Global Voice Magazine by Global Voice Magazine

GLOBAL VOICE RADIO

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR “Build it and they will come” (I am originally from Iowa, for those who know this reference), “build the plane while flying” (I at least have seen planes repaired while flying, thanks to my Air Force career), “Just Do It”, whatever it may be you decide to do, “Don’t Wait Til Pigs Fly”, Nancy Becher’s show on Global Voice Radio, and our Global Voice Magazine tagline “The Time Is Now” are all encouraging us to move forward, take that step, take that leap, NOW. So the time is now. It is often said it is better to be 80% and done than never to have launched, waiting for 100%. We are launching at 95%, ok possibly 90% after feedback is received from our readers. If “The Time Is Now”, then I and the Global Voice Team cannot wait, we want to share the VOICES of those who said yes to be a part of our inaugural issue. No reach could be promised, no readers, subscribers, and no initial statistics. There are a few more who said “Yes” and will be a part of the November issue. Last year I launched Global Voice Radio with the support of Irene Pro, and in one year I learned more than I could have imagined.

Already in preparation for launching Global Voice Magazine I have learned another year’s worth of knowledge in a few months!! This is what Global Voice Magazine is about; sharing knowledge, promoting learning, encouraging contributors to share and our readers to learn, grow and create relationships!! You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot—it’s all there, Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure my experiences are positive. Maya Angelou

DENISE JOY THOMPSON

Over the past several years, women, and supportive men, have been stepping up, coming forward, and sharing their voices, emerging from a whimper, a whisper, a shout into a ROAR. As with a roar of a lioness, attention is achieved. Once attention is gained, then it I am excited for the opportunities in my life, the opportunities I can share with others, the opportunities I can create and the opportunities I can collaborate with others to create. The opportunity to make POSITIVE EXPERIENCES!! Over the past several years, women, and supportive men, have been stepping up, coming forward, and sharing their voices, emerging from a whimper, a whisper, a shout into a ROAR. As with a roar of a lioness, attention is achieved. Once attention is gained, then it is time to be clear, to be specific and present effective solutions. Once attention is gained, continued roaring without substance does not promote the issues or solutions. Global Voice Magazine is willing to look at sensitive issues in a way which will provide perspectives from all sides. Though not an activist publication, we cannot ignore the events going on in the world around us. The Time Is Now to come together in collaborative, cooperative and compassionate conversation. Every women has experienced negativity or oppression, even if it was it not clearly seen as oppression at the time. Many of these experiences were approved under the guise of society; history, expectations, “this is how it always has been”. We, as women of today (and men), have the ability, the numbers and the power to create change. Our actions, our words will support our endeavors or they can tear them down. We also want to bring along the men, the world cannot survive with only one gender. Our GLOBAL VOICE encompasses everyone. I, and Nancy Becher, co-collaborator and co-conspirator, are excited for what Global Voice Magazine will be sharing with our readers--business and life tips, social media and marketing hacks, Events, The Author’s Voice Spotlight, and we will be looking for your recommendations of what will be helpful to you. We have an International cast in this issue with contributors from the Bahamas, Canada, England and the US, which is always the plan to have Voices from around the world. Already in November’s issue sections entitled “Name That Show” and “Coffee with A Coach” will be included. November’s issue will also be celebrating the change in season from fall to winter, the holidays (watch for great gift ideas from fellow business owners) and tips for ringing in the New Year. (Being new, of course we are seeking Contributors and Advertisers!!) A HUGE thank you to Nancy Becher for organizational and editorial support, Tamara Collins for the artistic layout design and to Misty Anderson for the creative cover design. A heart-felt thank you to all of our CONTRIBUTORS in this first issue of Global Voice Magazine.

Denise Joy Thompson 4

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Executive Editor Denise Joy Thompson Executive Director Nancy Becher Interior Design Tamara Collins Cover Design Misty Anderson Connect www.facebook.com/globalvoicemagazine www.facebook.com/groups/globalvoicemag-

TABLE OF

CONTENTS AUTHORS VOICE SPOTLIGHT TEN QUICK TIPS TO GROW YOUR BUSINSINESS CONFIDENCE AND PURPOSE SAFETY MAT TERS

42 44 46 57

TIME MANAGEMENT SECRETS SOCIAL MEDIA HACKS UPCOMING EVENTS GLOBAL VOICE RADIO HOSTS

SEVEN SECRETS TO A WONDERFUL LIFE HEROIC SELF LOVE = FREEDOM STOP THE SABOTAGE EMPOWERED VIRTUAL ASSISTANT MOMMYGO: HAVING IT ALL CHOOSING TO BE A HAPPINESS ACTIVIST NO EXCUSES

CONTRIBUTORS

6 8 12 14 17 20 22 26 28 32 34

ALLEXIA BREWER

EDWARD BECHER

ELENA LEDOUX

TRISH LETO

NANCY BECHER CHRISTINE GALLAGHER RUBY KALUZA SHARLENE TRUMET JASON JUSTICE

CAROL DAVIES MAXWELL IVY ANGELIKA CHRISTIE MINET TE RIORDAN HANNAH EDWARDS LESLIE FLOWERS

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THE AUTHOR’S VOICE SPOTLIGHT MONADIKI THE GODDESS OF FIERCE LEADERSHIP

Monadiki, the girl, embodies a tapestry of collective

stories that I have heard over the last 4 years while building relationships with women from all over the world. She is also a big part of me but not exclusively. I wanted a character based in truth but with her own essence as well. She is 13, creative, empathic and not without inner struggle that will prove to be her biggest obstacle in leading completely and authentically. There is a tremendous amount of work that goes into character development, from Pinterest boards, working with illustrators, research and lots of thought as to how the characters will stand alone and together. I wanted a protagonist that is real, one that could be living next door to you. She is. Leadership is a process, a journey that I feel still needs to be discussed more... redefined.

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Leadership starts with each girl leading herself first, with confidence, with boundaries and deep self-love. Only from this place can she go out and lead in the world. How that looks will vary girl to girl. Some will lead in their homes, communities, churches, schools. Some will go on to lead on a grander scale. One of my goals with these books is to close the leadership gap between say, a head of state and the rest of us. Many will relinquish leadership dreams if they can’t be president or the queen and this is simply not serving any of us. It’s the middle group that needs to be empowered and mobilized when it comes to leadership. The middle crowd can many times feel like they are in no man’s land. Which is why the girls in my books are the ‘middle girls.” They lie between the top and the bottom so to speak. Leadership is for anyone, all of us. All the time.

My mission is to provide resources, real talk, and real conversations for girls around the world. These books are going to be filled with dialogues, conflict resolution and introduce diverse characters with unique individuality, a strong awareness to the world around them and a powerful sense of working together in a group. And these characters will discuss their fears, their struggles and express to us that it’s not always easy to step out and be yourself but they do it anyway. Wouldn’t we be happy if our girls could do this? Isn’t this the ultimate goal of what we want for our children? As a mom of 3 girls, I know it is for me. It is my hope that these characters become part of your family. Let’s crack open the leadership conversation NOW!! It’s never too early or too late. Allexia Brewer is the Author and creator of Monadiki, The Fierce Goddess of Leadership, speaker and creator of FIERCE WOMEN LEAD on Facebook and of the FIERCE GIRLS LEAD Brand! Connect with Allexia at 919-780-1775 Befiercelyauthentic@gmail.com and on FB at https://www.facebook.com/groups/FIERCEWOME NENTREPRENEURS To order Monadiki on Amazon click here www.amazon.com/author/allexiabrewer For a signed copy order here: http://bit.ly/2BprpGM

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NANCY BECHER 8

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10 Quick Tips to Grow Your Business You had a dream…you wanted to be your own boss. You wanted the freedom and the money to do the things you wanted in your life and to do them without being controlled by someone else. The boss. You were passionate about what you wanted to create, who you wanted to help and why you wanted to do it. And so you set out to run your own business. Sound familiar? If you consider yourself to be a successful business owner, I know you started out just like that. Your dream began and you were so excited. You got your business cards, your Facebook (and other social media) pages, and you created – a job. And not only did you create a job, but one that took LOTS and LOTS of time, and LOTS and LOTS of money. Only to get not so much in return. I’m guessing this took a long time, too. Right? Great deals of money were spent on hiring those gurus, the experts that told you they could turn you into an overnight success, only working 4 hours a week. Others touted that they had been living in their cars and then six months later were generating 6 and 7 figure incomes. If they could do it, you could too. You bought into those promises, built up your ego knowing that you were just about to turn the corner, and then nothing. Or less than nothing. Four out of five businesses close within the first year of operation. Generally because they don’t have the monetary backing to do what’s necessary to keep the doors open. Here’s where it gets deep. Why don’t they? They might make the best widget in the world, but have they priced it right for the market? Do people know the seller exists and do they want what s/he has to sell? When a business doesn’t take the time to do the work needed to create a business (not just the production of the product or service), then the business is eventually going to fail.

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“ C R E AT E A R O A D MAP” There are things you can do to give yourself better odds on creating a business that is going to last. Here are 10 Quick Tips to Grow Your Business: 1. Create a roadmap of where you want to be in 5 years. This gives you a direction to focus on and helps steer your course. 2. Create both long-term goals and the short steps it takes to move yourself along the road towards those goals. 3. Put no more than 3 things on your daily to-do list. Don’t make them so complicated that you’ll never complete them, but at the same time, make them important enough that they will truly lead you towards that ultimate goal. 4. Take time to be with mentors who can advise you on right ways and wrong ways of doing the work to get you where you want to be. Don’t just hook up with someone who will give you permission to do (or not do) what you want, but find someone who is willing to spend time and energy really working with you to support your business success. 5. Have face-to-face meetings with other like-minded colleagues rather than just always communicating via social media. When you actually sit down with someone and get to know them, their businesses and what they want to happen for themselves, you will see similarities, 10

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you are better able to understand and share the good, bad and ugly of business and in the end you find that you have stronger relationships built than you ever get with just online connections. 6. WRITE IT DOWN. When you write something down, you don’t forget. It sticks in your mind and you can look back at it and say “Oh yeah. I promised to do that”, etc. There is a form of accountability to yourself in that as well. When you put it down you can’t ignore something as easily as if you just had it in your mind at some point or another. 7. Writing is good for to-dos, for thoughts, for any number of things, but when you journal that’s a bit different. Journaling is a great way to open your mind to internal thoughts and feelings that you might not even know you were having. So, journal. 8. At least once a week, look back over the past 7 days and see what successes – big and small – have occurred. You can also look at things that didn’t occur but do not do so with negativity. Ask yourself how you felt about what happened or didn’t happen. Did you feel happy, frustrated, joyful, etc. This is also something to be written down. 9. Although it is often said to not spend a lot of time on social media, spend at least an hour a day visiting groups that are important to your business.

Don’t do any selling, but read the comments and posts of others. Comment and ask questions. This is a great way for people to start to get to know you and to build relationships online. While 5 above says to have in person meetings, you also need to share online and to grow your network that way as well.

free you up to be the person you wanted to be and have the things you wanted to have when you originally started. It’s when you get to number 10 that you know you’ve made it and are now SOARING HIGHER!

10. And finally, when you get to the point where you are really overwhelmed because business is good – there’s just SO much to do and you’re feeling like a juggler dropping those balls everywhere, it’s time to create the processes and strategies (including outsourcing or hiring) that will finally

Nancy Becher dreams of a world that runs on the vibrancy of thousands of small businesses, all working together, making money and living in great supportive communities. As an author, journalist and business consultant for more than 30 years, she has worked with hundreds of companies – large and small (throughout the United States and internationally) -- helping them create strategies and processes that are built to give them more revenues, less stress and raving fans. While knowing that starting and growing a business is hard work, she also believes that there needs to be fun involved and her approach to helping others is to share with them the concept of not waiting “till pigs fly” to get out there and get started. Her first book “Baby Steps to Starting (and Running) Your Own Business” will be out early fall. Practical tips and techniques can be found on her website at www.dontwaittilpigsfly.com.

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Finding my Confidence and Purpose Ruby Kaluza Imagine this, you fall in love with one product and decide to fully jump in not knowing exactly what you are getting into, this is exactly what happened to me and Thirty-One! One day when I was at my annual church bazaar I was browsing and I stopped by a Thirty-One consultant’s table. She handed me a key fob as a thank you for stopping by and you know what I loved it and began to use it every day and found that it was very handy. It would be about 2 years later that I would be substituting at a high school and there was a teacher having a catalog party and I ordered a Thermal tote but, I messed up on the personalization. It wouldn’t be until the following year that I would make the one of the best decisions of my life. I had just quit my teaching job and that night I signed up as a Thirty-One consultant! All I knew at that point was that I loved the products, what Thirty-One stood for and was ready to pursue something new. I had never hosted a party or was even asked by another consultant. I would have my launch party in January and in time learn more and grow about Thirty-One. Thirty-One is a company of the direct selling association. The company was created by Cindy Monroe and its mission is to help women by giving them the opportunity to run their own businesses! Thirty-One School totes. Thirty-One is named after Proverbs 31 in the Bible. Proverbs 31 shares about the ideal wife from the perspective of the Bible. The ideal wife is a faithful servant of God, provider to her husband and family and is hard worker, has a caring and giving heart and shows grace in all of her works. The fact that this company is faith based is what attracted me to this company. My “WHY” when I first joined was the products to organize my home and now nearly 5 years later, my WHY has changed to being a provider for my husband and I. Our dreams include to be home with our family, travel the world and to be able to retire in the country with our dream home. When I first started with this company, I was a very cautious and shy lady. It is because of this company that I have been able to come out of my comfort zone and learned a few things about myself.

For example, I’ve learned that I’m an outgoing introvert. I love to go out and meet people however, it’s draining and when I get home I look forward to the solitude. I also learned that I am most productive when I have a set routine and I begin my day early. I’ve also learned that I can accomplish goals with consistent action, confidence and the right mindset. Ultimately, the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that you must have faith, pray, hope and don’t worry. I am not where I am today if it weren’t for God, the support from my husband and family and the sisterhood of Thirty-One. This company has helped me to become a better version of myself and thankful for it every day. This company isn’t just about organizing and our wonderful personalized products, it has given me the confidence to fulfill my own potential that I never knew that I had. I can now say that I live much more freely and intentional with my life decisions. I love that I get to work from home, help women and encourage them, help them build confidence and that we all learn from one another. I’m born and bred Texan who loves God, Family and fulfilling work. I love to spend time with my husband, goddaughter, nieces and family. When I’m not working, I love to serve my church and go wine tasting, read and bake! Thank you for reading how I found my purpose, built more confidence, and how I am creating a life I love. I pray that you are grateful and inspired to pursue your own dreams. Connect with Ruby on her social media at www.linkedin.com/in/rubykaluza, www.facebook.com/SimplyRubyRed, https://twitter.com/SimplyRubyRed https://www.mythirtyone.com/us/en/redbaglady

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S TAY I N G S A F E I N A N U N S A F E W O R L D E D WA R D B E C H E R , C O R C I , C S M I A

Many of us hear on a daily basis about people being followed while shopping, having had their identity stolen, being robbed, assaulted or have had family of friends who have been victims of violence. In today’s world each one of us must stay aware of what is going on around us, you must maintain situational awareness 24/7 -- even in our own homes.

Situational awareness is the ability to know what is going on around you, and with practice, sense the slightest changes in both your surroundings and environment. You are sitting there reading this and saying there is no way I can do this. I disagree. I am a firm believer that you can detect these changes. Some things to keep in mind are that we do live in an unsafe world, and we each need to take responsibility for our own safety. Start by looking at where you are right now, whether that be home, office, restaurant, where are the exits? If something bad happened how would you get out of there RIGHT NOW. That something bad you’re talking about could be a fire, robbery, terrorist attack, or an active shooter incident. You should consider the locations of exits; where you came in and where you can exit if the way you came in has been compromised. Once you have established the location of the exits, lets look at who is near us, if you are home you are most likely talking with family or friends. But let’s say you are at a popular restaurant, how many of the other people there do you know? How crowded is the restaurat, are people waiting to get in? Are people getting irritated about the wait? Is alcohol being served; remember in some circles alcohol is also known as liquid courage.

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So let’s recap: • Exits • Who else is present • Alcohol? • Lighting…is it dark inside? What type of neighborhood is the restaurant located in? Is it a high crime area, has there been an increase in violent crimes in the area? You’re saying, wait how would I know that information? You should be checking the news for the area you are visiting or planning on visiting. As I consider points for this article, a news feed came across my phone about a shooting. This shooting was where I was headed after I had finished my lunch. Did I still go there? Yes. I kept checking news sources for updates which supported my decision to go. Now you’re asking did my wife know about this going on……I’ll let you figure that one out. • Neighborhood, good, bad • What’s going on in this neighborhood Shootings Protests High/low crime

The third thing to consider is where did you park your vehicle? Close to the door or farther out in the parking lot under a light? Having a handicap tag on my car has its advantages and disadvantages. If I’m parked right outside the main door and something happens, where is everyone going?

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going? Yeah you have itâ&#x20AC;Śright past my car. The decision to park depends for me on location, do I know the area, and how fast can I get out and away from there if need be. â&#x20AC;˘ Parking: o Close by o Lighting o Valet?

Until next time, stay safe, stay aware. Ed Becher is currently employed by a big box store providing Asset Protection. He is certified as an Organized Retail Crime Investigator, Human Trafficking Investigator and Social Media Intelligence Analyst. Ed has taught classes in Executive Protection and Personal Safety. He was a Private Investigator, Personal Protection Specialist and Bail Enforcement Agent. Ed is a retired United States Marine Corps Master Sergeant having served 22.5 years on active duty.

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7 SECRE TS TO A WONDERFUL LIFE

Carol Davies

“I think self-knowledge is a key to happiness. We can build happy lives only on the foundation of our own natures, our own values, and our own interests.” – Gretchen Rubin Life has a tendency of getting in the way. How many times have you pondered how you can create a wonderful life for yourself? Are there some secrets you may have missed? The clue is in the word itself. Think of the word “SECRET”. Consider each letter in the word. Each letter represents a keyword for action. See the table below. Streamline

Reduce clutter in your life

Enterprise

Energy you put into your life

Construct Priorities

You know where you are going

Reserves

Something in your life to fall back on

Exclude Interruptions

Keep focused

Thinking

We are what we think

Solutions

Go forward

Now you’ve got a system to map out how to go forward in your life. Consult the table and see what areas in your life are going well. What areas do not work so well? Here are some suggestions on actions to take for each keyword. S - Streamline • Focus on a couple of very important things, e.g. family, job. • Pick a daily priority; work on that. • Learn to say no. Don’t take on extra things. E - Enterprise • Learn new things. • Gather a support team to go in a new direction. • Decide where to put your energy. Just say “Ok, what’s going to make me the happiest? What will give me the most return if I invest in...? C - Construct Priorities • Intentionally use your time, energy, and money in a way that’s important to you. • Eliminate unnecessary activities or projects. • Choose to focus your energy on one activity at a time. R - Reserves • Choose how to spend your energy wisely re: time, space, vitality, money. • Get clear on what you can control. Let go of what you can’t control. • Plug your personal energy drains. Live in a healthy way. Reduce stress.

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E - Exclude Interruptions • Take frequent breaks to keep a clear mind. • Set personal boundaries in relationships and on the job. • Eliminate negative people from your life as much as possible. T - Thinking • Your thoughts create your reality. Eliminate negative beliefs. • You are what you think. Be resourceful. • Have clarity about opportunities to draw to yourself. S - Solutions • Be future-oriented. Know where you aim to go. • Plan new goals. Pick one to start. • Get into action. Nothing happens if you don’t go forward. If you don’t change your way of thinking or doing, how can you expect change? It can be frightening. It can be a lot of effort or work but it’s so worth it to get the life that you really deserve and to be the success that you are meant to be. An extraordinary life doesn’t occur coincidentally. It’s the consequence of allotting your availability, vitality, ponderings, and diligent work towards what you need your life to be. Quit setting yourself up for stress and disappointment. Use the seven simple secrets discussed here to establish your wonderful life. One of the regular wants that individuals have is summed up as “I need to flourish, not simply survive.” This can likewise be translated as getting a charge out of life rather than basically existing. At the point when there is a profound requirement for a person to change their lifestyle, the world has a method for introducing this as another chance to change. Now I’d like to tell you about a recent way that I used some of the SECRET principles. Consider the background on how I wrote this article. Recently, I was privileged to be able to travel in the summer for six weeks in England and Scotland. I have a coaching business that I operate, and my initial thought was, “How can I take six weeks

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away from the office?” This automatic negative thought in the past would have stopped me from taking the chance to have new experiences and enjoy one of my passions, travel. Guess what, I tried doing some of the secrets I described above. I chose the letters “E” (Enterprise), “T” (Thinking) and “S” (Solutions). • The “E” advises me to learn new things, go in a new direction and decide where to put my energy.

SEVEN SECRETS

I decided the opportunity to go on my trip was going to benefit me in many ways, emotionally and spiritually. Seeing friends and family helped me to get rested and refreshed physically and mentally. Also, in my business I can work just about anywhere with my laptop. While I was traveling, I was asked to contribute this article to the new magazine. I was away from my daily routine and able to devote all my energies to writing. It was so much fun to write minus the usual daily stresses and pressures. My creativity came much easier and I enjoyed this project very much. •The “T” suggests my thoughts create my reality, to eliminate negative beliefs, be resourceful, and have clarity about opportunities to draw to myself.

While traveling, I was able to be much more mindful and stay based in the present. I concentrated on being fully present and invested my energies solely in writing when I had set aside time to do it. I saw myself succeeding at doing my writing project easily with joy and ease. That’s how it turned out. I truly believe I had created space in my life to do something new, and this exciting writing project materialized like magic. • The “S” says be future-oriented, know where you aim to go, plan new goals, and get into action.

I believe that making the decision to travel was beneficial. I had been feeling stressed and wanting to go in a new direction. Writing has always been a passion for me. I never have much time for doing it in my daily life. One of my goals was to write some articles for a new blog I am adding to my website. Being away from the daily routine allowed me to do this. I got into action and had a relaxed mind where the creativity started to flow. Use the simple tips of the SECRET System and see how your life can get going. It’s fun to do. Try new projects. Get creative with your life and achieve happiness with joy and ease.

arol Davies assists women to create extraordinary transformation in their personal and professional lives through coaching and training to reach their potential. Carol’s background in large international organizations such as 22 years with the United Nations have given her an unique skill and appreciation for working with people from many different cultures. Combined with her training and expertise in holistic healing and energy therapies (EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique, Reiki and NLP) give her a unique view on the ways in which the body/spirit is able to heal itself. Her passion is to teach groups and individuals how to be proactive in getting what they want in both their personal and professional lives. By understanding the deep structure of an issue, then breaking it down into manageable size components, Carol facilitates learning while participants are having fun and experiencing success. Carol’s strength is helping stressed and busy entrepreneurs to be the best they can be while having fun and finding their true passion to follow in life.

onnect with Carol to explore these ideas further at www.thepassionmotivator.com and follow her on social media at www.facebook.com/ caroldaviescoach, www.facebook.com/Caroldaviesthepassionmotivator or https://www. facebook.com/groups/159714244716403. LinkedIn, www.linkedin.com, and Twitter www. twitter.com/freeyourspirit. Listen to her weekly podcast “Only the Best for You” on Global Voice Radio https://www.spreaker.com/show/ only-the-best-for-you. G LO B A L V O I C E M AG A Z I N E |

Heroic Self Love is the Key to our Liberation By Dr. Angelika Christie

What is Heroic Self Love? It’s the Awakening to who you are; it is your heart’s longing to experience yourself as Love. That’s the dream, and it’s also reality, even when it’s unrealized. Why Heroic Self Love now? I believe that Women are the pillars for a new consciousness and need to step into their power to lead the world into fearless cooperation and peace. FEAR is the most destructive force on earth. Fear is on the rise! The curtain of Fear must fall so that Love can rise. Love is the antidote to fear. As a matter of fact, Love is the most powerful energy in the universe that creates only perfection. Can you see that LOVE is the great Healer? Then Self-Love must heal the Self. Yes? Can you accept that Self Love restores yourself to your original Self? Why? Because you are Love! Do you find it challenging to fully love yourself? Do you find it easier to love somebody else than to love yourself? Yes? Why is that? I believe it’s easier to love somebody else because we can love a part of somebody (usually the more lovable part) and feel good about ourselves. We are pleased! It doesn’t work that way with loving yourself. Well, unless you fool yourself in believing that you can hide parts of yourself from yourself. This may sound strange at first, and yet do we not do it all the time? Do we not by keep the parts of ourselves that we don’t like so much, locked away and hidden? I believe we do this unconsciously. 20

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Let me give you a visual example: Imagine a room in your house that you don’t want to go into, so you lock it with 3 locks and put security in front of the door for fear somebody may stumble into it and discover the chaos and garbage there. It’s the garbage of your accumulated negativity. What negativity? • The judgments, • The blame, • The guilt, • The Regrets • The lies, • The doubts, • The illusions, • The shame, ...and on and on and on. Oh yes, better keep that room locked down and out of reach. But it’s there, and you worry about it. You are afraid to go in and, [God forbid] let anybody else discover it. So we get used to wearing masks to hide parts of ourselves because we fear if we show who we really are, we’d be unlovable. Metaphorically speaking: ‘We cannot be fully ourselves when we’re fractured.’ Most women grew up believing that they had to love others first, and also behave in a certain way so that they’d be lovable.

Have you not been advised to fit into identities that defined you as the following?

All of us experience wounding. Yet you can choose Heroic Self Love to heal every part of your fractured Self and return to Wholeness.

1. The perfect daughter, 2. The perfect student, 3. The perfect wife, 4. The perfect mother (and at the same time) 5. Find fulfillment in a job that at least pays the bills?

You can heal your Body, your Mind, your Relationships; you can heal your Life. I know it because I have experienced it.

It’s normal, and yet it leaves you wondering what comes next; what is the next role and identity that you can slip into? Don’t you think that it is time to discover your true identity and embrace the full beauty and awesomeness that is your True Self? Can you imagine how Heroic Self Love accepts all that you are in your wholeness and liberates you from unwanted outside manipulation? Self Love is not Selfish but Self- Healing, Self -Empowering, and Self -Remembering There is no greater discovery than that! I believe that this [mostly dormant] power within us is what needs to be awakened so that we can heal ourselves. That includes:

It’s your destiny to be the shining Light for others to follow. The world may not know you yet, but your Soul knows you and God has called your name.

• Our Relationships, • Our Families and • Communities, and on a larger scale • Heal the World, and • Bring Peace • Freedom, • Joy and • Abundance. It’s time to discover the mystery and the power of your Inner Hero. I believe that your Inner Hero represents your Soul Self and therefore is your greatest, wisest and most loving support for anything you need or want in your life. Can you envision this? Can you at least consider that your Soul knows you and your life’s purpose beyond your mind’s understanding? Your Soul also knows the cure for any ailment you may experience; it knows the cause and also the remedy. How do you access Your Inner Hero? Here’s the first step: You have to become still and listen; your mind shouts while your Soul whispers. Therefore, dial down the noise of your busy mind, and amplify the voice of your Soul. Self Love came natural to you when you were a little child; you were pure, incorruptible and fearless, just like your Soul. You are still this divine Child, just hidden under layers of your pain and wounding.

This is about YOU. It has always been about you! You are Heroic Self Love; that Love is you.

What if Today is the Day when you say “YES” to Yourself? Angelika has been a Champion for Women’s Empowerment for over 25 years. Her Core Philosophy: Heroic Self Love is the unrealized Key to Happiness, Freedom & Prosperity. -- Angelika’s clients enjoy outstanding results from her unique and highly successful programs “Prosper on Purpose” “Heroic Self Love” and “Kick-Ass Happiness” -- Angelika also holds “One Day/Weekend VIP” Deep-Dive Mentoring, and facilitates life changing 5-7 Day Retreats in the Bahamas and around the World. -- Angelika is known as a Trendsetter in Personal Development and she has been honored with Awards of Excellence in Leadership and Life Transformation. -- Angelika is a dynamic Keynote Speaker and, ‘Edutainer’ on international stages, including: Harvard Business School Faculty Club and the Leadership Speakers Academy at WestPoint. Angelika is the mother of 5 grown children and her 9 Grandchildren call her Nana. She’s married to Brenford AV Christie and they have lived on Grand Bahama Island for over 35 years. Connect with Angelika on SM at: https://www.facebook.com/HeroicSelfLove www.facebook.com/angelikachristie www.linkedin.com/in/angelikachristie Email at angelika@angelikachristie.com or call or text +1-242-3595550 (Bahamas) Get unstuck by booking your free session with her here: https://live. vcita.com/site/angelikachristie

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Meet Christine Gallagher!! Speaker, trainer, bestselling author and award-winning business coach Christine Gallagher founded ShesGotClients.com in 2009, a company dedicated to teaching women around the globe how to find more meaning, fulfillment and purpose in their life through the power of entrepreneurship. Christine believes that when entrepreneurs learn how to share their gifts and their message in a much bigger way by leveraging their time and talent, they will not only attract raving fans, enroll more clients, and enjoy more income, they also become a force for positive change in the world. After applying Christine’s proven marketing methods, which she teaches via her Impact Academy and live workshops, her students and attendees typically experience a significant increase in subscribers, clients, sales and lucrative joint venture opportunities. Most importantly, they find a renewed sense of purpose and passion, allowing them to step into their bigger vision, connect to their “why” in order to serve at the highest level, and make a lasting, true impact in the world through a business they love. The Huffington Post declared Christine to be one of “16 Brilliant Business Minds on Twitter,” she’s won the Bronze Stevie Award for “Business Mentor/Coach of the Year” for 2014, and she’s an Amazon bestselling author. She has launched and sold hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of products and programs online, and coached and trained hundreds of entrepreneurs from around the world, including France, Australia, New Zealand, England, and the Philippines.

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Christine holds her own highly successful live workshops that attract stellar entrepreneurs from all over the U.S., the UK, the Middle East and Canada. Christine is also an in-demand speaker, sharing the stage with such luminaries as Daymond John and Laura Berman Fortgang, and has been featured as a online marketing and social media expert in numerous publications such as We Magazine For Women, NewsDay, BlogHer, The Huffington Post, Social Media Examiner, and many more. Additionally, she’s been interviewed on dozens of radio shows, telesummits, panels, and webinars. Christine published her first solo book in 2014 called There’s More to Life Than This, and her newsletters, products, and online reach now educate and inspire over 50,000 people every month. Connect with Christine at https://www.facebook.com/ChristineGallagherFan, http://ShesGotClients.com, and info@ShesGotClients.com.

3 Ways Entrepreneurs Sabotage Themselves: Solutions for Bad Biz Behaviors Christine Gallagher

We’ve all done it—thrown up imaginary roadblocks on the path to our goals. Procrastinated about doing something that needs to get done. Waited for an opportunity to drop in our lap instead of going after it. Being a business owner requires us to stretch, change and grow, and many times that growth feels painful and uncomfortable. So often we intellectually know what it is that we need to DO to move closer to success, yet somehow we end up staying right where we are—and then beat ourselves up for our non-progress.

The solution? Forget about the myth of “easy.” Instead, set goals, have a clear plan of action to reach them and reward yourself when you do so. Sounds elementary…or SIMPLE even, right? It is. (Now get to work!)

There are so many ways entrepreneurs can sabotage themselves—both consciously and unconsciously—that this article could be a hundred times longer than it is. But here I want to highlight three of the more common bad business behaviors— as well as solutions to them that will hopefully help if you see these dream-stealing patterns in yourself. Buying Into the Idea of “Easy” As humans, the “magic pill” is very alluring to us. But growing a business takes WORK. A lot of work. And many of us just don’t like to hear that. Especially online, you don’t have to look very far to find the next person hawking the “easy” way to wealth and riches. That’s not to say that attaining success can’t be simple—it can. However, there’s a difference between simple and easy.

I T ’ S A M I R A G E . I ’ M T E L L I N ’ Y ’A L L I T ’ S S A B O TA G E –BEASTIE BOYS

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TA K I N G C R I T I C I S M TO HEART

I’ve saved the most insidious for last. This is a form of sabotage we often don’t even consciously realize is going on. The truth is, the procrastination, laziness and self-created obstacles I mentioned earlier can all be results of these negative thought patterns. Some fear and doubt is normal—after all, entrepreneurship involves risk, and this can bring up all kinds of things: “Can I do this?” “Am I cut out for this?” “What if X happens?” The solution here is to recognize these thoughts, acknowledge them and move right through them. Sounds easier said than done, I know. But there is a lot of truth to the saying “do what you fear and the fear disappears.”

This is a biggie. Consider this Zig Ziglar quote: “Don’t be distracted by criticism. Remember the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you.” When others criticize (and they will, as you continually step out in a bigger way in your business), understand that it’s often a reflection of what they feel least competent about or least like about themselves. The key is to not react to it—period—or at least in a way that throws you off track. Instead, shield yourself from it when you can or respond to it if it’s constructive. If it’s not, know that other people’s opinions and put-downs don’t define your business—or your self-worth. Getting Stuck in Fear and Non-Belief

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Most importantly, having a strong belief in yourself and sense of unshakable faith that you can do anything you set out to is what will keep the fears and doubts at bay. The recipe to having a successful business consists of a lot of different ingredients. We often place a lot of emphasis on things like marketing, sales, networking and outside mentoring. All crucial pieces, for sure. But it’s often our own MINDSET that keeps so many of us from realizing our dreams. If you see yourself mired in any of these behaviors, don’t be too hard on yourself. Simply take time to work on yourself and your own development as much as the development of your own business. I think you’ll find that you’ll soon become unstoppable.

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E M P O W E R E D V I R T UA L A S S I S TA N T : YO U R U K CO N N E C T I O N H A N N A H E D WA R D S

id you know there is an estimated 115 million small business owners in the world?

Also, approximately 543,000 new businesses start each month (although more employer-owned businesses shut down than start up each month). I want to help you to be ONE of the businesses that not only starts, I want to help you to SUCCEED!! My name is Hannah, I am from the UK and the owner of Empowered Virtual Assistant. My business helps small businesses streamline and up-level by taking control of administrative tasks. I create, design and schedule newsletters and blogs, provide social media management, manage appointments and scheduling, and so much more. I chose to be a Virtual Assistant after a conversation with a friend where I had been discussing the administrative and management-type activities I enjoy doing for other people. It was then that, after she prompted me, I realized that what I was doing was being a Virtual Assistant!! I decided I would create a business helping people to build their businesses, do what I like to do, create freedom for me and my family and earn an income. Working with small business owners is the best option for me because I love helping people. If I am taking on those administrative and often annoying tasks that, you as a business owner, do not like doing, I am freeing up your time. You can then use that free time to work on the tasks that need your attention more, resulting in you moving to the next level in your business. Doing it this way has led me to build up my skills and the services I offer such as blog and newsletter creation and design, daily administrative tasks, social media management and more! Empowered Virtual Assistant has been designed to be an understanding and caring business – never taking over but always being around to attend to your needs, help you streamline your business and UP-Level to the next step in your business and life! 26

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BENEFITS OF HIRING A V I R T U A L A S S I S TA N T 1.Virtual Assistants means they will literally be working virtually and can work outside of your hours due to different time zones. This allows a lot of flexibility for when you need something done or your to do list cleared! 2.Virtual Assistants provide you with more free time – you can spend it with your family, take time for you or taking your business to the next level. 3.Virtual Assistants do not contribute to business over head by being in the office. There are no “labor costs” as if you were employing someone. As necessary a Virtual Assistant can work at a specific business location or event, this is contracted as needed. Most of the time Vas work remotely. 4.You will have less stress knowing that a Virtual Assistant is there to help streamline your business processes. 5. Virtual Assistants duties can including answering emails, scheduling meetings, making travel arrange ments, organizing electronic files, customer service and follow-up calls. 6.There are so many VA’s that are trained in multiple skills so you will always find someone who fits your needs!

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M O M M YG O

Elena LeDoux and Dina Patel celebrating the formula of MommyGo 28

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Elena Ledoux: One Mom’s Quest to Have it All Elena Ledoux had thought she could have it all. A challenging and exciting career as a litigation attorney in Honolulu and a happy and thriving family, including her 9-year old son. When she came across an article in the Atlantic Magazine entitled “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” - she scoffed. The article argued that the women who have managed to be both mothers and top professionals are superhuman and do not exist in nature. As her hours at work had increased, however, she spent all of her mental energy in the office. By the time she got home, she would lay lifelessly on the couch while her kid was pleading for them to read a book or play a game. It was frustrating and heart-breaking at the same time - a child would not understand that while he sees his mommy right there - she was not really there. Cue in the #mommyguilt. When her second son was born - who was much less complacent than his brother - he demanded his mother’s attention with his chocolate-chip eyes and powerful lungs. Elena started looking for some type of energy boost to help her cope with balancing her newly expanded family and her growing career. Unfortunately, all she could find were Red Bull and 5-Hour Energy. Neither seemed to be suitable for regular consumption and came with a crash. Coffee was somewhat better, but it provided jitters and tasted harsh by itself, without loads of sugar and cream. There was no healthy and sustainable way to get energized. Eventually, her older son started struggling at school and Elena had to make a decision of what’s more important for her and the decision was not in favor of her legal cases. The following two years were some of the best years of her life. The family, including Elena’s husband who was self-employed and could work remotely, had travelled the world and spent 24/7 together: living like locals, eating fabulous food, going to museums and small towns to explore. Both kids thrived and were happy and healthy. By the time it was time to come back to the United States, the family decided to settle in Las Vegas and live a simple lifestyle with more emphasis on its quality. That’s when Elena’s best childhood friend from their native Uzbekistan had won a diversity visa and relocated to the US. When she was unable to find a job, the two friends decided to start a small business which didn’t require large capital investments or language ability (her friend did not speak any English) - cleaning homes.

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Within three years, the business grew at an incredible pace and quickly became the top maid service in the city, employing 40 people and dominating every platform. Suddenly, Elena found herself again with not enough hours in a day and her kids begging her for personal time together. She had thought that by now - years from her original search - surely the market had come up with something for her. Not testosteroney, aggressive-looking energy drinks that were meant for partying, scaling the Everest, or driving a truck. But something more gentle, wholesome, and women-friendly. She was wrong. There was still nothing for moms. Moms were not a sexy segment of the market. That’s when Elena thought of creating the natural energy shots on her own. “How hard can it be? It’s not rocket science!” - she thought. That night she posted on her FaceBook: “Does anyone know a food scientist?” One of her friends - a tea distributor - knew one and introduced them. The food

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scientist turned out to be a tea expert with a prior experience working in a beverage industry and also major natural grocery retailers. She suggested that Elena used something that she had not thought of - matcha green tea. She explained that the Japanese farmers would shade their tea plants a few weeks before harvest, preserving the amino-acids contained in their leaves. The key amino acid is L-theanine, which slows absorption of caffeine by the body and was shown by the multiple studies to improve cognitive function, increase focus, and relieve stress. As a result, the matcha provides a sustained energy boost without the crash and jitters of the other caffeinated drinks. Japanese buddhist monks have used it for centuries to maintain a calm, alert state during meditation. After much trial and error in the beverage-formulation lab in LA, MommyGO was born. The base was the highest quality matcha (called cermonial grade) which has little in common with the sugary milky matcha lattes at Starbucks.

Lavender coconut flavor was inspired by Elena’s experiences in Provance and Hawaii.

The base flavor of all MommyGo beverages was slightly adapted to the American taste by adding a little bit of honey and natural flavoring. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, the first production run was bottled in a professional facility in Florida via an expensive method that allowed to avoid the common artificial preservatives entirely.

Rose Almond flavor was inspired by the beautiful time her family had in Turkey.

MommyGO has been quickly gaining popularity among LA and NYC yoga moms, teachers, doctors and nurses, and jet-lagged travelers. Surprisingly, fitness gurus use it for a quick energy boost which prevents the snacking on cookies at only 20 calories. One other important aspect of MommyGO that has been resonating with women (and men not willing to wait for “DaddyGO”) who drink it - is that it supports an important cause. A part of its profits is regularly donated to the Healthy Sunrise Foundation - Las Vegas-based, non-profit that provides life-saving medical care for pregnant women and healthy start to babies and children locally and around the world. Dina Patel, a pediatric nurse practitioner, and a Vice President of the Healthy Sunrise has collaborated with Elena and even joined MommyGO as a partner

The lemon-ginger-honey flavor was suggested by the lab itself which formulates beverages for many major consumer brands.

Children supported through Healthy Sunrise Foundation. “Yesterday I was able to spend quality time with my employees, visit my mom, and volunteer at my son’s school, thanks to drinking my matcha shots. All of that and the fact that it also helps to make the world a better place really makes me think that women CAN have it all,” said Ledoux. Contact Elena at happy@mommygo.co and https://mommygo.co. G LO B A L V O I C E M AG A Z I N E |

“CHOOSING TO BE A HAPPINESS AC TIVIST ” SHARLENE TRUMET My journey to and through wellness is one with many twists but started at quite a young age. I had always considered myself an active kid, not athletic by any stretch of the imagination, but one who was often found outside playing with my friends. Loved riding my bike, climbing trees, roller-skating on the sidewalks, playing kickball and anything we all could dream up. Life took a bit of a turn when I was about 8 years old. While playing, I kept falling and my right hip was hurting and finally I wasn’t able to stand on it at all. My parents took me to a highly recommended orthopedic doctor who diagnosed me to with “Osteomyelitis”. Only 2 out of every 10,000 people get osteomyelitis and in children it is acute and comes on fast and furious. The prescribed treatment was for me to wear a harness ( like an old fashioned crossing guard ) with a buckle that hung from it behind me and a special shoe that attached to that buckle. It appears the goal was to keep me from standing on that leg at all. So it was for the next 2 years. The adventure to follow that had a major impact on my life was at age 13. For unknown reasons, at least none of the reason this usually happens to people, the retinas in both eyes decided to detach. After 3 surgeries in Boston, Massachusetts my eyesight was restored but now with a plethora of restrictions to follow for the majority of my life. The experience of the surgeries and 4 months in a children’s hospital 600 miles from my home (2 of those months by myself because my mom had my dad and brother to care for too) had a tremendous impact on 32

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shaping who I was to become. You see, I was the oldest in this children’s hospital. There were “littles” of a wide variety of ages and situations and when I was able to I would go with the nurses and help with the other kids. It may have been to hold their hand during medication rounds or just sit with them and just be a friend. This helped me forget about my plight and focus on the needs of others. My next life shaping moments were probably the most life expanding. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, then ovarian cancer which then spread to her spine. The first two cancers she went with the traditional medical treatment, surgeries and drugs, but when it spread to her spine she had enough. Figuring that she had nothing to lose she found a Naturopath who had a protocol to help her with the cancer. It was an intense journey for all of us as we supported her through cleanses, multiple detoxes and basically learning a new way of life. We began by reading and understanding labels, eliminating all toxins from the house and completely changing our food habits. It paid off, much to the surprise of the original doctors, for 6 months later my mom was cancer free and has remained so for 44 years.

So the place that all this (and more experiences that will be for future clarification) has taken me is to choose health and wellness as my passion and purpose in helping people who are open to taking responsibility for their personal well-being. Massage therapy was the train I hopped onto as my initial vehicle to offer this support. My focus was on guiding people to become more aware of prevention and “dis-ease” causation. How were stress, diet, environment, emotions and thoughts playing in their health? I studied vitamins and herbs, homeopathic and naturopathic remedies, even energy medicine before it was popular. Evidence that our massive health experience puzzle is so multifaceted and intertwined that it requires all areas to be addressed for true change and improvements to be had. Where is the foundation of this well-being change? It is in our minds, our hearts, our thoughts, our judgements and our self- beliefs. If I was to be an instrument of such a change for others I needed to start with me. I became and still am a personal growth junkie which brought me to the Southwest Healing Arts Institute in Tempe, Arizona earning my certification as a Transformational Life Coach.

So to break it down I am a: • Massage therapist for 24 years - LMT • A Transformational Life Coach for 11 years – TLC (don’t you love the initials LOL) • A Spiritual Response Facilitator for 10 years – SRT • I have aligned myself with a Nutritional company, Qsciences, because of the efficacy and affordability of their products. www.sharlenet.myqsciences.com I am most proud of being a Happiness Activist. My continuing goal is to be a means of upliftment and encouragement to see the gift that exists within all experiences; positive or negative and use that gift to enhance their physical, mental and emotional well-being. www.livnbetter4ever.com. There is so much we can explore together on this journey to well-being and I hope to share more in the near future. I can be reached by text or email: 210-392-6238 Sharlene@livnbetter4ever.com

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HEY I’M THE NO EXCUSES GUY

BY MAXWELL IVEY JR. My name is Maxwell Ivey, and I’m known around the world as The Blind Blogger. I’m also known as the No Excuses guy because of all the people who have said that if Max can do it then “what is my excuse?” I firmly believe that we can accomplish any goal if we decide to find solutions instead of making excuses, ask for help and accept it when offered, and always seek the positive in life. This story is a perfect example of how I live my life and how I encourage my clients to live theirs.

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Tuesday On Tuesday September 4th I traveled to Philadelphia by Amtrak to speak at MAPCON, the Mid-Atlantic Podcasters Conference. I enjoy taking the train. I’ve been riding with Amtrak ever since they sent me off to New York City as one of the 2016 Writers In Residence. The trains usually run on time, and I love the conversations with other passengers. I also enjoy the slower pace and lower stress than that associated with taking planes or riding in cars. But this time my train was delayed. By the time it got into Chicago it was over nine hours late causing me to miss my connection to Pittsburg and then on to Philadel-

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phia. Because of the last minute change my suitcase went to Pittsburg instead. I talked with the manager at the 30th Street Station terminal, and she told me that the bag was most likely still there.

Friday On Friday morning I attended a kind of school for podcasters. The goal was to help and encourage those who want to start a show or those who have a show but need to improve some aspect of it. I participated in the conversations and answered several questions. I even got a chance to tell hosts to consider potential blind audience members when building their websites. I shared with them how adding the alternative text meta tags to photos not only made using sites with a screen reader more enjoyable, but they also improve your search engine optimization, SEO.

MAXWELL IVEY

She told me that they would do their best to return it to me that day by about 3:00 PM) as a train makes the run from Pittsburg to Philadelphia every day. I should mention that this was at about 1:00 in the morning. The station manager did call me a taxi, and Amtrak did pay for it. But this was all their doing. By the time I got to the hotel, checked into my room, and made it to my bed it was well after 2:00 in the morning. Still, I had lost the use of my suitcase. Inside was my new suit, the new vest outfit, my promotional T-shirts, copies of my books, and my laptop. When people asked me what I was going to do, I said, “Hey I’m the NO EXCUSES guy. I’m going to do what I always do. I’m going to do what I can and not worry about what I can’t.”

So, in the morning, I took a shower and put on my clothes from the night before. Then I went to the first day of the conference like nothing had ever happened.

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“It was kind of like an electronic crutch to me. Thanks to the lost bag I didn’t have a choice.”

to tell hosts to consider potential blind audience members when building their websites. I shared with them how adding the alternative text meta tags to photos not only made using sites with a screen reader more enjoyable, but they also improve your search engine optimization, SEO. My Elevator Pitch Joe, https://www.twitter.com/superjoepardo asked me to say what I do and how. I answered proudly that I book authors, coaches, speakers, and podcasters on radio shows and podcasts so they can share their stories, reach a wider audience, and build their brand. I provide a great service, so why not be proud of it. Playing Frisbee In between the presentations Joe would have attendees introduce themselves. He chose them by tossing a cloth Frisbee. I jokingly told my neighbor that next time I wanted to put my hand up to see if Joe would throw it to me. He wouldn’t, but he did let me try throwing it back to him. I almost hit him too. :) By the end of the day I was proud of myself. I hadn’t let losing my luggage affect me at all. I was my usual inspiring, larger-than-life self. I charmed the people, and I was mentioned often from the microphone. I told the host, my friend Joe, that if my luggage didn’t show up, I was going to do my talk in a conference T-shirt. I had the shirt in my room, and planned to wear it with pride while educating people on how to use radio shows and podcasts to promote their own shows. I also decided that just because my laptop was missing didn’t mean I couldn’t post to my site. I went and downloaded the word press app for my iPad. Then I installed it and entered the login information. I actually wrote two posts for my website right from the WordPress app... something I would never do if I had my laptop. That is because, at least to me, the word press dashboard is confusing when using it with a screen reader.

This was a big step forward because one of my goals for this year is to be able to do everything I need to do from my tablet or iPhone. The point of this is I could have said, “Oh, woe is me.” I could have hidden in my room or bitched and moaned about what I didn’t have. But instead I used it as a form of motivation to get me to try something I had been putting off myself. I liked the idea of doing things from my iPad, but my laptop was more comfortable. It was kind of like an electronic crutch to me. Thanks to the lost bag I didn’t have a choice. I was really disappointed that my suitcase turned up missing. I was really hoping it would be returned to me. The suit is the first one that I bought willingly! And so many people had a hand in putting it together. There was also my grooming supplies. My stylist, Chelsea Nguyen, had shopped for me and found products both easy to use and most suited to my hair, skin, and nails. She took the time to show me how to use them properly. She had even helped me figure out how to tell one from the other. Thankfully I had my hair gel, toothbrush, and toothpaste in my shoulder bag. When you ride the train, it’s good to be able to fix up your hair and to brush your teeth. I was able to use the shampoo and conditioner that most all good hotels provide to their guests. This experience has taught me that from now on I will be carrying my personal care stuff in my messenger bag. Like everything else missing, it can all be replaced. I hoped the suitcase would show up. But I wasn’t going to have a bad time if it didn’t. Or if it didn’t before I was ready to leave town. I was hoping the bag would turn up before Monday. happened to it.

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I wasn’t looking forward to having to head home or to another speaking event not knowing what happened to it. This article started out as a post for my editor Lorraine Reguly, https://wordingwell.com, She suggested a post on excuses people make. The original intent was to include excuses such as “I’m too old,” “I don’t have enough time,” “I can’t afford it,” etc. I thought sharing this story would be a great beginning. Maybe I’ll write a series of posts why a given obstacle shouldn’t be an excuse that keeps you from your dreams. MAPCON Mixer After the end of the first day of talks there was a mixer with music by DJ’s and an cash bar. But Joe decided to be nice and he provided tickets so many of us drank free. I had a couple of beers and more wonderful conversations. I didn’t dance or sing. I felt really special, I never lacked for great people to talk with. people to talk with. When one person would leave someone else would sit down.

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Saturday Saturday morning I changed into a different t-shirt but same old blue jeans. Creative Podcast Competition In the morning there was a “create a podcast competition”. Teams of four were chosen and each group had to put on a brand new pretend podcast. You had to come up with a title, show description, a logo, and an intro and outro. You also had to use a list of five words in your show in some way. I was surprised when our team of four was judged to have put on the best show. I Won A New Mic Each of us won a new Audio Technica ATR 2100 USB microphone I’m told it’s a really good entry level mic and sells for over $100.

I listened to all of the other shows, and I honestly thought the group who did a show called beer tent should have won. In addition to meeting all the requirements they came up with and sang their own intro music. Even though I’m not sure we were the best I’m keeping the prize. I got the sense that people thought I was crazy for recording a podcast with the built in mic on my laptop. I thought about giving it to my new friend Staci Greenberg because she knew she wanted it. I wasn’t sure I could even use it. Some tech may look simple but require you to see it in order to configure it or know if it’s working. For example I once bought a microphone headset that gave me fits. You couldn’t tell if the microphone part was on or not without looking at a lighted display. The same applied for the volume level while recording. And when I’m recording interviews for my podcast the last thing I want to be doing is wondering if my tech is working properly or not. I believe that it’s best to get in and stay in the moment. I can’t do that if part of my brain is worried we aren’t being recorded. After talking to a couple people who knew more about this microphone than i did I decided to hold on to it. In addition to the possibility that it might make my show better it will help with my goal of being completely free of my laptop by the end of the year.

My Talk Before long it was my turn to speak. I got a little caught up in following along on twitter. I was a little off my rhythm when I stood up to walk to the mic. I went up and gave a pretty good talk on how to use podcasts and radio shows to grow your audience. While sitting in my seat it seemed that the other people’s talks were just flying by. Because of that I think I rushed my talk leaving me a lot of time to kill. I finally decided to fill the rest of my time with Q & A. I didn’t feel like it was my best talk ever. I need to get better at judging time. But when I sat down the guy next to me said great job. He said whenever you run short always go to questions. The Idea That Resonated I felt better later when I noticed how many people were tweeting one of the things I said in my talk. It was “don’t wait until you think you are good enough to start reaching out to hosts to appear on their shows”. There are too many amazing people with inspiring stories who aren’t sharing them. And we need them to share theirs. I’m para-phrasing, but that’s pretty close. My Bag Is Freed

I Almost Went Viral

Later we would get the news that Amtrak had found my bag. There was applause. They felt like My new friend Stacy asked me if there had been together as a group they had done something any news on my suitcase. I told her no. She said I’m amazing for me and they had. I may not be fagoing to ask Joe to make an announcement. And mous, but in that room I know I was loved. off she went. She spoke to a few other podcasters on I did get my bag back, but Amtrak was much the way to see Joe and told them about it too. Bemore difficult to deal with than any of us expectfore I knew it there was a hashtag on twitter and the ed. whole MAPCON community was shaming Amtrak. Amtrak Should Have Done Better The hashtag was #FreeMax’sBag I should mention that allowing this to go forward was hard for me. I like to get my way with a smile and asking nicely. There have been many times where I should have pitched a fit and didn’t because it just didn’t seem right. But I decided that I have told others to accept help when offered. Often this unsolicited assistance is a response to a request for help that we didn’t speak out loud. I had been sitting there thinking of something I could do to move Amtrak along. I wished for help, and it came in the form of a twitter barrage. You could call it prayer, meditation, or using the law of attraction; but it worked. And I’m glad I decided to accept their help.

The way Amtrak responded is an example of how not to do it. First, they instructed me to make a claim. Karen Yankovich, one of the ring leaders, pointed out to them that the idea that I hadn’t already filed a complaint after three days was just silly. You will remember that the station manager took my report the night I got to Philadelphia. Amtrak did finally decide to make a effort to find the bag. But when they found it they refused to deliver it. They insisted they couldn’t and wouldn’t do that. I loved one follower on twitter who wrote they obviously don’t know who Max is and are just giving him the standard canned answers. I got a big smile out of that one.

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Amtrak Changed Their Mind About 10:00 I got a call from the front desk saying my suitcase was in the lobby. I went down there to find my bag but no Amtrak people. They didn’t stay around to apologize, explain, or answer questions. They didn’t even bring a camera to take photos of the happy ending. I was shocked that after the stink we created that they would turn over the bag without requiring me or the hotel staff to sign for it. But they didn’t. Accidentally Inspiring Sometimes we will affect people without even knowing it. This often happens with children. Many parents will remember those times their kids did something wrong because they had been watching or listening to their moms or dads. I found out at the end of the day that several people had been watching me work on my iPhone during the day. I usually wouldn’t even have my phone on me much less be using it in a public setting like the conference, but I was following and participating in the twitter campaign to get my bag back. I felt I needed to be online and active. I didn’t realize just how much of an impression I was making. I’ve always thought of myself as slow and clumsy with my iPhone. But several people told me personally how impressed they were with the way I was using my smart phone. I was a little embarrassed because like I said it didn’t feel right to have my phone out. Even if I did have my ear buds in. People are watching. So, if you can’t bring yourself to show up for yourself in tough situations think about the people you could be inspiring just by deciding to find a solution instead of making excuses.

We can let life’s setbacks crush us, or we can decide to enjoy the moment and do the best we can at the time. Often the trick is to divorce ourselves from a given outcome. I find that many people will refuse a possible answer because it’s not the answer they wanted or were hoping for. I call this the puzzle box problem. When you assemble a jig saw puzzle you have a picture to go by. You know exactly where every piece will fit. Too many people have pictures in their mind as how things will turn out. I like to look at the problem and think what I would do if I didn’t care about how the problem got solved.

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Share Your Setbacks I’m looking forward to hearing your stories of overcoming things that should have ruined your plans. I also want to hear how you managed to stay positive and what steps you took to overcome the setback.

Celebrating My Win The week turned out to be a great one for me personally and for my business. I gave a solid talk with one take away that resonated with many in the audience. By sharing that one idea I may have inspired someone to reach out to me or another podcast host and start sharing their story. I met many podcasters, producers, radio network owners, and service providers. I started building many new friendships and relationships. I will probably be speaking at two conferences next year because of my talk. They would be the Podfest Expo in Orlando in March and the fifth annual MAPCON in Philadelphia next fall. I got to tell a lot of people about what I do and how I do it. And I believe I have at least one new client because of speaking at this event. I have already started booking my clients on shows belonging to people I met there. So many great things happened because I didn’t let the loss of some clothes keep me from having a great time. I’m hoping this serves as an example to you.

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Max is an author, blogger, entertainer, podcast host, speaker and media connector. One of Max’s main goals is to share the story of his personal growth and transformation, hoping it will motivate and inspire anyone who hears it. Max lost his sight at age 12 and this has not stopped him from creating a business, traveling throughout the US and building his business!! Listen to his podcast “What’s Your Excuse” at Connect with Maxwell Ivey at www.theblindblogger.net. Find all of Max’s books on Amazon at https://www.amazon. com/Maxwell-Ivey/e/B00S1T1OY8.

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Discover The #1 Secret to Time Management for Creative Entrepreneurs Dr. Minette Riordan

Many creative entrepreneurs balk at the idea of time management, structure and systems. Most of us started our business to have more freedom and flexibility not to be told what to do or when we have to do it. And yet what I hear, see and experience with my clients is that they are struggling with overwhelm, too much to do, and not enough time. They are often putting in many more hours than they ever did when they worked full time for someone else. As co-host of the podcast Structure & Flow: The Productivity Podcast for Creative Entrepreneurs, I’ve been thinking, reading and researching about productivity and time management for months. I had a big earth shattering, light bulb moment when reading The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. They argue that “managing energy, not time, is the key to high performance and personal renewal.” The secret to time management has NOTHING to do with time itself.

The #1 secret to managing your time is to manage your energy first. Imagine what your day might look like if you stopped focusing on time management and instead start focusing on energy management? In the book they share stories of their work with professional tennis players and other athletes. Long periods of rest and renewal are built into an athlete’s life and work schedule. Professional athletes spend around 4 months a year recuperating from the intensity of their season. When the authors started working with entrepreneurs and corporate executives, they were stunned. No one was taking time off or creating what the authors call renewal rituals – planned time spent renewing our energy, like exercise, time off, meditation, dance, journaling, reading. These rituals can take a few minutes a day or a few days or months a year.

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But really, who has 4 months a year to rest? You might think you don’t even have 4 minutes a day for rest. You do, if you want them. Isn’t that why you became an entrepreneur? To create your own schedule, take time off, travel, make more money and enjoy more freedom? Part of my problem is that I adore my work. We are busy building and expanding right now as we launch two additional brands in our business this year. I don’t want to take 4 months off right now but that is a conscious choice we are making to put the time in. How can we do this? Because we are getting good at managing our energy.

How exactly do you manage your energy rather your time? My guess is that you are doing too much in your business. With all of the opportunities to be marketing, sharing and creating it can be easy to lose sight of what matters most: YOU! You cannot serve others from an empty well. The first step to managing your energy is to look at your health and self-care practices. Are they nourishing you? Are you paying attention to when you are working, how much you are working and what the results are of the work you are doing? Are you just spinning your wheels? Are you so focused on looking busy that you aren’t being productive? You get to decide how much rest you need and what rituals work for you. Managing time is a choice. What are you choosing for yourself? The second step to managing your energy and not your time is to invest some of your precious time in planning. Brian Tracy in his book Eat That Frog says 2 hours of planning will save you 10 hours of doing. Wouldn’t you love to have that time and energy back?

Planning has become a weekly habit for my husband and I. If we get off track and don’t spend time planning, we start spinning our wheels and getting overwhelmed. We have an annual business plan, a quarterly plan and we know what we are working on monthly, weekly and daily. We repeatedly review our workload to make sure we aren’t doing too much. We are learning to slow down in order to speed up. And we have created very specific renewal rituals and schedules that support our energy management. Do we get it perfect? Nope. But we’ve got it going and are committed to the journey.

How to get started: 1. Grab your journal or some blank paper and fun markers. Start dreaming. What would your ideal work week look like? How could you build in some regular time for rest and relaxation? You have to create it before you can live it. 2. Conduct a time audit. Use an app like ATracker or Toggl and track your time every day for at least 7 days. Be honest about how you are spending your time. How close are you to living your ideal day and week? 3. If you don’t have a written road map for your business, it’s time to create one. Again, grab your journal and map out where you want to be and how you plan to get there from where you are right now.

Minette Riordan is an award winning serial entrepreneur and creator of the Visual Business Map™. She is passionate about supporting other creative business owners to be more productive, creative and profitable. Dr. Minette Riordan has been featured in numerous television and radio interviews on ABC, CBS, TimeWarner and Fox Radio as well as Inc.com. She is known as the go-to experts for creatives who want to build profitable businesses without burning out. She excels at being able to teach creatives to design systems and processes that work! Minette is also the author of The Artful Marketer: A Fundamental Business Guide for Creative Entrepreneurs and A Time Management System for Creative Entrepreneurs. When she’s not launching new businesses, you can find her in her art studio covered in paint, glue and glitter. She is a seeker, wanderer and adventurer who loves dragons and coffee. Want more great tips and strategies on time management and productivity? Listen to Structure & Flow: The Productivity Podcast for Creative Entrepreneurs on iTunes or connect with Minette at www.pathtoprofitacademy.com.

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Ten Best Business Social Media Hacks by Trish Leto

As a business owner on social media, you’re probably constantly trying to figure out where to find the time to post, what to post, how to post, and everything in between. So here are a few social media hacks that can truly help you be more productive, create content that is going to matter to your audience, and stand out among the crowd no matter what your niche is. Follow these 10 free hacks and you’ll be well on your way to reducing the confusion of mastering social media. Hack #1: Be intentional with your interaction in online groups and communities. Whether you’re participating in a conversation thread via a Facebook community, LinkedIn group, or viral video on Instagram, you want to be sure that whatever you are saying is something that is going to help you stand out as a professional in your industry. You can easily do this without sounding like you’re trying to scrape up business. Maybe share a win that you had with a client recently or one or two tips with in your comment. An example could be a scenario where you’re a real estate pro and walk people through the process of flipping a house even if they have zero cash. You become the hero and you’ll get a bunch of friend requests. Oh yes, better keep that room locked down and out of reach. Hack #2: Participate in Facebook Lives, even if you yourself do not want to do live video. You should definitely find some people in your industry who are influencers on Facebook and

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do regular live videos. Make sure you pop in when they are Facebook live and you are interacting with them. More than likely, they’ll say your name and maybe even say something like, “Hey what’s up Trish Leto! Thanks so much popping on, I appreciate you. Anyone who is looking to improve their content creation for Facebook lives, definitely check out Trish!” I’ll be sure to comment with a thank you and interact throughout the live to support that person. This is a huge opportunity for exposure, so be sure you’re making yourself credit-worthy by following hack #1. Hack #3: Put yourself in productivity mode. Figure out the best time of day each day of the week to put your phone on airplane mode. Open up just one tab on your computer and interact or conduct market research for a solid 30 to 45 minutes. You can do this on Pinterest, Facebook, Google, YouTube, LinkedIn, or Instagram. Focus on just one platform each time and you will have content ideas for the entire month. Hack #4: Say thank you by giving shout-outs. This honestly does a few things for you: it unveils your humility, gratitude, and selflessness to give others credit where credit is due and allows you to share what you’ve got going on to attract attention to your business. Whether you had someone build you an incredible website, help you close a sale, or do a free social media audit, let people know about it and tag your friends! More people will be willing to help you out for free or for a big discount if they know you’ll give them a big shout out for it!

Hack #5: Focus on mastering one platform at a time. What this means for you could be different for someone else. Figure out which platform your ideal clients are in and where you actually enjoy spending your time on the most. This will prevent you from exhausting yourself and trying to be “omnipresent” unnecessarily. Hack #6: Your Facebook business page or group name should be titled with keywords that are being searched via Google. “Joe Smith” might be a great accountant, but more people will be searching “Accounting Tips To Save You Thousands With Joe Smith”. Hack #7: Download your live content. For those of you who are using live video in your marketing, please be sure you are downloading those videos onto your computer. Do do this, click on your video, click the 3 little grey grey dots to the right, and from the drop-down menu click download. This will download your video as a MP4. Once you have downloaded it, make sure to rename the video a title that would be easily found via a Google search. Then, upload the video to YouTube to get even more traffic to your content. For those of you who aren’t sure what to do on your videos, you could easily just do a product review for something you use with your business. This could be an app, a type of software for your emails, or the host you use for your website.

more, you can use stories to attract more clients and give a call to action to “swipe up” which will direct them to a link. There are many influencers out there who sell thousands of dollars’ worth of products and services per day using stories alone. Hack #10: Reuse, renew, recycle. Perhaps you have done a Facebook Live a year or so ago that absolutely crushed. You might have interviewed someone with major authority in your niche or taught your audience how to use a cool new product. Use the link from that Live video and sent out a reminder to your email list about it. This now becomes recycled content and for every new comment you get on that video, it refreshes the relevancy of your video in the news feed of Facebook. No matter what you do with your business, these 10 hacks should help you better understand how to use social media to connect with your ideal prospects and turn them into paying clients who know, like, and trust you.

~Trish “The Unicorn Breeder” Leto U.S Navy Veteran - Live Video Profiting Consultant- Speaker Podcast Host http://trishleto.com

Hack #8: Using Instagram. I’ve touched on the word “omnipresent”, but here’s where I’m going to tell you that you don’t have to be everywhere in order to use each platform effectively. Instagram is an excellent platform to see what types of videos are viral for your industry. Use the “search” tool on the bottom of your Instagram app page, then search “tags” and enter common words or phrases most use on Instagram for your niche. Click on the videos. These videos are a great place to place your comments, similar to what you’d do in a Facebook Group. If your comments on a viral video or single post on Instagram have value or spark intrigue, you’ll get people who want to connect with you via Direct Message or who’ll check out your content. Make sure you have a link to your website or Facebook group on your Instagram bio. Hack #9: Use stories. Using Facebook and Instagram stories helps with the algorithmic flow to your account. If you provide entertaining, informative, and engaging content in your stories, it will attract more people to your profile. Use stories to checkin to businesses, conduct polls, and even sell your products and services. Facebook doesn’t allow a “swipe up” feature, but with Instagram if you have an account with 10,000 followers or

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How to get started: 1. Grab your journal or some blank paper and fun m dreaming. What would your ideal work week look li could you build in some regular time for rest and re have to create it before you can live it. 2. Conduct a time audit. Use an app like ATracker o track your time every day for at least 7 days. Be hon you are spending your time. How close are you to liv day and week? 3. If you don’t have a written road map for your busi to create one. Again, grab your journal and map out want to be and how you plan to get there from wher now.

Come join us at our family friendly competition as beverages from all over the nation – civilian and veteran crafted alike are judged by the 30 top leading Veteran influencers in the world! Oct. 13-14, 2018 in San Antonio Texas

In addition to the adult beverages there will be over 100 veteran and first responder businesses to acquaint yourself with their goods and services! If you like Texas BBQ we’ve got a BBQ Competition benefiting Operation Phantom Support and OATH as well. Like bikes? Of course you do! Combat Veteran Motorcycle Association, Patriot Guard Riders and any and all bikers that support our troops are invited to show off their rides! They’re even raffling a 2018 Harley Fatboy and we’re buying you three raffle tickets when you buy a VIP package for you and two friends before September 20th! Jeepers and Classic Cars welcome too! There’s even a car show put on by Redcon-1 Car Club! Get your event tickets now and save! Each ticket is a chance to win amazing prizes from our charities and sponsors! For more information go to https://www.facebook.com/vabevcomp and www.vabevcomp.com or email Jason Justice at info@vabevcomp.com.

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Why do this?

Well, I was tired of seeing folks in my industry getting taken advantage of in these competitions – you know the average entry fee for these is $150, some on the distilled spirits side are $600 or more per entry. What is even worse, some of these competitions aren’t exactly ran with a lot of integrity, basically if you enter your product, you also have the option to sponsor at “gold, silver or bronze” levels. Guess what your beverage happens to win when you sponsor at each level? So after speaking to several members that know what a sham some of these are and I’ve got to stress, not all of them do this, but there are some out there that do and all for a marketing tool you get for a year. There is also the issue of who the judges are, self-proclaimed experts, people that are certified in made up programs agreed upon by the majority of the industry (or some would have you think) or people that write reviews or literature for beverages. It really creates a conflict of interest with some of these competitions especially with craft beverages that aren’t always following the norm but are outstanding, however, they don’t fit in a category so they are not given the credit they deserve. The final issue is packaging contests being integrated into scoring, this is the new “hip thing” for competitions to try to differentiate themselves giving upwards of 25% of a score to packaging. So, what was your solution? I wanted to bring things I am passionate about first off, veterans, entrepreneurs and the alcohol industry. I needed an event that could do that so after several months of research and planning I decided I was going to make a unique competition for beverages – all inclusive of craft that doesn’t fall 100% into the categories that exist and have it judged by people with normal tastes. But who would care if some normal person would score them and not one our industry pundits right? So I picked veteran community leaders and company founders or owners, people that served and are also entrepreneurs. It just so happened by chance that several of the judges are also either craft beer fans, whiskey geeks and oenophiles. Then I made it affordable to even small operations at $70 for early bird and $100 regular registration and

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we’ve got over 130 beverages registered so far this year. Ok, you put together the competition the way you envision it should be, then what happened? Well, I wanted it to be inclusive of veterans, and there’s always this latent stigma about veterans with alcohol, I should know better than most people. I was a functional alcoholic for several years after my deployment, combat injuries and “integration” into civilian life working in oilfield services. Well, it got to the point that I decided I should make my own alcohol, I had been making wine for a few years and wanted to get into spirits, I dabbled in beer and wasn’t that great at it so I stuck with spirits. Really working in a highly regulated industry that has procedures and steps and routine helped me stop drinking. I know it sounds ironic but I became sober when I became a distiller, in 2017 I met George Rice and we started the Distiller Brewer & Vintner Network a place where alcohol professionals connect and I discovered something amazing. I wasn’t the only one that found peace by making alcohol, there were several veterans who had life-changing experiences by getting into the alcohol industry, it was challenging, rewarding and structured, the things we missed from military life. There is also a sort of comradery, people help each other out all the time. Wait, so you want more people in the industry? Doesn’t that mean more competition? Yes, I want more people in my industry! It doesn’t mean more competition necessarily. A lot of people get in thinking they know what they are doing but this industry isn’t all its cracked up to be, its cut throat and hard once you start distributing. People don’t make the money they thought they would or they miscalculate taxes. I’ve seen many an excise tax audit kill businesses in my industry. I’ve seen over-expanding kill a business, just because you won a silver medal and placed your product in 150 locations doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have an aftersales plan. Most make that big sale, spend the money on expanding to fill more orders like that only to never get another order like that because the original inventory “died” on the shelf – in other words, never

moved once it made it to those 150 locations. So this Veteran Beverage Festival kind of helps facilitate that growth and expansion by exposing products to a large demographic that resides all over the country – veterans. Veteran Beverage Festival, tell me more about that. Well it started as just an idea for a beer festival type event to go along with the competition. Each day however it seems like it’s growing into something else – its got a sanctioned BBQ competition, a Car Show, a Jeep Club meetup, a Vetpreneur (Veteran Entrepreneur) meetup, a mini-Bike Rally – I don’t know what else we can fit in there but if it compliments our mission I’ll work it in there. What IS the mission? It is more of a vision to be honest, there’s missions for each of the demographics I am catering towards. So for beverage manufacturers our mission is to provide a fair, non-pay-to-play, double blind competition and expose their winning products to the veteran community. For vendors our mission is to provide value to the public ensure good attendance so they have the opportunity to get a good return on investment. For our sponsors our mission is to take the workload of sponsorship off of them and create exposure to attendees, businesses and the public so that they receive the most value and return on investment for their support. Got it, but you mentioned a vision, what is your vision for the Veteran Alcoholic Beverage Competition? I want people to get excited about the alcohol industry, I want people to connect and learn about it, grow their existing businesses in the industry with the exposure we provide to the veteran community. I want people thinking about starting their own businesses to look at alcohol as that option, its not as expensive as people make it out to be – I bootstrapped with $25,000, it wasn’t easy but it proves it can be done. Finally, I want people to stop viewing it with negative connotation when we’ve got an opioid epidemic and veteran suicide issues. Once a person understands the work involved and takes pride in what they are doing they will enjoy the brews of their labors and not abuse them, I know that firsthand and have seen several others with similar experiences. Is there anything else you would like to say about the event? Sure, it’s going to be unlike anything ever done before and it’s only going to get bigger and better each year. Jason Justice, owner of Justice Label Distillery is the founder and organizer of this event. Justice Label was started by Mr. Jason Justice, a Military man that had an idea. Bringing the good folks of South Texas his grandfather’s Moonshine. Fully self-funded, Veteran owned, and crafted by his own hand, this ‘shine is a labor of love. It doesn’t taste like flavored vodka like other so called “moon-

shines” on the market. Whether you grab a bottle of our clear shine or one of our the great flavored shines, you will know, after the first sip, that this is real Moonshine like his grandfather made back in the day. At first you will get that great Moonshine burn, and then the corn flavor will dance in your mouth making you wonder why you never tried this before? That’s because we are the first moonshiners, whiskey and rum distillers in South Texas! With all the good fun we have in Texas why not enjoy our great state with a spirit made in it? From Amarillo, to Brownsville and El Paso to Beaumont enjoy Justice Label on your next adventure! Justice Label is South Texas Whiskey, Moonshine, Vodka and Rum HQ!! Our Shine is a family recipe that has worked its way down from the hills and hollers of West Virginia to South Texas. This isn’t your off the shelf watered down moonshine, it’s a full in your face, make you knock the dust off them boots and get to dancing Moonshine!! The strongest, most flavorful ‘shine you can get, without the law getting after you! Our Whiskey is ultra-smooth, made from 100% Texas corn grown right up the road from our location and with an added Pecan wood twist! Our Rum is made from 100% Texas grown sugar cane molasses from the Rio Grande Valley. Sign up at www.justicelabeldistillery.com today to keep up to date with products, offers and news!

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When It’s Time To Grow, Do You Really Want to Do It All Alone?

The Dream Big Retreat, hosted by Nancy Becher owner of Business Success Unlimited will be held online live from Oct. 18-20th

I hate trying to figure things out all by myself. It’s frustrating and stressful. Is there somewhere I can turn to get help and strategies to make my business life easier? The Dream BIG Retreat is in it’s 11th year and going strong. As growing businesses we find the work just keeps piling on, and there’s less and less time to do it all by ourselves. HELPPPPPP! Wouldn’t it be nice if there were others around to share their knowledge and expertise with us, and to show us ways to make our businesses stronger, more financially secure and yet give us some of that time and freedom we started out wanting in the first place? According to the most current federal data available there are 5.9M small non-employee based businesses in the United States. It is clear that the road to our economic future depends on the success of these mom and pop operations. I totally believe that “The Dream Big Retreat is an opportunity to gain perspective on your small business by spending time in the presence (even if virtual) of other business owners and consulting with business coaches, consultants and marketing experts to lay the groundwork for your next stage of growth.” The difference between this event and others that are similar is that each of these experts are working with the attendees through chat, discussion, and side rooms, to give the attendees time to discuss and work on their own projects in the presence of those that are speaking and others who have “been there, done that.” As a small business owner do you find yourself working hours and hours throughout the day and never feeling like you’re making progress? Do you have questions but aren’t sure who to ask? Do you feel like someone might steal your idea if you share it with them? Or, are they going to tell you that you have a silly dream and to “go get a real J.O.B.”? Is your family supportive but do you feel like they think you’re wasting your time? Or maybe you’ve got the business in hand, but are overwhelmed because you feel like you’re juggling it all and the balls are beginning to fall all around you. If you have ever felt this way, you’re not alone. At one time or another we’ve all been there. The fear of failure, of being laughed at, or losing everything because we can’t make any money – those thoughts have run through all our heads, I bet. I know they have mine. So what do you do? It has been shown over and over that the best way to alleviate these problems is by figuring out exactly what it is you are meant to be doing and who you are meant to be doing it with and for. No longer can someone push a business card your way, tell you that they have something you just have to have, and then move on to the next person. It’s all about relationship building. You, as the business owner, need to understand that as well. It’s time to figure out those relationships. The old way was push marketing where you would push your product or service at someone and hope that they would buy. These days, people want to know you – you know, the old saying that people buy from those they know, like and trust. It really is the case these days. In order to do that, you must understand what people want (not need) for themselves and their families. When you can provide a solution, they will flock to you. But you first have to understand that “want” that lies within their psyches. The Dream BIG Retreat, in its 11th year, has been a great way for attendees to get to know others, to work with them to figure out those wants, and to start the relationship processes. What are some of the benefits of the retreat – both from an in-person and online standpoint: • When you have this program live (even though online), you can chat with others and start to see what others like, what, how they run their companies. At a recent retreat, two people from very different parts of the country, connected through the chat features, talked and decided that they really were meant to work together. Before you know it, they had formed a partnership with a business that both had wanted but never had the nerve to start on their own. • A speaker met another speaker and the two formed an extreme friendship where they support each other and work together in joint ventures all the time. • An attendee who had decided the retreat was a last ditch effort before closing down his company implemented several of the tools taught during the weekend and now has his 8th brick and mortar retail store while within one quarter produced an 83% revenue increase.

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While not everyone had this much success, everyone ends the retreat with ideas, motivation and new connections to make their business soar. It has been a winning combination for 11 years. This year’s Dream Big Retreat, whose theme is building relationships and communications, is unique in that it’s facilitated by business thought leaders who have “been there, done that.” As business owners, the retreat coaches know what they’re talking about, having experienced the ups and downs themselves. On Saturday, speakers are matched with the attendees in virtual breakout rooms, and are then given help in certain areas: marketing, planning, revenue, motivation, or morale. What is included in the retreat? • Networking, door prizes on Thursday evening • Workshops on creating lasting relationships and communication; • Sidestepping the pitfalls that are inherent in business growth; • Sales done with simplicity and ease; • Creating raving fans; • Working on your own projects that you’ve been wanting to get kick started for awhile but just haven’t been able to make them fly (these are part of the breakout rooms) These sessions are geared toward each business ending the retreat with a personal plan for success to implement, at once, when they go back to focusing on their work load. Doing it online gives more people access to the speakers and other attendees and where everyone gets time focused on their own projects. ”I picked up several great ideas at the retreat and put them into action. As a result, 4th Quarter was 83% above 3rd Quarter. I think the retreat was a confidence booster for all who attended, not so much in a “rah-rah” way but because we all came away with

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practical knowledge and skills,” says a participant in an earlier conference, David Keenan, owner of the Affordable Hearing Store. I wholeheartedly believe that “…the best work is done when a person is relaxed and able to think out of the box, has turned off the phones, email, and interruptions. There will be plenty of tips and strategies and most importantly, fun during these days -- incorporating networking and socializing in the mix.” The dates for the Conference/Retreat are Oct. 18-20, and the price for the program is $50. Register at www.dreambigretreat. com, email nancy@nancybecherbiz.com, or call Nancy, 269-3196041.

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Why attend Excelerate Experience 2018 LIVE Event October 26-27, 2018 in Durham NC? What if you Discovered the Answers to Finally Getting What You Want? 1. It’s an age-old Mystery that only a handful of us ever learn! Our Speakers are master teachers and have solved it. They’ve spent years helping others uncover the Mystery for themselves. They’ll entertain, enlighten and show you the path that will take you from where you are right now to where you want to be! They’ll give you the maps required to solve the Mystery for yourself at Excelerate Experience! 2. What if you could get what you want using an easy, repeatable process, that always gives you your ‘best shot’ at success? It isn’t hard at all to have influence over your results, once you uncover the Mystery of the ‘how-to’s’ of actually getting what you want. That’s when you are ready to catapult your business to the success you deserve! 3. What if Excelerate Experience LIVE turns out to be the most important weekend of 2018 for you?? When you have the Answers and have Solved the Mystery, you’ll realize that the business and lifestyle you’ve always wanted is within your reach! You’ll see it was always possible! Now you’ll enjoy being in a business that doesn’t run you ragged, once you know the exact path from where you are to where you want to be. You’ll run home exhilarated and ready to get into massive Action!

http://ExcelerateExperience.com

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Our Goal at Excelerate Experience 2018 is for you to Learn New Things and Have a Repeatable Process to Get what you Want and Deserve! We’re taking the Mystery out of the equation in your Success, and you will… • Feel in control of the direction of your life! • Create a deep sense of renewal, well-being & balance in your life! • Enjoy a BEingness of ease, joy, comfort and choice! • Feel strong, sovereign, and supported! • Feel energized by a true sense of accomplishment & success! • Have the renewed Confidence to “Ask for what you deserve ... and get paid!”

Excelerate Experience 2018 DELIVERS! Leslie Flowers, speaker, twice best selling Amazon author, and women’s truth guide, is a Trailblazer for women’s success and achievement. She has discovered how to usher women into the 21st century with confidence and empowerment like never before. Leslie has ‘cracked the nut’ on unbridled success, by teaching women how to build confidence, harness the power of positive belief, and take inspired, structured action. With forty-five years in corporate and twenty years as an entrepreneur, Leslie is uniquely qualified to present in an empowering and engaging way, age old success concepts by reshaping them into 21st Century language, sharing them with women determined to grow their businesses and reach their dreams. Leslie is a global subject matter expert in achievement, performance, and business success principles with more than 14,000 hours teaching and facilitating more than one hundred master-

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mind studies around age old business success practices. In her 2014 best seller, CHAMPION, she shares the unique process that frames and serves as a foundation for her high performance, high yield business masterminds for women. The power and effectiveness of her mastermind program has produced a momentum for her clients that yields consistent, measurable, and lasting positive results. A practiced speaker, since majoring in Drama at San Francisco State in the 60’s and performing for Burt Lancaster at UCLA, she received her CS certified speaker (Gove-Siebold) and coaching/ consulting certification LSC with LifeSuccess Productions. Leslie currently serves as adviser culture director for new tech food truck industry startup foosye(TM), served as founding board member for growandshare.org, and head of family coaching at peoplebuilders.com. Connect with Leslie at www.leslie-flowers.com Facebook Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/LeslieFlowersGrowthExpert/ Facebook Group for Women Thought Leaders: https://www. facebook.com/groups/370485126648830/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lflowers/

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Global Voice Magazine

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Heroic Self Love

10 Quick Tips to Grow Your Business

Excelerate Experience

Veteran Beverage Festival 2018

The Best 10 Social Media Business Hacks for Business Owners

Discover The #1 Secret to Time Management for Creative Entrepreneurs

Hey I'm the NO EXCUSES Guy

Choosing To Be A Happiness Activist

How One Mom’s Quest for Having it All Has Led Her to Create a Natural Way to Boost Energy

Empowered VIrtual Assistant: Your UK Connection

3 Ways Entrepreneurs Sabotage Themselves: Solutions for Bad Biz Behaviors

Heroic Self Love is the Key to our Liberation

Seven Secrets to A Wonderful Life

Finding my Confidence and Purpose

Monadiki the Goddess of Fierce Leadership

Staying Safe in an Unsafe World