Our Amazing World

AI and Transformation

2025-05-13T09:57:00.000-05:00

"Any fool can know. The point is to understand." - Albert Einstein

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming our world in remarkable ways, from enhancing everyday tasks to pioneering new frontiers in technology. There are several types of AI, each with unique capabilities and applications.

I am fond of stating that AI can be complicated, full of new buzzwords and technical terms, but can be viewed as "the new office phone system." And before we all get into a debate, I do admit AI is more involved than just a new phone system.

My point is we should start from a place of simplicity in understanding AI. Allow ourselves to have a simple view of what AI can do, how we can use it and how it will change things for us.

Starting with a few basic definitions

AI or Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the capability of computer systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making.
AI can be found in various applications, from virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa to self-driving cars and recommendation algorithms. AI systems learn and adapt through new data, enabling them to improve their performance over time.

Agentic AI

Agentic AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can act and reason autonomously. Unlike traditional AI, which typically follows predefined rules or responds to specific inputs, agentic AI uses sophisticated reasoning and iterative planning to solve complex, multi-step problems independently.
For example, an AI-powered agent could plan and book an entire trip for you, manage supply chains by optimizing inventories in real-time, or even act as a virtual caregiver for the elderly. These systems gather and process data from various sources, develop strategies, and execute tasks without human intervention.
Agentic AI has the potential to transform many aspects of work and daily life by enhancing productivity, innovation, and decision-making. It also brings challenges such as a potential for bias and the need for appropriate safeguards.

Gen AI or Generative AI

Generative AI is a subfield of artificial intelligence that focuses on creating new content. This can include text, images, videos, music, and even software code. Unlike traditional AI, which typically analyzes data to make predictions or decisions, generative AI uses complex models to generate original data based on patterns learned from vast datasets.
For example, tools like ChatGPT ro Microsoft Copilot can produce human-like text, while DALL-E can create unique images from textual descriptions. Generative AI has applications across various industries, including entertainment, healthcare, and finance, offering innovative solutions and creative possibilities.

Predictive AI

This area of artificial intelligence focuses on forecasting future events based on historical data. By leveraging machine learning algorithms and big data analytics, predictive AI identifies patterns and trends to make accurate predictions about future outcomes.
For instance, businesses use predictive AI to anticipate customer behavior, optimize supply chains, and predict equipment failures. This technology helps organizations make proactive decisions, reducing risks and improving efficiency.

Superintelligent AI

This is the type of AI everyone's mind tends to go to immediately due to its intended capabilities such as,

Advanced Cognitive Functions: ASI would have highly developed thinking skills, far beyond human capabilities.
Multisensory Processing: It would be able to interpret and integrate multiple types of data inputs, such as text, images, audio, and video.
Self-Improvement: ASI could continuously improve its own algorithms and capabilities without human intervention.

This type of AI has the potential to surpass human intelligence and is a topic of much debate and speculation about its potential impact on society. Those concerns are both ethical concerns related to autonomy, decision-making, and the potential for misuse. As well as control and safety issues to ensure these types of systems remain under human control and do not pose threats to humanity.

To know and not to know

Part of a line from a book many people refer to when they think about AI goes, "To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, ..."

The book is 1984 by George Orwell, which doesn't explicitly address artificial intelligence (AI) as we know it today, but offers insights into information manipulation, surveillance, and power dynamics, which can guide us in navigating the ethical challenges AI poses in our current world.

Other books such as The Age of Intelligent Machines, by Ray Kurzweil or science fiction novel titled Neuromancer by William Gibson are a good read as well.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming our world

AI is doing so in remarkable ways, from enhancing everyday tasks to pioneering new frontiers in technology. There are several types of AI, each with unique capabilities and applications.

Understanding these different types of AI can help us appreciate the current advancements and anticipate future innovations. One might also say AI is just another (albeit huge) job transformation tool just like other advances in over time in the type of work we do and how we perform that work.

History Facts: 6 Jobs From the 1950s That Barely Exist Today

A short article by History Facts reminds us that automation, innovations, and technology have been changing our world well before the recent AI advances.

Telephone Switchboard Operator - roughly 342,000 employed in the 1950s and now down to 43,800 in 2023 mainly as answering services in the medical and travel industries. Yes, this is my "new office phone system" comment.
Milkman - these folks delivered over 50% of our milk in the 1950s but is now down to less than 1% today.
Elevator Operator - at its peak employed over 90,000, but now down to a few nostalgic operators left in historic buildings.
Typist - by 1950 nearly 1.7 million were employed but with introduction of computers, the number of workers specifically categorized as typists declined to 37,200 in 2023.
Motion Picture Projectionist - in 1950, more than 26,000 people were employed and by 2023, that number had fallen to just 2,610.
Gas Station Attendant - these jobs were standard in the 1950s, and today, New Jersey remains the only state that prohibits drivers from pumping their own gas, maintaining a full-service mandate.

Adapt, Change or Crumble

Jobs have always been changing. The types of jobs that exist change. How a job gets accomplished changes. The way each of us work changes. And yet all of us find a way to adapt, to retool our skills and find new ways to move forward in life.

The alternative to adapting and change is to crumble under the weight of it. Not a great option for sure. We can also wage our own little fight, in small ways, holding onto things we learned and did in the past. Such as my use of the double space after a sentence period, which I learned in typing class on manual typewriters.

My small gesture in using the double-space is not to fight against the future but as a reminder of what once was. And in the end, as Albert Einstein said, "... the point is to understand."

Stay inspired my friends !!

Brave New AI World

2023-12-02T13:48:00.000-05:00

“One believes things because one has been conditioned to believe them.”

-- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley --

Generative AI (GenAI) has become increasingly popular in recent years, but its adoption by businesses comes with a degree of ethical risk. Organizations must prioritize the responsible use of GenAI by ensuring it is accurate, safe, honest, empowering, and sustainable.

One of the primary concerns with GenAI is its potential misuse for crafting convincing phishing emails, generating disinformation through deepfake videos, and spreading misinformation via authentic-looking social media posts, posing a new set of challenges and risks in the realm of cybersecurity.

Through GenAI, attackers may generate new and complex types of malware, phishing schemes, and other cyber dangers that can avoid conventional protection measures, leading to data breaches, financial losses, and reputational risks.

To mitigate these risks, organizations need to be mindful of the ethical implications and take necessary steps to reduce risks. Specifically, they need to use zero or first-party data, keep data fresh and well-labeled, ensure there’s a human in the loop, test and re-test, and get feedback.

Corporate leaders, academics, policymakers, and countless others are looking for ways to harness GenAI technology, which has the potential to transform the way we learn, work, and more.

In conclusion, while GenAI has the potential to revolutionize the way we live and work, it is essential to be aware of its potential risks and take necessary precautions to ensure its responsible use.

==========================================

Yes, the image and words above were GenAI created. The assembled words of a software program makes good points but it certainly does not "sound" like my writing. Yet it provides a glimpse into the world of artificial intelligence that is quite varied in capability and what is real AI versus pretenders to the technology.

I wrote a piece about artificial intelligence in college nearly 40 years ago. It did not get published so you can imagine it did not meet the better academic standards for a paper.

But in it, I wrote of the benefits AI could have for us and the dangers it will create. One can only look to social media and the good it has given us. We need to acknowledge that with the good, social media has also come with new costs to us as humans.

The same will be true for GenAI.

And nearly 40 years later, my thoughts from that paper remain the same; "Artificial Intelligence will be a great technology that can benefit all of humankind, but we must not allow AI to become humankind."

Stay inspired my friends!

Baxter, K., & Schlesinger, Y. (2023, June 6). Managing the Risks of Generative AI. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2023/06/managing-the-risks-of-generative-ai
Saha, S., & Chakraborty, S. (2023). Impacts and Risk of Generative AI Technology on Cyber Defense. arXiv preprint arXiv:2306.13033.
Forbes Technology Council. (2023, April 19). Exploring The Security Risks Of Generative AI. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/04/19/exploring-the-security-risks-of-generative-ai/

The Grander Things in Life

2023-11-28T12:23:00.003-05:00

“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.”

— Frank Lloyd Wright —

So here we are, a couple of days past the Thanksgiving holiday. All our kids and most all the grandkids were here on the farm. They are gone and the quiet rural landscape consumes the air.

Oh yes, we bought a 27-acre farm in 2022 in the later days of the Covid pandemic. My work travel had been cut completely, remote work was possible and so we did it. Kind of a Beverly Hillbillies song in reverse one could suppose. It is probably more like the Green Acres theme, although different from the song lyrics, my wife was over the top excited to make the move

For me, moving onto a farm is not something I thought would come full circle after growing up on a farm in Nebraska. This farm boy from Nebraska is now a farm owner in Georgia. Some goats, a dog and renting our pastures to a neighbor for cattle and donkeys consumes my non-work days.

We love every moment of it for sure.

But today I am sitting with the dog, a cool and windy sun filled autumn day with a view of Yonah Mountain off in the distance. Life here is a far distance from the trouble and turmoil in the world.

The calm reminds me that we are blessed with all that we have. Family, health and moments of gratitude to be enjoyed when possible.

I wish the same for each of you.

I wish that you are able to take a few moments from time to time and enjoy the small things in life that add up to this wondrous thing we call life. It truly is beautiful if you let it be.

Stay inspired my friends.

Why Now

2022-11-22T11:28:00.002-05:00

Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca (Roman Statesman 5 BC - 65 AD)

February 7, 2021 to November 22, 2022 is a culmination of 653 days. There is nothing particularly significant about that number. Although in some quarters of belief, the number 653 signifies a time for people to begin listening to each other. It is telling us to treat people nicely. And while working with others, not to be the kind of person who throws words that can hurt and are irreversible.

Call it just my mind giving me a nudge to write something. Maybe it was the recent mid-term elections, or a potential slide back to reason by the electorate or possibly the warnings signs of retribution that some have already expressed in political quarters.

The use of social media has greatly influenced or given rise to the loudest of the extreme left and right. In doing so, it has created a bit of laziness in the rest of us. If I lean left or lean right, it is much too easy to give into the noise created by the much further left or right. The result is a widening of our ability to have reasonable conversations with each other. It results in yelling, in exaggerating, or mean-spirited vitriol and further division.

The other trend is the lock social media has on us as adults, on our children and on our attention spans. Look around the room to see how many are looking at their phone while sitting next to others at dinner or watching a show on television; streaming a show to be more exact. How many kids are on their tablet in the same fashion many of us were sitting in front of a television watching Captain Kangaroo?

Maybe you have noticed while watching a show the trend to even shorter (although same number of) commercials. The fifteen second "Tik-Tok-Twitter-ish" length because our attention spans are decreasing. See how we watch and get hooked on the increasingly non-meaningful, cult of celebrity, or "somebody-did-somebody-wrong" social media posts.

What are we doing to ourselves?

I do feel there are many good things we can take from the internet, social media and our age of information. It can be a great tool for learning, with access to an expansive amount of information. It gives us access to thousands of libraries filled with books, thousands of museums filled with art and history, and so much more.

But it does require we work at it.

When I read people getting worked up over what books, history or other information is being taught, my thought is that yes, there should be diversity in our books and our history and our art. Which means it requires work to explore both sides of an issue or lesson.

Yet the same folks will become very single minded in their choice of social media input, hearing only one side, not working to try and view both sides of an issue or lesson. Don't block or quit following; listen and try to understand. The easy way for most is to ban the book, exclude the history or listen to the noisiest on the internet.

And where does all of this lead us? Where does it lead me?

It takes me down a path of trying to at least understand both sides, to listen more and listen longer before deciding. For us, my hope is that we begin to narrow the gaping hole in our conversations.

The impact of Covid-19 had many different types of results, but it also made it easier for us to pull away from each other. It created the conditions perfect for impersonal connection of social media. The term social media almost seems like an oxymoron as it does not feel very social. It gave us the "person behind the steering wheel in traffic" another outlet to express their self perfection and rage.

Yes, it was a perfect storm of possibilities that helped create our divide, but a perfect storm of intent on our part can help narrow that divide. If we step back a moment, maybe put the smart device down, a new bridge will begin to develop between each other.

Stay inspired my friends!

Keep Talking

2021-02-07T14:12:00.000-05:00

The roar and the rhetoric of postings so loud,

It entered our year with full force, some were proud.

Glass it was broken and marble floors were disturbed,

And yet there were heroes trying to hold back the herd.

It passed and we finished, the counting was done,

More will be written of how democracy had won.

The truth will be found as more is understood,

We will hopefully take solace in those who did good.

Now the tweets and the posts fall silent to listening,

With less being shouted, that silence is deafening.

Can we turn the distance of shouting at each other,

Into ground we can share our country together.

Lay down all the guns of social media chatter,

Be willing to talk and share opinion that matters.

We learned how to talk then failed how to listen,

But now is the chance, a new way can be christened.

Stay inspired my friends!

Into 2021 We Go

2020-12-31T12:42:00.003-05:00

Gregorian calendar says we are ending the year of 2020 tonight,
And overnight we enter 2021,
All with the same hope and excitement that a new year brings.

The past year of 2020 challenged everyone in many different ways,

And it would be easy to dismiss,

A year deemed bad or maybe even a year to forget.

We should not so easily turn our backs on this most challenging year,

Even as many endured so much,

Health, family or simply the impact of our isolation.

Each of us would have good reasons to curse the year,

One that was meant,

A year we thought, would be a turning point of greatness.

It was a year the futurists and prophets of positivity had said,

This year would bring,

But life determines how life itself is going to unfold.

I would rather look back on 2020 and view the challenges,

As growth, of changing perspective,

To view 2020 for the good things happened as well.

The year brought me off the road to spend more time with family,

To find new ways to connect,

To listen to people and to cherish more important things in life.

The year gave all of us celebrations, births, birthdays, accomplishment.

There was more of people talking,

Sometimes angrily but talking is a way to start resolving differences.

We adapted and created ways to accomplish in spite of,

COVID isolation, social injustice, and pain,

Even as all of this occurred we moved forward, we did it together.

We did all of this working with each other, leaning on each other,

Trusting each other.

By sharing our human experience with each other to push through.

Now 2021, new year, new hopes, goals, dreams and opportunity,

Yet the year is but a number.

And we make of that number, the year, what we want of it.

Life will create what it does for us in the coming days and months.

There will be challenges just like in 2020,

But there will be opportunity, there will be joy, there will be success.

As is customary, I wish the best for each of you in the new year.

I wish so much,

Health, happiness, love and peace to you, your families, your friends.

Most of all I wish for each of you to find greatness in yourself.

To know you are great,

And to be happy in yourself with what you have and in what you do.

If you can find that, you can overcome anything.

Life really is great.

Let that be your wish, your goal, your success in 2021.

Stay inspired my friends!

Another Year To Remember

2020-12-20T12:26:00.000-05:00

We started the year full of hope and promise,

We do so each year, a given, written in sonnets.

With joy we entered the year of 2020,

With increasing pain and disaster aplenty.

We wondered what hit us as March it came clear,

We sorted exaggeration and dealt with our fear.

With adjustments some wore masks to limit the spread,

With others their freedoms meant more than the dead.

We asked then deflected to others as the source,

We said no not us, was them, the fervor and force.

With so many deaths does not fully matter,

With focus we changed and wrote a new chapter.

We made it this far, a new year approaching,

We come to it wishing with hope ever promising.

With leaving 2020 and entering 2021,

With much more to do, our lives will move on.

Stay inspired my friends!

Life of Sharing

2020-12-13T15:47:00.003-05:00

I sit and ponder of all the wonder,

When once was fret and anger and thunder.

With time and age, to ease my burden,

Of things too small to worry or bother.

The troubles of life are no less thought of,

Goodness fills more than the other.

With burdens eased with mindful change,

To lessen pain, allow joy to reign.

A wish for all is a change in heart,

To lay down the hate and make a new start.

If only to lessen the madness we carry,

And live a life of peace, more sharing.

Stay inspired my friends!

Beatitude of Turkey

2020-11-26T10:05:00.000-05:00

Came from the woods in feathered glory.

First just one, tom leading the way.

Soon was joined, the rafter, the flock.

Noisy gobbling, at distance would warn.

Where next to end upon a table.

Call it gobbler, a tarnegol hodu, kalkoen, moan barang, pelehu, shichimenchō, Truthahn, or plain old Turkey.

Bird is sacrificed, we celebrate the food,

Table full, no turkey alone, true thanks for all given,

From feathery beginning, to the corn, the cranberry.

Our family to all, here or there, cheers to your Thanksgiving.

Stay inspired my friends!

He Came, She Sat

2020-11-21T16:04:00.004-05:00

Willie came and Willie went,

Even with his crooked bent.

One eye it was closed,

For how long, no one knows.

Yet Willie came and Willie went.

Ethel stood and Ethel sat,

She sometimes lay down on a mat.

Had an ear, was oh so deaf,

Was even hard to hear her breath.

Yet Ethel stood and Ethel sat.

Willie came and Ethel sat,

One eye, one ear, and love did chat.

Two perfect people sharing a moon,

Hearts together, beating in tune.

Yes Willie came and never went.

Stay inspired my friends!

Winters Divide

2020-11-15T11:41:00.000-05:00

The day is cool but humid breezy,

Closing days of autumn nearing.

To sit and wish against the change,

Each leaf it falls to winters calling.

Nature speaks with change of season,

Bending to the inevitability.

Winter comes, we wish for warmth,

Too soon to sit beside the hearth.

Plants and animals adjust in tune,

As humans fight in divide and gloom.

As life goes on with winters hold,

Can mankind solve our bitter cold.

Stay inspired my friends!

Exercise Your Voting Right

2020-11-01T15:36:00.000-05:00

The day is near to cast your voice,

A way to state your choice.

Tuesday is your voting right.

We've heard the arguments,

Two sides have made their statements.

Tuesday is your voting right.

The right, the left, the middle swings,

Our right to vote means everything.

Tuesday is your voting right.

Results it brings to our grand nation,

For some disappointment, others elation.

Tuesday is your voting right.

Get up and vote your belief, your choice,

Whatever the outcome, we all had a voice.

Tuesday is your voting right.

Stay inspired my friends!

Greatness in Action

2020-10-24T12:52:00.000-05:00

A word, an adjective, used so much,

The best, the most, the largest of all.

We get it, its great,

A word used so much.

Economy, jobs or acts of decision,

The policies, the orders, the grandest of all.

We get it, its great,

A word used so much.

Accomplishments, failures,

Life's normal occurrences.

Can all things be great,

A word used so much.

The word used so much,

Like watered down juice.

The meaning becomes nothing,

A word used so much.

Defined by a dictionary,

Means action not bluster.

Live life in greatness,

Not just a word used too much.

Stay inspired my friends!

Extraordinary People

2020-10-18T15:19:00.003-05:00

It was said there are no extraordinary people.

That there are only those who pray,

And then there are those who do not.

It was said there are no extraordinary people.

That one side owns morality,

And the other does not.

It was said there are no extraordinary people.

That goodness belongs in only one fashion,

And the other pure evil.

It was said there are no extraordinary people.

But in life we all are extraordinary,

Those who believe they are and those who do not.

Stay inspired my friends!

Breathe, Just Breathe

2020-10-11T11:44:00.002-05:00

The air we breathe, when we take a knee.

The pew, the field, whichever we believe.

A common theme is the air we breathe.

The air we breathe, when we protest our grief.

The street, the park, in social media we talk.

We do so using the same air we breathe.

The air we breathe, when differences reign.

The shouts, the tears, our moral outrage displayed.

All that is left is the air we breathe.

Stay inspired my friends!

It Is What It Is

2020-10-04T15:01:00.000-05:00

In winter it came so quiet and growing.

We gave it no notice nor heeded the warnings.

Under control, not worse than the flu,

We gave it no notice nor knew what to do.

In spring it was loud and so deadly serious.

We laughed at the masks, our freedoms, we choose.

Such simple steps but oh how we mused,

We laughed at the masks, so many we will lose.

In summer we said it will go away, you fools,

Yet the echoes of death, so many are dying.

It held on firm, it continued to spread.

The echoes of death, it is what it is, was said.

With fall now upon us, debate it runs on.

We fools of the virus, remain to get stricken.

A leader is touched, like millions of others.

We fools of the virus, how many get taken.

Stay inspired my friends!

Clouds of Grey

2020-09-20T15:23:00.001-05:00

Grey clouds swirling in random quiet,

Filling days with covered notions.

My mind it drifts with all their passing,

To places of so many emotions.

The sky will fill with gentle rain,

Like tears of joy or tears of pain,

The day continues mostly silent.

The Sun it sits above this blanketed sky.

It settles then onto the horizon,

Darkness falls, still stars are hidden.

And tears still fall on ground so sodden,

To wash and cleanse that which I feel.

The night continues mostly silent.

The day returns the rain has settled,

Upon the earth so dry now fertile.

It springs forth hope of new direction.

My mind is filled with eased conviction,

To watch the sky now cleared of grey.

Each day it passes, each one is new.

My life continues mostly silent.

Stay inspired my friends!

Burning Fires

2020-09-18T13:35:00.004-05:00

If the sky screamed colors of orange and red,

would we take notice.

If the winds grew hot and unrelenting,

would we take notice.

Nature's voice resonates its truth,

with years beyond our own.

If the forest crumbled into black ashes,

would we take notice.

If the birds soared with no branch to land upon,

would we take notice.

Earth so magnificent and wonderful,

takes care alone in spite of us.

If we cried out from the smoke,

would we take notice.

If it all ended with nothing left,

would nature take notice.

Stay inspired my friends!

Taught Me

2020-09-10T20:21:00.001-05:00

In a moment of wanting,

I turned to ask a question.

To ask the man who taught me so much,

A man who taught me so much.

No longer is he here to tell his truths,

To give me the turn of a tale.

But forever as my heart beats,

He will be the man who taught me so much.

-- Stay inspired my friends.

To Fly

2020-09-10T17:30:00.002-05:00

The bird so high in a blue sky,

No wings flapping, moving smoothly in flight.

The trail it leaves marks a path,

From one destination to another.

To see from so high, so very high,

A world so small, its largeness so immense.

I long for a return to flight,

To see a world I thought I once knew.

From feet in the cool green grass,

Gazing to see a bird so free in flight.

Longing for the lift to let the dew release,

Seeing the curve of my earthly wonder.

My flight will return, to soar above the birds,

To feel the air beneath my feet.

Rising above the noise and chaos,

To return and nest in the comfort of a lover.

-- Stay inspired my friends.

Waiting At The Door

2020-09-06T20:41:00.003-05:00

With the many years removed,

Your gentle calming voice still rings in my ear.

The comfort and tears you wiped from my face,

My heart remains full of your love.

You always stood at the door,

Waving goodbye until gone from sight.

Seeing you there one more time,

Is what I long for but will wait.

When you left, we stood at your bedside,

Knowing you were leaving for a while.

We stood there waiting,

Until you were gone from sight.

And when the time arrives,

When my life returns to another.

I know that I will find you at the door,

Waiting for me there.

-- Stay inspired my friends.

Hummingbird

2020-09-06T18:22:00.003-05:00

This day to sit and gaze at the waning summer days.

Of a season cautioned by masks and six foot deep pain.

The isolation of quarantines, rioting and politics,

And yet the hummingbird still flitters about.

The air is filled with the noise of human discord.

Our existence, our righteousness is on display,

For all of nature to watch and wonder.

And the hummingbird still flitters about.

When autumn change appears at a sunrise,

Will the change bring our own in some way.

Or will the ensuing cold only bluish our hearts,

While the hummingbird still flitters about.

As it goes, we will find a way to have a life,

To be a short lived member of this great world.

And when the beating is gone from us,

We will flitter about as the hummingbird.

— Stay inspired my friends.

Our New Normal

2020-04-05T13:43:00.000-05:00

“Today, the sun will rise on all your doubts.”
― Marty Rubin

It was Friday morning, December 13 of 2019 when I took this photo from my hotel room in Shanghai, China. Yes, Friday the 13th and no, I am not a superstitious person. I just thought I'd get that out in front of any comments my readers may have.

This was my last day in China after a week long visit with customers and team members of the company I work for. It was a beautiful morning, the kind that photographs can do no justice to let alone a smartphone camera. But I wanted to capture the moment for it serves me with a great reminder of a successful week. The business connections were productive as were the team meetings inspiring along with also being productive.

Little did I know a mere 500 miles to the west, something was brewing that would change our lives today.

When I returned home to Atlanta, the holiday season was upon us. There would be gifts exchanged, gatherings for family meals and the various holiday parties of revelry and togetherness. The year of 2019 would end with the usual champagne toasts to a year gone by and the good tidings of a new year. That year was to be 2020, a year marked on calendars and written about in predictions, prognostications and prophecy.

January 1 came and went like any other new year day and our lives in the new year began as it always does. The football games, the return to work and the planning that goes into starting a new year fresh with hope and optimism. Myself, I had another business trip to Japan to meet with other team members and more customer visits. This was a great trip to meet old business friends, spending time as we always do dining and talking of those things which matter in our lives. It was a time of reconnecting and strengthening our long distant relationships.

I have been lucky in my line of work to have traveled to most places in this amazing world. All but two continents have been my pleasure to have visited and I am continually amazed. Setting aside governments and religions, people around the world are pretty much the same. All of us are getting up in the morning, having breakfast, getting the kids off to school, fighting traffic to get to work and dealing with the rest of our daily lives.

In all of those similarities, we are all simply living our normal lives but then the virus.

Everyone had seen the news of this thing wrecking havoc upon a very large city in China and we went about our normal lives. This thing then began to spread to other pockets of communities around the globe and we went about our normal lives. Some thought no worse then a new strain of the flu and we stayed in our normal lives. But down deep I think many of us were also starting to believe there was more to it.

In late February, another business trip would take me to London and onto Ireland with a final stop in Germany. I would only make it as far as Ireland. We had all heard of the changes coming. Of people wearing facial masks and taking care to wash your hands to the tune of Happy Birthday. I had been trying to take care while also continuing with my normal life. Then came the call for all employees to effectively end their business travel and return home.

A new normal was taking shape even though we were not fully aware of it just yet.

I grew up on a farm in east central Nebraska. Hog farmers is what we were with the small town life you read about in books and on Sunday TV news feel good pieces. We felt as many I am sure do to this day, safe. Safe from the concerns of the busy world of the big city or even other countries. When I moved away, it was first to the big city and a job that job leading to even larger cities and different countries. My belief is the world is much smaller then you can imagine and yet, it is still amazing.

After returning home from Europe I was concerned with my health and of those I would be around. I did the precautionary things one should do and yes, I had my normal airplane sniffles upon return. Was it the virus, did I have it, was I infecting others? Nothing could be done but to wait it out and the new normal we were reading and hearing about was growing and spreading to even the remotest of places.

And now, here we are in our new normal. Working from home, businesses closed, stay at home orders, no gatherings and social distancing. A new normal that all of us are coming to terms with. Some more reluctantly then others. A new normal that has us teaching our kids at home, conducting Zoom meetings with the dog barking in the background and getting used to wearing a facial mask at the grocery store, still amazed at the empty toilet paper shelves.

Will we return to the old normal we had grown accustomed to?

There will be some level of previous normalcy in our lives eventually. And there will be a new normal to contend with. The global economy will have to find its way back into a healthy state. People who have lost their jobs will have to claw their way back from financial ruin. Your favorite restaurant or department store may no longer be here. More and more delivery trucks will cruise through our neighborhoods. And the new normal will be just that, our new normal.

For me, I always hold onto the goodness this world can give us. The beautiful yellow pollen of a spring day in Georgia or the goodness that really does exist in humanity. Just hold on and know that the sun will set each day but rise in a spectacular fashion whether you are in Shanghai or in your own hometown.

Stay safe, healthy and stay inspired everyone!

Do Not Go Gentle

2019-05-21T10:56:00.000-05:00

Do not go gentle into that good night ~Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

As described in many places, Dylan's poem is a strong summoning for us to live boldly and to fight. It wants us to not simply "go gentle into that good night," but to fight against it.

And even at the end of life, when "grave men" are near death, we are instructed to burn with life. The poem's meaning is life affirming.

Stay inspired my friends!

In A World That Can Always Use It

2019-05-17T10:29:00.001-05:00

So much to be thankful for. So much ability to give kindness.

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.”
― Plato

Do you remember that feeling when someone, a complete stranger did something such as holding the door open for you? Or maybe there was another, small and random thing they did which put a smile on your face. The thing that occurred was an unsolicited and random act of kindness.

Kindness does not have to be random though, it can be intentional.

Kindness whether given or received has a biological impact on our well being. Studies by neuroscience show that kindness triggers higher levels of endorphins. These are the chemicals that make your body feel good. They also activate a part of the brain that is associated with enjoyment. Over many years, researchers have consistently corroborated the benefits of doing good. And what are those benefits?

It can make you happier.
A study done at University of California Riverside, had subjects practicing five small acts of kindness each week. Small things such as donating blood, thank you notes or helping someone in a small way. The results showed an increase in happiness but those in the control group, who did nothing, reported a slight decrease in happiness.

It can make you healthier.
This chemical releases within our body by being kind will produce a hormone called oxytocin, which helps keep your heart healthy by relaxing cells along the walls of our arteries, allowing more blood to flow through and be delivered to the heart and other organs. This will reduce your blood pressure and lower risk of heart disease.

It might even lead to a longer life.
There have been studies showing those who volunteer their time tend to achieve better overall health outcomes than those who do not. For those people, it lead to a 22% lower death rate when researchers checked back with both groups many years later.

You should try to make it a goal to enact some level of kindness towards others each day. The following list are examples to possibly inspire you.

- Give a genuine compliment
- Treat a friend or coworker to coffee
- Pay for a stranger’s parking
- Send an unexpected thank-you or "thinking of you" note
- Hold the door open for someone
- Call a friend to ask about their day
- Let a stranger cut you in line
- Offer to take a task off of a coworker's plate
- Share a funny or uplifting video
- Cook a meal for a friend or loved one

Want even more ideas?

- Choose forgiveness
- Grab lunch with a new coworker
- Give up your seat on public transportation
- Lend an ear to someone who needs it
- Visit an elderly relative
- Donate to a non-profit
- Send a thank-you note
- Leave a quarter in a laundromat
- Send a care package
- Share an umbrella
- Offer words of encouragement to someone who needs them
- Support a local business
- Leave a generous tip
- Host or organize a gathering for your community

Doing something good is good for everyone involved. Make the change in our world by you being the change that happens.

Stay inspired my friends!