Hello Beautiful and Kind Human Beings!

A gratitude challenge you didn’t know you needed—until now.

The Brightest Leaders I’ve Ever Worked With Had One Thing in Common…

They weren’t the loudest in the room.
They didn’t flex their title, their wins, or their inbox count.
And they definitely didn’t make you feel small to feel powerful.

Instead, they:

✨ Listened deeply—without distraction
✨ Celebrated your growth more than their own
✨ Held space for you when you didn’t know what you needed
✨ Believed in you before you believed in yourself

They didn’t need the spotlight.
They were the spotlight.

And they changed my life.

🙏 The Leadership Gratitude Challenge

So here’s the challenge I’m throwing out to this community:

👉 Think of one person who helped shape your leadership.
Someone who lit the way. Who saw something in you. Who didn’t try to “fix” you—just lifted you.

✅ Tag them on LinkedIn.
✅ Text them right now.
✅ Share this newsletter and tell them, “I thought of you when I read this.”

Let’s remind the great leaders in our lives that they mattered.
Because too often we wait until people are gone—or gone from our lives—to say what needs to be said.

💬 Want to become that kind of leader?

That’s what I help people do every day through executive coaching.

If you’re ready to:

• Lead with less ego and more empathy

• Build trust instead of fear

• Get unstuck and reconnected to your purpose

👉 Book a free discovery call with me.
Let’s explore what your next chapter of leadership can look like.

I met Carlo Velayo through his husband, Matt Morgan, who works at Emory University. I was instantly drawn to his intelligence, his charm, and his curiosity about all Human Beings. He is passionately committed to telling important stories and I am so happy to be building a friendship with him, and working with him on the potential ATL LGBTQ+ Center.

Carlo Velayo is an award-winning, independent producer who uses storytelling to inspire narrative change. Carlo has produced two scripted feature films, Jessica M. Thompson's “The Light of the Moon” (2017, SXSW Audience Award Winner) and Isabel Sandoval's “Lingua Franca” (2019, Venice Days). In the non-fiction space, Carlo was an Associate Producer on Cheryl Furjanic's “Back on Board: Greg Louganis” (2014) and Senior Producer on Michele Josue's Netflix Original documentary series “Happy Jail.” He is collaborating again with Michele on the Oscar-qualified “Nurse Unseen,” and a documentary about Andy Warhol’s “Ladies and Gentlemen” series.

As an interactive and digital media producer at the American Museum of Natural History, Carlo collaborated with First Nations and Native American communities, scientists, and curators, expanding his appreciation for interdisciplinary storytelling and the role of media in education.

Born in the Philippines, raised in Sydney, Australia, and now based in the United States, Carlo brings a global perspective to all his collaborations. As a recent transplant to Atlanta, Carlo is proud to be an exploratory committee member on the long-overdue Atlanta LGBTQ+ community center.

To explore a collaboration with Carlo, connect via his LinkedIn profile

Learn more about "Nurse Unseen" at: www.nurseunseen.com

📣 50% OFF All Pride, No Ego: A Queer Executive’s Journey to Living and Leading Authentically. Audio Book Special

I was honored to travel to John Wiley& Sons HQ to celebrate Pride Month 2025 with my fellow author, Bruce Brackett. We had a wonderful conversation with the community in the room and our virtual audience. It was incredible to update in person with my Executive Editor, Shannon Vargo and Marketing Head, Michael Friedberg, who have supported my book journey from the intial idea. Allesanra Pasqualone organized an incredible event from her DEI role. And, my friend of over 45 years Amanda Miller, came back from China in time for the event.! It was thrilling, insightful, and emotional.

Thank you, Wiley, for your passionate support of marginalized voices and underrepresented communities. It is so vitally important to the mental and physical health of our family and friends. You are corporate role models and I hope others follow your lead and persistence!

🇭🇺 Pride on the Danube: Defying a Dictator

On June 28, 2025, something extraordinary happened in Hungary.

Tens of thousands of people filled the Elisabeth Bridge in Budapest, transforming it into a river of resistance — waving rainbow flags, holding hands, and marching proudly under the summer sun. The message was crystal clear:

We will not be erased.

This was Budapest Pride, and it wasn’t just a celebration. It was an act of defiance. A protest. A roar of humanity in the face of a government hell-bent on silencing it.

Hungary’s far-right Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, has spent the last decade weaponizing homophobia and transphobia to consolidate power. Under the guise of “family values,” his regime has:

• Banned same-sex couples from adopting children.

• Stripped trans and nonbinary Hungarians of the right to legally change their gender.

• Amended the constitution to define “family” as exclusively heterosexual.

• Deployed state-controlled media to demonize LGBTQ+ people as threats to children and national identity.

And in the days leading up to this year’s Pride, Orbán’s government made it clear: this march was not welcome. Organizers were threatened. Participants warned. Online chatter monitored. There were whispers that involvement could cost people their jobs — or worse.

But the people came anyway.

Look at the photo. Look closely.

You’ll see drag performers, elders, students, and families with strollers. Flags from all over Europe. Signs demanding dignity. And love — so much love — radiating from every step forward.

This is not just a Pride march. This is a freedom march.

It’s what courage looks like when backed into a corner. It’s what solidarity looks like when hatred tries to divide. It’s what democracy looks like when authoritarianism tightens its grip.

Let’s be clear: Pride has always been political. It began with bricks at Stonewall, not brand floats at a parade. And right now, in 2025, it’s political in Budapest. In Florida. In Poland. In Uganda. In Tennessee.

Wherever power tries to crush identity, Pride must rise to meet it.

📣 So What Can We Do?

• Share this story. Post the photo. Talk about what’s happening in Hungary. Shine a light.

• Support local LGBTQ+ organizations in Hungary like Háttér Society and Budapest Pride.

• Push our own leaders to defend human rights abroad and at home.

• Don’t be silent. Not now. Not ever.

As one marcher’s sign read:
“We are not propaganda. We are people.”

And on that bridge, beneath the shadow of oppression, the people showed up.

And they marched anyway.

🪩 Final Thought

We rise by lifting others.
And sometimes, we rise by remembering who helped us rise in the first place.

Let’s make gratitude louder than hustle this week.

With heart,
Jim

hiJimFielding.com