TCM-Holiday 2018 by The Connect Magazine

Welcome One and All At Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, being unique is one of the key ingredients to our recipe of success. When it comes to the people we welcome into our stores, our restaurants, our company, and our community, the same spirit holds true. After all, what makes us different is what makes us special.

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EDITOR'S NOTE

LACEY JOHNSON

S WE STAND at the exit point of one calendar year and prepare to step into another, we are often invoked to turn within and examine the story that is our life. Every day we are writing the stories of us—with every offer accepted, every chance taken, every door opened or decidedly closed. We are the directors of our own movies, and as I curated this issue, it was important to me that my staff and I champion content that would demonstrate this message. Since the spring of 2017, I have been the editorial leader of this publication. When I first accepted the position, I told Eric Jordan, CEO, that I wanted to “explore and reveal the many nuances of success—because it looks completely different from person to person.” Success is the salesman who champions multi-million dollar deals, sure, but it’s also the painter of modest means who finds indescribable joy and fulfillment in her craft, and then fills homes with gorgeous evidence of having encountered inspiration. It’s the mother who crawled her way through decades of oppression and servitude, and worked diligently to earn her education anyway. It’s the man not letting his disability or hardship stop him from having a voice. I believe we have succeeded at conveying that. In life, we have to give ourselves permission to step outside of our cocoons, refine our aspirations, and transcend through them. Both our accomplishments and failures act in tandem as a brilliant GPS system. I believe success is mostly defined by one’s ability to learn the specific things that keep him or her alive and in a place of service to others, and then pursue whatever that is with relentless fire and vigor. That’s what so many of the incredible individuals featured in this issue have done, it’s what I’m going to do, and I’m hoping it’s what you’ll be inspired to do as well. Happy Holidays and Infinite Blessings to You in 2019,

PUBLISHER, CEO ERIC JORDAN ejordan@theconnectmagazine.com PUBLISHER JIMMIE STRONG jstrong@theconnectmagazine.com PARTNER DR. EDDIE D. HAMILTON, MD, FAAP EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LACEY JOHNSON ljohnson@theconnectmagazine.com ASSISTANT EDITOR TONI LEPESKA EDITORIAL INTERN MADISON YAUGER DIRECTOR OF VIDEOGRAPHY CHRIS HOLLO HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER DEVIN WILLIAMS DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CAROLYN MCHANEY-WALLER Carolyn.waller@zeitlin.com DIRECT CONNECT SUSAN VANDERBILT susanvanderbilt@entreesavvy.com SENIOR WRITERS DAWN MASON JOE SCARLETT KEELAH JACKSON MADISON YAUGER DENNIS UPKINS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AMBER CABRAL - Diversity AMIE LARA - Education NAJA RICKETTE - Branding & Marketing DIRECTOR OF SALES ERIC JORDAN PUBLISHERS AND SALES REPRESENTATIVES Help Wanted: Join Our Team ALABAMA FLORIDA GEORGIA KENTUCKY LOUISIANA MISSISSIPPI TENNESSEE VIRGINIA ADVERTISING INQUIRIES advertise@theconnectmagazine.com For all editorial pitches and submissions, please contact Lacey Johnson at ljohnson@theconnectmagazine.com.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF "PUTTING YOUR BUSINESS IN CLIENTS' HANDS"

HOLIDAY 2018 | THE CONNECT MAGAZINE

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PUBLISHER'S NOTE

EXCELLENCE Demands Nothing Less Than A GROWTH MINDSET

GROWING A BUSINESS isn’t easy. It is one of the toughest challenges I’ve had to face. The success of your business depends on your efforts to grow profits using various methods. From employee training to marketing, every aspect of your business deserves attention. Rapid growth doesn’t happen overnight, but there are several steps you must take to keep your business moving forward. It takes time and effort, but when you start reaping the benefits, you will see that your effort is worth it. Here are some tips to consider if you wish to see your business grow. TRUST THE PROCESS:

INDIVIDUALS WHO BELIEVE THEIR TALENTS CAN BE DEVELOPED (THROUGH HARD WORK, GOOD STRATEGIES, AND INPUT FROM OTHERS) HAVE A GROWTH MINDSET. THEY TEND TO ACHIEVE MORE THAN THOSE WITH A MORE FIXED MINDSET (THOSE WHO BELIEVE THEIR TALENTS ARE INNATE GIFTS). – CAROL DWECK

To live a life of high achievement, you must fully believe in yourself and your abilities. However, it’s not your level of success I want to talk about. It’s your willingness to get up again and again when you fail or experience a setback while in pursuit of creating the life of your dreams. Your purpose is what created a vision so big that you shouldn’t care about the setbacks. You will eventually get to where you wanted to go. Especially as a business owner and entrepreneur, you are most definitely going to fail and experience a loss or setback at some point. If it hasn’t happened already, it eventually will. That’s not to be negative or discourage you, that’s just life. But when it does happen, and when your faith is strong, no failure or setback will have the power to completely wipe you out. Belief in yourself is the name of the game.

CHALLENGES ARE WHAT MAKE LIFE INTERESTING. OVERCOMING THEM IS WHAT MAKES LIFE MEANINGFUL. – JOSHUA MARINE

FOCUS ON CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: It is important that you ensure your business exists for more than just making money. Nowadays, people want to feel emotionally connected to the companies with whom they do business or work for. This is why it’s important to craft a unique brand perspective for your company. Is there a cause you wish to support? Is there something in the world you want to change? Let that be one of your company’s missions.Your business must have something it is passionate about. This helps in improving the image of your business. People will patronize you because they know that the money they are spending goes to the right causes. This should be directly related to your purpose and passion. BUILD AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIPS: You must build relationships with other people. Networking is a great way to connect with people who can help you build your business. You can find employees, more customers, and even investors. In order to grow your community, you must first work closely with your community! Being authentic is at its core about being in total integrity with what is true for us. Just be yourself…... Being yourself is not about standing out. Or being different to others. Being authentic is following your path, and not comparing yourself to others. When you try to be ‘different,’ you disconnect from what you want. When being yourself becomes the new fad, selfdevelopment is no longer a meaningful journey. The goal to become different turns you into anything but authentic. Authenticity is about staying true to what you believe in, not about your image— to be brave to express your genuine feelings and opinions. In closing, the last four years of growing this brand have included many setbacks and a few rewards. I thank God for allowing me to experience them both. I took the road less traveled by and that’s changed my life forever. With growth, comes change! I’m pleased to announce that Jimmie Strong will now carry the torch for The Connect magazine. I have thoroughly enjoyed being the Publisher of this amazing magazine for the previous four years. We’re extremely excited about some incredible opportunities coming in 2019. Stay Connected! Trust the Process. CEO/PUBLISHER

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THE CONNECT MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2018

CONTENTS HOLIDAY 2018

COVER STORY 24 CELEBRITY NUTRITIONIST & BESTSELLING AUTHOR KIMBERLY SNYDER INVITES YOU TO HER

‘FEEL GOOD’ REVOLUTION When personal loss cracked her spirit open, she gazed out questiongly over everything she’d built—the accolades, the notoriety, the glamour. Now she has a new brand with a universal goal: she is going to help you feel as good as possible.

FEATURES 14 THIS NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION IS DETERMINED TO CHANGE THE FACE OF EDUCATION This program enlists an army of passionate teachers to work with students on their emotional mindsets— helping them realize their potential, while setting goals and attaining them.

CANDID Q&A WITH RON BUSBY, PRESIDENT & CEO OF THE U.S. BLACK CHAMBERS, INC. He climbed the ladder of some of the biggest corporate giants in America and built a multi-million dollar company. Here are his thoughts on unexpected opportunities, economic empowerment and creating successful African-American entrepreneurs.

AWARD-WINNING COUNTRY BAND TALKS MAKING IMPACT, MEETING GOALS & LIFE ON THE ROAD They’ve had a whirlwind of newfound success this year, but every string of opportunity invites a swarm of challenges. Here’s how they find balance and purpose, while keeping the faith for future possibilities.

THIS MEMPHIS-AREA DISHWASHER BECAME AN A-LIST CHEF, AND AN ALLY FOR YOUNGER GENERATIONS He built culinary success in the midst of racial hostility—making a name for himself all over the country. Now he’s started a nonprofit and is serving as a mentor for the generation that needs his guidance.

BEYOND THE BEAUTY: WHERE BIG BUSINESS & HOLLYWOOD COLLIDE WITH REAL-WORLD SOLUTIONS This product may be buzzing among the Hollywood elite, but its solutions are deeper than skin.

ANXIOUS, OVERWORKED & UNFULFILLED? THIS PSYCHOLOGIST SAYS SELF-MONITORING IS THE REMEDY In our digital age of overexposure, anxiety and depression are on the rise. But fulfillment and peace of mind are crucial to lasting personal and professional success—and they may be closer than you think.

THE SMITHSONIAN’S ‘WATCHING OPRAH’ EXHIBITION: A FASCINATING EMBLEM OF WINFREY’S SHAPING OF AMERICAN CULTURE For 25 years, five days a week, Oprah Winfrey was in living rooms all across America. This moving exhibition offers a testament of her iconic influence, and serves as a totem of our history and culture.

HOLLYWOOD STYLIST LEESA EVANS REVEALS THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DRESSING FOR SUCCESS This successful stylist has adopted a mission to give her clients that feeling of unstoppable confidence— whether on a movie set or in a boardroom. Here’s how you can find it, too.

A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: ENTREPRENEURS LAUNCH IMPORT BUSINESS TO SHARE THE FLAVORS OF HOME This import company was founded in love, and serves as a bridge to the United States and South Africa.

THE POWER OF LIVING FROM YOUR GUT: AN ENRICHING Q&A WITH HEALTH EXPERT ROBYN YOUKILIS This health coach, TV personality and bestselling author is a master of the mind-gut connection. And she’s challenging you to hear what it has to say.

COLUMNS 8 CREATING AN INCLUSIVE HOLIDAY FOR ALL TO ENJOY

Here’s how to create a spirit of celebration and comfort for everyone—including those with nontraditional families, special dietary needs or a case of trouble while trying to find the holiday cheer.

FAMILY IS YOUR FOUNDATION We are shaped by our family influences. Here are some concepts to keep in mind if you wish to build strong, hopeful foundations for your children.

SEASONS OF SELF: HOW TO HOLISTICALLY EMPOWER YOURSELF AS THE YEAR ENDS Personal inventories can serve as potent guides, directing you to the parts of yourself that need more care and honesty. Will you make this promise of commitment to the one who needs you most of all?

UNORTHODOX PEACE: MY CHRISTMAS OF LIBERATION She was exhausted, overextended and ready to rebel against her people-pleasing ways. Here’s how one woman showed up for herself most of all one holiday season—and lived to never regret it.

RESTORING YOUR HOLIDAY JOY AFTER AN UNEXPECTED CHANGE OR LOSS If life has taken you or someone you know down a tough road this year, here’s how to establish a new “normal” and redefine the holiday season so that its feeling of joy can be restored.

HOLIDAY 2018 | THE CONNECT MAGAZINE

The Connect Magazine is a quarterly lifestyle publication and online media source committed to engaging our diverse audience through empowering and impactful stories of entrepreneurs, young professionals and businesses in pursuit of creating positive ripples throughout the world, through efforts large and small. THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

DIVERSITY

WRITTEN BY: AMBER CABRAL

S THE DAYS grow shorter, the leaves change and the crisp scent of cinnamon and apples tinge the air in our homes. The holiday season is upon us. For so many, this is a time for sharing traditions, reconnecting with family and reminiscing over memories. Whether celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or the New Year, it’s the one time of the year when everyone seems to be happy, and they embrace ones they love. But as inclusive and warm as the holiday season is for many of us, for some, it is a time of significant loneliness, a reminder of past pain, and an isolating series of months that are difficult to push past. I come from a single-parent family, and while as a child I shared a few traditions with my mom and little sister, when I grew older, the holidays turned into a time of major stress. Estranged from my family, I wasn’t really sure where I would spend Thanksgiving. I’d stay up days at a time to ensure I’d sleep through Christmas. While I called in sick to office parties, I held a celebration every New Year’s Eve to guarantee I wouldn’t be alone. It was a challenging time for a number of years, but I evolved. I established some healthy and inclusive holiday practices to help me enjoy the holiday like everyone else. I’d like to share a few tips and help those who have nontraditional families, celebrations, or even dietary needs to feel included in the holiday cheer. CELEBRATE WITH EVERYONE A myriad of cultures and countries celebrate a holiday of some sort from late autumn to early winter. While some celebrate Thanksgiving, others observe Eid Milad-un-Nabi (typically celebrated in November in India). When holiday greetings start populating the daily dialogue, consider opting for “Seasons Greetings” or “Happy Holidays,” instead of “Happy Thanksgiving” or “Merry Christmas” as you engage people you don’t know well. That allows you to still spread cheer without making assumptions about what, or if, people are choosing to celebrate. Consider this option with holiday cards, too. “Seasons Greetings” works for everyone if you’re unsure–and if you’re a little late mailing them, the salutation will still apply. SHAKE UP THE OFFICE HOLIDAY PARTY Mix up the typical office potluck and traditional gift exchange, and take your celebrations to the needy. With a little research, you and your office mates can devise ways to make the holiday season a little warmer for someone less privileged. Look for a soup kitchen and volunteer your time, reach out to the local Salvation Army and ask what donations they need, or look into women’s shelters. There may be moms and kids in need. Nearly everyone agrees the holidays season is about giving – think of ways you can give to someone in need of holiday joy. 8

HOLIDAY 2018 | THE CONNECT MAGAZINE

OPEN YOUR HOME Some years ago, I moved to a small town for a job I loved. The cost of plane tickets during the holidays was so high, I felt stuck in my new town for the season. You cannot imagine the excitement I felt when I discovered a leader at my job would be opening her home over the holiday break to those with no local family and nowhere to go. She encouraged everyone to come by, play some games, have a nice meal, and enjoy some seasonal festivities. I found this to be so thoughtful! She later shared that when she moved to the area, she felt isolated during the holidays. She wanted to do her part every year to prevent others from feeling the same way. ESTABLISH YOUR OWN TRADITIONS One of the hardest things for me during the holidays was listening to people who were excited to connect with friends and family during the season. On one hand, hearing them talk about warm family festivities excited me. I anticipated the possibility of one day having my own get-togethers. On the other hand, it reminded me I didn’t yet have my own. I still do not have my own family, but I do have the most amazing set of friends, and we celebrate “Friendsgiving” every year. We invite “framily” (a mix of friends and family) to come from wherever they are to spend part of their holiday with us. People come far and wide to eat anything my best friend cooks. Consider creating a tradition you can look forward to annually. Maybe take a vacation over the winter break to a warm spot. Buy yourself one super special gift each year. Find a way to celebrate that you’re also excited to share with others. ENJOY FRIENDS, FAMILY AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY—FOOD! I learned a few years ago that I had celiac disease. I had to transition to a gluten-free diet. Shopping for food is stressful enough during the holidays, but top that with a dietary restriction. If cooking for others, consider sending guests a courtesy note requesting their dietary limitations. While not everyone will pull out a gluten-free Friendsgiving meal like my best friend does for me, knowing the needs of your guests can help you and your dietary-restricted friends prepare. You may find several things on the menu for everyone to enjoy, or you can invite your dietary-restricted friends to bring their favorite dish. Opportunities to be inclusive abound during the season of giving. Along with the tips above, take the opportunity to be curious about how your diverse friends and coworkers celebrate. Since people are generally eager to feel welcomed around the holidays, take advantage of the opportunity to connect with them. Be creative with your giving, and spread some holiday cheer. THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

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BUSINESS

WRITTEN BY: JOE SCARLETT

UR LIFE IS shaped by family influences—first by parents and our siblings, then by relatives and our friends’ families. We grow with our nuclear family. Then we move on as independent human beings. Some of us begin our own families, and the cycle continues. As adults, successfully rearing children becomes our most important responsibility. We begin caring for infants and then watch these little ones turn into real people who can talk, learn amazing things and, of course, get into some mischief. As parents we do everything we can to put our children on a path to become successful. With most of the human brain formation occurring in the first five years of life, our nurturing, communicating and teaching skills are critical for young children. As our children move through school, constructive parental coaching and counseling are also vital to continuing academic growth. TIPS FOR ENGAGEMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD & THE SCHOOL YEARS • READ TO YOUR CHILD AT AN EARLY AGE This is a proven component of strong early childhood development. • LEARN THE KEY PLAYERS The better you know the folks you want to meet the easier initial conversations will be. For example, study not only on what your target customer does in his or her job, but also what activities are of interest outside of work. It’s an easy way to make a deeper connection. • BECOME A PARTNER IN EDUCATION Visit the schools your children will attend, meet their teachers and volunteer where you can. • SET ASIDE HOMEWORK TIME Remember to help where you are really needed, without being a crutch. • SET BOUNDARIES Be sure cell phones are put away during homework, dinner and important conversations. • DON’T CRITICIZE Find the balance between getting involved in your children’s daily lives without outwardly judging them about every move they make. • MODEL THE BEHAVIOR YOU EXPECT Young people are always observing our actions. If we use bad language they will simply repeat those same words — and often when we least expect it. If we scream at our spouse regularly or throw things in anger, children see this as normal. And they won’t hesitate to do the same. • BUILD MUTUAL RESPECT This is an essential building block of solid family relationships. If we are polite, our children will follow suit. Set the right tone for your family, whether that means teaching your kids to say “Yes, Mam,” or encouraging them to look people in the eye. • CREATE SOME CONSTANTS You can help build values and character by regular attendance at church and enrolling your children in Sunday school. Family dinners can also build strong bonds. Some of my fondest childhood memories were from engaging in educational conversations around the dinner table each night. 10

HOLIDAY 2018 | THE CONNECT MAGAZINE

• NAVIGATE THE TEEN YEARS GENTLY. No doubt, some of the most difficult times are when our children become teenagers. They now “know it all” and we are not as smart as we used to be. Try to listen, be supportive and have good conversations about what they want to discuss. Follow my three Ps: Don’t pry. Be patient. Persevere. Parents should also help young adults think seriously about their futures. Find ways to expose your teen to a variety of careers. For example, many organizations host student tours. When your children make a career suggestion, help them investigate it online. Show your interest. “Follow your dreams” is timeless advice. But those dreams can come crashing down if a career isn’t practical or doesn’t pay enough to live in the real world. Be realistic in your vocation advice. For example, if your child wants to be a professional athlete explain that the odds of making it to the big leagues are very small. Help your young athlete focus on a solid backup career. • STAY ENGAGED—NO MATTER YOUR FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES. In this day and age, broken families and single-parent households can make building a strong foundation a great challenge. If you are in this situation, don’t give up. Do your very best to develop the strongest relationships you can. Take the leadership role in the family. Don’t let circumstances slow you down. While it’s tough in our modern, busy lives, there’s no substitute for spending quality time with your family. Try scheduling simple family events—a dinner out, a visit to the park or a movie—to keep it a priority. From time to time, put a weekend trip on the calendar. To get everyone onboard, engage the whole family in the planning process. Bigger adventures can also make for meaningful family memories. For example, when my son was young we went to a major league baseball game every summer for 15 years. Likewise, my wife and daughter built the strongest of relationships on several trips to big cities. They were fabulous bonding and teaching times. Whether it’s a big trip or a little hug, spending time with family and demonstrating love is important to overall happiness. Family will always be your foundation.

Joe Scarlett is the retired CEO of Tractor Supply Company For more on leadership see joescarlett.com Or write Joe at Joe@joescarlett.com

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EMPOWERMENT

seasons of self:

How to Holistically Empower Yourself as the Year Ends WRITTEN BY: KEELAH JACKSON

“you just call out my name, and you know wherever I am; I’ll come running to see you again… winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call, and I’ll be there… you’ve got a friend.” – Carole King

AN WE MAKE that selfless promise of endless commitment to ourselves as these heartfelt lyrics profess, within this timeless friendship between melody and word? Are we able to honestly say that we are there for ourselves in good times and bad—in all seasons and capacities of our existence? We care for everyone else. We make sure that errands are run, responsibilities are fulfilled, and deadlines are met, but do we empower our own needs with the security of being a friend to ourselves? How may we walk into another season of stripping away the dead and dysfunctional areas of ourselves so that we may be loyal and faithful to our own holistic being? Personal seasonal checklists aren’t a mandate like work requirements or vehicular maintenance, but they may be helpful in assessing your holistic needs for self-empowerment. Allow the following list to guide you in evaluating how you may use each season to refine your attunement to yourself. THE SPIRITUAL SEASON ____ How do you connect to spirit? The areas in our lives that are most sacred to us are often places of renewal and guidance. What is it that you do to ensure your constant connection to a fount of inspiration? ____ How do you connect to peace? Your peace may be stripped away by daily obstacles and challenges, but there is always a way to recenter yourself so that a clear head and spirit will prevail in the most trying of situations. ____ What fills your cup of life? When you look at your cup of life, is it half-full or half-empty? If it’s full, is it full of joy or full of something else? Fill your cup with what can sustain and grow your spirit. ____ Are you motivated to make the world a better place? The two things that keep an individual internally motivated to live up to their fullest potential are purpose and passion. Do these things work together in your daily routine to improve your life and the lives of others? THE MENTAL SEASON ____ How do you assess stress? Negative stress is a silent but deadly killer that will slow walk you down. Please identify those circumstances within your life that lead to negative, stressful reactions from you. ____ In a particular situation, when do you know that enough is enough? If you haven’t acknowledged what is exactly stressful for you, you may not actually know when your threshold has been reached. Set your mental tolerance and limit level for negative stress, and aim to not surpass it. ____ Do you have a healthy release valve? Stress relievers do exist— minus vices and self-medication. There is a variety of healthy ways to release the tensions within your body, mind, and soul so that you can focus on success and personal empowerment. 12

HOLIDAY 2018 | THE CONNECT MAGAZINE

____ What are your views on therapy? The stigma of telling your problems to a stranger is lessening as more and more generations of people suffer from depression and mental health issues. Reach out to a health professional if you know that your personal concerns are surmounting your ability to cope with them. THE EMOTIONAL SEASON ____ Do you validate your emotions? It’s OK to cry over frustration, sadness, or fear. It’s totally fine to get angry. Happiness is beautiful and should be celebrated with smiles, laughter, and even the tears that are often suppressed. Do not allow anyone to shame you for feeling how you feel about your life. Acknowledge how you feel at any given time and respond how you need to respond in order to process your emotions. ____ Are you off-balance? You aren’t alone if you don’t know when to dial it back on an area of your life. Many people fail to reach a balance in approaching certain areas of their lives, but establishing a healthy balance of various activities within your life is a saving grace to emotional burnout. ____ Do you know what love is? Love is patient; love is kind. It is unconditional and frequently misunderstood. Do you know how to love properly? If you don’t, begin to learn by loving yourself. Treat yourself with patience, kindness, and neverending forgiveness. You are only human. ____ Do you have a support system? Surround yourself with people who are a healthy support system for you. Get yourself a tribe! A tribe is a particular set of individuals that are always down for you. They help you in any way possible and celebrate your successes, yet mourn your losses with you, too. Your tribe only wants to see you thrive in life. THE PHYSICAL SEASON ____ What is your exercise regimen? If you don’t have one, you may want to incorporate exercise into your daily routine. If you have a regimen, don’t be afraid to switch it up! Cardio is quite helpful in burning calories, but add some weight and body resistance training to your routine to strengthen and tone your physique. ____ Do you know when your body speaks to you? Body sprains, strains, and pulls are real physical ailments. Joint pain and body fatigue are indicators that something is amiss within your temple. Fevers and tooth pain are more than a nuisance; they are messages that your body is sending to you. Are you listening? ____ When’s the last time you got a once-over from a physician? There are fears within certain communities that involve doctor visits, but Benjamin Franklin once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” ____ Do you love your body? It’s the only one that you have. Take care of it with plenty of TLC. You deserve it. “spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence. summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance. autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence. winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.” – Yoko Ono THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

EDUCATION / NONPROFIT

WRITTEN BY: AMIE LARA

“It takes a village to raise a child.”

HE AFRICAN PROVERB means it takes an entire community of different people interacting with children to give them the best experience to grow in a safe environment. A former high school basketball coach, Seth Maust, 40, has a vision to create just such a safe environment for middle and high school students to learn. His passion is obvious as he speaks. He talks about positive mentoring and guiding adolescents to become the best people they can be. He talks about having a certain mindset to achieve goals and overcome obstacles. He believes anyone with the drive to succeed can and will. Perhaps they only need tools to learn to channel their goals. “After six years of being a basketball coach, I saw many children slipping through the cracks,” Maust said, “and I wanted to impact more students, to help as many as possible.” WHAT IS FIVE STAR LIFE? What began as a meeting with Jim Shaffer, co-founder of Five Star Life, has grown into what Maust hopes will soon be a nationwide program. Founded in 2005, Five Star Life is going on its 13th year. The non-profit program was created to help children learn skills needed to create better lives for themselves. The program, which began in Indiana and moved into Michigan, may expand to Middle Tennessee soon. Discussions are underway to bring the curriculum to 10 schools. Maust travels to school districts around the country to explain the importance of the program to school principals and school board members. “Whether it is rural, inner city, or alternative schools, we want to include all schools,” Maust said. 14

HOLIDAY 2018 | THE CONNECT MAGAZINE

Several different school districts in the United States have already adopted the extensive video curriculum, which includes 33 of the “Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets” and teaches 18 life skills through core values, Maust said. Those core values are respect, responsibility, integrity, sacrifice and courage. There are also academically-focused lessons that encourage students to set goals and attain the grades they want. While free to students, schools pay a small fee to adopt the program. In addition to the video curriculum and after-school programs, Five Star Life offers leadership days and summer camps. The camps are scholarship based and the leadership days cost $30 a day. “We have a 300-acre training facility just north of Elkhart, Ind., where we train students, we train entire school faculties,” Maust said. “We are on a mission to change the face of education.” The programs give students a chance to practice what they have learned throughout the year in an experiential way that extends beyond the school building, Maust said. Students are presented with opportunities to put their leadership skills to the test through leadership experiences. Each experience is considered a classroom and is tied to the curriculum so students learn through experience, with very intentional steps. “Before Five Star Life started, graduation rates in some schools were in the 60th percentile,” Maust said. “It was announced this past winter that the graduation rate has risen to 93 percent … We are changing the mindsets of students. When they see the results after putting in the effort, they become addicted to pursuing results.” The aim isn’t to be a typical after-school program but to cause a change in lifestyles. In fact, the program has already changed the lives of several children. THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

EDUCATION / NONPROFIT

CHANGING THE FACE OF EDUCATION Students often arrive at school unprepared, and they need direction. Maust believes the face of education needs changing, and that society needs to approach students differently. Often, students aren’t even thinking about learning because they have so many other things going on, he said. “Education is a mindset, and we need to educate students at the core of their being before we can start educating them in math and science,” Maust said. Five Star Life focuses on social and emotional mindsets. The program enlists an army of qualified volunteers to work with students on a consistent basis. Last year, Five Star Life signed up about 600 volunteers but is always looking for more. “Volunteers go through a thorough screening process, along with reference checks,” Maust said. The program hones in on students in sixth through eighth grades. “We address the critical age group before they drop out (of high school). If you wait until they are sophomores, it is very difficult to turn around,” Maust said. “We found that 80 percent of the time, most initial drug abuse happens between the ages of 10 to 14, and occurs between the hours of 3-6 p.m.” An additional statistic is 85 percent of all juvenile crime takes place between 2-7 p.m. But students who have gone through the Five Star Life curriculum defeat the odds. “By far my favorite thing is seeing the lights go on and seeing the transformed lives,” Maust said. Of the numerous success stories, a few stand out to Maust. One student’s father was in and out of prison while his mother was doing the best she knew how to, given the circumstances. The student wasn’t putting in effort. He didn’t think he was capable because of his family THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

situation, and he was making D’s and F’s in his classes. After going through the Five Star curriculum, he got A’s and B’s on his report card. He landed on the school honor roll. Such stories convince Maust that Five Star Life is making a positive impact. What of the students who push against the program? Is everyone 100 percent on board and willing to make a difference? Maust said sometimes he must intervene, as he did with a student who was constantly getting into fights. The young man was a step away from the system taking hold of him. During one of the Five Star Life lessons, he got into yet another fight. Maust asked him point blank if he wanted to stay in the program and advised “to choose wisely. Fighting is not the way we treat each other.” The student decided to stop fighting. After that, he began implementing the tools and changing his mindset. He graduated and pursued a degree in criminal justice with a focus on juvenile technology. HOW TO GET INVOLVED Parents may sign up their children for the program at www.fivestarlife.org or apply to be a volunteer. A separate section on the website is for others who want to assist with the curriculum or apply to volunteer. Donations also made on the website. Maust runs different fundraisers throughout the year including a radiothon and the Five Star Golf Open. In addition to touring schools and writing a majority of the curriculum, Maust also has a podcast channel titled “Five Star Life Radio” that’s on YouTube. Maust has made it his life’s work to ensure he is helping to create the village that will, in fact, change the face of education for all. THE CONNECT MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2018

BUSINESS

CANDID Q&A WITH RON BUSBY,

President & CEO of the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. WRITTEN BY: DAWN MASON

Busby sat down with me to discuss his incredible journey, from where his strong roots began to the fuel that continues to ignite his passion for the success of the African-American entrepreneur today.

OBERT K. GREENLEAF, founder of the modern servantleadership movement, defined a servant-leader primarily as one who focuses on "the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong." Ron Busby fits that definition. With a focus on empowerment, Busby is a visionary with an innate desire to serve his community, develop the expertise of others and improve the performance of businesses for socio-economic sustainability. Referred to as one of the most successful CEOs in America, Busby answered the call in 2009 to take the helm of the U.S. Black Chambers. As president and CEO of the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC), he leads an organization comprised of 138 self-sustaining, viable Black Chambers in 32 states with more than 300,000 members. During his unparalleled professional journey, he climbed the ladders of some corporate America giants — IBM, Xerox, and Coca-Cola — and then satisfied a hunger for entrepreneurship, growing his first business from seven employees and $150,000 in annualized revenue to the largest black-owned janitorial firm in the country with more than 700 employees and $21 million in annualized revenue — in just 10 years. Now he's leading the charge in advocacy for economic empowerment. 16

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THE CONNECT: Mr. Busby, do you ever sit back and think about your story and marvel at where you started and how you are contributing to the narrative today? BUSBY: I think about so many others who have my story. I am just fortunate enough to get to tell mine. I remember being in the audience at rallies and speeches and thinking, “Wow!” These cats have all this juice, what are they doing with it? Now that I'm that guy, I constantly check myself. What am I doing with the same opportunity that the guy before me had? Are people walking away from my conference, from my speech saying, “This cat is someone I can get behind?” THE CONNECT: That is truly a testament to your servant-leadership. Who were your influencers growing up and how did they contribute to your desire to serve? BUSBY: It started with my environment. I grew up in Oakland, California. I had black teachers, black neighbors. The dentist was black, and the insurance man was black. The influences were all around me. You can't be what you can't see. I was fortunate to be raised by a mother and a father. My mother was a minister and an educator, and as an extremely spiritual woman, she showed me how to have faith in things that were bigger and more important than me. Because my mother was a teacher, I went to a different school every year. By the time I was in college, I was comfortable with meeting and interacting with different people of various backgrounds. My father was an entrepreneur and a Black Panther. I understood our struggle and ultimately, saw myself as a businessman in my community. I would see my father make payroll, do inventory, go after new clients, hire folks and fire folks. I saw the challenges. We would all work for him, my mom, my sisters and I. We had to clean offices, but when he would drop us off, I would get behind a desk and envision myself running things. I was able to visualize what I wanted to be by what I saw. THE CONNECT: At a young age you were directly exposed to entrepreneurship. How did the experiences of your young adulthood translate into your professional path? BUSBY: I was a VP at Coca-Cola at 27 years old. I came in at 7 a.m. and left at 7 p.m.. One day my boss came to me and said, “pack your desk up.” Thinking I was being fired, I asked why. He said I was moving to Joe's office. Joe was a 50-year-old who had been with the company for more than 20 years, came in at 9 and left at 5. He would go from being my peer to my subordinate. It had nothing to do with his ability to perform. The company was just directing efforts differently. I knew then I wanted to be able to control my destiny. I didn’t want to find myself reporting in 20 years to some kid who didn’t mind working four hours more than me. That's when I began my exit strategy to leave corporate America. My younger sister who was an attorney, recommended I come run our father’s business. With an annualized revenue at about what I was making at Coca-Cola, I devised a plan of action that included strategy to double revenue every year. I grew it from $150,000 to $7 million. A book changed my strategy. I’d read Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun? by Blair S. Walker and Reginald Lewis, a lawyer and philanthropist and the first black billionaire. He used acquisition as a strategy to accumulate wealth. So, I purchased a firm in what is now referred to as Silicon Valley and grew the business to $15 million. THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

BUSINESS

THE CONNECT: Were there certain events during your career as an entrepreneur that helped shape you into the servant-leader you are today? BUSBY: I sold the janitorial business and moved to Phoenix, Arizona to start my second firm. Shortly after that move, my wife passed away. So here I am in a brand new city, I have two young sons, 5 and 6 years old, I have no infrastructure, no pediatricians, no babysitters, and I'm brand new to the community. So I got involved with a local church, Pilgrim Rest Baptist in Phoenix. There, no one cared who you were or what your job was. You were truly there to serve. The bishop worked with me and allowed me to be a servant-leader in my role as a senior usher. THE CONNECT: You have faced and overcome tremendous personal tragedy. Have you encountered obstacles that took you from your planned path but ended up being divine redirection? BUSBY: I owned the janitorial business, and we had a contract to clean a local popular nightclub. The owner was politically involved and asked if I was going after any of the business at the new Oakland Federal Building under construction. I said no, it was too large of a contract. He gave me the number of someone to submit my information to and urged me to call her. I did and she recommended that I get with a black business consortium. These were black businesses all going after various components of the facilities maintenance contracts. It took 40 staff to clean during the night, and another 25 to clean during the day. I had only 10 employees but submitted a bid any way. One hundred companies bid on this contract. During the process the number of proposers went from 100 to 50, to 25 to 10, and down to three. My company was in the final three. One company won for the night cleaning and another for the day. Although we didn’t win, we were awarded a smaller contract for a building in a rough part of town. We worked the $1,000-a-month contract as if we had won the $100,000-a-month Oakland Federal contract. And while we were providing quality service, the two firms that won were fighting against each other, blaming the other for poor performance. Nine months into the contract, both firms were fired, and we were awarded the complete contract, at over $1 million dollars a year. You never know where your opportunities are going to come from. You must give your best at each and every opportunity that presents itself. THE CONNECT: As the saying goes, the reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more. You have had the opportunity to do so much. If you could change anything about your journey, what would it be? BUSBY: I wouldn’t have sold my father's' company. He walked away after it got to a size where he felt he could no longer bring value. I grew it, doubled in size every year. I got involved with city and state government contracts. Then I acquired a company and brought revenues to $15 million. I grew the company from five employees to 700. But the stress on the family ultimately caused me to sell it. THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

THE CONNECT: What keeps you motivated to fight for black businesses to have access to funding, training, opportunities, especially in the political climate we live in today? BUSBY: Everyone is caught up with this conversation about the wealth gap between white and black America. Someone else's perspective of my wealth should not determine how we measure it. Black people as a community should look internally at our own success. What can we do? Look at things from a solutions standpoint and ask, “How can we push our own agenda? What can I hold myself and my community accountable to?” Both corporate America and politicians get behind the US Black Chamber. President Obama coined our tagline: "The National Voice of Black Business." I want to make certain I stay true to that calling. THE CONNECT: When you retire and look back on your professional life, what will you be most proud of? BUSBY: I am proud of the Black Chambers across the United States. Our Five Pillars of Service are: Advocacy, Access to Capital, Contracts, Training and Chamber Development. These pillars are important because we don’t have enough second generation firms. There are a lot of first generation firms. We've been conditioned to believe STEM is the only way to become rich and successful. Our community gets caught up in going to where employment opportunities are and not entrepreneurial opportunities. Other communities are not as interested in what is hot today as much as it is in generational careers. We have walked away from historic businesses and even our own communities because we believe someone else's measure of success is better than what we've created for ourselves. Our President has coined the phrase, “Make America Great Again.” I say, in order for there to be a great America, there must be a great black America. In order for there to be a great black America, there must be great black businesses. In order for there to be great black businesses, there must be great Black Chambers. To learn more about him and the U.S. Black Chambers, visit www.usblackchambers.org. THE CONNECT MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2018

EMPOWERMENT

ace:

Unorthodox Pe

s a m t s i r h My C n o i t a r e b of Li ELAH JACKSON

WRITTEN BY: KE

HE HOLIDAYS WERE a blur for me growing up. I was raised in a split family — double households, multiple sets of grandparents, step- and in-law families, etc. I was always going in five or six different directions on any given holiday. Imagine opening presents with at least five sets of people, smiling and celebrating with five sets of energies and personalities, and eating five different holiday dinners from the ages of 7 to 31 (and vomiting as a child from being overstuffed like the turkey) because I had no other choice. I thought I had to be polite and people-please forever to observe this overextended “holiday spirit.” But then came what I call the legendary “Christmas of Liberation.” The year was 2011. I was a full-time professional educator, but I also had a thriving, in-home, boutique bakery — a razzle-dazzle teacher by day and a rock-star baker by night. Fulfilling large orders for my coworkers, parents of students, and a growing client base, I often pulled all-nighters. I burned the candle at both ends. Ultimately, I became exhausted from pursuing the entrepreneurial dream, and was super ready for the Christmas holiday vacation. All teachers dream of it from the first day of pre-planning in the summer, but I was stuck counting down the days until I could fulfill my Christmas bakery orders. I wanted to just chill for a few days until the New Year requests hit. In light of my holiday upbringing of overexertion, I toyed with not driving the 200 or more miles to go back to my hometown where all of my sets of obligatory families lived. I contemplated actually staying in my home and in my town with my surroundings and comfort. The closer the holiday approached, the larger the dread grew. The trek became longer and longer in my mind, and the emotional weight became heavier and heavier. Instead of mistletoe, sugar plums, and gumdrops dancing in my head, I envisioned lack of sleep, fatigue, and irritability stealing precious days of holiday solace from my classroom and kitchen. Not yet free from the people-pleasing mode, I did not desire to disappoint my family. I didn’t want them to be upset because I had not shown up for their joy. I was afraid of not living up to their expectations of my always being within their comfortable stabilities. In reality, I shouldn’t have even been concerned because if they truly loved me, they would have understood. They would have wanted me to get rest and rejuvenation. They would have wanted me to take badly-needed time for myself because they knew how hard I always worked at ensuring I offered the world the best of me. What I received, however, was the familial response I feared. THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

Most of my immediate family did not understand why I chose myself over them. I received guilt-induced voicemails, snide texts, and ignored calls from those I thought loved me most. What I quickly learned was those people only had conditional love for me then. Despite the deep, yet brief hurt I experienced from my holiday backlash, it became the best Christmas I’d experienced up to that point. That Christmas Day, I spent the night with a great sister-friend and her family — eating amazing food that I didn’t have to prepare — and slept to my heart’s content. It was deliciously fabulous. I was joyful and blissed out, and most of all, I was at peace. I realized only then that I was experiencing blessed peace because I didn’t have to battle the external foes of traveling and facing the family holidays. I now know the internal triumph of finally beginning to choose me was the true blessing of that season. I stood up for myself and did as I truly wanted and needed to do. At peace, I was loved by the most important person of all — me. I stood in my authenticity and did exactly as my spirit asked in that moment. In retrospect, I see the loved ones who chose to lash out at me for living my best life just didn’t know how to process their hurt and resistance to change. They took my choice to love myself as a rejection and negative reflection of them when it wasn’t anything of the sort. Having chosen to preserve my essence and sanity, I had asserted my power and honored how I truly felt about the situation. My checking in with my wants and needs had nothing to do with anyone in particular, but it showed everyone the day had passed when I’d choose others over myself. The whole instance showed my close friends and family that they, too, needed to honor the parts within themselves that often went overlooked. I didn’t show up. The day commenced. Life went on. I was later told I had ruined the holidays that year, but it was actually a precursor for the following year. Within a short 11 months, I decided again to choose myself, and made a life-altering decision to walk away from life as I knew it. The rest is history, but that Christmas sparked a movement of freedom and self-evolution. It was well worth it. I encourage you, as you walk into this holiday season, to check in with yourself. Don’t overburden yourself beyond the point of authenticity. Do what you can do, and the rest will take care of itself. Establish a balance that will sustain you throughout the holiday months and beyond into the new year. Be present for yourself, and enjoy whatever atmosphere you create for your sanity and enjoyment. Cheers and Happy Holidays! THE CONNECT MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2018

ENTERTAINMENT

AWARD-WINNING COUNTRY BAND

TALKS MAKING IMPACT, MEETING GOALS & LIFE ON THE ROAD WRITTEN BY: LACEY JOHNSON

F 2018 WERE a song, it would be an anthem for Brewer’s Grade Brand, a group of five musicians from the Pacific Northwest. The year rolled out with a trip to California for a showcase, which spawned dozens of travels across the East and West Coasts throughout the winter and spring months. During the summer, one of their songs was chosen to be on the soundtrack of an independent Christmas film, and they received a call that they were nominated for Country Band of the Year by the International Music and Entertainment Association (IMEA), which they won. The victory hurled them into a frenzy of PR, interviews and performances. “Truly, it’s been a whirlwind this year,” says Joe Smart, multi-instrumentalist for the band. “We graduated from being the local prestige band to touring all over the country.” They played the main stage at the Oregon Jamboree, a three-day country music festival that lures tens of thousands of sweaty, swaying bodies every summer. They performed on WSM 650 in Nashville, which is the most iconic, historic live radio show of all time. But these bevy of accomplishments have not been met without a swarm of challenges, brought by the vagaries of life on the road. It’s been hectic, and tiresome, and unpredictable at times. Lots of stops and starts, lots of sacrifices and uncertainties, late nights and weeks of running on little sleep. And, most of all, months away from home. To grasp the band’s dynamic, one must first understand the familial essence that is woven throughout it. If you look closely, it’s evident in their style, their internal banter, their lyrics—even their stage presence. And it isn’t an act; this is what they are organically rooted in. “We are kind of a family as a band,” says Zach Grooms, lead singer and founding member. “But we do have our own families at home as well, and they also contribute to the spirit of the band.” Cody Christopherson, the drummer, has a daughter who is almost two years old. Smart has three teenagers. The majority of the band’s five members, which also include Grooms, Al Hare, guitarist, and Nolan Hare, bassist, have a significant other at home. So how do they mentally balance their lifestyle with touring, exhaustive hours, and occasionally being absent for important milestones? “It takes a lot of patience, understanding and support,” says Christopherson. “My kids have grown up around this,” adds Smart. “I remember my youngest, who turned 13 yesterday, wiggling around at gigs when he was 4 years old. I’ve learned that in order to make this kind of lifestyle work, you have to have people who are willing to stand behind you. And you have to be willing to wing it—whatever may come. There was one time where Zach and I got home at 5 a.m. from a gig, slept for only an hour and a half, and then drove my son for hours to a lacrosse game,” he says. They have had to sort of write their own version of normal— conventional or not, easy or not. Despite the sacrifices, the members believe they are doing a service to their loved ones by living out their devotion to their craft. “I’ve tried to prove to my kids, through my dedication to my music and to Brewer’s Grade, that you can have your cake and eat it, too,” says Smart. The band, which originated 20 years ago with Grooms, 14 at the time, and Christopherson,16 at the time, traveled through a series of shifts and changes over the years before finally becoming known as Brewer’s Grade. Their newest member is Smart, though he has been with them for about seven years now, who won them over after being tossed onto the stage for 20

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the Randy Travis 25th Anniversary Show with only a 24-hours notice, and who brought with him an arsenal of instruments—the banjo, the fiddle, the mandolin. “From the first night, I knew I was going to be with them for a long, long time,” says Smart, laughing. The group boasts a few modern country party songs—“Shoot Whiskey” being one of their most notable, which was written as a celebration of their more boisterous times spent while on the road. But they aren’t strangers to making impact either. In fact, it’s what they do best. “The Upside of Being Down,” a breathtaking and poignant song about finding resilience in depression, is one of their most requested and streamed online, and the response to it continues to stun them. Earlier this year, the band was shocked by a private message on one of their social media pages. There was a mother, dripping with gratitude. Her son had been contemplating suicide and, miraculously, upon hearing the song, changed his mind. On another occasion, a young man approached Grooms after a show. He had weathered through a traumatic experience in recent months, losing a close friend in a way that he felt a sense of responsibility for. The grief was weighing on him, nearly suffocating his will to live. He said to me, ‘I just want you to know, man, that fifth track on the album saved my life.’ It almost makes me tear up remembering it,” says Grooms. These moments, each band member agrees, are what make even the most defeating periods worth playing through. It’s also why they continue to raise the bar for themselves. About four years ago, the band gathered into a room and exchanged their most ambitious goals. One of Smart’s was to win a Grammy. Everyone in the room nearly laughed themselves out of their chairs. “Yeah, yeah. That’ll be the day,” they told him. But Smart wasn’t laughing. Three years later, he did exactly that. A guitar player for the O’Conner Band, Smart and his members were awarded a Grammy for Bluegrass Album of the Year. This accomplishment opened Smart to the opportunity to play with Paul Simon and tour with the Zac Brown Band. It also manifested into a paradigm-shifting lesson that resonated with all members of Brewer’s Grade, and continues to amplify as a gutsy reminder of how high one should always dare to reach. “One of our goals is to play the Opry, and it has actually been right on our doorstep, but we haven’t quite made it yet. We did get to perform on WSM 650, and our song, “Kid at Christmastime” landed in a main montage of a film, so we’re extremely proud of that, but it’s just the beginning of what we want to do,” says Nolan Hare. “I think it’s important that we have something new to reach for all of the time, and to remember that the things we want to accomplish aren’t as far away as they seem.” THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

BOOK CLUB

BECOMING MRS. LEWIS: THE IMPROBABLE LOVE STORY OF JOY DAVIDMAN AND C.S. LEWIS REVIEWED BY: LACEY JOHNSON

C.S. LEWIS IS a celebrated novelist and theologian. You are likely familiar with his work, or at least his name, but you may not be familiar with his personal life. In the early 1950s, when he began exchanging handwritten letters with poet and writer Joy Davidman, a mother of two entrammelled in a turbulent marriage, neither of them had any inkling where it would lead them: first, to unlikely friendship, then to unequivocal romance. In her most recent novel, Becoming Mrs. Lewis, New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan Henry unravels the wonder of not only their profound love story, but of Davidman’s brave, fiery and survivalist spirit. It is an engulfing tale that beckons for transcendence in the realm of one’s perspectives on life and love—also gorgeously written and methodically researched. In essence, it is the kind of read that asks to inspire one away from whatever modes of living must expire and be left in the past, and onward to the vault of fresh and surprising experiences the New Year holds in waiting.

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THE CONNECT MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2018

COVER STORY

WRITTEN BY: LACEY JOHNSON

T STARTED WITH a simple idea. A young nutritionist burrowed inside the kitchenette of her modest studio apartment in New York City, blended some fruits, vegetables and other ingredients together, creating a vibrant green concoction, and decided not to keep it to herself. Naming it her “Glowing Green Smoothie,” she published it to her blog and blasted it out to her modest readership, void of agenda or expectation. Five shares soon turned into 5,000 shares and, before long, wellness-seekers were migrating from all corners of the internet to try it, syndicate it to their followers, and post pictures of themselves enjoying it for breakfast. People were intrigued by this girl who created such inventive recipes and delivered wisdom in a uniquely empowering way. They wondered, Who is this Kimberly Snyder? They craved more from her and, soon, they would get it. In the years that followed, Snyder found herself stepping onto the sets of Dr. Oz,Good Morning America and Ellen, doling out her expertise,smiling for millions of viewers. Editors and entertainment managers were lighting up her phone and landing in her email inbox, inviting her onto the pages of Elle and Vogue, and behind the scenes of prestigious Hollywood film sets and red carpets. She began working intimately with the likes of Kerry Washington, Reese Witherspoon, and Channing Tatum. Meanwhile, the book offers continued rolling out. Today, she has authored four of them, all of which have become bestsellers, three of which landed on the prestigious New York Times lists and one of which she co-authored with Deepak Chopra. She currently has a fifth on the way, Recipes for Your Perfectly Imperfect Life, scheduled to release in February 2019. Earlier this year, she launched her global brand Solluna, her most passionate project to date, not long after she introduced her juice bar at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills. But Snyder says it’s the first time in her career where she is no longer existing behind a mirage of celebrity, but committed to only what is real. “Solluna is a brand built upon authenticity, health, wholeness, self-acceptance and healing for all,” says Snyder. “There is the product sector, which is popular, but our whole mantra is that we are about a lifestyle that promotes true wellness and embraces uniqueness—not just the picture of it.” Snyder admits she hasn’t always been the picture of wholeness, however. She hasn’t always been a mentor of radiance and wellness for the rich and the famous, nor has she always felt well within herself.

HOLIDAY 2018 | THE CONNECT MAGAZINE

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COVER STORY

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COVER STORY

Photo by Victoria Wall Harris

For much of her life, she suffered with various eating disorders—mostly equally determined to share it. “I had learned all of these amazing mind, the kinds that called for restrictive eating and provoked self-punishing body and eating concepts from these brilliant women in Mongolia, Japan thoughts surrounding her meals. She was a chronic yo-yo dieter— and other places. I had no plan and didn’t know what I was doing, but I had experimenting with various fad diets and modes of calorie- and carbohydrateso much passion and needed to share everything I had learned,” says Snyder. counting. But when she was in college, she sort of rebelled against the She secured jobs teaching yoga and working at a cafe´ in New York City’s restrictions she had long shackled herself with, letting the pendulum swing to East Village. She enrolled in nutrition school and launched a blog. She spent binge eating and partying, causing her to gain weight and feel even worse. her evenings crafting and publishing content from the vault of her diverse After graduating Magna Cum Laude from Georgetown University in experiences and educational toolbox—with zero expectations of monetizing it. Washington, D.C., she watched all of her friends rush off to job fairs and “It didn’t take too long before people started reading it, and I think apply for lofty positions in major cities across the U.S. But she didn’t feel it’s because everything is energy, and it was just my way of putting aligned with their aspirations. Rather, she longed to explore. Something genuine love and caring out into the world.” says Snyder. Before long, was tugging at her sleeve, inviting her into an unfamiliar realm of unfathomable opportunities were drawn to her like a magnet. possibility and transcendence. So, against the urging of her parents, she The publishing contracts and television offers began landing in her worked for a year and saved all of her earnings so that she could travel orbit. The ratings and bestseller lists fell in love with her. Her devotees to wherever her curiosity lured her. Originally, she intended that her multiplied, her books began vanishing from store shelves, and her travels only last a few weeks or months, but one journey led to the next, platform grew in a way she never expected it would. eventually stretching on for three Then, in March 2017, it was years and taking her to more than 50 I HAD LEARNED ALL OF THESE AMAZING MIND, as though the spotlight froze, the countries across multiple continents. cameras stopped rolling and she BODY AND EATING CONCEPTS FROM THESE She camped under the stars was hurled into the most intensely BRILLIANT WOMEN IN MONGOLIA, JAPAN AND OTHER grueling period of her life. Her in Africa. She spent 18 months in Asia, exploring China and Japan, mother had been diagnosed with PLACES. I HAD NO PLAN AND DIDN’T KNOW WHAT and learning to meditate in an cancer on Valentine’s Day, and I WAS DOING, BUT I HAD SO MUCH PASSION AND ashram in India. There was also a passed away exactly six weeks later. season of living in South America, She hadn’t even had time to digest NEEDED TO SHARE EVERYTHING I HAD LEARNED. hiking across its landscapes and the shock of her mother’s diagnosis, adding gems of wisdom to her spiritual arsenal. Along the way, she met let alone her passing. Three days after staring into the finality of such a extraordinary teachers and lightworkers in unexpected places, and became life-crushing blow, she was putting on a brave face to celebrate her son’s possessed with absorbing everything she could from them. “Even though first birthday. To add to her overwhelm, the career and personal demands it was always scary and even though I never knew what my next step continued racing toward her, no matter how much her heart needed a would be, I knew that there was going to come a day when I would bring break from them all. back what I was learning to my life in the Western world,” says Snyder. It is often true that when one enters a grievous period in their life, While immersed in life on the road, she noticed that women in different they suppress their emotions and armor themselves with a fighting spirit, cultures around the world had relationships with their bodies she had determined to show onlookers how mightily they’re surviving it. But some never considered having. They weren’t obsessing over calories or portions; do what Snyder did: “I shut everything out, and decided to turn inward and they were healing themselves with whole foods, and so effortlessly in tune search for what was most real. It was the only option for me,” she says. with themselves. She decided that her obsessive behavior with eating was She realized that when looking at her list of credentials and all of something she needed to lay down—perhaps onto an alter of self-compassion. the notoriety and prestige that came with it, none of it resonated with “I learned to sit with myself and quiet all of the anxious thoughts. For the first the truth of why she had devoted herself to wellness in the first place. time in my life, I felt happy, free and relaxed,” she says. Suddenly, it all felt like a facade. She didn’t care about the red carpets, When she returned home to the states, she was financially drained and or the glamorous titles, or the spotlights shining over her. Her heart was had few professional connections, but was rich with knowledge—also aching, and she needed to do something proactive and useful with its red26

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COVER STORY

Photo by John M. Pisani

hot pain. She flew to Mexico in search of clarity and quietude, spending in support of the theme. It’s all about going into the cobwebbed corners her days under the sun and meditating by the water. Once, she sat in of its members, inciting them for authentic exploration and sweeping the meditation for 12 hours in the darkness as her son slept nearby. “While old to the side so that light and transformation can pour in. There is also sitting with myself, I asked, ‘What, God? What do you want me to do?’ a private Facebook group where members can pose interesting questions, That’s when everything poured in—the idea for Solluna and the Feel Good spark conversations, exchange epiphanies and cheer one another on. movement and all of the language surrounding it,” says Snyder. “The most courageous act in the world is showing up vulnerably and Stunned by the power within her pain, it was then that she decided authentically as ourselves,” says Snyder. “There are so many different to create something new—something that would extend an invitation ways of filtering ourselves and hiding out; that’s why it’s so courageous for others to see the power within their pain, too. when we get real.” “The death of my mother brought the death of all of the parts of my life Snyder’s stance is that wellness transcends a mug of hot lemon water that were just my public persona. It forced me to look at what I wanted my and a vitamin in the morning. Anyone can eat the salads, and blend the work to be about and the kind of impact I wanted to have on the world,” smoothies, and perform the yoga poses, and run the miles, but if they are she says. “It was a death, but it also became the birth of, ‘OK, here is what is allowing ourselves to remain stuck in dysfunctional relational patterns or real. Here is what does matter,’ and it was then that Solluna was born.” self-sabotaging thought patterns year after year, that isn’t wellness. This Snyder made the decision to take her highly successful brand out of whole mode of holistic awareness is what her entire business is based upon. her own name and make it universal for everyone. She explored several In Recipes for Your Perfectly Imperfect Life, Snyder says she gives possibilities, but chose Solluna because plenty of “life recipes to accompany her mind was constantly drawn back the food recipes.” She candidly to the relationship between the sun shares private tales plucked from THE MOST COURAGEOUS ACT IN THE WORLD IS and the moon. Life is not sunny all of her own life—from grieving her SHOWING UP VULNERABLY AND AUTHENTICALLY AS the time, and it is by the moon, she mother to her failed home birth OURSELVES. THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS believes, that we begin to stare into plan with her son, revealing her the darkness of ourselves and perhaps personal revelations through those OF FILTERING OURSELVES AND HIDING OUT; THAT’S see things for what they are. experiences. She includes a harvest WHY IT’S SO COURAGEOUS WHEN WE GET REAL. “In the Celtic tradition, which of research about common bodily I’m very interested in, the day concerns—from inflammation to actually starts when the sun goes bloating—and how those physical down. It doesn’t start in the morning when the sun comes up, but at the ailments often have mental and emotional roots. “Everything in the onset of darkness. Sitting in the darkness of our shadow, that’s where book is in line with what I’m doing with Solluna. It’s really about the those power bombs release. I wanted to give exposure to both the connection between the mind, the emotions, and the body, and how lightness and the darkness in our lives—that’s what I wanted Solluna to things manifest,” she says. say to the world,” she says. Firm in her vow that everything she has done has always been from Snyder says many customers are drawn to her brand for the the heart, Snyder says her career has never been about fame or ego, products. There are probiotics, digestive enzymes, adaptogenic blends, but about service, and she believes that’s why she has experienced the recipe collections, yoga DVDs, digital courses for meditation, sleep and success she has. With Solluna, she has taken her vast range of knowledge weight loss, and a skincare line launching in 2019. But the Feel Good and experiences—from serving up healing concoctions to her internet Circle is what she calls her “passion project” and “an opportunity for fans to working on the bodies of the most idolized people in the clients to go deeper and find radical transformation.” world—and created something inclusive, transparent and universal. The Feel Good Circle is something Snyder was determined to make “Solluna is for everyone, no matter where you are at physically or accessible and affordable. At only $5.00 a month for a membership, there what you do personally or professionally, to find healing and wholeness is a specific theme to explore every month, and subscribers receive weekly within our perfectly imperfect lives,” says Snyder. “And, here is the part audios and journal prompts in their email inbox, as well as a monthly video that we often don’t consider: it really just starts with feeling good.” THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

THE CONNECT MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2018

HOSPITALITY / FOOD

WRITTEN BY: TONI LEPESKA

E BEGAN HIS hospitality career as a dishwasher while racial hostility hovered over his Memphis, Tenn. hometown. As a 16-yearold in the years after Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, Ernest Dickson enjoyed the lively pace of his employer’s location, Overton Square, far different from his neighborhood at Florida Street and Trigg Avenue, still bypassed by those hoping to avoid trouble. However, as an AfricanAmerican, he saw no hope of bettering himself in the place his birth put him. Yet today the executive chef’s resume is packed with prestigious roles performed in kitchens across the country. And though he’s nearing retirement age at 64, Dickson is filled with passion for a vision to help at-risk young people in a restaurant on the outskirts of the very city he left in search of better opportunities. His adventure began in the military, and then he moved to Alaska. He lived in Alaska three different times, often working at private clubs. He hunted. He fished. He panned for gold. “Everything,” he said, “an outdoorsman would do. I did stuff I never dreamed I’d do.” On his way to a culinary school in Germany later, he stopped off in Hawaii. He liked it. He got a job at a resort. He didn’t get to his destination country. A few years later, he moved to Detroit and worked for a huge corporation that operated golf clubs all over the country. He spent two years training and working in cities all over the continental United States. He collected stories along the way. As the personal chef for former NBA basketball player Shane Battier, Dickson served the meat-andpotatoes his client expected, but also slipped wild boar onto his plate from time to time. One gig had him helping pull actress Sophia Loren’s 50th birthday party. While on staff at world-renowned St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, he replicated recipes of grandmothers in 30

HOLIDAY 2018 | THE CONNECT MAGAZINE

Bangladesh and Nigeria to feed sick kids what could be their last meal. “So,” he said, “you want to make sure each meal is perfect.” Dickson is the kind of person people say needs to write a book. As he tells the tale of his life, he seems almost as amazed as his listeners. He even admits, “I never thought I’d be pursuing what I’m pursuing.” Reclined in a dining chair, he wears the tall, white hat that earmarks a professional chef. In fact, he was certified by the American Culinary Federation as an executive chef, the top cheese. The framed certificate hangs in a corner of his restaurant. Dickson probably could get a job in a kitchen anywhere. Instead, for almost three years, he’s worked from a humble one-room restaurant with nine tables and a floor so clean it gleams. He calls it the West End Bistro. It’s on busy U.S. 51 in Southaven, Miss., a suburb of Memphis. West End is not his first restaurant, but it’s the one from which he is launching his plan to give youth a chance at the kind of career that put him before illustrious people in exotic places. Besides giving them career skills, Dickson also wants to teach life skills like banking. “I came here … to train people in culinary arts,” he said, “but I needed this first. I needed a kitchen.” He may know people all across the country, but he had to build a reputation in the predominantly white city, 13 miles and 17 minutes from the neighborhood where he grew up. He joined the Chamber of Commerce. A caterer, he provided food at social events. And he began to build a network of people who shared his vision. This past summer, his Mid-South Culinary Alliance received nonprofit status, however, Dickson already had been employing youth and mentoring them. “The City of Southaven is honored to have the West End Bistro … and the services of such a talented chef,” said Mayor Darren THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

HOSPITALITY / FOOD

Musselwhite, who didn’t need reminding who Dickson was. “Its people The father of two adult biological children, Dickson adopted like him who are not only talented professionals in their field, but also two children with his wife during his six-year employment at St. Jude. unselfish with their time that are making a difference with the youth The girl and boy, ages 11 and 12, are related to his wife. A photograph of in our community. them in red chefs uniforms hang in the same corner as Dickson’s executive “If our youth will follow the model of his gentleman,” Musselwhite chef certificate. “They gave me that picture on Father’s Day,” he said. said, “then our world will be a much better place.” He worries most about young people without a father. Dickson wasn’t always mentor material exactly. After dodging “My parents were there,” he said. “I cannot imagine being economic hopelessness, he discovered an internal demon as deadly: without a father.” alcoholism. He escaped one inhospitable environment to land in One of the largest African-American congregations in the another. Here, the go-go-go pressures of evening work faded into Southaven area, Brown Missionary Baptist Church, has placed at least mornings before dawn, and the way to wind down was to visit to a one youth with Dickson’s restaurant each summer as part of its youth bar with friends— to drink. Unlike employment program. “I’m so many, Dickson was a highlyTHE CITY OF SOUTHAVEN IS HONORED TO HAVE THE excited about the Alliance,” said functioning alcoholic. He showed Pennie Nelson, executive director WEST END BISTRO … AND THE SERVICES OF SUCH A up for work every day. of the church career center. TALENTED CHEF. ITS PEOPLE LIKE HIM WHO ARE NOT “The duckling would get “Brown Baptist is going to be a big one shot,” he said of a dish he’d supporter.” ONLY TALENTED PROFESSIONALS IN THEIR FIELD, BUT prepare. “I would get two. No Once stigmatized, the ALSO UNSELFISH WITH THEIR TIME THAT ARE MAKING A one ever knew. But at some point, hospitality industry today offers DIFFERENCE WITH THE YOUTH IN OUR COMMUNITY. it starts to chip away at you,” he a solid career, Dickson said, and – MAYOR DARREN MUSSELWHITE said of the alcoholism. “I could celebrity cooks in particular have feel myself on a slippery slope. I helped transform the culinary arts realized, if I can do this as a drunk, imagine what I can do sober.” into a respected profession. Memphis has changed, too, and the infusion Stirred by memories of his childhood environment, his nurturing of culinary concepts from all over the world make it an exciting time to parents and his eight siblings, Dickson decided to return to his roots. be a part of the hospitality world. Dickson defines the industry in terms Back to Memphis he went. After rehab, he left again, studied at a of a creative endeavor, not as a grunt job. culinary institute, and then returned. He got a job at noted chef Erling “There’s an art to it that Picasso couldn’t touch,” he said. “Back in Jensen’s restaurant, named “Best Restaurant in Memphis” for 10 the day … it was a girl’s thing, and it had a servitude connotation. Now consecutive years, including the years Dickson worked there. In 2009, you can make six figures. People like to be pampered.” he got on with St. Jude, a nonprofit. In his new environment, he got Dickson recently altered his restaurant hours to clear time to select a steady diet of humanitarians and philanthropists. He volunteered at a board for his nonprofit organization, solidify operating procedures, annual health fairs and for cooking demonstrations. and properly set aside funds for stipends. He wants money also blocked “I thought, ‘This is great. Can I do it every year?’” out for young people to buy their own kitchen tools, a book, or a suit Dickson began to conceive of his own nonprofit, of teaching kids the for a job interview. culinary arts. Of offering them a career and life skills to better their futures. “You need to position them for success,” Dickson said. “Just He looks at the twists and turns of his life’s path. teaching them how to cook is not enough.” “I was being groomed for this,” said Dickson of his nonprofit. “I think that benevolence was being planted.” THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

THE CONNECT MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2018

FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS

WRITTEN BY: DAWN MASON

E CAN NO longer look to the color of the leaves or the temperature of the breeze to reveal that the holiday season is upon us. Summer doesn’t quite come to an end before store shelves are stocked with pumpkins and sweet potato pies. And then, in the blink of an eye, rustling leaves disappear, replaced by snowflakes and ornament-laden front yards. Toy ads take over newspapers as shopaholics prepare to execute their annual plan of attack to win the war on holiday shopping. The anticipation of homemade eggnog and BOGO sales bring feelings of joy and excitement for many, but for others, the season marks the start of months of anxiety, stress and sadness. There was a time in my life where changes in my family dynamic caused me great pain and grief, seemingly amplified around the holiday season. They were the death of a loved one and a divorce. First, I must establish that my feelings weren’t seasonal affective disorder (SAD). A type of clinical depression, SAD begins and ends about the same time each year, according to www.mayoclinic.org. Symptoms that begin in the fall and continue into the winter months include feeling depressed most of the day, experiencing low energy and sleep problems, feeling hopeless, worthless or guilty, and having frequent thoughts of death or suicide. SAD is estimated to affect 10 million Americans. It is four times more common in women than in men, and the age of onset is estimated to be between 18 and 30 years old. Some people experience symptoms severe enough to affect their quality of life. Six percent require hospitalization. After my doctor and I determined I wasn’t experiencing SAD, I decided to take control of my emotional health and restore my holiday joy. I had to accept what I could not change, establish a new normal, and redefine the holiday season so the excitement I once experienced was reborn. But how would I accomplish this? Ahead are some tips I have found to be effective. WHEN DEALING WITH THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE: Surges of memories can be overwhelming during Thanksgiving, Christmas or Hanukkah, as well as New Year’s. As an only child and a ”daddy’s girl” who hadn’t been married or had children before losing my father, I found every holiday extremely difficult. Now years have gone by, and I’ve realized oftentimes the anticipation of how I would feel was far worse than what I actually experienced. To help me cope with holidays without my dad, I applied the following strategies recommended in the Harvard Mental Health Letter. 1 START A NEW TRADITION During the holidays immediately after the death of a loved one, place a candle on the dinner table, leave an empty chair, or say a few words of remembrance. 2 CHANGE THE CELEBRATION Replace the traditional family dinner with a nice dinner out, or change the location of the celebration. Consider a radically different approach. Take a trip with friends. Start a new tradition and visit a new city each year on the holiday. 3 HELP SOMEONE ELSE Providing for others in need often lessens feelings of loneliness. Consider volunteering through a charitable or religious organization, or make a donation to a favorite cause in memory of your loved one. THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

4 GIVE YOURSELF TIME. The grieving process isn’t the same for everyone. It doesn’t end at a six-month or one-year mark. Nevertheless, grief does change over time. With time, the holidays will become easier to manage. IN INSTANCES OF DIVORCE, HANDLE YOURSELF AND OTHERS GENTLY: If you’ve spent every significant holiday with your children, being apart from them during the holidays after divorce can be devastating. When I was first divorced, my boys were under three years old. Coping with being single and being away from my babies during certain holidays was incredibly difficult. While managing holiday schedules and being without them can still cause a lot of stress, I embrace the season now. I’ve learned to create new and meaningful traditions around the holidays when I am with my boys. In No More Holiday Blues, the late Dr. Wayne Dyer suggests ways to recapture the true spirit of the holidays and offers specific ideas for overcoming self-defeating attitudes, rekindling childhood excitement, and making the holidays an experience of joy. Here are a few techniques Dyer suggests for divorced parents that worked for me. 1 START PLANNING NOW Don’t wait until the week before the holiday to decide who gets the kids. It’s important to plan with your former spouse well in advance, Dyer wrote, and if they’re old enough, to also get the kids involved in the decision-making process. Practice fairness in making the decision, and remember generosity breeds generosity. 2 COMMUNICATION IS KEY Communicate with your children over the holidays by getting technology on your side. Send a warm text or email, call, or arrange to Skype with them. Be mindful to not infringe too much on the other parent’s holiday time with the kids, especially if you’ll be seeing them soon. 3 CHANGE YOUR EXPECTATIONS Give yourself permission to enjoy the holiday as you choose, though your child isn’t present. You don’t have to be lonely, even if you happen to be alone. “Loneliness is an attitude that can be changed, and aloneness is nothing more than a temporary absence of other people,” Dyer says. 4 CREATE NEW TRADITIONS The holiday season is rooted in tradition. Instead of being bound by past traditions, create new traditions by embracing things that bring you joy. It’s OK to be honest with family and friends. If you have recently experienced a major life change, let them know you aren’t quite up to the family dinner or traditional tree trimming. You need time to heal and determine what will work for you in the future. Remember the holidays aren’t inherently depressing. “If you anticipate that things will be depressing, you will rarely disappoint yourself,” Dyer wrote. “You must look within yourself and resolve to have a positive attitude, regardless of the tasks that lie ahead of you.” This year, regardless of what life has presented, use a different lens to view the holiday season. Now I look to the changing colors of the leaves as the start of a new beginning. Smile at the orange and green hues of fall, breathe in the aroma of pine and cinnamon that come with winter, and embrace the opportunity to create new lifelong traditions. You have the power to redefine what this holiday season and every one thereafter will mean to you. THE CONNECT MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2018

SUCCESS

Where Big Business & Hollywood Collide With Real-World Solutions WRITTEN BY: TONI LEPESKA

S SHE WORKS to cover blemishes on the outside, Jocelyn Atkinson hopes to heal scars and insecurities on the inside. She is co-founder of the maker of Dermaflage, an easy-to-use product that within minutes causes pox marks, knife wounds and skin cancer deformities to disappear. As a lifelong entrepreneur driven to find solutions to problems, Atkinson was motivated by a pioneering spirit, not by personal misfortune. But oh how good she feels now to know she’s helping people recover their confidence, especially in what could still be described as the early days of social media, when appearance is paramount. “Because of this new world, there’s so much focus on outer appearance. There are photo editing tools … and then what happens when they’re in person? There’s a heightened sense of insecurity. I know it inhibits people’s potential,” said Atkinson, a fresh-faced 40-year-old. “I wish people could just be who they really are. I see it in people everywhere I go. So many feel inwardly flawed as a result of something they view as an outward flaw. I feel an inner empathy and drive to help. It feels like a calling.” Atkinson grew up moving around to different states as her entrepreneurial father followed business opportunities. A graduate of the University of Virginia, she was a marketing executive in Memphis, Tenn., had co-founded a consulting firm, and was searching for products to commercialize when she met Matt Singer, a former Hollywood special effects artist. He’d developed a product that paired facial prosthetics science and Hollywood special effects art.

HOLIDAY 2018 | THE CONNECT MAGAZINE

Silicone Arts Laboratories began offering Dermaflage in 2011 to the “average Joe.” The silicone-based topical filler covered indented blemishes. It blended and moved perfectly with the elasticity of the skin. It lasted up to 36 hours. By its fifth year, Dermaflage kits were being shipped to more than 20,000 customers across the country and to more than 30 countries. The stories of people restored to a feel-good confidence mount at the Memphis office of the maker of Dermaflage. Atkinson witnessed a product demonstration on a middle-aged woman who’d worn a gash to her chin since she was 13. She hadn’t been able to effectively hide it, and then the Dermaflage was applied. Peering into a mirror, the woman cried. Sometimes a scar isn’t just skin deep, as in the case of a man Atkinson learned had been knifed. “He’s got a scar down his face. He doesn’t care what it looks like,” Atkinson said, “but people ask him about it, and he has to tell the story—and he relives the trauma. Using our product helped him heal. The ability to bring solutions like this is exciting. It’s even more exciting that it helps people. If you’re going to stand for something, stand for something good, something that helps people.” Atkinson’s husband, Oscar Atkinson, who had a background in sales and finance, joined the company a year after the startup commercialized. While he handled Amazon sales, Jocelyn Atkinson became the face of Dermaflage and built buzz via website and social media. She went on television, demonstrating the product in real time on The Doctors. Because it circumvented the timeconsuming process of mixing batches of silicone and then texturing to make it THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

SUCCESS

look like skin, Hollywood liked it, too. Harrison Ford wore the product in Star Wars: The Force Awakens to cover his ear piercing. While still seeking to help the everyday individual with difficult skin problems—even with those dreaded wrinkles and stretch marks—Silicone Arts Labs is reaching back to its Hollywood roots, too. Its products increasingly show up on a variety of celebrities and in all sorts of movies. An unnamed Miss America contestant used it, Atkinson said, and so did Angelina Pivarnick from Jersey Shore. The product was in the fantasy / science fiction movie Deadpool. And a colored spinoff of Dermaflage will be front and center in Aquaman, set to open in mid-December. “Their scales,” Atkinson said of the Aqua creatures, “are made of Dermaflage. We shipped a bunch of it to Warner Brothers.” Silicone Arts Laboratories found itself in the thick of Hollywood again after Atkinson visited the set of the sitcom, The Goldbergs, which premiered in 2013 on ABC. Atkinson regularly visited busy makeup artists on-the-job, and this particular day, she spoke to Kim Greene, a veteran film and television makeup artist. Greene was using the Dermaflage topical filler, Silicone Arts’ original product, to conceal a skin cancer scar on one of the show’s actors. Atkinson was soliciting thoughts on improving Dermaflage, discovering any gaps in the market, and determining ways to grow brand awareness among professional makeup artists. “She said, ‘Can you make this in blood color?’” Atkinson told her she absolutely could. She learned Greene wanted a product to make quick special effects. She gave Atkinson a vial of bloodcolored liquid. That was the color she wanted. Atkinson left the studio lot on a mission. In 2016, Silicone Arts Labs launched fastFX (as in, fast effects), and it’s used all sorts of shades to simulate bullet holes, chapped lips, veins and wounds. The product also is used at fashion shows for raised masks. While it appeals to the general market come Halloween, “it’s also widely used now in the movies, on TV,” Atkinson said. With the original Dermaflage covering indented blemishes, the makers turned to cover raised scars. That led to the development of “Behind the Scenes” in 2017. It also worked well on tattoos and dark circles, and a color corrector covered the very worst bruises. In 2018, Silicone Arts Labs expanded its product line in an effort to erase THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

blemishes, not just cover them. The result was “Good Skin,” a corrective cream with peptides that stimulates collagen production. It’s designed to reduce discoloration and flatten a blemish. About 30,000 customers a year buy Dermaflage and the spinoff products with a growth rate of about 5,000 customers annually. Silicone Arts Labs distributors hail from places like Australia, Hong Kong and Spain. The company continues to put energy into its online presence as the procurement of beauty products via the internet rises and the power of “influencers” to direct purchases increases. About 65 percent of the company’s online traffic is by mobile phone, reflecting use by a younger generation. No matter the age group, however, Atkinson noticed the size of the scar does not directly correlate to the effect on self-confidence. “Someone might have a huge gash—doesn’t bother them,” she said. “Someone else has a chicken pox scar. It’s like the gash.” Columbus, Ohio resident Tory Romine, a 38-year-old claims supervisor in the automobile industry, sustained some sort of breakout on his forehead about four years ago. He’d never seen anything like it, and after his skin cleared up, two indented scars remained. With presentations to make before a business crowd, he felt self-conscious. “You try different things… just to try to make it not so noticeable,” Romine said. “But you still can see it. I felt like people were looking directly at my scar.” He heard about the Dermaflage topical filler. After a few times, he’d perfected the application. A beach lover, he didn’t have to worry about ocean water washing it away, either. “It looks like normal skin,” said Romine, among the 20 percent of Silicone Arts Labs customers who are men. “My confidence and selfperception, they’ve really improved.” Atkinson imagines a world free of judgments about outer appearance, a kinder way of living, an empowered way of existing. “That’s a tall order,” she admitted, “one that I certainly can’t snap my fingers into existence. Instead, I create innovative products so people can cover up whatever has them hung up—and then encourage them to go out into the world and do what they are supposed to do.” THE CONNECT MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2018

MARKETING

WRITTEN BY: NAJA RICKETTE

E ARE LIVING in great times of enterprise. An increasing number of people you meet introduce themselves as entrepreneurs—in person and on social media. It’s a cool title to claim these days, however the execution as a productive and profitable entrepreneur takes careful planning and awareness in everyday tasks; did you know these tasks don’t necessarily need to be business-driven? Those who succeed at being an entrepreneur are positioned to do things when, how, and where they want; it goes beyond the buzz word listed in the social media bio. The ones who win are prepared with a 24/7 marketing mentality. Don’t get me wrong; I am an advocate for work/life balance. I’m not suggesting you become a workaholic or take further time away from your loved ones. I want you to consider this: What if you could be completely present with your loved ones, out and about living life with them, while planting seeds of marketing and promotion for yourself? Ahead are ways to do just that.

DON’T JUST USE SOCIAL MEDIA; ACTUALLY BE SOCIAL This is what every business owner wants and needs: warm bodies to introduce their products and services to. As an entrepreneur, there is no guaranteed paycheck coming your way, so it’s on your shoulders to bring in the sales. This means you must always be dressed and ready to interact. But rather than just dress for success, dress for interactions. This is about dressing for your internal feeling, not necessarily wearing a $5K suit. It’s about dressing presentably for every single activity in your life—from doctor appointments, to your nephew Joey’s little league game, to funerals, and even to beach trips.

My practical and simple strategy is this: Comprise your uniform system and always have it ready in your closet. Have a lounge outfit, a relaxed and fun day-off outfit, an errand-running outfit, and a snazzy, formal interview outfit. If properly attired, prepared and ready, everyday interactions can quickly turn into transactions.

CREATE AN ELEVATOR PITCH This is one of the most important tools that works wonders when applied effectively. The best part? It’s free. Create a 15-30 second pitch about your business, product or service. Practice it, over and over again, until you memorize it. You will know you have a dynamic pitch if after delivering it, the person’s eyes light up or you see some factor of intrigue in their response. If you can recite it, anytime and any place with confidence, you have the best piece of marketing equipment that money doesn’t have to buy. That is priceless.

HOLIDAY 2018 | THE CONNECT MAGAZINE

DEVELOP ADVOCATES FROM CLIENTS This is a simple sales strategy of developing a customer into a client, and then developing that client into an advocate for your business. An advocate means they are out and about conducting the routines of their own life while advocating and marketing your business—all the while you are busy maintaining everyday work tasks. Advocates are developed through consistent and stellar service; the under-promise and over-deliver method works well here. Serve and treat every single transaction as if it were your beloved grandmother, and you will have an army of advocates out there telling all their friends about you. The coolest part? They are your clients so, in essence, you are being paid for them to market your business.

MARKET OUTSIDE THE BOX If you spend your days working from the couch in your robe and bunny slippers, sipping a latte, while waiting on a video chat meeting, why approach your business with the same stale and conventional marketing tactics? Of course you should still employ the tried-and-true methods of conventionality, but also incorporate some road-less-traveled methods. Stretch yourself and your community outreach. Think of all the places in your local community like car dealerships, law firms, banks, or even children’s sports games.

If you show up during lunch breaks to an office building full of people, offering mini samples of your service or product, they could potentially be enthralled with you and grateful for your time. This approach is a strong start to planting the seeds with customers who will likely become an advocate in time. Also consider large companies and corporations. Many of them have a health and wellness department that hosts events for the employees. If you offer a product or service in that arena, contact them for exposure to people in your area—especially if your business fare offers something that helps productivity and brings about stress relief for their employees. Do your research and use helpful stats in your proposal. The fun thing about this is if you wow even one or two employees at that event and they are ripe to be an advocate, they may tell their whole department about you. You understand your business better than anyone, so it’s best practice to be a walking billboard in all of your life’s activities. With a plan in place, never discount that any situation is a potential opportunity to grow your brand. Naja Rickette is a celebrity manicurist and television personality who devotes much of her time to educating beauty professionals and entrepreneurs about unique ways to organically grow their business. Check out her coaching services and programs at najanailguru.com. THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

CAREER & MENTAL HEALTH

ANXIOUS, OVERWORKED & UNFULFILLED? THIS PSYCHOLOGIST SAYS SELF-MONITORING IS THE REMEDY WRITTEN BY: LACEY JOHNSON

N THE WAKE of celebrity overdoses and suicides, and social media manipulating nearly every angle of our lives—from our conversations, to our meals, to our wardrobes, thereby seeping into the fabric of our personal and professional paradigms, Dr. Kevin Gilliland wants to help us reclaim possession over what is ours. A clinical psychologist and Executive Director of Innovation360, an outpatient counseling service with locations in Dallas and Austin, Texas, Gilliland has become one of the most sought-after mental health experts for elite media outlets such as People and Inside Edition, but that’s not what he is most fired up about. Rather, his aim is to challenge every mind he encounters to become clear about what it hates—solely for the purpose of creating a life it loves. Convinced this will raise the consciousness of the entire planet, he believes our vices are not the culprits per se, but that most all of us are guilty of “user error.” The good news? He has a design for its remedy. To begin, it starts with waking up. “There has never been a greater time for us to self-monitor and become more self-aware than right now,” says Gilliland. “This pertains to food, to sex, to social media, to our careers and to information. That’s where the power lies.” We live in an age where data is being constantly hurled at us—from work emails to the apps we never close out of, to the seductive spotlight of the social media stage we spend the majority of our waking hours standing upon. Gilliland says this has a direct impact on our mental health, and it bleeds through our career aspirations as much as it does our relationships, often acting as a cancer that threatens to destroy our sense of self. “We’re seeing some trending upwards of anxiety all across the board, and I think it’s because it’s the first time in history that we humans have had information pushed at us at volumes that we’ve never experienced. So many of us count our daily food calories, but I think we need to start thinking about counting our data calories,” he says. “Because they’re slowly killing us.” 38

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Gilliland, author of Struggle Well, Live Well: 60 Ways to Navigate Life’s Good, Bad and In-Between, is currently writing his second book, which will be an exploration of the obscurities and nuances of anxiety. He holds a simple stance when it comes to monitoring the impressions social media inevitably leaves on our well-being: Whether used for connecting with friends or for giving a megaphone to the launch of a product, it should act as a catalyst for more enriched and vibrant modes of living. He believes it should only serve to draw us deeper into the nucleus of life, not light years away from it. “We should see something and be inspired by that idea or that image and then go visit that place or make that thing. It should open up some sort of new vista for us and motivate us back into living,” he says.

WHAT PEOPLE OFTEN FORGET IS THAT EVERY GREAT ACHIEVEMENT REQUIRES A SACRIFICE AS WELL AS LESS DESIRABLE MOMENTS. I WANTED TO SHOW THE REALITY OF WHAT A BUSINESS TRIP IS OFTEN LIKE FOR ME. While it is undeniable that entrepreneurs and professionals are able to withdraw invaluable facets of motivation and strategy from the information circulating across their colleagues’ and competitors’ social media activities, Gilliland believes that few of us are immune to becoming anesthetized by the intoxication of its seemingly infinite offerings. “Most of us are not aware of the chemical releases we are getting from engaging on social media day after day. There have been some incredible studies of how people respond mood-wise to likes and shares,” he says. “It gets us high, and it creates a temporary feeling of having had real connection, but we’re just living in the shadow of the real thing.” THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

CAREER & MENTAL HEALTH

AWARENESS LEADS TO SELF-REFLECTION, WHICH LEADS TO LASTING CHANGE, WHICH CAN THEN LEAD TO A WHOLE NEW LIFE—MAYBE EVEN ONE THAT FEELS SUCCESSFUL IN ALL AREAS.

This is why, more than ever before, he is determined to use his platform to promote authenticity. One evening last week, Gilliland encountered inclement weather while traveling on business from Arkansas back to his home in Texas. The lightning was unmerciful, and the rain was beating down in droves. With his flight abruptly cancelled, he was forced to rent a car for his trip back home. He had a long stretch of meetings and therapy sessions he was set to report to the following day, and his attendance was non-negotiable. He found himself at a middle-of-nowhere car rental place, huddled in a corner trying to stay dry, all the while exhausted and aching for the refuge of his bed. He then drove five hours home with his windshield wipers on full blast, his wheels wrestling with the storm the entire way. Rather than allow his followers to assume that his trip had been as glamorous as most would have conveyed to their social media audiences, he documented the reality of it on Instagram. “What people often forget is that every great achievement requires a sacrifice as well as less desirable moments. I wanted to show the reality of what a business trip is often like for me,” says Gilliland. “Social media gives us these ideas of fancy views and dinners and flights, but what about the empty hotel rooms and the lack of sleep and the frustrating delays? I think we all need to get honest with ourselves and each other.” From Gilliland’s vantage point, he is convinced that success by society’s metric is oftentimes a lonely and unfulfilling journey, and not a byway one should expect to serve as an escape from being human. In other words, he is saying we must not assume that the accumulation of riches or the realization of our most towering aspirations will serve as an antidote for the things that most tug at our attention—especially when the shades are drawn and the lights are dim. “I have recently been working through therapy sessions with a gentleman who, by almost anyone’s measure, has been incredibly successful,” he says. “But the other day he looked at me and said, ‘You know? Who is going to feel sorry for me? Who do I talk to about my problems? People think I have everything.’” Having counseled a long list of highly prestigious clients— from Hollywood celebrities to billionaire entrepreneurs, Gilliland is always quick to correct them when they gloss over their struggles with statements like, “Well, all of this may be going on, but it’s a great problem to have...” because he says we have to THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

accept that what feels like a problem will be experienced as a problem, and will then lead to further problems. “Let’s say you love playing music and you work hard and achieve success doing that. Everyone thinks you’re lucky, but the truth is every minute of your day is now scheduled by someone else and you’re doing all kinds of stuff that you don’t like,” says Gilliland. “Then you may feel you have lost your life in the process of following your dream. And when humans start feeling like that, they start making bad decisions. People will then look at them and say, ‘Oh, wow, they had it all…’” This is the part where Gilliland says we have to get “clear about what we hate.” Oftentimes we think we loathe our workplace or resent our role as a leader, when in reality we hate the way we have gone about managing our lives. We often misdirect our frustrations because we are exhausted from trying to be too many things for too many people. For example, one may have an enviable job with an impressive salary, but if they’re also balancing graduate school and a new baby, they may unleash their wrath toward an aspect of their lives that isn’t the culprit at all. “You may think it’s the job wearing you out, or the people on social media wearing you out, or that spouse wearing you out, but really it’s your relationship with those things, or even your expectations that those things failed to meet. It’s almost always user error,” he says. “But that’s a powerful realization to have because you get to alter how you behave as a user of those things.” An area of research that has long fascinated Gilliland over the span of his two-decade career is human behavior change. Through this study, he concluded that fear tactics are mostly ineffective, and even the most potent facts often fail to motivate us. So, what then, does motivate humans to enact change? The most powerful catalyst for transformation, he swears, is the information we are forced to see about ourselves. “Selfmonitoring is one of the things I have people do all of the time when they are struggling with a certain behavior or habit. If you want to change something about your life, you’ve simply got to face the truth of your actions—of where your money is going, of how much you’re glued to your phone, of how you’re spending your time,” says Gilliland. He adds: “Awareness leads to self-reflection, which leads to lasting change, which can then lead to a whole new life—maybe even one that feels successful in all areas.” THE CONNECT MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2018

ARTS & CULTURE

Photo by Lindsey Koren

WRITTEN BY: LACEY JOHNSON

T WAS EARLY 1984, in the era of after-school specials and the Reagan administration. An ambitious, ripe and relatively unknown television correspondent by the name of Oprah Winfrey was hired to host A.M. Chicago, a dwindling half-hour local morning talk show. Within a week, there was a shocking upsurge in its ratings. No one could identify exactly what made the 30-year-old fledging journalist so endearing, but there was something about her that intrigued viewers—grabbing them by their collars, pulling them to the edge of their recliners, and demanding that they put down their coffee and watch. In one month’s time, the show was pronounced the highestrated of its kind. Prior to Winfrey’s arrival, it was practically begging to depart from the bottom spot. The following year, the segment was extended to an hour time slot, and renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show. Then, on September 8, 1986, it stretched out its arms to reach a national audience, syndicating in diners and living rooms all across America. How would she fair in the big leagues, her colleagues speculated. Would a black woman be able to hold America’s attention and favor in a field dominated by white males? In an interview with journalist Mike Wallace for 60 Minutes, filmed in December 1986, shortly after the show’s airing, his skepticism 40

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was apparent, but so was Winfrey’s confidence. “It’ll do well,” she said, coolly. “And if it doesn’t?” he asked. “And if it doesn’t? I will still do well,” said Winfrey, emphatically. “I will do well because I am not defined by a show… I think we are defined by the way we treat ourselves and the way we treat other people.” Six months later, Winfrey proved to viewers that she was not only endearing and intriguing, but also brave—venturing to Forsyth County, Georgia, a hotbed of racism at the time, and confronting even its most brazen of white supremacist citizens. As the show evolved, she began to daringly address a myriad of compelling topics—from drug abuse, to incest, to religious occultism. The show’s popularity exploded. Teenagers began venturing home after school, curling up with a snack to watch her. Stay-at-home mothers fell in love with her, stealing moments with the show to laugh and weep as their babies napped. Everyone from factory workers to executives set their VCRs, making sure to never miss an episode. What was it—her endless curiosity, her fun-loving sense of humor, her attentive and penetrating gaze, her transparency, her infinite supply of both discernment and empathy? Regardless, whether revealing her own 67-pound weight loss by wheeling a wagon of animal fat across the stage in representation THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

ARTS & CULTURE

Photo by Lindsey Koren

Photo Courtesy of Harpo Studios

of it, or cozying with actors and pop stars in promotion of their movies and album releases, or consoling guests as they unraveled painful narratives of having survived various modes of abuse, betrayal or tragedy, Winfrey pioneered the intimate, confessional style of talk show that has since become commonplace. But, most significantly, she spun a web of connectedness throughout America— transcending age, race, economic status and creed, all the while sparking revolutionary conversations and destigmatizing even the most controversial of topics. She did this for 25 years, across 4,561 episodes, until the finale aired in 2011. To this day, it is still the highest-rated talk show of all time. At the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History & Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C., there is poignant evidence of why we could never turn away from her, and why we miss her presence in our living spaces year after year, five days a week. In its “Watching Oprah” exhibition—a fascinating time warp—there exists an encapsulation of not only her thumbprint on American culture, but also highlights of the odds she defied in order to leave it there. In a review by the Washington Post, the writer calls the exhibition “a testament to our culture’s transformation, to who we have THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

Photo Courtesy of Harpo Studios

become,” and declaring the icon to be, “American’s confidante.” Winfrey’s closest friend, Gayle King, reported from the exhibition on CBS This Morning in June, just days before the exhibition was unveiled to the public. She said, “It’s humbling, it’s overwhelming, and in Oprah’s words, it’s surreal.” Unable to contain her emotion, her voice shook as she continued, saying, “It’s beyond amazing what has happened in this room.” Lonnie Bunch, Director of NMAAHC, introduced King and Winfrey to the exhibition for the CBS This Morning segment. As they navigated its parts, Bunch, King and Winfrey paused to gaze in awe at the display of Winfrey’s private journal entry from the night before the show’s first national airing. Eerily, she had written, “I keep wondering how my life will change… if it will change… what all of this means—why have I been so blessed… I just know that I must be pressed to the mark of a high calling.” Winfrey recalled having been overtaken with nerves on that first day, confessing, “I had hives underneath my armpits.” In true Winfrey fashion, as she moved through the exhibition, she was provoked to tears upon reading words from other black journalists who credited her for their belief in and love for themselves, then embracing Bunch, saying, repeatedly, “Thank you.” THE CONNECT MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2018

ARTS & CULTURE

Photo by Lindsey Koren

Photo Courtesy of Harpo Studios

Long revered for her refreshing candor, undeniable compassion, rare combination of confidence and humility, and entertaining personality, the 4300-square-foot space in honor of Winfrey offers evidence of why she was a reliable infusion of hope, inclusion, laughter and the possibility of change for Americans for more than two decades—from the tossing of her head back and shouting into the air when excited, announcing when she had goosebumps, walking through the aisles and embracing her guests for a hug, stretching out her arms and communicating freely with her body language. There is testimony, too, of her willingness to share the spotlight—not only creating a variety of other television careers, but launching her celebrated book club, where she often chose obscure and unconventional books, turning lesserknown hopefuls into New York Times bestselling authors. Through the exhibition’s progression, a trail of the era’s most precious fragments can be found. There are backstage and on-set artifacts—from the original chairs used by audience members to Winfrey’s personal work space and most memorable wardrobe ensembles. There is an interesting collection of gifts from some of her most famous guests—a flamboyant purple hairpiece from pop star Lady Gaga; a Rubik’s Cube solved by actor Will Smith; a journal with her dear friend and mentor Maya Angelou’s handwritten words—just to name a few. Screens throughout the space loop clips from obscure footage of Winfrey’s early career on local news stations—“That’s when I was doing my own hair,” she joked on CBS This Morning—to the most memorable episodes from The Oprah Winfrey Show, including the massive, audience-shrieking “You get a car! You get a car!” giveaway moment in 2004. There are stills of her interviews with Patti Labelle, Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama, as well as glittering footage from the popular annual segment that was Oprah’s Ultimate Favorite Things. 42

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Photo Courtesy of Harpo Studios

But, most compelling, the exhibition houses moving imagery and precious artifacts from the generations that came before her, starting with the Civil Rights era, and showcasing evidence of the AfricanAmerican actors and television personalities that fought to break through oppression and stubborn stereotypes, thereby inspiring and shaping Winfrey’s willingness to trailblaze her way toward not only equal presence in the media, but on to becoming perhaps the most influential public figure of our modern day. Because America still can’t get enough of watching Oprah. THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

NASHVILLE IS CHANGING. LEAD THE WAY WITH US. Belong to a network that shares your values. Engage in opportunities youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re passionate about. Lead on issues critical to your future. Prosper as a region. nashvillechamber.com

EMPOWERMENT

HOLLYWOOD STYLIST

REVEALS THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DRESSING FOR SUCCESS WRITTEN BY: TONI LEPESKA

LITTLE GIRL ENCIRCLED by her mother’s illustrious world of fashion, Leesa Evans deduced the transformative potential of clothing early in her life. Growing up in Orange County, California as the daughter of a couture designer, she watched models strut down runways. She mingled with her mother’s prominent clients. And before she was even a teen, she experienced the feeling that every woman knows – wearing that perfect piece of clothing. Feeling fabulous – and acting fabulous. Eventually, Evans would adopt a mission to give that energy to all women. “I always loved fashion from the time I was very young. I had my favorite dress that I would never take off. I always found something that felt good and I bought them in as many colors as they had,” said Evans, 50, a celebrity stylist and designer whose 25-plus film credits include Bridesmaids, I Feel Pretty, Zoolander 2, and Trainwreck. “There’s this amazing feeling when you feel good in what you’re wearing. What if all days could be like that?” Evans asserts that all days can be like that. She works with individual actors and private clients to identify what silhouette makes a person feel great and inspires confidence. Once that shape or shapes are identified, clients can seek out styles that repeatedly create the silhouette with different types of clothes. The resulting confidence, that drawing out 44

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of the self, affects the general state of mind over time, Evans said, and amplifies a person’s success in life and career. With a desire to help everyone be their best selves through dress, Evans is in process of working on a book about her philosophy. In collaboration with actress and comedian Amy Schumer, who starred in Trainwreck, Evans also is coming out with a clothing line inspired by that philosophy. In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter identified Evans as one of the “25 Most Powerful Stylists in Hollywood” for her red carpet styling of Schumer. Evans also has styled celebrity clients for editorial features in publications such as Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone and InStyle. While an appreciation of style was planted into her life early, Evans’ mission came to be within a process. Her mother helped her appreciate fashion as an art, and Evans spent the initial phase of her career working with her progenitor. She learned valuable information about clothing design and manufacturing, and the retail business. Around the age of 20, Evans got an internship at a costume house in Los Angeles. At that job, the direction her career would take solidified. “I stepped into a warehouse of every period of clothing and every type of clothing. I said, ‘This feels right.’ And I just leaned into it,” Evans said. THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

EMPOWERMENT

Each assignment, each client, each job that followed was a stepping stone. “It was just push up your sleeves and get to work,” Evans said. “Take every opportunity … and hope someone recognizes you.” With what seemed to be an innate approach, Evans asked clients how what they put on made them feel. She used different shapes of clothing to suit the unique proportion of every person she helped. As she saw people transform because of what they put on, Evans began to craft her philosophy. “Their posture would change when they felt good,” said Evans recalling her early clients. “They were at ease, and I saw a lot more smiles. I was like, ‘Wow. This is really affecting their mood.’ Now I can’t even imagine dressing anyone in anything if it doesn’t feel good, no matter how it looks.”

I ALWAYS LOVED FASHION FROM THE TIME I WAS VERY YOUNG. I HAD MY FAVORITE DRESS THAT I WOULD NEVER TAKE OFF. I ALWAYS FOUND

Evans often dressed in blacks, camels and creams. Her personal style is “extremely simple,” she said. “I kind of always wear an A-line top and a pencil skirt, or shift dress at the calf.” The ever-changing industry is evolving in support of the idea that fashion is for everyday people, every day, Evans said. Instead of the thinking that certain colors, textiles or cuts are for certain groups of people, the variety is for all sorts of sizes and types of people. Her approach, she said, works for introverts as well as extroverts. She is convinced it is a myth that outgoing people always like the bright colors and flamboyant clothes. Sometimes it’s the exact opposite. She believes we all have a little bit of introvert and extrovert in us, and that clothing which feels good will help anyone be more of themselves. Evans hopes her upcoming book will take the intimidation out of fashion and help readers identify their individual shapes to create a silhouette for their daily lives. “I think it’s for all people,” Evans said of fashion. “We should all have clothing that helps us succeed.”

SOMETHING THAT FELT GOOD AND I BOUGHT THEM IN AS MANY COLORS AS THEY HAD. As her successes grew, her reputation did, too. Her career evolved as she paired fashion and film, dressing actors and actresses in styles that supported the characterization of roles and simultaneously gave the performer confidence in the clothes. Both are important, she would find. In Bridesmaid, Rose Byrne’s character loves fashion “and uses it as a kind of armor,” said Evans, who’s admired Byrne’s abilities in other films as well. “It’s incredible to watch her support those roles … how she’s really able to embrace and portray that character.” In Trainwreck, Schumer’s character “is all over the place,” Evans said. “She questions her self-worth and where she belongs … you can almost hear the audience say, ‘do or don’t wear that.’ They want her to succeed, and they root for her because of she vulnerability the exhibits.” An actress may look the part, but if she doesn’t feel good in the clothes, she might telegraph something off character to an audience. On the other hand, if the actress feels good personally in the clothes and the style is appropriate for the character, that’s communicated to an audience, too, Evans said. The ability to use clothing as a tool isn’t limited to the film industry, the stylist believes, but is something everyone can use to accurately portray their inner self. Their best selves. Leena Kollar’s fashion sense shares similarities with Evans’ philosophy. On her website, The Style Spectrum, Kollar discusses the link between fashion and confidence. A Nashville-based fashion blogger, Kollar read an InStyle piece on Evans, who noted compliments on an outfit may have more to do with how a person is feeling in it than how it looks. “It could be because you’re exuding so much confidence,” Kollar said. “That stuck out to me.” While Evans took to the link between fashion, feeling good and fortune during her formative years, others aren’t as well-schooled in style. “We’re instructed in many things,” Evans said. “No one taught us how to get dressed to succeed in life. It’s like we should know, but we don’t.” She is willing to share her secrets. Where to start? Exactly where Evans does. While ultimately a person must spend time evaluating themselves, Evans probes for information. What was the last thing that you felt really good in? What shapes makes you feel at your best? What silhouette makes you feel the most comfortable? The most confident? Did what you described elongate the silhouette? Look for the drape in dresses, shirts and blazers, too. A square-necked top? Recreate a version of the blouse in other pieces. Recreate the silhouette – and the feel-good confidence – daily. THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

THE CONNECT MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2018

NONPROFIT

A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS:

ENTREPRENEURS LAUNCH IMPORT BUSINESS TO SHARE THE FLAVORS OF HOME WRITTEN BY: COURTENAY ROGERS, DIRECTOR, PATHWAY WBC

N 2012, MICHELLE and Mark Jones met while living abroad in South Korea and fell in love. She’s from the United States and he’s from South Africa. The relationship, which spanned cultures and continents, ultimately led to the launch of their vinegar importing company, www.stellenbergimports.com/Stellenberg Imports, a business based in Nashville, Tenn. that serves to bridge the two places. Their goal is simple: bring the flavors from the Western Cape to the United States. They’ve started with Rozendal botanical vinegars, flavors that make Mark feel very much at home in Tennessee. “When most people hear the word vinegar, they think about the white kind that stays in your pantry for years or the apple cider kind that’s the star of one diet fad or another, explained Michelle. “When I tasted really good vinegar, my world was opened to all new flavor profiles.” The grapes used in Rozenthal vinegars are harvested and pressed the same way as wine. The only difference is that vinegar is introduced to 46

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oxygen in the barrels. Adding vinegar to your food adds no additional salt, fat or sugar so it’s a great way to change flavor profiles in a healthy way. Rozendal follows the traditional French Orleans method of vinegar making, which uses a blend of red wine cultivars and activates them by using an indigenous “mother” culture originating from the farm’s first vinegar of 1988. The balsam is naturally fermented in small oak barrels, the outcome perfected by extended oak maturation over a 12-year solera system. The result is a balsamic-style vinegar; balanced in sweetness and acidity and offering a robust tonic and chef’s essential. But the real character of this vinegar range lies in the botanical infusions, carefully selected for their culinary and health-enhancing properties. Stellenberg Imports launched in the fall of 2017 with the help of education resources from Pathway Lending and Pathway WBC. Through programs offered at Pathway WBC, Michelle and Mark validated their business concept and started selling their vinegars in the Nashville THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

NONPROFIT

Farmer’s Market each weekend. If you happen to be in Nashville,Lazzaroli Pasta Shop and Italian Market in Germantown is now stocking their vinegars thanks to a friend who connected the two. Products are also available on their website and so far, the gift pack is a hit! “We are hoping for a strong holiday season since our vinegars serve as a nice alternative to a bottle of wine for a host and it’s the perfect gift for the foodies in your life, said Michelle. “ I’m even thinking of offering vinegar tasting parties as a spin on wine tasting parties because it’s so delicious!” The Fynbos (in the same family as Rooibos tea) is a bestseller here in the United States and the botanicals are indigenous to the Western Cape in South Africa. Ingredients like buchu, honeybush, rose geranium, wild olive and wild rosemary reflect the rich biodiversity of the Western Cape’s floral kingdom. These fynbos herbs delicately enhance this vinegar’s flavor and offer countless health benefits. This is the first holiday season for Stellenberg Imports and they are focused on the gift packs that are already in a gift set because it’s easy, affordable and unique. When working with their clients, recipes are often an inspiration as examples of how you can use vinegar every day. Not into cooking? Dry a spoonful of botanical vinegar over ice cream, fresh fruit or even in a cocktail. The ideas are endless and the results will amaze you!

They are also focused on expanding their online shop to make their products available to consumers 24/7. Today, online shopping is the standard, and people expect products to be readily accessible online. Business owners who recognize this are positioned to capture a slice of global e-commerce spending, which is expected to grow to US$4.88trillion by 2021, according to Statista’s retail e-commerce sales projection worldwide.

WE ARE HOPING FOR A STRONG HOLIDAY SEASON SINCE OUR VINEGARS SERVE AS A NICE ALTERNATIVE TO A BOTTLE OF WINE FOR A HOST AND IT’S THE PERFECT GIFT FOR THE FOODIES IN YOUR LIFE, I’M EVEN THINKING OF OFFERING VINEGAR TASTING PARTIES AS A SPIN ON WINE TASTING PARTIES BECAUSE IT’S SO DELICIOUS! – MICHELLE JONES

BOOST YOUR ONLINE HOLIDAY SALES WITH THESE QUICK TIPS: For online B2C companies, the holiday shopping season represents the most lucrative season of the year. As an online retailer, you’re busy trying to drive interest, increase sales, and maximize revenue. But that process needs to starts well in advance of Black Friday and the rest of the Holiday season. Here are a few quick tips for increasing your online sales during the busiest time of the year: When ramping up for the holiday season, think about your online strategy and your message. Be clear on what you are selling and who you are trying to reach. Sometimes, selling fewer products with a more defined audience can make for a less stressful holiday season. Create your email marketing strategy early, as this is the best way to drive customers to your site. Don’t forget that lots of brands are trying to sell their products during the holidays, so you need to stand out online. More people are using their smartphones and mobile devices for shopping so make sure your website is properly optimized for mobile use. Just because your products look great on a desktop doesn’t mean that translates into mobile. Take this free mobile-friendly test from Google to see how your website looks: https://search.google.com/test/ mobile-friendly THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

Establish value with your products. Explain why the user needs it and describe how it will bring joy to the person receiving it as a gift. Tell a story about your product that makes it irresistible! Make online shopping fun and easy. Consumers are looking for easy, unique and affordable gift ideas so create your own “12 Days of the Season” by offering a different special each day. Share the information via email and on your social media channels. Make sure you use high resolution and interesting images that are appealing to the eye and display your products accurately. Pay attention to already established shopping holidays like Black Friday on November 23rd, Small Business Saturday on November 24th and Cyber Monday on November 26th and offer specials for each one. There’s no need to recreate the wheel here; hop on the shopping bandwagon and be where the traffic is with your products. Say “thank you” and follow up after a purchase is complete. Customer services goes a long way, especially during the hectic holiday season. Ask your customers for an online review when the transaction is complete. Online consumers are especially savvy when it comes to doing research and they are looking at reviews before buying so it’s important that you have reviews of your products. THE CONNECT MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2018

HEALTH & WELLNESS

WRITTEN BY: LACEY JOHNSON

HE’S A BESTSELLING author, a celebrated speaker, and a hustling entrepreneur with a booming health coaching practice. Her expertise has been spotlighted on The View, The Today Show, in the pages of Cosmopolitan and People, and she has graced dozens of podcasts with her language of wisdom. Wellness is her arena, straightforward is her style, and the connection between digestive health and the intuitive hemisphere is her beloved niche—one she is most fascinated by and continues to study earnestly. In this thoughtful interview, Youkilis stands atop her most passionate soapbox to answer questions about every facet of wellness—from the most buzzed-about trends, to common misconceptions about nutrition, to the hidden trap doors of emotional eating, as well as the modes of healthy living that most often elude our attention. Continue reading for her guidance on how you can clean up your gut, turn on your intuition and create your most luminous life in the coming New Year. Living well, she promises, begins with simply dialing down the world’s chatter and tuning in to what is most true. JOHNSON: Morning routines are all the rage in the realm of wellness right now. Do you have a morning practice that has been instrumental in your most successful days? YOUKILIS: I believe taking a moment to connect with yourself is the foundation to wellness, so I do support morning routines in that sense. I always have my matcha and my power parfait, which are important rituals for me. I think it’s great if you can devote 20 or more minutes to yourself first thing every morning, whether it’s journaling or meditating, but that doesn’t always work for busy parents with young children. For my most recent book, Thin From Within, I came up with the idea of a morning minute. Not everyone has the time to spend an hour, but it’s important to begin your day connecting with yourself. A morning minute could literally look like putting your hand over your 48

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heart, taking a deep breath and saying, “Hi, Good morning. I’m here for you. I acknowledge you. I honor you. Let’s do this.” I do try to meditate every morning, but even if I’m only able to manage one minute or five minutes, I tell myself, “Look, it was valuable. It isn’t a waste because I couldn’t do a full 20 minutes. My body still got something out of it.” JOHNSON: What has surprised you in the process of supporting others along their wellness journeys—perhaps the less-obvious subtleties that you took note of and ushered into your practice? YOUKILIS: Beyond what you put into your mouth, so much of wellness is about honing in on what you want more of in your life and what you want less of in your life. It’s important to make that connection with food, yes, but also the connection with all of our life’s choices. You’ll never be happy or feel well if you continue eating food that makes you feel bad in your body, or engaging in activities that you don’t really enjoy. JOHNSON: There is so much conflicting information out there about diet and exercise; what have you found to ring the most true? YOUKILIS: I learned early on that it’s not about just eating the kale or the brown rice and doing the workouts for all of that to equal health. We’re essentially bacteria, so I’m all about fermented foods, and probiotics, and microbiome. If you have a history of antibiotics or chronic illness in your life, you may need to start with working on your microbiome. This can have a huge effect on your weight, too. This is why I incorporate a lot of gut-friendly foods into the recipes in my books. JOHNSON: Your following has grown exponentially in recent years. Was there a moment or particular season in your life when you knew that studying to become a health coach had to be your next move? YOUKILIS: My impulse to go to school was very much from my intuition. It was a hit of inspiration—a thought of, “I have to do this.” There was no big wowzer moment exactly, but more like a lot of little moments that made it clear what needed to happen next. THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Photo by Caitlin Mitchell Studios

It started after I met my now-husband and moved to Los Angeles. I began going to the Farmer’s Market and getting involved in the food scene there, which helped me understand food in a new way. Before that, food for me had been a game of, “How much can I manipulate this? Am I being good? Am I being bad? How much can I have of this?” I was working at a non-profit at the time, and one day while talking with a colleague, I was telling her about this sandwich I had made. She said, “You should check out this nutrition school.” I later enrolled, but had no idea what I was going to do with it, so I decided to just do what my instructors were telling me to do. I did the lectures, I built the website, I recruited the clients. I kept putting one foot in front of the other and, slowly, things started happening. For years, I thought everybody was doing it better than I was, but I just kept going and learning. Now, a decade later, it has morphed into my life’s passion and work. I started letting my intuition be at the heart of it, which is what led me to school, and this industry, in the first place. JOHNSON: While on the subject of intuition, in my research I came upon an interesting statement you made while promoting your first book, Go With Your Gut. You said, “Cleaning up your gut is essential so that you can live from your gut.” What is the correlation exactly, and how do we distinguish between the voice of our intuition and the noise of living? YOUKILIS: We all have an intuitive voice. It comes from the center of who we are—and I mean that energetically as well as the physical point, which is your digestive system. They are one and the same. I recommend to everyone, whether it’s regarding what they should eat for lunch or whether or not they should take a particular opportunity, to ask that place inside of you what is going to be best for you. It’s really all the same conversation, and it’s the most important conversation you can have. JOHNSON: How can one exercise that voice more often—so that it strengthens itself and increases in volume, thereby allowing one to make more intentional decisions in every aspect of their lives? YOUKILIS: The more we talk to it and the more we listen to it, the more it will be there for us. This goes for all areas of our lives—when planning meals, when choosing relationships, when choosing the right THECONNECTMAGAZINE.COM

time to make a move for something, when starting a business. Listening to your intuition is so crucial to your health. JOHNSON: Are there any personal revelations you’ve had along the way—perhaps epiphanies you’ve been smacked with in regard to your own health? YOUKILIS: One of them was the moment I realized that overeating was a way of connecting to my father who passed away when I was 17. He was a chronic overeater and a conspirator with me. We would always eat all of these unhealthy treats together, and I remember my mom hiding cookies and baked goods from him. When I became an adult, I realized I was doing the same thing. I had a sort of tie to my dad by having that unhealthy relationship with food. That really changed things for me because I gave myself permission to connect with him in other ways—ways that didn’t threaten to harm my health. JOHNSON: Do you find emotional eating to be a universal epidemic? YOUKILIS: Yes, it’s extremely common, but it’s also a powerful tool if you look at your patterns. We need to understand what our habits of emotional eating are trying to teach us. It doesn’t matter if you’re switching from greasy potato chips to organic kale chips in an effort to be healthier, you’re still using food to avoid something, and that isn’t wellness. In my coaching practice, I’ve found that when people are not doing the things that both excite them and scare them—the things they most need to be going for, it can often manifest itself through unhealthy eating patterns. JOHNSON: Beyond eating, are there any final thoughts you wish to leave with readers about how they may become better stewards of their health in the year ahead? YOUKILIS: I’m a big believer in allowing ourselves the freedom to change our minds—whether it’s about food, or exercise, or lifestyle practices, or goals—literally about everything. What worked for you two years ago may not work for you anymore, so it’s important to not get stuck in that mindset of trying to revert back to what may have worked for you before. The same thing can’t keep working if you’re growing. Don’t be afraid to shift and change. You owe that to your future self. THE CONNECT MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2018

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