Category: Featured

Peter Cranis of Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism: The Future Of Travel In The Post COVID…

Peter Cranis of Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism: The Future Of Travel In The Post COVID World

First of all, cleaning protocols will be the norm. For the foreseeable future, this will not only involve changes to properties and staff, but also changes that guests will have to make in terms of wearing masks, social distancing, getting temperature checks, and even getting onsite COVID tests.

As part of my series about “developments in the travel industry over the next five years”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Peter Cranis.

Peter Cranis grew up in Melbourne, Florida and graduated with honors from Eau Gallie High School and Brevard Community College (A.A. in Journalism). He went on to the University of Central Florida and received a B.A. with honors and an M.A. in Communications. He was an adjunct professor at UCF for 26 years, as well as being a Past Chairman of the Alumni Association, serving on the Board of Directors for 25 years.

His 30-year career began handling advertising and public relations for Church Street Station, a tourist attraction in downtown Orlando. He continued his career in PR and advertising, working with Spring Telecom, SunTrust Banks, and Kirchman Corp., a global software firm.

Deciding to follow his passion for tourism, Cranis joined the AAA National Office as Director of Marketing Communications. He then went on to become Vice President of Consumer Marketing at the Visit Orlando association for the next 16 years. In 2016, he took on the role of head of sales and marketing at the Orlando Eye (The Wheel at ICON Park), a 400-foot tall observation wheel in the heart of the Orlando tourist district.

Now, as executive director of the Space Coast Office of Tourism in Florida, the Brevard County native is doing his part to promote the Space Coast as an amazing place to live, work and play. His passion is marketing, tourism and the place he has always called home… Brevard County. He is married to his beautiful wife Melissa, a Louisiana-native and retired teacher in the Brevard County School System.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

When I was first out of college, I worked for a tourist attraction in downtown Orlando called Church Street Station in PR and advertising. It must have gotten into my blood, because after a phone company, a bank, and a software company, I knew that tourism was my passion. I changed my career path and have been happy ever since!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

I think the time that I felt what I did had the greatest impact on the community was after 9/11. I watched TV (with the rest of the world) in horror that day as events unfolded. I didn’t immediately understand the effect it was going to have on tourism because I was primarily focused on all the people who lost their lives that day. But as VP of Marketing for Visit Orlando, it was clear very quickly that things had changed. Businesses were closing and people were losing their jobs. The most important marketing campaign I have ever worked on was the one we developed in 2002 to try and bring business back to Orlando. We had to make sure the timing was right to begin marketing again while still putting out a message that resonated with people. Six months after 9/11, we came up with the tagline “Family Time, Family Place.” Everyone was stressed out and needed a break from the news; we knew that more than anything, people wanted to spend time with the ones they loved. Thanks to that campaign, we ended up being one of the first tourist cities to recover.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

This actually happened a few years ago. It was right before Halloween and I was working for a tourist attraction called the Orlando Eye — a 400-foot observation wheel much like the London Eye. We wanted to decorate the property and do it in a way that would get publicity. I came up with the idea of putting a giant spider on the roof of the building right in front of the Eye. The Eye already looked a bit like a spider’s web so it would fit perfectly. I found a 50-foot inflatable spider and contracted the company to ship it to Orlando and come install it. What I didn’t realize was that they only sent a single person to install it, and he did not bring any kind of protective equipment to keep him from falling during the job. He assured me that he had installed these types of inflatables many times, and with the help of some of our maintenance crew, we hauled the spider onto the roof and he went about getting it tethered and inflated. Of course, our regional vice president was on property that day and had sent me a picture of the guy practically hanging off the roof without any protective gear — needless to say, he was not happy. We did get the spider installed, though, and it was a big hit! We had spiders all over the property and it looked great. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the process.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”? Can you share a story about that?

Tourism and tourism marketing are constantly changing and evolving. The way people consume media these days is very different than how they used to. To thrive in this industry, I recommend always staying up on the latest trends: constantly question the status quo and learn new things. You also have to be very flexible — don’t get so stuck in your ways so much that you forget the end goals you have. And realize there are lots of ways to do things — lots of ideas that can work — so be open to ideas from others and think creatively.

For example, even only a year ago, streaming services were still a relative newcomer and cable television was still the primary way people consumed their TV. Since COVID, while people still have cable, many more have added a number of other streaming services and smart devices to their household. Everyone is still watching TV, but the way in which they access it has shifted. We have to be in that mix or we will miss our audience. The good news in this case is that advertising this way is actually much more trackable than traditional cable.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Gary Sain was an icon in the travel and tourism industry. After Bill Peeper, the founding president of Visit Orlando, retired, the Board hired Gary to lead our organization. Gary was a marketing guy and a people person. He was amazing at working with everyone in the community — everyone loved him. Sadly, he was at an event one night and started experiencing severe chest pain. He walked into the lobby of the hotel where the event was being held and passed out. He never recovered. What I learned from Gary is that this job is all about relationships. If you don’t have strong relationships in your community, it is very difficult to accomplish anything. I also learned not to take anything for granted in this life. We are only given so much time, so we should make the most it.

Thank you for that. Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers about the innovations and new initiatives that Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism is bringing to the travel and hospitality industries?

It’s difficult to discuss innovations and new initiatives without acknowledging the severe impact COVID has had on us all. In March 2020, the Governor of Florida announced a stay-at-home order and closed all vacation rentals down. Following that, the Brevard County Commission (Space Coast) issued that hotels could not accept tourists — only essential personnel. The impact was a reduction in tourist development taxes by 50% in March and 75% in April. It wasn’t until those orders were lifted as we went into the latter part of May that we began to see some business come back, but we have still been down in the 30–35% range. This has had a significant negative impact on our budget, which has dropped from about $16 million to $12 million. Of course, we have had to think differently about marketing as everyone has. Once we were able to start marketing again, we put together a summer campaign that promoted our greatest assets on the Space Coast including beaches, outdoor activities, our zoo, etc. We also made sure that in our messaging we included visuals to show potential visitors that we were proactively promoting safety while people came here with their families. Such efforts include staff wearing masks, extra cleaning protocols, and lots of hand sanitizer everywhere. With all that going on, we also began to look at how we tracked our marketing. We recently set a goal that every marketing dollar we spend should have a trackable component so we can measure Return on Investment (ROI).

Which “pain point” are you trying to address by introducing this innovation?

As mentioned, with our budget, including marketing, being severely impacted as a result of COVID, we have to find ways to make sure every dollar we spend is working for us effectively. To do this, we turned to a number of our media partners — and some new ones — to see how they could help us. We also partnered with a research firm to help us understand what our timing, messaging, and market focus should be.

How do you envision that this might disrupt the status quo?

The status quo had been that we would run an advertising campaign and simply hope that it reached the people we were targeting — and had a positive impact. That will no longer be acceptable as we move into a new era where visitation must be attributable to the marketing source.

As you know, COVID19 changed the world as we know it. Can you share 5 examples of how travel and hospitality companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers will prefer to travel?

First of all, cleaning protocols will be the norm. For the foreseeable future, this will not only involve changes to properties and staff, but also changes that guests will have to make in terms of wearing masks, social distancing, getting temperature checks, and even getting onsite COVID tests.

Second, marketing messaging will change. We are living in a new time and it calls for messaging that doesn’t ignore the current state, but rather addresses peoples’ needs in this new time.

Third, businesses will have to change the way they do business. They will need to find ways to be more profitable and cut expenses significantly. Only the strong will survive in this new environment. One example is restaurants that adapted quickly to delivery and carry-out options; these locations have had a better survival rate and now that they are able to serve people in person again, many have maintained this added source of revenue.

Fourth, destinations will have to continue to be leaders in their community by communicating clearly to their constituents and keeping businesses up to speed on what may be changing with regards to COVID and safety considerations.

Finally, the future is bright and we will all get through this together. The travel and hospitality world needs to be optimistic and look for opportunities in the future. We are a very resilient industry that has survived many hardships. It may take time, but we will thrive again.

As a leader in the travel industry, what new trends are you noticing on Florida’s Space Coast in this ever-changing COVID19 world?

Destination marketing and marketing in general is becoming much more of a science. Those that are able to embrace the digital world and figure out how to make new business models work will be most successful. But it’s important to remember that we are in a people business, too — we can’t forget our staff, our clients, our peers, our partners. We need to track everything and gain access to all the information at our fingertips, but we still need to remember that people are what make the world go ‘round.

You are a “travel insider”. How would you describe your “perfect vacation experience”?

This is by far the hardest question for me. Ironically, I tend to work all the time and have very little time to take vacations! But, that being said, I live in one of the best places for a vacation in the world. I can walk across the street from where I live and go to the beach (we have 72 miles of beach on the Space Coast), I can access the rivers and kayak or boat. I can hike and bike on the many trails we have, I can play tennis 365 days a year (except for during rainouts, which are rare), I can literally step onto the balcony of our condo and watch a rocket go up (which is happening almost weekly these days). So, while I may not take that long overseas vacation, I am an expert at the quick getaways and staycations that have become so popular.

Can you share with our readers how have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I’ve always said that whatever you do, if you find something you can be passionate about, you will be happy. My passion is leading our organization so that it benefits the community. I worked in Orlando for many years and often felt I was in a “big pond,” and I hoped that what I did made a difference. Now working in a smaller community, I know that everything our organization does to generate business will benefit the companies and people who reside here. To me, that’s bringing goodness to the world — making a place better for everyone, starting in your own backyard.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

This is actually an idea that was started a few years ago in the travel industry, but has yet to catch on. It’s one that is more prevalent internationally than here in the U.S. — the idea that people should take all of their vacation time! And yes, I include myself in this. Studies have shown that Americans leave millions of days of vacation time on the table. What would happen if they took advantage of them? People would be happier and less stressed. They would spend more time with family and loved ones, which makes for a better society. By taking these unused days, they would be stimulating the economy, and that would in turn grow businesses and create jobs. Businesses then pay taxes which gets injected into the local community. So just by people taking what is already given to them in the form of vacation time, we could see a lot of transformational good locally, nationally, and globally.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

I let our social media person do the work for me, so I always direct people to our website, www.visitspacecoast.com, as well as our Facebook (facebook.com/visitspacecoast) and Instagram (@visitspacecoast). I also do a show about tourism and write many articles for Space Coast Daily: just go to spacecoastdaily.com and search for “Tourism Talk.”

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Peter Cranis of Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism: The Future Of Travel In The Post COVID… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Caroline MacDougall of Teeccino on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help…

Women In Wellness: Caroline MacDougall of Teeccino on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

When in doubt, go with gratitude. Become a gratitude generator and you’ll find life opens itself up to you. Everyone will want to be around you too. Gratitude keeps your heart open and brings out the very best of everyone. It’s so easy to find reasons to be grateful; just make it an all-day-long practice!

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Caroline MacDougall.

Caroline MacDougall is the founder, creator, and CEO of Teeccino, America’s top selling coffee alternative. With over 30 years’ experience in the herbal products industry, Caroline has designed numerous award-winning herbal beverages for top tea and natural products companies including The Republic of Tea, Yogi Tea Company, Uncle Lee’s Tea, and Organic India. She had a compelling vision to create a delicious, bold tasting, organic brew from roasted herbs and wellness ingredients. Propelled by her own sensitivity to caffeine and acidity, Caroline designed Teeccino to provide a natural energy boost from nutrients, not stimulants like caffeine, to satisfy both coffee and tea drinkers alike.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I was fortunate that I was so passionate about health at a young age when the natural foods movement first began in the late ’60s. It was a time when hippies were devoted to selling whole grains in bulk out of big barrels. Revolutionary articles like How to Cook Brown Rice made the front page of the LA Free Press because no one had ever cooked anything other than Uncle Ben’s white rice. I took a summer job at New Age Natural Foods in Palo Alto, the first ‘big’ natural food store of the time, and ran the room where we had to keep the taxable items because cash registers couldn’t handle both non-taxed food and taxable books and vitamins. I read every book I could about how to achieve optimal health. When Mo Siegel came to the store with hand-sewn bags of tea blends with fun names like Red Zinger and Sleepytime, I got to know him and his fledgling company, Celestial Seasonings. A little while later, I became Celestial’s first sales associate on the road in a gaily painted VW bus with thunderbolts hitting teacups and roosters crowing at sunrise. From there, I began traveling for Celestial buying herbs around the world to import for our teas. At the time, only US pharmaceutical companies imported a small selection of herbs, so I had the opportunity to develop our international sources for more than 100 herbs. Celestial’s mission was to bring the health benefits of herbs to Americans where no one had ever had an herbal beverage before. I am still on that mission over 40 years later, and now with my own company, Teeccino.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

I have so many, but there is one that threads its way through my career. When I started buying herbs for Celestial, we had no database of contacts or existing relationships. I had to write letters to embassies to see if they would be able to tell me who harvested and exported herbs from their countries. On top of that, I had to travel to those foreign countries in a time when there were no credit cards, international telephone calls were prohibited, and women weren’t able to travel alone. On top of that, we had no idea how much of any herb we would need because we were a fast-growing, young company. If I over-bought, it might have had dire consequences to the fledgling company. Thus, I truly had to rely on my intuition and ingenuity by listening to my inner voice. I also learned to be discerning about who to trust and how to safely navigate a male-dominated world. Following your intuition can save you from many pitfalls, which I’ve had to learn the hard way at times. Yet success also requires balancing the intuitive side with a strong sense of determination. Risk-taking is the essence of being an entrepreneur, but knowing which risks to take and when to take them is key!

To illustrate how strongly I believe in my intuition, I created and subsequently launched Teeccino after having a dream one night. I awoke to hear myself say, “The next product I’m going to create is a caffeine-free cappuccino and the name of the product is Teeccino!”. I remember thinking at the time, “I wonder if I can get herbs to brew in an espresso machine?” It took me several months, but I managed to create Teeccino to brew in any kind of coffee maker. I’ve been following the inspiration from that dream for 25 years to I guess you could say determination certainly has played a big part in the success of my company too!

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I started my company, Teeccino, I hired many friends. It did make it fun, but in the end, I learned the importance of constructing an experienced team. I thought that I couldn’t afford the cream of the crop staff, so I made do for too long with people who weren’t as passionate about the success of the company. I’ve learned that looking at your company as a team unit and letting go of those who don’t continue to move the company forward is extremely important when finding success.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I wouldn’t have become involved with herbs if I hadn’t been inspired by reading books written by a nomadic herbalist named Juliette de Bairacli Levy. She traveled around the world studying herbal lore with native people while bringing along her children and a menagerie of animals including Afghan hounds and owls. I thought if she can live like that, so can I. I tracked her down and studied with Juliette on several islands in the Mediterranean. She deepened my love of plants, taught me how to use them in the simplest ways to improve my health, and she set me on my lifelong quest to bring delicious herbal beverages to consumers within the United States. She taught me the power of infusing herbal wellness into water. We’d go out picking herbs, bring them back to her primitive cabin and brew, taste, and discuss their many health benefits. Although I took a very different path in life by becoming a businesswoman, my love of herbs was ignited by Juliette.

Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

Teeccino’s mission from the very beginning has been to provide superior foods and beverages that support the pursuit of optimal health and to inspire and educate our customers to adopt a balanced, healthy lifestyle by avoiding stimulants like sugar and caffeine. I founded Teeccino at a time when I was working to preserve rainforests in Central America by finding non-timber forest products for North American companies that would give economic value to standing trees. Teeccino gave me a way to use such ingredients, like the ramón seed from The Maya Biosphere Reserve, which was a traditional roasted beverage of the Maya. We have created new trade by pioneering their harvest from the upper canopy ramón tree and bringing income opportunities to impoverished communities while preserving the rainforest.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

Get off of stimulants. Sugar and caffeine consumed addictively — i.e. every day — age your body and drive it towards exhaustion. Consider energy as a bank account and stimulants as putting your account into overdraft. Instead, conserve your bank account and you’ll always have plenty of energy. Ok, a little dark chocolate here and there is permissible!
When in doubt, go with gratitude. Become a gratitude generator and you’ll find life opens itself up to you. Everyone will want to be around you too. Gratitude keeps your heart open and brings out the very best of everyone. It’s so easy to find reasons to be grateful; just make it an all-day-long practice!
Allow yourself to become bored. Getting bored is the first step towards discovering what you’re passionate about and passion begets purpose. People with a sense of purpose are the healthiest. Let your mind drift when weeding your garden, doing your dishes, or hiking a trail. The act of doing repetitive things can open up your imagination. My best product inspirations come when I give myself some time to just think.
Work is love in action. It may sound impossible, but it makes a difference if you pour love into everything you do. So many people think of work as something they have to do, not something they love to do. Doing your work, no matter how menial a task, with love, affects not only the outcome but also everyone and everything around you. Attitude makes a huge difference and there’s no better way to adjust one’s attitude than to feel love.
Sleep deep and remember your dreams. I was inspired to create Teeccino in a dream and I regularly solve business problems in my dreams. If you aren’t sleeping deeply, you won’t wake up fully rested… which brings me back to caffeine. Don’t use caffeine addictively, but rather occasionally. One of the reasons is that it keeps you from going into a deep sleep where inspiration and rejuvenation can be found.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I would urge consumers to adopt a lifestyle without sugar or caffeine. If I could opt for another, it would be to move more and eat less. We need to eat far fewer calories than we consume now and we need to move daily far more than our computer-driven culture allows for. That would bring about optimal health for everyone!

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

It might take you much longer than you think to achieve your goals. I never imagined I’d still be creating new Teeccino beverages 25 years from when I started, much less that I’d still be loving doing so. So be sure to tune in to how much passion you have for what you’re about to begin to make sure it can last you for the duration of your career.
Don’t be afraid to fail, but make sure you learn from each failure. Great success is born from failure like the phoenix from the ashes of a bonfire. If you beat yourself up for failure, you may miss the opportunities that failures always bring.
Being an entrepreneur takes a lot of sacrifices. Your focus has to be on your business and thus you might miss out on some life events along the way. So be willing to focus intensely while weaving in family life and your most important friends. Let go of the rest for this era knowing that time will bring another era when you can open up again.
Risk is inherent so be ready for the entrepreneurial rollercoaster ride. Don’t let one bump throw you. There are bigger bumps guaranteed ahead. Keep your equanimity and remember that with each hurdle, you become stronger.
Hold the vision. If you want excellence along with success, you have to get very good at holding out for what you envision. Lots of people including investors along the way will try to talk you out of your vision, your values, your mission — all the things that made you start your business in the first place. Hold onto your vision and don’t let it go even when you have to pivot in your business plan to approach your goals from a different angle. Your vision will become even clearer!

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Regenerative agriculture brings me hope in this challenging time of global warming. It’s hard not to feel like the human race is heading towards extinction. Transforming our farms and ranches into producers of rich, thick topsoil that is sequestering carbon is the best way to start reversing climate change and improving our health by consuming healthy plants from mineral-rich soil teeming with microbial life.

The same goes for the ocean. Regenerative agriculture there looks like huge kelp beds and open ocean farming for all kinds of seaweed which can sequester carbon faster than even planting trees. I’m a big fan of regenerating forests too, but we need faster solutions and that comes from drawing down carbon into our soil and our ocean’s plants.

We need a revolution inside the USDA to support regenerative agriculture. By buying from farmers and ranchers who practice regenerative agriculture via cover crops and no-till planting, we can pressure big agriculture to transform from being the problem to being the solution.

Women In Wellness: Caroline MacDougall of Teeccino on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women Leaders Of Real Estate: “Why the real estate industry has the ability to affect political…

Women Leaders Of Real Estate: “Why the real estate industry has the ability to affect political change” With Karen Smith of K. Smith and Team Real Estate

The real estate industry has the ability to affect change! If you are in real estate, you are in politics. It’s the hard truth. Our politics are driven by what is best for the consumer. I’m an advocate for property rights. In some countries, women are not allowed to own property or have checking accounts without a male counterpart. We are helping to change that. We promote the importance of homeownership and the pride it brings to families. It’s the foundation for building wealth.

As a part of my series about strong women leaders of the real estate industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Karen Smith. Karen is a Realtor® in Las Vegas and the owner of K. Smith and Team Real Estate. With 20 years of experience as a paralegal, Karen is well versed in the rights of homeowners. She is Chair of the Global Business Committee and President of the FIABCI-USA Mountain States Council, which works to bring sustainable living options to people around the globe. Karen has a proven track record of working with her clients to best meet their needs.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the real estate industry?

When I was 22 years old, I was living in Ohio. I was interested in working in the world of real estate, but was told I didn’t have the ‘right personality.’ I made the decision to go into the legal field and became a paralegal. I spent more than 20 years in that profession. After my youngest child graduated from high school, I decided to move to Las Vegas. I was divorced, and my intention was to get out of the legal field and start a new career. Instead, I found myself working as a paralegal for a Fortune 500 company handling domestic and international patents & trademarks. This company felt like home, and I thought I would retire there. But, the universe had different plans. The company downsized, and I found myself without a job. A family member persuaded me to go into real estate. But because of that personality comment made to me years ago, I had hesitations. My family pointed out that I am a good liaison between the attorneys and clients, was a good listener and had great follow-up skills. I said, “But I’m not a salesperson.” Despite my concerns, I took the required classes and passed the exam the first time! Now, I am a successful Realtor® in Las Vegas, Nevada fueled 100% by word-of-mouth referrals from happy clients.

Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or take away you took out of that story?

When I first got my start in real estate I was nervous. I was transitioning from another career and knew there would be a bit of a learning curve. To my surprise, my first transaction was flawless. I kept thinking to myself, “This is a piece of cake compared to my last profession.” That was until I got to my second home sale. Things changed. I was working with a couple who wanted to purchase a home and use it as a rental property. The MLS stated the home was in “move-in condition, turn-key certified.” Since I was new to the industry and didn’t know any better, I took the word of the MLS. When we had the home inspection done, it was nowhere near move-in ready. It had a list of repairs a mile long. I was totally disappointed and so were the buyers. They were taking money out of their 401k to purchase this home and to top it off, the listing agent hadn’t provided the appropriate documents. I was so irritated I wrote an email to the agent suggesting he consider an adjustment. The agent said he would gladly refund the earnest money deposit and cancel the transaction, since the market was hot and he knew he would get another buyer within hours. In this case everything worked out, but I realized not all things written in the MLS are factual. I learned my lesson and to this day have never sold a home without physically looking at the property first.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I was recently elected FIABCI-USA Mountain States Council President. The Mountain States Council is newly formed, covering Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. FIABCI-International (Fédération Internationale des Administrateurs de Bien-Conseils Immobiliers) is the world’s leading international real estate organization, founded in Paris in 1948. FIABCI fosters global business relationships and creates opportunities for members who represent a spectrum of real estate-related professions from brokerage to architecture, design, legal and financial advisors. Since 1954, FIABCI has served in a consultative status to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations to help address serious housing and environmental issues worldwide. I plan on working in unity with FIABCI members and local professionals to enhance awareness of the need for affordable housing that is sustainable in any environment.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

The Karen Smith Team is different from other real estate groups or agents. We explain the entire process upfront, and we listen to our client’s long and short term goals. Our team provides options and scenarios for each, then lets the client decide what is best. We understand deadline dates and due dates, and we adhere to them. If we are working with a buyer, we make sure our lenders are ready to close on time or early, depending on the circumstances of the buyer and seller. We answer our phones and respond to all emails by the end of every day. We avoid doing piecemeal, if possible. Our client, the consumer, is number one.

We recently had a couple moving from Louisiana to Las Vegas. They were hoping to find a single-story home with a mountain view. I looked at several properties with them one weekend when they were in town, got to know them and figured out what they needed, all within their budget. We didn’t find the perfect home that weekend. Their request was tough to find at the time since they wanted to stay under $300,000. A month later, a home came on the market checking all their boxes. It even had a view of the strip! I immediately let them know. I was familiar with the area, and deep inside, I knew this home was the home for them. They were still in Louisiana waiting for confirmation of a job transfer. Even though I was out of town at the time, I wrote up the offer and got it accepted. The buyers were still nervous and unsure. This was the first time they were purchasing a home unseen. As soon as I got back in town, I connected with the clients, showing them the home and the surrounding area and assuring them they would not regret this decision. Shortly after, they received confirmation of a job transfer and received an offer on their home in Louisiana. Once the purchase was final, they arrived in Las Vegas to take possession and get their keys. I met them at the home, and for the first time, they physically toured it. They couldn’t believe the views and felt the home was perfect. To this day, they thank me for finding that home and rave about the views. I’ve been to their home for dinner, and we have remained dear friends.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful to who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

When I was three, my father passed away. I was raised by my grandparents, and my grandfather instilled a strong work ethic in me. I can still hear him say, “If you are going to do something, do it right,” and “Give it 100% or don’t bother doing it.” Even after he retired, he still went into work every day for a few hours to train the new guys. He believed in helping others and teaching them the skills he knew. Back in his day, he worked a full-time job, raised 5 children and ran a printing press. I will never forget the love and discipline only grandparents can provide when acting as your parent. I have so much to thank them for.

Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. The Real Estate industry, like the veterinarian, nursing and public relations fields, is a women-dominated industry. Yet despite this, less than 20 percent of senior positions in real estate companies are held by women. In your opinion or experience, what do you think is the cause of this imbalance?

Many women become part-time real estate agents as a way to supplement the family income, whereas a larger percentage of men are full-time real estate agents. Although there is an increasing number of women who become full-time agents, there is still a stigma that this is a male-dominated profession. At first, I felt intimidated when speaking with a male counterpart on a transaction, whether it was a fellow agent or client. I have come to realize, as in my legal career, I am the professional, and I know what I am doing. I am working in the best interest of my client and the consumer. Real estate is much more than buying and selling homes and signing contracts. The more involved in the industry you are the more confident you become. Women need to put themselves out there and not be afraid to take that leap of faith. Times are changing, and women are rising to the challenge. It won’t be long before more women dominate the real estate world.

What 3 things can be done by a)individuals b)companies and/or c) society to support greater gender balance going forward?

Women can become more assertive in their wants and aspirations. Just because one company said “no” doesn’t mean the next company will. Keep trying until you find the right fit for you or the “yes” you are looking for. Look to yourself for support, know that you are the only person who can truly make yourself happy and make your dreams come true. Don’t be afraid to ask for moral support or guidance.
Companies and society should be more open-minded to change. The most important quality in a person is their willingness to succeed, no matter what the age. Just because someone speaks softer, words things differently or has children, doesn’t mean they won’t be successful. Let’s face it, it’s a mindset. Once you change your view, the outcome can become beneficial for many, even people you might not have thought of.
I want people to stop underestimating the influence a woman can have. More and more women are starting support groups to help others like them rise and encourage women to keep making strides forward. The days of cattiness are over.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

A larger percentage of working women are also tasked with taking care of their children, compared to men. Many men get up, get dressed and go to work. More often, women get up, get dressed, get the kids dressed and fed and then take them to daycare or school. I know this is changing with the times. My daughter has two children. She and her husband alternate the drive to and from daycare and getting the kids prepared in the morning.

Women also face far more challenges and critiques in the workplace. A woman can say the same thing as a man and get a totally different reaction. Women are still judged on their clothing, hair, nails, makeup or lack of makeup, shoes, age and wrinkles.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Real Estate industry?

The real estate industry has the ability to affect change! If you are in real estate, you are in politics. It’s the hard truth. Our politics are driven by what is best for the consumer. I’m an advocate for property rights. In some countries, women are not allowed to own property or have checking accounts without a male counterpart. We are helping to change that. We promote the importance of homeownership and the pride it brings to families. It’s the foundation for building wealth. I am a member of the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA), National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) and The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP). I’ve been to Washington, D.C. during the legislative session. I look at real estate like “It’s a Wonderful Life”, I’m George Bailey here to help you create your own wealth through home ownership.
The ability to teach others and help raise the standards and expectations excites me. I hold myself to a high standard, and I hold those I work with to the same standard. It’s not always easy, but I believe consumers entrust us with their largest asset and in most cases, the largest purchase they will make in their lifetime. They deserve someone who is working on their behalf and guiding them through the process. No one has a crystal ball. The job is to get the buyer or the seller, whichever one you represent, the best deal you can.
Now more than ever, people have the ability to buy and sell anywhere in the world! Many times, consumers and even agents limit themselves to a specific area. Yes, we know the market we are licensed in. But in some cases, agents can help in other states and countries. I’m a Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) and a Dubai International Property Consultant (DIPC). I spend time traveling the world and meeting Realtors® in other states and countries. I visit with developers in other countries and learn about their market and their projects. I only promote properties and developers I have met with in other countries. It’s important to know you are dealing with trustworthy, reliable individuals.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

The bar to enter the real estate industry is often set too low. There are many part-time real estate agents and others who think it’s about the commission check and the number of transactions done each year. If I had the opportunity to implement reform, I would start with the education process. I went to paralegal school for 18 months. Real estate schooling should take six to nine months to complete, not two to four weeks. We are having clients sign legally binding contracts, so we should make sure we have as much knowledge about the process as possible.
Many real estate agents aren’t actively involved in their community. I would make it mandatory for them to participate in at least one committee at either the local, state or national level. It could be any committee that interests them.
Too many agents get caught up in the numbers. I want agents to understand that it’s about the quality of the transaction, not the quantity. Don’t get me wrong, we have many excellent Realtors® that go above and beyond, but there is a reason some consumers have poor impressions of our industry. I want that to change.

What advice would you give to other leaders to help their team to thrive?

It’s not the quantity of transactions, it’s the quality with which you complete each one. My business is 100% referral based. I’m successful this way because I make sure everyone I work with knows what I expect which makes for a smooth, clean transaction. It’s critical to have systems in place. A team is more than the Realtors®. Your team includes lenders, attorneys, title companies, escrow officers, home inspectors, handymen, contractors, insurance carriers and home warranty companies.

Ok, here is the main question of our interview. You are a “Real Estate Insider”. If you had to advise someone about 5 non-intuitive things one should know to succeed in the Real Estate industry, what would you say? Can you please give a story or an example for each?

Never assume everyone is doing their job in the same manner you do yours. My first deal in the world of real estate went great! No glitches, everyone did what they were supposed to, and we closed early. I thought this was great and so much easier than the legal profession. The next several transactions, not so much. That’s when I learned the importance of having my own team of people I can trust to do the job and do the job the same way I would. There are many parts to a real estate transaction, and even though the consumer doesn’t see all of them, just one person not doing their part can make a transaction go sideways.
Don’t ever judge how much money someone has by the car they drive or the clothes they wear. I learned this in the legal profession. Transitioning into real estate, it has been equally important. A home is often the biggest purchase of someone’s life, and you never know how much money they are willing to spend. You never want to insult a client who is coming to you for help.
If you are purchasing new home construction, the sales representative of the new home build represents the builder. They are there to assist you, but when all is said and done, they will do what is in the best interest of the builder. If the consumer is serious about purchasing a new build, they should always go to the new build site with their trusted Realtor®. They are there to protect and represent the buyer. When I represent a buyer on new construction, we view the home site together, and I’m there when they sign the contract. I attend the structural inspection, go to the “home center” when the client picks out upgrades and materials, view the property while it is being constructed and attend all walkthroughs. In one instance, I noticed the builder laid the wrong flooring. It was similar in color, but the quality of the flooring was a lower grade. If I weren’t at the “home center” with the client when he picked it out, it would have been his word against theirs. He was able to get a price adjustment.
Always submit the offer, even if you don’t think it will be accepted. You never know where the seller is coming from and what their priorities are. Until you see it in writing from the seller, don’t assume an offer won’t be accepted just because the listing agent or buyer’s agent says it won’t work.
Go with your gut instinct. We are taught that once we are in escrow we should do what we can to make sure the deal moves forward to closing. However, I have learned that just because an offer is accepted and escrow is opened, it doesn’t always mean it’s the right deal for your client. You do have to have legitimate reasons for canceling.

Because of your position, you are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

When I was young, I struggled to find a safe place to live with my children. My husband was in the Air Force, and when he returned home, finding an affordable place to live was difficult. My aunts and uncles allowed us to live in a home they owned, rent and utility free, until we found jobs. Shortly thereafter, we purchased the home. I learned that it is possible to get back on your feet when things are tough.

One of my dreams is to help battered women and/or struggling single women with children who are in need of a helping hand. I want to give them the opportunity to live in a home of their own for two or three months, rent free and utility free, just like I did. From there, they could start paying rent or apply for a mortgage to purchase the home. It would then be sold to them 1% under fair market value. I would love to be able to give back to those who encountered difficulties like I did and let them know that they can make it through.

How can our readers follow you online?

Feel free to reach out on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. I’d love to connect!

Thank you for your time, and your excellent insights!

Thank you!

Women Leaders Of Real Estate: “Why the real estate industry has the ability to affect political… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Brittany Bouffard: How To Develop Mindfulness During Stressful Or Uncertain Times

Take time each day to return to yourself. Intense world and national events, especially that impact you personally due to your marginalized identities, require a return to self. So often your senses will be outward and stressed while reading the news that remembering where we place our attention greatly impacts what we feel. Bring some attention back to yourself, back to your breathing, to noticing and caring for your emotions. You might notice that reaching out to someone helps lessen the separateness. Inquire with yourself about what might help and how you are doing.

As a part of my series about “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Brittany Bouffard, LCSW, CYT.

Brittany Bouffard is a psychotherapist, speaker, and trainer in private practice helping professionals and millennials realize their enoughness. Brittany has worked and consulted clinically on three continents at universities, and in community mental health and nonprofits, providing expertise on mental health, mindfulness in psychotherapy, suicide prevention, and wellness in the workplace. As an LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), Certified Yoga Teacher and meditation teacher, and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Brittany supports authentic professional clients healing from trauma, loss, childhood pains, and anxiety to live as their most whole, authentic selves. www.BrittanyBouffard.com

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

My pleasure! I started with a journalism degree hearing people’s stories. Therein I realized my empathetic nature pointed me to change the way I heard stories from reporting to psychology, which meant missing out on beloved writing and editing, but allowed me to shape my career by what I found most fulfilling: healing people’s hurt and discovering our resilience. Also, I luckily found extensive hatha yoga practice in college, which then led me to Buddhist studies and mindfulness practice. During graduate school I also became a yoga teacher, which both expanded my own yoga practice and opened up to me the world of how body-based our mental health and well-being are linked. There was a lot of listening to my early life passions and gut to steer my work toward what felt like the truest me.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

More than a decade ago when I arrived at my university post-graduate fellowship, my supervisor told me part of his interest in my application had been the mindfulness and yoga I incorporate into clinical psychotherapy work. He thought this was the next wave in the field. And he was right! That’s not just due to popularity but from the vast amounts of research in psychology and other fields the ten years prior that showed the immense effectiveness of mindfulness for everything from chronic pain to emotional wellbeing. So I suppose one of the most interesting aspects of my career has been exploring integration of mindfulness with psychotherapy and seeing the incredible outcomes my clients experience. I created a therapy group that even melds yoga with a traditional talk therapy group for various clinical concerns. Clients love it as do I! And it proves very useful in clients better understanding how their body as well as cognitive brain benefit from new coping strategies for anxiety, depression, body image, enoughness, etc.

What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?

While yes work is about the product, the design, the collaboration, or whatever the goal, in order to create a productive and healthy work environment, people must that the health and happiness of the workplace determines your final product, retention and bottom line. Happy employees make better product faster and with less days missed and fewer complaints. Get to know what your employees need: truly offer them appreciation in forms of promotions or raises or that air hockey table they want; bring in someone to teach them how to be a happier employee, to deal with the pressures and stressors. And when employees feel empowered to look at their needs at work and understand how to meet them effectively, there is more natural motivation and dedication to the outcome.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

Thich Nhat Hanh’s “Peace is Every Step” is my most beloved book of all time. It is a beautiful introduction to the big and small ways of practicing mindfulness and wisdom about coping with hard things. I always recommend it to clients. The digestible tiny chapters also offer a perfect morning ritual of reading an entry each morning while you sit and drink your tea. The key to mindfulness is often in the simplicity, and the beloved Vietnamese Zen teacher Nhat Hanh demonstrates that.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. From your experience or research, how would you define and describe the state of being mindful?

Mindfulness is being present and aware, with non-judging curiosity, to whatever is happening right now. It is the opposite of running on autopilot, where you are less keenly aware of yourself and your surroundings, your needs and others’. You could say the state of being mindful is noticing your state of being! Generally you might zoom through your day unaware of underlying emotions, hunger, stress, joy, etc, so becoming more mindful in a moment is tuning into what state you are in, as well as noticing outside of you. Being mindful is where you find choice and freedom, true self-care and attunement to self and others.

This might be intuitive to you, but it will be instructive to spell this out. Can you share with our readers a few of the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of becoming mindful?

Countless volumes of research have proven the extensive benefits of being more mindful in life, in all these categories. Studies have found improvements in sleep quality, immune system response, stress hormones, eating habits, stress coping, substance use, some stress-realted disease outcomes, and many other physical benefits with mindfulness practices. Also mindfulness is proven to strengthen compassion, attention and focus, awareness, acceptance, emotional intelligence and emotional coping, among other psychological benefits.

Many clients of mine over the years have also reported improvements in close relationship dynamics; anxiety symptoms; negative self talk or negative sense of self; unhelpful internal beliefs around pressures and expectations; coping through grief or loss; workplace interactions; etc.

Ok. Here is the main question of our discussion. The past 5 years have been filled with upheaval and political uncertainty. Many people have become anxious from the dramatic jolts of the news cycle. The fears related to the pandemic have only heightened a sense of uncertainty, anxiety, fear, and loneliness. From your experience or research what are five steps that each of us can take to develop mindfulness during such uncertain times? Can you please share a story or example for each.

1- Take time each day to return to yourself. Intense world and national events, especially that impact you personally due to your marginalized identities, require a return to self. So often your senses will be outward and stressed while reading the news that remembering where we place our attention greatly impacts what we feel. Bring some attention back to yourself, back to your breathing, to noticing and caring for your emotions. You might notice that reaching out to someone helps lessen the separateness. Inquire with yourself about what might help and how you are doing.

2- Make time for pausing. Whether you sit on a cushion each morning, or you pause while your coffee brews and just stand breathing & noticing, these are practices in mindfulness. Wait in line without pulling out your phone. Journal to check in with your emotions or stressors. All of these are opportunities to tune into yourself in the present moment, without running for a distraction or bouncing to something else out of habit. You can create real & poignant self-care when you are present enough to realize what you need and not, then to offer it to yourself. Without pauses through the day to bring attention, the benefits rarely become reality.

3- Slow down every day to take a break. Take time to feel time move, slowly. Lay on your floor between meetings, or do chores slowly and with present awareness. Carve out time especially between events or tasks to stop and sit in your chair without doing so instead be there, notice if the hours have flown by so far today and just try feeling the rise and fall of your torso from breathing. Taking a real break helps break the cycle of autopilot that can feel like living a robotic yet frenzied life.

4- Tune into your senses more. Enjoy a meal or snack and try to notice the textures, flavors, temperatures, and movements of your jaw, without the distraction of work or TV. Listen to sounds outdoors as you walk the dog. Notice physical sensation of the shower or warm socks. Most peoples’ thinking mind stays so busy during these basic moments that you miss the experiences in front of you, which, at the end of life, made up so much of your life. During pauses and slow down breaks, ask yourself what your senses take in, and really try to be present to them.

5- Get present with the pleasant. There is already much difficulty in the world. Sometimes extra dissatifaction or unhappiness comes from not being fully present to the times of pleasantness. When you aren’t aware of the good, how can you soak it in? Let your system integrate joy and pleasure and smiling by paying new attention to when things are good. Even a basic self-narration moment noting to yourself when you’re enjoying your friends or a nice walk can bring you back to the wonders of that fleeting experience and have you not miss the goodness by being in your head or planning what is next.

From your experience or research what are five steps that each of us can take to effectively offer support to those around us who are feeling anxious? Can you explain?

1- Validate that times are anxious. You might feel similar anxiety yourself or can understand at least that when the world feels in upheaval, anyone could feel anxious. Share this with your anxious other. It may or may not be helpful for them to know you also feel some worry. Be sure to keep it about them and not toss the spotlight to yourself.

2- Understand how identities affect anxiety experience. Someone you care about might hold certain intersecting identities that are under attack at any time, whether on a national scale and/or in a daily way. If a friend is speaking about anxiety from their marginalized perspective, listen and validate how particularly scary this time is. Especially if you do not share the particular identity(ies), listen without judgement or offering solutions. Explore ways to be a dependable ally.

3- Don’t minimize. Sometimes we feel uncomfortable when someone close to us is anxious. We want to fix it, make it go away for them. This can sound though to the person like their anxiety is not real if something is said like, “it will be fine,” “don’t worry about it so much,” or “you’re just anxious.” Even if the anxious thoughts are irrational or unhelpful, which they often are, be sure to show someone you are listening and apprecaite it is tough.

4- Ask what they need. The person might not know what would be helpful and just feel stuck in an anxious place. And it is not your job to fix this. Yet, some people have ideas of what would be most or least helpful. Provide the space for that person to share, letting you be a trustworthy person who will hear them and try to follow through.

5- Encourage professional support. In these times it is especially wise to seek professional help, particularly if you see your loved one’s anxiety staying very impactful for them in a daily or weekly way. Try to normalize the idea of professional help from a therapist if the person doesn’t already have one. Therapists can share wonderful coping tools for helping times be less overwhelming.

What are the best resources you would suggest for someone to learn how to be more mindful and serene in their everyday life?

Undertaking a mindfulness practice from scratch can feel confusing of exactly what to do or try. There exist countless fantastic resources if you would like guidance on how to start meditating or how to bring mindfulness into your daily life. Books, podcasts, retreats, and some apps can be wonderful teachers. Respected teachers like Tara Brach, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Jack Kornfield are my favorite recommendations and can all be found through a mix of books, podcasts, YouTube guided meditations and talks, and retreats.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

Thich Nhat Hanh wrote, “Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.” This highlights the simple, accessible beauty of mindfulness, which can be noticing a breath, a moment in time, or your smile.

Mindfulness as a personal practice, both for the simple profound experience of being present and also for increased awareness to improve way of living. This could mean increased attention to emotions, to self-talk, to substances, to food, etc. Practicing in such a way you not only notice what is but kindly invite new ways of experiencing yourself that could increase your wellbing.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

Visit me at: https://www.BrittanyBouffard.com and sign up to follow my posts tailor-written for authentic professionals and millennials.

Instagram: @AuthenticProfessionalsTherapy

Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/brittany-bouffard-denver-co/365853

(this is like therapist social media!)

Facebook: Brittany Bouffard Psychotherapy

LinkedIn: Brittany Bouffard (psychotherapist)

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

Brittany Bouffard: How To Develop Mindfulness During Stressful Or Uncertain Times was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Donna Giraud of Donna Giraud Art: “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or…

Donna Giraud of Donna Giraud Art: “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times”

Listen. Sometimes people just need to vent. It’s hard enough to be vulnerable, so try not to throw your opinions out just to hear your own voice. Offering a space to listen, without response, can have an enormous impact. It almost always allows you to gain more insight and form deeper connections.

As a part of my series about “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Donna Giraud.

Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Donna Giraud specializes in large-scale, textural abstract paintings inspired by her love of travel and the surrounding west coast water and mountains. Formally trained as a nurse, Donna discovered art as a vehicle to express messages of optimism & hope through her unique style combining texture and composition. Over the last 20 years, Donna’s work has graced the walls of residential and corporate spaces across North America, and she has collaborated with galleries in New York City and Palm Springs. Currently, Donna works out of her hometown of Vancouver, and she helps run The Space: An Art Gallery in Vancouver’s Yaletown neighborhood as part-owner.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

My name is Donna Giraud and I was born, raised and currently live in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. My first career was a collegiate level soccer player, and after graduation, I worked 14 years as a head nurse at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. In 2017, I gave up my nursing license and retired to follow my passion as an abstract painter. At my core, I am a healer and a connector, and when I figured out that I could do both of those through my abstract paintings, I had to make the transition. I have now created a thriving business where I paint my soul on canvas and transform people’s hearts and spaces. I have been given a gift of communication via a creative process, and I am so grateful that I get to live my life doing what I love most.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

One of the most interesting things that has happened to me was finding out that people were traveling to Vancouver from Australia, Los Angeles and Yellowknife (Northwest Territories, Canada) to participate in my paint classes. During each of those moments, I was overwhelmed with so much gratitude and awe. After all, I thought I was just an artist, creating paintings to make spaces and rooms more beautiful. But what I learned from those people traveling such large distances, was that my art provides so much more than a pretty aesthetic. I realized that I have the ability to create beautiful art that also has the power to move, inspire, motivate and influence people.

What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?

Creating a fantastic work culture has never been more important. Finally, people are beginning to realize that — when people feel safe and inspired — their potential is unimaginable. I feel the best way to create a culture like that starts with modeling the behaviors and attitudes you expect to see in your working environment. Why would someone feel inspired to do their best for someone or a company that doesn’t walk the walk? Secondly, have fun. I try and create a space with laughter and positivity wherever I go. Life is serious enough as it is, and we spend a lot of time at work. If you can create an environment where people feel their opinions and thoughts matter, while having a laugh at the same time, I think you will get the best out of your team.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

I am in love with the book, How to Be an Artist by Jerry Saltz. It’s a rather simple book, but he just tells it like it is. Artists typically find a lot to complain about and can get caught up in their own heads when it comes to their work. Jerry’s book provides these perfect little truths that, if listened to, can make life a whole lot easier. We can’t dwell on the past, and we shouldn’t stress about the future. According to Jerry, just do the work, and the rest will follow.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. From your experience or research, how would you define and describe the state of being mindful?

Mindfulness is being intentional with your thoughts and living in a place of acceptance. It’s a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgment, and it’s about not focusing on the things we cannot change or worrying about the future. It’s not being overly reactive, but rather compassionate with yourself. Ultimately, it’s an ongoing endeavor that takes an enormous amount of practice.

This might be intuitive to you, but it will be instructive to spell this out. Can you share with our readers a few of the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of becoming mindful?

The greatest reward of becoming mindful is that it can directly affect your physical, mental and emotional well-being. When you take the time to be intentional with your thoughts or actions, the results can be quite calming. Stress no longer sits as heavily. When you find yourself aware that you only have this exact moment in time, your head becomes less full of past or future worries and nothing seems so insurmountable. When you take the time to be less reactive, your heart opens up and you are able to connect on a deeper level. All of this is only intuitive to me now because I have been practicing mindfulness for a long time. I am not perfect. It takes a lot of work, and I make mistakes all the time. All that matters is that you try. It becomes easier the more you practice, and the benefits are amazing.

Stop watching all the poorly sourced social media and news. It is so easy to get caught up in the social media & news circus. It’s essential to remain informed, but we can’t believe everything we hear just because someone shared a link on Facebook. I tend not to watch the news because it hurts my heart so much to see all the negativity in the world. When the pandemic happened, I was glued to the TV just like anyone else. I cried every day. I worried every day. I felt hopeless every day. Until I made a conscious decision and stopped watching all the news. I kept myself up to date with the important details, but as soon as I decided not to fill my head with all the opinions, my anxiety and fears dramatically decreased.
Practice kindness. I have witnessed so many beautiful moments over the last six months, moments where communities and families came together with simple, kind gestures. On March 18th, one of our neighbors and I started banging pots at 7pm. 72 days later, we had the entire block participating, and it became my favorite part of the day. Not only were we saluting my husband (who is a doctor) and all the incredible healthcare workers that were sacrificing their safety, but we were creating a sense of community and togetherness that I will remember for the rest of my life.
Be hopeful. If you are constantly thinking about the worst, the emotions that come with that are not going to be happy and uplifting. If you practice an optimistic mindset that things will work out and that you have a part in that process, your road through that period of anxiety will appear much more surmountable. Recently, I created a solo art exhibition titled “Together is Always Better.” I created eight new pieces of art representing all the beautiful moments I witnessed around the world during quarantine, with the intention of emphasizing this hope. We are so much better when we do things together, and we can accomplish so much more if we combine our areas of expertise. I wanted this art show to inspire and instill hope — hope that we will get through this unprecedented time and that we are capable of so much more if we do it together.
Surround yourself with people that uplift you and make you a better person. When you have a team of people that believe in you and support you, you are much less likely to focus on fear or anxiety. The fact that we were forced to stay home and quarantine from all of our people seemed like the worst thing that could ever happen. As it turns out, absence does make the heart grow fonder. I witnessed overwhelming efforts of families, friends and communities, and I think I felt more connected than I ever have. A lot of us take the people in our lives for granted, but quarantine helped us refocus on what’s truly important.
Breathe. Just breathe. The simple act of breathing can have an enormous impact. When we pay attention to our breath, it has the power to bring us back into the present moment, where we can then refocus and find calm.

From your experience or research what are five steps that each of us can take to effectively offer support to those around us who are feeling anxious? Can you explain?

Listen. Sometimes people just need to vent. It’s hard enough to be vulnerable, so try not to throw your opinions out just to hear your own voice. Offering a space to listen, without response, can have an enormous impact. It almost always allows you to gain more insight and form deeper connections.
Don’t judge. Everyone deals with anxiety differently. Try to understand their side and take a curious approach. You never know, you actually might learn something new.
Share. Oftentimes we think we are alone, but when we share, we find others who are feeling the same way. There is a power in numbers and commonality, so don’t be afraid to share your story.
Ask the person how they prefer to have you involved. What helps you feel less anxious might not work for them. Be clear that you are there for them and that you respect their process.
Be patient.

What are the best resources you would suggest for someone to learn how to be more mindful and serene in their everyday life?

There are so many apps, blogs, websites, books, etc. that teach the practice of mindfulness. Not everything is going to resonate the same way for everyone, but I really like these:

Spotify’s “Meditative State of Mind” playlist. It’s hours of beautiful calming music that I listen to before going to sleep every night.
The book Personality Types. Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery by Don Richards Riso with Russ Hudson. Only once I started learning about myself and the psychology behind my behaviors, did I have the capacity to be more open and less judgmental of others.
Anything yoga. Do it! It’s seriously magic.
Walking in nature. Trees, mountains, water, etc. know exactly how to put you in a state of awe. When you are in awe, you can’t help but be present and mindful.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

“Sometimes people come into our lives and go quickly. Other move our soul to dance. They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom and make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. Some people stay in our lives for a while, leave footprints on our hearts and we are never ever the same.” Flavia Weedn

If you are mindful about being open to people and avoiding quick judgments, you are often rewarded with the right people coming into your life. It’s about truly seeing a person for all that they have to offer. Sometimes when you remain open, the perfect person shows up. A perfect example of this is my husband. He walked into my life, and I have never been the same. He has provided unwavering support as I’ve discovered my passion through art, transitioning from a career as a nurse. I can honestly say if it weren’t for him, I may have never made the terrifying choice to leave my previous career in pursuit of building my art empire.

If I could start a movement, it would be a movement of kindness. There is no greater power than kindness. A smile, an unsolicited compliment, holding a door open — the ripple effect is intoxicating, and it can influence the trajectory of our collective energy in enormous ways. My daily life is a mini movement focused around kindness, and I hope that my efforts will rub off on anyone who comes in contact with me, encouraging them to live the same way.

Donna Giraud of Donna Giraud Art: “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Dr Olivia Audrey: “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times”

I think it’s easy to become overwhelmed when we think we have to solve everything all at once or we have to understand the full depth of a situation immediately. The greatest strength can come from understanding that this is just a moment and there will be a next moment after that after that and after that and all we need to focus on is this one.

Asa part of my series about “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Olivia Audrey.

Author, Speaker, & Celebrity Dr; Dr Olivia Audrey ND,BCND. Olivia has been featured on Parade, Vogue, Ladders, Good Morning La La Land, Celebrity Parents Mag, and more. She currently has co-authored a book with the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson. Dr. Liv is a board-certified Naturopathic Medical Doctor who has an exquisite and current clientele database from British Royals, Celebrities, Sports Stars, and Fortune 500 business owners/executives seeking her intuitive health & spirit guidance. She also teaches wellness seminars & strategic advising to such prominent companies such as: Alexander McQueen, Neiman Marcus, La Mer, Jo Malone, Nordstrom, and more. Dr. Liv’s podcast, “Liv Better Now” is on LA Talk Radio which has a listenership of over 3mill. The show is about empowering modern women to identify and uncover their own personal spark of creativity and inspiration to reinvent themselves at any age and stage of life. The show airs Wednesdays 12pm PT/ 3pm ET Live, and accepts callers. . Dr. Liv is an Expert In: Holistic Health, Immune System, Gut Health, Cancers, Lyme, Diabetes, EV, and other Auto-Immune & Inflammatory Diseases, Nutrition/Wellness, Natural Supplements / Diet Meditation, Holistic Beauty, Female Empowerment ,Spirituality, Fitness, Healthy Eating, Joy based living, Mental wellness.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

My story is anything but typical! Since as long as I can remember, I have had this ability to understand and perceive information about an individual and their energy that has led me on a path that I never could have scripted!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

I’ve had many over the years, but when I reflect back on my early days starting I had no idea that things would evolve into what it is now. I remember when I first met Oprah, at a charity event! I wanted to see her so badly, but I didn’t have access to the VIP section. Even though I was disappointed I was so happy to be there, in the moment. I got in line for dinner because hey, a girls gotta eat, and after a few moments I realized that I was in the reception line to meet her! We exchanged a few moments and just being in her presence was incredible! For me it was such a strong example of how when you have a wish, the universe really listens to it!

What advice would you suggest to your colleagues in your industry to thrive and avoid burnout?

Always keep reassessing. That’s true for boundaries, relationships, work load, anything. Listen to the cues your body gives you about what feels right, or too much or what feels aligned.

What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?

Perception really is key, especially when it comes to your work. Whether you work alone or in a group of people, it’s not necessarily what you’re doing but how you feel about what you’re doing. Make sure you invite passion into anything you can and invite others to do the same.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

The Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo was utterly transformative in my life because it really outlines the power of a dream, and following where you are led by your heart. Years after reading that book I was on holiday in Spain and realized I was standing in the exact spot that the book began. It was one of the most moving moments of my life seeing everything come full

Circle.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. Many people have become anxious just from the dramatic jolts of the news cycle. The fears related to the coronavirus pandemic have only heightened a sense of uncertainty, fear, and loneliness. From your experience or research what are five steps that each of us can take to develop serenity during such uncertain times? Can you please share a story or example for each.

Be present-

I think it’s easy to become overwhelmed when we think we have to solve everything all at once or we have to understand the full depth of a situation immediately. The greatest strength can come from understanding that this is just a moment and there will be a next moment after that after that and after that and all we need to focus on is this one.

Be grateful-

As hard as it may be to understand in the moment every experience that comes into our life is ultimately leading us towards a higher and better evolution of self and experience. It may be difficult to discern that in the moment but it’s also really important to remember that gratitude begets more things to be grateful for meaning when you practice the vibration of gratitude it emits a frequency that attracts things that you want to experience.

Take alone time-

Often times we don’t allow ourselves enough space to fully decompress we are constantly plugged into the news the media social situations and so forth. When we concentrate on ourselves and our own energy it allows everything unnecessary to filter out and gives us an opportunity to reconnect to our own thoughts and energy without the white noise of the outside world.

Immerse yourself in nature-

The healing benefits of nature are far more than just aesthetic or energetic. There is extensive research that breathing fresh air absorbing vitamin D from sunlight and experiencing the calm of the natural world have massive effects on our subconscious as well as are sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system‘s. There’s an amazing biological relationship between time spent in nature and the regulation of our bodies sleep cycles as well.

Reassess your diet-

Usually we don’t give enough credit to the fact that the things we consume can consume us. If there are certain elements of your diet that contain highly processed chemical additives you may want to consider eliminating them as these things are not only ill-equipped to provide the body with the nutrition that it needs but also maybe creating anxiety and stress from an adrenal perspective as well. Consider adding in Whole Foods and vegetables in place of processed foods and prepackaged materials.

From your experience or research what are five steps that each of us can take to effectively offer support to those around us who are feeling anxious? Can you explain?

The most important step that anyone can take is to validate that it is a real fear for that individual or for yourself and once it has been named spoken about and validated allow yourself or the person you are trying to support to find ways to bring themselves back to the present moment in order to work themselves out of that fear lots of times discussing what the fear actually is and boiling it down to bass emotions such as fear of rejection, loss of control, can help alleviate and identify where that fear is originating from.

What are the best resources you would suggest to a person who is feeling anxious?

Meditation is an excellent tool for not only managing anxiousness but also to incorporate into your life as a whole. Starting your day with meditation or mindfulness is an incredibly transformative tool that I would encourage anyone to implement into their daily routine.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

My favorite quote is“ If it’s good it’s great, if it’s bad it’s experience.” This has helped me put so many things in perspective that have occurred in my life as well as continuously keeps me wide open to the beauty authenticity and gratitude that I have for the things that are working in the way I want them to in my life.

I would encourage anyone and everyone to begin an honest and open conversation with themselves with their body and with her soul. I think often in our world we are so overstimulated that we are reaching for external distractions instead of turning our intention in word and getting first acquainted with who we are and how we change as an identity as a result of the events that have unfolded in our life continuously spending even a small amount of time with yourself and learning about your likes dislikes and what stirs passion in you as a person is completely in valuable and it’s also the first step in the self-worth process

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

I have an upcoming book that will be released in spring of 2021 as well as an ongoing life podcast called LivBetter on LA talk radio every Wednesday @12 pst.

My Instagram often features inspirational quotes diet tips and real life adventures is: @theoliviaaudrey

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

Dr Olivia Audrey: “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Dr. Rafi Hofstein of Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners: “They Told Me It Was Impossible And…

Dr. Rafi Hofstein of Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners: “They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway”

Make sure that the underlying hypothesis is evidence based. Many years ago I assisted in the development of a blood test for psychiatric disorders. The preclinical data were not powerful enough and yet we went ahead with human trials. We failed!

As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Rafi Hofstein.

Dr. Hofstein came to Toronto from Israel in 2009 to assume the position of President & CEO of a newly formed organization called MaRS Innovation, recently renamed Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners (TIAP). At this position, Dr. Hofstein led the creation of more than fifty start-up companies primarily in the healthcare space. Among the companies of primary note are Triphase, Fibrocor and Notch Therapeutics in which Dr. Hofstein has been a co-founder and a director. In addition, Dr. Hofstein is a member of the Board of Directors of several not-for-profit organizations in Quebec and Ontario.

Prior to coming to Canada, Dr. Hofstein served as the President & CEO of Hadasit (the technology transfer company of Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem) and the chairman of Hadasit Bio-Holdings Ltd, a holding company listed on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange. One of the companies Dr. Hofstein co-founded and serves as a board director is BiolineRx, an Israeli biotech company listed on NASDAQ.

Dr. Hofstein received his Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute of Science (Rehovot, Israel) and his postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Hofstein also had a long tenure in the IDF and retired as a colonel after serving in the reserve troops for more than twenty years.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?

It was 2008 when our 26-year old daughter was diagnosed with stage 4, Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Doctors tried everything but failed and she rapidly deteriorated and passed away. It was during the eight months of sitting at her bedside, feeling useless and frustrated, that I decided to redirect my career and focus on developing medical treatments that would rescue the lives of other young people.

I accepted a job to create and lead the efforts at Hadasit, the technology transfer center at Hadassah Medical Center, the leading research hospital in Israel.

For ten years, I helped to transform lab discoveries into companies. It was also during this time that we broke ground and opened a new building to house all of these budding young companies as well as list Hadasit on the Tel Aviv Stock exchange. Then, out of the blue one day, I received a call from Toronto asking me to come and duplicate what I had successfully achieved at Hadassah, for a consortium of universities and hospitals in Toronto, Canada.

I accepted the challenge, moved to Toronto and enjoyed a wonderful decade assisting the Canadian community heading up MaRS Innovation, aka TIAP.

Among the various things I was involved in and am proud of is being able to share my decades of experience in technology transfer to benefit organizations around the world. For example, from 2016–2020, my team in Canada trained teams in Seoul, South Korea on best practices of advancing the outcome of healthcare related research into promising medical treatment. The model established in South Korea, is currently being emulated by The University of West Indies, Jamaica. I find it very exciting and fulfilling that our technology transfer model is not only catching on and but also, and more importantly, helping scientists worldwide to more methodically and efficiently advance their medical discoveries into practice.

Allow me to elaborate: our model of operation stands out from the rest by virtue of our unique approach to vetting and advancing technologies and products from an infancy stage, even before the prototype, when it’s still simply an idea. Moving an idea at such an early stage up the value chain, requires a tremendous amount of creativity and courage. These are the qualities inherent in my various teams, from Jerusalem to Toronto to Seoul, and it has been a privilege to work with them.

This brings us to today. After a successful tenure, I recently passed the baton at TIAP and am now pursuing other initiatives.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I am working on three types of exciting, medical-oriented projects, all with the goal of helping scientists to ultimately find cures for previously untreatable diseases and help patients to survive and gain a better quality of life.

I am currently working on a new initiative that connects Israeli innovation with partners in North America.

I am also an active director on the board of several biotech companies. These include BiolineRx, Notch Therapeutics and Fibrocor Therapeutics.

Thirdly, I am a volunteer board member of several not-for-profit, healthcare-oriented, Canadian organizations. In this capacity, there is an opportunity to share my decades of experience to benefit the next generation of scientists and decision makers. Each generation furthers the next. It is a joy to share my learnings to give the next generation a bit of a head start.

In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?

It’s more about having created a working model than about any particular company or organization. We asked ourselves: how can we accelerate the process of mobilizing great ideas from academic research (aka “ideation”) to a more advanced stage of technology and product development? The key driving impetus is, that in healthcare research, time is of the essence. The faster we get innovative solutions in the hands of clinicians, the faster it is offered to patients whose lives are dependent on it.

The classical approach for technology transfer, which essentially relies on the out licensing of intellectual property, is a broken, anachronistic paradigm. Conversely, creating companies as a business platform for accelerated advancement of technologies has proven to be a much more effective alternative. This is the school of thought in which I am a pioneer. I have created over fifty startup companies. Some made it, others didn’t, which is a natural. Those that have made it are growing nicely and eventually will show return on investment.

Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?

All along I have encountered naysayers and skeptics. Twenty years ago, it was quite revolutionary to build a portfolio of startups under the umbrella of a technology transfer office. I did it first at Hadasit starting in 2000 and at TIAP during the last decade. I heard everything from “why do you think an academic institute should be actively involved in something like this?” to statements about capability to identify the right talent to come and manage these infant companies, as well as strong skepticism that we would ever be able to raise even seed funds.

The way I overcame the massive layer of skepticism was by focusing on getting things done. Then, after several demonstrable successes, accompanied by proof that we knew how to mitigate potential risks, the support from the stakeholders finally came.

An example: together with one of the member institutions we created a partnership focusing on innovative approaches in oncology. That partnership led to the foundation of a company called Triphase. Soon thereafter, we started the search for a transformational new treatment for cancer and for significant funding. Both came along by virtue of a very unique partnership with Celgene (now part of Bristol Myers Squibb). With very significant financial support from Celgene we started the development of a new drug for the treatment of glioblastoma (brain tumors). The development process has since transferred to Celgene, which is now conducting the phase III clinical trial. This was declared by our stakeholders as a major success and dropped all walls of skepticism.

In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong?

Well, after twenty years of demonstrable success, not only were the naysayers silent, many of them became proponents and have adopted a similar approach to the acceleration process. Namely, it has become common practice for many academic institutions to be actively involved in company creation.

Mary Jo Hadad clearly stands out. At the time, she was President and CEO of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and the inaugural chairman of the Board of Directors at MaRS Innovation. I came from Israel in 2009 and needed to quickly adjust my temperament to the Canadian style. Mary Jo coached me in a very gentle and elegant way how to captain the ship without threatening my peers and clients.

It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers.

While I was getting ready to take Hadasit public on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange as Hadasit BioHolding, an individual, who was prominent in Israel’s economy and involved in the commercialization affairs of a leading Israeli academic institute, shared his skepticism with me about the move. This person argued that an academic institute had no place on a stock exchange and predicted that it would fail. A year later, this person did something similar.

Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?

While growing up, at the age of 6, I got sick and was diagnosed with rheumatic fever. As imaging technologies evolved, it became clear that the disease left me with a damaged heart valve. Everybody, including physicians, family and friends recommended, as a safety precaution, to adopt a lifestyle of total protection, almost like being surrounded by cotton wool. My response: not happening! From then on I ran a normal life including Israel Defense Force military service in a combat unit. I kept reminding myself that I had a murmuring heart. But from this, evolved a great sense of resiliency.

Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible?

1. Make sure that the underlying hypothesis is evidence based. Many years ago I assisted in the development of a blood test for psychiatric disorders. The preclinical data were not powerful enough and yet we went ahead with human trials. We failed!

2. Spend enough time to ensure that there is a need for the resulting product (in pharma jargon: UMN). In Triphase we developed a druggable molecule called Merizumib and assumed that it should target multiple myeloma. Celgene, our partner at the time, felt that this particular molecule should be developed for glioblastoma. It is now in a phase III trial for glioblastoma being managed by Bristol Myers Squibb.

3. Make sure that there is a solid coalition of key opinion leaders (KOLs) ready to confirm the legitimacy and probability of success. One of our companies, Encycle, focused on GI tract disorders and relied on a leading Canadian scientist as an advisor. The company was successfully acquired recently and the first thing the acquirer did was to contact the scientist to get his opinion. With his blessing the transaction was successful.

4. Make sure that there is sufficient capital to support the development; assume that troubleshooting is required along the journey which adds to the cost. I can share many stories of great ideas that went nowhere due to the lack of sufficient capital at the seed-stage, which prevented the safe crossing of the infamous “valley of death” (aka chasm) of drug development.

5. Make sure to recruit highly skilled and well-trained teams to ensure professionalism throughout the process. Founding scientists are very protective of their ‘baby’ and it has been an everlasting struggle to explain to them that, although that ‘baby’ and the full credit remains theirs, the upbringing requires another skillset. I can state with full conviction that in all cases where we ‘were allowed’ to recruit well-trained teams and management, the ‘baby’ reached maturity and the idea turned into a useful product.

And a concluding thought here: Be passionate about reaching your goals, remain humble, and always strive for total equality.

What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?

“Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today.” (Ernest Hemingway- For Whom the Bell Tolls)

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I’d love to inspire Speedy Road from Bench to Bedside (SRBB). As you know from the first question, this is personal.

Can our readers follow you on social media? Of course. You can find me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafi-hofstein-8195b521

Everybody is invited to reach me on LinkedIn.

Dr. Rafi Hofstein of Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners: “They Told Me It Was Impossible And… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Jennifer Grace: “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times”

Do Random Acts of Kindness. A new study from the University of Hong Kong shows random acts of kindness can help boost your mood. Send an Instagram or Facebook message, a genuine compliment, to three people right now. Cook a meal or do a load of laundry for a friend who is going through a difficult time. Give someone something personal of yours that you think they’d like that you are not using anymore.

As a part of my series about the things we can do to develop serenity and support each other during anxious times, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mindset Coach and Happiness Expert, Jennifer Grace.

Jennifer Grace is a Mindset Coach and Happiness Expert, who teaches her clients how to use mindfulness and emotional intelligence to overcome obstacles, cultivate their vision and transform their lives. She uses the “CIJ Clarity Catalyst” based on the famed Stanford University Master’s Degree Course “Creativity in Business” to empower people with practical and proven techniques to take their personal and professional lives to the next level.

As a world-renowned coach, Ted X Speaker and Hay House Published Author (Directing Your Destiny) Jennifer works with corporations including Prada, Facebook, Turner, HCI, Whycode, and Entrepreneur Organization.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

I was at a crossroads in my life after leaving my work as a SAG actress and my marriage of 7 years. For two years I desperately tried to “find my purpose.” I started 6 companies, made 6 logos, 6 websites, and ultimately had 6 failures. I was trying to please everyone around me and do too many things at once. When the alimony settlement ran out and the start-up companies never reached their finish, I reached out to my mom who suggested I take a coaching course. This 8-week life changing course was first taught at Stanford University by Dr. Michael Ray and taken out of the classroom and into the world in 2002. Jim Collins, one of the world’s leading authorities on personal development, called it “the most profoundly life changing course taught at the Stanford Graduate School.”

During my own Journey as a student taking the 8-week curriculum I realized that this was my purpose, to get certified to teach this course, and bring it to students in South Florida.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

I am always a firm believer that failure is not an option. That if you do not reach your goal on the first, third, or tenth try, you brush yourself off and try again. When I first submitted my book to Hay House to become published by them, they rejected me. Most would give up and go home. I was committed and clear that I wanted Hay House to be my publisher. I went back and asked lots of people in the literary world to look at my book proposal to see where I could improve it…they all told me the same thing: The proposal was great, but I needed a bigger platform. So, I hit my FB and Twitter, got my numbers up, and I even got myself booked on a National Television show talking about the book I had written. I re submitted my book proposal to Hay House and they said YES! Next thing I knew, they gave me a Radio Show and my time slot was in between Ester Hicks and Wayne Dyer…my career skyrocketed. Moral of the story..dare to suck, fail, and fall on your face…eventually it will lead you to greatness.

What advice would you suggest to your colleagues in your industry to thrive and avoid burnout?

To have a daily practice of mindfulness, meditation, and reflective writing…or at least 30 minutes a day of quiet “me time”.

What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?

To communicate compassionately with one another. To not blame, shame, and criticize. To “take it to the source”. If you have an issue with someone, let them know how you feel…not everyone else at work.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer — in one of the last chapters he speaks about the quickest path to enlightenment is that no matter what your circumstance is…that you could still be happy. I remember a really hard time that I had with my son when he turned 15, with hormones raging he began to take all of his anger and frustration about being a teenager out on me. It got so bad that we had him go live with his dad. When he left, I thought I would die without my kid. Reading Michael’s book had me realize that even in the worst of times…we could still choose to be happy. Although I felt tremendous sadness and I missed my son, I would still focus on the things that I did have in my life that brought me joy. Within six months he came back home and we have never been closer. This book was lifesaving for me during this time.

From your experience or research what are five steps that each of us can take to effectively offer support to those around us who are feeling anxious? Can you explain?

Step #1 Create a Joy Jar. Write out 10–20 things that bring you joy on small pieces of paper, fold them up and put them in a mason jar. Decorate it with fun stickers. Anytime you are feeling sad or lonely, pick out one from the joy jar, and just do it. Some ideas could be: Create a playlist of uplifting songs to rock out to, call up a friend who always makes you smile, snuggle with your pet, watch a funny movie with someone you love, and many more activities that are simple, and best of all, FREE. Studies have shown activities like these activate dopamine and endorphins in the brain, which make you happier.

More on the science behind this Happiness Hack:

How and Why Positive Activities Can Make You Happier – Behavioral Scientist

Step #2 Set Your Alarm for “Worry Time” If you want to keep worrying at bay, you can schedule “Worry Time” as an appointment on your phone for 8pm every night. All day long, when a worry arises, you simply say to yourself, “I’ll set that aside for worry time.” Then, replace the worry with one thing that you are grateful for in the here and now. At 8pm, when the “Worry TIme” alarm goes off, you have 30 minutes to worry. What usually happens is, you begin to laugh at the absurdity of sitting down to specifically worry. Eventually, you will have saved yourself an entire day of anxiety! Research shows shifting your thoughts from worry to gratitude boosts serotonin levels in the brain, which can make you happier.

More on the science behind this Happiness Hack:

How Gratitude Shapes Your Brain – Dr. Alex Korb

Step #3 Do Random Acts of Kindness. A new study from the University of Hong Kong shows random acts of kindness can help boost your mood. Send an Instagram or Facebook message, a genuine compliment, to three people right now. Cook a meal or do a load of laundry for a friend who is going through a difficult time. Give someone something personal of yours that you think they’d like that you are not using anymore.

More on the science behind this Happiness Hack:

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2020/09/doing-good-boosts-health

Step #4 Get Out Into Nature: Nature has an amazing way of balancing us and helping us appreciating the simple things in life… like sunsets. Studies have shown that people who live near larger areas of green space reported less stress and showed greater declines in cortisol levels over the course of the day. A great practice is to go on a 15-minute mindfulness walk either in your neighborhood, the park, or by a body of water…but before you leave… pick one color, like yellow, orange, or purple. Do not bring your phone! And for 15 minutes during your “Mindful Color Walk” simply look for that color! Anytime thoughts of future or past come in, let them go and come back to looking for your color! The present moment is where peace and happiness live!

More on the science behind this Happiness Hack:

NCBI – WWW Error Blocked Diagnostic

Step # 5 Do Something Creative: As we grow older many adults no longer identify with being “creative” and declare that their finger-painting days are over! Yet, creativity can help lower stress and anxiety and give you a sense of purpose, researchers say. … According to a recent study out of New Zealand, engaging in creative activities contributes to an “upward spiral” of positive emotions, psychological well-being and feelings of “flourishing” in life. So, grab that iPhone and go take some black and white photos, or write a poem to your partner, or go to the beach with your kids and make an epic sandcastle!

More on the science behind this Happiness Hack:

Creative activities promote day-to-day wellbeing

What are the best resources you would suggest to a person who is feeling anxious?

Meditation has been shown to lower cortisol levels and raise serotonin the happy hormone. Talk to a friend, not so much for advice but to work out your anxiety out loud. Get a coach or a therapist.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

“If you decide that you’re going to be happy from now on for the rest of your life, you will not only be happy, you will become enlightened. Unconditional happiness is the highest technique there is. This is truly a spiritual path, and it is as direct and sure a path to Awakening as could possibly exist.” — Michael A. Singer

*** The story above about me and my son relates to this.

That Mindfulness is considered just as important as Math in our school systems. Which is why I did a Ted X talk about this very topic.

<a href="https://medium.com/media/15396896756c66f4c997916c227e536c/href">https://medium.com/media/15396896756c66f4c997916c227e536c/href</a>

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

www.jennifergrace.com on Instagram @theJenniferGrace

GIFT For the Readers: How to Overcome Anxiety Toolkit and a Meditation for Insomnia: www.jennifergrace.com/mygift

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

Jennifer Grace: “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Chetna Mehta of Mosaic Eye: “How To Develop Mindfulness During Stressful Or Uncertain Times”

Share more loving content — share humorous videos, inspiring stories and positive news more than you share the fear-inducing, anxiety-provoking news. Whether it’s on your social media or group texts, what you put out there matters and impacts people.

As a part of my series about “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chetna Mehta of Mosaic Eye.

Chetna Mehta is a mixed-media artist, wellness consultant, and the creator of Mosaic Eye, a platform that cultivates creative self-realization and embodied interconnection. Chetna harnesses the power of art and advocacy to foster compassion, intentional living, and radical self-reflection. Her work is centered at the intersection of healing arts, spirituality by way of ancient mysticism and mindfulness, and psychological education.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

I started my career in corporate human resources. My first role was to schedule 100+ interviews a week, which required a great amount of focus, detail-orientation and organization.

After three months on the job, I inherited the responsibilities of helping our executives and engineers relocate from around the country, and to be the liaison between our immigration attorneys and the company so as to get our foreign national employees’ visas set for their employment. This was a delight for me; to get to learn more about our employees and their families, to work closely with folks from India, China, Spain, Canada and many other places as the company grew. I had to be incredibly informed on policy and to educate managers regularly. I also had to fine-tune my compassionate and reassuring nature as I worked with new hires while they were in the midst of big life transitions.

I eventually grew into a manager role and took on training, mentorship and new hire orientation at headquarters. All of these responsibilities invoked in me a strong desire to expand my wisdom and skills in leadership, education and transformation.

After a life-altering experience which I can share more of later, I decided to leave my corporate job to travel and teach English in India and Colombia. This, as all of my travels have, opened my mind and heart dramatically to making peace with difference, to finding comfort with the unknown, and to thrive even in a new culture or context.

I eventually returned to school to get a Master’s in Counseling Psychology. Grad school was incredibly difficult for me as it nebulized my reasons for wanting to be a therapist to begin with: to apply my leadership, compassion, creativity, spirituality and desire for deep transformation in improving holistic wellness among my South Asian and BIPOC communities. The white supremist nature of the mental health field (culturally-inconsiderate diagnoses, largely de-humanizing to diverse and non-white populations, a lack of emphasis on creativity and spirituality in holistic mental/emotional health counseling) ultimately deterred me from pursuing licensure within the system.

Instead, I started my private practice as a mixed media artist, facilitator of healing and creative entrepreneur; offering therapeutic work one on one with clients and in community group workshops. Three years later, I’m blessed and humbled by the symbiotically-nourishing work that I do daily, informed by all my prior experiences and ready for all those to come.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

While my career started in the corporate context, it took a deep pivot after I fell asleep, literally and metaphorically, on the 280 freeway between San Francisco and San Jose at 1am on a cool September night 9 years ago. I landed in a wheelchair to spend a few forced months witnessing and deep-cleaning my body and mind from the inside out.

On paper at the time, I was an ambitious, busy and beautiful social butterfly living the dream: earning a six-figure salary, collecting stock options, saving for retirement, and dating eligible bachelors with city dwellings. My life was fast-paced, voracious and insatiable.

The day leading up to me crashing my emerald ’95 civic into the center divide, I had a fully booked agenda of hot yoga at 5am, a full day at the office, then an hour-long drive to an evening celebration for my part-time job. That night, after receiving and celebrating a promotion to a senior position on my part-time team, I began my drive home around midnight.

The blinding sterility of the hospital emergency room at 2am was cutting- cutting of the green chiffon dress i had just celebrated some success in; torn straight up the middle. The call to my parents at 6am that morning about my crash and forthcoming emergency surgery was the hardest one I’ve ever had to make.

In the months following, I was in a wheelchair, non-weight bearing on both legs, and unable to independently bathe, go to the toilet, or prepare food myself. Forced to slow down, reflect, and tune in with an ailing body and spirit, I began to see more of the support, love, and presence of my family who rallied to take care of me.

This is when I first began to meditate and study my thoughts and emotions and what it was producing in my life. I began to question our culture’s propensity for compulsive doing over being, and noticed the values that I had internalized which were not true to my heart.

Prior to this crash, I was so busy living on autopilot and acting like I was in the passenger seat of my own life. Little did I realize that I was in the driver’s seat, literally and metaphorically, holding the power to destruct my life in the blink of an eye.

After recovering and gaining my capacities to live independently again, as well as run and dance and skip — privileges I remember to not take for granted — I left my corporate job to see more of the world and pursue a service-oriented career in mental health.

I’ve continued to study my body with psychological training, intuitive movement, and somatic therapy. I remember too that this precious body is telling me something with every step taken, and that it’s up to me to listen and take care of it with attentiveness and devotion.

What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?

As there’s always more work to do, making the space regularly for celebration is incredibly important. Whether it be adding someone new to the team, learning a tough lesson that sets us on a better path forward, collaborating with a new long-term client, the beginning of Autumn, shoot, even the full moon; there should be room to celebrate various big and small things, in big and small ways. Sometimes, celebration could look like taking 10 minutes at the end of the day to acknowledge the wins of the day over some chocolate, bringing in someone to facilitate a workshop for play and team connection, or having a white board with the title “things worth celebrating” for team members to add to weekly. When we celebrate small and big things often, we acknowledge the value of the work we’re doing, and we deter from being on autopilot going from thing to thing to thing without the joy and gratitude we need to sustain us.

In my corporate job at an organization with a stellar culture, I learned the power of candid feedback; making time and space regularly to clearly communicate what’s working exceptionally well, and what needs improvement, without personalizing any of it. I’ve carried this with me and have embedded it in my personal work ethic as well as the business I run. It’s important for us to continually be learning how to share feedback in a tactful and compassionate way, clear and concise nonetheless, and to stay humble and discerning to receive constructive feedback. This can be incredibly rewarding in our efficiency, innovation and evolution personally and organizationally.

Lastly, ritual in the workplace is significant to infuse day-to-day activity with purpose and meaning. It’s easy to get stuck in the rut of deadlines, meetings, emails, etc. Ritual helps us ground into something, however routine, with intention. Leveraging ritual personally at work is pivotal in grounding oneself in conscious awareness so as to not just be moving from one thing to another without honoring what is happening. When we practice ritual with others, we facilitate connection and shared purpose. Ritual could look like starting each team meeting with a guided meditation, sharing gratitudes, someone volunteering a joke, or a playful round of charades. Ritual, in the times we’re in where Zoom fatigue is REAL, could start with playing a song and giving folks in the meeting time to stretch, sway or move their bodies, or asking folks to light a candle or incense, get some tea, or whatever they’d like to intentionally transition into the present gathering from wherever they’re coming from.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

Women Who Run With the Wolves by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, hands down. This book uses symbolic storytelling, mythology from various parts of the world, and archetypal wisdom to illuminate a part of us, especially us femmes and women: the wild woman archetype .

I revisit this text over and over again, especially during this time of pandemic and unrest, to remember my primal intuition, my power and interconnection with nature, all which are often forgotten in a colonized and developed society. It inspires me to get on all fours and roar like a lioness to let out all the pent up energy; I often feel rather light and settled whenever I do.

I learn so many lessons each time that inform my personal and professional life, particularly from two chapters in the book: “Joyous Body: The Wild Flesh” and “Clear Water: Nourishing the Creative Life.” The chapter titles give a good sense of the poetic and natural delight of Dr. Estés’s writing!

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. From your experience or research, how would you define and describe the state of being mindful?

The state of being mindful is holding within my attention both my breath and body, as well as what’s going on around me, while releasing my judgments of it all. I’m grateful for the various teachers I’ve been exposed to regarding mindfulness; one teacher, Jon Kabat-Zinn, defines mindfulness in a way that I appreciate and want to highlight here, “paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally.”

Mindfulness is an active, not passive, process. It’s listening to someone’s words and emotive expressions while also keeping in mind the dignity of my breath and posture; it’s noticing my judgments of what’s happening in front of me or even within me and letting them pass like clouds in the sky. Mindfulness is, in and of itself, a meditation as we walk through life- not holding on to any one thought or opinion too tightly as we flow through the river of the day.

This might be intuitive to you, but it will be instructive to spell this out. Can you share with our readers a few of the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of becoming mindful?

Given how active the process of mindfulness is (paying attention to our breath and body, what’s happening around us AND noticing and releasing judgments of all of it), a mindfulness practice hones our focus. It slows our heart rate down as we ground in the moment at hand, it requires us to forgo any superfluous stimulation like looking at our phones while in a conversation or multitasking in a way that leaves us feeling like we still haven’t really done anything (know that feeling?).

In honing our focus, mindfulness allows us to juice out all that we can from the present moment, with our own attention in the moment. The best way I can explain this is with the creative process. In making a piece of art in any medium (cooking, drawing, painting, writing, dancing, etc.), mindfulness helps us honor the mystical unfolding of creative energy, without us being overwhelmingly-preoccupied with the final “product” or how it may be received. With mindfulness, we may likely witness those fears or doubts throughout the process, though we can practice releasing our judgments of ourselves and what we’re making without taking our thoughts too seriously.

Mindfulness brings us back to the present and what’s in front of us, i.e. the juxtaposition of colors, ingredients, textures, sounds, etc., and what the smallest next step might be. Rather than allowing our worries and assumptions of the elusive future take us away, we can stay with where we are in the moment at hand, slowly but surely, manifesting a fuller creative process.

Selective sensory stimulation — we are constantly taking in stimulation through our 5 physical senses and even our vast energetic senses. We feed our serenity and our anxiety through our various senses with stimulation that nourishes or depletes it. What we listen to, see, taste, even smell and touch (and the “vibes” we pick up from around us) affect our level and capacity for peace, creativity, compassion and emotional-regulation. Being selective and mindful with what we take in impacts our ability to be here now, in loving support of ourselves and others.
Compassionate self-touch — affectionate touch holds the power of soothing and healing. When we’re in a time of isolation, unable to hug and touch and be with the people we care about regularly, our bodies feel it. We can bring compassion and kindness to ourselves at any time, day or night, with a mindful caress, hold or stroke. Mindful touch, even with ourselves, releases oxytocin in our bodies, washing us biochemically with more propensity to trust, relax, connect and rest. When my thoughts are racing, stress is overwhelming or I’m trying to fall asleep, I gently stroke my hair. When period cramps wake me up at night or I want to feel more connected to the spirit of my breath, I bring my palms to my belly and feel it rise with each inhale. When my inner child is scared or lonely, I cup my face with love. When I’m bored or cold or just sitting on the train, I caress my arms slowly and notice the soft sensations. And when I feel tension in my chest or want to cultivate deeper gratitude, I bring two hands to my heart and hold it with attention.
Sight of how the good shows up — cultivating connection, ease and peace is about recognizing how it all already shows up in our lives. We can expand our perspective daily by taking the time to recognize the small things that are connecting, easeful and peaceful all around us: in the way we do take care of ourselves, in the people closest to us, in the color of the leaves outside, in the crispness of the wind, in the humor of dark situations, in the meal we ate recently, in the way our neighbor’s children play. The more we see it, the more it grows.
Breath is bae — we all already have a lover that is life-giving, soothing, strengthening, clarifying, grounding, with us when we come into the world and with us when we leave it. Breath is #1 Bae for as long as we live, to have and to hold from this day and every day, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. Recognizing and remembering this, honors the love of our lives.
Craft and create often — Brené Brown said, “”unused creativity is not benign. It metastasizes. It turns into grief, rage, judgment, sorrow, shame.” In the time that we’re in now, we need to be outlet ting the excess energy in us as we’re potentially more cooped up and stimulated than ever. In whatever medium we are drawn to: moving our bodies, spoken word, doodling, singing, etc. we have to let it out and express ourselves. Keeping it all pent up inside only exacerbates our pain.

From your experience or research what are five steps that each of us can take to effectively offer support to those around us who are feeling anxious? Can you explain?

Come back to your breath — your settled body will physically and energetically help others settle in their bodies
Feel your feet on the ground — your grounded body will physically and energetically help others to ground in theirs
Let them have their feelings — don’t try to fix their feelings, they are entitled to their experience. Invite them (and yourself) to use the feelings wheel to name the present feelings. Psychologist, Daniel Siegal, said, “name it to tame it”; when we acknowledge and recognize the nuances of our emotional experiences, we may likely feel more understood and soothed
Give advice only when it’s explicitly asked — otherwise, practice active listening. Sometimes, what we need most in times of stress is just a kind and present body. If it wouldn’t be a burden to them, ask genuinely and curiously, “how may I support you?”
Share more loving content — share humorous videos, inspiring stories and positive news more than you share the fear-inducing, anxiety-provoking news. Whether it’s on your social media or group texts, what you put out there matters and impacts people.

What are the best resources you would suggest for someone to learn how to be more mindful and serene in their everyday life?

Firstly, we can learn a great deal from our own breath; bringing our attention to our breath in any moment can reveal a lot about what our bodies are wanting to tell us. Spend more time with your breath and how it’s flowing in various times of the day. This is an embodied approach to learning more about how to be more mindful in our everyday lives.

Additionally, the work of Kristin Neff and Chris Germer in Mindful Self-Compassion and the work of Tara Brach in Radical Compassion and her R.A.I.N practice are incredibly helpful.I also offer a 3-month Abundant Creativity program, which shares thoughtful space and decolonizing education regarding art-making, while inviting us to creatively release excess energy that might add to our anxiety or scarcity mentality.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

“Without inner revolution, outer action is repetitive.” — J. Krishnamurti. My experiences in my life thus far have taught me, time and again, that if my inner landscape is not tended to, anything outside of me like a stable and wealthy job, beautiful friendships, rewarding promotions, or actions for cultural and societal change, will not land in a way that is sustained and transformational through time.

The world we live in reflects our collective inner landscape; the violence and chaos that surround us correlate strongly with the violence and chaos we try to numb, deny or project from within us. If we lead with rage and resentment in our actions, it’s very hard to not produce more rage and resentment. While these feelings are so valid and necessary, we have to continually tend to them within ourselves and even in community, as opposed to relying on these feelings to fire us up in a movement for change toward very different feelings like love, peace and justice.

The movement has already begun to imbue, in each of us and our society, a deeply embodied belief that we are inherently creative. This requires approaches and curriculums in learning environments that honor young people’s natural gifts of curiosity, movement and creativity. It requires us to create, make and manifest in ways that feel cathartic and healing to us, without allowing the narrow values of capitalism and colonial mentality to inhibit or silence us; meaning, we have to personally and culturally burn the notions and practices of hyper-capitalization of the arts, perfectionism and “the right way”. It also requires us to intentionally cultivate space for play, even as grown folks with jobs and bills and responsibilities; play can be liberating of the anxieties and fears that keep us from being present, grateful and serene in our lives.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

www.mosaiceyeunfolding.com and instagram @mosaiceye

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

Chetna Mehta of Mosaic Eye: “How To Develop Mindfulness During Stressful Or Uncertain Times” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Nicole Rodrigues of NRPR Group: “How extremely busy executives make time to be great parents”

Self control and setting boundaries. If you constantly say that no matter what happens in the day, Monday through Friday, 7pm to 8:30pm is my time to be with my children, that one and a half hours of concentrated time can go a long way. If everyone commits to this time together, you use self control and commitment to show the people you love, no matter what, this is our time. This also shows your co-workers and clients that no matter what, this time is for family

As a part of my series about “How extremely busy executives make time to be great parents” I had the pleasure to interview Nicole Rodrigues.

Nicole Rodrigues is a powerhouse founder of two companies, NRPR Group and the Young Dreamers

Foundation, as well as the host of the YouTube show, Beverly Hills Boss, and Author of Beverly Hills Boss the book. She has more than 19+ years of experience in PR, social media and digital marketing. She’s the creator and personality behind PRactical Guide to Publicity, an award-winning video series aimed at helping CEOs, CMOs and others understand the true benefits of utilizing PR and digital marketing.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us your “childhood backstory”?

I’m a California girl, born and raised. My hometown, Fremont, was where I grew up as the oldest of nine children. I was the first in the family to graduate college and worked hard in high school to earn scholarships and attended San Jose State University. I held three jobs during college to pay for my education. My friends trusted me to be a leader, so I became part of the student council in school. I used to say if my intuition leads me in the right direction for getting through the ups and downs of growing through childhood and succeeding against all odds, I’m going to ultimately create a guide for others to learn from. And this is exactly what I did! When my friends had a bad day, they’d do things that weren’t the best for them, which translated into bad behavior and sometimes drugs and alcohol. I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to pay attention and dedicate my story to the betterment of others. This was always my vision.

Can you share the story about what brought you to this specific point in your career?

I do believe I was meant to be in this career because of one course I took in high school. One day I was

thinking about my future, I decided I wanted to find a career that involved public perception

development, writing, event planning, and more. Then, one of my college journalism professors saw

something in me and encouraged me to check out Public Relations courses. He saw this spark in me

before I knew it was even there. And he helped lead me to where I am now. The minute I took that PR

class I was hooked and knew I wanted to own my own agency one day.

Fast-forward to today, I fulfilled my dream. Starting my own agency seemed like a far reach, but I got

there through hard work. NRPR Group is short for Nicole Rodrigues Public Relations. I am proud to have

my name on the door and it reminds me that my hard work paid off and has led me to where I am now.

Can you tell us a bit more about what your day to day schedule looks like?

My day to day looks like putting out necessary fires, a lot of emails, phone calls, strategy, writing, research, mentoring, guiding both clients and team members, crossing t’s and dotting i’s because our work is seen in the public. All of this is mixed up in one day and it’s as crazy as it sounds.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the core of our discussion. This is probably intuitive to many, but it would be beneficial to spell it out. Based on your experience or research, can you flesh out why not spending time with your children can be detrimental to their development?

This pandemic has made it very clear that we need person to person contact and sometimes go stir crazy when we can’t get that. The parent-child time relationship is the same. Not spending time with each other does something to your mind, body and soul. You’re connected physically as a mother because you carry your child and spiritually connected as well. Without this time and care, it causes psychological damage. Mental illness can stem from lack of relationships with a parent. This is why I made sure that even in a busy week or when I was travelling, that there was one way, shape or form that I was showing my daughter that I cared about her, so mentally, she’d grow up to be confident that her parents loved and cared about her as a human. I’ve seen kids who felt the opposite and those are people who find other areas of life to show them love and validate them, which is really uncomfortable. That’s how I feel children can get lost.

On the flip side, can you give a few reasons or examples about why it is so important to make time to spend with your children?

It’s important to make time to spend with your children because if you don’t, it can lead to health and mental issues when you feel a feeling of loss. You can feel down and it’ll impact your overall state of motivation and well being. People think they need a psych drug to make them feel better, when really some attention or a hug can help. Even tough love, setting boundaries is healthy. People rush to give kids chemicals to help them feel better when dopamine is a natural release in the brain through contact and attention. It’s science. If you want to have teenagers that listen to you and will respect you as an adult, you better start when they’re little kids. If they don’t respect you as a 5 year old, they won’t at 15 when it really matters. That’s when they make decisions for themselves. Having a testy teenager is not fun. Make sure at a young age they know who is boss, but also provide an open line of communication to talk about things.

According to this study cited in the Washington Post, the quality of time spent with children is more important than the quantity of time. Can you give a 3–5 stories or examples from your own life about what you do to spend quality time with your children?

My daughter is a huge movie buff. She follows in her father’s footsteps in liking prepared meals. As a teenager, she’ll make dinner and I’ll do dishes. It’s an act of love and we’ll sit and watch a movie together and laugh and comment. Each night we try to spend time doing this because it’s something she loves and that it’s been a fun way for us to connect through something she enjoys.
We joke around a lot, which is how we build our bond. The humor is always very open, we have funny accents we pretend to have and understand each other in that way. We can be anywhere in the house and make these jokes
We go grocery shopping together and it gives her a sense of authority through having a voice in what food we have in the house. Between farmers markets and the store, we plan out meals together and bond and get excited about what we’ll do in the house together

We all live in a world with many deadlines and incessant demands for our time and attention. That inevitably makes us feel rushed and we may feel that we can’t spare the time to be “fully present” with our children. Can you share with our readers 5 strategies about how we can create more space in our lives in order to give our children more quality attention? Please include examples or stories for each, if you can.

Self control and setting boundaries. If you constantly say that no matter what happens in the day, Monday through Friday, 7pm to 8:30pm is my time to be with my children, that one and a half hours of concentrated time can go a long way. If everyone commits to this time together, you use self control and commitment to show the people you love, no matter what, this is our time. This also shows your co-workers and clients that no matter what, this time is for family
Digital tools — You can be in the middle of something or a meeting, and use your digital tools to show your children that you’re thinking of them. Me and my daughter use Snapchat. I can send her a funny picture and that shows her that I’m thinking of her. Even when you live together, it shows you care and can be fun.
It’s the little things — I stopped drinking coffee in the morning, but my daughter still does. So, in the morning before my daughter wakes up, I’ll prepare a cup of coffee for her, so she can have a warm cup when she wakes up. Something like this goes a long way to show you care.

How do you define a “good parent”? Can you give an example or story?

A really good parent, parents with love and tough love. There’s a certain amount of structure and boundaries that need to be set in order to protect your children from themselves. If you give free reign to a 5 year old to make all their own decisions, you’re teaching them that people who have seniority or are older than them, don’t carry as much weight in terms of respect. This creates a problem child in school and it can spiral from there. A really good parent definitely makes sure that their kid knows they love them and they see it, and they give them just enough structure and boundaries to protect them enough so they feel they have wiggle room to make decisions, but not all the decisions. You also don’t reward bad behavior.

How do you inspire your child to “dream big”? Can you give an example or story?

I show my daughter by example. Every dream I went after or attempted, I’ve done. A big dream of mine was to go to UCLA. I couldn’t do it for undergrad, and I wanted to show her that no dream is too big. This was a dream of mine for 20 years and I did it now. I wanted my own company and I did. Now my daughter knows there’s no fear in going after your dreams. I encourage her to dream and be who she is. It’s a huge psychological need, especially in teens and tweens. It gives them hope for the rest of their lives. If they don’t feel they have a choice in their careers, they’ll be upset and feel bad about the future.

How do you, a person who masterfully straddles the worlds of career and family, define “success”?

Success is when you’re getting paid to do what you enjoy and love and are still finding ways to enjoy the little things in life. It’s also doing other activities that make you happy other than work. Being recognized for your work and doing it at the best of your abilities is part of this. Being successful is hard, and I commend anyone who goes after it. It comes from a lot of hard work that turns into doing that you love and passing that knowledge down. Then managing and making time for yourself for the hard work you put in to get to where you’re at is equally as important too.

What are your favorite books, podcasts, or resources that inspire you to be a better parent? Can you explain why you like them?

One of my favorite books that inspired me was “Purpose Driven Life.” Identifying and finding my own purpose motivated me to make sure my child did the same. That she knew that she’s here for a reason and on a mission and only she will know what that mission is.

Another one is “The Alchemist”, for a spiritual journey. Lastly, “The Amazing Development of Men.” Although I have a daughter, that book helped me understand that there are certain phases that men naturally go through in life. As women, it’s important we understand and respect that and not try to overthink a man’s journey. A lot of women and girls should know this to help them understand men more and show appreciation to see what they go through. This has not only helped me with relationships and explain to her the work life and her dad, it’s just a great book of knowledge that I’ve seen play out well in the work world.

Thank you so much for these insights! This was so inspiring!

Nicole Rodrigues of NRPR Group: “How extremely busy executives make time to be great parents” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.