It’s been one year since ChatGPT launched.  When asked how ChatGPT felt about celebrating its first birthday, it said, “”Thank you for the birthday wishes! However, it’s important to note that as a computer program, I don’t have feelings or consciousness, so I don’t experience emotions like humans do.”  Can I add, “…,yet.” to the end of the sentence?  We shall see.  We are long past the speed of sound, not yet at the speed of light but in between the speed of technology is picking up and we are going to have to pick up and keep pace so we don’t get left behind. These birthdays will seem like they come at us faster and faster.

This is our most glorious and joyful birthday month.  Might I suggest that we each pick up an Advent companion reader so that daily we can ready ourselves for the greatest coming and birthday of all!  And, let’s not let the pace of the holidays race by us too quickly.  Let’s enjoy this wonderful birthday month!

Reference: Matthew 1:20 (New Living Translation)

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The “Word of the Year” as listed by Merriam-Webster is “Authentic”.  Surprisingly, it is not “A.I”, but certainly the choice of authentic is related to the effects of A.I. on all of us.  Along with “Conversations about celebrity, culture, identity and social media”, they said that the “Lines between real and fake has become increasingly blurred”. So, we literally and metaphorically in masses are searching and seeking for the “Authentic”.  That should tell us something about how we conduct ourselves and show up to our customers, consumers, partners, suppliers, shareholders and employees.

We are called to be authentic and to be real with God, ourselves and others. It may be one of the great challenges of life that we don’t spend enough time thinking about.  The temptation to be one way in a life situation and another way in other life situations is what gets in the way of us being authentic in front of God and others.  There is only one person who can guarantee our authenticity and that is ourselves.  As we work today let’s challenge ourselves to be truly authentic in all that we do and with all whom we interact.

Reference: Proverbs 27:19 (New Living Translation)

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If you were home on Thanksgiving morning, you might have had the TV on in the background and if you did, apparently you (like our family too) were watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The NBC telecast had a record audience of 28.5 million viewers (that’s up 6% over 2022) making it the #1 viewed broadcast and cable  entertainment program in 2023.  Wow! I have a theory.  We are so tired of bad news, controversy, fighting, arguing, etc. that something non-controversial and wholesome like a parade produced for families and kids, just felt good. What does this tell us? Well, maybe when we approach our customers and consumers we should do so leading with the positive and the uplifting aspects of our products and services. It seems like everyone loves a parade, so what parade are we throwing?

What a parade we are in for when we one day get to see Jesus.  Until then, Jesus told us that He had come to give us an abundant life and one that is filled with joy.  When we embrace all that we are given then we can become those who spread and share not just the good news of Christ, but the great news for what is in store for us.

Reference: Jeremiah 22:4 (New Living Translation)

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I read the other day this statement: “It’s not prioritization until it hurts”.  Such a true word.  We are daily overwhelmed with “everything being important” and “being spread too thin”.  If we say we are going after the important and not allowing ourselves to be distracted or diluted with the lesser important, then we must painfully prioritize because if we don’t feel that pain, then we likely haven’t prioritized hard enough.

Reading God’s Word, listening and taking in His message delivered by others, discerning what it is that He is trying to say to us through Prayer and finding Him in worship are all good things.  However, to obey Him in what we hear, learn and know is what true prioritization of Him is in our lives.  Obeying doesn’t always feel good and yes, sometimes real prioritization it can be painful.

Reference: James 1:22 (New Living Translation)

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There is nothing magical or technologically revolutionary about “Data Labeling”.  We have been practicing this since the beginning of time, we just didn’t call it “Data” and we didn’t have a reason to understand it as “Labeling”.  Essentially, “Data Labeling” is the act and work of categorizing and adding context to an observation.  For example, last month, Patti drove my Tesla to a meeting.  As she was backing out of the parking spot she brushed the fender of my car into the fender of a car parked next to her.  Consequently, the left front fender of my car needed to be replaced.  To make that happen I had to take the car to an auto body shop and have the repair person provide me an estimate to give to an insurance adjuster, who then validated the estimate and approved the repair.  What both of these individuals were doing was “Data Labeling”.  The repair person was using his expertise and knowledge to estimate the parts, labor, time and ultimately a cost.  The insurance person was using their experience and knowledge to challenge and ultimately approve what the repair person submitted.  And from the learning about my car, they each added to their own knowledge base, for the next time they are faced with a similar situation.  Now, think abut what happens when in the world of A.I., “Data Labelers” were to add context to 200,000 photos of different damaged cars; ranking severity, costs, parts, etc. and then that information is fed into the A.I. model and from that point on the insurance company (and possibly the body shop) use this to provide their approvals and feedback. “Data Labeling” has always been an activity, but today and in the future there is a place for it to be captured in large numbers and then never to be forgotten, only to be added onto (and hopefully) improved for the better.

We like to pray and think we are additive to the Kingdom of God here on Earth.  We are, if we are God’s “Data Labelers”, not the world’s. With each word, each action, each thought, we have the opportunity to add to the fullness and goodness of what God wants to do with our lives and the lives of others. We are “Data” and we are “Labels” in God’s Kingdom.  What is it that we will do today to be additive and provide more context to others on what it is that God is doing in our lives and what He can do in theirs?

Reference: James 2:18 (New Living Translation)

For those in the U.S., “Happy Thanksgiving” and enjoy the long weekend with family and friends. PwK will be back on Monday.

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As we wake this morning and think of what it is that we must get done today, there will be easy stuff and hard stuff on our list of to-dos.  Which will we start with?  I’m sorry to say, but most of us will tackle the easy stuff first with hope that this will “get us going” and give us momentum to challenge ourselves for the hard stuff to come. The sad secret though is that with distractions, taking more time than we thought, burning out, losing focus, etc. the hard stuff on our list ends up on tomorrow’s list, not today’s.  There is something to be said for facing head on the hard stuff first. True momentum will be gained when we know it is all downhill and easy after we’ve conquered the hard stuff first.

It is the same in the areas of our lives that God wants us to clean up.  If we nibble around the edges we might feel like we are accomplishing something good, but it is the hard stuff, the deep, the inner, that God wants us to take Him with us to first tackle and remove.  What is that hard stuff that we hear Him talking to us about today?

Reference: James 1:21 (New Living Translation)

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Call it a resume. Call it a profile. Call it a bio or call it a “CV” (mostly a term used in Europe, but there is a real difference versus a resume says About.com; “The primary differences between a resume and a curriculum vitae (CV) are the length, what is included and what each is used for. A resume is a one or two page summary of your skills, experience and education. While a resume is brief and concise – no more than a page or two, a CV is a longer (at least two page) and more detailed synopsis. A CV includes a summary of your educational and academic backgrounds as well as teaching and research experience, publications, presentations, awards, honors, affiliations and other details.”) Probably that is more than you wanted to know, but I reference all of the above because at some point we all write down something about ourselves and give it to others to obtain a job. Even if we are filling out an application with our work history, we are completing our resume (or maybe even our CV) for someone else to make a decision about whether or not we should be hired. So, they are important and we should all have some form of one handy and ready to go, just in case. How we write these tells much about us. What we choose to highlight, reference, or call-out about our experiences and learning can indicate our priorities. My best advice is to always seek out someone who is skilled at looking at and reviewing resumes and have them take a look at yours before you send it out. You will likely get feedback that can make it better.

The same can be said of the resume that we are writing today for ourselves. If we were to spend time at the end of the day listing our accomplishments and had to fill in a full resume from just one day’s experience, what would we say about ourselves? How would we describe our education or our extra activities that we accumulated in this one day? How would we complete our accomplishments and the measurements that go with it? How many different jobs did we do today and did we spend enough time on each one? Did we finish everything that we started? These are questions not only about our work, but about our life and how we show up for God on our job. If we had to submit today’s resume to God, would He take a look at it and give us more of His work to do or would He not see much that would give Him the confidence that we should be provided more? Fortunately, our God never withholds His grace and love. Think about today’s resume and see if it can’t be improved?

Reference: 2 Corinthian 3:2 (New Living Translation)

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I don’t know that the undersea floor counts as “ground” but if it does then new and expansive ground has been found. It’s the size of a continent, literally.  It’s nearly completely underground and being called “Zelandia” with what scientists believe to be almost 2 million square miles, which is almost the size of Australia’s 2.9 million square miles. What could we do with an additional continent of land if we could figure out how to utilize it?  That is the question that many will be trying to answer now that the possibility is known.  And, that is exciting and may well trigger a future generation of possibilities and those who seek to explore, claim and develop. This should remind us that just when we think there isn’t new ground to cover or to be gained in our businesses that we just need to keep looking and looking harder.

What God wants to do in and with our lives is limitless.  Each and every day He wants us to explore more what He can do with us and asks us to walk with Him into uncharted and new areas of our life, with Him.  The questions to ask ourselves today is whether or not we are taking the steps He wants us to take to grow and learn more or have we settled into the ground that we only know now? And once we find that ground, is it what He wants us to build ourselves upon?

Reference: Luke 6:49 (New Living Translation)

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I am (like many of you) on Zoom and phone calls all day long jumping back and forth from subject to subject with different people on so many different topics.  I’ve come to believe that successful context-shifting is a skill to be perfected.  That said, it is not for everyone. The best sales people might be the ones that consistently work an industry vertical so that they have a mastery of the problems, players and opportunities within that vertical, turning their knowledge into a competitive selling advantage versus the person who just drops in and out occasionally. I personally, like context-shifting throughout a day as it keeps my mind having to be sharp and ready. I also try and find patterns and analogies that can be made from one conversation to another.  Many times that is easier said than done.  And, we will all will be faced with having to quickly shift contexts in our work and it is best to have a welcoming attitude for what might come next.

God knows that we walk through all kinds of contexts each day and have to shift from one to another. And He also knows that in order to make the most of this life that we need to make Him the one true constant.  It is why He never changes.  If He did then we would be grasping around trying to find our balance all the time without anything to grab onto or stand firm upon. He never shifts, regardless of the context.  That is an assurance we can hold onto regardless of any change that comes.  We can carry that assurance with us into our work, our relationships and any part of our life.

Reference: Hebrews 13:8 (New Living Translation)

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This past Sunday, I completed my ninth marathon in New York City.  It was hard. My GPS watch wasn’t able to get a signal from the lower level of the Verrazano Bridge (my starting corral was assigned the bottom level) so for nearly the first two miles I didn’t know my pace. Consequently, I ended up starting faster than I should have, which in a Marathon means you finish slower than you wished.  There is a business and life lesson in here.  Biz Stone, one of the founders of the original Twitter says this: “Timing, perseverance and ten years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success”.  That’s true for anything that has a long “run” to it.  But, it is the timing and perseverance that can have us finish our race strong and well.

Paul knew a thing about perseverance and what it takes to run the long race well.  He also knew and reminds us that if we press on the prize we receive is eternal.  I know the feeling of giving it my all in a Marathon and the elation of that medal being draped around my neck.  I can only imagine what that will feel like when the prize is heavenly.  It is worth it, for us to press on today!

Reference: Philippians 3:14 (New Living Translation)

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