Written by: Dr. Petra Frese Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Everyone’s definition of success is different; it’s a personal matter. If you strive for higher success, you first need to determine your own beliefs and perceptions of what success truly is to you. In this article, find a practical truth-finding exercise to propel your success journey forward. Then, let three questions guide you on your way to greater success and find out how to set the right intention to achieve your highest goals and your own ideals of ultimate success. According to the dictionary, “Success is the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors. It is the accomplishment of one’s goals and results in the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.” The word “successful” can be used as a descriptive adjective for a performance or achievement marked by success, as by attaining honors. We see a person or thing as successful when they have achieved or overachieved expectations measured by the attainment of goals, wealth, fame, social status, etc. Success is considered the opposite of failure. There is only a very fine line between these two. The general definition of success might describe the mainstream sense of the word. But what does success mean to YOU? What does success look like for you? How is it portrayed in your life, in your unique and individual current situation? How important is your success to you right now? Or, is your success more important to someone else other than yourself? To be truly and authentically successful, we must first analyze our truth. That is most often uncomfortable because our perception of success is not always in alignment with the general public opinion. Finding out your truth about success To get some clarity about your expectations and measurement system regarding success, we need to dive deeper into your personal belief system. I once heard Dr. Bruce Lipton use the abbreviation BS for Belief System, and I will also use it here. It may help you when you decide to work on getting some BS (the other BS 😉) out of your BS. A little bit of fun can make tough work much easier. First, it is crucial to determine whether these beliefs are really our own or have been imposed on us. Getting clear on your beliefs and judgments will allow you to align with your soul and live authentically and with much less friction. Excellent suitable methods for this are, e.g., meditation, mindfulness, hypnosis, or any method that guides you into a transcendent state of mind. I would like to share with you a practical exercise that does not require an altered state of mind to find out your truth. The truth-finding exercise Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart. (If this is not possible for you, any other position is okay as well. It is just more profound to feel the difference

Written by: Dr. Petra Frese Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. When striving for success, it is essential to have failsafe techniques at hand that are easy to use, discreet, and always available. The breath is a tool we use so many times each day, yet it is easy to forget its power. Through the breath, we can stimulate our brain and switch between the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous system. The way you breathe can strongly influence the outcome of your presentation, meeting, or task. Here are 3 simple exercises to help put you in the right state when tackling any situation so you can become even more successful. The powerful tool for success that you always have available There is one tool for success that we all carry with us constantly. You have it with you, no matter what. It is easy to use, and you don’t need to carry a heavy bag everywhere you go. You can use this tool everywhere, whether you are by yourself or around other people. Nobody will know. You can use it on the go or when you have a quiet moment. You can use it while you are doing other things. It’s a tool we use many, many times every day. Yet, we tend to take it for granted. Do you know what that tool is? The Breath can be your most useful tool to achieve success We breathe about 16 times per minute, 960 times per hour, accumulating to about 22’000 times daily. Oftentimes, we take our breath for granted, and we tend to forget how we can use it to manage stress, balance out energy, and increase our focus and productivity, among other things. The Nasal Cycle Test You can use a simple test to determine whether you operate primarily in the parasympathetic or the sympathetic nervous system at any given moment. The Nasal Cycle Test was first developed in 1895 by German physician Richard Kayser. For this self-test, place a finger under your nose and feel which nostril your breath passes through more easily. The dominant nostril tells you much about your current state. If your right nostril passes more air, your sympathetic nervous system is stimulated, and there is more left-brain activity. You might feel alert, on the go, and ready for physical activity and action. If you can feel more air pass through your left nostril, your parasympathetic nervous circuit is stimulated at that moment, and there is more right-brain activity. You might feel relaxed and empathetic. Calm and creativity benefit from this circuit. Keep in mind that this changes several times throughout the day. Depending on which result your test brings, you can choose your breathing exercise accordingly. You can also influence your state by choosing to breathe through only one nostril for a short while. 3 practical breathing exercises to help you be more successful in