Well, this makes me happy. ❤️ Welcome to Skoolology, @Kathryn Zabinski! Kathryn and I have known each other for a long time, so seeing her walk through this particular door feels pretty special. I’m really glad you’re here, my friend. Now I’m curious...what made you decide to come hang out with us over here? 😊

A mysterious package just showed up with your name on it. Inside is something you would absolutely LOVE to find. No rules. Something you lost. Something you’ve always wanted. Something that doesn’t even exist. 😂 What are you hoping is in the box? Mine would be my grandmother’s recipe book. The funny thing is, there never was one. She made everything from scratch and, as far as I know, never wrote any of it down. We have none of her delicious recipes. So somehow, my mystery box contains the recipe book I wish she had left us. ❤️ What would be in yours?

You are so generous with each other. Someone shares what they’re building, and you lean in. You ask questions. You offer ideas. You share something you’ve learned. You encourage someone who’s unsure. You celebrate the wins. And sometimes you simply say, “I get it.” You notice each other. You remember what someone was working on and come back to ask how it went. You see a question and think, “I might be able to help with that.” You share what worked for you without assuming it has to be the answer for someone else. And sometimes you ask the question that helps another builder see something they couldn’t quite see on their own. When you share what you’re learning, someone else learns, too. When you ask the question you’re afraid might be obvious, someone else is relieved you asked it. When you encourage another builder, you remind them they don’t have to figure all of this out alone. You make this room what it is. Not just by being here. By bringing what you know, what you’re wondering, what you’re trying, and what you’re learning. And by being willing to share some of it with each other. I hope you know how much that matters. And how much YOU matter here. 💜

A little reminder because @Jessica Cosci Jessica’s Human Advantage Summit speaker applications close in 2 days. And before anybody reads this as “Donna thinks I should apply”...I don’t. 😂 But I DO think opportunities like this are worth stopping long enough to consider. Jessica invited me to speak, and my immediate reaction was: “But I’m not an AI expert.” So I almost ruled myself out before I really thought about what she was asking. The more I looked at The Human Advantage, the more I realized this isn’t necessarily about being an AI expert. It’s about what we humans bring as AI becomes a bigger part of how we live and work. Our experience. Judgment. Creativity. Curiosity. Connection. Perspective. The things we’ve learned by actually living, working, building, failing, trying again, and figuring some stuff out along the way. 😂 And that got me thinking beyond Jessica’s summit, too. When we’re building something of our own, it’s easy to spend most of our time inside our own little corner of the world. But sometimes participating in someone else’s summit, podcast, panel, interview, workshop, or community puts us in conversations we wouldn’t otherwise have. 🧩We meet people. 🧩We practice talking about what we believe. 🧩We hear different perspectives. 🧩We discover which parts of our own message connect. 🧩And yes, sometimes new people discover our work, too. So this isn’t me telling you to apply. It’s me saying: If you looked at Jessica’s summit and thought, “Oh, she doesn’t mean someone like me,” maybe take one more look before the deadline. Your perspective may genuinely belong in the conversation. And if this particular opportunity isn’t for you, that’s okay, too. Maybe the bigger question for all of us is: Where might we be ruling ourselves out before we’ve even explored what could happen if we stepped into someone else’s room? 👀 Jessica has all the summit details in her In the Build post. 🔨💜

What are you working through today? Bring the thing that’s still a little messy. 💙 A post you can’t quite word. 💙 An offer you’re thinking through. 💙 A decision you keep circling. 💙 Something in your community that isn’t working the way you expected. 💙 Or just a thought you need somewhere to put down. Drop it below. You don’t need to have the question figured out before you bring it into the room. Todd and I are here, and there’s a whole room of builders who might see something you don’t. Prefer not to put it in the room? DM either of us. That door is always open. What are you working on today?