Written by Jelena Dejanovska, PhD in Arts, Feng Shui Master, BaZi Master Dr. Jelena Dejanovska is known when it comes in life transformation using the Metaphysical Art of Living Method. She is the founder of Feng Shui Academy. Jelena Dejanovska is the author of the book edition Pokrenite svoju energiju (Activate Your Energy), and the creator of the Veliko spremanje života (Great Life Cleansing) program. Every year carries its rhythm. Some years open doors with ease, while others test patience and resilience. The difference is not random, it is written in the shifting patterns of energy that move through time and space. Annual Feng Shui and BaZi strategy brings this invisible movement into focus. By understanding how yearly energies interact with your home, workspace, and personal destiny, it becomes possible to align with supportive currents instead of struggling against them. What annual Feng Shui can do Annual Feng Shui is not about changing everything in your environment. It is about identifying where the strongest yearly energies settle and how to use them for practical results. These influences can support different areas of life, such as: Better health and vitality Financial growth and steady income Support from mentors, leaders, or influential people Improved communication and stronger relationships Overcoming fear and building courage New investments and opportunities Developing skills and easier learning Protection from yearly negative influences This guidance applies both at home and in the workplace, ensuring that each environment is adjusted to serve your goals. The importance of setting annual goals Every successful person sets annual goals, and many also plan five or even ten years. Annual Feng Shui is the practical step that empowers those goals, creating a supportive space where intentions can turn into results. Here, BaZi plays a complementary role, since it helps identify the right personal strategy for the year, while Feng Shui acts as the tool to achieve it. One reveals timing and potential, the other provides the environment and energy to manifest it. Real-life examples One young woman came seeking guidance about marriage. While her heart was focused on starting a family, her BaZi chart revealed that the current year strongly favored career progress. The following year, however, was supportive for relationships and marriage. By prioritizing her career first, she advanced to a position that gave her greater confidence and independence. When the right year arrived, she was not only ready for love, but her relationship unfolded with more strength and balance. At the same time, annual Feng Shui activations gave her a noticeable boost in career opportunities during that decisive year. In another case, a business owner felt stuck and uncertain. His environment revealed yearly blockages in the sector connected with income. By shifting his office desk and applying targeted annual activations and strategy, his business flow reawakened within weeks, and new opportunities emerged where before there had been silence. When is the best time to apply annual Feng Shui? Annual Feng Shui is closely tied to the Chinese New Year, which follows the Chinese calendar and shifts each year between late January and early February when counting according to the Gregorian calendar. This transition marks the arrival of new yearly energies, each carrying different influences for health, prosperity, and relationships. The ideal time for adjustments is at the very end of the Chinese year. By preparing the space before the shift, you not only welcome the most supportive energies right from the start, but also protect yourself from those that may bring challenges. It is like setting your sails at the very moment the wind begins to blow, positioning yourself to move forward with the natural current rather than against it. And for those who want to refine this even further, there is the art of Date Selection, choosing not only the right year and month, but the exact day and hour for action. Whether it is signing a contract, moving house, launching a project, or starting renovations, the right moment can amplify success, while the wrong one can create unnecessary struggle. Related article: The Power of Perfect Timing – Date Selection for Success Your next 12 months begin now The year ahead is not fixed. It is a dynamic landscape, shaped by the interaction of space, time, and personal energy. With the right map, you are no longer navigating in the dark, you are creating your path. If you are ready to align your space and your goals, you can book a consultation with me. With over 20 years of experience in authentic Feng Shui and BaZi, I will guide you in setting the right direction for the year ahead. Follow me on Facebook ,   Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my  website for more info! Read more from Jelena Dejanovska Jelena Dejanovska, PhD in Arts, Feng Shui Master, BaZi Master Dr. Jelena Dejanovska is an expert in life transformation, life management, and reality creation. Combining ancient knowledge with art and modern lifestyle, she developed a unique method for achieving fulfillment through self-realization. She is dedicated to helping others harness their energy, reach personal goals, and become their best selves, focusing on Chinese metaphysics, especially Feng Shui and BaZi. She is the founder of the Feng Shui Academy, Jelena Dejanovska. Her mission is to be the master of your life.

Written by Luis Benitez, Founder & Owner Luis Benitez is an experienced accounting professional with a diverse background in construction, restaurants, and retail. He founded LGB Strategic Solutions, an accounting/business strategy firm dedicated to helping business owners achieve long-term success. Running a construction business can often feel like an endless hustle, long hours on-site, managing multiple projects, and handling a seemingly never-ending list of tasks. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right strategies in place, you can streamline your operations, empower your team, and set boundaries that allow you to take control of your time. In this article, we’ll explore how to run a construction business efficiently without burning out. These proven tips will help you focus on what matters most: growing your business, delivering quality work, and maintaining a work-life balance. Delegate effectively: Build a strong leadership team Learning to delegate is the key to avoiding burnout as a construction business owner. As your business grows, you cannot, and should not, handle every task yourself. Building a strong leadership team is essential for smooth operations without working around the clock. Identify key leadership roles Start by identifying roles crucial for your business’s success, such as project managers, foremen, and financial controllers. Hire experienced professionals for these positions who can oversee day-to-day operations, manage project timelines, and make decisions on your behalf. Empower your team Trust your team to manage their respective areas once they are in place. Regular communication is essential, but micromanaging will only hinder their ability to perform. Providing them with the tools, resources, and training they need to succeed will allow you to step back and focus on higher-level business growth strategies. Implement efficient project management systems Construction projects often involve complex schedules, multiple subcontractors, and various moving parts. Without proper systems in place, this complexity can lead to chaos and unnecessary troubleshooting time. Leverage construction-specific software Using construction management software like Procore, Buildertrend, or CoConstruct will enable you to monitor projects in real time. These tools allow you to track progress, manage budgets, and communicate with your team and clients without being physically present on every job site. By centralizing your information, you reduce the need for constant phone calls and emails, freeing up more of your time. Set realistic timelines and budgets Underestimating time or budget requirements can lead to extended hours on-site and cost overruns. Develop realistic project schedules and budgets that account for potential delays or unforeseen issues. This helps minimize stress and avoids last-minute scrambling, ensuring smoother operations. Automate administrative tasks Administrative tasks are often a significant time drain for construction business owners. These tasks can take up a large chunk of your day, from payroll and invoicing to scheduling and compliance. Thankfully, automation can streamline many of these processes. Adopt accounting and payroll automation tools Utilize accounting software like QuickBooks or Xero to automate invoicing, track expenses, and generate financial reports. This ensures that your books are always up to date, allowing you to focus on more critical tasks. Payroll software such as Gusto or ADP can help manage employee wages and tax filings, saving you hours each month. Digital document management Rather than dealing with piles of paperwork, use digital document management systems to store contracts, invoices, and project plans. This makes retrieving and sharing documents with your team, clients, and subcontractors easier and reduces the need for time-consuming physical filing systems. Outsource non-essential services Running a construction business involves various services that may not require your expertise, yet they still demand time and attention. Outsourcing these tasks to professionals can free up hours in your week. Outsource marketing and social media Marketing is essential, but it can be time-consuming. Consider hiring a marketing agency or freelance marketing expert to manage your social media, website, and advertising campaigns. By outsourcing, you ensure that your marketing is done consistently and professionally while freeing you to focus on operations. Engage a financial advisor or CFO If managing finances is taking up too much of your time, consider hiring a fractional CFO or a financial advisor. These professionals can help you with budgeting, cash flow management, and financial planning, giving you more time to concentrate on business growth. Prioritize work-life balance Without a balanced approach, running a construction business can quickly become all-consuming. Establishing boundaries between work and personal time is crucial for your long-term well-being and business success. Set specific work hours While construction projects may require flexibility, setting specific work hours can help you avoid the temptation to work around the clock. Allocate time for family, personal hobbies, and rest as you would for a business meeting. Honor these boundaries to avoid burnout and maintain your energy levels. Take regular breaks Taking breaks throughout the day is vital for maintaining focus and productivity. Step away from your desk, go for a walk, or take a short break to recharge. Giving yourself time to reset improves mental clarity and helps you return to work with fresh ideas and energy. Focus on client relationships and repeat business One of the best ways to reduce stress is to ensure a steady workflow. Rather than constantly searching for new clients, focus on nurturing existing relationships and generating repeat business. Leverage client referrals Satisfied clients are often happy to refer you to others. Set up a referral program or simply ask for recommendations from happy clients. Compared to cold prospecting and lead generation, word-of-mouth referrals save you time and money. Build long-term relationships Stay in touch with past clients through follow-up emails or calls to ensure they’re happy with your work. Building long-term relationships encourages repeat business and referrals, reducing the constant need to find new projects. Maintain a clear financial plan for sustainable growth As your business expands, so do your financial responsibilities. Having a clear financial plan is essential to ensure you don’t overextend yourself and can maintain a healthy work-life balance. Create a budget and cash flow forecast Developing a budget and regularly reviewing your cash flow forecast allows you to see where your money is going and plan for future expenses. This helps you make informed decisions and prevents cash flow issues that could lead to longer working hours or financial stress. Set financial goals for your business Establish financial goals for both the short and long term. Whether it’s reducing debt, saving for new equipment, or setting aside funds for future expansion, having clear financial targets helps you stay focused on your business’s overall growth without getting bogged down in day-to-day operational issues. Take control of your construction business today Running a construction business doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your personal life or working 24/7. You can build a more efficient and sustainable business by delegating responsibilities, utilizing the right technology, outsourcing non-essential services, and setting boundaries. Ready to make your construction business work for you? If you're interested in streamlining your operations and achieving better financial results without the constant grind, get in touch today to schedule a consultation and learn how we can help. Let’s create a plan that allows you to thrive personally and professionally. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Luis Benitez Luis Benitez, Founder & Owner Luis Benitez is a dynamic leader known for his resilience, determination, and passion for business. Migrating to the U.S. as a child, he faced immense challenges, sacrificing a “normal” teenage life to work multiple jobs while attending school. At 18, he underwent brain surgery, forcing him to put his college dreams on hold. After navigating personal financial struggles, he seized the opportunity to complete his degree while gaining hands-on experience in construction accounting. Today, he is the Owner of LGB Strategic Solutions, an accounting and business strategy firm dedicated to transforming how businesses and individuals achieve financial growth. His mission is to foster growth through insight and innovation.

Justin Gillespie, LMSW-Clinical and ADHD-CCSP, is a licensed clinical social worker, author, and viral content creator known for his work on ADHD, neurodivergence, and overthinking as the founder and CEO of Superior Center, a Michigan-based therapy practice. Justin and his team specialize in supporting individuals with ADHD across the lifespan through evidence-based and practical approaches that go beyond traditional therapy. His mission is to help clients and audiences everywhere learn how to think less, live more, and embrace their authentic selves without shame or guilt. Justin Gillespie, Therapist, Business, & Career Coach What inspired you to launch Superior Center and specialize in ADHD and executive-functioning support? Superior Center was born out of a conversation I had in 2019 with another healthcare provider I worked alongside – someone who also had ADHD. We were noticing that specialty practices and agencies were popping up everywhere, but ADHD was consistently missing from the conversation. It was often treated as an add-on, not a focus. That moment stuck with me. Even before the pandemic, it became a personal and professional goal of mine to create a space specifically for people with ADHD – a place where they could thrive, build fulfilling careers, strengthen their families, and create businesses and lives that actually work for their brains. How do you differentiate Superior Center from other ADHD assessment and therapy providers? I consider Superior Center a pioneer in Michigan when it comes to ADHD-focused care. From the very beginning, ADHD was not an afterthought or something we added later to cast a wider net. We knew exactly who we wanted to serve and built the practice intentionally around that population. Our goal has always been to provide high-quality, specialized care for people with ADHD rather than trying to be everything for everyone. What is the most common myth about ADHD you encounter, and how do you help clients overcome it? The biggest myth I encounter is that ADHD is a motivation or discipline problem – and it’s not. Another common misconception is that people with ADHD need to learn how to multitask better. When you actually look at the neuroscience, multitasking doesn’t really exist. What’s happening is rapid task-switching, and that constant switching often overstimulates ADHD brains and reduces productivity. We help clients understand that focusing on one thing at a time is often far more effective. If someone is switching tasks, it should be intentional and supportive – not mistaken for productivity. For someone who suspects they have ADHD but hasn’t been assessed, what is your first recommendation? I encourage people to first ask themselves what the ADHD label actually means to them. For some, a diagnosis provides clarity, validation, and a roadmap for support. For others, the label itself isn’t as important because they already know what they struggle with. Before pursuing an assessment, it can be helpful to reflect on how ADHD is impacting your life and what kind of support you’re actually looking for – whether that’s therapy, coaching, lifestyle changes, medication, or a combination of those. How do you tailor your therapy or coaching approach for different ages and life stages? With adults, much of the work centers on accepting their ADHD identity and unpacking years of internalized shame. For kids, the work is more lighthearted and skills-based – focusing on emotional regulation, executive functioning, and providing support to the family system. The approach shifts depending on developmental stage, but the goal is always the same: helping people function better in their real lives. Can you describe the process and benefits of your ADHD assessment and what clients walk away with? Our ADHD assessments are comprehensive, but they’re also human and ADHD-friendly. They’re designed to be simple, efficient, and respectful of how ADHD brains work. We don’t just look at scores – we look at the person’s story. Clients walk away with clear answers, a detailed explanation of how ADHD shows up for them (or confirmation if it’s being ruled out), and realistic, actionable recommendations. It’s never just “here’s a diagnosis, good luck.” What role does medication play in your practice? Medication plays an important role in our practice. We have a prescriber on our team and maintain strong relationships with other prescribing providers in the community. Medication is often an essential piece of the puzzle, but we view it as part of a broader, integrated approach that includes therapy, skill-building, and lifestyle support. How does Superior Center help clients who are overwhelmed but want to turn their ADHD into a strength? I don’t focus on turning ADHD itself into a strength. Everyone already has strengths. Some people view ADHD as a gift, while others experience it as deeply challenging – and both perspectives are valid. For me personally, ADHD isn’t something I label as positive or negative; it’s simply something I have. The real work is helping clients identify and lean into the strengths they already possess, many of which were developed because they learned how to adapt to their ADHD, not because of it. What measurable outcomes or changes do you aim for when working with clients at Superior Center? We look for increased follow-through, reduced overwhelm, improved emotional regulation, and a stronger sense of self-trust. Success isn’t perfection – it’s consistency, clarity, and confidence. When clients stop asking, “What’s wrong with me?” and start asking, “What works for me?” we know the work is effective. How do you make it easy and accessible for someone to work with you? We prioritize accessibility by offering both in-person and telehealth sessions, accepting multiple insurance plans, and keeping our onboarding process straightforward. Everything can be done online, and we make getting started as simple as possible. Anyone who completes a consultation with me receives my direct number, and I make it a priority that clients can access leadership. I believe it’s important for people with ADHD to know they can reach the humans behind the practice. If someone reading this interview is ready to take action now, what should they do today? They should visit my website and explore the options available. We have a strong team of therapists who can help, and even when we refer out, we’re committed to getting people connected with the support they need – whether that’s with another provider or us. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Justin Gillespie

Written by Hendrina Sterling Rodriguez, Psychotherapist | Clinical Hypnotherapist | Estate & Life Transition Guide Hendrina Sterling is an award-winning therapist, speaker, and founder of Mind Empower Therapy. She helps high-achievers and couples transform emotional pain into clarity, resilience, and purpose. Do you constantly feel drained despite your best intentions to help others? Discover how over-giving silently depletes your life force and how you can reclaim your energy, balance, and sovereignty. The silent burnout of over-giving For years, I dedicated my life to helping others heal, grow, and thrive. As a psychotherapist, I held space for hundreds, listening deeply, guiding them through heartbreak, grief, and transformation. On the outside, I had everything a professional could want: success, recognition, and impact.   But beneath the surface, something darker was happening. I wasn’t just supporting clients, I was absorbing them. Their fears, their pain, their shadows, they all became a second skin I didn’t know how to take off.   This is the hidden truth of over-giving. It isn’t just about saying “yes” too often. It’s about unconsciously giving away your energy, piece by piece, until there’s nothing left for yourself, your family, or your own dreams.   The paradox: Giving more, feeling less You don’t need to be a healer or leader to understand this. Many of us over-give: Parents who pour everything into their children but never refill themselves. Professionals who always go the extra mile at work, but collapse at home. Friends who carry everyone’s burdens while their own needs remain invisible. We live in a culture that glorifies self-sacrifice and labels boundaries as selfish. Yet the paradox is clear: the more we over-give, the less present, joyful, and effective we become.   Over-giving doesn’t make you noble, it makes you depleted.   The new paradigm: Energetic sovereignty What I discovered is that energetic sovereignty is the true currency of wellbeing. Just as you wouldn’t run a bank account into the red, you cannot endlessly spend your emotional and energetic reserves. Energetic sovereignty means: Protecting what comes into your field. Setting boundaries not just with time, but with attention and emotional availability. Leading your life from a full cup rather than running on empty.   When you reclaim sovereignty, you stop living in reaction to others’ demands and start magnetizing opportunities, relationships, and experiences that nourish you.   Practical steps to stop over-giving Here’s how you can begin reclaiming your energy today:   Audit your energy: Where do you feel consistently drained? Which relationships, tasks, or habits leave you hollow instead of full? Set boundaries with love: Saying “no” is really saying “yes” to your wellbeing. Boundaries are not rejection; they are containers that protect your light. Redefine giving: True giving doesn’t mean depletion. It means offering from overflow, not obligation. Monetize your peace: If you’re a professional, explore ways to share your wisdom without burning out in online courses, communities, or creative projects. Prioritize self-restoration: Daily rituals, whether it’s journaling, meditation, or simply walking in nature, are not luxuries. They are your foundation.   Why I built the IF Wellbeing Hub This awakening led me to create The IF Wellbeing Hub, a global online community where healing, reflection, and growth happen at your own pace, without draining your energy.   Inside the Hub, you’ll find self-paced courses such as: The Art of Emotional Hygiene. Managing Anxiety and Panic Attacks. Healing Through Inner Child Work. Resilience & Stress Management Tools. Mindfulness & Hypnosis. Community to support and cherish your wins.   It’s not just another program, it’s a space designed to help you reclaim your energy, reset your boundaries, and build emotional resilience. A place where transformation is affordable, accessible, and aligned with sovereignty.   The invitation If you find yourself constantly giving without receiving, ask: Am I pouring from an empty cup?   Your well-being is not selfish; it is essential. Because when you are whole, nourished, and sovereign, the love and light you give to others flows effortlessly. I invite you to join us inside   The IF Wellbeing Hub . And if you’d prefer one-to-one tailored guidance, you can always connect with me directly here , because you were never meant to burn out.   You were meant to shine sovereign, whole, and overflowing. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Hendrina Sterling Rodriguez Hendrina Sterling Rodriguez, Psychotherapist | Clinical Hypnotherapist | Estate & Life Transition Guide Hendrina Sterling is a multi-certified therapist, transformational speaker, and the founder of Mind Empower Therapy. After delivering over 3500+ therapy sessions on BetterHelp and serving 10+ years in the NHS, she now supports clients globally with trauma-informed coaching, relationship repair, and emotional breakthroughs. Named “Online Therapist of the Year 2024/25” by Prestige Awards (UK), she blends psychology, hypnosis, and coaching to help individuals rise from burnout and rebuild from heartbreak. Her signature Phoenix Series™ speaks to the soul of healing.

Written by Asha Carolyn Young, Instructor and Practitioner of Healing Arts Asha Carolyn Young offers remote energy healing and emotional processing sessions for well-being. She teaches online Quantum-Touch® workshops and broadcasts self-healing information on News For The Soul radio. She also coaches freestyle painting. There it is again. Every time you think of him, her, them, or that, your stomach twists, your jaw tightens, or your forehead pounds. The same physical discomfort shouts out every time you think of the topic. These uncomfortable feelings may have been around for a long time, and you’ve learned to brush them aside and carry on. But there’s no need to keep suffering. With Emotional-Physical Processing, relief is often just minutes away. What is emotional-physical processing? If you research the subject, you’ll find many methods of “emotional processing,” each offering therapeutic approaches for calming emotions and each coming from slightly different angles. The modality I’m sharing here differs from these, and I call it “Emotional-Physical Processing.” It is a simple, quick method of self-healing in which a person fully focuses their consciousness on an area of bodily discomfort associated with stressful thoughts. A round of this clearing takes anywhere from a few minutes to about 15. The late psychiatrist and spiritualist David R. Hawkins describes essentially the same approach in his book Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender . Hawkins had been a practicing psychotherapist for over 40 years, yet he compared psychotherapy to this approach as being like horse and buggy to traveling by spaceship. His comparison underscores how quickly and thoroughly the surrendering process can quell and clear emotions and their physical counterparts, areas of discomfort in the body. Hawkins used the surrendering method on himself and others as part of addressing serious physical illnesses unresponsive to treatment. (He also advocated forgiveness for healing stubborn illnesses.) Practitioners of The Wonder Method have founded their own emotional processing approach, which makes teachable Hawkins’s approach as described in his book. How does emotional-physical processing bring relief? This simple process works by bringing relief to your cells, atoms, and quantum-level particles in your body. Trauma created by your own habitual upset thinking about a topic gives rise to disturbances and creates discomfort for these minute parts of you. By intentionally and fully feeling the sensations in your body with focus and steadiness, you can calm these body particles, all of which have consciousness, to the point where all discomfort dissipates and fades away entirely and permanently. You’ve heard the phrase “cell memory.” Emotional-Physical Processing is a way to acknowledge the caged, traumatic memory in your body, leading to freedom from discomfort and transformation toward greater well-being. And it only takes minutes. How is “letting go” part of emotional-physical processing? Letting go is the essence of Emotional-Physical Processing because you agree to be with and stay with your sensations in particular areas of your body until all discomfort fades away. You engage in letting go as you accept and acknowledge the area of discomfort and agree to just be with it. The area of discomfort will also let go, ultimately surrendering itself and fading away. We all tend to shove uncomfortable thoughts aside, suppressing them in endless clever ways. All this eventually leads to backed-up emotions. Those unhappy emotions, perhaps layers of them denied release for decades or even lifetimes, find ways to express themselves in our bodies, creating discomfort and eventually illness. The discomfort, or uncomfortable sensations, arise when you have thoughts about a specific topic. The stomach ache you feel every time a certain person confronts you, the heart palpitations you feel before giving public speeches, the way your hand quivers when you contemplate quitting cigarettes, all these physical sensations connect to specific thoughts. Can I do emotional-physical processing by myself? You can definitely do this processing by yourself. However, you might want to work with a coach like myself to guide you through the steps the first time. Most people can easily process their own emotions once they’re shown how. The technique is safe, gentle, and natural, an innate human ability akin to meditation. You only need some courage and commitment to stay with uncomfortable bodily sensations, feeling them in-depth until they dissipate, leaving you feeling peaceful. Tips for doing emotional-physical processing on your own If you’re trying this on your own, plan to process for only about ten minutes at a time. If you haven’t felt relief, stop and give yourself a dose of self-love for your effort. You can return to processing that topic at a later time. Every effort given to this processing adds toward your relief, so no time is wasted if you must stop before fully clearing away all discomfort. This is a gentle technique, and you want to keep it appealing and inviting for yourself so you will want to return to it when you need to clear uncomfortable emotions. No need to force outcomes. Especially if a traumatic topic has been with you for decades, give it a couple or a few rounds of processing over the course of a few days. When first trying out this technique, choose a topic that isn’t your biggest or scariest issue. Practising with less intense issues will help you learn to relate to your body’s sensations and how to stay with uncomfortable sensations in a steady, friendly, loving way. Because topics can have references to other topics, it’s best not to practise Emotional-Physical Processing when you’re about to sleep. While this processing is gentle, new, thought-provoking issues can occasionally come up. Steps for emotional-physical processing The following steps can be done in a couple of minutes or up to about 15 minutes. 1. Find your trigger topic Emotional-Physical Processing requires you to deeply feel any uncomfortable sensations that arise in association with a disturbing topic. So, you first need to identify the bothersome, irritating, or painful thought or trigger topic. Ask yourself, “What’s upsetting me lately?” If you have several issues, write them down. You will probably find that just momentarily thinking about these topics brings up discomfort somewhere in your body. Remember to choose a topic of lesser intensity to start with for practice. Bring that thought up into your mind and gnaw on it for a few seconds. 2. Feel your bodily sensations Next, let go of the thought and drop down into your body with your consciousness and search for an area of discomfort in your body. For example, you might feel pressure in your solar plexus. If there is more than one area emitting discomfort, go to the most uncomfortable place first. Feel the sensations there as fully as possible. Continue feeling and staying with the sensations. Notice precisely what the sensations feel like. Tingling? Wave-like? Burning? Palpitating? Heating up? Aching? Periodically remind yourself that it is safe to feel since these are only sensations. Exactly where are the sensations? Are they in a central area or widening? Intensifying or softening? Has the discomfort moved to another area of your body? For example, you might first feel aching in your central abdomen, then notice the aching moves to your chest or throat. If the discomfort moves, take your consciousness and awareness to the new area and begin feeling sensations there. Emotional discomfort rises up for people in many places, stomach, solar plexus, chest, heart, neck, or chin, to name a few. Stay with the sensations as long as they emit discomfort of any sort. Understand that fully feeling the sensations is what will soon liberate you from the discomfort. Allow any emotions to come up, such as sadness or grief. Notice and acknowledge those feelings and any insights you receive, then return to feeling the sensations in your body. 3. Communicate with your body While you’re feeling sensations in an area of your body, you might want to reassure the cells, atoms, and quantum-level particles with messages like, “I feel you. I’m with you. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here. I hear you.” Sometimes you will receive a message from your body. Take note of it. Messages can relate to what your body wants and needs for greater health, vitality, and joy. You might receive a clue about how to live your life more happily. Listen for possible messages and continue feeling the sensations as fully as possible. Cells, atoms, and quantum-level particles in our bodies are similar to children eager for our attention. As we focus fully on them in a friendly way, feeling their discomfort and reassuring them that we are here, we discover they settle down. They soften, then are gone, leaving us with deep peacefulness, often quite profound. Topics sometimes have branches, and new issues can come up during Emotional-Physical Processing. For example, you might do a round of processing related to your brother and discover you have unresolved issues with your mother. No worries. You can process emotions related to her at a later time. 4. Give love to yourself As you sit with the sensations, they will eventually soften and fade away, bringing peace to you. Whether you’ve felt this peace or not, after about ten or fifteen minutes, stop the processing and give yourself a big dose of love. After all, you have had the courage to delve into uncomfortable feelings and stay with them, even if painful. If it’s difficult for you to give yourself love, imagine yourself as a child and give love to your child self. Love is our most powerful healing vibration, and invoking it packs in even more healing energy to this process. On a new path When you reach the peaceful state of Emotional-Physical Processing, be assured you have stepped onto a brighter life path. Changes are permanent, according to most people who have used the method. Whenever you think of “that topic,” you will simply feel neutral, maybe even cheerful. Without the old physical discomfort, you’ll think of that topic in fresh, new ways, easily forgiving any situations and people involved, including yourself. You may find yourself thinking about many things in invigorating ways. Some people report unexpected auxiliary healing after Emotional-Physical Processing, such as no longer experiencing motion sickness or fear of heights. Rewards of emotional-physical processing Simply by deeply feeling the stuck, uncomfortable sensations in your body and staying with them until they dissipate, you can liberate yourself bodily, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally in an array of ways, most of them unintended and all of them beneficial. In my experiences of guiding many people through the simple but profound steps of Emotional-Physical Processing, results have often been wondrous. Consistently, people report relief from uncomfortable, distressed, even torturous feelings they’ve endured, sometimes for decades. Most report never again having the same discomfort in their bodies in association with the original trigger topic. A sense of detachment often replaces the original angst. Clear, new outlooks replace formerly distressed thinking. If you’re new to Emotional-Physical Processing, I welcome you to try a session with me coaching you. Once you’re familiar with this simple, life-changing process, you can use it for a few minutes daily or whenever you need it. There’s no need to be stuck in grief, anger, fear, or sadness when you can let go with a round of Emotional-Physical Processing. Visit my website  for more info! Read more from Asha Carolyn Young Asha Carolyn Young, Instructor and Practitioner of Healing Arts Asha Carolyn Young is a practitioner of intuitive energy healing and emotional processing. She offers remote sessions for people and pets; teaches online workshops for Quantum-Touch®; and bimonthly broadcasts self-healing information on News For The Soul radio. A painter and author of three art-related books, Asha also guides people to engage in creative expression for health and happiness.

Written by Asha Carolyn Young, Instructor and Practitioner of Healing Arts Asha Carolyn Young offers remote energy healing and emotional processing sessions for well-being. She teaches online Quantum-Touch® workshops and broadcasts self-healing information on NNews For The Soul radio. She also coaches freestyle painting. Have you assumed energy healers are specially gifted people, perhaps born with unique psychic sight, specially charged hands, or privileged connections to the spirit realm? That’s what I thought for decades, but the truth is, most anyone can learn to offer healing energy to themselves and others, including animals. How easy is it to learn? As a certified practitioner and instructor of Quantum Touch® energy healing, I’ve joyfully watched students learn techniques in a matter of hours, enabling them to help themselves and classmates achieve relief from ailments such as lower back discomfort, aching feet, and wounded heart chakras. It’s exhilarating to see students master techniques during a weekend workshop, which lasts just 12 hours. What’s Quantum-Touch®? Quantum-Touch® is a five-level program founded by Richard Gordon in the 1970s. The particular modality of Quantum-Touch® that students first study is "Level 1, Becoming Energized," which covers fundamentals used throughout the program. All Quantum-Touch® techniques are remarkably easy to learn and accessible to most everyone, even children can learn them. And they are extremely powerful, even capable of helping people align their own hips and spine, for instance. Is energy healing new? Energy healing is an ancient art that’s been part of human experience since the beginning of time. Shamans and spiritualists of all cultures have practiced forms of it over the centuries. It’s something of a lost art that’s now being rediscovered with gusto. Energy healing encompasses many techniques and approaches, but generally, it involves directing Life Force Energy, recognized throughout the world (for example, it’s called chi in Chinese, prana in Hindi), with loving intention. How does it work? The basic principle of all energy healing is that the recipient is the true healer. The practitioner offering energy is merely a conduit for Life Force Energy and love. This principle is especially wonderful because practitioners always remain humble, knowing it isn’t us who do the healing, but rather the magnificent Inner Healer of the recipient, which is connected to the vast intelligence of the universe. A person or animal’s Inner Healer brilliantly uses the received energy in the utmost beneficial ways possible. Results can be miraculous, as well as surprising, when areas other than those of main concern also attain well-being. For example, I might offer energy to your aching shoulder, but if your Inner Healer deems your lungs need energy, you’ll receive beneficial results there too. Well-being is achieved through resonance and entrainment. As the practitioner steadily breathes, cultivates Life Force Energy, and focuses with loving intention on the area of concern, cells and quantum-level particles within the recipient’s body resonate with this positive energy, entraining to higher vibrational patterns. This results in the raising of the vibration of ailing areas, bringing greater overall harmony to the body, mind, and spirit of the recipient. With increased vibrational levels and harmony, the recipient’s body can better self-heal. What about remote healing? One of the most amazing aspects of Quantum-Touch® is the ability to offer energy remotely, or from a distance. Because this energy healing modality works at a quantum level, practitioners can offer healing energy to people or animals as far away as the other side of the globe with as much effectiveness as in-person, with hands-on healing. It’s inspiring for both practitioners and recipients to discover this possibility, signifying the magnificence of our universe and our connectedness as beings. Both practitioners and receivers come to realize our universe abounds with limitless, friendly, healing energies. Is energy healing safe for practitioners? When practicing Quantum-Touch®, practitioners don’t lose energy or pick up ailments. The techniques boost the practitioner’s vibration; so, instead of being drained when offering healing energy, we feel more energized and even receive healing ourselves. What’s more, the breathing patterns we use help increase our lung capacity the longer we practice energy healing. Does energy healing work with Western medicine? Quantum-Touch® complements the work of Western doctors and other healers. We frequently help people and animals preparing for or recovering from surgery, those on western medicine regimens, and those receiving acupuncture or taking herbs. Quantum-Touch techniques enhance other healing approaches because they serve to harmonize the body and raise the vibrational frequency of areas suffering from discomfort or illness. Is energy healing for real? If all this sounds too good to be true, you’ll have to try it out for yourself! When you do so, you’ll find most anyone can become an energy healer. If you have a desire to help yourself and others attain greater well-being, I recommend taking a Quantum-Touch® “Level 1” workshop so you can experience the ease and fun of using these simple and powerful techniques. I welcome you to find a workshop with me and get started. Energy healing might seem like magic, but it’s really just part of what it is to be human in this vast, loving universe. Visit my website  for more info! Read more from Asha Carolyn Young Asha Carolyn Young, Instructor and Practitioner of Healing Arts Asha Carolyn Young is a practitioner of intuitive energy healing and emotional processing. She offers remote sessions for people and pets; teaches online workshops for Quantum-Touch®; and bimonthly broadcasts self-healing information on News For The Soul radio. A painter and author of three art-related books, Asha also guides people to engage in creative expression for health and happiness.

Written by Denzil Tafadzwa Tanyanyiwa, Global Strategist | Founder | CEO Denzil T. Tanyanyiwa is the Founder of Linkmount Global Network and Executive Director at Solicitude for Orphans Children Support Group. He serves as the Chief Executive Officer of AfriCan Bioenergy Corporation. A visionary leader committed to sustainable development, innovation, and building impactful networks. With a strong focus on diplomacy (including commercial diplomacy across Africa), and fostering Global partnerships and Investor Relations. Denzil champions initiatives that empower communities and drive meaningful social and economic impact. Africa’s green industrialization is not being shaped solely at global summits, but in practical conversations where policy, industry, finance, and communities meet. Anchored in Zimbabwe, this article explores how locally driven collaboration, trust, and execution are laying the foundation for sustainable energy, job creation, and national green industrial projects aligned with Vision 2030. Why the table matters Africa’s green industrialization feels like it is starting in places you would not expect. Not at the big global summits with cameras flashing and long speeches. More often, it begins in quiet rooms, offices, boardrooms, or community halls far from capital cities. Places where people actually sit down and talk things through. I have come to believe that where those conversations happen matters just as much as who is in the room. We cannot rely on speeches alone to drive a green transition. Words matter, but they are not enough. What really moves things forward is trust. The ability to connect governments with industry, finance, and communities in a way that feels practical and grounded. The people who lead this work are not always the loudest or the most visible. They are usually the ones who can bridge gaps, bring very different interests together, and keep everyone focused on shared problems instead of competing positions. Anchoring green industrialization in Zimbabwe That way of thinking is part of why AfriCan Bioenergy Corporation chose to anchor its green industrialization efforts in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe sits at a unique point of opportunity. It has abundant natural resources, an industrial base that once played a strong role in the economy and could be revitalized, and a deep pool of technical skills built over decades. At the same time, it faces a real and urgent need for energy solutions that support sustainable economic growth rather than short-term fixes. What makes Zimbabwe particularly compelling is the chance to build green industrialization from the ground up. Instead of forcing new ideas into systems that are already exhausted, there is room here to design things more deliberately. To think about energy, industry, jobs, and communities as part of one connected picture rather than separate pieces. I may be oversimplifying, but transformation rarely starts with grand declarations. It starts with honest conversations. Policymakers, engineers, financiers, entrepreneurs, and local communities are asking a simple question together. What can we build that will actually last? That question sits at the heart of green industrialization. Clean energy projects that do not create jobs tend to lose support. Industrial strategies that ignore communities often stall. Climate commitments that never turn into factories, infrastructure, and livelihoods remain theoretical. Real progress requires all of those elements to move together. Throughout history, meaningful change has often begun at a table where partnerships were formed, risks were shared, and new economic models took shape. Africa needs more of those tables today. Not tables reserved only for presidents and chief executives, but spaces that include technicians, regulators, entrepreneurs, financiers, and community leaders. People who understand both the technical realities and the human ones. Zimbabwe offers a grounded place to do this work seriously, not as a testing ground for ideas developed elsewhere, but as a co-creator of Africa’s green industrial future. Every generation faces a choice. Wait to be included in global transitions or take ownership of building them. Green industrialization in Africa will succeed where it is rooted locally, where people listen carefully, and where action follows conversation. Progress is not only about who speaks. It is about who listens, who connects, and who delivers outcomes that people can see and feel. From conversation to national projects This same thinking shapes the Zimbabwe 2030 Green Industrialization initiative. It is not an event, and it is not a slogan. It is a strategic consortium built around collaboration, credibility, and execution. The aim is to mobilise investment, support technology transfer, and ensure that value is added locally so growth shows up in factories, farms, and communities rather than remaining trapped in reports. At its core, Zimbabwe 2030 Green Industrialization is about moving from plans to action. It is about putting forward clear and credible pathways that governments, development partners, and investors can engage with seriously. These are not abstract ideas. They are national projects designed to create jobs, build skills, and strengthen Zimbabwe’s position in the green economy. Three flagship national green industrial projects aligned with Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 anchor this approach. The first is a 37MW biodiesel hybrid microgrid designed as a pilot commercial and industrial cluster. Its purpose is to provide reliable, clean power for production, reduce energy risk for businesses, and build local fuel supply chains that support ongoing employment. The second is the AGINC nopal to hydrogen hub. This is an agro-industrial model that links regenerative agriculture to green hydrogen and clean fuels. It is designed to support farmers, strengthen rural value chains, and open practical industrial uses for hydrogen based on local inputs. The third is the AI and Carbon Data Centre developed in partnership with the University of Zimbabwe and global cloud infrastructure. This centre focuses on green data, carbon reporting, research, and skills development. It connects digital capability with climate accountability and industrial decision making, so Zimbabwe owns not only its energy systems but also the data and knowledge around them. These projects are national in scope, but they all return to the same simple idea. Progress happens when the right people sit at the same table. Policymakers, engineers, financiers, technologists, and communities are working through real trade-offs together. This is an open invitation to partners who want to be part of Zimbabwe’s green industrial transformation in a serious and long-term way. Those who understand that trust is built through delivery and that lasting impact comes from shared ownership rather than quick visibility. For partnership enquiries and accreditation, interested parties can reach out through AfriCan Bioenergy Corporation’s coordination team. Project materials remain internal and non-public until venues and legal frameworks are fully confirmed. That discipline matters. Because in the end, how the table is set still determines what gets built. Discover more: AfriCanBioenergyCorporation | Instagram | LinkedIn | Website Read more from Denzil Tafadzwa Tanyanyiwa Denzil Tafadzwa Tanyanyiwa, Global Strategist | Founder | CEO Denzil T. Tanyanyiwa is a Global Strategist, High Representative for Strategic Partnerships & African Advancement, and CEO of AfriCan Bioenergy Corporation. He is also the Executive Director at the Solicitude for Orphan Children Support Group. Through his work, Denzil champions inclusive development, entrepreneurship, and diplomatic collaboration across Africa and the global South.

Written by Jack Rasmussen, American Author and Actor Jack Rasmussen is a leader in the worlds of performance science, the food industry, religion, education, and entertainment. Growing up in Silicon Valley and studying Business, Cinema, and Journalism at the University of Southern California has allowed him to explore creative pathways to raise people's vibration and meta-awareness within their respective fields. Sports logos are far more than visual symbols. They are carefully crafted tools of psychology, identity, and storytelling. This article explores how iconic team logos evolved, how color and design shape emotional loyalty, and why strong visual identity has become a cornerstone of modern sports branding and global recognition. Introduction: The power of visual identity as brand equity Sports logos are far more than simple emblems, they are potent instruments of visual communication, functioning as the quintessential motif for a team's history, geographic location, and underlying competitive spirit. In the high-stakes world of professional sports, where the core product is built on emotional loyalty and identity, the logo serves as the primary rallying point for fans, a central element of the team's intellectual property, and a critical component of its global brand identity. The selection of colors, the crafting of iconography (mascots and symbols), and the styling of typography are meticulously considered psychological tools. They are designed to evoke specific, immediate feelings, such as strength, tradition, speed, or civic pride, and to maximize instant recognition and reproducibility across all media platforms, from stadium banners to digital scoreboards. Global icons: Case studies in enduring design and origin stories While many regional teams achieve high levels of local recognition, the true genius of sports logo design is revealed when an emblem transcends its specific league or geographic location to become a universally recognized global brand. These iconic insignias are not merely identifiers, they are compact visual narratives, maximizing recognition across decades through a combination of simple, powerful iconography, consistent historical narrative, and profound cultural resonance. New York Yankees (MLB): The interlocking classic The New York Yankees logo, specifically the interlocking “NY,” stands as arguably the most recognizable and successful piece of sports iconography worldwide. Its success lies in an enduring design that blends sophistication with an unparalleled winning tradition. Origin: An emblem of civic honor. The famous logo was not initially conceived for the baseball team. According to MLB, its origin traces back to Louis B. Tiffany (of Tiffany & Co. fame), who designed the emblem in 1877 for a medal commissioned by the New York City Police Department. This medal was awarded to Officer John McDowell, the city's first police officer shot in the line of duty. The Yankees formally adopted the design in 1909 as a memorial patch worn on the sleeve of their uniforms, following the tragic death of co-owner Bill Devery, honoring both him and the spirit of New York City service. Design rationale: Sophistication and authority. The emblem utilizes an elegant serif font N and Y, intertwined in a manner that suggests stability, tradition, and an unbreakable foundation. The sophisticated lines elevate the design beyond typical athletic branding. The color scheme, navy blue and white, is clean, authoritative, and timeless, purposefully avoiding trendy or aggressive palettes. This simplicity is crucial, it allows the logo to be perfectly reproduced across all mediums, including uniforms, caps, and merchandise, while embodying the team's relentless pursuit of success and its historical gravitas. Enduring impact: A global fashion statement. The “NY” symbol is unique in that its cultural impact far exceeds its athletic context. It is not merely a team identifier, it is a global fashion statement, a symbol for New York City itself, and an internationally recognized emblem of prestige and aspirational success. This demonstrates how a simple, well-designed logo can evolve into a timeless cultural artifact.[1] Chicago Bulls (NBA): Aggression and dynamic simplicity The Chicago Bulls logo is a high-water mark for clarity and dynamic tension in sports branding, conveying power and aggression through minimal visual elements. Origin: The requirement for ferocity. Designed by commercial designer Dean P. Wessel in 1966, the logo was created with a very specific and uncompromising mandate, the bull must not look “cute.” The team was established to represent the raw, hardworking, and competitive spirit of Chicago's industrial and meatpacking heritage, demanding a powerful mascot. Design rationale: Symmetry and dominance. The design features a stylized, charging bull's head, instantly evoking strength and primal ferocity. The primary color is a bold red, which universally reinforces aggression, passion, and danger. The sharp, downward-pointing horns suggest dominance and readiness to attack. The genius of the design lies in its nearly perfect symmetry, which lends balance and stability while still conveying motion. Simple white accents highlight the eyes and snout, giving the bull an intense, focused, and unforgettable gaze. It is an icon that reads instantly and effectively at any scale. Enduring impact: A symbol of competitive zenith. The logo has remained virtually unchanged since its debut, a testament to the effectiveness of its initial conception. Its international profile exploded during the team’s dominant era in the 1990s, when Michael Jordan’s global stardom cemented the emblem as an international symbol of competitive excellence, tenacity, and athletic supremacy.[2] Montreal Canadiens (NHL): Tradition and unwavering identity The logo of the Canadiens de Montréal, formally the Club de Hockey Canadien (CHC), is defined by its bold, traditional form, serving as a powerful visual anchor for deep French-Canadian heritage and the history of ice hockey itself. Origin: A century of evolution. The current interlocking “C” and “H” (for Club de Hockey Canadien) is the result of slight but consistent evolution over more than a century. The recognizable shield, in its earliest form, first appeared in 1917. The logo’s design intentionally reflects the deep, almost institutional tradition of the franchise, which is one of the oldest and most successful organizations in professional sports history. Design rationale: Civic pride and historical shield. The colors, a bold primary red and a contrasting blue, are historically linked to national colors from both the French and Canadian flags, effectively conveying civic pride and tradition. The structure of the logo is key, the central “H” is contained within a large “C,” representing an unbroken connection to the team’s founding identity. The heavy, circular border reinforces the idea of a cohesive, united club and functions as a historical shield, implying protection and endurance. It serves as a coat of arms for the province. Enduring impact: Cultural and linguistic identity. The Canadiens' logo is a profound example of brand stability. Its resistance to modern, trend-driven redesigns has ensured its status as a timeless symbol. It represents far more than a hockey team, it embodies a cultural, linguistic, and regional identity for its fan base. It stands as a powerful and emotionally charged banner for Quebec, demonstrating the unique power of sports design to merge athleticism with history and politics.[3] Bay Area icons: A deep dive into color and regional identity The professional sports franchises of the Bay Area, a region known for innovation and distinct cultural identities, showcase a rich spectrum of design choices where color selection is fundamental to establishing and reinforcing their unique identities. San Francisco 49ers (NFL): The legacy of the Gold Rush The 49ers logo utilizes a powerful and highly traditional color palette that directly connects the team to the pioneering history of California. Element Color Psychology/meaning Branding impact Primary Red (Scarlet/Cardinal) Connotes power, aggression, passion, and high energy. In sports and military history, red is associated with warfare, dominance, and the lifeblood of competition. Establishes the intensity and competitive drive essential for professional football. This deep, rich red reinforces a sense of strong tradition and enduring power, resonating with the team's historical success. Secondary Gold (Metallic/Shimmering) Represents success, prosperity, achievement, and premium quality. Crucially, it directly symbolizes the 1849 California Gold Rush, which is the origin of the team's namesake. Adds a sense of classic prestige and high-value branding. The metallic sheen in modern applications reinforces the pursuit of championship "gold" and elevates the logo above simple primary colors, linking the brand to affluence and victory. Golden State Warriors (NBA): Modernity, motion, and civic pride The Warriors' brand identity focuses on a sleek, dynamic, and forward-looking aesthetic, emphasizing their regional identity and recent championship era. Element Color Psychology/meaning Branding impact Primary Royal Blue Signifies trust, stability, intelligence, and confidence. Used widely to suggest reliability and, in a team context, superiority and dominance on the court. Projects a modern, technologically savvy, and dynamic image. The blue connects metaphorically to the Pacific Ocean and the skies of the Bay, while representing the team's commitment to high-level execution and professionalism. Secondary Gold/Yellow Implies optimism, clarity, warmth, and excitement. It is the international color most associated with winning, energy, and trophies. Provides essential high contrast and visual punch, making the logo vibrant and energetic. It translates exceptionally well onto television broadcasts and athletic apparel, ensuring maximum visibility and marketing appeal. San Francisco Giants (MLB): Timeless tradition and historic contrast The Giants' logo is a masterclass in classic baseball branding, utilizing a historical color pairing that is instantly recognizable and steeped in nostalgia. Element Color Psychology/meaning Branding impact Primary Orange (Burnt/Bright) Evokes enthusiasm, determination, and creativity. While sometimes associated with value or energy, in this context, it is a deeply rooted, historical legacy color brought from their New York origins. The color is distinctive within Major League Baseball, setting the Giants apart. It symbolizes the team's enduring history and connection to its past while radiating a lively, accessible energy. Secondary Black Conveys sophistication, authority, strength, and timelessness. It is used structurally to anchor the logo and provide maximum contrast against the orange and the white ball. Establishes a classic, no-nonsense, and powerful aesthetic. The black gives the brand gravity and respect, ensuring the logo appears authoritative both on the field and in merchandising. San Jose Sharks (NHL): Aggression, uniqueness, and the ocean depth The Sharks' logo utilizes one of the most distinctive palettes in professional sports, strategically leveraging color to reflect both their identity and their regional environment. Element Color Psychology/meaning Branding impact Primary Teal (Pacific/Oceanic) A unique color that suggests calm, stability, and sophistication, but is specifically chosen here to provide a clear, visceral connection to the cold, deep Pacific Ocean. The teal is highly distinctive across all professional leagues, immediately linking the team to its aquatic namesake and the Northern California coast. It creates an unforgettable, signature look against the stark white of the ice. Secondary Black & Orange Black for strength, danger, and the deep unknown. Orange for high-contrast visibility and to symbolize the glow of light filtering through the deep sea or a striking warning color. The combination enhances the predatory nature of the shark icon and the high-speed intensity of ice hockey. The orange ensures the visual elements "pop" against the teal, black jerseys, and the white ice surface. The broadcast revolution: ESPN, SportsCenter, and the transformation of logo design The emergence of 24/7 sports broadcasting, particularly the influential presence of networks like ESPN and their flagship program, SportsCenter, marked a fundamental shift in the media landscape. This change imposed new technical and aesthetic requirements on professional sports logos. The demand for on-screen graphics, high-definition highlight packages, and ubiquitous merchandise visibility created three crucial design imperatives that forced teams across all leagues to update and streamline their identities. 1. Simplification and scalability for screen readability In the previous era dominated by print media, such as newspapers and programs, logos could afford to be intricate, featuring complex details, shading, and ornate typography. The transition to television and later to digital platforms required logos to perform effectively under entirely new conditions. The technical constraint: Logos must be instantly recognizable and legible when dramatically scaled down, whether for a score overlay in the corner of the screen, a lower-third graphic identifying a player, or a small thumbnail on a mobile app. The design solution: ESPN’s visual identity standards indirectly drove a move toward simplification. Teams began shedding complexity, prioritizing clear and bold lines, geometric shapes, and highly contrasting color palettes. Excessive detail, subtle gradients, and complex mascots were stylized into simpler forms or eliminated to ensure instant recognition at low resolution and high speed. This standardization was critical for efficient broadcast production. 2. The dominance of color branding and instant association Television is an inherently color-driven medium, and the continuous coverage provided by ESPN amplified team color palettes as the ultimate non-verbal differentiator. Color as identity: The moment a viewer sees the combination of scarlet and gold for the 49ers, royal blue and gold for the Warriors, or Pacific teal for the Sharks, they immediately associate those colors with the corresponding team, even if the logo itself is partially obscured. Subconscious cementing: ESPN and SportsCenter played a pivotal role in embedding these palettes into the fan’s subconscious through repeated use of team colors in set design, animated graphics, and broadcast transitions. This process made color combinations as essential to team identity as names or mascots. 3. Merchandising, digital integration, and commercial value Consistent television exposure transformed logos from simple emblems into valuable commercial assets, driving a global retail market. Apparel and retail impact: Logos needed to be visually appealing, balanced, and easily reproducible across merchandise ranging from fitted caps and jerseys to glassware and digital skins. ESPN’s promotion of sports culture, combined with highlight-driven marketing, solidified logos as central drivers of a multi-billion-dollar licensing industry. Digital adaptability: Modern logos must translate seamlessly from large-scale applications, such as jerseys, to compressed digital formats like social media profile images, mobile app icons, and streaming platform menus. This necessity has driven the shift toward clean, vector-based designs that scale without loss of quality. Color is the fundamental bedrock of professional sports identity. It acts as an immediate psychological trigger, communicating tradition, aggression, heritage, or regional connection before any other design element. In the modern era of high-speed digital media, reliance on color has intensified, as its simplicity and scalability make it the most durable and recognizable aspect of brand identity. Ultimately, successful sports logos synthesize form and hue. They use color to anchor narrative, differentiate globally, and cement identity. For fans, color becomes the emotional expression of loyalty and history, making mastery of color in logo design synonymous with mastery of modern sports branding itself. Follow me on Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Jack Rasmussen Jack Rasmussen, American Author and Actor Jack Rasmussen is a leader in the worlds of performance science, the food industry, religion, education, and entertainment. Growing up in Silicon Valley and studying Business, Cinema, and Journalism at the University of Southern California has allowed him to explore creative pathways to raise people's vibration and meta-awareness within their respective fields. He is the award-winning author of Fine Dining: The Secrets Behind the Restaurant Industry (2022) and Yin Yang: The Elusive Symbol That Explains the World (2023). He has worked with the National Science Foundation, California food banks, and international directors to help alleviate food waste and teach cultural literacy, among other expressions of his storytelling interests. He wants to continue to help serve and inspire global citizens to explore the unexplored and become more cognizant of and comfortable with their authentic presence through sharing his own. His artistic aim stays true: spread thought-provoking peanut butter and connective jelly. Works cited: [1] Hoch, Bryan. “ NYPD & Tiffany: The Story behind Yanks’ Logo .” MLB.com , MLB, 14 Feb. 2023. [2] Jackson, Alice. “ Chicago Bulls Logo: Unveiling The Fascinating Story .” Designhill, 4 Aug. 2025. [3] Titov, Aleksei. “Montreal Canadiens Logo.”  1000 Logos The Famous Logos and Popular Company Logos in the World Montreal Canadiens Logo Comments , 4 Aug. 2025.

Written by Virginie Simon, Founder of Simon&Co | PR Ninja | Mental Health Advocate Virginie Simon is a PR ninja, able to navigate complex situations and get desired outcomes with creativity and agility. She runs Simon&Co, a global award-winning agency based in Switzerland, and is a mental health advocate and trainer. As we close the year, artificial intelligence has firmly settled into the everyday reality of public relations. Not as a distant revolution, but as a tool already shaping how we think, write, analyze, and decide. AI has become a powerful ally in day-to-day PR work. It can help structure ideas, act as a briefing partner, generate first drafts, analyze large volumes of data, and accelerate processes that once took hours. Used well, it saves time, sharpens focus, and frees mental space for what truly matters. But AI is not, and should not be, the strategist. Public relations has never been about producing content alone. At its core, PR is about understanding context, political landscapes, social dynamics, cultural sensitivities, power structures, public perception, and human behavior. These layers require judgment, intuition, experience, and ethical awareness, qualities no algorithm can fully replicate. The real expertise of today’s PR professionals lies in knowing how to work with AI, how to refine prompts, interpret outputs, question angles, and adjust narratives based on real-world implications. Without human oversight, AI-generated content risks becoming generic, tone-deaf, or disconnected from reality. Strategy does not come from information alone. It comes from perspective. Another shift is already underway. Clients now have access to increasingly sophisticated tools themselves. They can generate content, analyze trends, and test messaging independently. This is not a threat. It’s an opportunity. The role of PR agencies is evolving from execution to accompaniment. More than ever, the value lies in coaching, advising, challenging, and guiding. Companies don’t want to pay for hidden hours or black-box processes anymore. They want transparency. They want to understand why certain strategies work, not just see the outcome. They want their internal PR and communication teams to grow alongside external experts. This evolution requires a fundamental mindset shift within agencies. Less gatekeeping and more knowledge sharing. Less focus on time spent and more focus on strategic impact. AI forces an honest evaluation of added value. If content can be generated faster, then the role must move upstream, toward strategic thinking, crisis anticipation, reputation management, ethical positioning, and long-term alignment between values and actions. PR agencies that cling to old models risk becoming obsolete. Those who embrace AI while doubling down on human intelligence will thrive. The future of PR isn’t about choosing between AI and humans. It’s about understanding their respective roles. AI supports. Humans decide. AI accelerates. Humans contextualize. AI produces. Humans lead. And that is exactly where public relations must stand as we move into the year ahead. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Virginie Simon Virginie Simon, Founder of Simon&Co | PR Ninja | Mental Health Advocate An expert in public relations (PR) and brand development strategies, Virginie Simon has built up a solid network and experience over more than 15 years. She started her career managing one of the largest redundancies to date in Switzerland and launched communication actions in over 35 countries. Since 2015, she has been running Simon&Co, a global award-winning PR agency based in Switzerland. Her innovative vision of PR is based on empowering clients instead of capturing them and including mental health at the heart of corporate strategies.

Written by Jeanette Walton, Career Brand Consultant Jeanette is spreading the word about the essentiality of career branding for all professionals. As a Career Brand Consultant, she has pioneered a career branding framework, amongst other educational resources, to amplify the use of career branding to cut through and stand out. I’ve been doing a fair bit of reflecting, reconsidering, and reminiscing as another calendar year comes to a close. What has worked well for me as both a business and a brand in 2025, and what hasn’t worked so well? What could I change or improve in the new year? And what should I keep pushing forward with in 2026? As a sole-trading business owner for 15+ years, I understand how important it is to keep refreshing and redirecting, to ensure that you remain contemporary and that you communicate commitment, agility, and ongoing understanding to target audiences. “Your career is like a garden. It can hold an assortment of life’s energy that yields a bounty for you. You do not need to grow just one thing in your garden. You do not need to do just one thing in your career.” – Jennifer Ritchie Payette, co-author of Modular Career Design Foundational branding While I have continued to expand my brand channels and business offerings in 2025, experimenting with additional options such as writing for Brainz Magazine, starting The Human Behind the Career Brand podcast, and facilitating presentations and workshops for academic and other professional audiences, there is one element that has maintained a steady heartbeat in terms of my brand and business’s vital signs. And that’s my career brand, which I formulated and started to apply a couple of years ago. Sure, I may continue to tweak the bylines and corresponding service offerings, but my core branding is Career Brand Consultant. This not only helps me maintain clarity and consistency as I continue to extend myself professionally, but also informs and inspires my corresponding promotions and interactions. Inner and outer recognition In the often-replicated, Bible-affiliated line spoken by Kevin Costner’s character in the late 1980s movie Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come,” the core message was that effort and belief will deliver positive outcomes. That what you reflect from within to without will become your reality. The establishment of a well-defined career brand aligns with this analogy. In addition to spurring self-confident strides forward, it will escalate brand reach and engagement. The more you speak about and exemplify a career brand that you feel proud and loud about, the higher and wider you’ll go in terms of achieving professional targets and aspirations. In particular, the more target audiences will become convinced that your brand and business are the real deal. Some of the core benefits of developing and demonstrating a right-fit career brand include: Stronger self-recognition and self-belief in what you have to offer Clarification of what brand promotional content should align with Deeper resonance and relatability among primary target audiences Foundational drivers that will continue to extend your brand reach It’s also digitally attuned On average, we have around 5 to 7 seconds to translate scan readers into longer-term viewers. Then there are the digital algorithms we need to accommodate if we want to ensure we’re discovered in online searches. That’s another benefit of establishing a clear, consistent, and constant career brand, in that it minimises the likelihood of confusion and delusion, not to mention disillusion, that can arise from unclear or mismatched business and brand content. Not only will human readers quickly ascertain who you are and what you have to offer, but digital detectors and transmitters will also know how to connect and interact with your content. Bricks-and-mortar approach to building long-term relevance No matter the type of business, it’s a bricks-and-mortar, build-up approach that ensures you remain relevant and viable, one where career branding is used as the underpinning. A value-add lesson for me in 2025 has come via the regularly sold-out professional networking group that I’ve co-founded and co-hosted in my hometown of Melbourne. It has reinforced that it’s essential to lay strong foundations of business or brand values, purpose, and principles before you start promoting, progressing, and evolving. Not only to keep you focused and self-assured, but also to convey that you know what you stand for, and that your efforts will remain meaningful and impactful. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn ,  and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Jeanette Walton Jeanette Walton, Career Brand Consultant Jeanette is a Career Brand Consultant who helps professionals worldwide to enhance their career prospects. To address a gap in the market, she designed a career branding framework that helps professionals design and apply their own unique career brand. She also avidly writes articles, newsletters and eBooks, features on podcasts, partners with industry alliances, and delivers educational presentations on the benefits of career branding. In her spare time, Jeanette fosters dogs, visits an aged care resident, and co-facilitates a LinkedIn Local networking group.

Written by Aaron Rusnak, Innovation Tennis Coach Aaron Rusnak is a 30-year tennis industry leader, mentor, and innovator recognized for shaping elite player and coach development through his forward-thinking methodologies, data-driven, and mentorship initiatives. At seventeen, one unexpected coaching assignment quietly reshaped how I understood leadership. What began as a simple tennis class became a defining lesson in empathy, creativity, and human connection, shaping a lifelong philosophy rooted in coaching the person first and recognizing that true impact extends far beyond performance, titles, or results. From a young age, I dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player. I trained relentlessly, structured my life around competition, and believed that playing at the highest level would define my future. Yet even as I pursued that dream, something else was quietly developing within me. By the time I was thirteen, I already loved coaching. My first coach, a female professional who worked with me early in my development, recognized this passion before I fully did. She didn’t just see a young athlete, she saw someone who genuinely cared about helping others learn and improve. At seventeen, coaching felt like something I did between tournaments, not my future. I taught toddlers, middle school players, and adult beginners at a club nearly an hour and a half from home. My full-time coach at the time consistently challenged me, reminding me that if I couldn’t help beginners improve, I would never fully understand how to help advanced players grow long term. “Great coaches are built by learning to serve others before serving their own ambition.” One Saturday afternoon, my coach assigned me a class without telling me what level it would be. When a small yellow bus pulled into the parking lot, I immediately knew this session would be different. One by one, players stepped off, each with unique physical, cognitive, or developmental challenges. Standing there, I felt unprepared, anxious, and deeply responsible. That day, coaching stopped being about instruction and became about empathy. With the help of an assistant, I designed creative lessons focused on consistency, engagement, and confidence, adapting every activity to the individual. I learned that creativity, patience, and belief could unlock potential where traditional instruction often falls short. “The most meaningful victories often have nothing to do with the scoreboard.” Week by week, I watched confidence replace hesitation. Players became more engaged, more empowered, and more proud of what they could accomplish. When the program ended, families shared how meaningful the experience had been for their children. Decades later, those players remain vivid in my memory, having shaped who I am as both a coach and a person. As my career evolved, I realized my greatest impact would come from helping other coaches grow. When you coach coaches, your influence multiplies, extending into families, communities, and future generations. That experience at seventeen continues to guide me today. I believe leadership begins with understanding the person in front of you, how they think, how they learn, and who they are beyond the surface. Growth does not come from comfort, but from curiosity, empathy, and the courage to lead with purpose. Follow me on Instagram ,  LinkedIn ,  and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Aaron Rusnak Aaron Rusnak, Innovation Tennis Coach Aaron Rusnak is a 30-year tennis industry leader, coach, and inspirational speaker known for developing players and coaches at every level of the game. As Director of Private Instruction at Five Star Tennis and founder of Innovation Tennis Coaching, he blends data-driven performance with mentorship and leadership education. A former USTA Pro Circuit competitor and GPTCA ATP Tour Coach, Aaron's passion lies in helping others grow through connection, purpose, and self-belief. Through his inspirational speaking, educational programs, and The Ripple Effect Podcast, he continues to empower coaches and players worldwide to lead, learn, and make a lasting impact both on and off the court.

Written by Veronica Hislop, Founder of Em-Powered Pens As the founder of Em-Powered Pens, author Veronica Hislop aims to empower her readers to heal, grow, and thrive. A trained professional, she is committed to guiding her audience through a transformative journey of resilience and self-discovery, unlocking their full potential. When I sat down to speak with civil engineer Margaret Briegmann for my video interview, Girls & Engineering: Let’s Talk, I expected a career story. What I heard instead was something far more important. Margaret’s journey into civil engineering is a story of curiosity protected, confidence built over time, and learning how to belong in spaces not designed with women in mind. Her experience mirrors what so many girls face today, and it highlights why now is a critical moment to change how we support girls in the area of STEM. This is not just her story. It’s a blueprint. Why girls lose confidence in STEM Girls don’t begin life doubting their abilities in science or math. In early childhood, their curiosity is just as strong as boys. But somewhere between elementary school and adolescence, that curiosity often starts to fade. Girls notice who gets called on. Whose ideas are praised. Which scientists and engineers appear in textbooks, movies, and classrooms. Over time, many internalize the message that engineering and STEM careers are not meant for them. The cultural image of an engineer still skews male, rigid, and emotionally distant. For many girls, that stereotype quietly signals exclusion before they’ve had a chance to explore their interests fully. Girls don’t disengage from STEM because they aren’t capable. They disengage because confidence erodes in environments that fail to reflect or support them. Without intentional intervention, this leads to fewer girls in high school physics, fewer women in engineering programs, and fewer female voices shaping the world we live in. A childhood curiosity that was never taken away Margaret’s story could have followed that same path, but one thing made the difference. “I never lost interest in how things worked,” she told me. “I loved building, playing with LEGO, and exploring maps. I was lucky. No one ever told me those interests weren’t for me.” That kind of encouragement, or even simple neutrality, matters more than we often realize. Margaret’s experience contrasts sharply with that of many girls who begin questioning themselves not because they lack ability, but because they feel invisible. Curiosity thrives when it’s protected. When it isn’t, it slowly disappears. Why female representation in engineering changes everything Representation isn’t just about visibility. It’s about permission. When girls see women designing hospitals, planning cities, leading infrastructure projects, and shaping sustainable communities, something shifts. Engineering becomes imaginable. Attainable. Human. Margaret spoke openly about how diverse teams create better engineering outcomes. When women and underrepresented voices are included, solutions reflect real lives, not just theoretical ones. Who better to design safer public spaces for women than women themselves? Who better to influence sustainable infrastructure than those who understand the human impact of inequity? Inclusion is not a favor. It’s a strategy. As the world grapples with climate change and aging infrastructure, women in civil engineering are not optional. They are essential. How one role model can change a girl’s entire future Margaret still remembers the moment everything shifted. A science teacher introduced her to a female engineer. “The first time I met a woman engineer, it changed everything,” she said. “I suddenly realized I could design cities one day.” That single interaction reframed engineering from something distant and masculine into something creative and meaningful. “That teacher changed my trajectory,” she reflected. “He helped me see engineering as a space for creativity.” Her path wasn’t easy. University brought dismissive professors and moments of isolation in male-dominated teams. Instead of walking away, Margaret focused on learning. “I became really good at what I did. Confidence came with competence.” Over time, mentorship, peer support, and strong relationships helped her build a sense of belonging without losing herself. Today, she speaks candidly about how inclusive environments allow women to thrive, not just survive. Margaret never planned to be a role model. She became one simply by staying. How parents and educators can support girls in STEM early The foundation for STEM confidence is laid long before college applications. Parents, educators, and mentors shape how girls see themselves in relation to science, math, and engineering. Drawing from the Empower Your Girl in STEM Checklist , here are three powerful ways to support girls early on: Encourage hands-on exploration: Offer opportunities to build, tinker, and problem-solve through kits, outdoor projects, or creative challenges. Curiosity builds confidence. Actively challenge STEM stereotypes: When STEM is framed as “for boys,” counter it with real examples of women thriving in engineering and technology. Connect girls with female mentors: Meeting women in STEM helps girls bridge the gap between interest and belief. Margaret credits her parents with something simple yet transformative. “They didn’t know much about engineering,” she told me, “but they never told me I couldn’t do it. That belief was enough.” Why stories matter more than statistics Data can inform, but stories create change. When a girl hears a woman speak passionately about designing cities or solving structural challenges, engineering becomes relatable and alive. Stories help girls see themselves in futures they may never have imagined. That’s why conversations like Girls & Engineering: Let’s Talk matter. As Margaret said so simply, “We remember stories, not numbers. We remember moments that made us feel seen.” Changing the narrative of who becomes an engineer Margaret Briegmann’s story is part of a larger cultural shift, one that’s expanding who gets to innovate and lead. By amplifying stories like hers, we challenge outdated systems and remind institutions that diversity is not symbolic. It’s foundational to innovation, resilience, and progress. Girls need to see themselves reflected in the future of engineering. When they do, retention improves, creativity flourishes, and the field itself evolves. A call to action: Watch, share, and start the conversation Change begins with awareness, and awareness grows through shared stories. Watch the interview. Share it. Talk about it with your daughters, students, classrooms, and colleagues. Help girls see engineering not as a foreign world, but as a language they already speak through curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving. If you’re a parent, ask your child what they would build if they could redesign their city. If you’re an educator, bring stories like Margaret’s into your curriculum. If you’re an engineer, consider becoming a visible mentor. You can watch the full interview here , because Margaret’s story isn’t just about a career in civil engineering. It’s about creating pathways. And those pathways can lead more girls toward confident, empowered futures in the world of engineering. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Veronica Hislop Veronica Hislop, Founder of Em-Powered Pens Veronica is a multi-genre author focused on empowering readers to navigate life’s challenges with grace and strength. Whether guiding adults through difficult conversations, supporting men in grief, or nurturing the self-worth of young girls, her work is grounded in emotional intelligence, psychological insight, and real-world application.