5 Things / Cheers

I’m cheering you on.

I’ve been an entrepreneur for over twenty years now and have met so many amazing people along the way—other entrepreneurs, authors, dreamers, and people who advocate for inclusion inside their own organizations. I’m cheering you on.

Thousands of people I’ve met with huge hearts, doing their best to take care of themselves, take care of their families, and live peaceful lives. I’m cheering you on.

Sometimes I meet someone at one event years ago, and we connect on LinkedIn or elsewhere. I see the updates, support a new book, and don’t see them again for years, until we meet up for hot chocolate one day. But I’ve been cheering you on.

I still meet new people regularly, sometimes even in person, grabbing a coffee and taking a walk, hearing about their journey. I’ll be cheering you on for decades to come.

I often feel like I’m flying, and I look to my left and right and see thousands of other people I’ve met along the way flying in the same direction—toward a world of respect and peace. I make eye contact and smile, and give the thumbs up. You got this. You got this.

Cheers!

This Week's Good Vibes:

1. Access Is Oregon’s New Flex

   
   Oregon is the first state to earn an “Accessibility Verified” designation through a multi-year partnership between Travel Oregon and Wheel the World, a travel platform founded by a wheelchair user. Specialized mappers evaluated more than 750 tourism businesses across 43 communities, collecting over 200 accessibility data points per site, including bed heights, doorway widths, and bathroom features. This matters because travel systems often rely on assumptions instead of verified access, excluding people with disabilities by default. ♐A data-driven approach can shift accessibility from accommodation to infrastructure.
   

2. Pay Transparency With Teeth
   
   California enacted SB 642, the Pay Equity Enforcement Act, strengthening the state’s Equal Pay Act starting January 2026. Latinas earn just 49 cents for every dollar paid to white men in California, the widest wage gap in the nation. Despite rising educational attainment, including a 127 percent increase in advanced degrees over two decades, systemic barriers like opaque pay practices and occupational segregation persist. This law helps fix that. ♐ Target structural drivers of inequity rather than placing responsibility on individual negotiation.

3. Overdue, But Finally Returned
   
   The British Library symbolically restored Oscar Wilde’s Reader Pass 125 years after he was barred from its Reading Room following his 1895 conviction for “gross indecency,” a law used to criminalize men in same-sex relationships. The reinstatement was announced on the anniversary of his exclusion during Pride Month and on his birthday, with the Pass accepted on his behalf by his grandson. While this doesn’t erase the injustice, it publicly acknowledges how state-sanctioned bias shaped who is deemed worthy. ♐ Symbolic repair still signals accountability.

4. Accessibility Is the Airport Upgrade
   
   Dubai Airports announced a 10-year accessibility strategy committing to make Dubai International and Al Maktoum International the world’s most accessible airports by 2035. Current supports include hearing loops at more than 520 touchpoints, a sensory-friendly Assisted Travel Lounge, Sunflower Lanyards for hidden disabilities, visual travel planners, sign language-trained staff, and accessible transport options. Airports are high-friction systems where disabled travelers are often excluded by design. Co-creation and accountability at this scale are still rare in global transportation. ♐ Design with communities, not for them.

5. Profits to Planet

   Since 2022, Patagonia has directed up to 98% of profits, after reinvestment, to the Holdfast Collective, a set of nonprofit trusts funding urgent environmental action. That has meant $180 million toward land protection, climate advocacy, and conservation, far beyond its prior $10–$15 million annual commitment. The remaining 2% supports a purpose trust that legally locks in Patagonia’s mission so future leaders cannot abandon it.  ♐ How can you embed accountability and hardwire purpose?

   
   Good Vibes to Go:

Want some feel good TV? Watch old seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race. You’ll learn the stories of some amazing queens and have some great laughs doing it! Pure joy.