Your Soul Food for Friday July 2 2021: 50 Pictures That Prove That Humanity Isn’t Always The Absolute Worst and More…

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week

A Fork in the Road

On Leadership

Weak leaders blame the messenger. They see problems as threats to their ego.
Strong leaders thank the messenger. They see problems as threats to their mission.
Great leaders promote the messenger. They see recognizing and raising problems as acts of vision and courage.

-Adam Grant

10 Leadership Habits of Highly Effective Leaders:

While it is hard for two experts to agree on one definition of leadership, this article will not give you a single skill or formula to be a better leader. Instead, it provides something better, 10 habits that you need to gain influence with the courage to develop your team’s potential.

10 Leadership Habits of Highly Effective Leaders | by Luay Rahil, MBA | ILLUMINATION | Jun, 2021 | Medium

Defining Authenticity by Seth Godin:

For me, it’s not “do what you feel like doing,” because that’s unlikely to be useful.

You might feel like hanging out on the beach, telling off your boss or generally making nothing much of value. Authenticity as an impulse is hardly something to aspire to.

It’s not, “say whatever is on your mind,” either.

Instead, I define it as, “consistent emotional labor.”

We call a brand or a person authentic when they’re consistent, when they act the same way whether or not someone is looking. Someone is authentic when their actions are in alignment with what they promise.

Showing up as a pro.

Keeping promises.

Even when you don’t feel like it.

Especially when you don’t.

Less Brainstorming, More Daydreaming?

This Creative Facilitator Says Yes
In 1920s London, Queen Mary, the formidable wife of King George V, made a visit to the Royal St. Mary’s Hospital in London. On her tour was a display of “microbial art,” the hobby of one of the doctors, including a Union Jack created in a petri dish by the meticulous use of different species of fungus. The Queen sped past dismissively. What on earth could such nonsense have to do with the urgent work of such a prestigious hospital?

Creative exec: “Less brainstorming, more daydreaming” (fastcompany.com)

Why Some Biologists and Ecologists Think Social Media is a Risk to Humanity:

Social media has drastically restructured the way we communicate in an incredibly short period of time. We can discover, “Like,” click on, and share information faster than ever before, guided by algorithms most of us don’t quite understand. And while some social scientists, journalists, and activists have been raising concerns about how this is affecting our democracy, mental health, and relationships, we haven’t seen biologists and ecologists weighing in as much. That’s changed with a new paper published in the prestigious science journal PNAS earlier this month, titled “Stewardship of global collective behavior.”

Why biologists like Carl Bergstrom are warning that social media is a risk to humanity – Vox

William Blake: Biography Offers Glimpse into Artist and Poet’s Visionary Mind:

His divine and mind-bending experiences informed Blake’s world view and inspired his deeply philosophical illustrated texts like Jerusalem and Milton. As a result, though, he was deemed mad by much of 18th and 19th Century England, and died penniless and largely unheralded. Nowadays, he is widely considered one of UK’s most influential and respected artists and poets. And in a new biography, William Blake vs the World, author John Higgs argues we are now far better placed to understand what was going on inside his head.

William Blake: Biography offers glimpse into artist and poet’s visionary mind – BBC News

Woman Looking to Adopt a Pet From a Pennsylvania Shelter Finds the Dog She Lost 2 Years Ago:

A Pennsylvania woman shared an emotional reunion with the dog she lost over two years ago at the Lehigh County Humane Society after spotting the canine on the shelter’s website.

Woman Looking For Pet to Adopt Finds Lost Dog at Pennsylvania Shelter | PEOPLE.com

50 Pictures That Prove That Humanity Isn’t Always The Absolute Worst:

50 Pictures That Prove The World Isn’t A Big Giant Steaming Pile Of Garbage (buzzfeed.com)