Sweden Looked at Childhood on Screens and Said: ‘Yeah… We’re Done Here.”

I’ve been paying a lot of attention to the deep presence that screens and educational technology have in our school systems. I’m deeply interested in Sweden’s reversal on screens, and their recommitment to deep learning. After a decade of assuming digital tools would accelerate education, they realized the opposite was true: students were more distracted, less able to sustain focus, and struggling to think critically in the presence of constant digital stimulation. Their response mirrors the work at the center of my practice: designing environments that support human learning, not interrupt it. And I definitely wouldn’t mind these learnings showing up in American school systems to better benefit our kids.

Helicopter Parenting 2.0: When Mom Moves to College With You

I was astonished to read this article from The Atlantic. The rise of “trailing parents”—moms and dads who follow their kids to college physically, emotionally, and digitally—signals a deeper shift in how adulthood is unfolding. Instead of giving young adults space to stumble, self-correct, and build the confidence that comes from doing hard things alone, overinvolved parents are unintentionally blocking the very growth they want for their kids. And consider the implications for the workforce once these children graduate. Will their parents call their boss next? I advocate strongly for the opposite approach: learning only sticks when people have room to try, fail, and integrate experience into judgment.

The Godfather of AI says LLMs are mid - is he right?

I’m really interested in AI and its impact on our economy and our job market. Yann LeCun, one of the original architects of modern AI, is pushing back hard against Silicon Valley’s obsession with ever-bigger language models. While Meta and the rest of Big Tech race to scale LLMs into “superintelligence,” LeCun argues they’re fundamentally limited and believes the future lies in world models that learn from real environments, not massive text piles. So this WSJ take made me stop and think - what’s the endgame if LLMs tap out on their learning? And I learned a new term: “world model.” Check it out.

The Exit Interview: Women Are Done with Unfulfilling Corporate Paths.

Women are walking away from traditional corporate paths at record rates and building careers that finally align with their values, energy, and lived reality. With nearly half of new U.S. businesses in 2024 founded by women, the trend is clear: corporate structures aren’t flexible enough, secure enough, or meaningful enough for a generation that wants purpose, autonomy, and room to grow. This shift reflects exactly what I teach through my work—people thrive when they stop contorting themselves to fit outdated systems and instead build careers that reflect who they are, what they value, and how they want to live. Women aren’t opting out; they’re opting into careers that feel like them.

The Future of Work Has Range. So Should You.

When speaking to organizations or advising clients, I’m often asked to explain what a portfolio life is. FuturaLab has a really succinct description of what it is, how you can build it, and why it will likely overtake the typical 9-5 in future years. The current model of work can’t keep pace with how people actually live, learn, and earn today. A portfolio life lets people diversify their income, protect against volatility, experiment with passions, and build a career that adapts as quickly as the world does. The reality is, people thrive when they stop trying to fit into outdated career lanes and start designing work that aligns with their curiosity, capacity, and lived experience.

Still here? You’re my kind of curious.
The Cultivation drops (for free!) regularly with quick hits of what’s worth thinking about (and sharing). Paid subscribers get the good stuff — a thread for real conversation, shared interests, commentary/reactions, and a say in what we explore next. Come hang out — hit subscribe, and let’s grow this thing together.

Showcasing art that catches my eye

The vibrant, gleaming rings of Judy Chicago’s Pasadena Lifesavers series (featured in my caption today) are air-brushed, industrial surfaces made when she trained in auto-body school. I can’t take my eyes off them; they struck me immediately. Chicago’s rings open, close, vibrate, gesture, wiggle. The more you look at them, the more you see. The leadership and growth takeaway lies in that pivot—how to translate presence, material, moment, and meaning into forms that shift expectations. You can see them in person at The Huntington.

A Master Class in Emotional Intelligence

I love Hugh Grant dancing. And I love the Pointer Sisters. I love that he’s the Prime Minister and that this is at 10 Downing Street. I love that he’s had a stressful day and this is how he unwinds. I love that this clip is evergreen and gets played every year (cue Mariah Carey). I love that my kids think it is cringe. I don’t care. Every time I watch it, I’m reminded that joy is strategy. Presence is power. Sometimes life is about choosing movement when everything else feels heavy. So go dance like no one is watching.

The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway 🎶❄️

“When life gets rough and your world goes cold, Hygge will keep you warm.” (Frozen, Broadway musical). This is by far the best carousel of Hygge (pronounced “hoo-gah”) that I have found so far. In Danish culture, hygge is more than coziness; it’s about designing moments that make us feel safe enough to let our guard down and human enough to connect deeply — with others and ourselves. Scroll through the options and see if any of these resonate. They definitely describe a simpler life, one with deeper meaning and connection, and definitely with less brain rot.

Agency Is the New Ambition

I’ve been following Suzy Welch’s approach to reinvention for a bit, and she’s really approached it from an academic viewpoint. But this recent conversation boiled it down for me. Most of us coast through life on old decisions — jobs we outgrew, identities we never questioned, paths we didn’t choose but learned to tolerate. But what I can really get behind her vision of agency. Get clear on your values — what actually matters, not what you’ve been told should. Know your aptitudes — the work that feels effortless because it’s yours to do. And choose where they meet something real and sustainable. She also had a longer, more in-depth conversation with Dan Harris; I found it a valuable listen.

Why Women Get the Job When Everything’s Falling Apart

True leadership isn’t tested in calm waters — it’s defined in crisis. The women studied here succeed in unstable environments because they lead with emotional intelligence: they listen before reacting, steady the team before fixing the system, and rebuild trust before strategy. Their approach reminds every leader that progress isn’t born from control or charisma (often prized as “male” characteristics), but from composure, empathy, and clarity of purpose. Growth happens when we see crisis not as failure, but as the invitation to reinvent how leadership works.

Still here? You’re my kind of curious.
The Cultivation drops (for free!) regularly with quick hits of what’s worth thinking about (and sharing). Paid subscribers get the good stuff — a thread for real conversation, shared interests, commentary/reactions, and a say in what we explore next. Come hang out — hit subscribe, and let’s grow this thing together.

Always best to open with cute kids

I’m a late follower of Cooking With Carter but I’m a fan. He’s adorable, articulate, and passionate about cooking — and his confidence in the kitchen is infectious. Watching him slice, stir, and taste his way through a recipe reminds me how much joy comes from doing something simply because it lights you up. His parents hover just enough to keep him safe, but mostly they let him try, and that freedom — that trust — is where the magic happens. We could all stand to sing “Big Red Combine Harvester” in our own kitchens once in a while: to approach what we love with less precision and more play.

#Couple Goals…And Sound On

Moving from cooking in the kitchen to dancing in the kitchen. Turns out Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick love to boogie while getting dinner ready. And honestly? Same. I love the reminder that growth doesn’t always look like productivity. Sometimes it’s a sway between moments, a willingness to turn routine into joy. We spend so much time chasing improvement that we forget life gets richer when we loosen our grip and let delight lead for a while. And now I’m wondering what the All Night Long/Big Red Combine Harvester mash-up sounds like…?

The Kind of Reinvention No One Posts About

This story isn’t about choosing reinvention — it’s about being forced into it. These folks aren’t chasing growth or change; they’re adapting under duress. This is what it looks like when change isn’t a choice, but a demand. It reminds us that behind every story of resilience is a reckoning with exhaustion, pride, and the quiet will to keep going. But, what’s on the other side of this kind of reinvention is a stripped-down understanding of what actually matters, what you can live without, and what’s worth rebuilding when the dust settles.

The Only Person You Need to Outgrow Is Yesterday You.

A former colleague always used to ask me, “Is this within the locus of your control?” That really helped to frame what was an area I could exert energy to change and where that energy would simply be lost. We live in a culture that makes comparison almost irresistible — every scroll, every feed, every filtered moment is an invitation to measure our worth against someone else’s. But as this piece reminds us, growth doesn’t happen in the mirror of other people’s lives; it happens in the quiet work of tending our own.

Turns Out, Doing Good Is the Cheat Code.

On the flip side of focusing on what you control, this Cornell study validates that fulfillment comes from cultivating purpose. When we shift from self-focus to contribution — to using what we have to make something better for others — we experience clarity, motivation, and emotional balance. Doing something small, consistent, and outward-facing that reminds us we matter. Plus, there’s the added benefit of just feeling good about doing something nice for others. Go on - hold that door open, let that person merge in front of you, pick up something that someone has dropped…it is all up to you, but the benefits are the same.

Still here? You’re my kind of curious.
The Cultivation drops regularly with quick hits of what’s worth thinking about (and sharing). Paid subscribers get the good stuff — a thread for real conversation, shared interests, commentary/reactions, and a say in what we explore next. Come hang out — hit subscribe, and let’s grow this thing together.

Because my algorithm actually got it right today.

We love dogs in our house. We especially love children and dogs. Watch this. I dare you not to cry happy tears for this adorable little boy. Reinvention often gets framed as change: new roles, new goals, new versions of ourselves. But watching that little boy reminds me that sometimes the best reinvention isn’t about reaching farther. It’s about realizing what’s been waiting to meet you all along.

BRB, adding ‘make magic out of nothing’ to my 2025 goals.

Have you seen Charlie Puth creating a song in real time on Jimmy Fallon? The ingenuity stopped me in my tracks. Layering beats, samples, and melody until something extraordinary emerges. Watching him work is pure wonder. It’s not just talent; it’s deep noticing. He hears possibility in everything — a sound, a snap, a stray note — and turns it into art. In leadership, in learning, in life — the work is the same. Pay attention. Build in public. Let others see how ideas take shape. The process is the art.

Low-key obsessed with this.

It is that time of year in NYC to see the holiday windows decorated. The creativity at the Dior windows on 57th street was a sight to behold. Everything is gingerbread, it sparkles, there’s mini clothing designers…my kids loved it. I really loved the attention to detail and precision. In today’s short attention span world, it was a welcome respite to stand at a storefront window and be both inspired and entertained. It’s a reminder that real creativity isn’t loud—it’s layered. The best ideas invite us to slow down, look closer, and rediscover what’s possible in plain sight.

Filed under: things I didn’t expect to learn.

Did you know that the Disney Parks designs are based on real-life locales? I might have known some of them, like Neuschwanstein Castle, but I had no idea about the truly global reach of some of these ideas. That’s the essence of reinvention — noticing what already exists, then asking: what else could this become? It’s the same in teaching, leading, and designing change. The answers we’re looking for are often already in the room. The creative act is learning to see them differently. Makes me want to start plannng some travel!

What if we stopped treating reinvention like a makeover?

Everytime I speak to someone about reinvention, they sigh, their shoulder droop, and they explain the dread of having to relearn something, remake themselves in a new image, etc. I appreciated how How I Broke Up With Self-Help To Find Self-Love from The Good Trade approached reinvention as way to embrace awareness, a way to pay attention to you more, and the Rumi poem was a beautiful addition. I love the idea of treating yourself with respect and as someone who deserves to be heard.

The Read That’s Reshaping My Thinking

I just finished The Picasso Heist by James Patterson and Howard Roughan. It has your typical Patterson multiple viewpoints approach, and it takes a while for the reader to see the full story that emerges late in the novel. The protaganist is a deeply intelligent female who traverses the art, crime, government, and financial worlds. Her real talent, though, is pattern recognition. She reads systems, spots leverage points, and reimagines the rules everyone else accepts as fixed. It was a good example of how to develop the awareness to see how existing structures can be redesigned, and the discipline to decide when you’re using your gifts to create value—not just chaos.

Still here? You’re my kind of curious.
The Cultivation drops regularly with quick hits of what’s worth thinking about (and sharing). Paid subscribers get the good stuff — a thread for real conversation, shared interests, commentary/reactions, and a say in what we explore next. Come hang out — hit subscribe, and let’s grow this thing together.