Hi,

Someone shared a clip with me recently, and it was an excellent reminder– perfectly timed–for thoughts I’ve been having about manifesting, how it works, and for me, lately, the letting go of the “how” it happens part. It amazed me in its truthfulness and so I’m sharing it with you.

And on a related note, I’ve struggled to find a concise tagline to help people quickly understand who Niki’s Notes is for. I’ve oscillated between tagging it as being written for “those who lead with compassion,” “kind leaders,” “confident and kind leaders,” “empathetic leaders,” etc.

Yet, each qualifier was trying too hard—because it knew it wasn’t the right word and it kept trying to tell me that. 😊

Sparing you the details, I want to thank my friend Pat Rodeawald for helping me discover that the word I couldn’t find on my own was “thoughtful.” In her quiet brilliance, she connected “thoughtful” to what I do here each week. Lightbulb! 💡 Thank you, Pat, because now we have Niki’s Notes for Thoughtful Leaders and that says it all.

And on that grateful note, here are my shares for the thoughtful leaders out there—this is, always, for you:

• Hoping the government avoids a shutdown. I’ve been ignoring the news for weeks since there’s nothing I can do about it, but now that it’s looming, here are the ways we all may be affected. Plan accordingly.
• Is there such a thing as a safe amount of alcohol? New research points to “No,” but as with everything else in life, there are tradeoffs. Scientific American makes it easy to absorb new data and insights to help you make choices.
• Ah, the joys of going back to the office. Among the many delights: dress codes. No, I’m not talking about the US Senate. It’s for the rest of us: here’s the latest.
• I would like to think I wouldn’t fall for a scam like this, but given the right conditions… I too could be Orrin. If you suspect you could, under the right conditions (lack of sleep, perhaps?) be Orrin, read this to protect you from yourself.

Do Good Spotlight
🌟 Operation USA 🌟

Operation USA (otherwise known as OpUSA) has been helping people across the world recover from disasters, disease, and poverty for 44 years. They’ve delivered $450 million in aid for relief and development projects worldwide. Learn more and how to support: Operation USA. Choose the situation you want your money to relieve or let them choose for you. Either way, people in need get the help they need.

• Another story about the importance of including employees in reviewing values and refreshing value statements to drive a company forward. This one is from Adobe. Fast read.
• I’m including this one because a) I’ve been religiously recycling for years and b) always wondered where garbage went (I suspected it got shipped to the dark side of the moon). It’s not a joke, it’s a mess, and it’s more than catching up with us. Let’s learn about garbage together, shall we?
• Does your company have programs to encourage employees to volunteer? On company time? We do here at DBE, and this article from Nice News (see, they really have great content) talks about the health benefits to people who volunteer. When you involve your company, you get the win/win/win.
• You don’t hear about a lot of IPOs Here’s why and what may be next.
• I know some of you love these MS Office tips; here’s one for PowerPoint.

Ta da, we’ve reached the end for this week. Please share organizations that you think are noteworthy as well as not-for-profits that deserve some extra love. Have a great rest of the week, stay focused, stay wise, stay thoughtful. See you in a week!

Niki