🥰Kindness is Contagious, Pass It Along!

Natalie Lorenzo and I started this week with smiles when we met with Brad Aronson, author of the bestselling book Human Kind, Changing the World One Small Act at a Time. Deepak Chopra called it “An elegant, wise book of love in action” and countless others, including Natalie and I, have been blown away by this amazing book. 

It’s not just the stories Brad shares, but the tips and suggestions for adopting the ideas for spreading kindness through simple acts any of us can do.

I urge you to order a copy for yourself. After you read it, I predict you will be ordering Human Kind for your family, friends, and colleagues. 

As a special offer to my readers, I’m offering a free copy of Human Kind to the first 10 of you who email me (be sure to include your mailing address) by July 31 saying you want to spark your kindness gene with Brad’s book.

For those of you who aren’t in the lucky first 10 or can’t wait to get Human Kind, here’s a link to order the book, audiobook, or Kindle version.

Curated Shares to Inspire Your “Better”

• Are you afraid to take your paid vacation time? If yes, unfortunately you’re not alone. More than half of the US workers polled recently shared they’re anxious about taking time off. There are lots of data breakdowns in this USA Today piece, and not one is positive. If any of the reasons resonate, are there actions you and your co-workers can take to improve support for each other to make sure you use all your PTO?

• Do Good Spotlight: Center for Biological Diversity : The more you read about and spend time in nature, you realize how connected we are to the environment. And there are so many ways to protect it, including The Center for Biological Diversity. This organization safeguards endangered species through legislation, media outreach, and scientific analysis. Learn more today: Center for Biological Diversity.
  

• HR Recruiting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas suggests AI is taking more jobs from people faster than reports suggest. In case you can’t read the full article, the net/net is this: categories for reporting job losses such as “technological advances” may include AI while not directly stating the loss was caused by AI.
  

• Speaking of AI, I was curious about how often adult “children” call their parents (no reason, ha ha) and Perplexity had answers for me. Here’s a link to the summary. BTW, I typically thank Lexi, as I’ve nicknamed my AI friend, when it provides answers. This time, Lexi wished me a good call with my parents, assuming I was the offspring. I said I was the parent in the scenario, and Lexi responded with how lucky my kids are to have a parent who cares about connecting. Nice recovery, Lexi.

• I’m sharing this one more for times you find yourself on the receiving end of this negotiation tactic, but if it works when you’re playing offense, no judgement.

• We hear the word “unicorn” tossed around relating to super successful start-ups, but did you know there’s a formal definition? I didn’t so of course I’m sharing now that I know.
  

• Karen Catlin has a simple suggestion for improving your recruiting process: remove unnecessary job requirements. She’s got a quick and easy test to share with your recruiting team to ensure job postings attract the best candidates and don’t exclude people who would rock that job.
  

• The title of this article asked if there was such a thing as too much self-awareness. But the article is actually about the need to balance our honest evaluations of ourselves with the confidence we need to project to be valued appropriately by others. As the author, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, notes, “After all, the workplace isn’t a confessional. It’s a stage.”
  

• The job market is rough. Here’s how it’s affecting GenZ. If you can’t see the full article, here’s a Labor Report the article references. Basically, both talk about the challenges for entry level jobs for college graduates. They apply for jobs and are among hundreds of people vying for those positions. If you have the means to provide meaningful work that younger people can add to their resumes, please consider giving them a leg up with opportunities.

• Maybe this post about the best career advice the author ever received could be the best career advice you’ve ever received…

• We who practice kindness as a core value don’t do it expecting rewards. And yet, isn’t it funny how often that good energy finds its way back to us?

• Frustrated? Angry? Sad? Need a “good cry?” Here’s one guaranteed to bring on those tears.

• Do you or someone you know need encouragement to voice opinions at work? This article has good tips on how, when, and why to speak up.

• Here’s an example of someone taking the extra step to bring kindness to a colleague.

⏳Until Next Time…

Wow, I have so much more to share. Guess I’ll have to save it for next week; hope you enjoy the time between now and then. 😊

Niki