Happy November! Each month we strive to provide you with a variety of helpful resources, tips, and practices to support your continued success, both personally and professionally. Because we work with a diverse demographic of clients, industries, and backgrounds, we aim to provide content equally as diverse. If a particular section doesn't resonate with you, that's okay! Our hope is that everyone can find at least one gold nugget per issue. 

Below, you will find information on this month's article from Crum Consulting, this month's development challenge, as well as general wellness reminders. We have a number of knowledge-forward articles available that explore a variety of professional and personal topics, all of which will challenge your current perspective, and push your continued growth. Each month, we aim to provide you with a new challenge to help facilitate your ongoing growth. These challenges will range in topics and applications, in an effort to focus on a variety of aspects of your life. If you are a recurring client with us, we will be following up on this month's challenge with you in session. If you don't currently have any sessions set up with us, and would like to discuss this challenge and others like it, please feel free to reach out to schedule a session with us! You can reply directly here if we have worked together in the past. If you are a new client, please click here to fill out a consultation form, and we will be in touch to schedule a session with you. We also provide new wellness reminders in the form of our stretch of the month, and wellness tip. Regardless of your background, these reminders will help improve your day to day health and wellness. 

November Article: This month's article is: From Icon, To Iconic. Every entrepreneur dreams of creating an iconic brand; a business with global recognition that evokes pride, community, and trust. There are a number of factors that go into building an iconic brand, such as presenting a clear set of core values, narrating a well-crafted relatable brand story, as well as exceeding the expectations already set forth. In this article, we explore the basics of creating a successful brand image, the inner workings of the logo creation process, and examples of prepwork to complete prior to speaking with a designer. If you have any questions surrounding this month's article, or would like to further explore opportunities, please feel free to reach out to schedule a session with us! You can reply directly here if we have worked together in the past. If you are a new client, please click here to fill out a consultation form, and we will be in touch to schedule a session with you.

November Challenge: I challenge you to practice daily gratitude!

→To start, determine a method to express your gratitude daily. If you’d like to tackle this challenge as an individual, you implement a gratitude journal, whiteboard, chalk board, or some kind of artistic adaptation. If you’re interested in approaching this challenge as a group or community, you can create a social media movement (FB page, media campaign, etc.), partner with local businesses for a 30 day gratitude challenge, or create a meet-up group that actively spreads gratitude to others.

→Once you determine your method, from there it is just a matter of engaging with your platform daily to acknowledge and celebrate one thing you’re grateful for each day. Make the experience your own. You can extend this challenge as long as you find happiness in the experience. When your challenge has ended, you can retain all of your gratitude moments to look back on during hard times, or moments of reflection. “When I started my journey of gratitude, I used a chalkboard to write down at least one thing I was grateful for each day, and took a picture of what I’d written down. I often look back on those fondly.” - Cole, Crum Consulting Founder. 

Stretch of the month: Bridge pose - this stretch improves posture and counteracts the effects of prolonged sitting and computer work. It may help relieve low back pain and can counteract slouching and kyphosis (abnormal curvature of the spine). The pose gently stretches your abdomen, chest, and the area around your shoulders while strengthening your back muscles, buttocks (glutes), thighs, and ankles. Click the (external) link to learn more, or simply google "bridge pose"!

Wellness tip of the month: Practice brain breaks during your work day. These breaks can be scheduled for 10-15 minutes once an hour, or simply as needed (if you feel yourself getting inefficient, or if you find yourself stuck at a particular part of your current/upcoming task). Brain breaks should not be used to get on your phone, or open yet another new tab on your computer. These breaks should be used to break away from your workstation, and practice a healthy habit for your mental and/or physical wellbeing. You can take a quick 10 minute walk, call a friend or family member, practice breathwork, meditate, immerse yourself in silence, turn on and up your favorite tunes, take a dance break, etc. The options are endless, just as long as you physically remove yourself from your work for 10-15 minutes. This practice helps us to reset our creative process, overcome mental blocks, rejuvenate our passion, and improve our circulation and mood.

"It's not what you look at that matters. It's what you see." -Henry David Thoreau

Thank you for being a pivotal part of our journey here at Crum Consulting. We would be nothing without you, and your continued support. Please feel free to share our content with others to pay it forward. We relish in receiving feedback, so if you have any suggestions or if you'd like to share your opinion on any of the content we have provided here, please let us know! If you have any questions about anything we covered here, or if you'd like to explore potential opportunities with Crum Consulting, we are here for you! Reach out anytime!

Until we meet again, take care of yourself, and others. Thank you.