Table of Contents Table of Contents ... 3 Introduction ... 4 Forever Young ... 6 Love the Skin You’re In .. 12 Anti Aging Secret Weapon .. 18 Final Words 21 Resources .. 22 Sample Content Preview Blueberries One of the top power berries of them all, blueberries contain more antioxidants than nearly any other fruit! Better yet, they also reduce skin damage caused by sun exposure. But there’s yet another reason to incorporate blueberries into your daily diet: they contain high levels of Vitamin C which works to prevent wrinkles and smooth fine lines. Tip: Blueberries are also known to help protect your skin from emotional stress and even over exercising and the dark purple seeds from Concord grades are filled with polyphenols that will help keep your mind sharp. Incorporate one-half cup of blueberries into your diet every day to prevent cell-structure damage and prevent the loss of firmness in your skin. Pomegranate It should come as no surprise that pomegranate is an essential fruit when it comes to anti-aging and softening your skin so that it looks and feels years younger. Pomegranate is a top ingredient in many shakes, smoothies and vitamin-based drinks as well as many anti-aging and weight loss recipes because of the high levels of ellagic acid and punicalagin, found in its seeds. Ellagic acid is a compound that fights damage from free radicals while punicalagin is a super nutrient that helps boost collagen production and connective tissue - both of which will give your skin a soft, plump and smooth look. Tip: Try to incorporate more than pomegranate juice. Consider purchasing seeds that you can sprinkle into foods and recipes. Kale, Spinach or Swiss Chard When it comes to firming up that loose skin and minimizing wrinkles, take your pick between these three power foods. These vital veggies include special phytonutrients that help protect your skin from sun damage, while fueling your body with antioxidant compounds. Spinach is loaded with beta-carotene, a powerful nutrient that has been proven to improve overall skin elasticity. Tip: Try to include 3-4 cups of kale, spinach or Swiss chard into your daily diet. Replace iceberg or romaine lettuce with spinach. Swiss chard leaves, as well as Kale, are loaded with chlorophyll, a super nutrient that can block the effects of cancer-causing chemicals! Love the Skin You’re In When it comes to reducing skin redness, fine lines and wrinkles, there are a handful of super-foods and nutrient-based supplements that you’ll want to begin incorporating into your diet. Let’s take a closer look: Top Foods for Reducing Fine Lines & Wrinkles Watercress Watercress is known to increase the circulation and delivery of nutrients and minerals throughout your body. This means improved oxygenation of the skin which will subsequently reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Tip: Add a handful of watercress to a salad 3-4 times a week for maximum results. Papaya There are few superfoods quite as effective at boosting skin elasticity as papaya. They include a ton of antioxidants as well as other important vitamins and minerals that will make your skin look smoother. Some of these vitamins include: Vitamins A, C, E and K as well as magnesium, potassium and phosphorus. Papaya is often found in skin masks and cosmetics because of its ability to help your body shed dead cells while working at helping to reduce inflammation. Incorporating just 2-3 cups of papaya into your weekly diet will help you experience the many benefits of this power fruit. Avocado Known for its high levels of Vitamin A and B-complex, avocado is one of the best fruits for nourishing and moisturizing the skin. It’s also a popular snack for those looking to lose weight as it is not only healthy but it will make you feel fuller for longer periods of time. Top Foods for Increased Collagen Production While your body is constantly at work, creating new collagen, somewhere around the age of 30-35 years old, collagen levels begin to taper off. Worse, the quality of collagen being produced is not as high as when you were younger. This means that you need to take measures to incorporate foods and supplements into your life, as well as topical products if possible, that support and promote the production of new collagen on a regular basis. Here are a few foods that will help restore and repair damaged collagen while priming your body so you are also able to regenerate collagen. Red Bell Peppers These peppers are packed with antioxidants which are incredibly important when it comes to reversing the signs of aging. They contain high levels of Vitamin C as well as carotenoids, an incredibly powerful antioxidant. The reason why antioxidants are so effective at looking and feeling younger is because they aid in skin repair, while also reducing inflammation and cleaning up reactive free radicals that can cause serious damage to our DNA. Many antioxidants also work to stimulate the production of collagen which will help smooth out your skin while giving you a youthful glow. You can find antioxidants in many different products including cosmetics, dietary supplements and even sunscreen. Tip: Slice 1 cup of red bell peppers and dip them in Greek yogurt or hummus as a healthy, on-the-go snack. Fish Fish, such as salmon, haddock and tuna are loaded with omega-3 fatty acid which is imperative when it comes to regenerating collagen. Red Veggies We’ve already mentioned how red bell peppers are an effective way of boosting collagen levels but don’t overlook all the other red veggies as many of them are equally as powerful including tomatoes and beets. Red vegetables contain the potent antioxidant lycopene which not only works as a natural sunscreen, but it works towards increasing collagen levels in your body. Soy Quite simply, soy blocks the aging process. You can get your fill of soy from products like soy milk, tofu or cheese so do your best to work some of these foods into your diet. If you’re wondering why soy is so helpful at slowing down the aging process, it’s because it contains genistein, a plant-based hormone that blocks MMP enzymes which age the skin.

Sample Content Preview Split Testing for SEO So how does this work in the world of SEO? Well, while we’ll get into the specifics and the nitty gritty of SEO in a moment, the main thing you need to know at this point is that Google relies on a few factors when determining how prominently to feature a website in the SERPs. For example, Google will look for the presence of keywords, it will look for the use of H1 and H2 tags (large bold text), it will look for images that have certain alt tags and filenames, and it will look for signals from users – such as the amount of time spent on the page. The problem is, that no one knows the specifics of the algorithm. We know that Google likes sites that use keywords subtly, and our best guess is that the ideal keyword density is about 1-3% (meaning that the keyword appears one to three times in each hundred words). But we don’t know precisely how many times Google wants us to repeat the phrase, we don’t know where the tipping point is where it becomes too much. We don’t know how much Google wants to see us use related terms, and we’re not 100% sure whether it’s better to focus on just one keyword or to try a few. Again, everyone has their opinions. This makes it very hard to make smart decisions as a site owner. Do you include more keywords in your articles or not? Should you use that image before the text or after it? And is it a good idea to use H1 tags, or are you better off with H2 tags?The answer is that we just don’t know. And for that reason, the best option is to run AB tests (the other term for split tests) in order to see which changes positively affect your search ranking and which do not. So, why do we need split testing in the SEO community now more than ever? The simple answer is that SEO is more complex than it ever has been before, and we have even less idea of how it works. For a moment, let me talk about another tangentially related example: YouTube’s copyright algorithm. You see, over on YouTube, there is an algorithm designed to ensure that users don’t upload copyrighted content. This prevents YouTube from getting into legal trouble, and protects the intellectual property of music labels and movie studios – in theory anyway. The problem is that this copyright detection can be a little gung-ho and will sometimes pick out the background music at a party and use that to file a copyright strike against the person who uploaded the video. Most people would agree that’s a little unfair! That’s why some creators decided to test precisely how the system works. They did this by uploading hundreds of versions of the same song: versions that had been modulated up or down a semi-tone, versions that had been transposed down an octave, versions played background, versions played quietly, versions played only for short clips. Doing all of this, allowed them to test the limits of the system and then to provide the wider community with useful rules on how to avoid being penalized. They discovered that if less than 10 seconds of content matched, then the person who uploaded the video would likely be fine. And this allowed for a whole host of fair-use practices. SEO is just the same. Google is constantly changing its algorithms, moving the goal posts, and going back on what it has said. One minute it’s a good idea to get as many links as possible, the next moment that’s the worst thing you can do! Right now, Google is making a big push toward a more AI-driven service. It wants the user to speak to Google using natural language, and to receive carefully curated responses drawn from the web. That is far more complex than simply looking for exact keyword matches, and it makes our job as SEOs that much harder! That’s why using AB tests to identify precisely what works and what doesn’t is such an important move. Then there’s the fact that this is so multivariate. For example, it might be that Google would prefer you to use a number of headers in your content with keywords in a perfect world. But what happens if you then add those headers in, only to find that this actually drives away your visitors? That alone is useful information you could garner from a split test. But it’s also possible that in driving away visitors, you send negative signals to Google and end up hurting your ranking. Even though what you’re doing is considered GOOD from an SEO standpoint, it is working contrary to ANOTHER system within the ranking algorithm. When you take all of that into account, it becomes less obvious what you should do and this makes it all the more useful to just test it and see what actually works. This is useful if you are a business looking to climb the ranks of Google without shooting yourself in the foot. It’s useful if you are starting out and want to adopt the very best strategy from the very start. And what’s more, this is extremely important if your are an SEO specialist or agency selling your services to a client. At a time when nothing is certain in the world of SEO, explaining to a customer why you think they should adopt a certain strategy or employ a particular technique is difficult. But if you can show clearly that the strategy works in a controlled and SAFE environment, then you can increase your chances significantly of securing their business. Why Split Testing is the Perfect Business Strategy In many ways, split testing is the ‘perfect’ business strategy. If that sounds hyperbolic, then hear me out for a moment. How can any business strategy truly be ‘perfect’ you ask? The answer is that when employed correctly, split testing will literally ‘evolve’ your site to the point where it thrives, avoiding all the bad mistakes that you might have otherwise made along the way. So let’s say that you start out with a fairly average site that is performing very averagely in the SERPs. Using split testing, you might decide to start using more H1 tags with keywords in, or you might choose to start using images a little more. This causes a bump in your position. You then decide to test some design changes to your site. Doing so convinces you that you should be using a slightly less busy and more modern layout. You therefore switch to a new theme for your WordPress site that looks great. Bit by bit, you adopt more decisions that help to hone your site into the perfectly optimized design for Google, and slowly-but-surely, it climbs the ranks. You can’t make a bad decision, because you see those mistakes coming a mile off. And if you keep tweaking, you keep on improving. In this way, split testing is the best way to evolve your site and is the closest thing to a perfect strategy there is. You might at this point be asking why you should go to all the trouble of creating a split test, when you could just run a short trial period instead? Why color three prawn shops red and then wait for them to collect enough actionable data? Isn’t this really just a fancy way of describing a kind of public beta test? Well, there are a few key differences to keep in mind, which involve thinking like an actual scientist. Because that’s what this is emulating FYI: this is precisely the same technique used in research. When a researcher wants to know if a particular drug will help to boost someone’s alertness, they find out by creating two separate groups: an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group is the one that receives the drug, and the control group is the one that doesn’t. This then gives the researcher the opportunity to compare the stats from the two groups. What this achieves is to remove confounding variables. A confounding variable is anything that can hurt your outcome, rendering the results of the study useless. For example, if you also introduce a new exercise program to the individual taking the drug, then it might be THIS that makes them more focused, rather than the drug. That skews your results, and you therefore don’t know whether the drug or the intervention made the difference. One of the most common confounding variables in research, is the ‘placebo effect’. This effect describes the fact that when you tell someone they’ve received a drug, they will then feel better even if the drug is just a sugar pill! The power of belief is so strong, that this can end up skewing the results as the subject’s optimism and belief helps them to dig deeper and find more focus. That’s why the experimental group will often receive a sugar pill. This way, both groups THINK they are getting something, and you can thereby rule out the role of placebo in the study. So back to your SEO. What does all this have to do with split testing? Well essentially, you have your experimental group and your control group. The experimental group is the one where you have introduced the new header or whatever else, and the control group is the one where you have left everything as it was.

Table of Contents Introduction . 6 Chapter 1: What Are Limiting Beliefs? ..10 Chapter 2: How to Make Your Own Luck by Changing Your Thoughts.17 The Law of Attraction .18 Chapter 3: What Would Make Your Life Better? ...21 Knowing What to Change ..22 What's Bothering You? ..22 Your Eulogy ..23 Analyse Your Role Models 23 The Five Fold Why 24 Your Past ..24 Chapter 4: Letting Go .26 Get Stuck In...27 Have a Send-Off 28 Recognize the Value .28 The Empty Chair29 CBT ...29 Chapter 5: Implicit Memory 31 Types of Implicit Memory ...33 Studies and How to Use Implicit Memory ...34 Illusion-of-Truth Effect35 Implications ...35 Chapter 6: Mindfulness and Cognitive Restructuring ..38 What is Cognitive Restructuring? ...39 Mindfulness ...40 Replacing Negative Thoughts With Positive Ones .41 Chapter 7: Confidence and Self-Worth .44 Living in the Now ...46 Working Out ..47 CBT and Self-Esteem 48 Chapter 8: Body Language and Dressing for the Life You Want .50 Dress for the Life You Want ...51 Power Positions and Body Language 53 Just Smile! .54 What a Smile Does for Our Mood ..54 What a Smile Does for Us Socially 55 Chapter 9: Meditation .57 Putting it All Together 60 Sample Content Preview The Person Who Won’t Leave Their Current Job/Relationship Let’s try another situation. Let’s say you’re in a job or a relationship that makes you unhappy. It really doesn’t matter which, but you know it won’t provide you fulfilment. But you STAY THERE anyway! Why? Because you feel it’s the “best you’re going to get.” You think that if you terminate the relationship, you’ll end up loveless. Likewise, you’ll find yourself on the street if you quit your current job. A lack of esteem means that you don’t think you can get “better.” You effectively think you aren’t “worth” more than that. And this then leads you to make some terrible mistakes. Some people will even stay in abusive relationships because they don’t feel that they will find anything better! Some even feel that they deserve the abuse they receive. The Author Who Throws Away His Novel Did you know that when Stephen King first wrote Carrie, he threw it in the trash? It was his wife who retrieved it for him and told him he was being crazy! Turns out, that we often can’t recognize our own good work – or we’re too scared to believe in it! Now compare this to someone like J.K. Rowling who persistently kept sending out her manuscript for Harry Potter despite it being rejected over and over! Imagine if Rowling had King’s lack of self belief! The Person Who Won’t Approach a Group of Friends The sad truth of it is that for some people, limiting beliefs are so powerful that they won’t even go and speak to their own friends. They believe that they’ll stutter, or that their friends don’t want them there! They think they have nothing to contribute to the conversation. The Person Who Keeps Smoking Not all limiting beliefs can seem like negative things on the face of it. For example, how about your sense of “self.” We all have a sense of who we are, but most of us don’t think of this as a limiting belief! Of course, who you think you are is not always limiting… but it can be! The perfect example of this is what happens when you get stuck in “type thinking.” This is when you think that you are a certain “type” of person, or that you have a certain set of traits… and then you let that dictate who you are going forward. For example, you might have a reputation for being the class clown. As a result, you always cause a ruckus in the office and draw attention to yourself. Eventually, this starts to hurt your career, but you feel as though you can’t change that about yourself – as it’s something you’re known for and an integral part of your personality! Likewise, you might not want to stop smoking because you have “always smoked.” You might not want to improve your diet because you love being known as the guy who eats everything. You might not approach clients because you think of yourself as shy. As you can see then, limiting beliefs really can be extremely problematic and hurt every aspect of your life – and we’ve still only touched on a few. For this reason, it’s time to start doing something about them. Chapter 2: How to Make Your Own Luck by Changing Your Thoughts What many people don’t realize is that they can actually become luckier by changing their beliefs about themselves and what will happen in their lives. This sounds absurd, but it makes a lot of sense once you understand the logic behind it all. People tend to think that luck is something that is out of their control. After all, that's pretty much the definition of luck; luck is good things happening to you often that you did not directly cause. Luck is winning the lottery, luck is finding a tenner on the floor and luck is being in the right place at the right time and meeting the person who becomes the love of your life/offers you that amazing job. But while luck might seem out of our hands, we all know some people who just seem to have 'all the luck'. These are the people who have all the good things happen to them and almost seem to have a charmed life… And for one person to be that consistently lucky? It seems a little statistically improbable! So what's really going on here? It all begins with changing your self-perception and your attitude. And you've already taken the first step by signing up! The Law of Attraction You may have heard of the 'law of attraction'. This is the idea that what you put out into the world ultimately dictates what you get back; that as you act, so you will become. Again this might sound like nonsense – but stop and think about how this might work. Acting like someone who is very successful might mean dressing smarter, acting more assertive and confident, taking on more responsibility and even walking taller. If you genuinely believe you are successful or destined for success, then you will exude this certainty in everything you do. As a result, you will give off a number of signs that tell people you are successful and confident. They will see you 'strutting' in your smart suit and they will think 'there's a successful and capable person'. And you know what? They will be more likely to offer you more work, to give you promotions and to generally help you to succeed as a result. You've heard the expression 'dress for the job you want'. Well actually, you shouldn't just be dressing like a pro, you should be taking on that whole personality in every way that you can so that you give off that aura of success, confidence and smarts.

Table of Contents Introduction – Why Is It So Hard To Build Muscle? .. 6 Chapter 1 – My Current Situation .. 9 Why Visit the Doctor? .. 9 Self-Evaluation Checklist .. 10 Chapter 2 – Getting Your Head In The Game .. 13 How to Set Goals 13 Step 1: Set a 5-year Goal 14 Step 2: Set Monthly Goals 15 Step 3: Set Up Rewards 16 Chapter 3 – Nutrition Guidelines For Building Muscle 18 Protein .. 19 Fat . 19 Carbohydrates 20 Chapter 4 – Which Popular Muscle Building Diet Is Right For Me? 22 80-10-10 Diet . 22 Split-Meals Diet .. 23 Intermittent Fasting Diet.. 24 Chapter 5 – Best Type Of Training For Muscle Building. 25 Chapter 6 – Sample Training Schedule & Exercises .. 27 Day 1: Arms 28 Day 2: Legs . 29 Day 3: Shoulders 30 Day 4: Chest .. 31 Day 5: Back . 32 Days 6 and 7: Rest! .. 33 Chapter 7 –Rest & Recovery . 35 Cool Down 35 Stretch . 36 Eat Protein .. 37 Get Potassium and Calcium . 37 Drink Water . 38 Sleep 7 – 9 Hours Every Night 39 Eat Right .. 39 Reduce Stress . 40 Chapter 8 – Beginner Mistakes To Avoid .. 42 Pushing Yourself Too Hard 42 Not Having a Schedule . 43 Step 1: Set a Time . 44 Step 2: Plan Your Routine 44 Step 3: Write it in Your Calendar 44 Imbalance 45 Bad Form . 45 Skipping Days . 46 Going it Alone . 46 Chapter 9 - Apps & Technology to Enhance Muscle Building 48 Apps for Workouts . 48 You Are Your Own Gym 49 Fitness Buddy . 49 App for Nutrition. 50 My Fitness Pal . 50 App for Tracking Fitness .. 51 Globe Gripz . 51 Weighted Jump Rope. 52 Foam Rollers 53 Conclusion – Making Muscle Building A Lifestyle . 54 Sample Content Preview Be sure to keep the list of these measurements somewhere that you can refer to often as you re-evaluate to make sure that you’re on track with your goals. It will also help to keep these handy when you are setting goals for yourself, so you know how high to set the bar for yourself based on where you are now. Now that we’ve set a path towards muscle building and assessed our current situation the next thing to get in order is our mind…or mindset to be a bit more precise, which is what we will cover in the next part. Chapter 2 – Getting Your Head In The Game If you don’t believe in yourself, then you’ll never reach your goals. It’s as simple as that. By saying that you can’t do something, then you are condemning yourself to failure before you even start. For that reason, the most important step of your muscle-building journey is to get your mindset right by getting your head in the game. First and foremost, you need to think of yourself as a muscle builder, not simply someone who does some muscle-building exercises a few times a week. This will allow you to live a lifestyle that focuses on building muscle. As your lifestyle revolves around muscle-building, every decision you make about what you eat and how you spend your time will help you build muscle. How to Set Goals Before you really start muscle building, you’ll need to set goals for yourself. It’s important for your goals to be attainable or else you’ll never reach them. More than that, you’re more likely to give up before reaching your goals if they’re set too high. So, keep that in mind as you start the three-step process of setting muscle-building goals. Step 1: Set a 5-year Goal The first goal you’re going to set for yourself won’t be reached for several years, but it gives you something long-term to reach for that will help keep you motivated to keep going. This goal should be difficult enough that it will take a lot of work over a long period of time to reach it, but easy enough that you will be able to get to it in about 5 years. Your 5-year goal is going to look different from everybody else’s. It could be to get your body measurements to a certain size, your muscle percentage to a certain number, or your 1RM up to a certain weight. Whatever your 5-year goal, be as specific as possible so you know exactly what you’re aiming for. This helps in the long run and right now as you continue the goal-setting process. Step 2: Set Monthly Goals Break down your 5-year goal into 60 months and it becomes significantly easier to reach. Rather than simply going for one long-term goal, you are now able to focus on just one goal per month. This not only makes the process less overwhelming, but it also helps you feel motivated to keep going as you reach your goals every month and see your progress much more often. To make things easier, you may want to focus on just one part of your body every month. If, for example, your goal is to reach a certain 1RM for every exercise, make your goal for February to add a couple pounds to your squat. While you should still be working the other parts of your body, allowing yourself to focus on one per month will simplify your process. Step 3: Set Up Rewards What’s something huge that you’ve always wanted but never allowed yourself to get for whatever reason? Set that up as your ultimate reward, that you will indulge in only once you reach your 5-year goal. This may involve taking a vacation, or buying a new vehicle. Whatever it is, set this up as your reward, and it will help you self-motivate. You’ll also want to set up smaller rewards at the beginning of every month that you can enjoy if you reach your goal for the month. These should be smaller goals that will keep you motivated during that month. It could be something like going to see a movie at the end of the month or buying yourself something you can add to a collection. Once your goals and rewards are in place, you’re ready to get started as a muscle builder. If you’re not sure what goals are reasonable, then ask a muscle builder you know to help you set goals. You could also look for online muscle-building communities to find out more about what are attainable 5-year and monthly goals. Now that you’ve assessed your current situation, got the all clear from your doctor and set some clear and precise goals for your muscle building efforts, it’s time to start looking at the day to day things you need to do to see the results you’re looking for. In the next part we are going to look at foundational nutrition guidelines for muscle building. Chapter 3 – Nutrition Guidelines For Building Muscle Part of your new muscle-building lifestyle involves changes in the food that you eat. Getting the right balance of macronutrients will help your body do what it needs to do in order to build muscle so you can reach your goals. For that reason, we’re going to detail the three macronutrients and let you know about how many of each you should be eating every day. Before we get too much into diet, keep in mind that every body is different, and what works for one person may not work for another. That’s why these are just guidelines. We recommend that you track your food intake at the beginning of your journey and make changes as necessary until you’ve established the perfect balance for you.

Table of Contents Legal Disclaimers & Notices .. 2 Contents ...... 3 Introduction to Leadership 4 Understanding the Dark Side 5 How to Lead and Influence People ...... 8 Getting the Most from Your Team 11 10 Ways to Be a Better Leader ...... 13 Conclusion.... 15 Sample Content Preview The Paranoid Leader Paranoid leaders are exactly as they sound: paranoid that other people are better than they are, and thus they view even the mildest criticism as devastating. They are liable to overreact if they sense they are being attacked, especially in front of other people. This can manifest itself in open hostility. This attitude is the result of an inferiority complex that perceives even the most constructive criticism in the wrong way. The paranoid leader will be guarded in their dealings with other people because they do not want to reveal too much of themselves in case they display their weaknesses and are attacked or undermined. They may be scared that their position is undeserved, therefore can be deeply suspicious of colleagues who may steal their limelight or perhaps challenge for their position. This is not always a wholly negative trait, however. A healthy dose of paranoia can be key to success in business, because it helps keep leaders on their toes, always aware of opportunities not to be missed. It is the opposite end of the spectrum to being complacent, and can make for a very successful venture. The Codependent Leader Co-dependent leaders do not enjoy taking the lead, and instead seek to copy what others have done or are doing. They avoid confrontation and would rather cover up problems than face them head-on. Planning ahead is not their forte. They tend instead to react to whatever comes their way, rather than acting to alter outcomes or achieve goals. Codependent leaders, therefore, are not leaders at all. They are reactionary and have the habit of keeping important information to themselves because they are not prepared to act upon it. This can clearly lead to poor outcomes because all the pertinent facts are not known to those below the leader who may be charged with making decisions. This type of leader avoids confrontation and is thus liable to accept a greater workload for themselves rather than respond negatively to any request. They are also prone to accepting the blame for situations they have not caused. The Passive--Aggressive Leader Passive-aggressive leaders feel like they need to control everything, and when they can’t they cause problems for those who are in control. However, they are sneaky in their ploys, and are very difficult to catch out. Their main characteristics are that they can be stubborn, purposely forgetful, intentionally inefficient, complaining (behind close doors), and they parry demands put on them through procrastination. Typically, if they feel they are not firmly in the driving seat, they will jump out and puncture the tires when no one is looking, then feign horror and pretend to search around for a tire iron. This type of leader has two speeds: full speed ahead and stopped. When situations do not go their way, they will offer their full support for whatever has been decided, then gossip and back stab, willfully cause delays, and generally create upset. When confronted, they claim to have been misinterpreted. Passive aggressive leader are often chronically late for appointments, using any excuse to dominate and regain some control of the situation. Dealing with passive-aggressive leaders is thus a draining and frustrating affair that saps energy. They are not averse to short outbursts of sadness or anger to regain some control, but are ultimately fearful of success since it leads to higher expectations. How to Lead and Influence People Leading people has nothing to do with managing them. Too many managers are trying to micro-manage their staff, all the while forgetting to lead them effectively. If you want to become a strong leader you need to lead by example. This means you have to show your team that you are perfectly capable to set examples. By doing so you will earn their respect and create lifelong devotees who would move mountains to please you. Conversely, a manager who hides behind his office door while commanding staff isn't going to gain much respect in the work place. Ultimately the success of any business venture lies in the hands of its employees and NOT the managers. A manager's responsibility is to organize and manage business systems, systems that will see to the successful finalization of projects. If your staff are unhappy it will soon show in their lack of productivity. This will influence your bottom line. Chances are customer complaints will start to amass and office gossip will run hot. This is counterproductive to running a well oiled machine – your business. It's All About Relationships No organization can function for very long without the co-operation of its employees. Unfortunately, the necessity in any organization is that there are various levels of status within the team, and this can lead to conflicts if not managed properly. The effective leader has to realize that the team under them is there because they have to be. Most employees work to earn money, not because they enjoy the daily grind of a nine-to-five. For this reason, there must be an effort to build healthy relationships, or life in the workplace can become untenable for everyone, and productivity will decline. Leaders need to make their workplace society function positively, with co-operation and respect. In this way everyone is working for the common good and towards a common purpose. This demands that effective relationships are built upon an understanding of each other’s needs. It is no different to how things should be in the home; no personal relationship will last very long if there is a sense that one or both parties are being selfish. The most effective way to understand how other people are feeling is to listen to what they have to say. This must be done without judging, and not as though you are being forced to do so by some higher authority. Very often, teams will have the same goals as their leaders, but may just want to know that they are not seen as automatons that have no creative input. Quality workplace relationships make people feel happy. One of the major reasons why employees move on from a company is because of relationship clashes with leaders or other colleagues. Leaders should also make sure that they create the circumstances for understanding within their team, and this means asking questions. Assuming that your team will simply pipe up and express their feelings is not enough; many people will not feel it is their place to speak up unless they are specifically asked to do so. Listening should be done attentively, not glancing at your watch every couple of minutes or trying not to look bored. This means you listen without interrupting or fidgeting, and with the correct expression. Your expression, by the way, should be genuine or you will be found out very quickly and the situation will become worse than had you not asked in the first place. A great way to foster healthy relationships with your team is by meeting them in a more social environment on regular occasions. Some companies choose to send their staff to regular golfing outings while others prefer to host a monthly BBQ or weekend trips. Regardless what you end up choosing, the key lies in giving your team a chance to connect away from the daily grind. Building effective relationships means that neither party must make any assumptions. As a leader, you cannot expect people to understand exactly what we want and why you want it. Sometimes it is this lack of comprehension that causes problems. As much as you must trust your team members to have intelligence, if they are not party to the goals you are working towards they can become resistant. As far as possible, your team should be conversant with your goals and how their actions are contributing to their successful outcome. Humans are inquisitive and function better when not kept in the dark.

Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ..5 CHAPTER 1: NEUROPLASTICITY AND THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING 7 CHAPTER 2: APPLYING NEUROSCIENCE TO SMARTER LEARNING .. 11 SPACED LEARNING . 11 EMOTION 12 NOOTROPICS .. 16 CHAPTER 3: MIND MAPS, MEMORY PALACES, AND OTHER MEMORY TECHNIQUES . 18 THE “SHEET TECHNIQUE” 18 MIND MAPS .. 20 MNEMONICS .. 23 MEMORY PALACES AND THE METHOD OF LOCI .. 25 CHAPTER 4: ACCELERATED LEARNING AND PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER 27 Speed Reading 30 The First 20 Hours . 32 PROSPECTIVE MEMORY 33 Meditation and Mindfulness .. 34 Flow Charts and Checklists .. 35 CHAPTER 5: FLUID AND CRYSTALIZED INTELLIGENCE.. 36 WORKING MEMORY: THE LAST PIECE OF THE PUZZLE 39 CONCLUSION . 43 Sample Content Preview Chapter 2: Applying Neuroscience to Smarter Learning Now that you broadly understand the basics of neuroscience, how can you apply this in practice by using different approaches to learning? Here are some examples. Spaced Learning Spaced learning is a very interesting approach to learning that has been shown in studies to be more effective than other approaches. The general idea, is that you break up your learning into periods of revision and then short breaks. By doing this, you can effectively allow your neurons a ‘cool down period’ so that they aren’t holding any residual charge (their resting potential). This in turn means that when you then go back to revision, it is as though you are starting a new training session and this repetition is more effective than a single prolonged bout of learning. The result is that you actually learn much more, much more quickly. Emotion Our brains are designed in such a way that we retain bits of information that might be useful to our survival. We’ve seen how this works in regards to neurotransmitters. When something happens that is extremely stressful, exciting, or pleasurable, we produce large amounts of hormones and these help us form stronger connections in the brain. Dopamine for instance – released when we think we are about to be rewarded – will upregulate the production of brain derived neurotrophic factor. That’s why you can probably remember the last argument you had but not what you had for dinner last week. That’s also why it’s so hard to remember who was Prime Minister in 1934 for that History exam; dry bits of data are boring and have no emotional aspect to them so it’s incredibly tricky to seer it into our minds. Our job then, is to try and make these boring facts and figures into things that seem more exciting, interesting, and relevant to us. Better yet, we should try to make the actual act of learning rewarding and fun. Here are some examples of how you can do just that: Watching Education: How can a teacher make any lesson less boring and control a rowdy class? Simple: put a video on. It doesn't matter that the video is the same topic as whatever they were struggling to teach the simple fact is that video is much more stimulating and much better at holding our attention than just reading or just looking at something at something on a blackboard. If you are trying to learn something and finding it boring then, why not see if there's a YouTube video on the topic? The reason this works is the emotion. When we see people talking, hear music, and get to watch things happening, it triggers a more emotional response, helping us to form more concrete memories. Multitasking: Learning on its own may be boring, but if you can do it at the same time as something more interesting you'll at least have more stimulation to keep you going and you'll be able to save time. An example of this could be flicking through a text book while running on a treadmill, or listening to an audio tape while playing a computer game on mute. This isn’t so effective at increasing the strength of the memories but can be useful as a way to improve your motivation – so that you spend more time learning than you otherwise could bring yourself too. Create Something: Another great option is to try creating something as part of your learning process. A great example of this might be to write a blog that recounts all the information you're learning or write a book, or you could even make an app! This is a great strategy because you will reinforce what you're learning as you write it down. At the same time, if you create a useful enough resource then you'll be able to offer that to others and possibly even earn from it (and you can use the resource yourself to recap). Writing a book or an article is a particularly effective method, as it draws on something that we call The Feynman method. This is a learning technique that involves reading something, learning as much as you can, and then trying to succinctly explain that concept to someone else. If you can’t easily explain what you’ve learned, then you go back and try again. Make it a Game: This might sound like something un-fun your Mum would try to get you to do in order to keep your room tidier, but there are ways you can turn learning into a fun game. Get more creative than just 'quiz' and think instead about how you can create a board game or something else actually enjoyable out of what you're learning. Find the Angle That Appeals to You: We all have particular interests and hobbies, and we all decide whether or not something is relevant to us based on whether it applies to these or to part of our careers. The problem with learning maths is often that it doesn't seem to apply to your everyday life and it's common to hear people moaning about how they never use the math skills they learned in school. In reality though, Maths applies to countless careers and interests - whether it's architecture where you'll benefit from being able to calculate angles and areas, whether it's physics and space, or whether it's programming. Love computer games? Well with Maths you can make your own. The same goes for History, for English and for every other topic - it will relate to the things you love in at least some respect. Even if you can't find that angle naturally you can always force it. So say you are trying to get your kid to learn about history and won't engage with it. Find a TV program or game that they love and then explain to them how it was based on history - or how living in that time would have been just like living in an action movie.

Table of Contents Introduction ... 6 What is Kombucha? . 6 Easy to Make .. 7 Variety of Flavors 7 Good Soft Drink Alternative .. 8 Low in Caffeine ... 8 Relaxing . 9 Healthy .. 9 Chapter 1 – History Of Kombucha Tea .. 11 First Mention 11 Dr. Kombu ... 12 Russia and Beyond 12 World War II . 12 Chernobyl 13 Modern Popularity . 13 Chapter 2 – The Mother (SCOBY) 14 What is SCOBY? 15 Bacteria and Yeast Found in SCOBY . 17 Growing Your Own SCOBY .. 17 Chapter 3 – Is Kombucha Right For Me & Is It Safe 18 It’s a wild ferment. 19 It's a biosorbent. ... 20 It Contains Unmeasured Amounts Of Alcohol. ... 20 It Contains Sugar. . 21 Bottom Line .. 21 Chapter 4 – Benefits Of Kombucha & Does It Live Up To The Hype 22 1. Probiotics . 23 2. Antioxidants . 24 3. Anti-Bacterial 24 Other Benefits of Kombucha Tea . 25 Chapter 5 – Kombucha Tea Brewing Methods 26 Continuous Brewing ... 27 Advantages of Continuous Brewing ... 27 Disadvantages of Continuous Brewing ... 28 Batch Brewing .. 28 Advantages to batch brewing: .. 29 Disadvantages to batch brewing: .. 30 Bottom Line .. 30 Chapter 6 – Flavoring Tactics .. 31 What to Add . 31 When to Add . 32 Second Brew 32 How to Add .. 33 Chapter 7 –Brewing Equipment & Supplies 36 Container . 36 Jar Covering . 38 Other Supplies .. 38 Chapter 8 - Not Just a Drink - Ways to Consume Kombucha & Cooking ... 40 1. Popsicles .. 40 2. Pickling 41 3. Ice Cream Floats ... 41 4. Sourdough Starter . 42 5. Vinaigrette 42 6. Smoothies 42 7. Gummies .. 43 Chapter 9 – Craft Brewed Kombucha ... 44 Support Local Businesses ... 44 Gain Insight on Brewing Techniques 45 Find New Flavors to Try . 45 Stay Healthy . 45 Where to Find Craft-Brewed Kombucha 46 Starting Your Own Craft-Brewed Kombucha Business. 47 Conclusion – Making Kombucha Part Of Your Lifestyle 48 Tutorial – How To Make Kombucha .. 50 Ingredients For Making Kombucha ... 50 How To Brew 51 What Next? .. 53 The SCOBY ... 54 Sample Content Preview Chapter 1 – History Of Kombucha Tea Nobody knows for sure how far back kombucha goes, and the truth has been so mixed with legends over the years that it’s hard to separate them now. But, we’re going to do our best to present you with the history of kombucha tea and how it came all the way from an ancient Chinese medicinal drink to a modern-day health beverage around the world. First Mention The first recorded mention of kombucha goes back to 220 BC during the Qin Dynasty in China. It was said to have been used as a drink of immortality for Emperor Qinshi Huangdi. This is likely where it gets the “cha” part of its name as the Chinese word for tea is “cha.” The Chinese had many other names for this drink as well such as “stomach treasure,” “sea mushroom,” and “tea mold.” Dr. Kombu Supposedly, in the year 414 AD, a Korean doctor by the name of Dr. Kombu brought the drink to Emperor Inyoko of Japan, and this is where the drink gets its name. However, there isn’t enough evidence to back up this story, so it could be the stuff of legends. Another story is that Ghengis Khan carried kombucha with him as he traveled. Russia and Beyond From Asia, kombucha found its way to Russia as well as Europe, where it not only gained in popularity until the 19th century, but also gained a few more names, such as in Russia where it is referred to as “tea mushroom.” According to one account, this beverage saved the life of Alexsander Solzhenitsyn, a Nobel Prize winner, while he was in exile in Siberia. World War II Kombucha continued to be popular throughout Europe and Russia until the beginning of World War II. This was because both tea and sugar were rationed and it was too hard for the average citizen to get their hands on enough of them to regularly make the drink. After the war, however, it began to grow again in popularity, and saw a surge in the 1960’s when Swiss researchers proved its health benefits. Chernobyl In the 1980’s, there was a horrific accident near Chernobyl in Russia where a nuclear plant melted down, exposing hundreds of people nearby to radiation. There was a group of people made up primarily of elderly women, however, that survived and did better than the others. It was found by the scientists and doctors that these people regularly drank kombucha. Modern Popularity Since the year 2000, kombucha has become a popular health drink throughout the Western world, with people all over Europe, the United States, and Australia enjoying its numerous health benefits. Unfortunately, as many hail this drink as a miracle cure for a number of ailments, others claim it to be dangerous. Because it is created through a natural process and cannot be patented, big companies have little interest in it, which is why there have been few studies done on kombucha to provide completely conclusive evidence one way or the other. Now that we’ve uncovered what Kombucha is and the history of this tea, the next thing to do is explain how it’s made…more specifically the SCOBY (Mother), which is what we will cover in the next part. Chapter 2 – The Mother (SCOBY) What sets kombucha apart from every other health drink out there is the process by which it is made. That process begins with something that is most commonly referred to as SCOBY, but may also be called “kombucha mushrooms” or “kombucha mothers.” These mothers are responsible for the fermentation process that turns tea into kombucha. What is SCOBY? SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. During the brewing process, it can be found floating on the top of the kombucha, and is removed before bottling. It is disc-shaped and has a gooey consistency and appearance that is unappealing to many people. But, if you want to brew your own kombucha, then you need SCOBY to do it! Let’s break down the different parts of SCOBY. Symbiotic – This means that there are things working together for mutual benefit. In this case, the bacteria and yeast work together to thrive in the tea and sugar environment and then you get the biggest benefit of kombucha. Culture – This refers to the microorganisms (bacteria and yeast) that have been allowed to grow so that they can be used for a specific purpose. Bacteria – The type of bacteria that is found exclusively in kombucha and is unique to it is Gluconacetobacter kombuchae. It thrives in the airless environment and feasts on the tea and sugar, turning it into several types of acid that give kombucha its tartness. These bacteria are, of course, beneficial bacteria and shouldn’t be confused with the types that cause disease. Yeast – This is another organism that isn’t going to hurt you. Zygosaccharomyces kombuchaensis is the type of yeast that is unique to kombucha, and as they consume the sugar, they produce gases as a by-product that give kombucha its signature effervescence.

Sample Content Preview However, be careful about creating low value content merely to get engagement. An example of low value content is a post that reads “Comment for YES” or “Comment I AGREE”. In Facebook’s algorithm, these posts are considered poor quality and may make the social media giant less likely to show your posts in users’ feeds. Facebook Groups Help Build A Community Another way to build your business using Facebook is to create a Facebook group. Groups are different from Facebook pages in that they can be private or closed. They’re not designed to be sales tools. That doesn’t mean that Facebook groups should be ignored. You can build a community of passionate fans who eagerly buy your products or services by harnessing the power of online groups. Some marketers start Facebook groups and excitedly post for a week or two before quietly letting it die. Then they say that Facebook groups are not effective and wonder what went wrong. The truth is you must nurture your Facebook community if you want it to grow. That means regularly posting new content to the group. Often the best posts are in the form of open-ended questions. For example, if you run a Facebook group for puppy training, then you might want to ask members, “What’s the first command you’d like to teach your puppy?” When building your Facebook group, do not add members without their consent. This is bad practice, even though Facebook allows it. When members see they’re in a group that they don’t remember joining, they may become irritated with you and the experience may leave a bad taste in their mouths. Another thing you can do to make sure you get members who are interested in your topic to join your community, is to use Facebook’s new member form. When potential members go to join your group, they’ll be asked a series of questions that you created. This can be a wonderful opportunity to do some market research. For example, with your puppy training group, you might ask potential members what their biggest struggle is with training their pup. Their answers may spark new content ideas and show you exactly what solutions your community needs. Another great thing about using Facebook groups is you can design free training areas. So if you teach people how to do a task using content you can use Facebook Units within your group to organize your thoughts. For example, if you give your members branding tips, you can organize your tips into units. So you might have a unit on fonts and another one on choosing your brand colors. This lets your members work through your content at their own pace and allows you to position yourself as an authority on your topic. Facebook Stories Engage Your Audience Stories are short social media videos that business brands and influencers can post to Facebook. Video content is becoming increasingly popular while text and images are less so. This means that smart brands will want to post stories more often. Fortunately, Facebook makes it easy to do this. When you go to post content with an image, you can click the box to post the content to the newsfeed as well as to stories. This creates a short video or slideshow-style video that can be viewed in the stories menu. Facebook is giving priority to stories over other types of content. That means that both the social media giant and users will be more likely to engage with and promote your updates if you use these videos. If you’re curious about what topics to cover in your stories, try doing a behind-the-scenes look at your business or your product. This isn’t about selling anything. It’s about showing your community the personality behind the brand. Another Facebook story you could do would be a brief set of tips that your audience might find useful. For example, if you’re in the parenting niche then six steps to swaddling your baby quickly would be appreciated by your community. You can also do a Facebook story where you answer a common question you get in your business. For example, if you’re in the keto dieting niche, you might get questions on the difference between net carbs vs carbs. You can take to Facebook stories to record a quick answer and invite followers to send you their questions for future Facebook stories. Another type of Facebook story you could do is one where you debunk a popular myth in your industry. For example, if you’re in the online marketing niche, you may wish to tackle the myth that you can make a million dollars overnight with an easy push button solution. When you’re honest with your community about myths, they begin to trust you and look to you for guidance. Now that you know how to use Facebook to grow your brand, practice using these methods consistently. By being active on Facebook frequently and sharing valuable content with your community, you’ll come to be viewed as a leader in your industry.

Sample Content Preview => Steps to Choose the Right Business for You Choosing the right business to start, based on what you know about yourself thus far, is the first thing you need to do to build your dream. Let’s look at how you can choose the right business for you. Step #1: Know How Much You Need / Want to Earn This may seem like a weird place to start, but whether we like it or not, money is how we pay for our lives. It’s what enables us to get the education we want, go to the doctor, buy homes, enjoy entertainment and so much more. Right now, you’ll want to look at the "pie in the sky" and the "big, hairy audacious dream" lifestyle and pick a number that you’d like to earn. Justify it by creating a little one-page budget, so you know it works. Consider everything, including how much tax you’ll need to pay and potential business expenses. When it comes to earnings, the only thing that really matters is what you take home. That’s the money you can spend. Step #2: Know Your Skill Set The skills you have right now are essential to identify. What are you good at? As you evaluate different types of businesses, it’s imperative that you know what you do well, what you do poorly, and what you don’t ever want to do again. You can start by listing the things you have done before, what you have education for doing, credentials for, and anything you’ve done for fun as well that required skill. Right now, just make a list without opinion or thought as to whether you like it or not. You may have the skill and hate it, but that’s not important right this moment. Step #3: Identify the Right Type of Business for You Considering your skill set, what industry do those fall in? Knowing the niche and industry where your skills fit in best is helpful. You may also decide to start with a particular type of business because you already know you want to do it. If you already think you know, what is it about that niche that calls to you? One thing to consider is how much it costs to start that particular business. It’s also important to know what type of business you do not want to do. For example, if you absolutely never want to do anything with MLM, that’s great. Make it your goal to choose something else. Based on your skills, write down a few different ideas that come to mind. Again, don’t use any type of judgment right now. After you’re done, you can go through and mark through the "no" ideas and highlight the "yes" ideas. Step #4: Determine Who You Like Serving One thing to look at in any given industry is the type of people you like working with. If you don’t like the people who are served by that type of business, you’ll hate your business. If you like the people who you serve, you’re going to love your business and feel good about it. Write down a description of the type of person you’d like to work with. What are their values? What are their problems? Do they have money to pay for problem solving? How many are they? Can you earn a living from that audience? Step #5: Know Why You Will Do This It’s also important to always keep in mind why you are choosing a particular type of business. Know your why - whether it’s because you had a problem that you found the solution for, or if it’s because you like working with the type of people that this business serves, or something else. Your story is your story. Be sure to tell it to your audience. Taking the time to explore alternatives and new opportunities before you get started is all part of the process and journey of becoming an entrepreneur. Many people spend a lot of time researching until they find just the right thing. Once you do find the right thing, you can easily get started in your business. Let’s look at the ways. => Know How You’ll Manage All Aspects of Your Business Once you know the niche, the industry, and the people you’ll serve, you can start thinking about how you’ll run and manage your business. A typical business has several aspects that needs to be managed. Yours may have all of these or only some, but you need to consider how you’ll deal with each one that applies to your business. Production How will you produce your product or solution? What type of product are you making? Is it physical or digital? How and who will make it? How much will it cost? What are all the parts you need to work together to get it to work? For example, if you want to promote and sell affiliate software, that’s a digital product. Will you outsource the project to someone who is going to code it for you? Can you code it? You need to plan out every single aspect of production and know who is responsible for it. Research and Development How will you research your audience to keep creating amazing products for them? How will you research your competition? What means will you use to compile the data you collect? How often will you look at it and what will you use it for? Purchasing It depends on your business, but all companies have to make purchases. You need to create a process for purchases, even if it’s just you. How do you decide the price and who to choose to buy from? How will you keep track of the vendors you use? Who will maintain the relationships?

Table of Contents Introduction ....... 5 Chapter 1: What is Eczema ..... 8 Chapter 2: The Eczema Itch . 16 How Itching Works .. 16 Using the Mind to Help the Mind .... 19 Becoming Proactive .. 21 Chapter 3: Eczema and Your Emotions .... 23 Exercise .... 23 Diet ... 25 Daydream. 25 Psychotherapy .. 26 Repressed Anger ....... 27 Processing Repressed Anger .... 29 Chapter 4: Eczema and Meditation ... 32 Yoga for Eczema ....... 36 Chapter 5: Eczema and Skin Hydration .... 39 Our Body and Water . 39 Wet Water Wraps ..... 40 Eczema and Weather 42 Eczema and the Right Cream and Ointment .... 43 Lotions and Potions .. 44 Facial Eczema ... 44 Eczema and Makeup 45 Phototherapy .... 46 Chapter 6: Home Remedies if You Have Eczema ... 48 Chapter 7: Coping with Eczema Every Day ....... 57 Get Enough Sleep ..... 57 Dress for Eczema Success . 58 Eczema-Friendly Products in Your Home 60 Wear Cotton Gloves .. 60 Less Stress Every Day ....... 61 Forget About Perfectionism ..... 63 Eczema and Dating ... 64 Chapter 8: Allergy-Proof Your Home ....... 67 Chapter 9: Eczema and Children 77 Your Child, Eczema, and Food Allergies .. 81 Conclusion 83 Sample Content Preview Chapter 2: The Eczema Itch How Itching Works As anyone suffering from eczema knows, the constant and unabated itching is the most difficult to endure. While the dry patches may appear unsightly, the itching can become unbearable. To conquer the itch, it’s important to know what happens to the skin during an eczema flareup. It’s a fact that everyone with eczema suffers from incessant itching. There is no eczema without itching. In extreme cases, the agony can persist all day and all night, with little or no relief. Of course, scratching always leads to more itching. The itch begins when nerve fibers located in the top epidermis are triggered. The triggers can be dry skin, allergies, or emotional stress. When triggered by drying skin, the nerves become alarmed and send an “itch” message to the brain. The brain is always ready and eager to respond to a cry for help. When it receives the “itch” message, it immediately sends an order to “scratch.” This is done on a subconscious level. Since you never consciously told yourself to scratch, telling yourself to stop scratching doesn’t work. The epidermis, or the skin’s top layer, is constantly changing. New skin cells are always being produced. Normal skin is protected by barriers in the epidermis that shields the skin from the itch stimuli that makes it feel dry. Or, put another way, these barriers help the skin retain natural moisture. Skin suffering from eczema lacks that protection. The skin is unable to hold moisture and becomes drier faster. This causes skin cells to shrink and let irritants into the body. This can happen anytime, but it seems to occur most frequently at night when the body is at rest. This accounts for why much of the itching becomes intensified at night. Every fiber of your being just wants to scratch. Our brain is always at work. It can waken us from a deep sleep with its order to scratch. The scratching feels extremely good and brings some needed relief. As a result, the brain thinks it has done its job in looking out for our general welfare. It “rewards” our scratching by temporarily lessening the itch. As most everyone knows, when behavior is rewarded, it becomes intensified and continues. In other words, the brain will simply continue to send “scratch” messages whenever we feel itchy. A large part of the problem is the brain’s eagerness to protect and help us when we feel distressed. When it senses that something is wrong with the skin, it expands the red blood cells to allow immune cells to enter the fray and protect the skin from invaders. It’s these enlarged red blood cells that cause the redness and inflammation of eczema. It is the job of our immune cells is to protect us from invaders. In “normal” bodies, that works out very well. When we suffer from eczema, however, the immune cells are unable to distinguish between “good” and “bad” cells. This means the attack is directed indiscriminately at all cells. Good cells become damaged in the process, which weakens our immune system. When the skin is being attacked, the itching spirals out of control and its defense mechanisms are being destroyed from within. The “itch/scratch” cycle becomes automatized. It’s a learned behavior to familiar stimuli. Even infants suffering from eczema will respond automatically by scratching. Telling anyone with eczema to “just stop scratching” is useless. The brain, with all its complexities, is transmitting different orders. Using the Mind to Help the Mind We’ve have seen how the brain, to be helpful, will exacerbate the itch/scratch cycle. Scratching becomes a subconscious defense that we do without being totally aware. We simply respond automatically by scratching. The good news is that the brain will always be eager to help us. We just need to send it the correct messages. Studies have shown that stress is not only one of the major triggers for eczema, but the same stress prevents eczema medication from working, creating a double-whammy situation. This requires eczema suffers to become aware of emotional triggers. Does it get worse at work? At home with one’s spouse? When bills start coming at the beginning of the month? Emotional triggers usually have a very specific cause. Unless you pinpoint the triggers, stress will only worsen and create a new cycle of anxiety and depression. Anxiety will lead to even greater anxiety. A recent survey has found that more than 30 percent of people suffering from anxiety and depression also suffer from eczema. It’s good to know that your emotions can be controlled, thereby putting you in charge of your eczema healing process. When we experience stress, we enter a fight or flight state of mind. This causes the body to create stress hormones. But these hormones can attack the immune system and cause the skin to become inflamed. Stress cannot be eliminated from our lives, and the lack of stress wouldn’t totally get rid of eczema. But identifying and eliminating stress will go a long way in making eczema less painful. There is no cure for eczema. You can, however, rid yourself of most of the symptoms. Becoming Proactive Being proactive begins when you pay attention to your emotions. Ask yourself: - Have you been feeling sad or anxious for no discernible reason? - Does your life seem hopeless? - Do you have less energy than you used to? - Have you lost interest in activities you used to enjoy? If you’ve ever blushed, you know how strong the mind/skin connection is. The following chapter will take a close look at how we can control the symptoms of eczema with a few changes in our lifestyle.