You May Be More Stressed Than You Know.

Do you know how stressed you are? Many people don’t, says Michele D’Amico, a certified professional coach with a Ph.D. in psychology. Stress, she explains, comes in three stages, and most people only recognize the first of them in themselves or in their employees.

“Everybody knows the alarm stage of stress, that fight-or-flight, where cortisol starts pumping and epinephrine [also called adrenaline].” The alarm stage doesn’t usually last that long, she says. But often people who are under stress then transition to the resistance stage.

“When they’re in the resistance stage, it’s usually marked by frustration and irritability. Now we have poor concentration where, in the alarm stage, we’re very focused.” If you’re in the resistance stage, she adds, you might experience headaches or digestive issues. That’s the time to take action and do something to counter that stress. “If we don’t we stay in that stage too long, when we’re not pumping as much cortisol, and we become exhausted.” Read more at inc.com.

Why Targeting Entrenched Habits Can Treat Anxiety

Anxiety is no stranger in modern times. Nearly 1 in 3 individuals will suffer from an anxiety disorder in their lifetime, and since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that adults were more than 3x as likely to screen positive for an anxiety disorder in 2020 compared to 2019. And this is just anxiety disorders.

Collectively, we share common brain mechanisms that take information from the past and try to project it into the future to predict everything from stock trends to whether we should dine at a restaurant again to our moods (“affective forecasting”). Yet, our brains need precedent and accurate information to do this successfully. I need not remind us how unpredictable this past year has been as we continue to ride waves of uncertainty ranging from COVID-19 (and its variants) to the economy to schools, not knowing whether they will sink our individual boats of mental well-being. We’ve also been turning to eating, drinking, and distraction to bail out the water with each new swell. Read more at psychologytoday.com.

3 Reasons You Should Buy a Business Now

Lindsay and Jake Campbell talked about owning their own business for years, but the timing was never right. In the meantime, they worked for the same company in Leavenworth, Kansas. When Jake was furloughed for a few weeks because of the pandemic, the couple took that as a wake-up call: They could no longer rely on a single source of income to support their family.

In March of this year, they bought a Leavenworth location of Goodcents, a regional sandwich franchise based in De Soto, Kansas. The Campbells purchased the business from the previous franchise owner without a pandemic “discount,” as the location grew its sales in 2020.

“Although this might not have been the easiest time to buy a business, in many ways it was ideal,” says Jake. He notes that closing the deal remotely, as well as hiring staff during the pandemic, was a little more complicated than normal, but he liked the fundamentals. “What you can see in how a business is surviving, or even thriving, right now tells you a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of the business model,” said Jake. Read more at inc.com.

10 Female-Led Podcasts You Should Subscribe to Today

In a world that often drowns out women’s voices, podcasting has become a space where women get to speak first and, if they get shouted over, have the editing power to still get their message across to a wide audience. It’s a medium where presentation, length and style are as unique as the host, and its free-for-listeners format levels the playing field in a way that other mentor or education opportunities can’t match. 

Through narrative artistry and data-backed research, the women behind the 10 podcasts on this list teach us by example how to powerfully speak up as they spark controversial conversations, delicately traverse painful topics, boldly walk toward hot button issues and take charge of interviews. Among them are experts, professors, authors, entrepreneurs, therapists and storytellers—each with their own brand of brilliance. Read more at success.com.

3 Ways for Entrepreneurs to Stay Visible During the Pandemic

As an entrepreneur, you need to be your own cheerleader. Many entrepreneurs do not have the luxury of hiring marketing or public relations teams. Staying top of mind was easier pre-pandemic when we were able to go to events and conferences and meet with people regularly in person. Even though things have started to open up in limited ways around the country, it will be a long time before they will be back to pre-covid routines. Additionally, people have varying comfort levels with meeting in person now and it is important to be respectful of those levels. However, there are still things that you can do right now to ensure that you stay visible and grow your business. Read more at msn.com.

A Message from Acceler8Success Founder, Paul Segreto: Helping Others Who Possibly Can’t or Won’t Ask for Help

A truly inspiring story and one that can be related to current times when we may need to lend a helping hand to those who are tangled up in the seemingly insurmountable challenges as a result of circumstances not caused by themselves…

A headline of the San Francisco Chronicle. Female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spiderweb of crab traps and line weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, tail, torso and a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. They worked for hours and eventually freed her.

When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around as she was thanking them.

Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you. And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.

How Self-Acceptance Led this Entrepreneur to His Number One Success

From the small business owners I have met, I have heard many stories of resilience and success. But my interview this week on The Small Business Radio Show is different. Rarely have I heard someone that overcame so many cultural, physical and financial obstacles for success.

Harma Hartouni is a self-made entrepreneur who owns a real estate company employing hundreds of residential and commercial real estate agents in Southern California, and runs the #1 ranked real estate business in his region. His memoir, “Getting Back Up: A Story of Resilience, Self-Acceptance and Success”, tells the story of his life growing up in Iran with a father “who did not know how to love” and where he suffered from bullying and abuse as a teenager. Then, Harma almost died during a horrific car accident and was told that he would never walk again. He came to America as an outcast: gay Middle Eastern man and built the life of his dreams. Read more at smallbiztrends.com.

Acceler8Success Group… Connecting the Right Brands, People & Opportunities!

The uncertainty of 2020 created the perfect time to diversify and expand. After all, it’s been said that necessity is the mother of invention. To that end, Acceler8Success Group was formed mid-year, building upon Acceler8Success principles and methods that have proven successful since 2014. 

Widely recognized as industry leaders & experts, Acceler8Success Group leadership have extensive experience as entrepreneurs in small business & restaurants, as senior-level executives within nationally recognized brands, and as franchisees within successful franchise systems. 

Members of Acceler8Success Group along with Strategic Partners have earned designation as Certified Franchise Executives, Certified Franchise Brokers, Certified Business Brokers and Commercial Real Estate Brokers. Positioned to deliver services within the U.S., Canada and other Global markets, languages spoken include: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German and Russian. Learn more at Acceler8Success.com.