Hey friends,

I hope you had a fantastic weekend!

👀 My Musings

Authenticity. This is a fun topic I've been thinking about recently.

I feel that, for the first time in my "career," I get to be more... me! And I am so grateful for it (thanks, newsletter, for getting me out of my comfort zone with that one).

Earlier this week, I was curious, so I decided to find the first emails I ever sent from my @youthambassadorsofservice.org email (at that time, @generalservicesfoundation.org). 6,490 emails ago (May 2021), and OMG, I swear I couldn't pick out it was me writing those emails.

For context, high-school-Sonali was bent on proving herself, especially as I was told things like:

• "Oh, you're just doing this nonprofit stuff for college applications..."
• "You're too young; go find someone older to work with who's more established in the community."
• "There's no way high schoolers can do this work. Find a better mentor and then come back."

Yes, all things I've been told. I'd hypothesized that to get into the doors I wanted to (since I hadn't "proven myself" just yet), I would have to mirror the professionalism I'd see in adults around me. This meant all my emails were to be perfectly crafted, super-duper-formal, and follow the formats I'd found on Google. This also meant all my conversations were very friendly but thought out to the tee beforehand.

Even with all of my very thought-out plan, I had a less than 30% response rate on all cold emails. Yes, I do think part of it was that I was a high school junior with little credibility, but let's be honest, all my emails sounded as if ChatGPT had crafted them... before ChatGPT was a thing.

I believe the real reason for my low response rate was how inauthentic I came across over email. What made me stand out over all other cold emails that people get? Honestly, nothing. I know that nowadays, I'm way more likely to respond to a cold message from someone who shares something that seems to genuinely come from the heart (maybe the next newsletter topic, the power of cold emails?).

But now, as I've spent more time in the professional world, I've realized I can allow myself to have space to be myself. That's why this newsletter is intentionally formatted this way -- I'm basically talking with you rather than sharing through inauthenticity. It's 100% transferred over into the rest of my work -- just look at my LinkedIn posts, emails, or other content in the past year vs. earlier, ha!

Authenticity has some great perks:

• Getting More Done: It's easier to speak from the heart. More emails will likely be sent in a day, moving things forward. I don't have to think as hard about messages as long as I'm not missing any important content.
• Sustainability: Part of why I love my work is because I get to be myself. Consistently learning and growing, of course, but my work genuinely energizes me. If I don't have to pretend to be someone I'm not, it makes life way easier and allows me to focus my energy on the things that actually move the needle forward.
• Emojis: My favorites include, but are not limited to 🤯🤭🥳😶‍🌫️🥸🧐🫠😭🥰💀🫥. If you're on Slack often and haven't discovered customized meme Slackmoji's, you're missing out.

Of course, there's always a balance. There still inherently has to be a value exchange, even if that means bringing good conversation :) So, yes, read the room, but understand you're allowed to bring your actual self to the table!

P.S. I also learn from the best when it comes to authenticity -- from the wonderful, Maggie Kane. You always inspire me 🥰.

🪄 Casual Magic

Leftovers! I can't remember the last time I finished a full meal when going out. So, I always have leftovers for another meal 😌. It always makes me happy to open the fridge and have good leftovers! Less to cook, worry about, and meal prep for <3

🧠 Productivity Tip

Task Sprints: There's so much importance around being consistent with your goals, and often, rightfully so. Procrastination just isn't the move. But, I don't think we give enough credit to intentional sprints. I've noticed that I have difficulty switching between life/personal planning, nonprofit work, and school work. Recently, I've spent my weeks completing all the strategic life planning stuff on one day, nonprofit on another, and school work on another. Though it's frustrating when it doesn't get all done and goes over to the following days, it's easier for me when I'm mentally more exhausted. I'm the kind of girl who'd like to knock out my thousand-work essay in one sitting rather than five, so this tends to work for me.

🥳 Community Event Spotlight

​Activate Good is hosting its Triangle Businesses for Good Summit with the theme: Wellness in the Workplace. More info:

We've been hearing from so many HR, community engagement, and other CSR professionals about how concerned they are about their employee's mental health, community (internally and externally) engagement, and company culture in the context of our new work environments.

• The surgeon general's report on isolation and loneliness named volunteering as an antidote, and Dr. Murthy lists workplace wellbeing as one of his current priorities.
• A recent Forbes article reported on recent research on employee wellness programs: "Of all the programs offered, only one led to the conclusion that it increased the well-being of the employee who engaged in it: the opportunity to do charity or volunteer work.
• One study found that volunteering at least once a week gives you the same boost to well-being as a salary increase from $20,000 to $75,000.

When: Wednesday, May 14, from 8:30-12 PM

Location: City Club Raleigh

Cost: $55.20

​Link to Register​

❤️ My Favorite Things this Week

1. 📕 Book - Super Founders by Ali Tamaseb disproves many lay theories that come with starting entrepreneurial ventures. To share the facts, he looks at the data to share insights on unicorn businesses (those with a valuation of over a billion dollars). Found an excellent summary you might enjoy.
2. 🎙️ Podcast - I'm still on a Diary of a CEO binge. Steven Bartlett has an amazing episode with Gymshark CEO Ben Francis. Ben started Gymshark at nineteen, humbly gave the ropes to someone else, and is now CEO. At nineteen, he didn't have the people skills to run a business, but now he's the UK's youngest billionaire, and Gymshark is the UK's fastest-growing company. Ben's growth mindset is so inspiring.
3. 📱 Productivity App - Quizlet has always been game-changing, but even more so with its new AI features. Traditionally, it's been the best company for creating online flashcards and other learning tools. But now, Quizlet Premium allows you to input text, and it gives the best summaries (expands on points you want to and provides examples from the text), creates terms, and even practice exams.
4. 🎁 Product - I'm trying to think about things I've recently bought, but I don't sporadically buy things as much as I used to, so nothing off of the top of my mind from recently. So, we will go with my tried and true, Hydro Flask. I know the Stanley Cups are all the rage, but this is the perfect size and has lasted since the first week of college (so surprised I haven't lost it in the last almost two years).​
5. 🚀 Nonprofit - Saving Grace is a nonprofit that partners with shelters with extremely limited resources where euthanasia rates are high across North Carolina to find adoptable dogs that need a ‘second chance.’ ​

✍️Quote of the Week

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.” ~ Brene Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection​