The Daily Cultivation - Wednesday, November 12, 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.
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.
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