If you work in HR, people, talent, or recruiting, I have a cheat code for your career.

Take two minutes and join the new Amplify Talent Community for free below. You’ll connect and collaborate with 500+ progressive peers from 30+ countries shaping the new world of work.

❶ One Big Thing

Today is Valentine’s Day. Let’s talk about the love we’ll rarely see on a Hallmark Card - self-love.

“I wouldn’t want to be anyone else. I’d want to be me.”

Speaking of community, I want to share a recent story I’ve been thinking about over the past several weeks.

Each Wednesday in the Amplify Talent Community we host a “peer power hour” group video discussion.

The themes and conversations range from heavy topics (layoffs, bad behavior, employee deaths) to light ones (travel advice, music recommendations, parenting tips).

Every now and then, we’ll use icebreaker cards to help get to know each other better and build our connections.

Last month, there was a profound moment that I’m still thinking about.

A member of the community picked a card with the prompt, “If you could change places with anyone, who would it be?”

There was a long pause as they pondered the question. After thoughtful deliberation, their response was the following…

“I would be me.” They soon followed with, “I’ve been doing a lot of work on myself over the past year and I’m really happy with who I am. I wouldn’t trade places with anyone.”

It was such a refreshing perspective on self. I’m still thinking about it weeks later.

In this FOMO-fueled world we live in today so many of us are constantly comparing ourselves to others. The results are inevitable.

I’m not smart enough.

I’m not skinny enough.

I’m not successful enough.

I’m not wealthy enough.

I’m not…enough.

Comparison is more than the thief of joy. It’s a self-fulfilling doom spiral that erases any contentment with who you are - and how far you’ve come - professionally and personally.

Anyway, it was a healthy reminder to be kind to yourself and practice acceptance.

📍This Week’s Top Stories

• a16z’s abundance agenda goes heavy on AI. [read]

• Tesla gets “hardcore.” [read]

• Layoffs aside, the U.S. economy is cranking. [read]

• AI’s $200B question. [read]

✨ Workplace Innovation

• How to lose your “strongest candidates.” [read]

• Want your employees to embrace RTO? Start here. [read]

• With great (AI) powers comes great (AI) responsibility. [read]

• The gender gap applies to equity as well. [read]

👀 Eye Candy

Carta explores the equity pay gap in startups since 2000.

🎧 Ear Candy

Emotions are like opinions — everyone has them. Thanks to the pioneering research of today’s guest, we know that it’s possible to transform our feelings by changing how we think and talk about them. Lisa Feldman Barrett is a psychologist and neuroscientist at Northeastern University and Harvard Medical School. In this episode, Lisa and Adam bust myths about how emotions are constructed in the brain and experienced in the body. They discuss the surprising evidence that language doesn’t just describe emotions — it shapes them. And they examine how managing your emotions is easier than you may realize.

The Amplify Talent Briefing is brought to you by Amplify Talent, a modern talent agency that connects, develops, and empowers the next generation of transformative people leaders.

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