview, and he was asked “What made you so audacious to invent the future”, and he replied: “I don’t really think of these things as audacious, they seem like natural things to do. Sort of long-term optimization, rather than a short-term one”. – From Tesla to launch rockets by Space X, it seems that Elon Musk is successfully realizing his crazy ideas. I admired his extraordinary personality characteristics as an entrepreneur. Dream Big, never forget that! What is your 5-10 year plan for the future of Vikcess? – We hope to transform into an innovative technology service type company in the next 3 years. And we plan to found our own Innovation Base in Nordic, Spain and China in 5 years. If everything goes as expected, we are planning to go public in 8 years. What piece of advice would you give to someone just starting out? Take action, and move fast. Don't be afraid of failure, making mistakes, and losing face. Stay focused. Be passionate. Dream big. If you were to write a book about yourself, what would you name it? – That is a good question. I'm literally preparing to write a book, about my life and work from Beijing to Sweden. It includes stories about the culture of Scandinavia, the travel in the North, and also the startup experience. About the name, “All the way north”, maybe. To learn more about Yunlong, you can visit his LinkedIn or contact him at: yunlong.wang@vikcess.com

Written by: Joana Orvalho Are you nervous about that interview you feel so lucky to have secured when changing careers, as although you have so many years of experience, you have none in that specific area? It's absolutely normal to feel that way as one thing is to apply for a role for which you have tons of work experience, but it's a totally different story if you are applying for a role for which you have no direct working experience. As with everything, preparation is key! So, how should you prepare for an interview that is more similar to the ones you had at the start of your working life, when you already have 10 plus years of experience? Below are three key things you must consider. 1. Share your personality Be prepared to share more about your personality and personal interests than you would normally do: as you are changing careers, it is key that your employer understands why you are dramatically changing your path and be assured that this exactly what you want! There is nothing employers love most than a member of their team that is 100% motivated by the work they do! In addition, you want your potential employer to know that you are not just "trying out" this area to see if you'll like it – you want him/ her to leave the interview room knowing that working in that area is definitely your passion and that you will secure a role in that area sooner or later! 2. Show your transferrable skills What has your past experience taught you that you can add to this new role? Think in particular about something that a person that has always worked in this area might not have experience in; simultaneously, what our your innate/ personality traits that will ensure you are a success in what you've applied for? – these will be your USP (Unique Selling Point)! In addition, if you have volunteered to do some projects either inside or outside work that is somehow linked to this new area, make sure you mention them and emphasize how much they taught you and re-iterated your interest in the area. 3. Demonstrate how to overcome your weakness Understand your weaknesses before the interview and be prepared to demonstrate how quickly and easily you can overcome these by sharing examples from other areas of your life. This is similar to what we do in the first interviews we secure, straight after Uni, when all we had to share our own capabilities were Uni projects, part-time jobs, or personal interests. It is extremely important that you analyze the role you are applying to and understand the potential weaknesses from the outset, as this way you can start to pre-empty any points that might be raised during the interview. Even if these points are not raised, being prepared will automatically increase your confidence! These are practical tips that will help you succeed in an interview in a number of ways – not only these will help you to be prepared for all the questions you might get (particularly the ones linked to the fact that you are changing careers), but will also increase your confidence and your positive attitude throughout the whole interview! In addition to the above, a great technique to increase your confidence in an interview is to visualize it before it happens! This technique can also be applied to any stressful and predictable/ planned situation in your life and what it involves is that you imagine the interview in your head before it starts – envision yourself in the way that you want the interview to flow: - You would be confident (but not arrogant), able to create rapport with the person(s) interviewing you and you would leave the room knowing that you've created an amazing impression - that you have shown your full potential and that the employer would absolutely be lucky to have you! If you are able to visualize the interview before it takes place and truly believe that it will go exactly as you desire, then it's 100% certain that the interview will be a success! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and visit my website for more info! Joana Orvalho, Guest Writer I'm Joana Fonseca Orvalho and I am a career & mindset coach, focusing on helping women to identify and GET a career they are passionate about. I am originally from Portugal, but live in London since 2008. I am married and have a son (currently 18 months old). I am an intuitive and direct person who takes deep reward in seeing the transformation in my clients' lives. I have worked for over 12 years in Banking and completed my coaching qualification in the World Coach Institute (WCI) in 2018, in the same year that I've launched my business.

Collaborative post If you run a business, then you have to make sure that it is running like a well-oiled machine. It needs to be fine-tuned and it also needs to be running all the time. The problem is that inefficiency is certainly a reality, and if you want to avoid it then you need to do everything you can to make the right changes at the right time. If you don’t then this could cause you major problems in the future. Start with What Isn’t Working Before you even think about changing anything, you need to identify any inefficient processes that might be present within your current company model. You may find that inefficiency pops up in all kinds of places, whether you have a redundant process or whether you are not serving your customers well enough. Either way, you need to get to the root of the problem before you start implementing changes. Explore the Digital World Inefficiency in digital integration costs 25% of businesses dearly. You need to make sure you’re your business is not one of them. You need to try and utilise mobile apps and you also need to try and work with people who are just as like-minded as you are. If you are able to integrate the right digital solutions, then this will help you to improve your efficiency in various ways. You will be able to take advantage of faster and easier communication , and you will also be able to solve any issues that might arise along the way. Build an End Solution Consider your entire machine and how your business fits into the bigger picture. You need to understand where your services come from, how they are used and if there is anything you can do to cut out the middleman. If you are able to do this then you will be able to meet your customer needs much more efficiently and you will also be able to save money. This may involve hiring new DSC personnel , but the amount you pay will eventually be returned to your business through ROI. Build a Community One of the best things that you can do for your company is try and create a community. At the end of the day, you cannot put a price on this. The people who you meet are a reflection of how successful you will be overall. Opportunities tend to arise naturally, but you may feel as though it’s necessary to foster community development. This can be as simple as creating a public forum where people can discuss or it may be that you need to create a system where your employees can give feedback. Either way, a community can be difficult to manage at times. This can be the case if it encompasses members who are outside your structure, because if you do not provide a quality service then your reputation can easily be tarnished. Ask your Team It’s vital that you do everything you can to talk to your team so that you can ask them about the problems they are having and how they feel as though they can help. If you do this then you will soon find that it is easier than ever for you to get a great result out of your company model.