Leyla Kafie

Jazz is the type of music 🎶 that wakes up the soul. ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Apologies in advance for becoming the pet parent who posts pics of their pups all the freaking time 🙃 (because, seriously, who couldn’t use more adorable puppy pictures in their lives!)

Quick middle of the week reflection. ✨✨✨

My definition of “never settling” may be unconventional…

To me, “never settling” equates to never stopping to self-improve; to never stop learning and growing… Because the moment we do, our soul starts to wither (i.e., continuous heart, body/brain, soul work).

It also means I get heavily invested in people and causes, often pushing myself as well as others to reach higher potential through love, authenticity, vulnerability and compassion (while also keeping in mind that the ONLY person I can EVER change or fix is myself; but I’ll still give my best try to help others 🙂).

So, let’s stop putting the burden of “never settling” onto others; instead, let’s never settle with the current version of ourselves. Even the littlest progress every day will compound over months and years: One mindful minute. Drinking a bit more water. 5 minutes of jump rope or jumping jacks if that’s all we can do. Reading and reflecting on something constructive for two minutes. Asking ourselves what went well and what we could improve on every day. Putting an alarm to remember to take our vitamins. Etc.

This is how we get comfortable with always being uncomfortable… And I wholeheartedly believe our future selves and those around us will be eternally thankful we pushed past being uncomfortable, and invested in constantly bettering ourselves (and them by extension.)

TL;DR. ✨ Never settle = never stop working on yourself. ✨

💡
Mindset dictates so much of our outcomes. A positive, growth mindset is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal. It’s likely the most underrated skill we can nurture…

Work on your own heart relentlessly, think about your thoughts and feed your brain quality content and thoughts every. single. day.
💡

Love & light, LKG. ✨✨✨


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Starting the week with this reflection/reminder: “Say what you mean. Mean what you say.”

As leaders (at both work and home), we will face challenges and complexity daily. But nothing will complicate things more than poor, ambiguous, harsh, and/or lack of communication.

Or as I’d like to say: the root cause of most conflict in the world (in every sense) is due to lack of education/information followed very closely by lack of clear, honest, timely communication.

So, say your truth like it is, always; but do so with kindness (“honesty without kindness is cruel. Kindness without honesty is manipulative. But honesty with kindness is sublime.” - Bryan Reeves and others). And say your truth skillfully (meaning, time hard conversations when you are at your best): “We avoid the hard topics when things are good and we're most able to navigate them skillfully.” - from The 80/80 Marriage. Note that this is romantic relationship advice; however, it applies to every relationship we are actively building as leaders.

💡
Mindset dictates so much of our outcomes. A positive, growth mindset is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal. It’s likely the most underrated skill we can nurture…

Work on your own heart relentlessly, think about your thoughts and feed your brain quality content and thoughts every. single. day.
💡

Love & light, LKG.


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My siblings were my first teachers and teammates when it came to team work, conflict resolution, camaraderie, and accepting (but learning to not condone) as well as including the people around us despite our differences and disagreements. And each of us indeed are completely different in personality, views, careers and life paths. Each of us interpreted the exact same experiences very differently at times. Conflict was a constant part of life. Communication was vital to resolve it.

If that doesn’t translate into the work place, I don’t know what would. We don’t get to choose our co-workers most of the time. Conflict is inevitable. So are misunderstandings. But we have an opportunity to build a personal tool kit of effective communication, emotional intelligence and thick skin for when you have to deal with the inevitable unpleasant people and experiences.

Cheers to the siblings who make us better people today! Love you Javi, Saraí and Tato!

Dropping this memory here as a reminder of what I like to say regularly:

💡
Mindset dictates so much of our outcomes. A positive, growth mindset is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal. It’s likely the most underrated skill we can nurture…

Work on your own heart relentlessly, think about your thoughts and feed your brain quality content and thoughts every. single. day.
💡

Love & light, LKG.


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This memory reminded me of something important: a strong professional brand starts with a positive, growth mindset.

Yes, we (undoubtedly, and unfortunately) still have to follow dress and business etiquette until enough people start seeing talented people for the skills, potential and experiences they bring to the table, rather than how they look outwardly…

But I digress… the key point is, nothing looks better on someone than a can-do, always-curious, always-learning, grateful and joyful attitude and mindset.

That energy is highly contagious and it will have an incomparable impact on your team. Also, it will attract you to the right talent, companies and bosses, if you let it.✨

💡
Mindset dictates so much of our outcomes. A positive, growth mindset is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal. It’s likely the most underrated skill we can nurture…

Work on your own heart relentlessly, think about your thoughts and feed your brain quality content and thoughts every. single. day.
💡

Love & light, LKG.


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What is your immediate reaction to this picture? 🤔

Here’s another example of a growth mindset in action for you: Today I spent 4 hours in the car commuting…

Yes, the normal reaction can be: commuting sucks, what a waste of time (our most precious resource), etc. But personally it was a marvelous time because I sang my heart out to a couple of my favorite songs, then listened to several podcasts and great stories from National Public Radio, and had several ah-hah, reflection moments.

I also had a lot more time than usual to transition from “work mode” to “mama mode”.

Plus we got SO much more done in a one-hour, in-person meeting than we would have (I suspect) in several virtual sessions.

Finally, I got to dress up (it improves performance, productivity and even mood; search for it).

While I am privileged that I don’t commute daily (as a solo working parent about 70sh percent of the time, it would make life much more difficult), I also know that - when planned appropriately - a day in the office can be incredibly productive professionally and personally.

What did I trade off? Gym time, more time with the boys (hardest to get over), a better dinner (I was so spent I ate cereal and the boys Chick-fil-A.). I can’t sacrifice those things daily if I want to lead an emotionally, spiritually and physically healthy life. But the face time and learning gained was priceless, too.

As a final point, it is perfectly acceptable to feel both annoyed and marvelous about commuting (or anything else in work and life, really). Feel those feelings (don’t numb or ignore them), and catch those intrusive, negative thoughts and reframe them to what was valuable about the situation.✨

💡
Mindset dictates so much of our outcomes. A positive, growth mindset is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal. It’s likely the most underrated skill we can nurture…

Work on your own heart relentlessly, think about your thoughts and feed your brain quality content and thoughts every. single. day.
💡

Love & light, LKG.


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Today I won a raffle, and I was so excited and told the lady giving me the prize: wow, I rarely ever win anything… but the instant the words came out of my mouth, I realized it was a fixed mindset mentality speaking.

So, here’s to changing the internal narrative to: I’m always winning! Because even if we don’t win the prizes, we win for trying, for putting ourselves out there, for learning important lessons from mistakes and things gone wrong.

We gain grit, perspective and build character when things don’t go as planned or expected. We get valuable experiences from being uncomfortable and allowing the full spectrum of emotions into our lives, including disappointment and sadness as well as pure joy and excitement. 😎😎😎

💡
Mindset dictates so much of our outcomes. A positive, growth mindset is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal. It’s likely the most underrated skill we can nurture…

Work on your own heart relentlessly, think about your thoughts and feed your brain quality content and thoughts every. single. day.
💡

Love & light, LKG.


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I had the best reason to go radio silent last week but did celebrate International Women’s Day in the best way: as a mother, daughter, sister and gal-friend due to spring break (hence, the pic). Also, ICYMI yesterday was Equal Pay Day… Per my usual, I’ll keep it real, yet positive and kind.

I’d like to first thank the men who become mentors and sponsors for women. It really would be a lot harder without your ally-ship. If I may ask a favor: pull other men with you so they follow your lead. Please do it for your current or future daughters, wives, girlfriends, sisters, nieces, female friends, etc.
Special mention to my brother who I got to spend quality time with last week and who is raising a fierce daughter. ✨

I also want to thank the women who lift other women. I’ve gotten to spend time with a few amazing women the last few weeks. It gives me both hope and reassurance that the ‘future is female’ theme is resonating.

If you’re feeling bothered by the phrase: “the future is female,” I invite you to get curious about why you feel that way. I’m not saying “the future is ‘only’ female.” It is a given we need both genders to rise together to face the myriad of challenges we have in front of us (I.e., political, economic, social and environmental). And as said before, we really need males as mentors and sponsors. There is lots of work needed to advance women, and to close various gaps, and that is the focus of the phrase and the movement. No one is trying to take away from males. We’re trying to give females more (equity, pay, etc,) than they’ve been historically given.

Finally, I’m thankful for the 2 little boys who call me the best title I’ll ever hold: mother. It is because of them I strive to be a better woman, person, leader. I’m raising them to understand ‘it’s such a beautiful day to be kind, do their best, have fun, and learn a ton’ (that’s what I tell them at drop off, plus that I love them).

Final thoughts in the comments. 🫶🏽