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🤔 Brainteaser of the day: In what year was International Women's Day first celebrated?
Click here to see the answer.
✅ Today's Checklist:
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My Best Friend's Mom Is Dying. I Don't Know What to Do.
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One of my favorite things about writing for TA is the community. The subscribers. You.
I genuinely love reading your comments and feedback, and that this space feels like a two-way conversation.
So in the spirit of honesty, today's article isn't about giving advice, it's about asking for it.
Because today I'm feeling a little lost, deeply sad, and incredibly empathetic for someone I love.
One of my dearest best friends, Mary*, just told me that her mom's breast cancer is terminal. We only found out about the stage 4 diagnosis about two weeks ago.
Hearing that the cancer has spread to her liver has been devastating.
And I say we because Mary is like family to me, and her mom's treatment feels personal to me too.
Just recently, we were talking about the plan to tackle the breast cancer. We were discussing her mom's wishes to have both breasts removed during surgery.
Now, suddenly, the conversation has shifted to a terminal diagnosis.
Her breasts aren't even the issue anymore. The focus is simply keeping her alive.
That kind of emotional whiplash is hard to process.
I don't know how to offer support.
This is heartbreaking and painful and sad in a way that feels bigger than the normal playbook we're all taught.
You know the typical advice:
Don't ask "what can I do?"—just show up and do something.
So I've tried.
I offered to drive down and visit her today. She said it wasn't necessary.
I offered to watch the kids so she could have a full day to just be in bed and feel whatever she needed to feel. She told me she already got to do that yesterday.
I could send flowers, but that feels small.
I could research every medical or holistic treatment that exists, but that feels like overstepping.
Mary and I have very similar personalities and approaches to life. We've always had an awareness that our parents won't be here forever. We've talked about it before.
We've both tried to be intentional about spending time with them, cherishing them, appreciating them.
We always knew that one day our parents would face hard moments, and we assumed we'd be there for each other when that happened.
But as I read her texts this morning breaking the news, I realized something.
I feel incredibly unprepared.
I don't have a lot of experience with cancer. I don't have a lot of experience supporting someone whose loved one is going through something like this.
Normally, I'm the one in the driver's seat taking care of my own sick loved ones.
I know that role.
But being the sub-supporter—the person standing beside the person who is carrying the real weight—feels unfamiliar.
I'm a do-er. I like to take action. I like to help.
Right now I feel a little useless.
But I know there has to be something meaningful I can do.
So I'm turning to you.
Those of you who have cared for a dying parent.
Those of you who have gone through cancer.
Those of you who have supported someone you love through it.
I would truly love to hear from you.
Sincerely,
A best friend who is incredibly sad for her best friend.
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Culture Is Built in the Smallest Gestures
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Culture isn't built during the annual all-hands. It shows up in the small moments.
Like when someone's had a rough week and their effort doesn't go unnoticed.
Not with another pizza party. Not with generic swag.
But with something that actually feels thoughtful.
Maybe, it's the stone diffuser that makes their desk feel like a deep breath.
The Turkish blanket that upgrades their WFH setup.
The insulated mug that becomes their daily sidekick.
The blue light glasses that help them survive back-to-back meetings.
The sticky notes book where their best ideas start.
Or the scrub joggers that say, we see how hard you work.
None of these things are huge, but they signal something important: someone's paying attention.
And those small signals? They're what shape a culture people actually want to be part of.
Make someone's day.
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📚 Read: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho
Less "self-help," more soul-nudge. A story about discipline, doubt, and what happens when you commit to the path even when you don't feel ready, with little takeaways that stick in your head long after you close the book.
🎧 Listen: So Easy (To Fall In Love) by Olivia Dean
We were already obsessed with her entire album, but this track is the cherry on top. It carries that airy, nostalgic, romantic-but-still-fun feeling that makes you want to dance around your kitchen while you're cooking. Blast it if you're in love, flirting with the idea of love, or just in a good mood and refusing to apologize for it.
📺 Watch: TURN: Washington's Spies (Netflix)
A surprisingly bingeable mix of spycraft, war politics, and messy human loyalties, all set during the American Revolution. It's the kind of show that makes history feel less like a textbook and more like high-stakes strategy with real consequences.
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Your Business Is Leaking Money, Time, and Sanity. Here's the Patch.
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Most businesses don't fail dramatically. They bleed out slowly. A missed follow-up here. A lost receipt there. A project that drifted two weeks off course before anyone noticed. A social post that never went out. A form submission that fell into a black hole.
By the time you notice, the damage is done.
Here is what an unorganized business actually costs you. Deals lost because data lived in someone's inbox. Projects derailed because accountability was "assumed." Thousands in expenses untracked until the auditor asks questions. A social media presence so inconsistent your audience forgot you existed. Teams working hard in completely opposite directions.
This is not a people problem. This is a systems problem.
Zoho Projects puts deadlines, ownership, and progress in plain sight so excuses disappear and results show up.
Zoho Expense turns receipt chaos into automated, audit-ready reports your finance team will actually thank you for.
Zoho Social transforms sporadic posting into a disciplined, data-driven content strategy that keeps your brand visible and relevant.
Zoho Forms captures clean, structured data from day one so nothing gets lost in translation.
And the entire Zoho Business platform connects every moving part so your tools work as one engine, not five separate machines fighting each other.
Clarity. Accountability. Momentum.
That is what a connected business feels like.
👉 Start free today and join over 100 million businesses running smarter on Zoho.
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🐶 Pet of the Week: Meet Ernie
Ernie is a 13-year-old Dachshund-Beagle. He has diabetes and lost his eyesight a year ago, but hasn't lost his ability to materialize exactly where you are about to put your foot. Ernie is solar powered, requiring him to bask in the sun as much as possible. He is a happy, content little dog who spends most of his time indoors in an incubator (a basket with a heating pad and blankets) or in a lap (also with blankets).
🐾 Got a cute fur baby? Submit them to be our pet of the week in an upcoming issue.
💼 Browse our job board here.
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