It’s so important to break out of our daily routines and access new content to help us think differently. As a dot connector, I can find inspiration in seemingly strange places, and having a varied list of books, email subscriptions, videos, and podcasts helps me expand my horizons and create new mindsets for myself and others.

Folks have been asking what I pay attention to, so I figured let’s do a periodic roundup of what’s keeping me entertained, energized, and curious.

Book

I discovered Practical Optimism by Dr. Sue Varma while browsing “New Books” at my local library and it quickly became one of my most referenced and recommended resources. This book spoke to me as an optimistic problem solver who doesn’t put her head in the sand or gloss over the realities that we face. Rather, I process all of that information and can rely on my skills and strengths to move beyond the challenges, see them as opportunities, and use what I’ve learned to take my next step. It’s about more than resilience and requires a certain type of orientation to addressing problems. The great news is this skill can be cultivated, and a lot of my work with corporate professionals, entrepreneurs, and changemakers involves shifting their mindset to a more practically optimistic orientation to move their ideas forward.

Podcast

You can imagine what The Inspire Lounge is supposed to provide to listeners, and I guarantee that it fully lives up to the hype. I’m so excited about this new podcast by Erin McCormick, founder of The School for Inspired Leaders. While there’s only one episode out as of this writing, she’ll be posting bi-weekly and the insights she gives are invaluable. You can listen on multiple platforms and watch on YouTube, but if you join the community on her website, you’ll get access to her Inspire to Action sheets with key takeaways and action steps to help on your journey.

Email Subscriptions

Tiffany May Yan Chan is a force on so many levels and uses her global perspective, spiritual grounding, and expertise in business to help leaders create lasting positive change. Her Substack provides insights on energy, leadership, and consciousness for visionary leaders, and she uses real and relatable stories to help get her message across. (One of my favorites links her experience taking a horse-drawn carriage to the airport to the idea of becoming open to new possibilities).

Mitch Weisburgh’s work on mindshifting focuses on identifying the mindsets that hold us back and embracing the mindsets that push us forward. He recently launched Mindshifting Educators as a way to help teachers at all levels not only embrace this way of thinking and operating for themselves, but to activate it for their students. While his primary audience is educators, his posts provide insights and nuggets that can give anyone more power over their own lives – particularly this recent post on trusting science.

Video

Long before I became an RSA Fellow, I was a huge fan of the RSA Animates series and recently found myself watching an oldie (but goodie!) that brings Dan Ariely’s “The Truth About Dishonesty” to life. I’m fascinated by cognitive biases and how the complexity of the human brain can impact our behavior in seemingly illogical ways. In this video, Dan talks about our ability to rationalize behavior to believe that we are honorable while also being a little bit dishonest, and how the structure of our systems (like electronic banking) can further enable this thinking. I find the RSA videos help to humanize ideas and make big concepts much more digestible.

I hope these help spark new connections and mindsets for you and feel free to share your own resources! If you haven’t already, subscribe to The Connectors Substack today to comment and engage with me directly.

Happy reading/viewing/listening and, most importantly, happy connecting!

Emily