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NVIDIA GTC 2024: A Glimpse into the AI-Powered Future

The annual NVIDIA GTC conference has become a landmark event, showing the cutting edge of AI research and development.

This year’s conference solidified NVIDIA’s position as a leader in this transformative field, with a focus on powerful new technologies and a collaborative approach to shaping the future of AI.

Beyond Graphics to AI Dominance

Once a humble graphics card maker, NVIDIA has become a sorcerer of sorts, wielding the power of artificial intelligence.

From CUDA and NVIDIA GPU Cloud for high-performance computing to TensorRT, Omniverse for 3D simulation, and NeMo for building conversational AI applications, NVIDIA offers a complete toolkit for every stage of the AI development and deployment process.

Generative AI and the Evolution of Creation

A highlight of NVIDIA’s GTC 24 was the focus on Generative AI, a groundbreaking technology capable of creating new content such as images, text, or code. This innovation opens the door to entirely new software categories with previously unseen capabilities.

Gen AI is driven by AI-powered software creation and advancements in large language models. Training these models requires vast amounts of computing power, ushering in a new age of accelerated computing.

Accelerated Computing and AI for Different Industries

Accelerated computing with GPUs is crucial for various industries, including:

  • Life sciences and healthcare (drug discovery, personalized medicine)
  • Climate science and sustainability
  • Robotics and autonomous vehicles
  • Manufacturing and design

NVIDIA is paving the way for a future where Generative AI transforms industries by:

  • Creating new materials and designs
  • Optimizing simulations
  • Automating tasks and workflows

Decoding Medical Mysteries: AI Revolution in Healthcare

NVIDIA is pioneering the use of generative AI to decipher the “language of life” itself. 

This process involves analyzing vast biological datasets to identify patterns and relationships within proteins, DNA, and other biomolecules. Understanding these underlying codes could revolutionize fields like medicine by enabling researchers to design new drugs, predict disease outbreaks, and even engineer custom therapies. 

Moreover, the potential applications of this technology are not limited to healthcare alone; they also have significant implications for industries like agriculture and materials science.

Despite the complexity and rapid evolution of this field, NVIDIA’s innovative work in generative AI is set to uncover significant biological insights, promising to transform a broad spectrum of scientific domains.

The Rise of Robots

The future of industrial automation is here. 

NVIDIA is leading the charge by equipping robots with real-time decision-making capabilities. This translates to smarter, more adaptable machines – a trend supported by data.

  • Exponential Growth: A record-breaking 518,000 robots were installed globally in 2021, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR)  This signifies a significant rise in automation across industries.
  • AI Integration Boom: The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a key driver. AI allows robots to handle complex situations, expanding their reach and applications.
  • Investment Surge: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) forecasts spending on robotics to hit $67 billion by 2025. This surge is fueled by declining robot prices and ever-increasing capabilities.

The message is clear: intelligent automation is poised to transform industries. Leaders who leverage this trend can gain a significant competitive edge.

A Unified Industry Effort

GTC highlighted the wide-ranging industry endorsement for NVIDIA’s breakthroughs.

Tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services, SAP, HP, and Dell are aligning with NVIDIA’s latest innovations. Moreover, AI developer communities are rallying around NVIDIA’s products, promising enhanced support.

This collective endeavor positions NVIDIA to spearhead AI’s future trajectory.

NVIDIA’s Technological Advancements

Nvidia is at the forefront of accelerated computing with innovations like:

    • DGX systems – Supercomputers designed specifically for AI workloads
    • Hopper GPUs – Powerful GPUs with high processing capabilities
    • Blackwell – Boasts next-gen hardware with two connected GPU dies that are 30 times faster than Hopper.

Blackwell

NVIDIA is collaborating with cloud providers and manufacturers to launch this new system for large language models and generative AI.

One of the challenges of generative AI is inference, which is the process of using a trained model to generate new data. This can be computationally expensive, especially for large models. Blackwell addresses this challenge by using new technologies like tensor cores and the MVLink switch to improve communication between GPUs.

Key features include:

    • Second-generation Transformer engine for efficient AI computations
    • Fifth-generation NVLink for high-speed communication between GPUs
    • In-network computation for faster data processing

Weather on Demand

AI Speeds Up Forecasts

NVIDIA is paving the way for a future of faster, more detailed weather forecasts.

Traditional weather prediction models take about 4-6 hours to generate forecasts.

But what if you could get the same level of accuracy in a fraction of the time?

The company made strides in AI-powered weather forecasting with models like FourCastNet. This innovative approach uses machine learning to analyze vast amounts of weather data, generating forecasts with significant speed and efficiency gains. This translates to quicker updates and more timely severe weather warnings.

But even the most accurate forecasts can miss the finer details.

NVIDIA’s new CorrDiff AI model tackles this challenge by taking existing coarse-resolution forecasts and refining them to provide high-resolution breakdowns. This is like zooming in on a weather map and getting crucial details like hyper-local wind gusts or thunderstorms. You could see exactly when that rain shower will hit your neighborhood! 

Digital Twins

Digital twins are digital replicas of physical objects or systems, allowing for simulations of real-world behavior.  

NVIDIA’s Omniverse platform is a prime example, enabling the creation of high-fidelity digital twins for factories, data centers, and even autonomous vehicles. This technology goes beyond simple simulation; it integrates with real-time sensor data to create constantly evolving virtual representations.  

Partnering with companies like Lockheed Martin, NVIDIA is pushing the boundaries of digital twins, driving innovation in areas like predictive maintenance, process optimization, and even training AI for robots in a safe, virtual environment.

NIM: A Pioneering Approach to Generative AI

NVIDIA’s Inference Microservices (NIM) is set to revolutionize Generative AI deployment.

NIM simplifies the deployment process, enabling businesses to utilize their unique data and embrace Retrieval Augmented Generation techniques more efficiently by offering a streamlined package of optimized inference engines, standardized APIs, and model support.

The Evolution Continues

Large Language Models (LLMs)

The conference also showcased the ongoing advancement of LLMs, which are growing in capability and complexity.

Building on the trends highlighted at NVIDIA GTC, here are some impressive abilities we can expect to see from LLMs:

1. Enhanced Generative Power
  • Effortless Creative Content Creation: Imagine an LLM composing a movie script tailored to a specific genre and directorial style. LLMs will excel at generating different content like realistic dialogue for films and creative text formats like poems, code, scripts, and even musical pieces.
  • AI-Powered Design: LLMs will assist in designing products, marketing campaigns, and user interfaces by generating a wider range of creative options and predicting user preferences.

2. Expertise-Level Reasoning and Problem-Solving
  • Scientific Discovery and Research: LLMs will act as research assistants, analyzing vast amounts of scientific data to identify patterns and propose new hypotheses.
  • Personalized Education: LLMs will tailor learning experiences to individual students, providing expert-level insight and explanations that match their understanding level.
3. Seamless Integration with Real-World Applications
  • Conversational AI with Nuance and Context: Chatbots and virtual assistants will become more human-like, understanding complex questions, emotions, and cultural references, making interactions more natural and helpful.
  • Real-time Code Generation and Debugging: LLMs will assist programmers by generating code based on natural language descriptions and automatically debugging errors, accelerating development.
4. Powering Autonomous Systems
  • Decision-Making for Robots: LLMs will power autonomous systems with informed decision-making capabilities. This includes analyzing situations, making informed choices, and adapting their actions in real-time, leading to more intelligent and versatile robots.
  • Generating Training Data for AI Systems: LLMs will create realistic and varied training data for other AI systems, accelerating their learning and improving their performance.
5. Increased Explainability and Transparency
  • Understanding an LLM’s Reasoning: We’ll be able to better understand how LLMs arrive at their answers. Transparency builds trust and allows for human oversight where necessary.
  • Identifying and Mitigating Biases: LLMs will be trained with a strong focus on identifying and mitigating biases in their outputs, ensuring inclusivity and fairness. At least we’d like to think so.

As LLMs become more powerful and integrate with NVIDIA’s full-stack AI approach, we can expect even more groundbreaking advancements in the years to come.

AI Trends Shaping 2025

Overall, Nvidia’s GTC 2024 highlights the rapid advancements in AI and accelerated computing. These developments hold immense potential to revolutionize various industries and our daily lives in 2025 and beyond.

Here are some potential trends for AI:

  • Focus on larger, more complex AI models: These models will require even more powerful computing infrastructures.
  • Increased use of generative AI across industries: We will see generative AI applications transforming various sectors.
  • Rise of co-pilot AI tools: AI assistants will work alongside human professionals to enhance their capabilities.
  • Focus on building digital twins: Real-world entities will be mirrored in digital simulations for better analysis and optimization.

These are just a few examples, and the possibilities are constantly expanding.

Beyond the Hype

The 2024 NVIDIA GTC was a whirlwind of exciting announcements and glimpses into the future of AI. However, I couldn’t help but notice a few things lurking beneath the surface of the shiny new tech.

Are we all losing our minds over AI?

This Life Capsule video from Nobody Sausage gave me a good laugh.

 

All kidding aside, here are some facets of GTC that deserve a closer examination:

1. Blackwell

More Than Just a Speed Demon?

NVIDIA’s new system boasts a 30x speedup for large language models. That is undoubtedly impressive. But is it all sunshine and rainbows? While the marketing materials paint a picture of revolutionary speed, the reality might be more nuanced.

The true performance gains will likely vary depending on the specific task and dataset. A 30x speedup for one task might translate to a more modest improvement for another. Additionally, the cost and availability of this technology remain unclear. Will it be readily accessible to smaller companies and research institutions pushing the boundaries of AI research, or will it be another tool reserved for the tech giants?

2. Generative AI

The Power and the Peril

Generative AI, the ability of AI to create entirely new things, holds immense potential. However, GTC’s focus on generative AI might have overshadowed another crucial aspect – explainability.

When it comes to fields like healthcare and weather prediction, where AI models can have life-altering consequences, it’s paramount to understand how these models arrive at their results. Without transparency, there’s a risk of bias and errors going unnoticed. We need to ensure that the power of generative AI isn’t overshadowed by a lack of understanding. 

3. AI Ethics

A Conversation We Can’t Afford to Miss

The ethical implications of powerful generative AI models deserve a more prominent place in the conversation. GTC might have missed an opportunity to delve deeper into this critical issue.

The potential for misuse – from creating deepfakes for malicious purposes to generating biased content – needs to be addressed. We need stricter regulations and a robust ethical framework to ensure that AI is developed and deployed responsibly.

The Road Ahead: A Balanced Approach

Don’t get me wrong, the advancements showcased at GTC are exciting. However, it’s crucial to approach this wave of innovation with a critical eye. We need to foster a dialogue that considers not just the technological marvels but also the potential pitfalls. After all, AI is a powerful tool, and like any powerful tool, it needs to be wielded responsibly.

How can we ensure the future of AI is not just generative, but also ethical, transparent, and accessible to all?

The future belongs to those who shape it.  

As we look ahead, the impact of these technologies in shaping the future of AI is clear.

Stay informed and gain a competitive edge.

At Reactionpower, we use cutting-edge AI solutions to make you a leader in an AI-driven world. We leverage tailored predictive analytics and sophisticated AI tools so you are not just reacting to the digital age—you are shaping it. This proactive approach to leadership ensures that you are always a step ahead, ready to capitalize on opportunities and shield your brand from potential pitfalls.

Contact me today to discuss how we can propel you toward achieving your visionary goals.

 

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Year End Reflection: How to Craft a Standout Performance Summary

As we close this year, I want to share some essential tips for writing an impactful year-end performance summary.

A well-crafted summary not only showcases your achievements but also sets the stage for your future growth.

Here’s how to make yours shine:

1. Align with Strategic Goals: Show how your efforts have contributed to the company’s mission. Use clear examples to demonstrate your alignment with the vision and goals.

2. Embrace Company Values: Reflect on how you’ve embodied our core values in your work. Share instances where you’ve demonstrated key behaviors like integrity, teamwork, and innovation.

3. Quantify Your Impact: Back up your achievements with data. Include metrics that illustrate your productivity, efficiency, and the overall impact of your work.

4. Acknowledge Team Efforts: Recognizing those who’ve supported and worked with you is crucial. A shout-out to colleagues who’ve been part of your journey goes a long way.

5. Look Ahead: Conclude with your future aspirations. Share your eagerness to learn, grow, and contribute even more to the organization’s success.

A great performance summary can lead to new opportunities and greater responsibilities. So, take the time to craft it with care and precision.

When you approach the process with introspection, strategic thinking, and a clear understanding of your role within the larger context of your organization,  you can create a summary that highlights your achievements and paves the way for future success.

What are your go-to strategies for highlighting your yearly achievements?

Drop your thoughts below!

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How to Create an Innovation Engine: 6 Simple Lessons for Leaders

As a business leader, it’s up to you to ensure that your organization is constantly evolving and improving. So how do you keep the innovation engine running? Well, buckle up because I’ve got six lessons to help you stay ahead of the curve.

1: Listen to Customers

Okay, let’s get one thing straight: innovating is not the same as inventing. You’re not just creating something for the sake of it. Innovation is about adapting and improving to meet your customer’s ever-changing demands. Speaking of customers, they’re your best source of innovative ideas. By listening, you can identify their pain points and develop solutions that sell. Also, it shows them that you care about their experience and are committed to providing the best possible service.

2: Create a Culture of Innovation

Want to come up with breakthrough innovations? Create a culture of collaboration and inclusivity. Embrace different perspectives and ideas.  Encourage your team to think outside the box and reward creativity. And don’t forget to track your progress with metrics like the number of ideas generated, speed of iteration, and impact on your core business. Research backs it up – companies with a strong innovation culture have a higher chance of success. Plus, it makes work more fun and exciting for everyone involved!

3: Keep Up with Trends

Stay ahead of the curve by keeping up with industry trends, emerging technologies, and the marketplace. This will help you stay agile and succeed in an ambiguous, evolving environment. In fact, PwC’s survey revealed that companies actively monitoring trends are 50% more likely to achieve above-average profits. So, don’t get left behind – stay in the know and keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in your industry and beyond.

4: Collaborate

Partner with other companies or organizations to share knowledge, resources and create an innovation engine. Collaboration can lead to breakthrough innovations and new business opportunities. Plus, it’s a great way to expand your network and build relationships with other like-minded individuals.

5: Embrace Failure

Don’t let fear hold you back – try new things, even if they don’t work out. That’s where innovation sandboxes come in. They allow you to take risks without putting your core business at risk. Plus, they enable you to iterate quickly and make adjustments on the fly. Set clear goals, start small, and focus on a specific area of your business. Remember – failure is just part of the journey to success. In fact, studies have shown that companies that embrace failure are more likely to succeed in the long run. So go ahead, take that risk!

6: Invest in an Innovation Engine

Create controlled environments within your company to test new ideas, try technologies and create an innovation engine. By doing so, you can experiment safely, take risks, iterate quickly, and avoid costly mistakes. And here’s the cherry on top: according to a study by Boston Consulting Group, companies that invest in innovation have higher revenue growth and market valuation. So create that safe space for experimentation and invest in innovation. Your company’s future success may depend on it!

The Power of Play: Lessons in Innovation for Executives

To sum it up, driving innovation is key if you want to stay in the game. Remember, if you’re looking to create an innovation engine, you must think of it as a continuous journey, not a destination.  You can start by creating a safe space for experimentation, where you can take risks, iterate quickly, and avoid costly mistakes. Start small, focus on a specific area of your business, and encourage your team to collaborate.

Reach out to our expert team at Reactionpower today for effective and actionable strategies to power your company’s innovation and online performance.

There’s no limit to what you can achieve!

 

 

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My Top Productivity Apps of 2022

My top productivity apps of 2022 are Todoist, RescueTime, and Evernote. They each have unique features tailored towards helping CMOs stay productive and organized while managing multiple projects simultaneously!

Let’s take a closer look at my favorite productivity apps of 2022.

 1. Todoist

Todoist is a cloud-based task management app that helps you organize your workflows by allowing you to create task lists with due dates and reminders. You can also collaborate with other team members on projects or share tasks. Todoist integrates with hundreds of third-party services like Google Calendar, Dropbox, Slack, Evernote and more for added convenience.

2. RescueTime

RescueTime is an app designed to help you stay focused by tracking time spent on various activities throughout the day so that you can identify which activities are taking up too much time or energy. It also provides useful insights into how productive you are each day so that you can adjust your workflow accordingly for maximum efficiency.

3. Evernote

Evernote is a versatile note-taking app. I love that with Evernote, you can easily store notes in one place, access them from any device, collaborate with multiple users, add tags for easy searching, set reminders, take screenshots, save webpages, record audio clips, scan documents, store images, etc. It’s great for both personal use and business collaboration. 

My Favorite Chrome Apps of 2022

I also love these Chrome extensions, which can help with automation, collaboration, and learning:

Automation 

  • SwiftRead allows you to read three times faster.
  • Liner serves as your personalized research assistant.
  • Dark Reader protects your eyes (and sleep schedule) during long workdays.
  • Compose AI helps you automate or augment your writing with artificial intelligence.
  • Nimbus Screenshot & Screen Video Recorder makes it easier to screenshot and record content to share across platforms quickly.
  • Tango automatically generates how-to guides while you work.
  • Workona Tab Manager controls the explosion of tabs in your browser, sets up workspaces to organize your projects, and helps you keep tabs on what’s important.

Collaboration 

  • Wordtune helps you communicate clearly by catching typos and rephrasing sentences.
  • Mote allows you to give quick feedback through voice commenting and transcripts. 
  • Loom makes it easier to capture and share videos with others.
  • Trello allows you to keep track of your tasks, goals, and deadlines in one place. It has useful features such as calendar integration, task reminders, and collaboration tools so that you can assign tasks to other team members and track their progress in real time.

Learning

  • MyBib: Free Citation Generator automatically generates bibliographies and citations as you browse the web. 
  • eJOY gives you dual subtitles to learn a language while watching movies.
  • Toucan makes learning a new language fun and immersive.

Digital tools and productivity apps are essential tools in today’s world. From getting organized and keeping track of tasks to staying focused on specific goals and learning – these apps helped me maximize my efficiency and boost my productivity in 2022.

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How to Create Your “New Normal”

For almost 2 years, businesses of all sizes have made triumphant strides toward the ever-evolving “new normal.”

From embracing the digital shift to working with dispersed employees across the globe, companies have rolled with the metaphorical punches as the worldwide pandemic (and the domino effects in its wake) plagued the world.

Both in life and business, elements are still evolving. We must continue to adapt in order to survive and succeed. The secret to redefining normal is taking action today. How can you make small but substantial changes now to better your brand?

Accept change and take massive action towards delivering exceptional solutions to your customers. Responsive enterprises thrive even in uncertain times through customer-centricity, operational effectiveness, and agility.

How will you dominate the new year?

Businesses across the board are already taking action on their strategy to dominate the new year. According to our recent customer survey:

47% of brands are reallocating budgets to align with advances in digital technology.
40% of brands are reallocating budgets to improve brand awareness.
39% of brands are reallocated budgets to gather data-driven insights.

No matter how you plan to define “normal” for your business, approach the new year with a strong start.

3 Actions to Chart Your 2022 Trajectory

Here are three actions you can take right now to build up your digital capabilities in 2022 and beyond:

  1. Build a strong brand with your online assets
  2. Update and strengthen your digital marketing channels
  3. Create relevant, high-value content and measure the impact rigorously

What you do today will impact your tomorrow.

Our team at Reactionpower is here to help you take action, get more done and navigate the changing times.

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3 Key Elements Every Marketing Leader Needs in 2022

80% of marketing leaders say the volume of campaigns, requests, and content increased over the last year.

That’s a lot of new work.

We surveyed 259 marketing leaders to understand how they’re overcoming challenges.

Here’s a quick look at the insights we found:

  • Marketing leaders are data-rich (but information poor): Nearly half of the leaders say that the “lack of timely data to make strategic decisions” is their #1 inhibitor.
  • Workloads are painfully heavy: 86% of marketing leaders say their current workload is causing stress for their team—and increasing volume is just one of the reasons why.
  • Tedious tasks are killing productivity: The average marketing leader spends 13 hours per week on manual, operational tasks.

To overcome these challenges and ensure success in 2022, you need 3 key elements:

1. Strategy

Your strategy ensures you will measure what matters.

As the marketing leader, you must consider the bigger picture: How does marketing play a role in your company’s success? How can you reach your ideal customer in a competitive field? What is your customer’s experience? What do customers want throughout the entire lifecycle and buying journey? And, can the company meet those buyers’ needs with the maximum return on investment? These questions go beyond marketing efficiency and push the boundaries of marketing innovation to move the needle on sales, customer loyalty, and lifetime customer value.

When everyone understands your larger strategy, they see how their progress can directly impact success, creating an aligned approach to data. Focus ensures you are tracking the most important key performance indicators (KPIs).

You can then structure data efficiently into timely insights to make strategic decisions.

2. Solid Execution

A brilliant strategy can put you on the competitive map, but only solid execution can keep you there. You have to be able to deliver on your intent.

The secret to successful strategy execution is superpowers: a team that helps you get more done while you sleep.

As the marketing leader, you’re the face organization, the brand storyteller, the innovation catalyst, and the implementer of customer-driven growth. You are focused on operational efficiencies with an analytic mindset while creatively conceptualizing how to meet unmet needs in the marketplace and drive the next iteration of growth.

You cannot do it all.

Delegate operational responsibility, so you can focus on more strategic issues.

Make sure everyone has a good idea of the decisions and actions for which they are responsible. Provide information, structure, and motivators. Link performance to rewards.

Work with Reactionpower to do less work and get more done. We match busy business leaders like you with highly efficient professionals who have the skills to keep up with your demands and accelerate your growth.

3. Support

Leaders thrive when the proper support and resources have been invested to maximize productivity.

Align with the CEO or executive leadership suite on the success metrics and the support available to achieve your mutual vision. Ensure you are resourced appropriately for the anticipated outcomes. The range of job duties and skills required of marketing leaders can be all over the map. Therefore, if not discussed, the expectations can be unclear or unrealistic. This unhealthy dynamic can set marketing executives up to fail.

Assess areas where you can get quick wins.

At Reactionpower, our goal is to help you get more done. We’ll help you crush milestones and show momentum to garner more organizational support. We serve as an extension of your team. You work with the same dedicated people so even complex, ongoing tasks are handled with quality and consistency.

Stop doing manual, operational tasks that drain your energy. Our highly technical skilled workforce enables your team to delegate so you can focus on growth and create success.

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3 Ways to Thrive Remotely

83% of employees feel they do not need an office to be productive, according to the Fuze Global Report on Workforce Future.

Knowing how to motivate virtual team members is now an essential skill for team leaders.

Let’s dive into the art and science of motivating yourself AND others.

1: Celebrate Small Wins

Most people think about motivation in terms of incentives, competition, compliments, financial rewards, etc.

What do you think is the biggest motivator of all? Progress!

In his best-selling book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Daniel Pink pulls apart four decades of scientific research on human motivation. His research shows that financial incentives are poor motivators for success.

Pink argues that there’s a deep human need to direct our own lives, to learn, and to create new things. This is the secret to high performance and satisfaction.

According to Pink, we need to harness the power of small wins by being heroes of progress.

Whether you are talking to your colleague, your spouse, or trying to motivate yourself, highlight progress. Here’s how:

  • As you make your to-do list, start with what you already have done up top
  • Check off the progress you’ve already made ceremoniously before doing more
  • Make scoreboards for yourself and your team so you can see how far you have come in the middle of a big project
  • When speaking with your team, talk of what’s already been done, in addition to what’s next
  • When giving a compliment, highlight specific tasks already achieved. Don’t talk about how little they have left; talk about how far they have come!

 

2: Watch What You Say… to Yourself!

Our thoughts are secret—and that’s often a good thing.

We are far more brutal in our minds than in reality.

The problem is the brain believes what you tell it most.

How do you talk to yourself? Are you kind, mean, harsh, or sweet? Ask yourself, would you talk to your best friend that way?

Our self-truths are the beliefs we hold, whether they are true or not.

Sometimes, we learn our self-truths from life experiences. Other times, we pick them up from those around us, our parents, bosses, teachers, etc. These become our limiting beliefs.

Here are some common negative self-truths people say all the time:

  • I am horrible at remembering faces
  • I can’t remember names
  • Things never work out for me
  • I have terrible luck
  • I’m awful with people
  • I’m so clumsy
  • I’m so awkward
  • I’ll never fit in
  • I’m not creative
  • Mondays suck
  • I’m no good at …
  • I’m just not the type of person who …

If you are warming up your mind with these kinds of thoughts, there’s no way you can be your best self.

Watch out for your limiting beliefs and limiting wishes.

For example, one woman told me that the reason she can’t make friends is because of her horrible nose. “I look like a toucan,” she said. “When I’m talking to people, I know all they are thinking about is my nose. As soon as I get it fixed, it will be so much easier to meet people.”

Let me ask you a question. Have you EVER not been able to talk to someone because you didn’t like their nose? Absolutely not. Her limiting wish was, “If only my nose was smaller, I would be able to make friends.”

She helped me realize that my own limiting wish was: If only I was thinner

Here are some more common limiting wishes:

  • If only I was taller
  • If only I was richer
  • If only I was funnier
  • If only I was smarter
  • If only I got that promotion
  • If only I could move to that city
  • If only I could find a significant other
  • If only I could have a baby
  • If I was older…
  • If I was younger…

Are your desires holding you hostage?

Bottom Line: Stop thinking you need to change something before you can achieve your desired outcome!

3: Say Bye-Bye to These Buzzkills

In order to motivate others, you need to know how to motivate yourself first.

We are inspired by highly productive, efficient people.

Here are some of the most common bad habits that hurt our motivation:

  • Starting projects but never finishing
  • Numbing yourself with addictive habits, substances, food, etc.
  • Watching too much News
  • Watching too much TV
  • Projecting negativity
  • Procrastinating
  • Eating badly
  • Not exercising
  • Ignoring problems
  • Being disorganized
  • Working too much
  • Working too little
  • Complaining
  • Gossiping

Any of these look familiar?

In his book What to Say When You Talk to Your Self, Dr. Shad Helmstetter states that we are programmed by our thoughts. He breaks down being able to change your self-talk into five levels:

Level 1: Negative Acceptance

“I can’t _____ .”

The fill-in-the-blank with your limiting beliefs and wishes. These are the current negative ideas you’ve accepted about yourself.

Level 2: Recognition and Need to Change

“I need to …”

“I should …”

Here you’ve achieved a level of awareness.

Level 3: Decision to Change

“I no longer …”

Here you’ve decided to change some of your limiting beliefs.

Level 4: The Better You

“I am …”

Once you have retired a limiting belief or changed it, you then have a new self-vision and concept.

Level 5: Universal Affirmation

“It is …”

Finally, you see the world differently. You have changed your own belief and the world around you.

What level are you at?

If you’re not at Level 5, commit to change.

You have a choice. You can live on autopilot or you can live intentionally. If you want to thrive remotely, choose the latter.

Do you have rituals and routines, to get psyched up for something big… like a meeting, a date, or an event?

Your life is bigger. Create the right habits to motivate yourself.

Here are a few ideas:

  • Use music to pump yourself up
  • Build the perfect morning and evening routine
  • Use daily affirmations and incantations

Love the affirmation that Jennifer Lopez shared in her interview with Oprah (at 39.41 mark):

I am open and receptive to all the goodness and abundance the universe has to offer. I am in perfect health. My children are in perfect health. We are safe. We are whole. I am whole. I am good on my own. I love myself.  I love you, Jennifer. I love the universe. The universe loves me. God loves me. I am beautiful, youthful, and timeless at every age. I am enough.

What’s your daily affirmation? If you don’t have one, commit to thrive and create one today!

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FAQ on the Stimulus Bill for Startups and Small Business Owners

Spent the day understanding the Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) portion of the CARES Act stimulus bill and wrote this as simply as possible. Here’s a FAQ for startups and small businesses which are hurting, but not badly enough to qualify for SBA disaster loan. Corrections welcome!

Q: What is this document?

A: This is a short summary of the Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) program that was just included in the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act”) passed on Friday, March 27th, 2020.

Here’s the FAQ that was published by the Treasury.

Q: What is the Paycheck Protection Plan?

A: The plan is a forgivable loan program from the federal government for small businesses affected by the Coronavirus crisis.

Q: Why is this interesting?

A: While this program is structured as a loan, it functions in practice more like a grant provided the small business follows certain reasonable restrictions.

Q: Who is the PPP for?

A: Any business concern, nonprofit organization, veterans organization, or Tribal business concern that employs not more than the greater of 500 employees in most cases. Note there are exceptions in the law for organizations with more employees as defined by the SBA and those with more than one location. Anyone working full-time, part-time or other basis is counted as an employee under this program.

Q: Do sole proprietors qualify?

A: Yes. The detail on that is in the bill.

Q: How much can a business get?

A: For businesses that were in business for all of 2019, the lesser of:

  • The average total monthly payments by the applicant for payroll costs (salaries, wages, cash tip equivalents, separation payments, payroll taxes, retirement benefits, and healthcare) incurred during the 1-year period before the date on which the loan is made MULTIPLIED by 2.5

or

  • $10,000,000

In plain language, the maximum borrowing amount is 2.5x average monthly wages from 2019.

Note that annual compensation for employees in excess of $100,000 is not included in this payroll computation but the first $100,000 is.

There are other computations for seasonal businesses or ones that did not have a full year of operation in 2019. There are some exceptions around things like medical leave. These are covered in the bill text. Employees that reside outside of the US principally do not qualify.

Q: What can a business use the money for?

A:  During the covered period, an eligible recipient may, in addition to the allowable uses of a loan made under this subsection, use the proceeds of the covered loan for—

  • ‘‘(I) payroll costs;
  • ‘‘(II) costs related to the continuation of group health care benefits during periods of paid sick, medical, or family leave, and insurance premiums;
  • ‘‘(III) employee salaries, commissions, or similar compensations;
  • ‘‘(IV) payments of interest on any mortgage obligation (which shall not include any prepayment of or payment of principal on a mortgage obligation);
  • ‘‘(V) rent (including rent under a lease agreement);
  • ‘‘(VI) utilities; and
  • ‘‘(VII) interest on any other debt obligations that were incurred before the covered period.

Q: Which parts of that can be forgiven?

A: An eligible recipient shall be eligible for forgiveness of indebtedness on a covered loan in an amount equal to the sum of the following costs incurred and payments made:

  • (1) Payroll costs.
  • (2) Any payment of interest on any covered mortgage obligation (which shall not include any prepayment of or payment of principal on a covered mortgage obligation).
  • (3) Any payment on any covered rent obligation.
  • (4) Any covered utility payment.

The forgiveness can be up to the total amount of the original principal of the loan.

Q: What strings are attached?

A: Loan forgiveness is tied to keeping your average number of employees consistent with the period of February 15, 2019, to June 30, 2019. The same goes for wage reductions above 25%. Reduce your employees or wages year over year and the forgiveness amount gets reduced.

Your business will also need to document and certify that the money was spent correctly to get the loan forgiven.

75% or more of the money must be used for payroll expenses in order to be forgiven.

Q: When do you need to spend the money to qualify for it to be forgiven?

A: The money needs to be spent in the 8-week period after the loan is originated in order to be forgiven.

Q: What happens if I don’t spend the money on the approved uses?

A: You have to pay it back plus interest.

Q: Who administers it?

A: The program is administered by the Small Business Administration. Unlike other SBA disaster loan programs, the “retail” application of this is done through local SBA-certified banks and bankers.

Q: What businesses qualify?

A: Businesses that make a good faith certification that:

  • “‘(I) that the uncertainty of current economic conditions makes necessary the loan request to support the ongoing operations of the eligible recipient;
  • ‘‘(II) acknowledging that funds will be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage payments, lease payments, and utility payments;
  • The business does not have another loan in place or pending for the same purpose and amount under this program

Q: I am a VC-backed startup. I heard the affiliation rules will keep my business from qualifying?

A: Possibly. The bill is vague on this issue. The original idea of SBA rules is to keep one person from creating structures to take advantage by getting multiple loans.

The politicians speaking about it are (1) making sure during rulemaking process SBA is doing now that VC backed companies aren’t excluded and (2) even still you may be OK just given the current rules for SBA loans.

In either case, startups will very likely be OK and it’s worth applying.

Q: How does the loan forgiveness work?

A: As long as the money is used during the period for the correct type of expenses, the loan should be forgiven. Any portion of the loan not forgiven will have to be repaid with interest, however.

Q: I see information about employees making more than $100,000 are excluded. What exactly does that mean?

A: The bill is a bit confusing in this area. Most people reading it have told me that it’s the “amount in excess of $100,000” is excluded from the loan amount and forgiveness.

Q: What is the interest rate?

A: No higher than 4%.  Note: Treasury on 4/2/20 set the interest rate at 1%.

Q: Other SBA loans require a business to show it can’t get credit elsewhere. Does that impact this?

A: No. To quality, businesses are not required to demonstrate an inability to obtain credit elsewhere.

Q: When do repayments start?

A: By definition, the borrower under the PPP is defined as an “impacted borrower.” This means lenders will give total payment deferrment for these loans for no less than 6 months and no more than 1 year.

Q: What are the tax ramifications?

A: Forgiveness of the loan is NOT counted as income. Provided your company spends the money on the approved uses during the time period required, it is not taxable income when the loan is forgiven.

Q: Does this require a personal guarantee or collateral?

A: No.

Q: How much money is available?

A: $349 billion under this program.

Q: How do you get the process started?

A: If your company already has a banking relationship, contact your banker. Given the suddenness of this act and disaster, it’s likely they are overwhelmed or soon will be. However, it’s important to talk to them right now because there is limited money in this program.

If your company doesn’t already have a banking relationship as a borrower, start with the bank where you have your bank accounts. Most will be SBA lenders.

Q: Where can you find the text of the CARES Act?

A: Here is the actual House Bill online.

The Senate also published a FAQ on the CARES Act which has a bit more jargon than this one.

Wandia's World

Thoughts

The Silver Lining

When this unprecedented plague is over, we may never again take for granted, each deep breath, a handshake with a stranger, close conversations face-to-face, a crowded theater, Friday night out, a roaring stadium, the taste of communion or a shared cold beer, a routine checkup, rush hour traffic, coffee with a friend, a touch, a hug, a kiss…

 

Coronavirus has:

  • brought back humanity
  • brought families together
  • moved more military expenditure to health care
  • reminded us of our equality and connected us in tragedy
  • forced authorities to look at prison systems and justice
  • undermined dictators and their powers
  • reminded us about living simple lives
  • taught us better health habits
  • brought down interest rates

 

Let’s celebrate the silver lining, make each moment matter, and thank our essential workers.

 

 

Remember, every breath is a gift. With each breath, we have the opportunity to be more. A crisis can spark creativity in remarkable ways.

 

Wandia's World

Thoughts

Need Help During This Pandemic? Here Are Some Resources

Author’s note: 4/3.2020 – Just did an FAQ On The Stimulus Bill For Startups And Small Business Owners.

If you are hurting, here are some community resources that could support you during this time:

 

RESOURCE LISTS 

 

Here’s how you can help

POLITICAL ACTIONS

  • Contact your local/ state/ federal representatives and ask them to: 

Find your CA reps’ contact info: http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/

Find your federal reps’ contact info: https://whoismyrepresentative.com/

Use ResistBot to contact your lawmakers: https://resist.bot/

Use Indivisible to contact your lawmakers: https://indivisible.org/

More ideas here: How to take action without leaving the house

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES 

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