 Credit: Style My Soul, www.stylemysoul.com | Foreign Languages and Immersion Learning foreign languages is one of the intimate ways of immersing oneself in appreciating foreign cultures and history. Here are a few personal learning tips shared by engaging professionals.
Learn Languages Through Shared Kitchen Experiences My favorite way is the kitchen immersion method. When I decided to take my Italian studies more seriously than the polite “how are you” and “how do you do” my family had taught me, I quit studying and started cooking with my grandmother in Sicily, and I made myself ask questions about ingredients, techniques, and memories in pure and unadulterated Sicilian dialect. I made a lot of mistakes all the time. I once requested “burro” for butter, and received a puzzled expression since in her part of the world, it means donkey. We laughed for 10 minutes. I was embarrassed and that word got stuck in my head pretty much forever. The moral of the story is that a language is remembered when it is attached to a person, not a flashcard. Then find someone to cook, walk or sing with you and be a clumsy kid again. It is then that it really sinks in. - Isabella Rossi, CPO, Fruzo Sing Your Way to Language Fluency The best tip I’ve used for learning a foreign language (and I am fluent in 5) is singing in that language. I learned it from my dad. He was impeccably fluent in English while living in the Soviet Union and having never even as much as traveled abroad. He had no accent, and delegations of visitors from the United States were frequently convinced that he, too, was American. My dad became this fluent in English by obsessively singing along to The Beatles. A couple of years ago, I became determined to learn Ukrainian. And I implemented the same tip: singing along to Ukrainian songs. This approach worked for my dad and it has worked for me too. - Marina Byezhanova, CEO, Brand of a Leader Read Familiar Books in New Languages Something I enjoyed doing was picking up some of my favourite books I know by heart basically and reading them in the new language that I was learning. Since I knew the story and the conversations, it made it much easier to read the book without feeling too much mental strain even if I was encountering plenty of words I didn’t know. - Claudia McKenzie, Outreach Lead, Orange Line Learn Phrases in Real World Context The single best tip I can give for learning a foreign language is this: learn phrases in context, never isolated words. When I was working on my Spanish, I ditched the flashcard apps and started studying whole sentences from real conversations, podcasts, and customer emails. The difference was night and day. Here’s why it works. A word alone is a skeleton. A phrase shows you the muscle, how the word bends, which verbs pair with it, and how native speakers actually order their thoughts. Within a few months, I wasn’t translating in my head anymore. I was thinking in patterns, and that’s when the language finally clicked. It improved my learning experience in two concrete ways. First, retention went way up, because every phrase carried a story or situation I could anchor it to. Second, it built real confidence fast. You can use a full phrase in a conversation tomorrow morning. You can’t do much with a lonely word on a flashcard. This same principle shapes how I run Scale By SEO every single day. Search engine optimization is really the art of learning your audience’s language. When we build content for a plumber in one market and an auto body shop in another, we don’t guess keywords off a generic list. We study the actual phrases real customers type, the questions they ask, and the exact words they use when they need help right now. Then we build pages that speak that language fluently. Content that mirrors how people actually talk wins every time. It’s also how we build trust with clients. Clear communication, in any language, means saying things the way the listener actually hears them. From our headquarters in Harlingen, Texas, we serve businesses locally and globally, and context-first communication is the thread running through all of it. So if you’re learning a language, put down the flashcards and pick up real sentences. You’ll learn faster, remember longer, and sound human when it counts. - Wayne Lowry, CEO, Scale By SEO Connect Words Directly to Meaning My favorite language learning trick is to stop translating everything in your head and start attaching the new word directly to the thing, action, or feeling it represents. If you learn “apple,” picture an apple; don’t mentally go foreign word — English word — apple. That little shortcut makes the language feel less like a code you’re constantly decoding and more like something your brain can actually think in. It also makes recall faster and conversation much less exhausting. The goal isn’t to become a walking dictionary, it’s to get your brain to quit using English as the middleman. - Justin Belmont, Founder & CEO, Prose
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 Credit: Mandy Hawtin, Founder of Seadragon Organic Meet Our Guest!
Mandy Hawtin is an Australian cosmetic chemist, writer and founder of Seadragon Organic, an award-winning skincare brand dedicated to simplifying skincare for women in midlife through a two-step ritual. Passionate about challenging beauty industry myths, Mandy combines cosmetic science with a refreshingly honest approach to skincare. Her philosophy is simple: women deserve facts, not fear-based marketing, and fewer, better products that deliver visible results. Currently writing her first book, Skincare Detective, Mandy is on a mission to empower women with the knowledge and confidence to make informed choices about their skin. Credit: Mandy Hawtin; Seadragon Organic. 🎤Mandy shares her thoughts on skincare and healthy lifestyle habits here.  Credit: Style My Soul, www.stylemysoul.com | Kosher Travel Recommendations Life can get pretty stressful with the daily grind that taking a vacation sounds like a wonderful escape. As people navigate uncertain times when it comes to inflation and global conflicts, among a few concerns, it makes sense to choose a vacation spot which delivers entertainment alongside overall satisfaction. Five professionals share their recommendations for which location makes their list and why.
Block Island Offers a Stress-Free Escape As the Sales Manager for the Block Island Ferry in Rhode Island, I spend every day coordinating travel to our coastal waters. For a low-stress, reliable escape during uncertain times, Block Island is an ideal domestic getaway. The island offers a peaceful sanctuary with open natural spaces that keep travel logistics simple and low-risk. You can explore uncrowded trails through scenic nature reserves like Rodman’s Hollow or visit secluded spots like the Sacred Labyrinth off Corn Neck Road. Between taking in the dramatic ocean views from Mohegan Bluffs and enjoying a quiet dinner at local spots like Kimberly’s, you get the restorative benefits of a remote vacation. It is a grounding, easily accessible retreat that lets you unplug without dealing with unpredictable travel hassles. - Megan Moran, Sales Manager, Block Island Ferry Tallinn Simplifies Safe, Flexible Travel Tallinn, Estonia — it’s compact, digitally efficient and easy to navigate, which makes planning and adjusting travel safer during uncertain times. Estonia’s strong digital services simplify bookings, permits and local information without needing in-person bureaucracy, and the city’s mix of walkable medieval streets and nearby natural areas lets you balance urban culture with low-density outdoor time. As a founder who registered a business in Estonia, I’ve found its infrastructure and straightforward logistics helpful when arranging short trips or remote work periods abroad. - Nicolas Falourd, CEO, Cyber Techwear Galapagos Limits Visitors for Worry-Free Travel After running trips in South America for ages, I keep coming back to the Galapagos. It just feels safer there because they cap the visitor numbers and use small groups. I visited last year and the guides handled everything smoothly without making it feel like a military operation. It is the best bet right now if you want to get away without worrying about every little detail. - Marcel Perkins, Managing Director, Latin Trails Bali Supports Affordable Family Long Stays Bali keeps delivering, even when the world feels unstable. We split time between Tallinn and Canggu, and Bali is the one place where the infrastructure for long stays has genuinely caught up with the cost of living. When we moved there with a 1-year-old, the thing that surprised me most was how family-ready it actually is, not just for digital nomads without kids. Flights from Europe are long, 14 to 16 hours with a connection, but the arrival is soft. The cost of living is forgiving enough that a slow month doesn’t break you. The local community around Canggu and Ubud skews toward people who are also figuring out long-term stays, so the social infrastructure exists. And politically, Indonesia stays remarkably neutral in global conflicts, which matters when you’re planning 3 to 6 month stretches abroad. The honest caveat: the rainy season from November through March is real. Not unmanageable, but if you’re going for the first time, April through October gives you the version most people picture when they think of Bali. - Siim Kostabi, Founder, 3Dstudio.co Portugal Delivers Predictable Luxury Travel I’ve been flying clients to Portugal for the past two years, and it’s still one of the best options out there. During COVID and all that uncertainty, Portugal kept its entry rules pretty consistent, which made planning private flights a lot easier. Lisbon and the Algarve have solid infrastructure and you don’t deal with the crowds you get at other European spots. The main reason Portugal works is that it’s predictable. You’re not scrambling because of last-minute regulation changes. The private aviation facilities in Cascais and Faro handle international arrivals without much hassle, and the ground services have been dependable. Practically speaking, it’s also one of the few places where you get culture, beaches, and excellent restaurants without paying what you’d pay in the French Riviera or the Greek islands. - Dean Rotchin, CEO at BLACKJET, BlackJet  Credit: Michelle McIntyre, Founder of My Wellness Academy Meet Our Guest!
Michelle McIntyre is the founder of My Wellness Academy in Perth, Western Australia. A Reiki Master-Teacher and holistic wellness educator, Michelle brings more than two decades of experience in business, training and holistic wellbeing to her work. Through My Wellness Academy, she helps people explore Reiki, spiritual development and personal growth in a practical, grounded and accessible way. Her own experiences of navigating change, rebuilding and starting again have shaped her belief that growth doesn’t always mean starting over — sometimes it means moving forward with greater clarity and a stronger sense of who you are. Credit: Michelle McIntyre. 🎧Tune in here to learn about Michelle’s insights on wellness, style and growth.  Credit: Style My Soul, www.stylemysoul.com | Navigating Job Layoffs 2026 In today’s world of dynamic job market shifts and rapid competition rising among AI technologies, workers are growing apprehensive about what the future holds for their respective roles. Seasoned professionals share their two cents for how working professionals can better pivot through any impending layoffs on the horizon.
Refine Your Pitch Before Layoffs Start collecting feedback while you still have the paycheck. Write your pitch in one paragraph, send it to a handful of people who could hire you or refer you, and ask them what they’d cut. A hiring pool is a crowded category, and I found the safe version of my resume got skipped. The angle I could defend earned the callback. Doing that work early means the layoff starts with a warm list. — Roy Peer, Founder, Clean Guy Use Your Paycheck to Build Options Start using your current pay check as seed capital not salary. Before I left my position as Associate Vice President in 2010 to fund what is now ADA Compliance Professionals by myself, I spent months reducing burn rate and saving money. I used the same method to determine how much actual run-way I had as an entrepreneur (fixed monthly costs + medical expenses + minimum required payments on all of my debts) instead of simply stating “a few months of savings”. At this point in time, I did not even know the specific path I would be taking, however, I understood that having options requires money. Shift in Mindset: A lay-off does not represent the beginning of your career transition, rather it’s the deadline. Use the paycheck window to have coffees; quietly line up two or three potential first clients; develop a brag document about recent accomplishments prior to their becoming stale; and pre-ask for LinkedIn recommendations from managers who still remember your work. Those individuals who prepare while employed negotiate from a position of strength. Individuals who prepare after take the first offer that lands. — David LoPresti, Founder, ADA Compliance Professionals Secure Written Layoff Terms From HR Here’s a lesson I learned the hard way: don’t delay speaking to Human Resources about your options. I’ve seen people delay and then find out they were not paid for interview time and lost out on better severance deals. Get everything in writing — the redundancy terms; whether they will pay for time off to find a new job; the training budget. Don’t just smile and say yes in meetings. Write it down. If you have those details on paper then you know what to expect. — Lisa Clark, Director, Bell Fire and Security Build Key Connections Before You Need Them As the Lead IT Recruiter, having more than two decades of experience in recruiting in the tech industry, my best advice is to create at least three to five meaningful and influential connections before you need them. Once you realize that you are about to be laid off, contact those people to let them know about your timeline and get some interviews set up with them. I have personally observed that candidates who have created such meaningful connections have found their jobs faster than those candidates who just had long contact lists. – Alex Kovalenko, Lead IT Recruiter, Kovasys IT Recruitment Prove Your Judgment With Public Results My suggestion is to show your capability of making good judgments in public before there is a need. Not after something has occurred. You can easily get a nice resume written by AI. So, writing a good resume does not create an impression anymore. It’s also really important to talk about real problems and real solutions you came up with and you can always explain your thought process behind it. And remember to back up with real stats and figures whenever you can. These are the things that are difficult to fake and still separate you from others especially when every application looks the same. Another important thing, make sure you are the right fit for the opportunity and you’re mentioning that in your resume by adding all the keywords that the hiring manager is looking for. No need to fake it obviously but dont forget to add the right words if you really are a fit. – Mr. Edward Tian, Founder/CEO, GPTZero Preserve Your Work Evidence Before Access Ends Speaking as a founder who has closed and restarted ventures several times; this is my own experience, not survey data. My one tip: move your proof of work out of systems you do not own before you need it. The day access is cut, you lose the dashboards, the decks, the message threads and the metrics that show what you actually did. People assume they will remember, and then three months later they are describing their best project from memory in an interview. What that looks like in practice, without taking anything confidential, for each significant piece of work, write one page in your own words on your own device. What the problem was, what you decided, what changed and roughly by how much, and what you would do differently. Strip client names and internal numbers if you must; the reasoning is what interviewers ask about anyway. If any of it was public, save the links. The second half of the tip is to put some of it somewhere public that you control, a personal site or even a plain profile page, while you still have the title and the momentum. Every time I have restarted, the thing that opened doors was not the resume, it was a page where someone could see the work and the thinking. Build that page while you are still employed and the transition is a handoff instead of a scramble. — Ming-Yuan Xie, Serial Entrepreneur & Founder of Meow Universe, Meow Universe Clarify Benefits and Prepare Your Job Search Another piece of advice would be to answer your questions from the beginning by asking politely and respectfully about deadlines, severance packages, benefits, and the level of support the company will offer you. I noticed that in my professional practice, assumptions and poor communication can ruin even a relatively easy situation, so it is always good to document the main points of discussion and organize all important documents. After that, try to focus on the things you can really impress by working on your CV, figuring out the positions you want to take, and contacting people who can confirm your professional skills. — Elliott Jung, Founding Partner at HHJ Trial Attorneys, HHJ Trial Attorneys |