Category: Uncategorized

Happy Soul Food Friday

This week:

Leading Through Change: Building the Next Generation of Nonprofit Leadership:

Here is the link to a recent webinar I moderated with Dr. Laura Deitrick the Exec Director of USD’s Nonprofit Institute on: Leading Through Change: Building the Next Generation of Nonprofit Leadership.

As NCPC’s Impact Leadership Accelerator (ILA ) is focused on Emerging Leaders and striving to have our local board composition and leadership in the sector be more reflective of our San Diego demographics, I would really appreciate it if you would share this with the Latino/Hispanic orgs and anyone that you feel could benefit!

Here is a link to last week’s webinar, info about the next online panel Women in Leadership and more info about the ILA and next cohort.

People can sign up for ILA, or if they choose help fund scholarships for individuals or organizations they believe in.

Many thanks for your help and support getting the world out.

Note: I also left Jim Davis’ the ED of NCPC’s contact info below too…

Love,

Neville

Here is the link to the Leading Through Change: Building the Next Generation of Nonprofit Leadership recording:

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/erXAE_88vTVJ8MQQp5BuOA6e8eakj6QuVdKquPmkrLkuCNj2zX__StMbd7wr2-a0.fBnMuuvDYvdPPQ_j?startTime=1784746843000

Passcode: ADNnQ=S2

Our next NCPC leadership presentation, ” Women in Leadership” online panel, will take place on August 31st. It will feature Megan Thomas President & CEO of Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties, Giannina Pérez, Owner of Giannina Pérez Coaching and Consulting, Angel Mason Broadus, President & Founder of Puzzle Pieces Marketing,  and Courtney Stone, Founder, CEO of Spotlight.

Register for this free event HERE.  Flyer is attached. 

ILA details follow:

Interested in starting or enhancing your own leadership journey?  Accelerate your impact in your career, your organization, and your community.  NCPC’s Leadership program (ILA) is an extraordinary, 8-month leadership growth experience,  launching in September. To keep the coaching sessions small, we are limiting this year’s session to 40 individuals. 

Learn more HERE

‘In over 30 years, I’ve never seen something this powerful’: Experts have finally learned how the right human touch can transform your health

Physical contact is vital for our wellbeing. New research is revealing why July 22, 2026 Studies in this field, exploring the nature of ‘touch hunger’ or ‘touch deprivation,’ had previously focused on isolated older adults, but after COVID-19, they expanded to cover all age groups. This included a population normally considered to be the least vulnerable to touch deprivation: the young

‘In over 30 years, I’ve never seen something this powerful’: Experts have finally learned how the right human touch can transform your health | BBC Science Focus Magazine

Want to Live Longer, Healthier, and Happier? Then Cultivate Your Social Connections

Chronic loneliness can increase cortisol and inflammation and weaken your immune system, says social scientist Kasley Killam. She argues it’s time to accept that good quality social connections are a fundamental human need

Want to Live Longer, Healthier, and Happier? Then Cultivate Your Social Connections | WIRED

The Human-Dog Bond

The Internet’s “dog mom” talks about the science of the connection between humans and their dogs and all the ways canines benefit people

The Internet’s ‘Dog Mom’ Talks the Science of the Human-Dog Bond | Scientific American

Long-Term Happiness Comes Down to 3 Things. Most Entrepreneurs Get 1 Wrong

The antidote is a deeper commitment to craft, purpose, and continuous self-development. Jul 25, 2026 Over the course of my life, I’ve developed a model around sustained human happiness. As best I can tell, there are essentially only three things that can make us fulfilled over the long term: religion or spirituality/a genuine relationship with something greater than ourselves; human connection and warm primary attachments; and dedication to the mastery of a craft.

Long-Term Happiness Comes Down to 3 Things. Most Entrepreneurs Get 1 Wrong

Please pay it forward!

Love,

Neville

Subscribe to the Free Weekly Blog Here: Welcome to Soul Food Friday: A weekly blog to feed, grow and energize your soul – Happy Soul Food Friday!

Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nevillebillimoria

“Do not move the way fear makes you move.

Move the way love makes you move.”- Osho

Happy Soul Food Friday

This week:

• Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, and Alan Watts All Discovered the Same 5 Rules for Living—Almost Nobody Lives by Them
• Everything You Know About Surviving a Rip Current Is Wrong. Here’s What to Actually Do
• Everything Hikers Know About Lightning Safety Is Wrong. A Storm Expert Explains the Rules That Actually Keep You Safe
• The Deadliest Animal in America Isn’t a Bear, a Shark, or a Snake. It’s Not Even Close
• The 1 Thing That’ll Wash Pesticides Off Fruits and Vegetables

Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, and Alan Watts All Discovered the Same 5 Rules for Living—Almost Nobody Lives by Them:

A Holocaust survivor, a pioneering psychologist, and a Zen philosopher came from radically different worlds. Yet they all arrived at the same uncomfortable truths about what makes a life worth living

Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, and Alan Watts All Discovered the Same 5 Rules for Living—Almost Nobody Lives by Them

Everything You Know About Surviving a Rip Current Is Wrong. Here’s What to Actually Do.

The “swim parallel to shore” advice you’ve heard your whole life is outdated. A coastal safety researcher explains what actually works — and why the old guidance can make things worse.

Everything You Know About Surviving a Rip Current Is Wrong. Here’s What to Actually Do. – Outside

Everything Hikers Know About Lightning Safety Is Wrong. A Storm Expert Explains the Rules That Actually Keep You Safe.

Get off the summit? Avoid tall trees? Crouch down? Some of the most repeated rules are myths. Here’s the updated guidance that actually holds up.

Everything Hikers Know About Lightning Safety Is Wrong. A Storm Expert Explains the Rules That Actually Keep You Safe. – Outside

The Deadliest Animal in America Isn’t a Bear, a Shark, or a Snake. It’s Not Even Close.

A surgeon analyzed nine years of CDC fatality data to rank every animal most likely to kill you in the U.S. The top two on the list will stop you cold — and permanently change how you think about outdoor risk.

The Deadliest Animal in America Isn’t a Bear, a Shark, or a Snake. It’s Not Even Close. – Outside

The 1 Thing That’ll Wash Pesticides Off Fruits and Vegetables:

Complicated washes are trending on TikTok. But are they even necessary?

How To Wash Pesticides Off Fruits And Vegetables | HuffPost Life

Thanks this week go to Glenda O for the Frankl, Jung, Watts article, and Don W for the positivity graphic.

Please pay it forward!

Love,

Neville

Subscribe to the Free Weekly Blog Here: Welcome to Soul Food Friday: A weekly blog to feed, grow and energize your soul – Happy Soul Food Friday!

Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nevillebillimoria

“I don’t paint things. 
I only paint the difference between things.” – Henri Matisse

Happy Soul Food Friday,

This week:

• Leading Through Change: Building the Next Generation of Nonprofit Leadership
• Purpose-Driven Board Leadership- A New Way of Framing the Nonprofit Board’s Role
• The Simple, Stanford-backed Hypnosis Technique that can Quiet your Inner Critic
• Boost Your Dopamine and Motivation with These Expert-Approved Habits

“People most admire those leaders whose accomplishments speak for themselves and whose greatest accomplishment is the success of their followers.”— Kevin Daum, entrepreneur and best-selling author

Leading Through Change: Building the Next Generation of Nonprofit Leadership

Wednesday July 22, from 12:00-1:00pm Live on Zoom

Shift Happens and continues to happen, which means the road to success is always under construction…

Learning agility will remain a priority, particularly in this uncertain climate.

Join me in a facilitated and generative conversation with Dr. Laura Deitrick, the Executive Director of The Nonprofit Institute at USD as we explore what nonprofit leadership requires in this moment, so we can effectively prepare for what comes next.

Dr. Deitrick with share her foresight, insights and help us navigate the oversight necessary to lead the social sector though uncertainty, shifting funding landscapes, AI transformation and changing market and community needs.

Register for free at the link below and do share with your network as we uplift all of San Diego.

Leading Through Change: Building the Next Gener Registration

Purpose-Driven Board Leadership:

A New Way of Framing the Nonprofit Board’s Role with Purpose First and Foremost

Purpose-Driven Leadership | 4 Principles For Nonprofit Boards

The Simple, Stanford-backed Hypnosis Technique that can Quiet your Inner Critic:

Forget the swinging pocket watches, scientists are now praising hypnotherapy as a powerful tool to fight mental and physical pain. I’m sitting with my back straight, my eyes closed and my iPad resting on my lap. “Let one hand float up in the air as if it were a balloon,” a soothing voice tells me from the speakers, and I do as it commands. Soon I feel as if my whole body is weightless. Next, I have to visualize the goal that I want to achieve…

The simple, Stanford-backed hypnosis technique that can quiet your inner critic | BBC Science Focus Magazine

“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence”

“Leadership is a matter of how to be, not how to do.” — Frances Hesselbein

Boost Your Dopamine and Motivation with These Expert-Approved Habits:

It’s all about tricking our brains like Pavlov’s dogs—on purpose

Dopamine Habits That Can Support Motivation, According to Experts

“Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.”-Marian Anderson

To the leader within you!

Love,

Neville

Subscribe to the Free Weekly Blog Here: Welcome to Soul Food Friday: A weekly blog to feed, grow and energize your soul – Happy Soul Food Friday!

Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nevillebillimoria

Happy Soul Food Friday

This week:

Reflections on our 250^th birthday

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,

that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,

that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

– Declaration of Independence

The Way Home by Kurt C:

There is a deep well of grief underneath us 

Covered over by our daily tasks of existence

Of making the coffee

Washing the dishes 

Checking email

Walking the dog 

And 

It has been growing with each act of hatred, cruelty, injustice 

If we allow ourselves to go there, we can become lost,  overwhelmed by emotion

And so, we seal it off, cover it over, pretend it is not there 

How are the kids?

What book are you reading? 

Hey, did you see that World Cup Game?

And yet if we drop from head to heart 

Access the consciousness below the ego

Sink into the deeper layers

It is there 

And without effort it fills us with tears 

 Not tears of sadness or regret or hurt or injury 

Tears of compassion 

Tears that are the essence of our humanity 

Tears of disbelief that we could have fallen so far 

That all the promise we held so close to our hearts could be washed away

And yet our salvation lies in this well of grief in the tears 

In the release that swimming in these dark waters grants us 

to connect once again to what makes us humankind – human and kind

And makes possible the small kindnesses

You know 

The shared smile

The hand that helps 

Making eye contact in the elevator

They are the foundation of our journey home 

“Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.”- Colin Powell

Heather Cox Richardson from Letters from an American July 3, 2026:

And on July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

For all the fact that the congressmen got around the sticky little problem of Black and Indigenous enslavement by defining “men” as “white men,” and for all that it never crossed their minds that women might also have rights, the Declaration of Independence was an astonishingly radical document. In a world that had been dominated by a small class of rich men for so long that most people simply accepted that they should be forever tied to their status at birth, a group of upstart legislators on the edges of a continent declared that no man was born better than any other.

America was founded on the radical idea that all men are created equal.

What the founders declared self-evident was not so clear eighty-seven years later, when southern white men went to war to reshape America into a nation in which African Americans, Indigenous Americans, Chinese, Mexicans, and Irish were locked into a lower status than white Americans. In that era, equality had become a “proposition,” rather than “self-evident.”

“Four score and seven years ago,” Abraham Lincoln reminded Americans, “our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” In 1863, Lincoln explained, the Civil War was “testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”

It did, of course. The Confederate rebellion failed. The United States endured, and Americans began to expand the idea that all men are created equal to include Black men, men of color, and eventually women.

But just as in the 1850s, we are now, once again, facing a rebellion against our founding principle as a few people seek to reshape America into a nation in which certain people are better than others.

The men who endorsed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, pledged their “Lives, [their] Fortunes and [their] sacred Honor” to defend the idea of human equality. Ever since then, Americans have sacrificed their own fortunes, honor, and even their lives, for that principle.

Lincoln reminded Civil War Americans of those sacrifices when he urged the people of his era to “take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Words to live by in 2026.

On America’s 250th Birthday, Celebrate Liberty:
Most Americans still appreciate the freedom the country was founded upon. Nearly half of Americans don’t understand what we’re celebrating for America’s 250th anniversary, according to a new poll. Clearly, the festivities aren’t about the quality of the country’s public schools since this year marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Something else we should be celebrating, though, is this country’s continued legacy of individual liberty.

Poll shows 46% don’t know why we’re celebrating America 250

The Great American Betrayal:
After 250 years, many Americans are disillusioned with their country due to its broken political and legal systems, declining faith, and tech-driven echo chambers that amplify fear and division.

America’s 250th year: A nation in disillusionment

Keep the Faith!

Thanks to Kurt C for the delicious poem, The Way Home!

Love,

Neville

Subscribe to the Free Weekly Blog Here: Welcome to Soul Food Friday: A weekly blog to feed, grow and energize your soul – Happy Soul Food Friday!

Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nevillebillimoria

Live out of your imagination, not your history. -Stephen Covey

Happy July 4^th Weekend!

“We hold these truths to be self-evident,

that all men are created equal,

that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,

that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

This week:

Leading from within has never required more from us than it does today.

Economic uncertainty. AI-driven disruption. Geopolitical instability. Talent stress, burnout, and staff shortages. Rising expectations from everyone!

Yet amid all this change, one challenge sits underneath almost every issue leaders are facing today:

People.

Today, let’s privilege people over politics, principles over personalities and empathy over power.

“America is known as a country that welcomes people to its shores. All kinds of people.”

— Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Pressure Signals Leaders Miss that Look Like Performance Issues:

Under sustained pressure, the brain shifts out of performance mode and into survival mode.

It stops spending energy on the things that look like “performance” and starts spending it on staying safe.

That’s where the signs come from.

When the brain runs on threat
↳ decisions stall, because choosing feels risky
↳ details slip because attention narrows to urgency
↳ people pull away, to save energy

You’re not watching seven separate problems.
You’re watching brains under too much load.

“May we think of freedom not as the right to do as we please,

but as the opportunity to do what is right.”— Peter Marshall

The most successful people do 5 things to get luckier in life:

Stanford University educator Tina Seelig shares what the luckiest people do every day to find success.

The most successful people do 5 things to get luckier in life: Stanford leadership expert

“We’re blessed with the opportunity to stand for something, for liberty and fairness. And these are things worth fighting for, worth devoting our lives to.” –Ronald Reagan

The ‘pet effect’ and how animals may boost your health:

Whether you’re the proud pet parent to an animal with paws, claws, hooves or fins, it’s no secret how much joy and companionship they bring us.

8 health benefits of having a pet

“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4th, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics were kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness.”

– Erma Bombeck

To your wellbeing!

Love,

Neville

Subscribe to the Free Weekly Blog Here: Welcome to Soul Food Friday: A weekly blog to feed, grow and energize your soul – Happy Soul Food Friday!

Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nevillebillimoria

“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”

—President John F. Kennedy

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week:

• Who Wants to Change?
• Here’s Why Change is So Exhausting, According to Neuroscience
• Scientists Just Discovered the Brain Chemical That Controls Your Ability to Break a Bad Habit
• 5 Things You Should Do First Thing in the Morning to Be Happier All Day

Who Wants to Change?

Years ago, I was working with a small group of administrators, sharing some insights and ideas on where education could go and where it is moving. I am passionate that if you are in a leadership position that you lead by example…

Who wants to change? | by George Couros | Medium

Here’s why change is so exhausting, according to neuroscience:
Why constant transformation is exhausting workforces. Organizations today are running what amounts to a continuous stress experiment on their people. Restructuring, digital transformation, remote and hybrid transitions, supply chain reorganization, and the rapid arrival of AI—change has become the permanent condition of working life. Leaders are puzzled or irritated when people resist, disengage or seem unable to get on board.

The neuroscience of change fatigue – Fast Company

Scientists Just Discovered the Brain Chemical That Controls Your Ability to Break a Bad Habit:
This neurotransmitter signals to the brain when it’s time to abandon old routines and adapt to new changes. Being able to alter your not-so-great tendencies goes beyond simply having strong willpower. A new study just revealed the brain chemical associated with breaking bad habits. The study, which was published in Nature Communications, a peer-reviewed journal, focused on answering this question: how does the brain know when it is time to abandon an old strategy and try something new?

Scientists Just Discovered the Brain Chemical That Controls Your Ability to Break a Bad Habit

5 Things You Should Do First Thing in the Morning to Be Happier All Day
If you roll out of bed feeling tired or stressed, these a.m. habits can help you turn your mood around.

5 Things You Should Do First Thing In The Morning To Be Happier All Day | HuffPost Life

Enjoy the day and keep the change!

Love,

Neville

Subscribe to this Free Weekly Blog Here: Welcome to Soul Food Friday: A weekly blog to feed, grow and energize your soul – Happy Soul Food Friday!

Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nevillebillimoria

“Winners must learn to relish change with the same
enthusiasm and energy that we have resisted it in the past.”

– Tom Peters

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week:

Ever wonder why watching your favorite sports be it basketball, baseball, soccer, hockey, or tennis makes you happy? Read on…

• Why Watching Sports Makes People Happy
• World Cup 2026: Why do Japan fans clean up the stadium?
• Psychologists Say This Simple Habit Can Make You a Much Happier Person

Why Watching Sports Makes People Happy:

Some years ago, Helen Keyes was pushing her way through a World Cup crowd with her soccer-loving brother and father. “What is it about this sport or this event that you like?” she remembers asking them. “Is it the sport itself? Is it being around the other people? The sense of togetherness?” They were stumped, and replied that they’d never thought about it. “I thought, I’d really like to think about it,” remembers Keyes, who is a cognitive psychologist at Anglia Ruskin University in England.

Why Watching Sports Makes People Happy

World Cup 2026: Why do Japan fans clean up the stadium?

Japan supporters have built a respected reputation for tidying up football stadiums before they leave. But what is the reason for it?

World Cup 2026: Why do Japan fans clean up the stadium? – ESPN

Bonus-

Psychologists Say This Simple Habit Can Make You a Much Happier Person:

Before the overthinking kicks in, there’s usually a knowing. A job offer, a relationship, a move—the gut feels something almost immediately, and then the pro-con list buries it.

Psychologists Say This Simple Habit Can Make You a Much Happier Person

Stay in the positive!

Love,

Neville

Subscribe to the Free Weekly Blog Here: Welcome to Soul Food Friday: A weekly blog to feed, grow and energize your soul – Happy Soul Food Friday!

Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nevillebillimoria

“Winners practice until they get it right,

while Champions practice until they can’t get it wrong!”

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week:

• Nature as Medicine
• How Optimism Helps Your Brain Stay Healthy
• And 3 Rules for a Happy Life from the World’s Oldest Doctor

In Boston, doctors try a dose of nature as medicine:

Doctors spend years becoming experts in how the body works, how it can break down and how to recognize and treat various illnesses. Their training rarely involves what’s known as “nature-based medicine.” Dr. Susan Abookire has made it her mission to change that.

In Boston, doctors try a dose of nature as medicine | WBUR News

New Harvard Study: How Optimism Helps Your Brain Stay Healthy:

I didn’t know I was doing exactly what Harvard researchers say makes your brain a lot healthier. May 4, 2026 Here’s some good news. A few years ago, when I was feeling a bit down, I started an experiment that turned into a weekly newsletter feature that I now call Big Optimism. The premise is simple: I look back in history and find days that seemed ordinary at the time — or even bad — that turned out to be the quiet starting point for remarkable things.

Optimism May Lower Dementia Risk by 15%, New Study Finds

At 103 years old, I’m the ‘world’s oldest doctor’: My 3 rules for a long, happy life are simple:

Dr. Howard Tucker left behind an impressive legacy. At 103, he was named the oldest doctor in the world — and quite possibly the happiest. Shortly before passing away, he shared his rules for living a long, happy, and healthy life. They’re very simple, he says.

At 103 years old, I’m the ‘world’s oldest doctor’: My 3 rules for a long, happy life are simple

Stay in tune with your inner and outer nature!

Love,

Neville

Subscribe to the Free Weekly Blog Here: Welcome to Soul Food Friday: A weekly blog to feed, grow and energize your soul – Happy Soul Food Friday!

Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nevillebillimoria
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“The world connects not by molecules. It connects through ideas, hopes, faces, dreams, actions, stories and memories….”

– Barrie Stanford Greiff