Focus October 2018

B E V E R LY H I L L S | B R E N T W O O D | M A L I B U | W E S T H O L LY W O O D | S A N T A M O N I C A

COMMUNITY POWERED

FILMMAKER, CEO PASSIONFLIX

TRACEY BREGMAN

OCTOBER 2018 | FOCUSMAG.US

TOSCA MUSK

EMMY AWARD WINNING ACTRESS

LARRY NAMER

CO-FOUNDER E! ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK

CARLY SPINDEL

MATCHMAKER, DATING AND RELATIONSHIP EXPERT

ROMANCE ISSUE

ROB MACK

HAPPINESS COACH, CO-HOST, GOOD MORNING LA LA LAND

LORI HARDER

AUTHOR, SELF LOVE SPECIALIST

CONTRIBUTORS

Jezlan Moyet Jezlan Moyet is an entertainment correspondent based in LA. A Michigan girl at heart, she has brought her Mid-Western charm from runways around the world to the red carpet. Her passion is to create and tell unforgettable stories. Jezlan is a Co-Producer/ Host of Good Morning LaLa Land.

Tambi Saffran (Stollman) Tambi grew up in NY. She left a producer job at MTV to start a family. Returning to her passion of producing and music, Tambi is currently producing a documentary called She Rocks! about female guitarists. In her spare time she enjoys being a mom, hiking, boxing and live music. instagram.com/just_tambi

Wendy Brokaw Kretchmer Wendy is an editorial producer at CNN but considers her most important job to be raising her 2 girls. Her rare spare time is spent on a multitude of passions including fundraising, cancer awareness, fitness, and her guilty pleasure – Pinterest. instagram.com/wendbrokaw

Suzan Brittan A Southern California resident, but forever native New Yorker, started in Los Angeles as a singer/songwriter/ actress. However, to pay for luxuries like rent, a car and food, she climbed many corporate ladders and climbed right back down. She finally found her niche and outlet as a creative and non-fiction writer. imdb.com/name/nm1483913

Janet Gunn a Texas gal, born and raised, currently soaking up the sun in Southern California and day dreaming of life in Italy. I love jazz, scarves, Diane Keaton movies, fitness, flowers and creating in my kitchen. gratefulgardenia.com

Michelle Gillette Certified Martha Beck Life Coach Owner of Thrive + Fly Coaching Over 10 years experience in personal growth, health & wellness. thriveandfly.com

Melissa Meyers As a tastemaker and lifestyle blogger, Melissa’s passion is to share her best-kept beauty, style and wellness secrets with other women to enhance and simplify their lives. Through her experience as Founder of AskMelissa, PageDaily and now her personal blog Melissa Meyers Glow Girl, Melissa has spent over 15 years sharing valuable tips and product picks to help women with everything from selecting the best skincare lines to chic activewear, street style and healthy eats. melissameyers.net

Samara Zelniker Samara Zelniker is dedicated to creating a platform for leaders to reach their infinite potential. With over a decade of experience in yoga, meditation and mindfulness, her focus lies in applying these age old concepts to modern day life. Samara works with individuals and businesses, highlighting their innate talents, guiding them with ease to the practical application of their strengths. She helps them make a shift from a life of burnout and stress to one of fulfillment and ease. She focuses on mindset, health (diet and exercise) relationships and career. mindfulnessmatters.ca

Shirin Yadegar Shirin Yadegar is the Founder of LA Mom Magazine. The mission of the magazine is to empower moms to feel self-confident about the decisions they make for their families. lamommagazine.com aims to help thousands of moms find the products and services they need to make motherhood easy and fun. lamommagazine.com

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Community powered.

Editor in Chief Andrew Waldman andy@focusmag.us Managing Editor Jezlan Moyet Assistant Editor + Designer Ava Mauriello Focus TV Editor/Hosts Tambi Saffran Alex Wehrley Janet Gunn Tanya Memme Michelle Gillette Wendy Brokaw Kretchmer Miranda Montenegro Staff Writers Felicia Waldman Suzan Brittan Photographers Gerald Lerner Dalen Muster Ben Shani Dana Adams Videographers Dalen Muster Racquel Levin Ben Shani Focus TV Production Victoria Simone Gee Gina Moreno Evan Waldman Sally Colón Winston Moore Publisher + Creative Director Mark Castellino Copyright 2018 by Focus Media Agency.

Focus (ISSN 2328-1359). Please do not reproduce any of the content without permission. Subscription and distribution inquiries: promo@focusmag.us

EDITOR’S LETTER

Dear Readers, We had a lovely time gathering material for our Romance issue of FOCUS. Here in LA, there is no shortage of love experts, coaches, and matchmakers. It seems everyone works hard to improve their personal relationships, and in turn, when they work on themselves it leads to to success in their lives. Experiencing love and building healthy relationships is what makes the world go round – with a smile. As summer vacation season ends, it’s back to school for many, back to focusing on various forms of personal success.

We are proud to have connected with some powerhouses in the entertainment world for your inspirational reading pleasure.

This issue’s cover feature is the extraordinary Tosca Musk. Having grown up with entrepreneurial brothers, Elon and Kimbal, it was no wonder Tosca triumphed in her own right, as a renowned filmmaker and tv producer. To celebrate our Romance issue, we are thrilled to have a very personal look into her life and latest passion project: Passionflix – a streaming network of romance novels and love stories. Also featured in this issue is our very own host, Rob Mack, the always inspiring love, happiness and life coach from E’s Famously Single. His advice for success in life and love is based on his book, Finding Happiness From The Inside Out. We have jam packed our issue with love and business success stories. Our list of featured personalities is impressive and includes Larry Namer, founder of E!, actress Tracey Bregman of The Young and The Restless fame, actress Sheree Wilson of Dallas fame and Lori Harder, model, author and ‘love specialist’ with tips for successful business and romantic relationships.

Wishing you success in love and life, The Focus Team

ISSUE 29

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The Master Key to Life and Love

BY ROBERT MACK

The only reason you want anything in the world is because you think you’ll feel better for having it. You think you’ll be happier for it.

At the end of the day, it’s really a feeling you’re after, whether you realize it or not. If you didn’t think you’d feel better or happier for achieving, accomplishing or acquiring whatever it is you think you want, you wouldn’t want it, period.

Since happiness is the ultimate goal of everything you want in life, happiness is the ultimate success in life. It really is the greatest success in the world.

But happiness isn’t only the greatest success; happiness also leads to success, too. It leads to all of the other, more worldly forms of success we traditionally think of, too.

The most recent research from positive psychology agrees.

It suggests that happiness leads to practically anything and everything we want in our lives, including love.

In other words, contrary to popular opinion, love doesn’t lead to happiness; happiness leads to love. So if you want to find love, true love, being happy is the single best, most efficient, most effective, most enjoyable way to do it.

I

want to tell you something about life and love that 99.9% of people don’t know, (or may have known at some point but have long forgotten), wouldn’t believe if they did know, (or remembered), and most certainly wouldn’t apply if they did know and did believe.

And I’m going to tell you in the simplest way humanly possible.

Here it is...

No matter what you want in the world, happiness is the key to getting it. No matter what you want to achieve, accomplish or acquire in life, including love, happiness is the way to achieve, accomplish and acquire it.

Let me explain...

Still not convinced? Take these research findings into consideration...

1. Happy people get married earlier, stayed married longer and are happier in all their relationships - whether they are married or not – than their unhappy counterparts.

2. Happy people are perceived and rated as more attractive than their unhappy peers. Simply put, happiness makes you more attractive; it makes you more beautiful in the eyes of other people.

3. Happy people are kinder, more generous, and more charitable than unhappy people. In other words, happy people are more loving than unhappy people. And truly loving people - those who don’t simply love to get loved but love for the joy of loving - more easily and effortlessly attract people into their lives than unhappy, unloving people.

Bottomline: Happy people are better, more enjoyable company.

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4. Happy people are more successful and make more money ($600-700k) over the course of their lifetime than their unhappy colleagues.

get along with yourself, and you might as well learn how to do that sooner than later!

Please remember this simple thing: If you’re not happy with yourself, you won’t be happy anywhere in the world, no 5. Happy people live longer (6-7 years longer), healthier matter where you go... with anybody in the world, no matter lives, and they bounce back from illness and adversity of all who you’re with... and for any reason in the world, no matter kinds faster than their unhappy counterparts. what that reason is... because you take yourself with you wherever you go!

So, if you want to put yourself in the best possible position to find love - get married, stay married, and simply enjoy This isn’t just a popular trope! This is true, this is real life! healthy, happy relationships with others, whether you want to be married or not - and you want to be more successful, “But how,” you ask. “How do I get happy, Rob?” make more money, be a better person, and live a longer, healthier life, too... get happy!

Well, I’m glad you asked! I just happen to be an expert on that, on unconditional happiness! Coincidence? Obviously Of course, I can hear the retorts now... not.

“But Rob, are you saying that I have to be happy WITHOUT love to find a lover, that I have to make peace with NOT having a partner to find a partner, that I have to be ok with NOT having what I want to get what I want?”

Umm... yes!

I know that happiness seems like a high price to pray for love (and health, beauty, money, success and long life), my friends - ha ha! - but it’s the only sure-fire way in the world to guarantee both a happy journey and a happy ending, pardon the pun!

Happiness, then, means finding a way to be happy without a romantic partner. It means finding a way to be happy even in your aloneness.

If you can do that, not only will you (a) be happy even now while you’re waiting for a partner, but you’ll also (b) attract a partner more quickly and easily AND (c) be a lot better company when that partner gets here! In other words, you won’t be that desperate, needy, co-dependent partner that everybody wants to run from!

Do you understand?

Being happy in the way that I mean it, then, means being happy alone; it means being alone but not feeling lonely, per se. It means being happy with your own company.

Let’s face it: If we can’t be happy with our own company, how can we expect anybody else to enjoy happy with our company? How can we ask anybody else to enjoy our company when even we can’t do that?

Remember: You’re the only person in the world you can’t divorce. You’re stuck with you! So you might as well learn to

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Here’s how...

First, prioritize your happiness above everything and everybody else in the world. Prioritize your happiness even above love, above finding a partner.

Think about it: If you have love but you’re miserable, is your love really worth anything? To me, unhappy love is worthless.

Worse than that, it’s a problem! It’s downright dangerous!

Have you seen those true crime murder mystery shows? Have you noticed how many of those crazy killings are motivated by “love”? I’m sorry, but that’s not love in my book. Only happy love counts as real love in my book.

Love without happiness is worthless, but happiness - even without love - is priceless! It “buys” you more of everything you really want in life, including things that can’t be purchased at all like beauty, health, long life, and yes, love, too. If you’re happy, you’ll attract a lover in time if that’s your desire. You’ll see.

Happiness is the real prize; happiness - and everything that comes with it - is priceless. Even the richest, most successful people in the world can’t buy happiness. We only have to remember Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain to be reminded of the truth in that statement.

So make happiness your top priority, no matter what. Make no exceptions. Let nothing and nobody come between you and your happiness. If even one person, place or thing comes before your happiness, you’ll never be truly, deeply, consistently, unconditionally happy... and you’ll have a heck of a hard time finding true love - happy, healthy love - too.

Trust me, I’ve tried. We’ve all tried.

Second, educate yourself. When we know better, we do better.

Learn what does and doesn’t lead to happiness. And make sure you’re learning from genuinely happy people. Seriously, this point can’t be overstated.

Third, practice. Practice makes progress, if not perfection.

In the beginning, everything is hard; everything takes effort.

With deliberate practice, however, everything becomes easy, everything becomes effortless. That’s because, over time, you literally rewire your brain for happiness.

If you want, imagine that that breath is either the first breath you’ve ever taken in your life or the last breath you’ll ever get in this life, and milk that single breath for every drop of joy you can get out of it!

There’s no wrong way to do this, and there’s no right way to do this. The only goal is simply to ENJOY, to enjoy that breath as much as humanly possible without letting too many - or any thoughts get in the way.

You don’t need to know a whole lot to be happy. In fact, like most things in life, less is more. If you know one major principle, for instance, and apply it fully, deeply and consistently, you can transform your whole life in a way that few other people have or will.

As Bruce Lee said, “Fear not the man who has practiced 1,000 kicks once. Fear the man who has practiced one kick 1,000 times.”

To do this, really focus on the sensations.

The more you engage your senses - and the less you engage your thinking - the more you’ll enjoy that breath.

Here are a few other tips and tricks for finding happiness (and, therefore, love!): 1. Exercise your body. Exercising 30 minutes a day is the equivalent to taking an anti-depressant. In other words, NOT exercising is like taking a depressant. Yes, exercise is that powerful! It has that much of a positive effect on our psycho-emotional or subjective well-being, on our happiness.

2. Rest your body. This goes without saying, but it’s hard to change your unhappy thoughts, words, and actions into happy ones when your tired. There’s simply not enough energy to persist.

3. Exercise your mind. By this, I mean: Practice positivity.

Intentionally, deliberately and consistently seek out, think about and talk about the best parts of everything and everybody. Focus on your favorite aspects of every person, place, and thing. And don’t stop until it becomes a habit.

Remember: What you appreciate, appreciates. It increases in value. What’s more, appreciation is attractive. It attracts positive people and positive things. Plus, it makes you feel good, and it’s so good to feel good, isn’t it?

4. Rest your mind. In other words, meditate! You don’t have to go away on a silent retreat, and you don’t have to sit in the lotus position in the dark for hours at a time. No, simplify practice what I call “micro-meditations.”

As often as you can remember throughout the day – and no matter what else you happen to be doing – simply take one consciously joyful breath. Just one. And try to enjoy that breath as deeply and fully as you can.

With consistent, joyful practice, this single practice will be more transformative than anything else you could do.

It will be more helpful than even the most rigorous sitting meditation practice you could pursue, because with this one practice you are actively weaving a meditative approach into your daily activities, something that even the most experienced meditators struggle to do.

Without unhappy thoughts, it’s impossible to be unhappy; it’s impossible not to be happy.

And when you’re happy - truly, deeply, unconditionally happy - love is right around the corner.

And so is health, wealth, and everything else you’ve been trying so hard and long to achieve in your life.

Aren’t you ready to give all that struggling and striving up?

Aren’t you ready to take an easier, more effortless, more enjoyable path to realizing your dreams?

Get happy and let the rest take care of itself - that’s all I’m saying.

If you need more tips and tricks, call me - I’m *happy to help!

@robmackofficial coachrobmack.com

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TRIBE - The Secret To A Thriving Business And Romantic Relationship

BY LORI HARDER

C

will take commitment and vulnerability, and that my friend, all it a tribe, crew, posse, squad or is where we usually stop ourselves from following through on mastermind – if you don’t have pursuing the magic of a real tribe. one, life may not be feeling as Why do we need a tribe? awesome as you thought it would – no matter how much outward success you have What’s your story? experienced.

Look, if you’re anything like me, you could find any Before you go saying my title is a BS bait title, let’s assess what justification as to why you don’t have a group of deeply connected or supportive relationships – but no matter how I’m talking about when I’m talking tribe. shiny and valid your answer appears it still doesn’t give you A tribe is not your hundreds or thousands of “friends” online what you need. or a group text thread that you speak emojicon to. It’s not We need to start by changing the lenses of how we perceive the people you write long messages, emails or dm’s. It may not even be the friends that you go to girls/guys night with… our relationships. What story do you tell yourself? My story was that ‘women friends are exhausting, they are catty, Now, I’m not trying to complicate your life, but I am trying to clarify why you may not be feeling as connected or clear in they will hurt me or abandon me. I have my husband (who I relied on for all conversation and processing). I get along your relationships and on your path. better with guys, and I’m better off alone.’ I had a myriad of stories that I would interchange to fit whatever scenario was The kind of tribe I’m talking about is a chosen group of going down. I was an expert at fooling myself into validating friends who not only respect you, but they challenge you, my void of sisterhood or any real tribe connection for that hold space for you and support your goals as if they were matter. their own. A thriving tribe has agreements, structure, boundaries and you all agree that it is a safe space to Not only did I feel lonely, I was starting to resent my husband use the relationships to practice love, forgiveness, clear communication and trying on new versions of yourself. You because I wanted him to be everything for me. I was completely oblivious to how he processed and what role he all agree to hold each other to the standard you desire and played best, because I needed him to not only be my leading also remind each other of your brilliance when you’ve lost man, but also my entire supporting cast. We were speaking your spark or feel beat down by the outside world. You have two different languages in certain areas and I was getting a set meeting time (no need to start sweating, it’s only every other week or once a month for an hour) you all show up for frustrated and so was he. each other, and you set and abide by agreements.

This doesn’t just apply to spouses – this could be that you’re relying on your bestie, a parent or a sibling for everything.

If it sounds too good to be true, it’s only because you may No one person can be everything for us. That’s an exhausting not have seen examples of this or you just don’t know how and impossible expectation and soon they will feel the to create it. What I’m about to share is not for people who pressure and you will feel disappointed. You or they will be are dabbling in connecting, or people who think it sounds let down if this is going on or if you are the person getting interesting. This is for people who want to take their lives, relationships, health and business to the next level. This is for relied upon. people who are NOT ok with mediocre or feeling average.

Why do we stop ourselves?

This is for those who know there is more inside of them, those who can’t die without living out their dreams. It’s for those who want to thrive in all areas and finally feel free to be Just like our stories, we stop ourselves because we are afraid.

We are afraid because we’ve been hurt before. We create any the highest and most authentic versions of themselves. This

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story that makes us feel safe because at the end of the day we just want to be loved and accepted. Any experience outside of that id going to set off our built in instinct to flee.

The problem with listening to those alarms is they were there to keep us alive when we felt fear – and since relationships can be scary, they set this alarm off and the only way to reprogram yourself is to create the opposite experience than the hurtful one you’ve had by reacting differently to the fear going straight for the resistance, keeping your heart wide open and changing our story.

How do we start?

First, we change our story. I literally had to tell myself that every person I met was my teacher and had either a miracle or a lesson for me. I can’t begin to explain what happens when you truly allow yourself to lean into this and drop the walls.

To be honest, I’m really looking to create a group of friends that are looking for more connected relationships where we support each other when and where we need it most. We are all on a mission and don’t have a lot of room for more friends but I believe intentional relationships where we connect once or twice a month for short period of time and discuss how we can support each other and what lights us up will add massive value for everyone.

If this sounds good to you – awesome! If not and it’s just not a good time for you – I totally get it and don’t take it personal!

Just know I respect who you are and all you do.

Much love, Lori So now that you have a place to start – it’s time to begin. You have to start before you feel ready. Get ready to truly “not take it personal!”

Next, I had to know rejection and getting hurt was a part of real connection, and I had to understand that it was ok if I’m not for everyone – in fact it’s awesome. I only want to be around people who are excited to be around me. It’s exhausting trying to please people and be someone you think they want you to be. I’ve learned that relationships don’t end the way we desire – some people leave in a huff or leave a big open loop that feels painful but our work is to forgive them or ourselves and learn to let go, forgive and choose to send them love and compassion on their journey. Look, I know not everyone deserves this but truthfully, as many mentors who have gone before me say – forgiveness is not about letting them off the hook, forgiveness allows you to release them and frees you. So backwards, I know, but this is the secret sauce ya’ll.

In my book “A Tribe Called Bliss” I give you tons of scripts like the one above to not only connect but also set boundaries and handle rejection in a loving way.

Lastly, we need to learn how to reach out, get clear on what we desire and clearly communicate expectations, and you don’t stop asking until we create what we want. If I hear, “Lori, I reached out to people and it didn’t work,” I know that you are the block - #sorrynotsorry! You need to understand, you have the power and always have. I reached out to over fifty women before I found one that I truly locked arms with.

It’s like dating for your friends.

Podcast: EarnYourHappy.com

I also give you a structure of how to create agreements and structure so these “meetings” are for the long haul.

Here’s the truth – if you want to live longer, be happier and have a thriving business and relationship – we need each other.

All research is pointing to needing to feel supported and connected. No one can do that for us except for us and I have all the tools waiting for you in the book.

Events: TheBlissProject.info Watch her interview: focustvnetwork.com/goodmorninglalaland

Here’s the message that I slid into myriads of dm’s: “Hey____ I love what you stand for and I completely align with your message. I really respect how you show up in the world and would love to see if there is any way I could support you in your work. I would love to meet for coffee/juice or a workout and chat. I now you’re super busy so we can make it 30 minutes or less! http://LoriHarder.com

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Tips to Keeping Romance Alive from a Relationship Dating & Relationship Expert

BY CARLY SPINDEL

2. Take Advantage of Alone Time Relationships, especially long term ones, need balance. So many people are afraid to have an “alone night,” but spending time apart actually strengthens the relationship. When you are alone, you’re able to recharge and do the things you love. In order to be a great partner, you have to take good care of yourself.

Find time to hang out alone, because it’s true, distance makes the heart grow fonder. Then, when you see your partner next, you’ll find you’ll probably be giddy with excitement.

O

nce you’re in a committed relationship, it’s important to make sure you both don’t get bored. It’s easy to fall into a romance rut, but these 11 suggestions will help keep your relationship fun and thrilling.

1. Look Good For Each Other You and your beau are having a low-key night at home and your loungewear is calling your name. It’s so easy (and nice!) to be comfy, I know. But remember when you first started dating how you always looked oh so fabulous? It’s time to find that effort again. The next time you have a cozy night, try having a fashion moment and put on a nice outfit. Ladies - wear some lipgloss or get a blowout. Gentlemen – try new cologne or get a fresh shave. Putting effort into your appearance helps you feel great about yourself and ensures you look good for your partner.

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3. Use Private Time Wisely So, you’re not a teenager anymore where making out after school is the norm. You’re a grown up and that’s something to be proud of. But, you can still have some innocent smooch sessions with your partner, and feel like a kid again. Use alone moments to make each other feel special. Perhaps you’re riding up the elevator going to work. What’s to stop you from sneaking a kiss?

Maybe the valet is taking an extra moment to come get your car. Use this time wisely and kiss like a teenager again.

4. Go Away Together Vacations are renewing. Spending uninterrupted time alone together is like a reset button for your relationship. Take as much time as you can off of work and get away together. A night, a weekend, a week – whatever it is, go somewhere where you can focus on each other. You want to pick a destination that helps you be worry free so you can devote yourself to each other the entire time. When you give your partner your undivided attention, they (and you!) will feel loved and satisfied.

5. Compliment Each Other Making each other feel great is essential. Compliments are needed for everyone to be self-confident and happy in the relationship. You want to lift your partner up

and make them feel wonderful. Flattering remarks and praise will get you everywhere. Pay extra attention to saying nice things to your partner as often as you feel them. For those who enjoy a little public praise, compliments in front of others are extremely alluring.

6. Celebrate Each Other Date night is a way to invest in the well being of your relationship by nourishing and caring about it. It’s extremely important, but it doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. Date night is a chance to focus on each other, to be affectionate, and feel close to each other.

The process of getting dressed up and being enthusiastic to see each other is what matters. Take the time to celebrate each other and remember why you fell in love.

7. Try Something New... Together Monotony can be a relationship killer so you need to keep things fresh and fun. When you’re together for a while, it’s easy to fall into a routine. Trying something out of your comfort zone is a simple solution to switch things up. Think about your interests and hobbies.

What’s been on your bucket list that you haven’t yet had a chance to do? Now is the time! Doing something different together will help you make new memories that you’ll cherish forever.

the tone for your day. Make sure to verbalize that you love your partner before they head off to work. Your morning greeting should be something you enjoy and are excited about. Once you start kissing and sharing your love for each other, you’ll appreciate each other more. Making little changes to your day with positive occurrences starts your day on a good note.

11. Make Time For Intimacy Since everyone is so busy these days, sometimes things need to be scheduled and that’s okay. As un-sexy as it sounds, get on board with scheduled sex. Scheduling sex helps make you have all the time in the world for it, but it also shows your partner that you value your sex life. You make appointments for the things you care about, why wouldn’t you schedule sex? Passion is needed for a relationship to survive. When you’re intimate, you feel close and your love and appreciation for each other deepens.

At the end of the day, you decided to be together because you love, admire, and respect each other. Make your relationship a priority and you’ll be happy together forever.

Photo Credit Katya Productions

8. Spend More Time Naked Spend more time naked together. Yes, I said it. It’s exhilarating to be in your birthday suit together; it feels juvenile, you’ll laugh, and you’ll also feel super sensual. Whether it’s cooking a delicious meal in the nude, watching TV sans clothing, or having a serious conversation commando, shed your clothes and have some fun.

9. Find Common Interests Having activities to look forward to experiencing as a couple is essential. What hobbies do you both enjoy?

Whether it’s testing out a new recipe every week, going for a bike ride, or simply binge watching your favorite TV show, find something you can do together on a weekly basis. Making time to share common interests helps you have fun as a couple.

10. Kiss And Say I Love You As soon as you wake up, roll over, give your partner a great good morning kiss, and stay off your phone.

Spending some quiet time together in the morning sets

http://JanisSpindelMatchmaker.com

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Passionflix

Tosca Musk’s Lessons in the Communication of Romance

BY JEZLAN MOYET

T

osca Musk, the Co-Founder of Passionflix, is is a multi-award winning filmmaker known for her directing, producing, writing and executive producing of feature films and leadingedge content. Hailing from a family of gifted innovators and global visionaries, Tosca’s mission is to empower, enlighten, and entertain, while truly effecting the communication of romance via Passionflix.

Passionflix is a premium streaming entertainment service for romance fans, creating original movies and other digital content from bestselling books, while licensing an impressive library of all-time favorite romantic movies (passionflix.com).

Romance novels are the best selling genre of books. With over 1.2 billion in sales last year, it’s proven there is a major market for romance (wwd.com).

Musk tells FOCUS, “Romance novels are actually very empowering for women because it allows us to be open about our sexuality. To be able to have that conversation with men and other partners. The entire idea is to promote conversation, communication, compromise. Being comfortable with your sexuality. Being able to say yes or no, making it your choice as a woman. As opposed to feeling pressured into something or not knowing how to explain what you really want… This allows you to be empowered.”

fulfilled in life, no one loves me, I need to move to a small town and bake cupcakes and then someone will love me …’

There is a place for those movies and they are good to watch, but it doesn’t speak to me as a woman.”

Producing over 20 feature films, television movies and web content, Musk had built her entertainment career in Romance. Holiday Engagement, produced by Musk, provided Hallmark Channel with its highest-rated Sunday night movie in the network’s history, and her family feature, Simple Things, garnered nine awards, including three “Best Picture” Awards, and “Audience” Award. When she partnered with Joany Kane, Co-Founder of Passionflix, on a steamy script that couldn’t find a home on any existing networks, the ladies knew it was time for them to create a space for romance, and a place that would ignite lessons in communication, laced in love scenes.

“I’ve always been an advocate on how women should speak to their power, how they should speak to other people, how they should communicate, how they can get everything that they want out of their life. They just have to own it. They just have to go for it. There is nothing stopping them whatsoever.

So if I can create a platform that can empower women in emotional strength, then that is the way I’m going to go. And everything I do is focussed on love. I firmly believe that if you can tell stories that have hope, love, passion, romance, and happy endings, people will pay attention,” says Musk.

In film, female characters typically communicate sad emotions. Many tears were shed over broken hearts and dirty marintis. However, it is a different story in Musk’s films, “In our movies, we don’t cry over boys. You (female leads) are going to hold yourself strong. You are going to communicate “I actually think this genre and these books are very your feelings in a way that he can respond to you in a very important specifically now in helping us all understand and appreciate that we are women, that we have needs and we can positive way. As opposed to ‘you hurt me’ then cowering, they need to be strong and communicate. And same with a explore those needs. But they are our needs. We can control man, they need to come out and say what they are feeling.” them and we should be making the decision about what we should be doing with them and just remove shame in Musk has directed 4 original Passionflix films all through this general.” (wwd.com) particular female gaze. Communicating on camera the ‘rules’ of timing and touch, her films elicit an important and timely And this was the catalyst for the creation of the hot new conversation, Musk describes “When did she provide you platform. Musk states, “I went into this world of Passionflix with consent? What was the look, what were the words that because I was making so many movies before that were ‘woman in jeopardy’ or ‘cupcake’ movies – which are ‘I’m not gave you the right to touch me in this moment?”

focusmag.us 17

“I firmly believe that if you can tell stories that have hope, love, passion, romance, and happy endings, people will pay attention.”

Elon Musk, Maye Musk, Kimbal Musk and Tosca Musk

Male actors in Musk’s films, have gone through the ‘school of gentleman callers.’ She has specific rules on the proper way to address a women and the story is scripted accordingly. It is vital for males to understand the words they are using, on and off screen, to avoid unintentionally sexist remarks and deflating the respect in the romance. In the Musk ‘school,’ there are also rules to touching a women. According to Musk, men should guide a woman by the small of her back. He should also practice the ‘fragile porcelain touch,’ a technique of gentle caresses to the face… Cue the audience swoon!

Musk says that these rules encourage woman to feel safe, to feel loved, and worshipped.

Other lessons to be learned from Musk’s school of romance; the way in which one redirects broken hearts and communication. Most audiences can relate to the ingenue whose love is unrequited. Musk describes, “A crush can be wonderful and bring out all of these human emotions. You take a little better care because you want to be your best self, you have your mojo back … but it is a crush, and by definition the irony… it will crush you. So use the crush to better yourself as a human. Knowing that the crush will come to an end and it will hurt. Don’t live in the pain, live in the empowering moment it took you to. Ultimately it will crush you, but you will be a better person for it…. You will learn so much, its worth it.”

you are able to feel confident in yourself as a person – as a woman, specifically. The more you can communicate, it ultimately results in problem solving.”

Tosca Musk has mastered the art of communication and romance through her films. Her infinite genius in verbal and non verbal communication is translating to audiences world wide. Musk attributes that understanding and skill to her youth. Growing up in the Musk family, she learned how to communicate with the men, specifically her two brothers, Elon and Kimbal Musk, world renowned inventors and entrepreneurs. She says her mother encouraged her to stand her ground.“There were strong male influences but my mother is probably the most powerful woman I have ever met in my life. She would sit there and say ‘right, we don’t take that so you just take care of yourself… At the end of the day, I have her. And of course, my brothers have her as well and she is a major influence in our lives.”

The goal is to focus on positive relationships, successful communication and romance in a diverse range of content, including LGBTQ stories, featuring every ethnicity and age group and a variety of genres, with a barometer of naughtiness. The timeless Musk wisdom continues to empower audiences on Passionflix, with strong female characters, a rich diversity of stories and happily-ever-afters that will make you come back again and again.

Full video interview available: focustvnetwork.com Beyond negotiating deals over pillow talk, the art of communication in romance, as seen on Passionflix, can be used in problem solving. “It’s basically about communication. www.passionflix.com Instagram: @passionflix The more you are you are able to communicate, the more 18 FOCUS | O C T O BE R 2 0 1 8

Top: Driven star, Casey Deidrick with Director, Tosca-Musk.

Center top: Hollywood-Dirt – Johan-Urb, Tosca Musk and Jina Panebianco.

The Matchmakers Playbook -Tosca Musk and Maye Musk.

Center bottom: Tosca Musk with leading men, Tyler Johnson and Nick Bateman.

Right: Passionflix Director, Producer, Executive producer and Founder Tosca Musk.

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Wardrobe: Solace London Jewelry: Maison Louella Make up: Maria Angelic Rivera

Adhrucia Apana

Anything but Average

BY EMILY VOGEL PHOTOS BY MAXX-KAITLYNN REIFF | maxxkaitlynn.com

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rowing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, Adhrucia Apana recalls spending her childhood summers in India gathered around the television watching movies with her cousins. “It was a way for us to communicate and share stories with each other”, says the film finance executive.

“Even though my cousins and I were raised worlds apart, film became the community that bonded us together.” It was this passion for storytelling through film that brought Adhrucia out to Hollywood to pursue a career in the industry.

overseeing our capital raising initiatives in the US as BRON continues to grow its film and television businesses.

Despite your busy work schedule, you always seem very fashion forward. For example, your Oscar dress this year was stunning. How important is it for you to Adhrucia at her home in Los Angeles dress your best? getting ready for the premiere of her Thank you! My dress for the film with Lionsgate “The Spy Who Oscars was Alexis Monsanto Dumped Me”. and my jewelry, even for this Today, Adhrucia is an executive at Creative Wealth Media, spread, is Maison Louella who always makes me sparkle for the finance arm of Bron Studios, best known for films such as all my red-carpet events. In addition, both of my sisters are Fences, Birth of a Nation, and Roman J Esquire. The company successful buyers in the fashion industry and have always also has an exciting line-up of summer blockbusters including two Lionsgate co-productions The Spy Who Dumped Me starring helped me with my style. As a result, I have taken it upon myself to dress well to present a polished image.

Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon, and A Simple Favor starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, (Sept. 14). With a background Besides your sisters, who are other empowering females you in business and a passion for storytelling Adhrucia uses her look to for advice? unique experience to her advantage, as she prepares for a big My mother has always had a big influence on my life. My year ahead alongside her work family at Creative Wealth Media. mother taught me to look at myself as a human-being, undefined by ethnicity, background or gender. She allowed How did you decide to transition into film finance? me to explore and think without boundaries, which I took My background has always been in business. However, it for granted at the time but which I now realize was such a wasn’t until about 5 years ago that I transitioned from brand strategy into finance. With a love for the arts, particularly film gift. As a result, I approach my career with that same outlook by defying barriers in an effort to learn and shape the world and television, I noticed that there was a large gap between around me. Having respect for people and yourself is key to the people who understood the finance side and those who finding success. understood the creative side of the business. I took this opportunity to learn about how financing worked in film and Lastly, what piece of advice do you have for women trying to television so that I could appreciate all aspects of the industry break into the world of film? and help get great stories out into the world.

My advice to all filmmakers, not just women, is to learn all Did your background in branding and strategy help prepare the parts of your business. I have so much respect for the art of filmmaking but at the end of the day it's a business. Take you for a career in film? the time to support yourself with information or people who Anytime you are in a position that forces you to examine understand how the various parts of the business work and consumer insights, it is a benefit to the extensive way you educate yourself. Knowledge is power. Learn about the various look at the world and approach business. Understanding how components of what you are selling and how they translate people think and what drives individuals to make decisions into value in the marketplace. As much as we want to think is a skill that is invaluable. My time in branding and strategy of storytelling and the business side as separate entities, when have made me an expert at analyzing and understanding my audience and it has helped me navigate countless situations in it comes to traditional distribution of film and TV both sides have to find a way to work together and support one and my film career. another.

How long have you been at Creative Wealth Media and what is your role at the company? www.cwmedialending.com I have been with the company for one year. Currently I am focusmag.us 21

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The Royals

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haring the same passion of Fashion and the same artistic vision, the duo of designers Fay Riviere and Hicham Benslimane created a luxury french fashion house, THE ROYALS, in Paris and for the first time in the USA a flagship store, in the heart of the golden triangle of Beverly Hills, in California.

The elegant and luxurious design of the flagship store, realized by the famous interior design company FR DSIGN, reflects the elegance of the collection and displays it in its luxurious environment.

The fashion house THE ROYALS is claiming a timeless lifestyle described as unique and elegant yet fashion forward and already embraced by Hollywood and international celebrities.

The universe of THE ROYALS is made up of elegance, glamour and great versatility as the two designers have known how to make a flag out of their french culture, spreading their creative unique style on a world-wide basis.

Fay Riviere is a french designer who obtained a Master’s degree in luxury design from one of the most prestigious schools in Paris, specializing in fashion design and interior design. After working with CHANEL, she was driven by her entrepreneur spirit and started her own design firms which were so successful that she was able to create a subsidiary of her french luxury design firm in Beverly Hills, California, to bring the internationally recognized french design to a high end clientele in the USA. The awarded designer has been recognized as a creative and talented designer with a unique avant garde style embraced by celebrities from different part of the world.

Paris being the city of artists, Fay Riviere met there the talented fashion designer Hicham Benslimane, who graduated from one of the most prestigious fashion schools in Paris. The designer was working with GIVENCHY, Jean-Paul Gaultier and ELIE SAAB before flying to the USA pursuing his dream and working with celebrities in New York, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles. Benslimane got A- listers to wear his artwork and unique pieces for red carpets, concerts and award shows worldwide. The multi awarded fashion designer chose Beverly Hills as a home to his creations in order to bring his unique fashion style to the USA.Today Hicham focusmag.us 25

Benslimane is published and recognized by fashion experts and media worldwide.

The two designers have a global strategy development for their fashion house planning to open a flagship in the most famous fashion capitals all over the world.

The certificate of recognition obtained from the City for their flagship store located on canon drive shows that THE ROYALS is already a Fashion landmark in the city who satisfies the high expectations of the Beverly Hills clientele and the international visitors of the city.

THE ROYALS Paris constantly hosts red carpet events with a celebrity attendance and have been chosen by multiple tv shows as a location for the filming, starring the duo of designers and showing the beautiful collection that places THE ROYALS Paris as a settled luxury brand in the Fashion world. Every collection is more impressive than the previous one with handmade work, high quality of fabric and details that makes every woman and man dreaming of wearing and having a piece of art from the collection. THE ROYALS Paris brings a piece of Paris to the heart of Beverly Hills giving to every client that french experience and making them travel to the Fashion capital Paris through the designs that they discover and wear at THE ROYALS.

woman and man no matter what are their origines, culture or style. The great versatility of their designs makes them recognized by the clients from all over the world.

Wearing THE ROYALS Paris became a life style that everybody wants to have from the fashionistas, celebrities, a-listers to housewives.

The brand is represented on the most famous red carpets by prestigious celebrities who endorsed THE ROYALS style and lifestyle. THE ROYALS Paris is also working with big Hollywood productions for upcoming movies and tv shows.

The iconic designers behind THE ROYALS Paris left legends to become legends!

THE ROYALS Paris is a great success and recognized by the locals, celebrities and visitors as the new place in town where to be. The brand covers all styles from elegant glamour through boheme to rock chic with unique designs that make you feel simply royal!

Fay Riviere and Hicham Benslimane have known how to impose their fashion forward style and in a short period of time they made a name among the most popular fashion designers. Their name have now an echo internationally and their designs travel the world through their international clientele. They have know how to adapt perfectly to every 26 FOCUS | O C T O BE R 2 0 1 8

http://theroyalsparis.com

Mother of Four Strives to Educate Moms in the 21st Century

BY SHIRIN YADEGAR

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aising kind, independent, self-confident kids takes a village. Finding the right schools, afterschool activities and healthy foods for our children is exhausting. Who are the real experts to tell us how to raise our family?

Should we vaccinate or not? I struggled for years trying to find the solutions until I realized that there was no single place that had all the right answers.

In an era where information is ubiquitous and hard to navigate, I created www.lamommagazine.com 8 years ago to empower moms to feel self-confident about the decisions they make for their families. I didn't want Los Angeles moms to waste hours of their time searching the web every time they had a parenting or lifestyle question. My online magazine has thousands of articles by various experts, such as doctors and educators, to answer questions that moms face daily.

As expert multitaskers, moms don't always find the time to read so I created Moms Matter on FOCUS TV Network this year.

All of the fabulous experts are now live on my talk show to educate moms in just minutes. You can watch an episode or listen to experts on my podcast, Moms Matter, to answer our questions while we are in the carpool line and sitting in traffic.

As moms, we are the decision makers for our families. Those decisions we make can't be taken lightly. I've always believed that the power of moms when we join forces is stronger than any Washington lobby. Our decisions shape the future, which is why we need to come together to raise mindful, empathetic children. I sincerely believe that through La Mom Magazine and Moms Matter, I am contributing to easing the decision making process for moms.

I'd love to hear from you. What are some topics and challenges you are having that you would like to learn more about. Please email me at shirin@lamommagazine.com and I will do my best to have those experts answer your questions. http://lamommagazine.com focusmag.us 27

Tracey Bregman

From Mean Girl to Legacy – Tracey Bregman

BY STACEY BLANCHET

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f you are a fan of The Young and The Restless, chances are Lauren Fenmore is one of your favorite characters of all time. Tracey Bregman was cast as the ‘original’ mean girl more than 35 years ago.

No one knew the type of impact she would have on American lifestyle, from the 80s to now. Soap operas were a surreal passage of fantasy and reality for many, long before we had social media.

When Tracey Bregman was cast as Lauren Fenmore, most audiences watched in horror as the stunts unfolded surrounding her rival ‘Traci’ (Beth Maitland). Can you say “Pool Party?” Not to mention the war for ‘Danny Romalotti’s’ love. Most young girls could identify with Beth’s character, X the good girl, overweight, simply not fitting in, and chronically in love with the popular guy. Can anyone say high school? In short ‘Lauren Fenmore’ (Tracey Bregman) was every girl in high schools worst nightmare. She was beautiful, thin, talented, and seemed to have the perfect life.

Everyone knows in life this dynamic can be true, and that is what makes it so painful to watch.

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We have been lucky enough to watch the evolution of ‘Lauren Fenmore’ play out over the years. Who can forget her many marriages, iconic cat fights with ‘Phyllis’ (Michelle Stafford) and ‘ ‘Sheila’ (Kimberlin Brown). According to Tracey, her favorite story line was her marriage to ‘Michael Baldwin’ (Christian LeBlanc). She felt taking these two characters, with all their baggage and tricks, this pair created a magical union.

They could be themselves; and learning to love and grow with each other was interesting and exciting. Although we have seen less and less of ‘Lauren and Michael’ over the years, soap operas are now trying to appeal to the younger demographic.

Over the years, soap fans have been vocalizing their opinions from storylines to character hook-ups; and they are petitioning to bring back their favorites. There is currently a petition to bring Lauren and Michael to the forefront as main characters. Whether or not the powers at be are listening remains to be seen. Life lesson; don’t anger your fans.

If you are a follower of Tracey’s on Instagram, you are in for a treat. Not only does she provide you with an insider look at Y&R, she also gives insight to her life in Malibu. Tracey is not shy about sharing what her real life looks like, she lays it all on the line. You get to know the woman behind the scenes and learn about her successes, heartbreaks, animals and healthy vegan-ish living. In this age of social media so much of the content is geared to gaining fans. But Tracey’s platform is geared towards inspiring you, helping you, educating you and sometimes just plain fun. You get a chance to see a woman with all the fame taking you along her life’s journey.

She can be silly, funny and totally the woman you want as your friend. She can show you how life is not always pretty, tidy and all fantasy. But her followers will get a dose of fantasy when you see a post of her skiing in Switzerland with The Edge. This is the complete package of what a fan would want.

It is easy for the public who has grown up watching a character like ‘Lauren’ for 35 years to think she is real and you know her. The mistake they often make is putting Tracey Bregman and ‘Lauren Fenmore’ in the same fantasy, and in doing so, they miss the beauty of the real woman, Tracey Bregman. Tracey’s life has always been in show business.

Her father Buddy Bregman was a musical arranger, records producer and composer. Her mother Suzanne Lloyd was an actress. With those genes was she going to do anything else?

She started acting at 11 and her big break came being cast on the soap opera Days of our Lives as a troubled teen named ‘Donna.’ In 1979, only one year into Days, she took home ‘Best Juvenile Actress in a Daytime Series.” With so much excitement generating around her, in 1981 she left Days of our Lives to work in feature films and primetime television series. Tracey returned to daytime tv to play ‘Lauren Fenmore’ in Young and the Restless. This role was created especially for her by Bill Bell and Sally Sussman at the request of the Executive Producer who had originally hired her on Days, Wes Kenney, who wanted to work with her again, this time on Young and Restless. And, history began. Two years later in 1985 Tracey won a Daytime Emmy for ‘Outstanding Ingenue in a Drama Series.’ Over the next 30 years Tracey would earn 4 more Emmy nominations, and in 2016 she was nominated for ‘Outstanding Lead Actress.’

In 2018, Tracey Bregman became one of five legacy actors on television. With 35 years under her belt and the everchanging world of soap operas’ we see less and less of ‘Lauren Fenmore’. What is Tracey going to do with her next chapter?

I sat down with Tracey to find out where does she goes from here?

There is no debate that her career in daytime has been one for the record books, but her lifelong dream was really to be a mom. Ron Recht stepped into her life at an early age and her dream came true when and blessed her with two stepdaughters, Emily Gordon-Recht and Lindsay Recht. She and Ron decided to add to their family and became parents to two more children Austin and Landon. Unlike fantasy not all dreams are built to last. Sadly in 2010 Ron and Tracey decided to end their 23-year journey together, but they built a family that will last a lifetime.

You come from a showbiz family. Do you believe that helped you in networking and understanding how the business works?

I always joke that I was born in the hospital and didn’t go home first I went to a set. Yes I learned a lot about the business growing up with a mother who was a working actress and my father who was a producer, writer, director and head of specials for BBC television when we lived in London for 10 1/2 years.

I met a lot of people and was exposed to a lot of different things but that can only help you get in the door, once you’re in the door, you have to get the job.

Before cyber-bullying and social media you were the ‘Official’ mean girl on Young and the Restless. Why do you believe fans have stuck with you all these years given all that your character did?

Well I started out as the bitch of the show with no redeeming qualities. LOL and then Bill Bell brought in my mother, played by Susan Seaforth Hayes and they explained why Lauren was the way she was and it was when Bill made Lauren the girl you love to hate that’s when I think the fans really got behind her.

Can you give three pieces of advice you would give your younger self now looking back on your life lived?

Always save a percentage of every check – which I always have. Sign every check - which I always have. Follow your heart. I always wake up with gratitude for every day and every workday.

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Photo: Lisa Boyle

“They don’t call it show fun, they call it show business. It’s very important to understand the business and political side of what we do."

Soap operas are not what they once were. How do you feel they could stay relevant in today’s society?

What I find the funniest part of this question is that all the shows that we all love to binge watch now are all soap operas.

They all have a cliffhanger that make you want to watch the next episode. That is a soap opera, so it’s sad for me to see the daytime dramas go away but the soap opera is alive and well.

It is very important that actors understand the business.

What do you feel most get wrong and what can they do differently to have a long career?

I always say they don’t call it show fun they call it show business. It’s very important to understand the business and political side of what we do.

It is very hard to separate you from your character Lauren.

How has that hurt your career? If not, how has it helped?

No it’s not hard for me to separate from my character. Even though I sometimes feel like I have lived parallel lives, her life is heightened and filled with heck of a lot more drama than mine is. Thank God! I guess my career would’ve taken a different path had I decided not to stay with the show. But I loved ‘Young and the Restless’ from the first day I started and still do. I got the great opportunity to do the two things I loved at the same time, to be a mom and be an actress. It was very important to me when I had my kids that I was there for them and they came to work with me for the first two years of their lives.

Tracey Bregman is the perfect storm. She is beautiful, smart, talented, a hard worker and is dedicated to her family and friends. Just like ‘Lauren Fenmore’ she has many layers to peel back. We are all very lucky that Tracey has given us a seat with a window to see what is coming next for her and to inspire us all to live our best lives possible.

What ambitions do you have left that are unrealized and how close are you to achieving those dreams?

My dream jobs… I would love to show run a show preferably one that I wrote. I would love to direct. And I’m coming out with a skin care line that my son, Austin Recht, will be head of called ‘Ash and Arrow.’ www.focustvnetwork.com/traceybregman @traceybregman1

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Louis Lombardi Southern California Real Estate Expert Serving Beverly Hills to Long Beach and Beyond.

T: 424 256-8430

http://louislombardi.kw.com

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Charmed and Blessed

The Unscripted Story of Sheree J. Wilson

BY JEZLAN MOYET

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heree J. Wilson is an American icon: actress, producer, businesswoman, model and a force in entertainment for decades.

She is best known for her roles as April Stevens Ewing on the American primetime television series Dallas (1986-1991), and as Alex CahillWalker on the television series Walker, Texas Ranger (1993–2001). Sheree continues to deliver bold and meaningful content and she is now celebrating the launch of her latest endeavor, Sandalphon Entertainment.

FOCUS TV had the honor of featuring Sheree in a recent interview, where she was told her story, unscripted.

“I’ve had a really charmed run. It has been incredible and I have worked with the greatest people in the history of television and film. I have been so blessed beyond measure.

And I don’t take one second of it for granted. It has just been a glorious ride.”

Sheree’s journey to LaLa Land began in Minnesota. To encourage her creativity and harness her energy, her father encouraged horseback riding, skiing, hiking, biking, and ‘everything outdoors.’ She made her stage debut in elementary school starring with her mother in a church play.

She would giggle and wave at the audience, she loved using her imagination. As she says, “Acting is walking a mile in someone else’s moccasins.”

And with those moccasins, she had her ‘lucky break’ and left the Mid-West for Manhattan. She quickly rose to great heights as a model, appearing in major commercial and print campaigns for Clairol, Sea Breeze, Keri-Lotion and Maybelline and she was seen in Mademoiselle, Redbook, and Glamour. Then came the call to audition for a major role in a feature film, and after some convincing by her agent, she made the move to Los Angeles. Award-winning director, Sam Raimi, offered her a starring role that caught the attention of Hollywood.

“Dynamite comes in small packages,” Sheree quips.

Sheree was then cast in a role she was tailor made for, a classic beauty who thrived on fun. This was the role of April

Stevens-Ewing on Dallas. At the time, Dallas was the most acclaimed show on television. Sheree says Dallas was a dream come true. She had started watching the series in high school, and stepping onto the set, she was nervous, but she brought her ‘jokes,’ knowing every line of every character. She knew the world was watching.

Dallas was rich in texture and life experience for Sheree. It was the decadent 1980s, and from the wardrobe and hair, to the parading down the beaches of Malibu, it was play time.

She was the femme fatale and says, “It’s always so much fun to play a bad girl. It’s so fun to be deliciously bad.”

Reminiscing about her on-screen relationship with J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman), she smirks at the deals her character would make over pillow talk, and she delights over the transition April made from nemesis to the good girl that eventually won the heart of Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy).

And then, Sheree claims, “Lightning struck twice.”

From inception, Sheree partnered with Chuck Norris to create Walker, Texas Ranger, “a beautiful action show that had really good morals and values.” Her character, Alex Cahill-Walker, really suited her personality. She was wild and loved the outdoors and adventure. The cast was like Texas family and was committed to producing a show that was full of heart. Walker, Texas Ranger continues to be a show focusmag.us 35

that entertains generations, it is now on getTV and the Inspiration Channel.

With a lifetime of achievements in media, Sheree hopes that this will be her legacy: “...that I was really kind. I was really a good friend, a mother, a spouse, a mate. That I gave someone some hope or inspiration, laughter, or fun. That I entertained them in a way that changed their life or made them think a little bit different, even just for 5 minutes.

Gave them a little gift that their life didn’t have before.”

Today, Sheree continues to give audiences worldwide that very special gift as the President of the new media company, Sandalphon Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based media company dedicated to developing and delivering bold and meaningful motion pictures and television programs.

Sandalphon, as an emerging leader among independent producers, will give audiences what they crave: stories that resonate deeply, speak to our collective humanity, illuminate the darkness, and give us a roadmap on how to live our lives (www.sandalphon.net).

The production company’s namesake, Sandalphon is a biblical character, “known as a guardian over our fellow people and over our hopes and dreams, reminding us that our potential within is infinite and that we have the power to overcome our fears and realize our goals. The name Sandalphon captures the essence of our mission and conveys our message of unity, compassion, and the beauty of diversity” It seems destined that the ‘blessed’ life of Sheree would guide her to lead in this new role. She tells FOCUS, “I always had faith in my life and I’ve had examples of miracles. I feel like my whole life is a miracle.”

“Life happens, accidents happen, but it is always through my faith I can stay in gratitude. It doesn’t matter what the falls are – if it is a financial, hopefully never a health crisis – it is really my faith that gets me through. Always. Because it is just bigger, it is all encompassing, and it is healing.”

The legacy of Sheree J. Wilson will continue in the most fabulous moccasins, on a glorious ride… on horseback or the wings of Sandalphon.

http://sandalphon.net Full interview available: focustvnetwork.com/launscripted

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Larry Namer

For the Love of Television

BY JEZLAN MOYET

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he FOCUS TV studio is bustling with guests typically in rural areas they were bringers of reception through wires and telephone poles. But then cities began to after just wrapping the morning show, as Larry Namer walks on set. Namer, the Co- issue franchises for cable, because they realized that cable could do more than bring good reception. They all wanted to Founder of E! and president of METAN Global, is build underground, and when they gave out franchises they all too familiar with the scene … talent, producers, made it a requirement. So I was lucky because I was the only lights, camera, action. It is a rare occasion when one in the country who knew how to build underground the camera is on him, but this time, Namer was the and I was recruited to come to LA to build that system. It wasn’t just the technical expertise. I had marketing, finance man in focus.

Larry Namer, an iconic entertainment and media entrepreneur, started his career in television, but not how one would expect. The Brooklyn native was working for a cable company in New York City on the technical line. He spent his days in the sewers, wiring the city. Namer shares, “Me… the rats and the cockroaches, we became really good friends. I started for a company called Sterling Manhattan Cable TV, which became Manhattan Cable TV and then we eventually spawned HBO and Cinemax. It was kind of the leader of the Martin cable - the big city cable systems.”

The Brooklyn College graduate, who had earned a degree in Economics, was learning the innate details of structuring a cable company. It was Namer’s education and first hand experience that was the precise knowledge needed in the evolution of television.

“I ended up at Manhattan Cable and we were bought out

by Time Inc., which at the time was a magazine and book publishing company. So here you had the Harvard and Yale guys trying to figure out what those people in the sewers were doing, and someone discovered that I had an economics degree. And then they said, “Ah, you can tell us what those guys do.” I was the translator for both worlds. But I stayed on the technical lines. I ended up being the Head of Operations, which included construction, installation and service. I learned how to build big, urban cable systems, which were brand new at that point. Nobody was building anything underground. Cable systems were

and programming experience too. That’s when I got into programming and I realized that there was more that could be done in the world of programming.”

Namer made the move to Los Angeles in the 1980s to build a cable network… irony or fate?

“It’s funny, because the company that recruited me was a Canadian company. They had 16 franchises in the US and they had one in LA and the San Fernando Valley. They won the first 15 that they bid. Finally, the banks came in and said you have to put some cash in this and they didn’t really have the cash. They sold and went back to Canada, and then they wanted me to go to Toronto. I just said, ‘Listen. I didn’t move from New York to LA to go to Toronto. I had enough with the cold winters. And I thought, this is a good time to do something for myself. I met Alan Mruvka from New Jersey.

Alan and I kept playing around with ideas. Cable TV, at that point, was kind of like an electronic newspaper. CNN was the headlines. ESPN was the sports. Home shopping was the advertisements. What was missing were the entertainment pages, which typically – if you looked at a Sunday newspaper back then – the entertainment pages were the second most read of any newspaper. So we set out to become the entertainment pages of the cable TV ‘newspaper’.”

This was the catalyst for what would become E! Entertainment, one of the most successful independently created cable television channels worldwide. Describing the early days of building the business at E!, Larry says, “We weren't smart enough to realize that you needed to be Rupert Murdoch or Ted Turner. Alan and I wrote the plan and raised the money. It never occurred to us that we wouldn’t raise the money.”

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And these entrepreneurs never feared failure, they bet on their success from day one. Namer recounts, “We just knew it made all the sense in the world and we just kept going. We would meet people who would say, ‘Oh that’s an interesting idea but you’re not Rupert Murdoch.’ Nobody wakes up in the morning and says ‘I’m going to start a TV network, and then does it’.”

E! now has 10 million viewers worldwide and is available in 26 languages (eonline.com).

“These days, the barrier to entry is so much less than what it was then. Then, you needed a hundred millions dollars to get in. Now, you start something on the Internet that's much cheaper. It really provides focused services to niche markets.”

With this focus, infinite wisdom and a love of television, Namer hasn’t just built entertainment networks, he has created a window to the world, spanning cables.

“E! is in over 120 countries. It still amazes me. I think a lot less of our accomplishment than most people do. I still think of myself as a kid from Brooklyn whose dad drove a Pepsi Cola truck…Sometimes, the impact of that really does hit me and I just go “Holy *#%” Namer is now recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on new technology and how it is fundamentally altering the business of international media and entertainment.

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http://www.metanglobalentertainment.com Full Interview: focustvnetwork.com/launscripted

4 Truths About Love That Reveal Its Magic

BY JACQUIE BLAZE

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was working as an Entertainment Reporter and dating, but I wasn’t feeling fulfilled. I decided to dive deeper into my career and pick a subject that was a quintessential aspect of life.

Without much hesitation, the subject of love came to mind; my personal relationship had disintegrated and I knew I had to gain perspective from my part in that. I also knew that if I wanted to learn on a more profound level, I had to seek out the best people in this area, who had dedicated their entire lives to understanding what love is about. Little did I know at the time, was that understanding love from every angle would ultimately help me in all areas of life, and what I finally learned was greater and more impactful than anything I could have ever imagined.

At first this research was going to take the form of articles for Marie Claire Magazine. Later it took on a life of its own and money came in, a crew got involved, and it kept growing. What we found during the interview process was mind blowing and deserved to be shared.

Four of the world’s elite Love Experts were chosen through a focus group, and we ended up with two men and two women. These people, interestingly and by chance, had expertise in rather different approaches to love, but together, they encompassed everything!

In the interviews entitled Love Unraveled, through their similarities and differences, the experts demonstrated how to open your heart and learn to let go of societal rules and walk confidently into love where you find it. Rather than relying on friends or wasting time with the plethora of love advice that’s out there that plays on your insecurities - these 4 top Love Experts have broken it down into a simple and easy to understand skill set. So here we have it, finally!

Here are 4 Tips to help you understand the process that arose from the interviews: 1) The first phase of a relationship: It’s the first 3 months, which seem perfect and where neither party can do wrong. I encourage everyone to listen to the interview on The Art Seduction with author, Robert Greene, who says to oomph it up and turn the dial up to 10,11,12. Basically be yourself! Have fun! He examines the different character types in history to help you understand yourself, because a relationship should be playful.

2) The Imperfect Phase; This is the subsequent 3 months of a relationship, which can be painful for anyone who's been hurt as this is where you see the potential ugly side of the other person. He may not be calling as much or he could be texting too much. This applies to you too ladies! You could be feeling triggers because, put simply, that’s what relationships are all about. Having the right Communication skills is the glue to keeping the spark alive in this phase. I encourage all of you to not give up unless it’s severe enough that a doctor, police officer or lawyer needs to be called. Remember your imperfections are showing up here too, so be kind and gentle to each other and especially with yourself. Remember, you’re not perfect, but neither are you desperate.

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3) Value yourself and your partner by negotiating: This third quarter of a relationship is all about learning to negotiate a deal.

In doing so we have to learn how to speak relative to our partner’s value system to get them to open up their heart. Dr Pat Allen puts it beautifully in my eyes when she says that love is a contract that one is willing to make and keep. Of course, with your skill set building from listening to the previous two interviews, you will have confidence to know how to implement this in a way that is natural to you and not manipulative. As a result we can get directly to the heart of love.

4) Final choice: This is the 9 month to a year mark, where you pretty much know someone, and it’s also a time for deciding whether you can see a future with someone. Ladies, if he can’t commit at this stage you could be wasting your time, unless maybe he's been through a divorce, in which case it can take people a little longer to get there. Once bitten, twice shy! However, don't allow excuses if that’s how it seems to you, and if you like a person 51%, then remember the grass is greener where you water it. Stay put is what I’m saying!

How amazing would it have been to have had this information as a young adult? I am so grateful for these experts because prior to this project I learned the little I knew the hard way. I remember telling a therapist that I felt like my own human experiment; I knew I was lacking something. Now I know I have the skills, I can work it out myself – and you will too. I’m honoured and blessed to be discussing these experts and what I found with you.

It’s been a privilege to unlock these understandings of love, and we cover absolutely everything, from the onset of a relationship, which always starts with The Art of Seduction (Robert Greene), to Values in Getting to the Heart of Love (Dr John Demartini), Communication in Getting To I do (Dr Pat Allen), and finally we learn how to disregard the rules that society has programmed us with, with Make Up, Don't Break Up (Dr Bonnie Eaker Weil).

These experts have changed my life and I am so grateful to have found the truth and magic of love. I’m excited to share these interviews with you because I know they will change your life.

Remember that knowledge is power, and love is the greatest force in the Universe; it’s the only thing that’s real, and is the key to happiness.

www.loveunraveled.com Focustv.com/goodmorninglalaland

The Love Of Pilates Inspires A Sexy Phish Net Grip Sock Design Sweeping The Nation

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Photo: Jose Landeros

rebesk, a line of active wear socks where aesthetics meets functionality, has been a long journey in the making. A journey I never thought I would embark on once I got married and had kids. I was busy, I was exhausted and I felt I had lost a part of my identity because I no longer was able to afford the time to think, create and execute my plans and ideas. It’s a familiar trap many mothers fall into. I love being a mom, but I still held on to my dream of seeing my ideas and creations blossom into a successful business.

in-between I figured out how to start my own line of accessories. I pitched my line to many local stores and was told ‘no’ many times before landing my first big purchase order from Charlotte Russe.

With a lot of determination, hustling and hard work, Arebesk can now be found in almost 30 pilates, barre and yoga studios across the USA and online retailers on multiple reorders. The best part of growing this brand is meeting so many amazing, supportive business owners and working mothers like myself, who love the product and the story behind it.

I feel that I’ve been given a great opportunity to give back to the community. Making sure homeless kids have the basic supplies they need to get the education they deserve, is a charity close to my heart.

Arebesk will donate a portion of proceeds to put together backpacks with school supplies for homeless kids in public schools.

But the fashion industry is a beast. The road to success was hard to navigate and the competition fierce. I had my fair share of rejections, disappointment and defeat but in hindsight, I learned a lot from those experiences.

It is really important to understand the market you are designing for. Because I understood the workout, I was able to create a sock that made sense. The silicone design under the sock has two large half circles on the ball and heel of the foot, to help have The inspiration for Arebesk came after I signed up for pilates at Eden better traction on the reformer Sassoon Pilates. I had never worked out before and couldn’t even or mat. I heard many women do two sit-ups. I made a deal with myself to commit to a week of complaining that they lose their pilates. A week was enough. I was hooked. After a few more weeks, I socks all the time and didn’t noticed my mind and body felt stronger. I became more confident and want to store dirty socks in gained a clearer perspective just by taking the time for self-care and their bag after a workout. After reflection. One day during my work out, I looked down at my feet and a lot of research, I designed a carrying bag, included with each pair, thought how plain the grip socks looked and instantly had an idea which can double as a wash bag to help resolve this problem. for fish netting grip socks! I went home that night and cut up some I got my first few orders from local studios like Eden Sassoon Pilates, fish net panty hose I owned and saw how sexy the material looked against cotton socks and right there Arebesk Phish Net grip socks was owned by Eden Sassoon and Pilates Platinum owned by Heather Dorak. These two women gave me a chance and since then reorders born. Arebesk – originally spelled arabesque – is an homage to the first move I learned in pilates, a sweeping of the leg backwards, a term have been coming in quick. This industry is tough and people can’t used in dance. I was overwhelmed with excitement. I believed in the succeed without support from business owners so I am very grateful that they gave Arebesk a chance. product instantly and knew what I had to do.

Making it this far is a huge milestone for me. I moved to Los Angeles from a small town in upstate New York with just a few hand-made samples and big dreams of making it in the fashion industry. With no experience and no connections, I researched and worked for years in marketing, PR, event planning and retail and

The best feeling in the world for me is designing a product, seeing people wearing it, and being able to give back.

www.arebesk.com Instagram: @Arebeskusa focusmag.us 43

HEALTHY, SEXY BRAINS:

Lifehacks For Better Brain Health + Focus

BY MICHELLE GILLETTE

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ver since that study hit the headlines stating that “Humans Now Have Shorter Attention Spans Than Goldfish!” and we learned that our focus has been reduced from ~12 seconds down to ~8 (on average), I’ve been concerned about the direction we’re headed. (I mean really… we’ve become out-focused by goldfish? Will we be distracted down to gnat level next?) There’s no doubt that we now live in a noisy world where stimuli and distractions are omnipresent, and they compete with our attention as we attempt to focus.

It’s caused me to wonder about human behavior and how modern day living impacts brain health and our focus. More specifically, I’ve delved into questions like, “What is restorative, and what is depletive to our brain health?”

interrupted." Comparatively, in regular conversations with non love interests, "the subjects only looked at each other between 30-60 percent of the time. The brain can discern the difference too: when it detects that a potential love interest is "looking at them 75% of the time, it registers in a particular region of the brain and phenylethylamine (a.k.a. PEA), an amphetamine-like secretion is released by the nervous system when we first fall in love." (Ever felt butterflies in your stomach when with someone you like? Or felt your palms sweat and/or your heart race? You can thank PEA, this self-made love drug for that.) Knowing all of this about the power of a lengthy, engaging gaze (and again, I clarify “by a love interest” because an uninterrupted, lingering gaze by someone else might be creepy) …wouldn’t it be a shame if a great love match was not made just because someone couldn’t stop checking their Instagram feed? Is the new headline going to be, Phone Induced Gaze-interruptus Ends Love: PEA Insufficiency Kills Off Stomach Butterflies Too

But before we blame technology for our distractibility or we call PETA about the dead stomach butterflies, it makes sense to ask what else might be contributing to our lack of focus, because this issue isn’t confined just to new daters or daydreamers. If we cannot focus optimally with our partners, Certainly, all of the incessant phone-checking, hyper-link our children, our work, our finances, our community, etc., clicking and multi-tasking we do is depletive since it wastes then we are in trouble, and the Goldfish wins. So let's take a so much of our precious, limited bandwidth on transitions vs. look at a list of other factors that may be making our brains on the actual tasks at hand. And maybe that would be worth perform at a sub-optimal level. Factors may be attributable to: it if multitasking were more effective, but it’s not: It’s proven to be comparatively less effective when measured against the • Lack of adequate sleep productivity of singularly focused time. Turns out, when we • Medications put our lives on Airplane Mode, hunker down and get into our flow, that’s when we tend to perform our best.

• A sedentary lifestyle • A diet void of essential minerals, vitamins, and amino Additionally, according to a report by Matthew A. acids Killingsworth and Daniel T. Gilbert of Harvard University, people spend 46.9 percent of their waking hours thinking • A seemingly “good” diet but one that includes food about something other than what they’re doing, and this intolerances mind-wandering typically makes them unhappy. So, not only • An unvaried routine that lacks ample new learning does distractedness work poorly in terms of productivity, but experiences the emotional gain isn’t positive enough to justify it.

• Toxins As one might expect, multi-tasking and a lack of focus are • Viruses not so attractive on a date either. Giving someone your undivided attention is one of the key components of falling • Bacteria in love. In fact, Harvard psychologist Zick Rubin conducted • Head injury research that indicated that "couples who are deeply in • Epigenetics love look at each other 75 percent of the time when talking …just to name (more than) a few. and they are slower to look away from their partner when (Or, on a bad day: “What would Freud … Hey, yum, Plantain Chips!” Because yes, even though I study this stuff, sometimes I get distracted too.)

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So in addition to closing our laptops and putting our phones in a box when we need to be focused – what other behavioral and/or lifestyle choices can we make to offset the braindepletive factors above?

• If you nap during the day (many of the world’s most brilliant, successful people have been known to grab a catnap!) just make sure it is not too late in the day and not more than 1 ½ hours.

2. Exercise for at least 30 minutes per day, 5x a week The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends getting in at least 150 minutes a week. But you may be wondering— 1. Get at least 8 hours of sleep per night which exercises, specifically? The best exercise for you is the Sleep is an absolutely essential reset for our brains. It gives one that you will actually do consistently! As with all aspects our brains a chance to clear away toxins and flush out of health and wellness, what works for one person’s body dangerous proteins. In his TED Talk, Jeff Iliff, a neuroscientist and circumstances may not work for another, so know your at Oregon Health & Science University, reports that this body and what makes sense. That said, aerobic exercise, beneficial process makes us smarter, more attentive, perkier, resistance training, and mind-body exercises are all reported and healthier during our waking hours. As such, if you or a as providing benefits for brain health. Having some diversity loved one within earshot has sleep apnea, it is highly advised in our workouts sets us up for multiple benefits. to properly address this. Not only can it cause morning fatigue and/or headaches, significant daytime drowsiness, Brain Healthy Exercise Lifehacks: attention and memory problems, irritability and mood issues, • If physically able, try to have some interval training but according to Dr. Daniel Amen, “Sleep apnea doubles your included to increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor risk for having a stroke and triples your risk of dementia and (BDNF.) BDNF is a protein produced inside nerve cells, depression” so it is not something to ignore. and it's known as "fertilizer" for the brain, keeping them functioning and growing, and propelling the growth of new Brain Healthy Sleep Lifehacks: neurons too.

• Angstrom Magnesium can help people relax before bedtime. • Adding in workouts that encompass bi-lateral movements • Turn off the lights and get rid of bedroom tech. When can further engage both hemispheres of the brain, our bedrooms are lit up like the dashboard of the Starship encouraging neuroplasticity. Examples may be dancing, Enterprise, we allow the light to disturb our Circadian swimming, fit boxing, Qi Gong and/or Yoga… anything that Rhythms which often causes sleep disturbances… and lack of uses both sides of the body and particularly anything that sleep often means lack of focus. Additionally, the erratic EMF encourages cross body movements. signals coming from our cell phones can disrupt our sensitive • Classpass subscriptions are an all-time favorite lifehack nervous systems. because they offer such a wide variety of classes. The Here’s a list of my Top 5 (out of 20) Life Hacks for Better Brain Health and increased focus:

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subscriptions have expiration dates that do not typically rollover (thereby providing extrinsic motivation to those of us who need it, to hurry up and get into the gym or else risk wasting our investment!) The extra bonus is that it also engages people more with their community, which can add to both the accountability and the sociability factors. Being social is an important component of longevity and brain health as it can help ward off loneliness, which is shown to be worse for health than even smoking. These various classes get people out and about, sampling new places, creating new opportunities to broaden social circles, meeting new friends while offering new challenges to our brains as we navigate new parking lots, moves, skills, gyms, etc. (Classpass for the win! https://classpass.com/.

• Get out in nature where there's fresh air and walk, hike, bike, walk on the beach…take Tai Chi…whatever works for you. As soon as we get outside, we change our body by breathing in new air and spores, which adds to the diversity of our microbiome. As we age, we tend to lose this diversity, which is less ideal.

3. Keep learning new things This is a key recommendation by neuroscientists who study the brain because novelty increases our neuroplasticity, our brain’s capacity to change an adapt. By learning new things, we not only form new synapses but strengthen the ones we already have.

Brain Healthy Neuroplasticity Lifehacks • Find new routes to drive and be extra observant of all that’s around you.

• Take a class to learn something new, try new things, challenge yourself consistently.

• If you are age 50 and above, check out UCLA’s Longevity Center where you can audit a UCLA class for $150!

• Brain Training Games have come under fire as being ineffective at raising IQ, which seems accurate. (They will not raise IQ. If it were that easy to raise IQ we would all be doing them!) But that does not mean that there are no benefits. If you enjoy brain teasers, check out www.mybrainfitlife.com

by Dr. Daniel Amen, Neuroscientist, double board certified psychiatrist and NY Times bestselling author. The website offers well beyond just brain games, but a whole community of health and knowledge. Per the website’s description, the BrainFitLife brain gym “includes 34 different brain games that stimulate different areas of the brain and have multiple skill levels that help you grow as you go.”

4. Have a mindfulness practice Mindfulness has been studied extensively and has proven to be a powerful, worthwhile tool in the pursuit of brain health. It helps us protect ourselves from toxic stress, while supporting self-regulation and better decision-making capabilities. It even has the potential to, literally, change

our brain. In a time when we are inundated with stress and distractions, we need practices that are restorative to counteract the depletion.

Brain Healthy Mindfulness Lifehack • Muse Headband $249 –www.choosemuse.com We all know by know that mindfulness and a Zen status is helpful…but we do not all know how to achieve that state. This wearable device is a headband that tracks your brainwaves and communicates with you through nature sounds as you develop your meditation practices. It helps by using increasing or decreasing sounds to inform you of your mind status. For instance, when you've successfully quieted your mind, the waves are quiet… or they pipe in loud crashing waves or a storm to indicate when your mind is busy, so you know to return to your breath at that time. Over time, the real-time EEG feedback can make meditation easier to learn. Also your progress is trackable and measurable, which may inspire some to keep on trying when their mind chatter and distractibility (the unofficial term "squirrel brain") tells them to stop.

• The DEN Meditation: www.denmeditation.com This tranquil, stylish studio is a respite for the mind, body and soul. Walk in and you will be transfixed by the calm, and enlightened by the class offerings. People are drawn to various type of mindfulness, and The DEN offers something for everyone.

• UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) www.marc.ucla.edu offers in-person and online classes & events, a weekly podcast, year-long programs, free guided meditations, and free local drop-in meditations.

5. Nutrition The brain uses 30% of our daily caloric intake and how and what we eat has a profound effect on us biochemically. There are some general guidelines that the most well-respected experts agree upon (minimal or no processed foods, reduce sugar intake, eat more veggies and antioxidants, eat organic when you can, stay hydrated, avoid trans fats, eat healthy fats, etc.) There are also some great recipes to share in that regard, but there remains many conflicting opinions about what we should eat, how we should eat, what time, etc. The truth is, we are all so unique! What works for one person may not work for another, so once we get beyond the basic agreed upon standards-- “Best Recipes” are mere suggestions until you know what your body does and does not respond to well. This is why I believe that researching, understanding and respecting our own Bio-Individuality is the missing component when taking people from feeling good (or "just ok") to feeling great! For optimal health, a customized nutrition program based on the individual’s biochemistry, genetics, toxin levels, symptoms, etc. is ideal.

This information can often be determined via the work of an excellent Functional Medicine MD and/or a Functional

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Medicine nutritionist/coach. From there, a specific plan for a patient's ideal protocol can be formulated, encouraged and addressed with behavioral modifications that help make the good habits stick. Thus, the depletive can be identified and eliminated, and the restorative is supported in a very targeted, tailored well-informed, efficient way. That said, there are a couple of incredibly helpful books out to help people gain awareness of how and why the general recommendations are essential.

Brain Healthy Nutrition Lifehacks • Find a good Functional Medicine MD and/or Coach well versed in Genetics, Nutrition and GI health- so they can help a client get their GI tract in optimal shape—since there is a direct connection from the gut to the brain.

• A favorite book about brain wellness and food is GENIUS FOODS by Max Lugavere because it is interesting, easy to read, and filled with well-researched life hacks from an objective point of view. He covers topics like Fish, Fish oils, Good Fats, Bad Fats, Calorie Restriction/Intermittent Fasting, Proteins, Carbs, Antioxidants, etc. and he discusses the pros and cons of the various recommended diets that we read about in the media.

• Another Favorite is WHAT THE HECK SHOULD I EAT – The no-nonsense guide to achieving optimal weight and lifelong health, by Mark Hyman, MD. • Stay hydrated - Our brains depend on proper hydration to function optimally and thus, lose efficiency when we are dehydrated. (One rule of measure to help determine if you are hydrated: pale yellow urine, close to the color of straw. If it is clear and colorless and you may actually be drinking too much water and may need to balance your electrolyte levels.)

• Drink non-fluoridated water – fluoride is a neurotoxin, and it can make its way to the brain. Most of our tap water has fluoride added!

• Natural coconut water is good source of hydration, as it contains five essential electrolytes: sodium, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium.

For more specific products, links, recommendations, and discounts—check out the Brain page on my website www. thriveandfly.com where I feature my Top 20 Picks for Optimal Brain Health, as well as upcoming dates for Brain Healthy Lifestyle Classes, teaching clients how to simplify the process of living an ongoing Brain Healthy Lifestyle.

www.Thriveandflycoaching.com

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About the Author Michelle Gillette is an Optimal Brain Health Coach, Life & Wellness Coach & Focus TV Show Host, passionate about sharing the latest findings in optimal health, wellness, longevity & brain health. Also experienced at providing coaching support & guidance in goal-setting, strategizing, overcoming limiting beliefs and implementing actionable plans for personal and career success.

Building a Dream with Corc

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or Christine Moghadam, a secondgeneration Chinese American, the American dream started long before the launch of her yoga brand. As the child of immigrants, she watched her parents work diligently to build their own business – learning from a young age that anything’s possible when you follow your dreams, work hard, and show compassion for others. It’s no surprise that these same values have molded Corc Yoga into the unique and thoughtful brand it is today.

Despite a lifelong affinity for helping others, one of Christine’s biggest inspirations for her business model stemmed from her own moment of need. As a teenager, struggles with stress and anxiety ultimately led her to develop a severe eating disorder in high school. Desperate for help, she reached out to her loved ones – and with their love and support, was able to undergo the treatment she needed to heal. This experience not only fueled her passion for mental clarity, but set her on the path to healthy living and charitable giving – values she still holds close today.

Just a few years later, while studying cross-cultural studies at Biola University, Christine met her now-husband and business partner, Sol. They bonded instantly – sharing a love for creative expression, travel, and fitness. What’s more, they connected with each others’ stories. Sol, too, had grappled with mental health, having grown up on the streets of Iran during the Iran/Iraq war. He emigrated to the states at the age of 17 to chase his own American dream – and together, it looks like they’ve found it.

Today, the couple is married with two young boys of their own. As a multi-cultural family, travel has become a centerpiece of their life – but one trip in particular truly left its mark. In 2016, Christine experienced Portugal for the first time and fell in love with the country. The culture, the people, the customs, the food, wine, and beauty... She was swept away by all of it. Before long, she returned with her family to explore all that Portugal has to offer – including the cork.

Throughout their visit, they toured cork factories, learning all about the extraction and production process. It was during this time that they discovered how versatile cork truly is.

Since they’re the only trees capable of regenerating their bark, stripping the trees does not cause harm to the environment.

In fact, a highly regulated industry protects the health of the forests – only allowing cork trees to be stripped every 9 years.

Meanwhile, the harvest season creates thousands of jobs in Portugal and even the cork “waste” is put to use to fuel the factories!

In addition to being 100% recyclable, renewable, and biodegradable, cork serves several purposes – from wine stoppers and cork boards to handbags and (of course) yoga mats. The more Christine learned about cork, the more she could recognize its natural benefits for yogis… like its non-slip grip, antimicrobial properties, and lightweight but durable structure.

Suddenly, something clicked. Without hesitation, Christine decided to start her own business – one that’s gentle on the environment and our bodies, and gives back to those in need.

Corc Yoga specializes in crafting fitness and lifestyle products from organic cork, sustainably sourced in Portugal. A portion of every sale goes directly toward supporting youth mental health initiatives.

Since launching in March of 2018, Christine has had the pleasure of returning to Portugal with her family to film their origin story, as well as collaborate with some wonderful organizations, causes, and ambassadors. Together, they’re on a mission to make our world a safer, smarter, and healthier place to live – one yoga mat at a time.

To learn more about Christine and her eco-friendly brand Corc Yoga, visit the website: www.corcyoga.com or find them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

http://corcyoga.com focusmag.us 51

How To Set Healthy Boundaries To Give You More Time, Energy and Vitality

BY SAMARA ZELNIKAR

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ife is full of wonderful opportunities to connect and support others. You may have a steady job, a family who loves you and the support of friends and colleagues. You want to show up for them positively and constantly be fulfilling their expectations for you.

The truth is, you don’t. The more you understand how valuable you are, the more others will start to see your value too. You teach other people how you want to be treated and when you treat yourself with dignity and respect, others will too. It works like a ripple effect and when you let your light shine, you unconsciously give other people the ability to do the same

I am assuming that you put a lot of pressure on yourself to be great at everything. The best partner, parent, child, friend, employee, employer, philanthropist, and the list goes on. You think that more is better and it gives you some sort of satisfaction to be the one people can rely on, the most productive or the most connected . But what is all of this at the expense of? All that pressure can be really overwhelming.

Will this go over well with everyone?

Truthfully, no. Some people will be scared of your power and your ability to honour yourself. Others will not want you to change because they got used to you being a certain way. But most people will respect it and will look at you as an example.

Since you gave yourself permission to honour yourself, you are giving them the permission to do the same.

Is more better?

Our society is always telling us that more is better and that you have to do things for other people before you do things for yourself. But is this in fact true? Often, when you neglect our own self care or forget to do what really makes you happy, you feel depleted, resentful and exhausted. You forget what is actually important to you and can feel as though you are living your life on autopilot.

Conscious Choices So when it comes to making commitments and setting healthy boundaries, know that you always have the opportunity to make a conscious choice. Since there is 24 hours in a day, when you say yes to something you are saying no to something else.

Before committing, take the opportunity to check in with yourself and ask what is your intention behind your action.

But, you have it ALL backwards.

You think that you need to put everyone else’s needs in front of your own when in fact, it is the exact opposite that is true.

You have to put your needs first so that you have the energy and right intention to care for others. It’s in getting to know yourself and understanding what makes you happy, that will allow you to uncover the best version of yourself which in turn will allow you to show up best for others in your life.

Think about a situation where you do something that you don’t really want to do versus when you do something from your heart. It is a completely different experience and has a totally different feel to it. You feel lighter, more at ease and happier when you do things willfully. The exact opposite is true when you do things that you don’t want to do. It feels heavy, resentful and tiring.

Make sure it is in line with your values and not someone else’s.

So take a moment to ask yourself, why do you feel like you have to do things that you don’t agree with in order to make others feel better about themselves? Why do you believe that you have to compromise your own happiness in order to make others shine? Why are you doing something that you think you should versus something that you really want?

Set expectations. By setting expectations the people or project that you are committing to will know what you are capable of and be able to act accordingly. Do not base expectations on what you think others want from you. Base them on what is realistically possible for you.

Honour your choice and the decision that you have made even if others disagree. Not everyone is going to stand by your choices all the time but as long as you are making the decision from an honest place that feels good to you, they will find a way to stand behind it.

Finally know that every decisions that you make will teach you something. If something doesn’t feel good, you have the opportunity to change it the next time around. If something feels great, you can continue to repeat it.

http://.mindfulnessmatters.ca

focusmag.us 53

Locations 109 North La Cienega Blvd.

Beverly Hills, CA 90211 310 855-1059

2924 Beverly Glen Circle Los Angeles, CA 90077 424 832 3056

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Wielding Influence – Sarah McDaniel

I

n the ‘Age of Influencers,’ Instagram has no shortage of pretty faces. However, very few make the leap from IG to wielding actual influence in their industry. One exception is Sarah McDaniel.

Sarah quickly became the first non-nude cover girl for Playboy Magazine, recently produced stop motion animation videos with the leading studio in this field, is starring in two feature films debuting this summer, and she is the CEO of soon-to-launch CBD-oil skincare line Walagoot.

When meeting with Sarah, the first thing one notices is how unintimidating this stunning model is. While her beauty is undeniable, her demeanor is welcoming and quirky, something she embraces as a self-proclaimed geek. Fun fact: she’s a regular science contributor to HuffPo and Futurism!

Sarah got her break in modeling by flaunting her most unique physical attribute, her heterochromia iridium (two different colored eyes) across social media. Her Instagram presence quickly skyrocketed, and she caught the attention of professional photographer/videographer, Theo Wenner, who hired her to star in a music video for Mark Ronson of the hit group Tame Impala’s, “Summer Breaking.” The video went on to attain 1.9 million views and led to modeling gigs with brands including Guess. From there, Theo asked Sarah to pose for the first non-nude issue of Playboy Magazine. She graced the cover of the magazine and had a feature spread in the issue which landed her as a guest on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and feature articles on Yahoo! News, GQ, and more. “This was the turning point in my modeling career.

After Playboy and appearing on Colbert, things really changed for me. I was no longer another Instagram model and had opportunities that I never had before. I knew I wanted to use my platform to do more,” shared McDaniel.

Sarah soon leveraged her modeling fame to break into acting.

She recently starred in Lionsgate’s “The Row” debuting this summer from Director Matty Beckerman and opposite Lala Kent. She also starred in the psychological thriller, “Perfect,” alongside Abbie Cornish and Leonardo Nam and executive produced by Steven Soderbergh. The film premiered at the 2018 SXSW Festival in Austin, TX, and will debut in theaters nationwide this October. “While I really enjoy modeling and acting, I also had a passion for filmmaking that wasn’t satisfied just being in front of the camera. I had an idea for a character that I wanted to create and started the process of learning about stop motion animation,” said Mc Daniel.

After research and development, Sarah went on to direct short stop-motion films around the character of “The Professor”

in conjunction with Movie Mountain Studios, a leading stop motion and animation production company. The character is an animated rabbit using the voice of scientists and iconic thought leaders including Terence McKenna, Alan Watts, and Carl Sagan. “We are now working on a cyclops character for our next series and continuing to develop additional videos featuring The Professor. “I quickly learned that stop motion is one of the hardest filmmaking processes and it is not for those who aren’t truly committed to the time and financial investment it takes to see a project to fruition. However, I really love this medium and look forward to moving forward as a filmmaker. I’m inspired by my friend and mentor, Foster Huntington, who is a leader in this space and taught me everything I know about stop motion. He’s working on a much larger scale, and I look forward to doing the same over the next few years,” said McDaniel.

In addition to her work in entertainment, Sarah is also a female entrepreneur and rising leader in the cannabis industry.

She founded her CBD oil line, Walagoot after having struggled with acne and skin blemishes her entire life. “As a young teenager, I was overweight and suffered from acne. I faced bullying over both and did everything I could including trying Accutane, over-the-counter medication, and every fad on the market with no results. I knew there had to be something elsesomething natural. That’s what led me to explore cannabis. I knew that the plant’s oils had healing properties and I began experimenting on my skin. I partnered with a friend in Colorado who recommended the proper mix of oils, and then I added some personal touches and my line was born,” shared McDaniel.

Sarah’s line, Walagoot, will be available for online orders in the next few weeks and she doesn’t plan to stop there. “I’d eventually like to expand from topicals to more medicinal tinctures for things like bone density, migraines, and eventually herbal chemo. I’d really like to use my knowledge of CBD oil to help people medically and work toward creating cancer preventatives. There’s an entire untapped market with cannabis and medicine. I’m really excited to see how in the coming years cannabis will be used to help cancer patients, those suffering from pain, seizures and more. I want to be a part of that,” said McDaniel.

If her past is any indication, it seems the sky is the limit for McDaniel. We’ll certainly be watching!

Sarah is currently signed with 28th Ave (28thAve.com) and Abram Artists (AbramArtists.com). You can follow her at Instagram.com/Krotchy.

Instagram.com/Krotchy

focusmag.us 57

How this Harvard Mom is Taking on our Mental Health and School Violence Crisis

BY EDEN YADEGAR

I

n an era of mass school shootings and a national mental health crisis, emotional intelligence seems to be a major factor in alleviating these problems.

As a 15 years old girl, both school violence and mental health issues play recurring roles in my daily life and pose as threats to our safety and well being – both physically and emotionally. Curious to find a solution to issues that affect all of our lives, I had the pleasure of speaking with Harvard graduate and mother of four, Sofia Dickens, creator of the Q Wunder show, app, toys and early learning curriculum.

Prior to creating the first ever holistic solution to social emotional learning, Dickens worked in educational media, and later followed in the footsteps of Anderson Cooper and Lisa Ling as a host of Channel One News.

Here’s what Dickens has to say about creating a future of confident, empathetic, and successful adults.

What defines emotional intelligence, and what are the primary differences between EQ and IQ? Emotional intelligence or emotional quotient (EQ) is the ability to manage your emotions and impulses for positive outcomes and to develop healthy relationships with others. These crucial life skills include patience, focus, self-control, grit, empathy, problem solving, and social skills. While your IQ is largely determined by genetics and is somewhat fixed after birth, the great news is that your EQ can be taught and improved throughout life.

What inspired you to create an emotional intelligence program and curriculum?

I was blown away when I learned that 40 years of research show that social emotional skills are the key to life success, and yet we spend very little time in school and at home really developing these skills. While parents and teachers intuitively know that social emotional skills are most important, we don’t have the tools to teach our kids. I wanted to make learning life skills fun, easy, and affordable, so every child would have the advantage of growing in the areas that have the most impact on their lives.

Why did you choose to target young children?

As a mom of four kids, I recognized how critical the early years are in forming the right mindset, the right behavior, and a habit of good decision making. Teachers report that 30% of their students come to kindergarten unprepared socially and

emotionally, but studies show that just by slightly improving a child’s life skills early on, we see a huge payoff when it comes to classroom readiness and lifelong success.

Asking as a concerned teenager, do you think that incorporating emotional intelligence education will bring down the rate of teen anxiety, depression, and ultimately school violence?

Like many others, I believe that incorporating social emotional learning in the classroom is one of the keys to our nation’s mental health and school violence crisis. States that have mandated social emotional learning have shown an average of 19% reduction in aggressive behaviors, and have experienced great improvements in their school environment. One school in Philadelphia, cited recently by the Parkland student advocates, saw a 90% reduction in violent behaviors and incidents just by focusing on student empowerment, relationship building and anger management.

Google recently shocked everyone by stating that of their top 8 qualities of their highest performers, the first 7 were life skills, not academic or IQ-based. If we can shift our focus from memorization and test scores to the skills that have an even greater impact on our mental, emotional and physical health, I believe we can alleviate many of the pressures students deal with on a daily basis.

The Q Wunder app is available on the App Store for iOS and Android. The Q Wunder curriculum is available on Www. QWunder.com/teachers. And the board game and toys are available on QWunder.com and Amazon. focusmag.us 59

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Model CITIZEN

Chef Seth Greenburg Takes on Beverly Hills

BY TAMBI SAFFRAN FOCUS FOOD EDITOR

T

here are upstanding citizens and then there is the outstanding CITIZEN, a restaurant in Beverly Hills. Located in the heart of the city, this vibrant gem with delicious fare brought to you by Executive Chef, Seth Greenburg, bustles with social gatherings daily from lunch to happy hour until closing. The décor is eclectic with macrame planters surrounding the bar area and an enormous brick wall masterpiece created

by Citizen designer Kris Keith of Spacecraft Group, lining the main dining room. The design of the entire restaurant is well thought out and inviting.

Executive Chef Greenburg, a Los Angeles native, brings a menu to Citizen that is as exciting as the décor, along with his wealth of experience. He’s worked in such restaurants as L’Orangerie in Los Angeles and Cuisine Francais in Chicago, and trained under his mentor, Michelin starred chef, Gilles Epié. Greenburg also served as opening Executive Chef at the Dakota Restaurant in the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, and then went on to work as Executive Chef at The Penthouse in Santa Monica for a number of years. Chef Greenburg‘s American menu at Citizen highlights the global flavors of Los Angeles as it is based on what’s available at the local farmers market... what Greenburg says is an advantage of being a chef in Los Angeles. It’s never boring!

Chef Greenburg and Citizen have launched a tantalizing new menu. Guests can look for Chef Greenburg’s signature items such as Steak Noodle Salad, Wild White Shrimp Taco, Brick Pressed Chicken, Steak Frites, and one of his all time favorites, Halibut in Parchment paper, always a staple on the menu. A new selection of cocktails is also available to complement Greenburg’s menu.

When I came to Citizen for my first time it was to experience their unique “7 for 7 ‘til 7” Happy Hour program (Seven dishes for $7 til 7) that occurs Monday thru Friday from 2:30pm to 7pm. I highly recommend it. Standout choices include short rib tacos, albacore tuna tacos and delicious

hummus. To accompany the food, Citizen offers a great bar selection including a cocktail of the month where a portion of your tab will benefit a local charity. What a great idea! #cocktailforacause It says on the Citizen website that if you spend enough time in a particular restaurant or bar, you become a citizen there.

Citizen looks forward to welcoming you...

In the meantime, I welcome you to read my one-on-one interview with Executive Chef Seth Greenburg: Where did you grow up?

Here in LA. How old were you when you knew you wanted to become a chef?

17 How long have you been a chef professionally and did you train anywhere?

I’ve been in the kitchen since I was 17. I talked my way into a job at the Ritz Carlton in Pasadena. From there I went to L’Orangerie and trained under Michelin star chef Gilles Epie.

How long have you been at Citizen?

Almost a year.

How long did it take you to come up with the menu and what items are you most excited about?

The menu is always a work in progress. I'm most excited about whatever we are going to do next.

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Photo Credits: Katie Bickerstaff Photography - Chef Seth Greenburg and Food Wonho Frank Lee - Interiors and Food Citizen Beverly Hills - Food 76 FOCUS | O C T O BE R 2 0 1 8

What are your signature dishes?

Halibut in parchment paper What is 7 for 7 til 7?

It's our happy hour... Seven food items for $7 until 7 o’clock What is the most popular item on the menu?

Short rib tacos or cheddar biscuits...both are super popular.

What inspires you to come up with dishes?

Usually the farmer’s market. Whatever the farmers are most excited about is what I get excited about. That excitement usually leads to ideas.

What do you think is the key to a successful restaurant?

Happy guests and a staff that is happy to serve them.

What is your favorite ingredient?

Today? Black garlic.

What is your favorite kitchen gadget and why?

A spoon. It’s the most versatile tool in the kitchen.

What do you do for fun when are you are not working?

Hang out with my daughter and wife as much as possible. If that’s not an option, golf does the trick.

What do you like to eat when you’re not at the restaurant?

I like to eat anything where I can actually sit down and eat it (unlike being at the restaurant).

Do you have a favorite chef or cookbook that’s your go-to for inspiration?

Probably too many to list. There are hundreds of cookbooks.

But really it’s the people I’ve worked with that keep me most

inspired. Watching the people I’ve either mentored, or those who have mentored me, grow as cooks and as humans, is more inspiring to me than almost anything.

If you had one last request meal, what would it be?

Char siu (bbq pork) from Paul’s Kitchen in DTLA. If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and what would you eat?

My dad. We would probably eat at a Jewish deli. Corned tongue sandwich with 1,000 island, Swiss cheese and cucumber salad on rye...amazing!

Where do you see yourself in 5 and 10 years from now?

Hopefully playing a lot of golf!

Do you have any advice for young people who want to become chefs?

Get a job in a working kitchen before committing to a culinary school. Get a real idea of what the life is like.

Citizen, Beverly Hills 184 N. Canon Drive Beverly Hills, CA 90210 310.402.5885 www.citizenbeverlyhills.com Instagram: @citizen90210 focusmag.us 77

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Terra Chef Eli Anderson

Bringing Savory Elements of the Earth to the Table at Eataly LA

BY TAMBI SAFFRAN FOCUS FOOD EDITOR

T

erra, the highly anticipated rooftop restaurant and lounge at Eataly LA, opened on March 29. Rooftop restaurants are quite popular in Los Angeles and this one, located in Century City at the Westfield Mall, features an al fresco terrace lounge, as well as an indoor-outdoor dining space, two private dining rooms, and communal tables. The ideal California weather is sure to make Terra a year-round destination.

Terra, which means “earth” in Italian, highlights the strong connection with the land through materia prima , or “raw material.” The authentically Italian open concept restaurant features a fire pit, an outdoor garden, a grill and a live 20-year-old olive tree adorning the outdoor dining space. The olive tree carries a multi-level symbolism; its connection to the earth, to which Terra is dedicated, the essence of the restaurants botanical theme, and Eataly’s attention to the environment – the tree sources water from Eataly L.A’s in-house greywater recycling system.

Under the direction of Executive Chef Eli Anderson, Terra’s full-service wood-burning Italian grill brings the ground-to-grill experience to life: simple and seasonal ingredients presented in shareable meals, Italian skewers known as arrosticini (one of Chef Anderson’s favorite dishes!), whole-grilled vegetables, rotisserie dishes, and more. The open grill, located at the entrance of the restaurant, is the first thing customers notice upon arrival. The element of fire, represented by the grill, and the earth elements showcased within each dish, combine to create an unforgettable gastronomic experience of aromas and flavors. Earth elements continue to shine through with Terra’s outdoor botanical garden which grows the fresh herbs and vegetables used in the restaurant’s dishes and cocktails.

"Terra is the essence of Eataly,” explains Nicola Farinetti, CEO of Eataly USA. “It’s a place built on the very foundation of cooking, where the ingredients are celebrated before the recipes. It’s a place where we take the concept of “It’s difficult to be simple” to the extreme. In a day and age where cooking is becoming more automatized and focused on technology, Terra brings back the idea of fire and the cooks’ natural ability to highlight the flavors, colors, and shapes of the highest-quality ingredients available."

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Terra is truly a place where all the experiences of Eataly come What are the challenges to working at a rooftop restaurant?

The view... (Chef Anderson obviously has a sense of humor!) together to create the ultimate Italian, meeting place.

Meet Terra Executive Chef, Eli Anderson – Interviewed by Tambi Saffran, Focus Food Editor:

How long did it take you to come up with a menu and what are your signature dishes?

About a year. My favorites are c arrots, arrosticini (Italian meat skewers or as it says on the menu “speared meat things”), and the white vegetable selection.

What do you think is the key to a successful restaurant?

Definitely the staff.

What is your favorite kitchen gadget and why?

A vegetable peeler – it’s so useful!

What do you do for fun when are you are not working?

I like to fish.

What do you like to eat when you’re not at the restaurant?

Tacos and steamed crabs.

Do you have a favorite chef or cookbook that’s your go-to for inspiration?

I go to Ma Gastronomie by Fernand Point.

If you had one last request meal, what would it be?

Singapore chili crab and Bintang Beer.

Where did you grow up? When did you know you wanted to become a chef?

I was born in Montana and raised in Indonesia. I knew I wanted to become a chef from a very young age. My mother was a chef and I was always with her in the kitchen.

How long have you been a chef professionally and did you train anywhere?

I’ve been a chef for 20 years. I graduated from Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon and did an apprenticeship in Italy.

Where did you work before Eataly LA? Eataly Chicago, Boston, San Paulo and New York. I’ve been with the company a long time!

If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and what would you eat?

My mom’s sweet & sour pork with my parents because I don’t see them enough!

If you were stranded on a desert island, what 5 ingredients would you bring and why?

Salt, sugar, chili, vinegar and oil because you can’t cook much without these.

Where do you see yourself in 5 and 10 years from now?

Hopefully close to some fishy water.

Do you have any advice for young people who want to become chefs?

Show up, work hard, repeat.

Terra means “earth” in Italian. What we can expect at the restaurant that fits that definition?

Great ingredients prepared simply.

I understand this is the second Terra, the first one being in Boston. What are the differences between Terra Boston and Terra LA? The local product available. There are many more options here.

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Terra at Eataly LA 10250 Santa Monica Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90067 213-310-8008 eataly.com/us_en/stores/los-angeles/la-terra Instagram: @terralosangeles

Photography: Interiors/Exteriors by Elizabeth Daniels Chef and Food shots Courtesy of Eataly

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Reinventing Your Favorite Foods Gail Becker + CAULIPOWER

G

ail Becker is the Founder and CEO of CAULIPOWER. She previously served as President of Strategic Partnerships and Global Integration at Edelman, Chair of the Global Women’s Executive Network, VP of Communications at Warner Bros. She enjoyed a healthy run in public service as Director of Communications for the Department of Health & Human Services, press liaison for the Clinton/ Gore campaign and on-air broadcast journalist in Washington D.C. Gail launched CAULIPOWER in 2017, and it quickly became the fastest growing frozen pizza brand in the U.S. and #1 gluten-free pizza.

As a mom in the corporate world, Gail’s time was at a premium. For two sons with celiac disease, family pizza night was a choice between high-sugar, high-calorie, lownutrition store-bought gluten-free pizza or tedious, messy and precarious homemade gluten-free pizza. She finally cracked the code with a cauliflower recipe but realized that the solution of delicious cauliflower pizza still needed its own solution to make it accessible for busy, modern

families. So, Gail brought her recipe to grocers nationwide, finally making cauliflower nutrition easier to find, afford and use, while tasting the way our favorite foods should.

CAULIPOWER reinvents our favorite comfort foods to be naturally nutritious, righteously delicious and accessible to all. CAULIPOWER products use real cauliflower and nothing synthetic, resulting in nutrient-rich, naturally gluten-free options lower in calories, sugar, sodium and fat. Leading an all new grocery category, CAULIPOWER makes convenient pizzas that taste like conventional recipes, only easy for busy, modern families to find and make.

Gail is committed to gratifying flavors that work harder for wellness, supporting other entrepreneurs making the leap and to encouraging a new generation of kids to love their vegetables. CAULIPOWER proudly supports OneSun, a program creating edible gardens in underserved schools and educating kids on where real food comes from. She will be unveiling more new CAULIPOWER products in 2018.

Learn more, find a retailer or get recipe inspiration at EatCAULIPOWER.com and with the @CAULIPOWERED community on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.

www.eatcaulipower.com Instagram: @caulipowered

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The Newest Grand Velas Seaside Sanctuary On Mexico’s Baja Peninsula ~ Grand Velas Los Cabos

BY WENDY KRETCHMER FOCUS TRAVEL EDITOR

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P

ack your bags, because we are headed to The Grand Velas Los Cabos, the 5th and newest hotel for the all-inclusive Velas Resorts Brand. Our family has been a fan of the Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit, but we had yet to visit the newest addition in Cabo. One of the best things about the Grand Velas is that it makes luxury travel with other families so effortless, affordable and so much fun.

My girls and I had been eager to go, so I invited a few of my mommy friends and their kids and off we went!! Everything about this trip was easy, starting from the quick 2 hour direct flight from LAX to Cabo where we were picked and chauffeured to the hotel. When we arrived, the view from the openair entryway was just breathtaking. And all 304 large luxury suites have ocean views. The abundance of beauty everywhere you look is intoxicating.

The resort is perfectly situated on a beautiful beach, and only about 20 minutes from the airport.

It’s only a 12 minute drive to downtown Cabo San Lucas, but you don’t have any reason to leave if you are thinking you might get bored with the food. There are 7 varied casual and fine dining restaurant choices + a coffee bar. It’s honestly a foodie’s paradise! Five of the restaurants are gourmet and led by top chefs, including 2 star Michelin chef Sidney Schutte, complemented by an extensive beverage program and wine based features inspired by the property’s proximity to Mexico’s fine wine region.

Each restaurant is unique and different from the other, yet all dining options offer vegetarian/vegan options and accommodate all food allergies. focusmag.us 91

Here is a rundown: Amat Cafe: I started my day with a delicious iced vanilla latte from this NESPRESSO coffee bar located in the lobby every morning.

It’s open all day and offers an assortment of pastries and other light snacks.

acacia honey, to be paired with a selection of wine from the two wine cellars in the dining room.

Velas 10: This ambience of this steak and seafood restaurant is incredible and the food is delicious. This was our group’s favorite restaurant. Overlooking the incredible beach and ocean, the interior is like walking into a lush tropical garden with earthy wood accents and marble floors. The Velas 10 is exclusive to only this Grand Velas property and originates from the town that the owners of the Velas properties are from.

Azul: This is the one size fits all restaurant overlooking the ocean that provides a fresh buffet style breakfast, lunch and dinner with so many choices that even the pickiest eater will be satisfied with the variety of choices consisting of cuisines from around the world.

Breakfast includes a made to order omelet station, The global cuisine The food include burgers, sushi, pasta, pizza, burritos and tacos. Breakfast extravaganza favorites include pancakes, eggs, cereals and yogurts. doesn’t end there.

You can indulge Cabrilla: This pool side restaurant serves freshly caught seafood and yourself in endless a variety of ceviche all day long and into the night in a very casual drinks and nibbles setting. by the pool all day long. A server is Cocina de Autor: This restaurant is the crown jewel in special always close by to experiences of all of the all the restaurants certainly at the resort, take your menu and quite possibly in Cabo. Two Michelin star Head Chef Sidney order, or to get your Schutte of the Netherlands fly in a 4x a year, to check on the chefs something from (2 of the permanent the outdoor grill. chefs are from the My personal daily Netherlands), the obsession from the menus and the grill was the fresh process. It’s an 11 shrimp burgers. course tasting menu Another pool side - you start in the favorite was the bar, first 3 bite size made-to-order dishes are served guacamole from the in the bar and are cart. The guacamole paired with drinks cart could also concocted by the found inside at Azul too. Somehow we always found it. chef and mixologist.

When you move We ate so much on this stress-free trip that the only thing we to your table in the worried about was packing on the pounds. Well, just a little because main dining room, we stayed pretty active. The resort has a state of the art fitness center you’ll indulge in a overlooking the beautiful ocean, and exercise programs including playful 8-10 course yoga, pilates and meditation. tasting menu. Master sommelier, Pedro Poncelis, pairs every dish with a specific wine.

Your personal concierge, available to you 24 hours a day, can This is a true culinary experience! also arrange an array of activities for you like sailing, fishing, snorkeling, whale watching, hang gliding, fly boarding and even Frida: This restaurant serves very authentic Mexican food, so don’t a camel safari! We had our concierge make our spa appointments come here looking for a bean and cheese burrito. Instead, you will and dinner reservations! Yes, we felt spoiled! (Note these activities find gourmet dishes like Lomito De Res Braseado, which translated and spa treatments are not a part of the all-inclusive price, but your means: Angus prime beef tenderloin over truffle dust, crusted in concierge is!) sun-dried chile ancho and served with xoconostle sauce. The name of the restaurant pays homage to the relentless spirit of Mexican Ultimately, the highlights of our trip were the level of service, the painter Frida Kahlo. luxurious rooms, and unbelievable food quality. Even our trip to the spa blew us away. The Grand Velas properties have long been known Lucca: This restaurant offers gourmet Italian and Mediterranean fine for their excellence in providing high end all-inclusive experiences, dining dishes including antipasti, risotto, fresh pasta, wood-fired but this property sets a new standard. Don’t let the “all-inclusive” pizzas, grilled octopus, lamb shank, filet mignon and more. part discourage you. The Grand Velas takes the all-inclusive concept to another level and gives you a true 5 star experience.

Piaf: At this romantic and classic French bistro, Chef Aurélien Legeay, changes the menu at this restaurant at least once a year.

The menu here features foie gras, white truffle, hazelnut butter and https://loscabos.grandvelas.com/

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It’s our craveable food that keeps our regulars coming back for more. From simple, but always satisfying, smashed avocado toast to delicate roasted branzino, The Henry menu has something tempting for every palate. Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner, there’s always a good time to drop by and discover a new favorite.

THE HENRY 120 North Robertson Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90048 thehenryrestaurant.com

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