VETERANS' CORNER WITH GINA BAKER-ALDERMAN

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Happy New Year!

This is one of my favorite times of year. As I stand outside in the crisp air, closing my eyes, I try to imagine where my life path will take me in 2023. Looking ahead, I am excited for a full year of endless possibilities and adventures. I can feel the excitement and anticipation in the air.

As you plan for 2023, please keep in mind the men and women who serve our country. A significant number of these men and women are stationed in remote locations around the world or at sea on aircraft carriers and submarines. Many of them have returned to their homes and are readjusting to life with their families. Some of these men and women may be living in temporary quarters with friends and family or in transition to their new home and duty station.

As I ring in the new year, I consider how I can best support active military and veteran members who may benefit from a little extra assistance. While on active duty, I had a tradition of going to the base chow halls and helping to serve holiday meals. Following retirement, my husband and I sought out veteran nonprofits offering our assistance. We often participate in delivering Thanksgiving meal baskets or supporting the military child "toy drive at Christmas. This year I have a desire to dig deeper and give back a little more than I have in the past years.

As I scan the Keesler Air Force Base (Mississippi Gulf Coast) website, I see many ways to get involved in our community's support of our military and veterans service members and their families. Here are ten areas that could benefit from our “ acts of service:

The Airman's Attic is looking for donated items as well as volunteers to help sort and display donated items, volunteers to man the front desk, customer verification checks, item tracking, and facility maintenance.

The Base Youth Center is looking for tutors after school.

The Keesler Medical Center has needs to serve at the information desk, as a patient escort, working in the Chaplain’s office, volunteering at the main pharmacy, assisting at the exchange pharmacy and working inside the volunteer office.

The Sergeant's Association is looking for volunteers to help with beach cleanup.

VETERANS CORNER: ACTS OF SERVICE

By Gina Baker Alderman

The Retirees Activities Office is looking for people to answer questions and refer people to other resources.

There are also volunteer opportunities at the Keesler AFB Thrift Shop.

The Armed Services Blood Program Center is looking for blood donations to send overseas.

Your contribution can help support the monthly Fisher House dinners.

The Mississippi Aviation Heritage Museum is looking for volunteers for both inside the museum and for upcoming summer camps in 2023.

The USO Gulf Coast is looking for volunteers to assist as a host to offer snacks, sign out game equipment and to provide general help in the center. For more information, go to www.keesler.af.mil/about-us/factsheets/volunteer-opportunities/

I challenge you to make time this week to create a volunteer plan for each quarter of 2023. Supporting an organization for four or five hours a quarter can make a big difference for our community. Making this plan can help ensure you create lasting memories of support and community connection. I send you all love, prayers, and blessings for a prosperous 2023!

Gina Alderman has spent 40 years as a military medical service member and veteran advocate. As the creator of Rugged Warrior Healing Coalition and The Veterans Unchained Project, Gina is passionate about uplifting others and easing suffering. You can connect with Gina through LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginaalderman-4a5b619b

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Dear Dr. BizBuzz:

Help! I am overwhelmed from leaving my dream job in corporate management to starting my own business. I thought the transition would be easier and that ‘working for myself’ would give me the freedom to do what I want to do. My mind doesn’t know what to do nor where to go or how to get there. What is the first thing that I should do? Thank you for your kind advice.

Betty Manchester, NH

Dear Betty:

Thanks for writing about the choice of business overwhelm! Yes, you see the word ‘choice’. The emotion and feeling of disconnectedness from all that you began when you chose to become an entrepreneur comes from missing knowledge and information about the differences in corporate life and ‘entrepreneurial business life.

You are not alone in your thought process. Making any transition, whether in a Fortune 100 company or a new small business venture can manage you instead of you managing the business. I have made choices throughout my business career as a CEO that also brought lots of

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Breathe. Smile. Laugh. Take a step back. Evaluate the outcomes you have achieved to date. Take time to be a visionary and meditate on what intentions you want your company to achieve and ‘ why ’ you want those intentions. Then take time to meditate and write down “ who’ you want to become and what steps you will take to create that person. Make sure you are authentic in your writing and not placing intentions down that you may not be able to focus on and complete in the next year.

One of the most important aspects of moving this emotional feeling into a behavior that you create and can manage is to take care of YOU. It is important to make PRIORITY ONE YOU a daily activity that turns into a habit.

Below is an article I wrote that defines how a CEO mindset can shift from chaos to calm just by creating 5 minutes daily for you time. I hope this helps you begin to change your mindset and see you in an intentional focus on you.

Breathe. Smile. Laugh, Repeat if Needed.

Dr. BizBuzz

THE CEO PRIORITY ONE MINDSET: 5 MINUTES OF SELF-CARE

Business has many facets and faces of success. Business shifts occur daily in the global business environment. The perspective of the C-Suite personnel is very important when overseeing and managing shifts within company culture, departments and personnel. Decisions made by the CSuite management team members has a direct impact on employees in the entire company. This means that is impacts the mental health of the corporate culture. And the irony is that what impacts employees within the work environment follows the path of impacting their personal mental health impacting their choices impacting their behavior.

As a C-Suite management team member consider and choose wisely starting with each morning you wake up. Do you find you take care of yourself after you take care of others? CEO and C-Suite Caregiving to employees at all levels – from the security guard who greets guests in

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a Fortune 10 company to how you interact with your small business customers and vendors in a small business culture -may only be accomplished if you choose to give 100% of yourself.

Throughout my 50 years of consulting with CEOs and C-Suite personnel at all levels in business, I have listened to all types of excuses about why YOU AS PRIORITY ONE is not chosen. Any email you write to tell me how challenging your life is or that there is NO TIME for you does not bring empathy to my heart. Using the ‘ no time ’ excuse thinking is not even close to life balance reality. The choice you make as a CEO/C-Suite will model the behavior of your employee ’ s choice in making decisions, or how they communicate with themselves and others in the workplace. They observe your behavior every day; it overrides the hearing or the written employee policies they sign off on having read at orientation. ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

Distress makes it a priority in your daily life if you allow it. How you react and respond to the distressing issue(s) can trigger negative emotions, depending on your mindset choice. That is a choice YOU and only you make, From how you wake up to how you manage daily activities to what you think about right before you go to sleep.

Your CEO/C-Suite mindset can change each day beginning with 5 MINUTES! You must become a priority on your calendar to make those 5 MINUTES count each day. Just think of how this one small choice will impact your own life balance behavior, your spouse/partner, your family, and most importantly your colleagues and employees. You MUST BE YOUR PRIORITY. It only takes 5 minutes or less to make a difference in making a choice and modeling positive self-care behavior.

Self-care is NOT selfish! For you as a CEO/C-Suite professional to be your best and fully able to care for others, it is important to make YOU a priority.

Here are some fun ways to use those 5 MINUTES. Choose 1 or more of these fun activities and enjoy. Find a quiet space for your retreat- yard, bathroom, closet, or car. They are adaptable to all ages, from a home-based business to Fortune 10 corporate culture. Take 5 MINUTES and try ONE.

o Wiggle your toes, ankles, and legs.

o Stretch your hands and fingers high in the air. Take a breath in and out. Smile. Laugh, Repeat.

o Dance or twirl as if everyone is watching you.

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o Read a book or poem aloud to the trees or flowers or your animals.

o Write three things down that you appreciate or are in gratitude.

o Sit in silence and let your mind think of nothing. Listen to the sounds around you.

o Say your daily intentions aloud.

o Repeat 5-4-3-2-1 as many times as needed to refocus your mind to think of something else.

o Look in the mirror and say “I Love You ” while you hug yourself.

Being 100 percent good to yourself as a CEO/C-Suite management member allows you to give 100 percent of yourself to everyone whom you influence and inspire daily.

Sher Graham is CEO/EVP, NeuroBehavior for OSBI/Synergy Solutions Collab, Mobile, AL, an international mindset transformation speaker and best-selling author, journalist and behavioral health advocate. She may be reached at synergytosoar@gmail.com.

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Special Business Topics

TEAMWORK REQUIRES ACTIVE ENERGY

B Y S H E R G R A H A M

Teamwork! Hurrah! We can call ourselves a team. STOP! Are you really a team that is working as a team should work?

Teamwork is a system created by human beings (affectionately known as team members) who have various skills, gifts, talents, and methods of thinking. The vision is to bring together diverse members within an organization system to work towards the same goal, whatever it may become. The mission of the team is to create an internal system that gives all members of the Team an opportunity to use their specific skill, gift, talent or method of thinking at the highest level of performance, creating a successful outcome.

Sounds like a wonderful plan, doesn 't it? Many teams are able to come together to create a successful outcome, possibly without any obstacles that cannot be resolved through communication and commitment to the project. Each team member sees the point of view of each team member and has the autonomy to voice opinion and feel heard. A consensus is formed, and the challenges have resolution and responsibility assigned.

Have you been a member of a team that has managed to come together without conflict or different points of view and found resolution? Or not? ? I am sure that each of us have been a member of such a team and have been a team leader that has seen your team members find their

points of view about the project. What everyone has in common is ENERGY. Yes, energy.

My coaching mentor Eva Gregory, Enlightened Business Success Academy (www.evagregory.com) shared some thoughts about quantum energy last month. I want to share some thoughts with you to consider. 1. Our bodies are energy in motion.

2. The more conscious of how we are aware, and paying attention - the more we are more likely to change the way we are.

3. What works for others can work for us.

4. How we act and feel depends on what energy level we choose to be at. Do we choose to see a better way? Forget what is in the past; if it did not work, create something different. If you continue to use what did not work in the past, you will get the same result!

5. Create new connections within your brain. Learn something new every day. We have to become the person who is conscious to change mindset, feel and change talk.

6. Think of the vision of what you want. Stop thinking of the past. Stop putting on the brakes. Feel into it. Your thoughts are engines. Your feelings are the fuel.

8. Ask yourself questions that you want answers to. How would greatness live through me? Know you are asking questions to be YES on what you focus.

9. Use Segment Intention - practice what you envision in segments. You do not need to need to know the "How "? Let the opportunity of happiness, joy and energy bring you the energy that surrounds you.

10. Activate your imagination. Teach your body what a new future looks like. Do not wait for anything. Be in gratitude NOW for all of it.

I believe in the quantum physics of energy. When my personal energy is aligned with my spiritual or inner self (whatever you call it), then I see, feel and experience the opportunities that are attracted to my energy. It is powerful.

How does this align with teams? I am a team of one. When my energy forces are in alignment with each other, so much more happens. I am heart calm, brain thinking and able to focus on completion of what is before me NOW in the present. There is much I am able to let go and let God or the universe or whatever you call your higher power.

Now, I am able to become part of a team generating 100% of ME to the team, whether I am a member or a leader. I am doing this for the better me to be the catalyst for others. How powerful is the energy in that thought? You are energy. Energy is all around you. Do you feel it? The invisible field around us works for us. Work intentionally, consciously, in the present.

Think Less. Do More. Decide and Do.

Teamwork - no matter how many are on your team.

Sher Graham is CEO/EVP, Neurobehavior for One-Stop Business Institute, Inc./Synergy Solutions Collab in Mobile, AL. Her team coaches and consults with individuals and companies in behavioral health communications to create a healthier and happier corporate culture. She is an international speaker and author, and an optimistic mindset coach. Her 2023 hashtag mantra is #iamfinallyfreeiamme2023! You can contact her through her website at www.shergraham.com.