Mindfulness Mode

Zlata Sushchik transforms women to become healthier and happier. She moved from Russia to the United States when she was 16 years old. Overweight and frustrated, she became a fitness competitor in order to shake off 30 pounds. Later, due to extensive dieting and overtraining, she decided to transition toward a life of using mindset to become truly fit and to help other women beat their subconscious fears and find health and peace. She has now helped thousands of women through her Sexyfit Podcast and her transformative training methods which include changing habits, meditation and applying powerful mindset concepts. Contact Info Website: www.SexyFit.com Book: The SexyFit Method: Your Step By Step Guide to Complete Food Freedom, Loving Your Body and Reclaiming Your Life Podcast: SexyFit Podcast Most Influential Person Gabby Bernstein (American motivational speaker, life coach, and author) Effect on Emotions I am very aware of my emotions and I understand that I don't need to control them; all I need to do is feel them. Thoughts on Breathing Breathing is huge. I suffered from anxiety and every time I get in the anxious state, I take a deep breath and hold and breathe out. This is something I do every day and it helps me, not just get through my day, it helps me really thrive in my day. Suggested Resources Book: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle Book: Anything by Author Abraham Hicks Book: The SexyFit Method by Zlata Sushchik App: I don't use an app for this Advice for Newbie I would say, start with gratitude. That is a beautiful fast track to mindfulness that doesn't take a lot of conscious or subconscious effort. It will take you to a beautiful state of love, compassion and kindness faster. From there [I recommend] five minutes of meditation a day.  

AJ Nystrom is a mental health patient. He is a former United States federal agent and worked as a correction officer. He is now a certified life coach, author, and public speaker. He was diagnosed with several mental health challenges, which went undiagnosed for eighteen and a half years. AJ was ridiculed extensively when he was young and now is determined to help others who deal with similar challenges.

Mark Taylor is a professional percussionist and for 20 years has enjoyed a fulfilling freelance career performing Opera, Ballet, Music Theatre and Symphony Orchestras.Mark was also co-director of a music education company called, Rhythmically Speaking for 10 years. Besides all that, Mark is creator and host of the Education On Fire Podcast. Mark is also a volunteer at a local hospice and this insight into what life really means has given him a push to live his life fully every day.

Alex Barker is an action-centered entrepreneur who has experienced impressive results from his many initiatives. One of those projects is called The 66 Day Experiment: Lifehacks for Wealth, Fitness and Sex. During 66 Days, Alex shares with the world the progress of his particular initiative. One season was 66 days of reading a book a day; another was 66 days of rejections. Alex is also a pharmacist and with all the things he does he is truly living in the now, taking time for family and for what counts in life.  [show-notes-bio] Contact Info Website: 66DayExperiment.com Email: AlexMichaelBarker@gmail.com Podcast: The 66 Day Experiment Most Influential Person Steven Covey (Author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) Effect on Emotions It's made me less of an emotional decision-maker. I used to let my emotions guide me when things weren't going my way, specifically in my relationship with my wife. Being able to step aside from my emotions and being able to calm down in times of turmoil; that has been so important in our marriage. Thoughts on Breathing Whenever I'm mindful, I'm breathing. I do meditation practice and breathing is something that I focus on. When anxiety influences me, I notice the breathing and the heart rate. Then I do some exercises to calm myself down. Suggested Resources Book: The Bible Book: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey App: Brain.fm  (Music and sounds that help put you into a mindful state) Mindfulness Meets Bullying Story I was running a group full of start-up entrepreneurs and this is not when I perfected how to run groups. I wasn't using the format that I use today. I had one member of the group that wasn't a bully to other people but she dominated the conversation whenever she was the subject which was often. I remember having to deal with and taking a mindfulness step aside and thinking, this is ruining the group. Her behavior is not good cause it's influencing the other people. It's going to ruin this group. What she was doing was, when she was in the hot seat, taking up the time and bringing a challenge forward, she would excuse away everyone's advice as to why it wasn't helpful or why it wasn't applicable. She would blame others within her family for her lack of success and she would have the same goals for herself every week. They wouldn't change because she never accomplished them. I remember talking with another friend and telling him about this issue and coming down to the conclusion that I need to bring this up with her. After talking with her, we tried it out for another week and she just wasn't changing so I had to have a difficult discussion with her. It was like firing a client; it was tough. Learning that less though was great because it made me realize, I gotta do a much better job at filtering out who I let into my business. Mindfulness Suggestions for a Newbie Go back to the first episode of this show (Mindfulness Mode) and start there.

Aaron Walker is a Businessman and Life Coach who has inspired many through his masterminds and inspiring, faith-based mentorship. At the age of 27, Aaron sold his business for millions and retired, only to regret this decision later. Aaron gets great pleasure out of helping others and he believes experience is one of the best teachers. Thirty-five years of entrepreneurship and marriage have given Aaron a wealth of experience. Aaron integrates mindfulness into his life every day. Contact Info Website: www.ViewFromTheTop.com Free Mindfulness Resources: www.ViewFromTheTop.com/mindfulness Twitter and Facebook (See links from website) Most Influential Person Bob Warren (He had a training called Basic Training) Dan Miller (Author of 48 Days To The Work You Love) Effect on Emotions Sometimes we get in trouble dealing with our emotions. We make decisions based on our emotions 95% of the time rather than intellectually. That's backwards. We need to make decisions intellectually bearing in mind our emotions but when we're fully aware that we're doing that, we can make conscious choices. My choice is to make most of my decisions intellectually, not emotionally. Thoughts on Breathing I've heard a lot of coaches talk about breathing and the value that it adds. I've listened to a number of podcasts. Quite honestly I've never practiced that, except when listening to the podcasts. I'm totally confident that it works. I know that breathing really relaxes you and it calms you. I don't practice that, I'm not good at it. I could be good at it, but I've never really implemented that strategy. Suggested Resources Book: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck App: None Mindfulness Meets Bullying Story When I was in the fourth grade, I was walking home from school and there was this guy named Benny Creek. He was two grades ahead of me. He'd catch me at the same spot. You'd think I'd be smart enough to change my routes home, but he'd catch me at the same spot. He'd say, you'd better give me whatever money you've got left over or I'm gonna take it from you. I was scared of him so I'd give him my money and I'd do this week after week and one day I went home and told my dad. I said there's this guy bullying me every day when I come home. I told him who it was. My dad knew who he was and my dad said, let me tell you something, tomorrow if you walk down through there and Benny Creek comes up to you and he asks you for that money and you give it to him, I'm gonna whip you when you get home. And I said, 'what?'. He My dad knew who he was and my dad said, let me tell you something, tomorrow if you walk down through there and Benny Creek comes up to you and he asks you for that money and you give it to him, I'm gonna whip you when you get home. And I said, 'what?'. He said, I want you to hit him right in the mouth. I hit him square between the eyes and he took off running. The guy never bothered me again. But I was scared to death, I took off running like a scalded dog. And that was NOT the right way to handle it. You do not want to do that, so you people who are trying to be more mindful with bullying, don't take my dad's advice. Advice For A Mindfulness Newbie I can even help you with that. There's a personal assessment that I wrote several years ago and it really talks about your identity, your ideals, your relationships, your career, your faith, your family, things that are important to you. The big priorities of life. I've already mentioned the 'what do I want document'. There's about thirty questions on it that really dive deep into the things that maybe you should consider for your own personal life. Earlier I mentioned steps to a productive day. That's a document that walks you through from waking up to going to bed and things that will help you be more productive. I've taken the price of those, I'm not going to sell your audience anything. Go to www.viewfromthetop.com/mindfulness I've made those documents available there. If you go there it will really start you out on your journey to being more fully aware. More Mindfulness Nuggets It's not about you, it's about other people. Once you pour into other people, you'll get all you want. That's the reason there's a void. That's the reason that people don't know what they want. They're getting the wrong stuff. We get bullied every day in business and we're not even conscious of it, we don't know how to handle it. Often times we go against our values, our integrity, our character. We cave in. I coach people all the time about having strong character and taking a stand. Even when you're alone and that's often times difficult. Many times the things that you want to do are not popular.

Lisa Woodruff is a professional organizer & productivity specialist from Cincinnati, Ohio. Lisa has helped thousands of women reclaim their homes and finally get organized with her practical tips, encouragement, and humor through her blog and podcast at Organize365.com and is the best-selling author of The Mindset of Organization - Take Back Your Home One Phase at a Time. Contact Info Website: organize365.com Most Influential Person Jesus Effect on Emotions I'm much calmer now. I have a much longer view of things and I don't get so caught up in the moment. Thoughts on Breathing My cousin-in-law taught me how to breathe because he's doing a lot of mindfulness and so I find myself, I get a lot of migraines and I find myself lately saying, okay, drink some water and just breathe and it's been able to eliminate about half of my migraines Suggested Resources Book: The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life To The Next Level Book: The Mindset of Organization: Take Back Your Life One Step At a Time by Lisa Woodruff App: none Mindfulness Meets Bullying Story I am such a positive person; like I really have a positive mindset and I was made fun of and things like that but I never really felt bullied except for this one time. I had switched from a public school to a private catholic school in fourth grade. It was because my sister was starting kindergarten I believe and my mom was tired of driving us to those cd classes on Monday nights so she put us in the Catholic school. I’m sure there was more to it than that, but that’s what I knew. So I went there and Catholic school are very small and the kids start in Kindergarten and they go all the way through. You don’t transfer in very often. I found that some girls had made a club against me. I remember coming home and my mom had this black rocking chair she’d gotten from my grandmother and she rocked me. I was a fourth grader and I just cried like a baby for what seemed like forever and she just sat there and rocked me. That’s all I remember about that story. I’m still Facebook friends with these people; we have a great relationship now.  

Meg Johnson is a wife, mother, motivational speaker, author, teacher, artist and SO much more. She was paralyzed in 2004 as the result of jumping off a cliff - an accidental decision which turned out to completely change her life in every way.  Meg now inspires others across the world with her videos, appearances, and written word. She has incredible energy and knows her purpose. Contact Info Website: www.megjohnsonspeaks.com Podcast: Heart Smiles Newsletter: Meg's Monthly Message Most Influential Person Jesus Christ Effect on Emotions It helps me to keep them reigned in [my emotions] because sometimes I like to be a little hot tempered. I just have to take a step back and understand that people just don't understand sometimes and that I really do have limits and I really do have strengths and so when I focus on my strengths and really focus on my limits to, like okay this is as far as I can go then I don't get upset when I don't have more to offer because I already know that I have given all I can and I can be satisfied with that. Thoughts on Breathing When I do get upset I like to go outside and take deep breaths because the fresh air seems a little bit easier to slow down my breathing so that I can gulp some more air and calm down. So that does help me. Suggested Resources Book: The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in The Bible App: None Mindfulness Meets Bullying Story Something that we don't really think about as often is adult bullying that happens. This is just one experience but I have many. It just comes with the wheels. I went to a big church function. It was a really big Christian church function and it was at a big event center where they have basketball games. It was really big. So I went there and I was trying to find a seat but all of the wheelchair sections were taken with people in wheelchairs and their companions. I couldn't find a place to sit, which is unusual. My husband asked if he could carry me to a seat that was a little bit higher and they told him 'no'. Then we went outside to a place we knew just went to the ground level and it was more for the elite people. We were taking a chance because we really wanted to be at this giant Christian event. We went around and the lady who was guarding the door just said 'no, we're not going to let you in'. We tried to explain to her that they wouldn't let us be carried to another seat and that I couldn't find a seat up there and we'd already been. She just said 'no'. She blamed it on us being too late and all the dignitaries were already in there. So they had to close it off so that no one else could go in and that it was a safety issue. We said we understood that and we were leaving and as we were leaving we watched her let someone else in who of course had arrived late also. So we were just not able to go. That just happens every once in a while. More Mindfulness Nuggets I walked for twenty-two years so I made it a little bit into adulthood, walking and I know what it feels like for people to get the door for you because you're pretty and that's just how it is. After I was paralyzed, people got the door for me for an entirely different reason. People don't see me as pretty initially. They see the wheelchair and I understand that and that's okay. I do recognize that I'm treated differently by adults. Children are pretty much interested in everybody, so that's not too much of a hardship at all. Adults are a little bit hard on people in wheelchairs; not all of them. Please know that I'm not talking about everybody.  

Beth Sutherland is a coach with extensive abilities including Neuro Linguistic Programing, better known as NLP, Quantum Healing, Healing Touch as well as incredible intuitive gifts. She helps her clients undergo major transformational changes through unique coaching experiences as well as healing sessions, workshops, and programs for the physical body. Some of her influencers include Bob Proctor, Louise Hay, Tony Robbins, Zig Zigler and Dr.Wayne Dyer Contact Info Website: bethsutherland.com Most Influential Person Wayne Dyer and Adam McLeod Effect on Emotions I used to say my shoulders were my earmuffs because they were up so high, and my fingernails used to be dug inside my hands, and my legs were so locked that I had bowed legs that went backwards. The emotion I had inside my body most of the times was fear. Fear of somebody catching me doing something wrong, or just being me, which I thought was wrong. Mindfulness was allowing. Allowing me to be me, allowing that my body and brain profile was just the way I wanted it to be. I was hardwired and nobody else knew how to deal with it, so I was lucky that I unlocked it. And so I go back to that and say, turn the thoughts around and they will turn to nothing eventually. Thoughts on Breathing That's one of the things that I learned that I didn't do properly. I breathed opposite the way I should. Most people when you breathe in, you gasp for air as if you're taking air and it ends up in your throat. You're actually supposed to breath in through your nose and fill up your diaphragm, fill up your belly. And so, I was totally backwards breathing, and that causes an awful lot of strain on the body, not getting enough oxygen during the day and that kind of stuff. I have this 1,2,3 process where I use total body modification. it's one of the courses that I took. You actually put your fingers together and it triggers the top part of your lungs to open, then the bottom part, and then the diaphragm and so, within 3 seconds, you're breathing in and you're filling up all of those areas. You're nurturing yourself when you're breathing in and you're allowing the toxins to come out when you're blowing everything out at the end. So, just by touching your pointer fingers, then your pointer finger and your middle finger, and then pointer, middle and ring fingers together it will allow you to breathe. Suggested Resources Book: Surrender by Dr. David R Hawkins App: None Advice for Newbie Give yourself permission to start doing it and say, 'I'm not wasting time by taking half an hour in my day to do this. I am actually gaining time.' People need to shift to get there, to realize they can't say, 'I don't want to waste half an hour doing that'. It goes by very, very quickly and it absolutely adds tenfold to your life.

Scott Wilhite is an award-winning commercial filmmaker turned social entrepreneur. As a writer, producer, and director, he was enjoying a promising creative career without actually enjoying it. During ten of his most productive years, he found them to also be ten of his darkest, most unsatisfying years. He felt directionless and that his life was missing purpose and meaning. This all changed when a friend introduced him to the world of positive psychology and showed him the difference that comes from deliberately, consciously choosing what he mentally focuses on. With his personal transformation, he wanted to make the education easily accessible to others. Contact Info Website: www.ncourage.life Most Influential Person Shawn Achor (TedX Speaker) Effect on Emotions I had all this terrible stuff going on in my life which was so bizarre because so much of life was good for me but I didn't realize it so having those emotions now to where I'm more in control rather than being tossed around by something that seems to go bad in my day, you know now I have more control. I'm not just going with the flow. I'm charting my course. Thoughts on Breathing I do some of that breathing in the mornings when I meditate and I spend a few minutes focusing on my breath and really getting centered there. Suggested Resources Book: The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky App: Feed Your Happy

Michelle Gielan is a researcher and bestselling author of Broadcasting Happiness. With experience as a TV national news anchor at CBS, Michelle believes that by helping to make others happier and more successful, we feel happier too. She says, we’ve all been told countless times "You can't change other people." But this societal belief is not only dis-empowering, it is, perhaps surprisingly, scientifically false. Michelle and her husband Shawn Achor are partnering with PBS for an 'Inspire Happiness' television special to be aired this December and continuing in 2017. Contact Info Website: www.BroadcastingHappiness.com Go to www.BroadcastingHappiness.com to find a 30 Question Assessment called the Success Scale Most Influential Person My husband, Shawn Achor Effect on Emotions The biggest thing I've learned over the last decade is how to be mindful about an emotion I'm experiencing, not judge it and just let it pass through me, especially if it's negative, as opposed to fighting it or fleeing it in the moment and exacerbating the response to it. Thoughts on Breathing When it comes to meditating, that is my mindfulness meditation practice. I've tried to develop an awareness when I am holding my breath in tighter and my body is responding that way. Sometimes all it takes to relax is two breaths and everything changes. Suggested Resources Book: Broadcasting Happiness by Michelle Gielan Book: Ripples Effect by Shawn Achor & Amy Blankson (A Children's Book about bullying and how to overcome it with a positive mindset and a smile. App: Muse (Goes along with Headband) TV Special: Inspire Happiness (currently airing on PBS Mindfulness Meets Bullying Story For a long time I was working with an organization called 'Living Values' and what they try to do is bring into a school community, the values the students and teachers have identified are important to them and bring it into the curriculum in many different ways so that it is top of mind. Values like passion, kindness and open expressivity. Values that, when they're fully expressed and the community is fully living them, it decreases the incidence of bullying. The story from my time doing this work was originally there was this one school and the kids were getting in fights on the playground and it was a little bit rough and tumble and there was definitely bullying going on there. They decided to empower some of the older children with armbands and the ability to get kids of all ages to sit down and talk through the challenges. They gave them the communication tools and the power to do that. It was remarkable. If two third graders were fighter over a ball and being mean about it, they could go and sit with the older student and they could talk it through. Not only did incidents of bullying significantly decrease, but also the kids got along so much better outside of the playground, in the other moments, in the classroom that social coercion went up. We sometimes find that it's the small changes that have the biggest effect. More Mindfulness Nuggets The 'Inspire Happiness' TV Special Includes: Three Ways We Can Positively Influence Others:1/ Broadcast an optimist mindset! In the face of challenges, do you expect good things to happen & do you believe that your behaviour matters? 2/ How do you view a stressful event? Is it stress, where your brain goes into fight or flight or is it a challenge where you think, we can overcome this challenge? 3/ How much value do we put on supporting the people around us? Are we there to be linked up with them and to support them through challenges? We find that when managers start to follow the above three guidelines, they are able to increase productive energy of their entire team by 31% in just three weeks. It’s amazing to see that these small changes can have significant impacts. Three minutes of negative news in the morning can lead to a 27% higher likelihood of reporting your day as unhappy, as reported six to eight hours later. (Study done with Ariana Huffington and Shawn Achor)

Justin Stenstrom is a nationally-acclaimed life coach, author, entrepreneur, and speaker. He is the founder of EliteManMagazine.com and the host of the Elite Man Podcast on iTunes. Once anxious, insecure, depressed, and unhappy, Justin has overcome many of life’s greatest obstacles and now uses his insight into healthy mindset and mindfulness as powerful ways to help other men reach confidence and success! Contact Info Website: www.JustinStenstrom.com Blog: www.elitemanmagazine.com Most Influential Person Eckhart Tolle (Author of The Power of Now) Effect on Emotions I've been able to control my emotions. I'm a pretty even-keeled person. I don't really get upset too often, I don't really fly off the handle. My dad is a hot-head, I have that in my genes. I've been in control of that side, but I don't get too upset, I don't get too down. When I do get down, I understand that it's kind of a period of time, something that everyone has to go through, and I kind of go with it as opposed to trying to fight it so much. I stay aware of my over-all well-being at that point and just understand that it's going to be okay. I might be a little sad or a little down from time to time. Thoughts on Breathing I don't specifically focus on my breathing but I do make sure that I'm always breathing correctly and that I meditate especially. I meditate once every couple of weeks for 15 or 20 minutes and that's  where I really focus on just breathing, long deep breaths, taking my time and just being in my own head and aware of my own feelings. My meditations a little different than your typical meditation. I'm not necessarily focusing on just my breathing but I'm more meditating on my thoughts and ideas. I like to brainstorm things while I'm meditating and really have that peaceful time to think about my feelings and my thoughts and all my internal things that I don't necessarily get the time to just sit down and think about. I focus on my breathing and make sure I'm very relaxed because I know how important it is to be relaxed. Suggested Resources Book: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle Book: Approaching Women: A Step-By-Step Guide To Getting More Dates Book: Dr. Andrew Dobson, Hypnotist www.MindFitHypnosis.com App: No apps to recommend Mindfulness Meets Bullying Story The example I like to give and this happens all the time is this. Picture you have a seven year old boy, this boy's going to school and he's getting bullied, he getting called names like ugly, fat, or loser, he's getting picked on. He has all these negative inputs in his brain. This starts to shape his mindset and how he feels about himself. This is hitting his subconscious brain. He starts to have problems like anxiety, panic attacks, depression, low self-esteem, no friends, no self-confidence. This is how impactful this can be on someone's life. As he grows older, he's 13, 14 or 15 years old, he's one of these kids who brings a gun or a knife to school. The core issue is being able to tell bullies and help kids understand the impact of what they say and how much that can impact another child's life.

Kailin Scott is an expert at escape rooms. She works in escape rooms, she creates escape rooms, she an artist and uses her artistic ability to create escape room images and puzzles. She has always been a huge fan of video games, and she came across a series called Zero Escape. It's an Escape Room Series featuring lots of puzzles. She really loved it and she wondered if this happened only in video games or if it was something that could be found in real life. Her boyfriend, who is from China, told her that in Asia, Escape Rooms are popular. Most Influential Person My boyfriend. He introduced me to Escape Rooms. Transcript Q: So Kailin, if there's someone listening today who is a little bit lost or unsure what we're talking about when we say Escape Rooms, can you fill us in and explain it a bit more? A: Escape Rooms are puzzle rooms where you are locked in and given an objective. There are two types: one where the objective is purely to escape and the other type where the objectives can be almost anything from finding someone's medicine to solving a zombie apocalypse to even trying to fight a fire. Q: I imagine Escape Rooms are a mindful experience because once you're in there you really have to think about nothing else except getting out or solving the puzzle. Is this true? A. When you get in there you can only focus on the puzzles because you're in there with a time limit, so much so that you don't even know what time it is. You have to get an announcement at five minutes [before the end], or sometimes at about thirty minutes [before the end]. You are usually in there with a team of two to six people. It's a lot of teamwork, so it's thinking together. Q: Are you usually in there with random people you've never met or do you usually go there with friends? A: It can work in a lot of different ways. There are facebook groups where you can meet random people to meet up with and do random escapes. A lot of the time you do plan this with your friends. Sometimes there are escape rooms that will set you up with random strangers to do the room. Q: Does this mean that you could escape the room and nobody else will? A: It depends on the room escape really. Some of them do set you up in teams where you do battle against each other to see who gets out first. Other ones expect you to work completely as a team to all be able to escape. Q: Do you have to be really good at solving puzzles to get out of the room? A: Not necessarily. As long as you can wrap your mind around the logic of puzzles or at least be able to bounce ideas off other people, you should be able to think your way through it. Q: What are some of the most creative types of puzzles you've seen in Escape Rooms? A: One of my favorite puzzles so far has been a puzzle that was completely in braille. Usually, if they're going to make you learn another language, they will leave some sort of hint around. In this case, it was a complete wall of encyclopedias. You had to look at this and see that it was braille and one you had this figured out you can go through all of the books to try and figure out what was going on and then actually use the braille to solve the puzzle and open the lock. Q: I understand there are Escape Rooms that just suddenly appear for a few weeks or months. Tell us about those? A: Those are Pop-Up Rooms. They'll appear every once in a while, and they're usually situated around a certain theme. The video game called Zero Escape does have a Pop-Up one that's currently going around in the U.S. It should be coming to Canada at some point. There are other ones such as Dracula's Library, Casa Loma (Toronto Ontario Canada), and other ones that do pop up but then have made permanent homes in big cities such as Toronto. Q: Can you explain what you actually do in your role in creating Escape Rooms? A: In that role, I'm an artist. I'm brought in to help make the puzzles come to life. Someone writes down the puzzles on paper; they explain the puzzles to me and then I try to make that puzzle happen. Whether it's creating a drawing, building a chest that has a mechanical rig or even just going out and picking up locks. It's taking that idea from paper and making it a reality. Q: When people come to participate in an Escape Room, is there a way that you can help get them relaxed and get them into the mood of what they're going to be doing in the event that they might never have done this before? A: Beforehand, someone's going to explain all the locks you may come across in the room because not everyone's seen a directional lock or a keypad and they may not know what it is. There's usually a story to go on behind the room: something that sets you in the mood of the room. Whether you're about to solve the Curse of the Mummies Tomb or just at your crazy old Aunt Edna's place try to find her medicine, there's always a story behind the room. Other things they'll tell you are don't overthink it because if you overthink it you're probably not going to have a good time. Thinking too hard just leads to no escape. Q: Here at ConBravo Kaitlen, you were doing a presentation yesterday about Escape Rooms and you told us a story that explained why age is no limit. You told us about some women who came to the Escape Room that you work at. Can you tell us that story now? A: Definitely. We had a group called Sunday Funday and I swear they looked like the Golden Girls. Possibly even older than the Golden Girls. They came in, they've never done an Escape Room before, but they're locals and were just so excited to do this. They went in; they had a wonderful time. They actually made it really far. The logic and the thought processes they had when they did this was absolutely amazing to watch. I got to game master for them and they had a wonderful time. They didn't really escape, but they left feeling a lot smarter than when they went in. Q: Have you had people come who didn't escape and they wanted to come back repeatedly until they figured it out? A: This happens quite often. A lot of escape rooms will have a second timer discount because you've already gone and completed maybe 25% of the room and you want to complete the rest of it. This discount will often take up to 50% off your visit to go and do this escape room again and just keep doing it and doing it until you get it. Q: I expect people do this to celebrate events or parties. Would you explain some of the events people use as a reason to come to Escape Rooms? A: Personally, I regularly attend Escape Rooms for my birthday, my boyfriend's birthday, my friends birthdays. We have a lot of people who come with their soccer teams to celebrate victories. Even here at ConBravo, the staff went and did the Escape Room in town just to celebrate the fact that the Con has kicked off. Q: Can it help bond people who come to the rooms, because you are really working as a team? A: Very much so. We had a mother who booked her daughter and her boyfriend who she was fighting with at the time, to go into the room together. She said, you're probably going to see some yelling, but by the end of it the relationship was actually really strong. They came out very happy and worked through their differences because they had to work together. Q: Can you tell us about some humorous escape rooms or some escape rooms with humor in them? A: One of my favorite ones that I've run into is a scale. A lot of people are scared to step on scales so people will just avoid the scale but you actually have to step on the scale and it's going to read the wrong weight every time. It's going to read the same way for everybody who steps on it. The people who come in there have very different reactions to it. There are people who will say, this scale is very complimentary and there are other people who will say, the scale says, I'm fat. A lot of people just tend to avoid the scales altogether. It's kind of hilarious to watch. Honestly, if you're in an Escape Room, the point is to check everything. Q: I know you probably have to be discreet about some of the tricks that are in Escape Rooms, but can you tell us some of the trickiest types things that people will encounter in an escape room? A: Maps are your worst enemy. A lot of Escape Rooms will use old maps and you're going to have to calculate coordinates. If you're really good at map reading, that's awesome. My friends and I are not so we tend to run into problems with those. Sometimes rooms will get you to do algorithms for math, but those rooms tend to leave you some note paper so you can write down your ideas as you go and don't have to do it in your head. Q: What sorts of puzzles would work really well for an artistic person? A: Being able to have a spatial sense of where you're going and what you've seen; a memory of what you've seen on the walls or even just picking out the finer details. If you have an eye for these fine details, you can find things that other people who are more literal-minded have missed. Q: Being artistic, what are some of the most fun, artistic things you've created for escape rooms? A: My claim to fame is Aunt Edna's Condo in Hamilton Ontario Canada at The Crux. In that room there are about twenty paintings hidden somewhere in the room in various places. I created every single one of those over the course of three days with nothing but markers. Q: Do you sometimes get your friends involved in creating some of these puzzles? A: At this point it's always been my co-workers. I was hired on by a team. My friends do get to come in and test the rooms sometimes. Q: Sometimes do people set up something like this in their own home for a personal party? A: Yes. They are working on building kits for people to do this kind of thing at home and even in classrooms, so people will take it to schools as well. It's called Escape Room In A Box. There's a KickStarter going right now. It is everything you need to have a mini Escape Room in your house. Q: Can you think of any other really funny people who came in to solve these puzzles? A: We had a group come in from Texas and they called themselves the Texas Rearrangers. They were visiting family in Hamilton. They consisted of a 14-year-old girl, her 9-year-old brother, the mother, the father and the aunt. They went into the room and the girl decided to be a complete drama queen, star-fishing herself on the floor, screaming, "We're never getting out of here." The brother grabbed one of the props in the room and decided to dance to build moral support. So obviously watching them on the camera was pretty amusing. Q: Have you had people come into the room who have been too serious and not been able to relax with it? A: Definitely. Not everybody feels comfortable coming into the room. You'll get a lot of questions beforehand. Some people will go in there so serious and so focused on trying to solve this that they kind of put themselves in a corner. You need to be able to think, observe what's around you. You can't just hyper-focus on one thing. You need your mind to be open and you need to be aware. You need to rely on your teammates. You're not a one-man army in this situation. Q: Is there any negativity around Escape Rooms that you've heard? A: There have been a couple of people that gave bad reviews to Escape Rooms. We've had people come in that just don't enjoy themselves. They find the puzzles too hard, or they're too frustrated because they didn't beat it. People tend to get upset when they lose so you do have some sore losers who say they're never coming back and never doing anything like it again. It's kind of sad because you would like to see people try it again, maybe trying other Escape Rooms, because every one is a bit different.

JuVan Langford is an international speaker, workshop facilitator, and male empowerment coach. He has the ability to connect with those he helps and to dig deep into your story, your why and your legacy. JuVan has been successful as a professional basketball player, a model and now a men’s mentor with his series of workshops called The Elevation Effect. JuVan is a truly grounded, focused guy who is keenly aware of what it means to Be Here Now. I’ve personally just returned from Toronto (at the time of recording), where I was thrilled to be a participant in The Elevation Effect. It was a truly impactful weekend. Contact Info Website: www.JuVanLangford.com YouTube: Weekly Video Content www.YouTube.com Thought Life TheVlog Facebook & Instagram: JuVanLangford Most Influential Person My Grandmother - She is one of the most profound, charismatic, deeply connected and present person I know. Effect on Emotions It's caused me to go from being an emotional man to being an emotionally intelligent man. What I mean by that is I'm taking personal responsibility for what I'm feeling and experiencing in my body and not making it out of somebody else's. Thoughts on Breathing People ask me about my morning routine and I say, I breathe. I breathe deeply, I breathe slowly, I breathe consistently. It's so important to fill our body with fresh air. Fresh air is everything to our body because it's healing and it's our job, our duty, my job, my duty and responsibility to heal my body on this journey into remembering who I truly am. Suggested Resources Book: All The Places You Will Go by Dr. Suess (I order it for the clients I work with one on one). App: Audible  I'm on the go and I love listening to books, I love learning and growing. An Impactful Story I remember, in my junior year of college, my mentor, his name's Michael LeGace, I call him Pops. He's very much a father figure in my life. He came up to the campus. I went to Skidmore College. I was complaining how I didn't like the campus, it wasn't the school for me. I should have chose a bigger school. I should have chose a more diverse school. I should have chose a less expensive school. He said listen, you see that railing right there? Put your hand on the railing. We're going to call this the appreciation rail. Everytime you feel yourself being unappreciative for what you have, I want you to come here and remind yourself that you are a collegiate athlete, that you are a scholarship awards student. You have your family, you have your health, you have so much to be thankful for. You are at one of the top institutions in the world and you are doing a very good job. You may not have everything you want, but you are always covered. He went on and on and it nearly brought tears to my eyes. It was a very profound moment. Let's fast forward seven years later. I moved to California and I became a mentor to a young kid for the Tiger Woods Foundation. He was a UCLA student, a young Asian gentlemen, an amazing  guy, a small guy. I was afraid I was not going to be able to connect with him on a deeper level, maybe culturally or maybe because he was more academic and I was more athletic focused. I had all these stories about why this was not going to work. I remember meeting him on campus and going for a walk. He was complaining about how he missed his family, he missed going to church on the weekends, and how the school's too big. It's a huge campus and I said, hey, let's take a walk. I bring him to a railing and in my mind I thought I was going to create the same moment and I told him, you have so much to be thankful for. You're a great kid and your family loves you and you get to visit them on the weekends. You can do this, and that ... and he said, OK JuVan. And he started walking away from me. And I said, well, that didn't go over the way that I thought it would. And the moment passed and you know what happened? Three weeks I received an email with a picture, a selfy with him with his hand on the railing and he said, JuVan, I just wanted to let you know that I visited the appreciation railing today and I'm so thankful to have you in my life. I wanted you to know that I heard you that day, I really did. It was a powerful, full-circle moment that we think that people need to get things in the moment and with patience and just being in service, you never know the impact you can create. You never know how many generations that will continue to go through, but just focusing and showing up for other people. That's why I love the work that I do. Traveling the globe, creating safe spaces for men, I love creating content, community and conversations that support men like myself, yourself and some of the men that are listening right now.

Matt Marr has a unique way of helping people with their problems and he uses his love of talking and his degree in Clinical Psychology to make a huge impact through his popular podcast, The Dear Mattie Show. Referred to by some, as the Gay White Oprah, Matt loves to empower his listeners and clients in ways they never dreamed of. As a Narrative therapist, Matt believes that our lives can be seen through a story metaphor with characters of Fear, Hope, Depression, and Addiction, all contributing to our narrative. Matt combines humor, therapy, heart, helpful advice and a guest host every week in a genuine effort to help people, but at the same time garner some smiles. If Oprah and Ellen had a baby on Dolly Parton's front porch, that's the Dear Mattie Show. Contact Info Website: www.DearMattieShow.com Podcast: www.DearMattieShow.com Social Media: TheMattMarr Most Influential Person Jessica Weissbuch - My friend who started Brave Trails with me. We would do mindfulness exercises in a group and she would start with the group every time and that would center us. She would focus on our breathing or filling our butts in the chair and that was quick and easy for me. Effect on Emotions I think mindfulness has affected my emotions in that it has allowed my emotions to be what they truly are instead of what my fear or doubt or my shame almost mixed them up to be. They present as if they truly are into the soul of who I am instead of what kind of gets mixed up in fear and societal norms and things like that. Thoughts on Breathing I'm lucky to be a trained singer because at age 13 you would have heard me talking about diaphragmatic breathing, what it is to take a good breath. If I'm having massage, or acupuncture, or a needle, I always just connect my breath. When I'm having pain, having joy, whatever it is. I was very lucky to learn that skill very young in life. [show-notes-breathing] Suggested Resources Book: Read a chapter of a book that gave you joy as a child such as Nancy Drew or a comic book. App: Spotify - There's one meditational singer I love named Girish who has a channel on Spotify. See www.GirishMusic.com Advice for Newbie Let perfection go away. Just get that out of your mind, because for me I felt like I needed to be always the straight A, perfect student. If I'm meditating I've gotta have pillows etc. No. Imperfect moments are great. One of the best places I think to cultivate meditation honestly is on the toilet, especially for a lot of my listeners. A lot of my listeners are women and they're moms and they don't have a lot of time and sometimes the bathroom is the only time that they have five minutes away from their kids. I don't think it's good to sit on the toilet for too long, cause you'll get hemorrhoids, but still, I always say, you have to go to the bathroom, so just sit and breathe deeply for two minutes and just notice the air hitting your skin. I've said that to people and they've said, 'wow, just that one little technique has totally changed the way I deal with my children'.

Cynthia Jamin is a creative entrepreneur responsible for a million dollar brand called Twirly Girl. She saw a need in the marketplace and she let her creative and business inclinations thrive as she grew her business and her brand. She calls her business a healing and joyous experience. Mindfulness is a central theme in Cynthia's life and in spite of some major challenges, her strong spirit and determination have carried her forward. Contact Info Website: www.TwirlyGirlShop.com Email: cynthiajamin@twirlygirlshop.com Contact through LinkedIn or Facebook Most Influential Person The Dalai Lama - I've seen lots of clips and movies about him. The way that he approaches everything is so beautiful and so enlightened. How can you come away from that not feeling like, I'm going to try and be a better person? Effect on Emotions I think as I've gotten older,  I've learned to trust the moment more instead of trying to figure out the future or shoulder the past. I've learned to trust the moment more and being mindful really allows me to be proud of how I behave because I am taking the time to really think things through; not all the time, but at least I'm aware of what I'm doing which actually makes me feel much more confident. Thoughts on Breathing The breath really gives you inspiration and taking in that breath allows you to take a few seconds to calm the nervous system and allow you to think a little clearer. Just even taking that time and feeling your body. I would say that's the main thing that it does and just connecting myself to all that's around me too. Suggested Resources Book: The Prophet by Khalil Gibran Book: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz App: Meditation App by David Elliot See www.DavidElliot.com Advice for Newbie I think there's so many resources that you can read but I think the most important thing is about asking yourself this question: How present do you want to be in your life? How open do you want to be to the impulses and the energy around you? If you answer, "very", and "yes, I want to be present in my life", then you'll take the steps to do those things. There's so many different ways to be mindful, so it's more important to really set your intention and what your goals are for yourself and for your life.