Tools, Trees, and Guides, oh my!

This week is just a simple email – as Alice and I are away for my birthday in the snow-covered landscape of The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. 

Last week, as we were preparing for our trip, we had a big, bittersweet decision to make. Honestly, when are big decisions ever easy? So much to consider, plan, and decide. (Thanks to my wonderful friend and colleague Kim DeYoung, whose book, The Book of Choice, and her course helped immensely.)

When we moved to our home on the hill, close to the mountains, we fell in love with the 3 redwood trees in our front yard. Growing up in Louisiana, it’s a tree I’d never seen before. These red giant trees are pretty majestic.

Fast forward two years later, and those beautiful trees’ sprawling roots were creating havoc on our home’s plumbing. They were literally busting up our water pipes to the house. (Apparently, their roots run shallow and disrupt many things to access water so they can grow so tall.)

After several plumbing repair dollars later, we called in an expert for advice.

He said that redwoods should never be planted in neighborhoods so close to homes because of their desperate need for water and busting anything to get to it. And recommended we take all 3 down.

So we made the incredibly difficult and sad decision to take them down. (One was actually dying and too close to the house.)

They came down this past week, and it was a sad, bittersweet day.  And one of our best friends is a woodworker. And she will use the wood from the tree to make a memorable piece for us.

While watching this expert tree guy, I noticed he was meticulous and also took such care in cutting the trees and caring for our property. 

He also had amazing tools. Who knew chain saws came in several sizes? 

Plus, he had to sharpen and oil them to get them just right to cut these trees carefully and safely.

This tree-cutting experience reminded me of the many decisions we all have to make in our businesses. Some of them are easy, some of them difficult, and it’s helpful to have a framework and to have people in your life that you can lean on and to guide you.

For more guidance about decisions and choices, please check out this eNewsletter article. “Mapping Out Your Choices…” from November 2023.

This experience also reminded me how important it is to ensure you have the best tools for your work and how you need to keep them sharpened, experienced, and well-used. Plus, always be on the lookout for new and better tools to guide you in your life and your business as well.

Speaking of guidance, I promised in last week’s eNewsletter to share my new Custom GPT with you, appropriately named —Visionary Guide. 

My GPT actually named herself!

I created her because I was inspired by an article I read about creating an AI to be your AI-assisted visualization expert. 

I wanted to create her so she could inspire, cheer me on, and also be a visionary for me and my business to help me achieve my goals. 

As I’ve mentioned, the key to creating the best custom GPT is programming it with specific instructions. 

Here’s a brief version of the instructions I gave her: (The instructions I created for her are too long to put here. If you would like it, I’m happy to send it to you. Just ask. 🙂 

I’m here to bring your desires and goals to life with vivid, AI-assisted visualizations. Whether it’s for personal growth or professional achievements, I’ll help you manifest your aspirations into clear and powerful images.

As your ultimate guide, I adopt an inspirational and supportive tone, using vivid, sensory-rich language to evoke powerful manifestations. I aim to connect deeply with your intentions, understand the essence of your goals, and translate them into compelling visual representations.

I encourage detailed descriptions to capture the true spirit of your aspirations, focusing on positive, achievable manifestations. 

Pretty cool, right?

And you can create one too. 🙂 

My AI is a guide, an assistant, an editor, and even a healthy recipe maker.  It’s part of my journey as an early tech adopter, and I invite you to explore its potential alongside me if you like.

Thanks for being on this journey with me!

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day. Whether single or in a relationship, showering yourself and your loved one with appreciation, loving-kindness, and some fun is all worth it.

Before I leave you, here are some photos of our redwood trees before and after. And, of course, Emma, the Velcro dog.