On Inspiration

Godspeed: good fortune; success (used as a wish to a person starting on a journey, a new venture, etc.).

I started writing about an entirely different subject this morning, which suddenly splintered into three posts, two of which I'm pushing into the future because I'm inspired to write about the idea of inspiration.

Specifically, an everyday event that became of moment of magic that inspired me as it transpired and continues to do so today.

Riding my bike home one hot, summer day, I stopped and took an impromptu photo of a young refugee boy jumping from a railroad bridge into the Boise River.

I watched and waited as he stood on the top for the longest time, contemplating the leap, summoning the courage while a crowd gathered.

And then he launched himself into the weightless unknown, an act of beautiful bravery in flight.

And I was fortunate enough to capture the moment with my iPhone as he was suspended amid the sky and the steel trusses of a suspension bridge.

I've had years to think about his jump. I've pondered all he may have gone through in his short life leading up to this leap: persecution, war, conscription, hunger, violence, drought, the painful pulling up of roots up and moving far, far away from friends and family, arriving to a strange home thousands of miles distant, in a new community, a new culture, a new language, a new way of life.

There's a whole lotta courage in that life, let alone his graceful vault from atop the bridge.

It was a long time ago, though I return to it when I find myself in need of inspiration. Like today.

And even now, I have a hard time not tearing up when I look at it.

It makes my risks and uncertainties – my "jumps" – seem doable, more manageable, easy in fact.

Godspeed, friends.

Russ

International Women's History Month

A few thoughts on courage, how a real Nobel Peace Prize winner shows up in the world, and the power of one person standing up:

"The best protection any woman can have...is courage." Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American writer, activist, and leader of the women's rights movement, 1815 - 1902

"I never thought, in my life, I'd be sold. It's painful to say, as a human, that I was sold." Nadia Murad, Human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient for her work to end sexual violence as a weapon of war

"I knew then, and I know now, that when it comes to justice, there is no easy way to get it. You can't sugarcoat it. You have to take a stand and say, 'This is not right.'" Claudette Colvin

Colvin, who passed away earlier this year, was a nurse's aid and civil rights activist who, at the age of 15, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a crowded, segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, nine months before a similar incident with Rosa Parks became more widely known and led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

100 Years of Women Who...

For International Women's Day this past Sunday, The New York Times published a terrific feature on women who changed history...broke barriers...made trouble...persisted...made headlines...survived. You can read it here in this gift article. I started yesterday and am still going on it today.

Brand-o-Meter: Anthropic ⬆️ OpenAI ⬇️

I wrote last week about Anthropic's values imbroglio with the U.S. Department of War. In the days since, the Pentagon has listed the AI company as a Supply Chain Risk, a designation that effectively bars companies that have contracts with the Department of Defense from working with Anthropic. That's a very big hit.

Anthropic responded yesterday by filing a lawsuit against the Department of Defense.

It's not all bad news for Anthropic, as this action by the government, along with a boycott of OpenAI, has led to a surge in consumer support for Anthropic. Downloads of its Claude agent have skyrocketed, and the company's annualized revenues – according to Scott Galloway on the Pivot podcast –have jumped from $14 billion to $19 billion in just one week.

All of which is...not good for OpenAI. Here are some ChatGPT numbers for you:

• Uninstalls of ChatGPT’s mobile app jumped 295% in the U.S.
• ChatGPT’s day-over-day downloads in the U.S. went from being up 14% to down 13%.
• SEO consultant Sobhi Smat just released SEO results on the "Ethical Migration" from ChatGPT to Claude and the results are staggering.

Oh, and by the way, you can join me in quitting QuitGPT here. Since I wrote about it 7 days ago, the number of people quitting has jumped from 1.5 million to more than 4 million. There's an "ouch" to you, Sam Altman.

We're Calling Your Number

As I'm 67 years old, I thought I'd end on a lighthearted note...