The Daily Cultivation - Monday, November 10, 2025

What caught my eye in how we learn, live, and grow — and why it matters.

Welcome to The Daily Cultivation — where learning meets living, one idea and one observation at a time. Think of it as a quick, curated pause in your feed: what caught my attention, what it made me think about, and why it matters. It’s part reflection, part commentary, and part conversation — all about how we’re learning, leading, and growing in real life.

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 Daily 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.