Category: Inspiration

Support Intentional Creators, Makers & Small Businesses

Every dollar we spend is a vote for the kind of world we want to live in.
Our consumer choices have never been more critical. By shifting our support away from global corporations whose business models often prioritize profit over planetary and human well-being, we can actively empower small businesses, independent practitioners, and purpose-driven organizations that are truly making a difference.

Here is a list of products, services, brands and organizations I love, many created by amazing humans I feel grateful to have connected with in this lifetime.

🎨Arists, Makers & Creators

Makers

  • Silver Slag & Stone – jewelry made from hand-foraged stone and slag from Lake Michigan, available online and in-store alongside other local artist creations in their storefront in Sutton Bay, Michigan.
  • Waffles & Honey – Handcrafted gemstone jewelry designed and made in San Francisco.
  • Mark Montano – US-based artist, interior designer, DIY-crafter, and creator.

Gifts

  • Inner Compass Cards – carefully designed decks that combine ancient wisdom with a modern, minimalist aesthetic to help you quiet your scattered and overthinking mind and reconnect with your inner clarity.
  • Simply Gilded – Hand-designed boutique stationery, washi tapes, and artfully-created planning tools.

Artists

  • Olga Rybalko – Ukrainian-Canadian artist known for landscapes, cityscapes and pieces filled with emotion and narratives.
  • William D. Higginson – Australian-born, Canadian contemporary surrealist artist – creating art that he hopes makes the viewer think with introspection, evoke emotions, and ask questions, enabling you to look deep within.
  • Halim Flowers – American artist, writer and activist; Also the CEO of Artonomics, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering artists with financial literacy
  • Mika Revell – Chinese-American multimedia artist exploring the complex relationship between symbols of power and commodified objects, contrasting the ominous and alluring.
  • Madhvi Patel – American abstract artist based in Arkansas.

Photographers & Videographers

  • Julian Walters – New York-based commercial and travel/documentary photographer.
  • Florian Tomasini – Brazil-based Photographer, videographer & filmmaker helping brands and social projects.
  • Kate Enno – Australian-based editorial, commercial and fine art photographer.
  • Victoria Nyquvest – Canadian wedding and event photographer.
  • Adam Bennett – Photographer and academic based in the UK, combining landscape photographs with research, exploring themes relating to land use, ecology and notions of heritage.

Apparel & Travel Goods

  • Oya Femtech Apparel – innovative activewear that protects sweaty skin from the infections that regular activewear causes.
  • Sauri – niche running brand based out of LA
  • Love41 &Saddleback Leathers – high-end, quality-guaranteed leather bags and accessories that donate profits to support orphans, widows, and street children in Mexico, Rwanda and other areas.
  • Db Bags – backpacks, carry bags, luggage, and accessories for urban people who love outdoor lifestyles and travel. Environmentally aware Norwegian B-Corp with a commitment to sustainability and responsible production.

Book Stores & Boutiques

  • The Last Bookstore – Located in DTLA, worth a visit if you’re even in Los Angeles.
  • Papercuts Bookstore – Bookstore in Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA
  • Soul Bungalow – Hermosa Beach (LA)-based boutique specializing in thoughtfully curated wellness products, dazzling crystals, inspiring art, and unique treasures to uplift your spirit.
  • MuMu Mansion – Los Angeles-based fashion and lifestyle brand that curates a unique collection of new and vintage apparel, jewelry, and home goods.

Local Chefs, Markets, Small-Batch Food, Drinks and Nutrition

Chefs, Restaurants

  • Fat Cheeks Hawaii – Honolulu, Hawaii, casual, mom-and-pop eatery co-founded by Levina Moy, crafting lobster rolls and other East Coast specialties, plus burgers and seafood dishes.
  • Bridgetown Roti – Los Angeles, women-owned Caribbean American restaurant founded by Chef Rashida Holmes.
  • To Live for Bakery – Plant-based bakery (their Nanaimo bar is incredible) in Vancouver, Canada.
  • FoMu – Earth-inspired desserts, including vegan ice cream, cookies and ice cream cakes. Locations found around Boston.
  • Cicada Coffee Bar – Down-home Vietnamese cafe serving banh mi, noodle salads & pastries, plus coffee & specialty drinks in Cambridge, MA.
  • Sophie Sucree – Vegan pastry shop offering breakfast, plus sweets such as cookies, cupcakes & scones in Montreal, QC, Canada.

Products

  • Ranch & Rifle – Veteran-owned company offering premium, American-made spices for grilling and wild game cooking.
  • Seed – Clinically-studied probiotic formulations designed to support the microbes powering your health.
  • Mamma Musey’s Pierogis – delicious, Gibson, BC-based pierogis with vegan options available at farmers’ markets in the GVRD (Vancouver) region.

Farmers Markets & Stands

🌱Holistic Health Practitioners, Retreats and Centers

  • YogiAthlete – Chicago/LA-based former football player-turned yoga instructor, focusing on bridging yoga & athletic training.
  • Satya Holistica – Ecuador-based wellness practitioner specializing in massage, holistic therapies, reflexology, yoga, and meditation.
  • The Fat Yogis – Co-operative of functional yoga teachers offering trainings, classes and tools.
  • Serra Vida – Retreat center and conscious vacation destination in Portugal offering self-catered short and long-term stays accompanied by a daily program of mindfulness as well as a number of retreats and trainings throughout the year.
  • Durga’s Tiger School for Tantra Yoga Arts Shamanism – Internationally acclaimed yoga teacher training school that offers transformational programs in Tantra Yoga, Shamanism, and Arts based in Quito, Ecuador.
  • Orenda Retreats – France-based, women-owned series of holistic wellness retreats focused on empowering women through nature, movement, and self-discovery.

Adventures & Travel

  • The Blonde Abroad Escapes – Female-owned and operated, all-female, bespoke travel tours and educational retreats for the adventurous female traveller
  • Nautilus Sailing – American Sailing Association school, specializing in week-long live-aboard sailing courses around the world
  • Portiate Charters – Algarve Region, Portugal, family-owned sailboat charter, including skippered & bareboat. Modern fleet of sailing yachts, catamarans & motorboats. Half day, full day, multi-day cruise.

💖 Community Minded & Non-Profit Organizations

  • Eat Move Meditate – nonprofit empowering people to eat healthy, move their bodies, and meditate through accessible health and wellness.
  • Grow Unwind Connect – a non-profit global wellness initiative based in Compton, California, dedicated to promoting holistic health, personal development, and community engagement through various programs and activities, particularly within the educational and athletic sectors.
  • CNOTE – A financial technology platform that offers impact investing solutions for individuals, corporations, and foundations. It connects investor capital to mission-driven financial institutions, such as CDFIs and credit unions, which in turn fund community development projects in underserved communities.
  • Catalyst Conversations – Boston-based organization providing free public programming in the greater Boston region, focused on hosting provocative conversations between artists, scientists, and the public.
  • Save the Harbor / Save the Bay – a non-profit organization that works to protect and restore Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, and the region’s public beaches, while making them accessible to the public through free programs and events.
  • Open Paths Counseling Center – a non-profit organization that provides affordable and culturally affirming mental health services to underserved communities in Los Angeles.
  • Homeboy Industries -Nonprofit that provides formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated individuals with free services, job training, and support through social enterprises to help them redirect their lives and become contributing members of the community.

Other Resources, Orgs & Individuals

  • Book List by amazing humans who have positively impacted my life.
  • LA2050 Social Impact Gift Guide – 90+ products and experiences sourced from local nonprofits, sustainable makers, cultural establishments, and small businesses in Los Angeles.

Show me your data

Show me your data—not just your sleek pitch deck,
Your methods, your dictionary, the systems you’ve built.
Your coverage and demographics laid bare, not kept in check.

Show me your data—don’t hide behind proprietary walls.
Indulge me in your inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Publish the methods, share the code,
give the “how” behind the “whoa!”

Show me your data—a simple Table 1 would do,
and perhaps you could throw in a Figure 1 flowchart too.
What corpus trained your model?
What metric forestalls your errors?
How do you validate—internally or externally?

Show me your data—what does your missingness reveal?
How do you handle the gaps where information should be?
Can you acknowledge your biases with candour,
not conceal the limitations that shape your algorithmic prophecy?

If you truly are the best—as your marketing claims,
If you provide immense value and genuinely care about the populations you serve (yes, serve, not just aim to profit from),
Then, publishing research should feel fair.

Show me your data—a simple request, nothing grand.
Share methods, share learnings, build bridges of trust.
For all your AI promises and future so planned,
Until transparent beats opaque, “AI for good” is just a take.


Show me your data.
An ode to organizations building health apps, wearables, advanced analytics and AI. In a world where algorithms increasingly shape healthcare decisions. This is a call for transparency from those who build the tools that influence health and how care is delivered.

Wellness

Tools to make sense of the pieces.
Words to name the beliefs and emotions.

Understanding.

Equipped to sit in the discomfort.
Gained ability to separate self from stories and shame.

Compassion.

Release and removal of blockages preventing flow and future.

Inspired.

Relief and clarity of what no longer serves.

Hopeful.
Excited.
Energized.
Curious.

2024 Reading List

Keeping track of the books I read in 2024. What is on your reading list?
Other lists: 2023 reads, 2022 reads, 2020-2021 reads, Unlocking New Perspectives: The Power of Diverse Fiction Reading, books written by amazing humans in my life.

FICTION

  • Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver
  • Galapagos – Kurt Vonnegut
  • Flights – Olga Tokarczuk
  • NW – Sadie Smith

NON-FICTION

  • What doesn’t kill you – Tessa Miller
  • Dare to lead – Brené Brown
  • Feelings, how to use them intelligently – Vivian Dittmar
  • Never Split the Difference – Chris Voss with Tahl Raz
  • A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle
  • Waking the Tiger – Peter Levine

Holiday Reflections

You are not the darkness you endured. You are the light that refuses to surrender.

As we step into the holiday season,

💐 Please remember to be kind and patient—our world is steeped in pain, hurt, and chaos. Each of us is navigating our path, often facing challenges unknown to others.

🤳 Check-in on those around you—loved ones, colleagues, and network. The holidays can stir emotions; a simple message or call can go a long way.

👟 Place a premium on your well-being. The perpetual challenges of COVID, seasonal illnesses, heightened stressors, economic/political uncertainties, and extreme weather take a toll. Prioritize rest, movement, and staying hydrated. Be mindful of what you put into your body and where you expend your energy.

🧘‍♂️ Carve out moments of stillness and find time to unplug and be present.

⌛ There is more to life than work. Taking time to recharge and enjoy time with loved ones can help you find clarity and achieve your business goals.

🌟 We cannot create a healthy world if we ourselves are not healthy.
Be intentional with your time, reach out when you need help, and take breaks.

Be well and stay hopeful this holiday season.

Unlocking New Perspectives: The Power of Diverse Fiction Reading

In a rapidly evolving world, our ability to lead with empathy, understanding, and innovation is paramount. 🌟 One way to enhance these skills is by diving into fiction books penned by authors from diverse backgrounds. 📖 

Doing so can:
🌎 Broaden horizons.
🤝 Increase cultural awareness and understanding of historical and social contexts.
💡 Empower marginalized voices and reduce stereotyping. 
🚀 Enhance creativity and imagination, encouraging us to approach challenges with fresh, innovative solutions.
🧠 Improve communication skills and how to navigate various viewpoints

🌟 As leaders, we have the privilege and responsibility to create environments where diversity and inclusion thrive. Reading diverse fiction is a small yet powerful step towards achieving this. 

As many of us head out on vacation this August, make your summer read a book that comes from a different perspective. Let’s commit to exploring stories that enrich our understanding, foster unity, and guide us in leading with empathy and authenticity.

Here are some of my favorite diverse fiction reads:

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich – This novel capture a splintering America during the pandemic from the perspective of a formally incarcerated Native American, providing an account of the first months of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd. [Summary by NPR]

White Teeth by Zadie Smith – This novel follows first-generation immigrants who look back on their old lives, and the lives of their parents in Bangladesh and the Caribbean, with a mixture of perplexity and fear. The children of these immigrants, in turn, have little real feeling for the experiences and histories of their parents. [Review by The Guardian]

The Sellout by Paul Beatty – A biting satire about a young man’s isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court. It challenges the sacred tenets of the United States Constitution, urban life, the civil rights movement, the father-son relationship, and the holy grail of racial equality—the black Chinese restaurant. [Review by NPR]

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz – This read centers around two Mexican-American teenagers in EL Paso, Texas in 1987 as they explore when the line between friendship and romantic love starts to blur together — an experience that can be even harder to navigate when you’re trying to understand your own sexuality at the same time. [Details on upcoming movie by Out Magazine]

Lesson in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus – Taking place in the 1960 where the protagonist, a scientist whose career takes a detour when she becomes the star of a beloved TV cooking show after her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. [Review by The Gaurdian]

Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin – The novel is about two friends who make video games. It’s also about how people grow and grieve in the real world. [Summary by The Washington Post]

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen – a conflicted subversive and idealist working as a double agent in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. [Interview with NPR]

Men without Women by Haruki Murakami – Across seven tales, Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. [Review by LA Review of Books]

      Share your favorite diverse fiction reads below! Let’s inspire each other to embrace the richness of our world’s narratives. 🌈📚

      Islands of Sanity

      🌍 How do we find a way forward in a world we cannot recognize?
      🤔 How do we know what to do in a world we do not understand?
      🏝️ How can you be an island of sanity amid constant uncertainty?

      Playa Zipolite, Oaxaca México

      📚 These are all questions that Margaret Wheatley explores in “Who We Choose to Be.”

      🛑 Hope no longer lies in systemic change, which the time has passed, but rather, it is hope that hinges on individuals creating metaphorical “islands of sanity.”

      🌟 The world does not need more entrepreneurs or technological breakthroughs. Instead, it needs leaders.
      💪 Local leaders who put service over self and understand that the powerful will always defend the status quo because it is the source of their power and privilege.

      🌐 It is essential to understand the complexity of global problems, systemically define root causes and propose meaningful solutions. Still, we are impotent to influence those in power who ignore our efforts. We have not failed because of a lack of ideas and technologies. We have failed from a lack of will. The solutions we needed were already here.

      🔝 Leaders can use their power and influence, their insight and compassion to lead people back to an understanding of who we are as human beings to create conditions for our basic human qualities of generosity, contribution, community, and love to be evoked no matter what.

      🌱 We can lead people to create positive changes locally that make life easier and more sustainable, that create possibility amid global decline.

      🌎 Whatever the problem, community is the answer.
      🤝 Humans can get through anything as long as we’re together, and there is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.

      🤷‍♂️ Who do you choose to be for this time?
      💡 Are you willing to use whatever power and influence you have to create islands of sanity that evoke and rely on our best human qualities to create, produce, and persevere? 💫

      For more, check out Margaret Wheatley’s talk “Islands of Sanity” from the Meanings Conference in 2017 .

      How do we get societies to change?

      There’s a quote I’ve been meditating on this past week that the late Mike Davis mentions in his novel “City of Quartz” credited to Job Harriman:

      “It became apparent to me that a people would never abandon their means of livelihood, good or bad, capitalistic or otherwise, until other methods were developed which would promise advantages at least as good as those by which they were living.”

      Harriman came within a hair’s-breadth of being Los Angeles’s first Socialist mayor in 1911 and, post-defeat, founded a socialist cooperative colony known as Llano del Rio near the Mojave Desert that lasted until 1917.

      Llano del Rio may not have experienced long-term success, but Harriman captures one of the significant challenges of creating society-wide change. People will only be open to change if a higher quality of life is guaranteed. Even then, that still may not be enough to sway change.

      If you live in LA or want to better understand this beautiful, complicated city, City of Quartz is a must-read. Over 30 years later, it still remains the best socio-political critique of modern LA: https://lnkd.in/gPTr8yKy