The Best You Magazine | November/December

The Best You Magazine

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR EVERYONE - EVERYWHERE ISSUE 46 | November/December 2016

Hilary Devey

From nothing to £100 million

Michael Neill The space within

Johanna Basford

The power of creativity

Paul McGee

How to talk so people listen

Christine Fieldhouse

Do you wish you were less busy?

TOM HANKS EVERYMAN ALONE

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EDITOR'S LETTER | BERNARDO MOYA

Welcome to The Best You

So Much Change

Editor’s Letter

W hether you like the outcome or not, the recent US Election result - and the vote for Brexit before it - shows that people both in America and the UK want change.

The fact is people are inclined to prefer continuity and the status quo, rather than change and uncertainty. But people look for what they believe is best for them, and in the current climate of dissatisfaction and anxiety many millions of people on both sides of the Atlantic that has meant voting for change.

Without getting into the politics of leave or remain, or Hillary or Trump, what we must remember is we are lucky to live in democracies where we are able to make our voices heard. All over the world there are those who can’t express their thoughts without being punished.

So whatever your opinion is, remember that although change can be uncomfortable and can create uncertainty, it is sometimes necessary and will always create new opportunities. Let’s remember how lucky we are and appreciate what we have and those we love.

The main features in this issue of the magazine reflect on feelings of gratitude, making your voice heard, and making the most of every chance you get.

I’ll end on a quote: ‘Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit,’ Napoleon Hill.

See you in 2017!

Bernardo editorial@thebestyou.co

Bernardo Moya Editor-in-chief

Twitter: @Bernardo_Moya facebook: facebook.com/ bernard.moya64

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Contents THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | CONTENTS

DO YOU WISH YOU WERE LESS BUSY?

HILARY DEVEY

24 A GRATITUDE ATTITUDE

22

INNER YOU

34 09 10 15 18 22 26

INNER YOU

THE SPACE WITHIN ENJOY LIFE TOM HANKS HILARY DEVEY CHRISTINE FIELDHOUSE

28 34 36 39 44 46

BOOK CLUB A GRATITUDE ATTITUDE 10 BEST GIFT IDEAS MAGICAL MARRAKECH THE KEY TO MAKING LIFE EASY ‘TIS THE SEASON TO SEEK MEANING

09 48 50 52 58 60 62

ALI BASTIAN’S WELLNESS DIARY

COLOUR ME HAPPY HOW TO AQUIRE FINANCIAL WISDOM 21ST CENTURY PODCASTS 21ST CENTURY VLOGGERS THE LAST WORD

The Best You

TOM HANKS

Magazine

Be Inspired

EDITOR/PUBLISHER

Bernardo Moya info@thebestyou.co DEPUTY EDITOR

Emma Ledger editorial@thebestyou.co GRAPHIC & DIGITAL DESIGN

Ian Watts design@thebestyou.co THE BEST YOU EXPO, PARTNERSHIPS & ADVERTISING

18 BOOK CLUB

ALI BASTIAN

Louise Dockery louise.dockery@thebestyou.co Luciano Moya luciano.moya@thebestyou.co THE BEST YOU ADVISORS

Steve Kelly steve.kelly@thebestyou.co Julian Daley julian.daley@thebestyou.co Katie Wright katie.wright@thebestyou.co OFFICE MANAGER

Francesca Guidali francesca.guidali@thebestyou.co

48 28

The Best You Magazine is published by

The Best You Corporation Ltd, 5 Percy Street, W1T 1DG TEL : +44 (0)207 927 6502

COLOUR ME HAPPY

EMAIL : info@thebestyou.co Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect The Best You Corporation Ltd, policy.

The Best You Coporation Ltd accepts no responsibility by views expressed by its contributors.

MARRAKECH

39

50

Advertisements and reader offers are not endorsed by The Best You or The Best You Corporation Ltd.

THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | CONTRIBUTORS

EMMA LEDGER

is deputy editor of The Best You. This issue she chats to Johanna Basfird about how getting creative can make us all happier; finds the best (and most meaningful) Christmas presents for you to give the ones you love, and explores the magical delights of Marrakech, a land full of the potential for self discovery. @TheBestYou

JONATHAN FIELDS

A dad, husband, serial entrepreneur, growth strategist and award-winning author, Jona-than ‘inspires possibility’.

He runs Good Life Project®, where he and his team lead a global community in the quest to live more meaningful, and connected lives.

Their podcast and videoseries have millions of listens in more than 150 countries. @johnathanfields

ADAM MAHMOUD

PAUL MCGEE

JOHANNA BASFORD

MICHAEL NEILL

AKA “Yogadam”, Adam is a world renowned yogi and meditation coach.

In 2001, while training at a basketball academy, Adam tried yoga to improve his flexibility.

It changed him forever, and he has practiced daily ever since. He is passionate about promoting yoga as one of the most powerful practices on the planet. @Yogadam

The Scottish illustrator pioneered the adult colouring-in book trend, Johanna’s illustrations are hand-drawn, predominantly in black and white, and have also been seen on wallpaper, beer labels, and even tattoos. She believes that all adults need to reignite their creative spark, and should leave the screens behind and make time in their busy lives to create. @JohannaBasford

Paul is a communication coach, conference speaker and bestselling author who also works coaching an English Premier League football team. In 2002 Paul developed the SUMO (Shut Up, Move On) brand and recently launched SUMO4Schools, designed to help young people realise their potential. @PaulMcGee

An internationally renowned transformative coach, Michael is also the best-selling author of five books including The Inside-Out Revolution and The Space Within.

Michael has spent over 25 years as a coach, adviser, mentor, and creative spark plug to celebrities, CEOs, royalty, and people who want to get more out of their lives. @MichaelNeill

DIANA CHAMBERS

MATT WINGETT

CHRISTINE FIELDHOUSE

ALI BASTIAN

As a wealth mentor and philanthropic advisor, Diana responds to the unique challenges and opportunities facing affluent individuals and families to help them accomplish their wealth related goals. She created The Chambers Group, LLC (USA) in 2002 and, building on this experience, The Chambers Group Sàrl (Switzerland) in 2014. @DianaChambers

Christine is a British health and self-help journalist who writes for the national and international press, both print and online. Her autobiography, Why Do Monsters Come Out at Night? was published

by Hay House. She lives in North Yorkshire with her husband Ian and son Jack. @Christinefieldhouse

is a Portsmouth-based author who is also an NLP master. He uses skills learned from hypnotist Paul McKenna and NLP co-creator Richard Bandler in his work. For this issue of The Best You, he writes about the life and career of Tom Hanks, as well as exploring former Dragon’s Den star Hilary Devey’s life. @MattWingett

is an actress who rose to prominence on Hollyoaks and The Bill, and subsequently appeared on Strictly Come Dancing. For The Best You, she shares her experiences of yoga around the world, this issue writing about her visit to Senspa in Cary’s Manor, set in beautiful green surroundings of the New Forest. @alibastian

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Treatments

Be Inspired

INNER YOU

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MICHAEL NEILL The Space Within

‘Develop skills to realise your potential ’ Michael Neill shares the principles behind the ‘inside out’ understanding of our emotions to help improve wellbeing.

Learn to really make yourself heard thanks to communication coach and bestselling author Paul McGee in his life changing lesson on ‘speaking so people listen’.

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PAUL MCGEE How to talk so people listen

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Abandoning the Pursuit of Happiness INNER YOU

Internationally renowned transformative coach Michael Neill explains how there is a space within you where you are already perfect, whole, and complete. To find it we just have to let go

PROFILE: Michael Neill is the best-selling

author of five books, including The Inside-Out Revolution and The Space Within. He has spent over 25 years as a coach, mentor, and creative spark plug to celebrities, CEOs, royalty, and people who want to get more out of themselves and their lives.

THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 | ABANDONING THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

hen I first began studying psychology and spirituality, I did it for completely selfish reasons. I was emotionally unstable, deeply depressed, and felt victimised by my brain chemistry. Anything that looked as though it would give me the edge against such a fearsome enemy within was something I wanted to know about.

Over the ensuing 18 years, I studied multiple disciplines, receiving nine separate certifications in fields ranging from positive psychology to Thought Field Therapy to neuro-linguistic programming. I also experimented with various ‘medicines’, from drugs and alcohol to rituals and practices I came to call my ‘ behavioural Prozac.’

But despite the rich variety of theories, practices, and methodologies, my goal was always the same: to get more control over my emotional experience and move in the direction of 24/7 happiness – a life of only positive feelings without any anger, sadness, insecurity, or fear.

INNER YOU

And there’s no question that my life got better. I was less unhappy more of the time, and capable of functioning at a much higher level when the black dog of misery had me in its grip.

So when I came across the principles behind the inside-out understanding, I did so in search of yet another weapon for my arsenal in the war against my darker nature. What I found, however, wasn’t what I’d gone looking for. Instead of discovering an even better way to manage my moods, I discovered that my emotions weren’t reflecting my nature – that they were in fact simply surface fluctuations atop a deep core of well-being.

“

Every problem we have in life is the result of losing our bearings and getting caught up in the content of our own thinking; The solution to every one of those problems is to find our way back home

“

W

For me, the unexpected gift of this deeper understanding is that I’ve never been more willing to feel my frailty – and I’ve never felt stronger or more whole in my entire life.

Abandoning the pursuit of happiness has revealed a deeper truth and an even more magical possibility: the timeless presence of the space within, a river of wisdom and well-being that is no less present when we’re down than where we’re up, and no less powerful when we feel weak than when we feel on top of the world.

This timeless presence is our true nature – the essential well of our being –and the true source of peace in our life. So while I may still find myself in a crappy mood from time to time, it hardly seems worth thinking about, let alone trying to fix by figuring it out, tapping it away, or medicating it in to oblivion. This too will pass, and remembrance of the river is never more than a thought away.

Tell a typical therapist or self-help guru that you’re upset about your childhood, argumentative with your partner or children, and struggling with financial insecurity, and they’ll quickly reframe your problems in a positive light, affirm your greatness, and offer up seven simple steps to a happier childhood, better marriage, and financial abundance.

Say the same thing to someone who’s insightfully seen that we live in the feeling of our thinking, not the feeling ofthe world, and they’ll most likely say, ‘Me too –welcome to the human condition’. They’ll then point you inside, toward a fresh experience of your deeper nature – the innate well-being, peace of mind, and inner wisdom that allow us to navigate our lives with ease and grace inspite of the insecure thinking and bizarrely counter-productive behaviour we all engage in from time to time.

So I can experience my natural ups and downs without so much of the accompanying story and drama. I’m less hypnotised by my highs and frightened by my lows. I can sob without suffering and feel fear without being afraid. My divinity can inform my humanity. My heart can break open without breaking apart.

This is an extract from The Space Within by Michael Neill, out now. For more information visit

www.michaelneill.org

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How to talk so people listen We can all communicate. The challenge?

Really making yourself heard. Communication coach and bestselling author Paul McGee explains why this is such a crucial skill

magine the scene. You’re desperate to win a new job and you make it to the final stage of the selection process. An interview athead office which includes you giving a 10 minute presentation.

You plan for this final interview as if your life depended on it. You’ve never had any training or coaching on giving a presentation before, but you’ve sat through countless presentations.

You know the score. Polite and formal opening. A slide showing a list of bullet points outlining your objectives. Then an overview of your background. A section that includes an overview of what you’ve learnt about the company. The next section is on the role and what specific skills you can bring to it, followed by a summary and conclusion.

You like making slides. And if the interviewer missed anything, you’ve written down all the details on them, which they can always refer back to.

Fast forward two weeks; the job went to someone else. The recruitment agency says you were the strongest candidate on paper, your experience was just what they were looking for. So what went wrong?

In a nutshell: your presentation. You bombed. The content on your slides overwhelmed them and they didn’t feel they got to know the real you. They sensed within 90 seconds of your start that you weren’t the right person.

You were professional, polite and knowledgeable, but you were also, I’m afraid, forgettable. You needed to stand out. You needed to grab their attention immediately. You needed to deliver with energy and authenticity.

The deal is: “When you’re bland, you blend. ”Trust me, the above scenario happens every single day. People with the experience lose out due to their ineffective communication skills. The question is: how can you make sure that person isn’t you?

Now I recognise you might not have an important presentation to make for a job interview. Perhaps you’re a manager seeking ways to engage and motivate your staff, or a teacher or trainer wanting to make a difference.

Whatever the scenario or situation, here’s the sad reality:

“

£90,000 - that’s a lot of money to lose out on because you weren’t effective at communicating your message

“

I

THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | HOW TO TALK SO PEOPLE LISTEN

You may have the expertise, experience, passion and professionalism, but Here’s both a harsh and sad fact. Some people have values and you could lack one crucial thing: The ability to communicate your message in views many would find offensive. But they get heard not simply a compelling way that causes your audience to take notice and listen. because of what they believe, but because of how well they communicate their message.

Recently a colleague of mine was asked to sit on a panel that was responsible for awarding a £90,000 research grant spread over three years. That’s why I believe developing your skill as a communicator All applicants were asked to present their case for why they should be is crucial. Master this skill and it will help get you noticed, awarded the grant. Ultimately, the £90,000 was given not to the best get along better with others and get a head in life. Fact. applicant on paper, but to the person who made the most persuasive presentation.

Think about that for a moment. £90,000 That’s a lot of money to lose out on because you weren’t effective at communicating your message.

Trust me, this stuff really does matter to you and your future success. So make sure you never forget the following: Knowing the words to a song doesn’t make you a great singer. Neither does having expertise in a subject make you a great speaker.

Paul McGee is a communication coach, conference speaker and bestselling author who also works on a consultancy and coaching basis with an English Premier League football team.

In 2002 he developed the SUMO (Shut Up, Move On) brand and recently launched SUMO4Schools, designed to help young people realise their potential and develop skills for life.

To find out more about Paul’s work, visit www.theSUMOguy.com

How to Speak so People Really Listen: The Straight-Talking Guide to Communicating with Influence and Impact by Paul McGee, published by Capstone, is out now

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GOOD NEWS

From around the world

ENJOY LIFE ‘Learning to be your very best self ’ Fed up of bad news?

Enjoy some good news from around the world.

The Best You explores the life of Hollywood great Tom Hanks, tracing his rise to international success and stardom from a difficult early life.

18

TOM HANKS

22 - HILARY DEVEY

Award winning entrepreneur and former Dragon’s Den star Hilary Devey CBE reflects on being an inspirational leader and what it takes to take a company to an international market leading position.

Christine Fieldhouse explores the experts’s top tips for increasing efficiency and supercharging your productivity.

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CHRISTINE FIELDHOUSE Do you wish you were less busy?

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ENJOY LIFE

GOOD NEWS

From life-enhancing innovations to planet-saving designs

1

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT Nigel Gifford OBE is a former member of the British Army Catering Corps who knew all about inaccurate and wasteful drones delivering supplies. He designed an aerial vehicle (UAV) called Pouncer which navigates via GPS, making flight and landing extremely accurate. Its wings and body are made of empty food containers to be filled as needed. Pouncer can carry 200 pounds of food, helping increase daily humanitarian food rations from 2,200 calories per person to 3,500. WWW.WINDHORSE.AERO

2

GOOD VIBRATIONS How can deaf people ‘ hear ’ classical music? By wirelessly translating music into vibrations into a special shirt so people feel what the orchestra plays. Germany’ s Junge Symphoniker Hamburg orchestra collaborated with wearable technology experts Cute Circuit to create the Sound Shirt, which interprets eight types of sound, including the double bass and large percussion, as data. The data is then sent wirelessly to the shirt, where 16 micro actuators vibrate.

WWW.JUNGE-SYMPHONIKER.DE

3 SMARTPHONE ATTACHMENT FOR STD TESTING Chlamydia affects roughly 35 million people each year in the US alone, and puts women at risk of infertility. Boston-based firm Luminostics has developed a smartphone device which removes the stigma of going and getting tested by checking for Chlamydia in the privacy of a user’s home.

Luminostics can test saliva, blood or urine samples and uses the smartphone’s flash camera to measure the light emitted by the particles on the samples. The product is planning to launch in the US and Europe in 2018.

WWW.LUMINOSTICS.COM

4

BLIND MOTHERS “SEE”ULTRASOUND SCANS VIA 3D PRINTS Technology for expectant mothers often focuses on health. For those with sensory loss, however, additional considerations must be taken into account. In Poland, In Utero 3D allows blind parents to meet their unborn baby via a 3D bas-relief of the mother’ s ultrasound scan. Polish parents are charged a nominal fee of PLN 1, and families outside the country pay EU 1 but must also pay to print the bas-relief in their own country.

WWW.INUTERO3D.PL

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Be Inspired

Everyman Alone

He is one of the greatest actors the world has known. With his new film Inferno out in November, The Best You explores the life of Tom Hanks, and traces his rise to success.

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TOM HANKS By the time Tom arrived in 1956, Amos and the family were moving regularly to follow jobs in catering. Amos’s long hours led to tensions at home and his wife, Janet, took a string of lovers. After several attempts to patch things up, one night his father told Tom, and older siblings Larry and Sandra, to gather their things from their house in Bedding, California and get in the car, leaving their baby brother, Jim, with their mother.

Having filed for a ‘ quickie’ divorce the month before, Larry headed for Reno where the family moved into a 600-square-foot basement apartment, which was being rented by Winifred Finley –a mother of eight, who had five children at home.With both Winifred and Amos on the rebound, and both in need of support, it wasn’t long before they become lovers. Four days after Winifred’s divorce from her husband, they married. With eight children between them, Tom was often referred toas “Number Eight” asan easier way to keep track.

Hanks later joked that his “parents pioneered the marriage dissolution laws for the state of California,” but the joke reveals much about his early life. In fact it was a deeply unsettled time during which Tom felt “lonely and in the dark”. He remembers; ”To just have been sat down and told, you haven’t done anything wrong.

Give us a couple of moments and we’ll figure something out”,would have helped him understand what was going on.

Relatives remember Tom making the best of his situation, developing a flexibility of approach to others, and a charm that amused the kids in the household. Tom was funny and “knew how to push all the right buttons” recalls his stepbrother, Jon. He knew how to get along with other people, without rubbing them up the wrong way, or letting his ego get in the way –a trait that would become legendary on film sets in later life.

Amos’s life with Winifred, whom Tom called Mom, became more difficult as time went by and Winifred embraced Mormonism and after two years, the families separated. It’s a part of his life Tom does not revisit. A deeply private man, he has compartmentalised this period, and maintains a distance from the step-family. One of his key traits is to maintain focus only on those elements most useful to him.

In the first 10 years of his life he moved to 10 different houses and went to five different schools. After the split from Winifred, the Hanks kids were left to their own devices, fending for themselves while their father worked long hours, often eating burned or badly cooked food.

Tom Hanks stars in “Saving Private Ryan” 1998

“

With his shyness, his sensitive disposition and his inner loneliness, acting gave him a way of connecting with people.

“

The first five years of Tom Hanks’s life were perhaps the most stable.

His father, Amos Hanks was anex-US Navy sailor who dreamed of moving to Australia to become a writer, but the realities of providing for his wife, Janet whom he married in 1951, and then for a growing family forced him to become a chef.

The resulting chaos had a profound effect on him. Tom’s later life was haunted by the notion that he was lonely and “not good enough”. As a teenager working his way through school, two influences helped him. He became involved with an evangelical Christian group at school, which he remembers helped straighten his head. But after moving away from religion he discovered the activity that would make a huge difference in his life: acting.

Tom recalls when he was 13 being deeply moved by watching Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. He watched it 22 times.

“Every time I saw it,” he says, “I saw something new, something else that Kubrick had put in. He was able to suspend my disbelief. ”At Skyline School in San Francisco, Hanks followed the magic of theatre and began to study drama under his teacher Rawley Farnsworth. With his shyness, his sensitive disposition and his inner loneliness, acting gave him a way of connecting with people.

Farnsworth was an inspiration, getting the students to act in shows as diverse as Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, South Pacific and The Night of the Iguana. Tom began to show real talent and an obsessive love of theatre. He would drive to theatres alone to watch professional performances, reading the programme from cover tocover and watching the greats: from Shakespeare to Chekhov. But it was after watching the four-hour long The Iceman Cometh that Tom realised that acting was what he wanted to do. The four hours of sustained concentration required from the play had moved him deeply.

He pursued his passion to study drama at Sacramento State University in 1976. At first studying as a sound man and stage manager, he became increasingly performance-oriented. Here hemet other actors who deeply motivated and excited him, and the shy kid Tom finally found a partner in young acting student Susan Dillingham. Now the relationship took over, and the course of his life was changed. By April 1977, Susan was pregnant. Tom realised he would have to provide for his new family. For him, it was the end of university life.

Tom went on to work as an intern at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, returning for three seasons and earning his Equity card to become a professional actor. The responsibility of fatherhood so young kept him so focused. At times, struggling to find the money to for rent or food, the couple moved to New York. Tom continued to scrape a living as an actor at one point withdrawing their $60 savings from the bank in order to drive from city to city to find acting jobs that nobody else wanted. This mentality of taking whatever job he could get would work against him in the future.

To find more about Tom Hanks download a digital version of THEBESTYOUMAGAZINE.CO or get The Best You App from Apple Store or Google Play

THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | EVERYMAN ALONE

After getting a manager, Simon Maslow, he landed a small part in an obscure horror film and was noticed by acting agency William Morris.

By now, the depressing grind of his life led him to start taking drugs but once again, the realisation that his wife and child needed him made him stop. For Tom, life was at a low ebb, until a scout for ABC invited him to audition for a new comedy show: Bosom Buddies.To his delight, he got the part.

Though the show only lasted for two seasons, from here on, Tom began to build his reputation. He went onto play supporting roles in Taxi, The Love Boat, Family Ties and Happy Days. On the set of Happy Days, he met Ron Howard, who remembered him when he landed the job of directing Splash the story of a mermaid’s love affair with a man, starring Daryl Hannah.

The success of Splash launched Tom’s movie career, and at the same time destabilised his marriage. Whether it was his wife’s jealousy of his fame, or his own uncommunicativeness, the divorce proceedings with Susan were messy and protracted. Years of psychoanalysis followed as he sought to find a way to make his life fit together. At the same time, he took numerous roles, including Big, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Other films were not so great, and it looked for a while as if his acting career would fizzle out in a string of mediocre movies.

Two things changed that. The first was meeting the woman who would become the love of his life, Rita Wilson. She gave him the stability, confidence and love he needed, while taking away his deep sense of loneliness. The second was realising that one word could powerfully improve his career. That word was “no”.

After the failure of the movie Bonfire of the Vanities in which Hanks was miscast, he decided he would never play the “pussy” again that is, a weak guy trying to get over his broken heart. From here on in he would say “no”, and take only those roles that were interesting and with which which he could really work in new ways.

The decision saw the quantity of movies he was in fall, but the quality rise as he entered the great phase of his movie career. Not long after making this decision, five box office smashes followed: Sleepless In Seattle, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13 and Toy Story. The Take control of his destiny by judiciously selecting scripts changed his trajectory forever.

Tom Hanks stars in ” Road To Perdition 2002

Tom Hanks gets ready to speak at the Oscars 2012

Now, Tom Hanks is one of the most successful stars in Hollywood, with two Oscars, eight Emmies, one Bafta and four Golden Globes, and he is also the youngest ever person to win a lifetime achievement at the American Film Institute.

All of this was done by finding the way to balance his particular traits of likeability, his everyman appeal and dedicated professionalism, by focussingon what he wants in life and cutting away those parts that were not useful to him. A deeply private man, the world feels asif they know Tom Hanks intimately. Now, with his wife of many years, Rita Wilson, the true love of his life, he is stable and happy.

It took him a while to get there, but we look forward to many more years of success for Tom. His latest movie, Inferno, is just one more step in the illustrious career of one of the world’s politest and best-loved iconic stars.

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Thomas Jeffrey “Tom” Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker.

He is known for his roles in Splash (1984), Big (1988), Turner & Hooch (1989), Philadelphia (1993), Forrest Gump (1994), Apollo 13 (1995), Saving Private Ryan, You’ve Got Mail (both 1998), The Green Mile (1999), Cast Away (2000), and The Da Vinci Code (2006), as well as for his voice work in the animated Toy Story series and The Polar Express (2004).

Hanks’ films have grossed more than $4.4 billion at U.S. and Canadian box offices and more than $8.7 billion worldwide, making him the fourth highest-grossing actor in North America. Hanks has been nominated for numerous awards during his career. He won a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Philadelphia, as well as a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a People’s Choice Award for Best Actor for his role in Forrest Gump. In 2004, he received the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). In 2014, he received a Kennedy Center Honor, and in 2016, he received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.

Hanks is also known for his collaborations with film director Steven Spielberg on Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can (2002), The Terminal (2004), and Bridge of Spies (2015), as well as the 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers, which launched Hanks as a successful director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2010, Spielberg and Hanks were executive producers on the HBO miniseries The Pacific (a companion piece to Band of Brothers).

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THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | EVERYMAN ALONE

Tom Hanks receiving an “ Emmy Award “ & awards at the “ HFA ”.

AWARDS

Academy Awards - 2 BAFTA Awards - 1 Golden Globe Awards - 4 Emmy Awards - 8 SAG Awards - 2 Total - 17

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Hilary Devey She’s the dragon in the big-shouldered jacket, the hard-nosed businesswoman with a distinctive style – and she built her company, Pall-Ex, from nothing into a £100 million turnover. So what’s the driving force behind Hilary Devey that took her to the top?

H

ilary Devey is clear about the moment she decided she’d be rich. It was after the bailiffs came to repossess her parents’ furniture and the family moved into a cold two-up two-down terrace with “Evil Emily”, her grandmother. She was sitting in Emily’s tiny living room trying to stay warm.

“A visitor came over and turfed me off the sofa and on to the lino. It was then, as I watched the adults soaking up the warmth from the range and felt the cold leaching into my bones, that I can remember thinking just one thing: I will never end up like this. I will never let this happen to me,” she says with feeling.

“I was seven at the time and didn’t even know what an entrepreneur was.

I just looked up at the grown-ups around me and decided I’d always make sure that I and the people I loved were secure. And had warm chairs to sit on.”

Born in Bolton in 1957, Hilary’s early bubble of suburban comfort burst when her dad’s business collapsed after a major customer went bust, bills unpaid. From there on, life became a rollercoaster, the first dip being the stay with “Evil Emily” – so named by Hilary because her grandmother was wretchedly mean, stealing money from and feeding her just enough to live on.

After that, her dad took over a series of pubs in the Bolton area, where Hilary watched her dad gather beer tray slops and unfinished drinks, to “recycle” into a barrel whose contents he labelled “mild” and served back up to the punters. It was illegal, but they couldn’t afford to waste a drop.

Hilary would even help her dad soak the labels off Smirnoff bottles and stick them on bottles of cheaper vodka.

“I realized early on, you have to be adaptable, bend to whatever direction life takes you, which is a quality you need to succeed in business,” she says in her no-nonsense way.

Their first pub was the Crompton’s Monument, a mouse and rat-infested dive filled with Irish builders that was forever breaking out in fights.

She loved the vibrancy and energy of the place even as a little girl. More pubs followed and she remembers going to 13 different schools over the years. It was impossible to put down roots or make friends. But she was happy working with her dad in the pub, and by age 12 was pulling pints on Wednesday afternoons while her parents took the day off.

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Though her old-fashioned dad didn’t believe women needed qualifications, Hilary got her O Levels. She went on to learn negotiation skills while dealing with troublesome union reps working for Littlewoods “You had to learn to sell a concept,” she says. “To stop the unions from going on strike.”

Soon she was co-ordinating deliveries in the fashion world and went on to work for TNT. Along the way she encountered plenty of sexism, and worse.

Recently in her biography “Bold As Brass” she revealed she was raped as a 12-year-old. She has seen the worst side of men both at home and in the business environment, dealing with Hussain, a violent partner and father to her child, Mevlit, and at the same time putting up with the vilest verbal abuse in business.

There was also more polite sexism, like that of her bank manager who refused to allow her a £20,000 loan to help set up Pall-Ex, the distribution business that would make her a multimillionaire. His advice? “Logistics is a man’s world. I think you should go home and look after your baby.” She walked out on that meeting and raised the money herself.

“Women have just as much toughness inside them as men, and being a rarity meant I could do things a bit differently,” she smiles. “I soon found that wrong-footing people could be the most effective way of persuading them to do things my way.”

When she set up Pall-Ex, at one point she was down to her last 11 pence – so what kept her going?

“I wasn’t chasing money or wealth, because I didn’t set up my own business to be rich. I had a dream of building a company that did things with excellence – and had a strong balance sheet. So I ran my business like I ran my home as a single parent and accounted for every penny.”

And did her life at home give her a special insight that men don’t have?

Most definitely, she says: “Most women underestimate just how much growing a business applies to what they learn as mothers: time management, working to a budget, people skills and the patience of a saint. All those things and more went into Pall-Ex. I had my son, Mevlit, to thank for teaching them to me.”

THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | HILARY DEVEY

Be Inspired

“

I wasn’t chasing money or wealth, because i didn’t set up my own business to be rich. I had a dream of building a company that did things with excellence.

“

To book your ticket to hear Hilary speak at The Best You Expo visit

www.thebestyouexpo.com

To find more about Hilary Devey download a digital version of THEBESTYOUMAGAZINE.CO or get The Best You App from Apple Store or Google Play

Hilary Lorraine Devey CBE (born 10 March 1957) is an English businesswoman, television personality and entrepreneur, best known for her two-year role on BBC Two programme Dragons’ Den until she left to present the Channel 4 series The Intern.

Devey grew up in Bolton, Lancashire and, as a seven-year-old child, witnessed the results of the bankruptcy of her father, who had owned a central heating company, when bailiffs removed furniture and household goods from the family home. Her father then earned a living managing pubs and hotels. She attended Bolton School and after leaving, at the age of sixteen, served for a short while in the Women’s Royal Air Force, in air traffic control and the supply accounts department, stationed at RAF Brize Norton. Devey later moved to London Devey made her fortune launching Pall-Ex, a palletised freight network. Launched in 1996, Pall-Ex was the third palletised goods distribution network to be launched in the UK. It was based on the well-established hub and spoke express parcels distribution model this form of pallet network was pioneered by Palletline in 1992. Pall-Ex handles around 8,000 palletised consignments through its Leicestershire hub each day and has annual revenues of approximately £75 million.

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THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | HILARY DEVEY

Devey was awarded the Vitalise Woman of the Year Award in 2008, and an Honorary Doctorate of Law by the University of Leicester in 2010 for her services to industry.

Other UK domestic awards have included the Sir Robert Lawrence Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in 2009 and the Personality of the Year in the International Freight Weekly Awards for 2010.

In July 2012, Devey was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration by the University of Bolton for services to business.

Devey was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), in the 2013 Birthday Honours, for services to the transport industry and charity.

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THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | CHRISTINE FIELDHOUSE

Do you wish you were less busy?

If you’re constantly flat out but never seem to complete your to do list, it’s time to supercharge your productivity.

Here are some top tips from the experts..

1.

3.

If there’s something you’ve been putting off, make a concerted effort to get it done first thing, recommends business coach Arvind Devalia, author of Live the Life You Love (www.arvinddevalia.com).

Psychologist Rachael Alexander (www.couragequeen.com) says we usually give jobs and projects about 50 per cent of our effort and interest. She suggests we list the things we’ve signed up for or agreed to do, and make a decision that we’re either going to stop doing them (quit) or we’re going to give them 100 per cent (commit).

Do the worst job first

It sounds odd, says Devalia, but if you tackle the worst thing as soon as you get up in the morning or when you get to your desk, your day will only get better We all have things that we dread doing, whether it’s sending a difficult e-mail or sorting out a huge pile of clutter.

We over estimate how much time the task will take us and the job becomes overwhelming so we put it off.

The secret is to break the job down into chunks and get started. If you have a huge pile of paperwork that’s been sitting on your desk for the last six months and you tackle one piece of paper a day, it could be sorted within a month. Once you start, you’ll see results very quickly, which will give you more energy to carry on.

Make sure you give yourself a reward, such as a cup of tea or a walk in the park.

2.

Ask yourself three simple questions

If you get engrossed with trivial jobs, and never get round to the important things, ask yourself three questions, advises life coach Talane Miedaner. author of Coach Yourself To Success (£10.99, McGraw-Hill).

a) What’s important about today?

It might be your daughter’s birthday or a job interview. Make sure you allow enough time for these parts of your day and don’t get distracted.

b) What must get done today?

Work out the most urgent jobs, such as seeing the doctor about the cough you can’t shake, or food shopping because there’s nothing in the cupboards and see these as the top things priorities onyour to do list.

c) What’s important about the future?

If you just focus on today, you won’t have enough time to prepare for the things that are coming up,so look ahead. This could mean making some appointments or stocking up on birthday cards.

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Quit or commit

As soon as you give a course, a piece of work or even your toddler’s swimming lessons 100 per cent commitment, you enjoy them more and you get them done more effectively and quickly, says Alexander, who specialises in conquering fear and anxiety.

4.

Get some order

If you can’t ever find your car keys, you’ll start the day drained of energy, says Miedaner. While you spend 20 minutes trying to find them, all sorts of negative things pop into your mind and will sap your energy for the whole day. That’s why it’s worth having some systems.

They’re a little bit of hassle to set up but they are an investment. Once they’reup and running, they’re one less task and you will feel a sense of order about your life.

Tackle every area of your life – sort out your files, set up standing orders for regular bills, do your banking online and clear out your wardrobes.

5.

Calm down

It’s ironic that we achieve far more when we’re relaxed, says stress expert Becki Houlston.

No one would ever get on a plane if they saw the pilot running across the runway stressed, shouting that he’s far too busy to talk to air traffic control, says Houlston. When we’re stressed, our prefrontal cortex in our brain closes down and it goes into emergency mode which means we don’t spot errors.

Next time you’re rushing stop and practise the 7/11 method – take seven breaths in and eleven out. This will calm you so you can think rationally and get much more done.

6.

9.

Group different jobs together and do them all at the same time, suggests Miedaner.

Go around your home and workplace and list the things that drag your mood down when you see them – from a broken picture frame to filing cabinets crammed with old paperwork. Work through your list and get everything fixed.

Batch activities

Think how quickly you open and sort your post when you get back from holiday, she says. Have a tray for incoming mail and open several days’ worth at once.

Pay bills at the same time. If you have several calls to make, do them at the same time.

7.

Do 15 minutes at a time

If there are jobs you’re not that keen on, do them in15-minute chunks, advises Rachael Alexander.

This is a bit sneaky because after a quarter of an hour, you’ll probably be so engrossed in the job you’ll decide you’ll carry on, says Alexander. But equally, you can set your timer and you know you can stop after 15 minutes.

You can use this rule with everything from doing a huge pile of ironing to writing a book, brainstorming for new business ideas, and even popping round to see relatives.

Plug your energy drains

If you can get rid of energy drainers, like the clothes that tumble out of a cupboard every time you open the door, you’ll have more energy to focus on the bigger things in your life, says Presley-Turner.

10.

Be a finisher

Ifwe have 25 goals, we’ll probably never achieve them all sowe end up feeling despondent. Presley-Turner suggests we stick to three main goals that really stretch and excite us.

Finishing the things we start is paramount to feeling satisfied with ourselves, she says. It gives us the feeling that we’re moving forward in our lives, rather than being stuck. It’s much better to finish one project that’s important to us, having done it well, than have 20 half-done on a back burner.

8.

Delegate

Look at the jobs you do and see if there are any you could delegate, says Miedaner.

Get your supermarket shopping delivered, and if you can afford a cleaner, you could regain the five hours per week you spend cleaning and use them for more important things, she suggests.

Make jobs like washing the car or unloading the dishwasher sound like fun and share them out among your children for a little extra pocket money. At work, see if there are jobs you could give to the office junior or another member of staff.

Christine Fieldhouse is a health and self-help journalist, and she writes for the national and international press. Her autobiography, Why Do Monsters Come Out at Night? was published by Hay House. She lives in North Yorkshire with her husband Ian and son Jack. www.christinefieldhouse.co.uk

To find more about Christine Fieldhouse download a digital version of THEBESTYOUMAGAZINE.CO or get The Best You App from Apple Store or Google Play

THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | THE BEST YOU EXPO

WORKSHOPS Exhibitors tell us that taking the stage to spread the word about their product to an engaged and interested audience is a winning formula.

At the previous EXPO, every workshop was brim-full with potential clients genuinely excited about the services and products workshop speakers provide.

In response to this intense demand we are providing nine workshop stages and a main stage at 2017’s The Best You EXPO.

THE MAIN STAGE audience capacity of 300-400, this is the place to promote your product. Big name speakers will speak from the Main Stage however we are also committed to promoting and projecting businesses, and will consider your proposal to speak on this stage.

WEALTH AND RICHES WORKSHOPS How can Personal Development boost and project business? From mentoring and coaching, through HR applications, leaderships skills, communication and much more, The Best You Business workshop series shows you how

THE BEST PRACTITIONERS’ ONE-STOP SHOP Complementary practitioners are often brilliant at their specialist skill but struggle to capitalise on it by taking their skills to market. From publishing, through to marketing, plus the practicalities of starting a practice, speakers will expertly take you through the processes, showing the pitfalls and routes to success.

FEEL AND LOOK GOOD WORKSHOPS Whether you want to overcome a phobia, get fitter, lose weight, find ways to beat anxiety or improve your overall well-being, this series of workshops from leading experts will show you how. It will include hypnotic trance workshops, approaches to self-improvement, and all the most innovative techniques for self- improvement.

INSPIRING YOUTH WORKSHOPS New for 2017, this workshop is to give teachers, parents and care givers advice and learnings to help them shape and educate our future leaders and entrepreneurs. It will also give teenagers and young adults the opportunity to get on stage and share their ideas. We are looking for young entrepreneurs, budding inspirational speakers, creatives, young marketers and those that want to do good in the world. This is your chance – go for it!

BODY AND SOUL WORKSHOPS Again new for 2017, The Body and Soul workshops offer a collection of spiritual leaders, teaching you new ways to live your life authentically, by using meditation, yoga, NLP, mindfulness and much more. This series of workshops shows you how to live the life you truly want and deserve.

PASSION TO PROFIT WORKSHOPS Do you have a burning desire to start a business based on your life-long passion? Have ever wondered if it CAN be done? The Passion to Profit workshops show you how.

The speakers will tell you their story, giving you tips and inspiration on how to start your journey and follow your dreams.

www.thebestyou.co

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WIN! Feeling in need of some inspiration, exploration and pure relaxation? The Best You Book Club has something for every mood, and we’ re giving one lucky reader the chance to win a copy of every book featured. To be in with a chance of winning, simply send us an email with your name and address to PRIZEGIVEAWAYS@THEBESTYOU.CO before 31st December 2016. Good luck!

Book Club The Best You’s guide to the new reads you need in your life TRUE WEALTH: LETTERS ON MONEY, LIFE, AND LOVE By Diana Chambers A dynamic educator, Diana’s background is in mentoring individuals and families to seize financial opportunities, overcome challenges and grow in their ability to be financially self-sustaining. In this book she encourages us all - regardless of our wealth level - to talk constructively about money. She believes that open dialogue is the first line of defence when there is a financial challenge, and that it is a skill can be learned and practised. If this all sounds too tied to money-obsessed to stroke an emotional chord, rest assured Diana’s ethos is very much that true wealth is entirely anchored in the life you live, not what you have in the bank.

BEST FOR : Learning to be less British about talking about money.

MAKING LIFE EASY: A SIMPLE GUIDE TO A DIVINELY INSPIRED LIFE

By Dr Christiane Northrup From the alkaline to the raw diet, you can’t move for books about the latest food fads or exercise plans. But in this joyfully encouraging read Dr Christiane says we must not view our bodily well-being in isolation, because life can devolve into constant worry about our health and constant battling to make our bodies behave. Instead, in this book she teaches us to become in tune into the Divine part of ourselves, which is the first step in truly making our lives easy. From untying the knots of guilt that harm to using sexual energy consciously to increase vitality, she imparts the skills you need to make life flow and help you truly feel your best.

BEST FOR : An empowering approach to taking control of every aspect of your wellness.

THE SPACE WITHIN

By Michael Neill Michael Neill offers a uniquely brilliant insight in to what it means to be human in all its shades, and how to access the space of meditation without meditating. Praised by many readers as life changing, The Space Within will leave you uplifted and comforted in the knowledge that true peace really does indeed come from within, once we know where to look. Neill teaches everything from how to seek flow to how to tap in to creative solutions, and how to get the most out of time spent with family, leading to higher levels of contentment and a far closer connection with loved ones. Theres something here for everyone in this truly enlightening book, but how much you get out of it depends on how much you’re willing to go with it.

BEST FOR :

A creative spark plug that can change the way you live.

THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 | BOOK CLUB

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HOW TO SPEAK SO PEOPLE REALLY LISTEN: THE STRAIGHT-TALKING GUIDE TO COMMUNICATING WITH INFLUENCE AND IMPACT

By Paul McGee Every day, we′re faced with situations where we have to speak to persuade others, both at work and in our personal lives. But even if you’rean expert on your topic, you can struggle to get anaudience engaged and inspired by what you′re saying, In this brilliantly instructive book, Paul McGee explains how to take your communication to the next level. With simple, easy-to-remember lessons to help you perfect your new found skills, this book is down– to–earth, gritty and oozes experience. It will make you want to rip out pages to read just before you next have to deliver a presentation.

BEST FOR : Gaining real-life skills to improve how well you communicate.

Be Inspired

THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 | BOOK CLUB

JOHANNA’S CHRISTMAS

By Johanna Basford This fun festive colouring book from Johanna’s expert hand is ready and waiting for your chosen colour palette.

Pick up your coloured pencils or pens and let yourself become absorbed in colouring these 37 perforated pull-out art prints, ideal for framing or giving as festive greetings. From delicate tangles of holly and ivy, baubleladen Christmas trees and mountains of exquisitely wrapped gifts, everything to do with Christmas is found in these pages. Even if you’re a colouring in refusenik, we challenge you not to want toget stuck into deliciously decorated gingerbread houses and reindeer-led sleighs.

BEST FOR : A soothing activity for to give you some inner calm amid the chaos this holiday season.

HOW TO LIVE A GOOD LIFE: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO A LIFE WELL LIVEDBY JONATHAN FIELDS

By Jonathan Fields Do we really need another book that tells us how to live better? Well, once you’ve read the opening chapter of How To Live a Good Life you’ll be thankful that this one exists. In these disconnected, disengaged and dissatisfied, we don’t know who to trust or where to turn for genuine help. How to Live a Good Life gives a practical modern-day manual for those in pursuit of a life well lived. Drawn from the intersection of science, spirituality, and the author’s own quest to learn at the feet of masters from nearly every tradition and walk of life, it invites you to spend just 30 days doing exercises which promise to help you reclaim your life.

BEST FOR : Enabling you to rekindle deep and loving relationships and appreciate life’s splendour.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

One entry per household. Entry implies acceptance of rules and conditions. No purchase necessary.

Open to all UK residents aged 18 years or over, other than employees of The Best You and companies associated with it. Draw will be conducted by The Best You Corporation. Prize is as stated and will be awarded to the entry drawn at random on the draw date. No cash alternative is available. No correspondence will be entered into. Delayed entries will be deemed invalid. Winners’ names may be published and the winners may be required to participate in publicity. Promoter: The Best You Corporation.

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from Nov 2016

3

Be Inspired

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A GRATITUDE ATTITUDE Jonathan Fields

LIVE LOVE LEGACY ‘Seeking meaning and finding purpose’ Entrepreneur Jonathan Fields explains how counting your blessing is a fundamental step in leading a good life.

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THE 10 BEST GIFT IDEAS

In the run up to Christmas, here are the 10 best gifts you can give to really make a difference to the lives of those you love.

Get lost in order to find yourself in magical Marrakech.

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THE RE-EVOLUTION OF THE HUMAN BEING FIND YOURSELF IN MAGICAL MARRAKECH

PUT YOUR COMPANY IN THIS SPACE! TO SPONSOR THIS PAGE AND BE PART OF THE BEST YOU, EMAIL US AT ADVERTISING@THEBESTYOU.CO www.thebestyou.co

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THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | A GRATITUDE ATTITUDE

A Gratitude Attitude In his bestselling book How To Live a Good Life entrepreneur Jonathan Fields encourages you to recognise the good times and be thankful.

Daily Exploration: Option 1—The Three Blessings

Over the past 10 years, gratitude has been hailed as one of

the most universally effective mindset boosters and happiness enhancers. It’s also been heavily researched and validated beyond the realm of anecdotal self help. But that still leaves us with a question. How do we build gratitude? How do we break out of the doom and gloom cocoon and see more of what’ s right in life?

One of the most popular gratitude-building exercises is the gratitude journal. The idea isto regularly write down what you’re grateful for. There are many variations, but in Martin Seligman’ s book Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being,he offers a research backed approach, which he calls the Three Blessings. The ‘ blessings’ are actually fun to do, and they don’ t take much time.

A quick note on how often to do them. Seligman suggests a daily approach, but Sonja Lyubomirsky, another leading voice in positive psychology, believes that instead of doing them daily, you should test what feels right for you. Inher book The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want,she suggests that a daily practice may start to feel forced and repetitive. In Lyubomirsky’ s research, once a week seemed tobe the sweet spot for most people. So play with it. If it starts to feel like a rote or repetitive exercise and doesn’ t seem tobe doing anything to lift your mood or change your view of life, spread it out a bit.

The second gratitude builder - ‘ the gratitude visit’ - is talked about far less often but has been shown in Seligman’s research to pretty much crush almost every other happiness-boosting exercise.

• Write down three things that went well today. They can be big things (“I proposed to the love of my life and she said yes”), or simple everyday things (‘ my daughter gave me a hug and kiss before leaving for school’ ).

• For each of the three things, answer the question ‘ Why did this happen?’ Make tonight your first night. Keep track of how your lens on life and general mood change over time. And, as Lyubomirsky suggests, experiment a bit to find the perfect frequency for you. Start out daily for a week. If that feels good and it’ s moving your mindset needle, keep it up. If not, explore once a week, twice a month, or whatever feels right for you.

Option 2—The Gratitude Visit This will take a bit more work, but Seligman’ s research showed that a single experience can create changes in mindset that are still there a month later. Look back on your life and think of someone who made a difference to you. It could have been someone who helped you out when you were in need, someone who encouraged you or taught you something. It should be someone you never thanked, and someone who is close enough for you to visit in person.

Next, write a letter to that person describing, in specifics, what they did for you and how it affected you. Share what you’ re up to now and let them know how often you revisit their kindness. It should be a full page, or about 300 words.

• Now here’ s where it gets fun, and also where it might challenge you a bit. Do it anyway. Call the person up and tell them you’ d love to stop by to say a quick hello. Don’ t tell them exactly why you’ re coming. You want to keep it a surprise, if you can. Then go visit your person and read your letter to them, face-to-face.

Be Inspired

Jonathan Fields is an award winning author, media-producer and entrepreneur. His last book, Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt in to Fuel for Brilliance, was named the top personal development book in 2011.

www.jonathanfields.com How To Live a Good Life by Jonathan Fields is out now

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The10 best gift ideas ...................

Forget that novelty nutcracker, this festive season choose from our pick of the best presents that will do good and be truly be appreciated

...................

1.

Give the gift of culture with the National Art Pass, which gives free entry to over 240 museums, galleries and historic houses across the UK, as well as 50% off entry to major exhibitions. From Cardiff Castle and Kensington Palace to the V&A and Tate Modern www.artfund.org/national-art-pass from £70

2.

6.

Studying for a new skill - or brushing up an old one - can can add real purpose to life. Buy someone you love a voucher for glass blowing, archery, pottery or cooking. London’s Cookery School offers one off or longer courses in everything from perfect pastries to winter comfort foods to healthy eating, using high quality, sustainable ingredients and equipment found in everyday home kitchens www.cookeryschool.co.uk from £115

The Lumie Bodyclock Active Bodyclock Active 250 builds the light before your alarm goes off, encouraging healthy sleep and helping to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder. There are also audio options so you can rise to bird song or your favourite radio www.lumie.com/products/bodyclock-active-250 £99.95

7.

3.

8.

4.

9.

5.

10.

It’s a new year which means a chance to start off as you mean to go on - which means organised. Kikki.K is a beautiful new stationary shop which believes in taking the time and effort to make life beautiful, in order to help bring out the best you. Their handbagsized leather planners will mean you’re a couple of steps ahead of the game. www.kikki-k.com £45

For loved ones who travel frequently - or who just can’t seem to get enough shut eye -this beautifully crafted eye mask from the famous luxury British brand is the ideal gift. Probably best to buy one for yourself while you’re at it www.otisbatterbee.com eye-masks £50

Ok, so you might well be walloped by your beloved for buying them a toothbrush for Christmas, but the Oral-B Smart series 6500 is no ordinary toothbrush.

It’s life changing. Clinically proven to remove up to four times as much plaque, whiten teeth and improve gum health, its the gift that keeps on giving. www.oralb.co.uk £99

Pre-empt January’s predicable resolution to get fit by giving a pair of top of the range running shoes, designed for comfort, support and not to mention style. On your marks, set, go.www.asics.com from £129.99

Plugging yourself into a charger might sound like a dystopian sci-fi future, but The Human Charger, invented by Finnish scientists Juuso Nissila and Antti Aunio, is a quick, effective and convenient way to get your necessary daily dose of light through earphones, essential for good health. www.humancharger.com £149.99

Spotify is the best loved digital music service in the world, giving you access to millions of songs to listen to wherever you are on your phone, computer or TV. A subscription to Spotify Premium, which gives access offline too, will bring a smile to the face of even the biggest Bah Humbug www.spotify.com/premium from £9.99 per month

An elephant would be difficult to wrap, so instead adopt one - or a whole family - in order to protect them. Charity Space for Giants works tirelessly to keep African eles safe from poachers, who threaten to wipe out the species within 10 years. Adoption costs just £60per year, and you even get to name your chosen pachyderm. ‘Sir Trunkalot’ is our choice. www.spaceforgiants.org/adopt

................... www.thebestyou.co

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The re-evolution of the human being Intuitive coach Lynn Blades on helping people live their best lives and how the solutions to our problems lie within Looking back on my life, there has rarely been a time when I wasn’t nurturing or mentoring others; so abandoning my career as an award-winning broadcast journalist to retrain as an intuitive coach was hardly a leap of faith.

Over the past decade my private practice has seen clients ranging from CEOs to young people in the process of self-discovery.

I feel passionate about them all, and believe in my innate ability to nurture their needs and ambitions. What I’ve come to know is that most people are seeking three things from life: confidence, happiness and balance.

In recent years, however, I’ve also noticed a disturbing trend.

We are moving so fast and expecting so much instant gratification that we’ve lost appreciation for the process, no longer living in the moment. Heads down to our computers, phones and readers, we are losing touch with our basic instincts. As it turns out, my good friend and now business partner, Mari Carras, agreed.

Two years ago, over a bottle of wine and a block of cheese at a dinner party, we began discussing the impact of technology on our senses and sensibilities. That’s when we decided to create a project that would bring us back to basics and teach people about the power of being at the source of life, while working together to create something everyone can appreciate. It’s called The F.E.A.S.T. Project (or Finding Excellence Around a Shared Table) and it’s a return to nature: fishing, butchering, shooting and foraging for food, then sharing it together as a collective. It’s challenging, refreshing and brings out the human inside.

The F.E.A.S.T. Project embodies an enlightening, empowering, character-building team experience. Come rain or shine, thrown in at the deep end, participants are taken out of their comfort zone to depend on nature as we once did.

At the end of an intense day at nature’s mercy, participants are returned to Huntsham Court, a 34-bedroom, private Victorian mansion situated in the stunning Devon countryside on the borders of Exmoor National Park. There they’re invited to relax and unwind in cosy, elegant surroundings before dressing for a gourmet F.E.A.S.T. prepared and served by a private chef. This is Bear Grylls meets Downton Abbey.

Ultimately, the solutions to our problems lie within. However, it’s often daunting to follow our inner truth: denial, fear and procrastination are natural human responses when trying to achieve our life goals. To fulfil our ambitions, therefore, we must first seek the truth about who we are, then learn to know, love and appreciate whomever that may be. Lasting happiness cannot be achieved without aligning yourself with your values and beliefs. Our aim is for The F.E.A.S.T. Project to help you do just that. It’s good to get re-acquainted with the human inside.

For more information visit - www.thefeastproject.co.uk

Find yourself in magical

Marrakech

Unlike city breaks that leave you drained, a visit to Morocco’s bewitching second city will energise, excite and enchant

THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | MARRAKECH

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W

hen a man is tired of Marrakech, he’s tired of life.

That might be a slight adaptation of Samuel Johnson’s quote, but it’s arguably more apt in reference to the ancient Moroccan town which has been enticing visitors for centuries.

Steeped in history, teeming with bustling souks and elegantly tiled palaces, Marrakech Old Town is still largely untouched by global brands and unquestionably the biggest culture shock you can reach in just over three-hours’ flight from London.

There are so many reasons why Marrakech is eternally captivating and why a visit not only broadens your mind but focuses it to, making your brain fizz with excitement.

There’s the labyrinthine and seemingly never-ending souks, where haggling is expected, and the happy chaos of the Djema el-Fnaa square, which is the focal point of the Old Town (or Medina), which comes to life after dark. You’ ll find everything from snake charmers to belly dancers, musicians and henna artists, and vendors selling mouthwatering slow-cooked lamb, pickled snails and divine nut-filled mini pastries.

There are so many sights, smells and tastes to take in, it’ s a real test of your ability togo with the flow and relax into a culture that’ s very different to your own. All of human - and animal - life is here, and to miss experiencing it would be to miss one of life’ s greatest gifts. As Mark Twain said; “travel is fatal to narrow-mindedness”. Stepping back in time in Marrakech is a one way ticket to open-mindedness.

If‘ relaxation is usually top of your mini break priority list, worry not. The key to taking in Marrakech without being overwhelmed lies with your accommodation choice. Eschew the global chain hotel groups and opt for a traditional Riad, which are large traditional houses built around a central courtyard, where local staff guarantee your trip is unforgettable.

Just five minutes from the main square Riad Jennah Rouge isan intricately decorated dream, with patterned tiles, carvings, sculptures and even indoor water features. As part of the Rouge Hostelsgroup, not only do you get a beautiful room, complimentary traditional breakfast and unlimited sweet mint tea (a Marrakech must), you’ re equipped with priceless advice from Managers Meriem and Rasheed.

They’ll happily advise on where to find the perfect traditional Moroccan tagging and which is the best Hammam(a steam room where Moroccans habitually go cleanse, top tip: try the Aabla spa which will leave you the cleanest you’ ve ever been).

They also run in-house cooking classes and organise daily excursions, including camel rides and sleeping under the stars amid the Saharan sands. The ever-smiling Rasheed explains; “while guests are here this is their home, and they are family”.

The welcoming ethos of the Riad stems from British owner Francesca, who fell in love with Marrakech as a backpacker ten years ago and has never looked back. “Sipping tea on a rooftop bar over looking the main square at dusk is an absolute must for every visitor,” she says. “There’ s huge potential for self discovery as you discover this city. It’ s really about your ability to take things in your stride and deal with the many unplanned random stuff that often happens in Marrakech”.

That random stuff includes men trying to place a monkey on your shoulder in the Djemma el-Fnaa square (be warned, they will want money in return) and non-stop and often extraordinary haggling in the souks. If it all gets too much, make like the locals and relax under the olive trees of the 12th-century Agdal Gardens, a vast 40-acre orchard..

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THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | MARRAKECH For more green and pleasant lands, the French painter Jacques Majorelle began planting the Jardin Majorelle in 1924, and his psychedelic plants and water-lily pond were later tended by Yves Saint Laurent. Majorelle’ s signature cobalt blue studio is now a Berber art museum and wandering around the garden’s intricate tiles and cacti is a relaxing way to spend a morning.

Or for a slice of modern life in the heart of the Kasbah district, try Café Clock. This trendy spot is famous for serving up frothy date milkshakes and camel burgers, but it also puts on Arabic story-telling nights (with English translations), concerts and fantastic Moroccan cooking lessons run bythe wonderful Mohammed. They last five hours and include the unforgettable experience of food shopping in the market (buying live chickens is optional!).

Marrakech is a place like no other, and one that is impossible to forget. It’s a destination that demands that you fit into it’s rhythms and cultures, and there is a special joy in understanding them in a world that is increasingly homogenised due to globalisation. Go local and at your own pace to enjoy the many and varied splendours of this magical city - but make sure you go.

Fact Box Rouge Hostels is a group of seven hostels in Marrakech which can be booked via www.marrakechrougehostels.com, email contact@rougehostels.com or call 0044 7873496854 Adventures, trips and ready made itineraries, surf and yoga packages, and daily Sahara trips can also be booked via www.marrakechrougehostels.com.

Let Loose specialises in ready made itineraries, travel planning services and family travel www.letlooseonlife.com or email hello@letlooseonlife.com Aabla spa is on 21 Riad Zitoune Jdid Derb Zouina, call 06 6120 37 47 For information about Cafe Clock’ s cooking school, concerts and traditional storytelling nights visit www.cafeclock.com Top tip The local currency is Dirhams, but don’ t change your Stirling at home - wait until you’ rein the Medina. You can pay for your airport taxi in Euros.

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Be Inspired

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THE KEY TO MAKING LIFE EASY Dr Christiane Northrup

FEEL & LOOK GOOD ‘Strength from the inside out’

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’TIS THE SEASON TO SEEK MEANING Adam Mahmoud

Looking for the Key To Making life Easy?

Dr Christiane is here to help.

In the run up to Christmas, we need the calming practice of meditation more than ever, says Adam Mahmoud.

Actress and yogi Ali Bastian’s Wellness Diary continues.

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ALI BASTIAN’S WELLNESS DIARY

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THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | THE KEY TO MAKING LIFE EASY

The key to making life easy Achieving flow in life, and to truly feel your best, is down to far more than physical health; it’s also about having a healthy emotional life and a robust spiritual life, says Dr Christiane Northrup

The unity of body, mind, and Spirit has long been ignored in

our quest for a good life. When searching for physical health, we turn to Western medicine, which treats symptoms as inconvenient things tobe managed by masking them with drugs, or sometimes surgery. You can see this in the frightening statistics about prescription drug use. Mayo Clinic researchers have found that 70 percent of all Americans are on at least one prescription drug - and many are on more than one. The most commonly prescribed are antibiotics, opioid painkillers, and antidepressants.

Your physical body is just a small part of the vastness of who you really are - like a drop of water in the ocean. Our bodies contain our Souls, which are connected to our Spirits. Our Spirits - or what some call our inner beings or higher selves - live outside of this material realm. Tapping into the Divine (again, whatever that is for you - there’s no right answer) is tapping into the highest part of ourselves.

Medicating symptoms onan ongoing basis is a lot like putting duct tape over the indicator lights onthe dashboard of your car - instead of looking under the hood to see what your engine is telling you it requires.

No matter what you call it, to access the Divine part of yourself, you have to raise your vibration and begin the process of remembering this and communicating directly. Don’t make this too complicated. Just know that you are part of God. I think of the Spirit as the enlightened “always in the light”part ofus - the nonphysical part of ourselves that is not actually inour bodies but instead vibrating at a higher rate.

When we can acknowledge that our thoughts, beliefs, and circumstances and the agenda of our Souls all affect our physical and mental health dramatically, we start to see the power of each of the pieces of the puzzle described by Edgar Cayce: Spirit, mind, and body. If we align with the immense power of the Divine we, quite literally, have the keys to our own kingdom.

And you get to call the Divine anything you want: your Higher Power, Buddha, God, Jesus, Allah, the Goddess, Great Spirit you name it. It’s all your choice.

The Spirit part of us is all-knowing and all-seeing. It is crucial that we know this part of ourselves. Our Spirits look on and remain above the fray - offering insights along the way, but not participating in the pain and suffering that are so often part of being in a body. Soul, on the other hand, is embodied. Itis down and in. The Soul brings us into our bodies, and our bodies are where the Soul work gets done. The Soul speaks to us through our bodies. And its lessons come through ourbodies in many ways, including pain and illness.

To fully understand the relationship between body, mind, and Spirit is to see that there is actually no separation between these parts. They all influence one another, and to focus on improving one brings better health and well-being to the others.

We cannot simply look at physical health. Or mental health. Or spiritual health. We must look at them all together. We must bring each of these up to its highest state in order to live a full, healthy, happy life.

Christiane Northrup, M.D. is a former Assistant Clinical Professor of ObGyn and New York Times best-selling author.

As a foremost authority on everything that can go right with the female body, Dr. Northrup teaches women how to thrive at every stage of life. For more info visit www.drnorthrup.com or follow Dr. Northrup on Twitter @drchrisnorthrup

Making life Easy

by Dr Christiane Northrup is out now www.thebestyou.co

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’ Tis the season to seek meaning With Christmas just around the corner, world renowned yogi, nutrition expert and meditation coach Adam Mahmoud reminds us how to take the very best from the season of goodwill

As we approach the end of 2016, life seems to be moving

faster than ever. We are working longer and harder to meet the demands of the world, and at the weekend we live life to the full, making the most of our precious free time.

To keep up with life, we are using sugar and caffeine that masks the signs our bodies gives us. One of the most common consequences of this isan over stimulated nervous system, which can result in fatigue, anxiety, and lead to more serious illnesses.

The “work hard play harder” lifestyle catches up with all ofus sooner or later, and it’ s often then that we search for a deeper meaning and purpose in our lives.

Put simply, what’s needed is to slow down, calm the mind, and focus on the important things in life that brings real fulfilment and happiness. What makes you happy at Christmas? Family?

Friends? You health? Possessions? Money?

True happiness does not come from external pleasures but from within. We can train ourselves to feel happier through the simple, yet powerful practices.

Firstly, the more grateful you are for what you already have, the more you will attract good things. The same goes the other way, if you are always focusing on what you don’ t have in life you will attract more of the same. Gratitude increases spiritualism, self-esteem, and your energy level, improves sleep and even makes you more likely to exercise.

Yoga is another means of connecting with yourself, and as more and more people discover the benefits of practising this ancient art it has become a global phenomenon.

Harvard University has studied the science behind yoga and validated its positive effects. As we know, the western mind often needs to have scientific proof to believe anything.

If you’ re one of the many people I meet who says they are too shy or not flexible enough to try yoga, I remind them that yoga is simply the practice of self-inquiry. It’ s a chance to be still, to observe, look within, and ask; what is the purpose of your life?

How can you be‘ the best you’ i?

We all store tension in our body and the sedentary lifestyle most of us are now living is detrimental to our health. Through the practice of yoga we cleanse our digestive system, release tension and strengthen the body. Through the awareness of breath, you also calm your busy mind in preparation for meditation.

Meditation is one of the most powerful practices you can introduce into your life.Our brain is like a computer, it records everything you see, say anddoin your life. Meditation is similar to a software update, if you don’ t update your software eventually your computer’s memory becomes too full of information, stops working asit should and slows or even breaks down.

Meditation is a mental cleaning so that you can reorganise the way your brain function. The brain is just like any other part of your body, you need to know how to exercise it, nourish itand clean it.

There are many different forms of meditation, they all promote relaxation, building internal energy, compassion, love, patience, generosity, andforgiveness; all qualities that will profoundly enhance your life and the lives of those around you.

THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | TIS THE SEASON TO SEEK MEANING

Here is a basic technique to start meditation: Go to a place where you will not be interrupted, sit in a comfortable position with your spine straight, this can be sitting in a chair, make sure your feet are flat to the floor if sitting in chair, you can use pillows to make yourself as comfortable as possible and relaxing music can help.

- Start to focus on your breathing, make your breathing rhythmical and even, noticing the pauses between inhalation and exhalation. At first, thoughts will come and you will get distracted ever 4-5 seconds, this is normal. Just keep coming back to your breathing relaxing your body as you breathe out.

- Keep repeating this exercise and eventually your mind will start to slow down. Make it and enjoyable experience, easy and fun, a mental game you play with yourself to train your brain.

The idea that knowledge is power is not true. Knowledge is potential power but without action that knowledge is just information. If you want to see real change in your life then take action and start being the best you today.

For more information or to book an online course with Adam visit www.yogadam.com

Adam’s philosophy: “Fundamentally, we are all students of life searching for connections with others and a sense of inner peace and happiness.”

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THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | ALI BASTIAN - WELLNESS DIARY

Ali Bastian Wellness Diary Actress and yogi Ali visits Senspa in Carey’s Manor

The Japanese term ‘shinrin-yoku’ literally translates as ‘forest

bathing’, or a relaxing visit to the forest. In Japan it has become a recognised stress management activity, and if there’s one thing we happen to be blessed with in the UK, it’s beautiful woodland.

One of the most enchanting of all is the New Forest. It’s a place I’ve gravitated to many times - more often than not, throwing a tent, my dogs, a few groceries and a willing friend into the car for a few days of walking, talking and getting back to basics.

It made me think...there are so many reasons people might choose to come away on a trip like this, personal growth, life change, illness or simply to introduce a new chapter of self-care.

Whatever it may be that leads you into the enchanted forest, one thing is for certain, you are in very safe loving hands with the therapists at Senspa.

For a real treat, or when it’s too chilly for camping, there’s no better New Forest hideaway than Carey’s Manor. Only an hour and a half away from London, it’s a hidden gem where nature and spa therapies combine, and a visit promises to leave ‘your body glowing, your mind renewed and your soul soothed’.

The Manor is home to the award winning SenSpa, (you may have spotted their beautiful products in the aisles of Waitrose), an Asian inspired sanctuary built entirely in synergy with its surroundings. The dark wood decor embraces this theme and as the spa opens out on to the tranquil Zen gardens; everything is designed to transport you to a place of serenity.

Two favourites are the hydrotherapy pool which helps to relax muscles, increase circulation and improve joint mobility, and a Rhassoul mud room - a luxurious mosaic private steam chamber suitable for two where therapists will apply detoxifying mud treatments known to improve skin texture.

The real treat, however, was a beautiful Thai massage from one of their highly experienced therapists, Lord. She gave me one of the most beautiful, nurturing, tailor-made treatments I think I have ever experienced. I had been going through a few changes in my personal life in the run up to this getaway and I’d not realised quite how tied up in knots I had become.

Follow my Twitter @alibastian and Instagram @alibastianinsta For more information visit www.careysmanor.com

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WEALTH & RICHES ‘Grasping the true meaning of success’

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COLOUR ME HAPPY Johanna Basford

Bestselling artist Johanna Basford tells The Best You that it’s not money that motivates her, but the chance to be creative and live a balanced life.

Wealth Mentor Diana Chambers knows that true wealth is finding our path and pursuing it, and knowing that our lives matter.

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HOW TO ACQUIRE FINANCIAL WISDOM

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Diana Chambers www.thebestyou.co

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rtist Johanna Basford is the ink evangelist who spearheaded the adult colouring-in craze. Her books have now sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, and she recently collected an OBE aspart of the Queen’s Birthday Honours. But as Johanna tells The Best You, it’s not money that motivates her, but helping adults to relax, unwind and be creative.

How did you start creating colouring book for adults?

I was working as a commercial illustrator and for years my clients had been telling me they wanted to colour in my drawings. So when I was approached do a colouring book, I said I’d love to do one for adults - something sophisticated and elegant.

That initial conversation was back in 2011 before the colouring-in trend, and the book editors weren’t sure if there would be any demand for books like that and it was in the middle of credit crunch. But I knew there was an underground colouring movement; I had friends who coloured their kids’ books after bedtime.

Creating a book was going to be a big time investment, but I really wanted to - so I thought let’s take a risk. I sat in my studio at home and drew the first five pages, then emailed them to my editor. They got back tome that day and said to go for it.

What happened next?

I finished drawing the first book, Secret Garden, in spring 2013 - it took that long! We printed 13,000 copies first of all - I phoned my mum and told her to buy lots for relatives Christmas presents to make sure I’d earn the advance I’d been paid by the publishers back.

Then we went to reprint, and we hit 100,000 sales by autumn 2013. It was amazing. Since then, I’ve published An Inky Treasure Hunt and Enchanted Forest, and my last book Lost Ocean had aninitial print run of 1.2 million for the US and UK alone.

Why do you think so many adults are colouring in?

It’s a great way to de-stress. Being ‘in flow’ and completely absorbed in a task – particularly one that doesn’t involve a screen – is so soothing. Everyone’s lives are now so busy and so digital.

Secondly, I think everyone has a creative spark as a child but you lose the confidence as you get older. People just need the opportunity and encouragement to allow it to flourish. An empty sheet of paper can be scary, but a colouring book is accessible and can help you ease your way back into expressing yourself.

There’s also the nostalgia factor. Chances are the last time most people did a spot of colouring in they didn’t have a mortgage, a mean boss or worries about the fiscal debt.

How has success changed you?

It hasn’t changed me; I still live in the same house and have the same friends - but it has afforded me flexibility. In June 2014 I had my daughter and I didn’t appreciate how difficult it is to be a working parent. You always feel guilty. But I am lucky enough to be able to work in my studio upstairs at home with a childminder looking after her downstairs.

Colour m

THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | COLOUR ME HAPPY

r me happy

People ask how it feels to have sold 20 million books and I can’t comprehend it, but what is so gratifying is to see pictures of what people have coloured in. That’s the sign that we’ve done something good. I see all the books as a collaboration, they’re unfinished until people colour them in, so it’s heartwarming and humbling to think that many people have invested their own time.

When you do something for creative reason rather than a business point of view it changes the way you measure success. It’s about doing something authentic, and the financial side was never a concern. I have a job I love, I help others be creative and I can be the mum I want to be - that’s the greatest of life’s riches.

Johanna’s latest book Johanna’s Christmas is out now www.johannabasford.com

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THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | HOW TO AQUIRE FINANCIAL WISDOM

How to acquire

financial wisdom

Wealth Mentor Diana Chambers explains why true wealth is finding joy and meaning in our lives, and has very little to do with our finances

O

n Christmas mornings, as soon as we woke up, my two sisters and I would open the sacks left atthe bottom of our beds by Father Christmas. While it was meant to be a happy moment, my memories revolve around which one of us received the largest and apparently most expensive gifts, and so who was the best loved daughter. It smacked of competition.

Money is a master teacher. I am still, and always be, coming to terms with my relationship to it. Like almost everyone else, aspects of my relationship with money remain both unexamined and unresolved.

Financial IQ is an essential building block in the path to financial maturity. It ranges from knowing income sources and tracking expenditures to understanding the principles of asset management and tax planning. There are multiple avenues to acquire financial IQ skills, but far fewer to understanding our relationship to wealth, which I call financial EQ or emotional intelligence.

Yet financial wisdom requires financial EQ: understanding our own feelings, beliefs and expectations about wealth as well as communicating and interacting with others who may have different feelings, beliefs and expectations. It requires both self-knowledge and interpersonal skills. It’s an essential life skill and, without it, our wealth is at risk. If a family makes money its ultimate priority, the people concerned can be lost in the process or lose themselves when they become subservient to the money they no longer own the money, it owns them.

Our human journey is mostly about asking the right questions rather than having the right answers. My list of big life questions includes: -

Who and what do I love?

-

Who and in what do I trust?

-

What has ultimate meaning?

-

What is the purpose of my life?

Our behaviour with money reveals some of our answers to us if we allow ourselves to look. Unfortunately, we too often pass on the opportunity to learn from our money challenges, which typically mask the truth revealing questions that, in turn, direct us to a richly lived life.

Through a look in the money mirror, we can learn about ourselves. Many of us take only a cursory glance as we pass a mirror to confirm whether our appearance is generally good enough. Others scrutinise ourselves to make sure our clothing is perfect and we’re entirely satisfied with how we look. Observing our financial selves will tell us a great deal about who we are as we seek to answer the questions of life and we may choose to adjust some aspect ofour financial behaviour.

Questions to explore are: - In what ways does money affect me and my relationships?

-

How do I use money?

- How do I communicate about money with family, friends and colleagues?

- How do I negotiate and resolve conflicts over money?

With new awareness comes the ability to make conscious, considered choices.

When we act consciously we’re choosing the direction of our lives and are no longer driven by unseen forces and emotions. As one of my clients says, “I own the money, it does not own me”.

And when we have the right relationship to wealth, it is a positive force in our lives.

My goal is for my clients to choose, from an informed position, how to save, invest, spend, and gift their resources.

True Wealth moves from a focus on ourselves individually to a clear sighted look at money, to directing our lives and legacies. It is an expression of my larger mission, which is to help whoever crosses my path to make sense of his or her life.

This is an edited extract from True Wealth: Letters on Money, Life, and Love

by Diana Chambers (Altitude Press, £21)

Q&A

With Diana - Would it benefit people to talk more openly about money?

Absolutely. The ability to talk constructively about money is the first line of defence when there is a financial challenge. I encourage open and meaningful money conversations, and I teach workshops on talking about money because the skill can be learned and practised. It’s relevant across all ages. My goal is for people to chat easily about significant money topics - as they would about the latest news or sports results - over breakfast or morning coffee.

- What’s the most satisfying part of being a Wealth Mentor?

I love the relationships. Sometimes they’re long-term, as with my clients, when I have the opportunity over years of working together to know them, their family members, and the details oftheir lives. Sometimes they’re brief but deeply personal encounters.

- What is the most challenging part?

Financial IQ plays such a dominant role in our society that it can be difficult to communicate the importance of financial EQ–which is about our relationship to wealth and the impact it has onusand our relationships –but is significantly harder to explain and measure than financial IQ. Itmeans clients have tobe educated first about the necessity of developing financial EQ and encouraging itin their children before wego about building their skills.

- What does true wealth mean to you?

True wealth is finding joy and meaning in our lives and has very little todo with our financial resources –unless we are struggling to make ends meet. True wealth is knowing that we are embedded in a thoughtful, caring community on which we can rely, it’s finding our path and pursuing it, and knowing that our lives matter through how we contribute to our immediate families and communities and, through our leadership and/or philanthropy, to the larger society.

- What is the one thing you wish all people knew about wealth?

Financial resources come and go–sometimes in the flash ofan eye –but true wealth in the form of committed friendships and relationships, and the freedom and motivation to follow our passionsand contribute to society, gives lasting satisfaction and shapes a legacyof which we can be very proud.

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To advertise here, please contact us on +44 (0) 207 927 6500 or email adverstising@thebestyou.co

THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | THE MINDFUL WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT - FOREVER

The mindful way to lose weight - Forever Accredited hypnotherapist and psychotherapist Susan Hepburn developed her Hypnodiet programme in order to help anyone to achieve their perfect size - including many celebrities

Hypnodiet is not a diet. It’s a mind-body

revolution: a way to change the way you eat forever. It changes the negative learned-behaviour eating patterns into positives.

It works because it removes the guilt and stress of yo-yo dieting. Instead, hypnosis provides a simple yet radical way to lose inches, but more importantly to gain control of your eating habits and build a healthy relationship with food.

Susan Hepburn teaches you to enjoy food, make healthy choices, avoid the obvious refined and added sugars and exercise regularly, reaching your target weight without hunger or guilt – and staying there for life.

Almost like deleting files from a computer, the program allows you to remove the emotional associations that cause you to eat when you are not hungry, such as comfort eating or eating because of boredom or stress. You will then ‘reprogram’ your mind with a healthy approach to eating.

Mindfulness is central to Hypnodiet, encouraging you to savour food, replacing self-criticism with self-acceptance, and only eating to satisfy hunger. With Hypnodiet; if you are hungry, you will eat. If you are not hungry, you simply will not want to eat.

By exploring how food might be controlling you, Susan shows how mindfulness is an important psychological tool that can help youto change your relationship with food for life.

Susan is running a series of seminars in the 5 Star Bulgari Hotel, Knightsbridge, to share her A-listers weight loss programme with you.

The next one is on Saturday 18th March 1–3pm Book your tickets here: www.thebestyouseminars.co/event/get-the-body-you-want/

FACT

One in three British adults are on a permanent diet.

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21ST CENTURY PODCASTS

Living & Apps

21ST CENTURY LIVING ‘Tuned in and switched on’ The Podcasts and Apps you need in your life.

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21ST CENTURY VLOGGERS

Vloggers making a difference and helping you get the most of screen time.

Motivational quotes to help you through hectic modern life in The Last Word.

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THE LAST WORD

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The Best Of The Digital World Must have pocasts What to download now to add joy to your commute

Caffeine for the Soul Internationally renowned transformative coach Michael Neill shares fresh ideas and daily inspirations in tiny bite-sized (or ‘espresso’ sized) chunks in this free download. From getting ‘unstuck ’to his guide to landing a book deal, it;’s wonderfully varied and full of gems.

Get it here http://apple.co/2ecDUa8

The Meditation Podcast This free podcast, produced by Jesse and Jeane Stern, uses binaural beats in the audio that help induce a deep state of relaxation and induce a brain pattern similar to REM sleep. This has the potential to bring about profound healing - meaning it might just be the most valuable podcast you ever use.

Get it here www.themeditationpodcast.com

To find more about The Digital World / Apps download a digital version of THEBESTYOUMAGAZINE.CO or get The Best You App from Apple Store or Google Play

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THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | THE BEST OF THE DIGITAL WORLD

Get Appy

The Apps that truly make a difference

Ankommen This genius Germany’s app that helps refugees settle into life in their new homeland. Meaning ‘Arrival’, it gives these vulnerable people a way to understand about German culture, learn the language and get access to important information about the asylum proceedings, as well as offering ways for them to find a vocational training for work. Bravo! https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ankommen/id1066804488?mt=8

FoodBank Making donating food a lot more efficient, this app supports local food banks in managing stock levels andorganising donations more efficiently through a centralised CMS. The app runs on a traffic light system that arranges donations into three categories: urgent, in short supply and well stocked. App users will receive a push notification when their local food bank has run out of a particular item and when their shopping list has been updated. www.foodbankapp.co.uk

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ce

Inspirational V

1 Tim Ferriss From teaching people techniques on speed reading to offering entrepreneurship advice, Tim is a man who thinks and sees the world differently, and expertly shares his unique take with the world. Much of the content offered on his channel is free, and his most popular videos include The Choice-Minimal Lifestyle: 6 Formulas for More Output and Less Overwhelm and Real Mind Control: The 21-Day No-Complaint Experiment. @tferriss www.fourhourworkweek.com

The best makers of personal development videos inspire millions of people around the world through their motivational vlogs

Tai Lopez

Self-made millionaire Tai dedicated his early life to seeking out the very best entrepreneurial minds on the planet and mentor under them. He distils their wisdom in his vlogs, and sends subscribers book recommendation every day which cover every possible element needed for successful selfimprovement. He also interviews very successful people, often while gunning it down the freeway in his Ferrari!

www.youtube.com/user/ tailopezofficial

THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | 21ST CENTURY VLOGGERS

al Vloggers

3 2

Grace Victory

British vlogger and bodypositive internet queen Grace makes joyous, life affirming videos for everyone, but specifically champions young women.

Her topics range from boosting self esteem to being the best friend you can be, alongside Grace putting clean eating to the test and hugely popular beauty and fashion videos. Make yourself a cuppa and have a browse through.

www.youtube.com/user/ UglyFaceOfBeauty

Get exclusive content from other inspirational vloggers on

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THE BEST YOU MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | THE LAST WORD

The Last Word Inspirational quotes for reflection and motivation...

Good, better, best. Never let it rest. ‘Til your good is better and your better is best.

St. Jerome

It always seems impossible until its done.

Nelson Mandela No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.

Charles R. Swindoll

It takes a great deal of courage to stand upto your enemies, but even more to stand upto your friends.

J. K. Rowling

Failure will never overtake meifmy determination to succeed is strong enough.

Og Mandino

There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.

Aldous Huxley

Believe in yourself! Have faith inyour abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.

Norman Vincent Peale

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

Thomas A. Edison

You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.

Rabindranath Tagore

The way toget started isto quit talking and begin doing.

Walt Disney

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