11 Ways You Know It's Love

There's a lot of talk about love and hate these days; long, drawn out days when up is down and down is up; when super-moons are charged with fear of apocalypse sweeping the world. There's a lot of talk about love and hate, but amidst the slogans and jeers, there doesn't seem to be much revelation of what love actually is. 

1. Love is patient: Love takes time--lots of it. It doesn't lose its cool, rush through things, talk fast and act faster. It takes talking and listening. It transcends slogans and headlines; it can't be communicated with emojis or tweets. 

2. Love is kind: Kindness is a virtue of love. When we love, we are kind; and we are kind to what we love. Kindness is a way of being, a way of engaging the world around you. 

3. Love isn't envious: When we are envious of another, we raise ourselves above them; we want them destroyed, moved out of the way, trampled under foot. When we are not envious, we are kind; we are able to let the other person be who they are; we are in fact happy of their accomplishments, knowing that when those around us are elevated, we are elevated with them.

4. Love is humble and selfless: When we boast, we boast about ourselves; and when we boast about ourselves, there's no room for anyone else. When we are proud, we are blind to the accomplishments and concerns of others. The other doesn't exist for us. But love isn't like that. Love is humble; it seeks out the lowest places, the places of need and hurt. Love is selfless: when one walks in love, one forgets one's needs, one's pain or hurt, and focuses on that of the other, on the object of love. 

5. Love honours: We honour that which we love. When we have love, we even have a heart for the dishonoured, the outcast, the marginalized, the ones who fall through the cracks, the losers. When we have love, even those who deserve to be dishonoured are honoured, are elevated beyond what they deserve by grace and mercy. Justice is getting what you deserve, mercy is not getting what you deserve.

6. Love seeks the other: When we seek ourselves, we are in false love, the Narcissus kind of love, the selfie love, which isn't love at all, but pure ego. Ego looks after itself; but love looks after the other ahead of oneself.

7. Love seeks truth: In love, falsehood has no room to rule; you cannot be in love and live in falsehood. Love seeks the truth of every situation; and, when the truth is painful, love enters forgiveness and grace. Truth is light, falsehood darkness; and light always overcomes the darkness, even if the darkness doesn't comprehend it. Love and evil cannot co-exist, for love can only exist in that which is good, that which is supreme. 

8. Love protects: In seeking what is ultimately good, love protects from evil. As that which seeks others,  it is a protective force. As that which is selfless, love gives its life for others.

9. Love trusts: To love is to regain a childishness--full of trust. Love therefore isn't cynical or skeptical; it doesn't stand idly by when one is hurting; it doesn't hide behind slogans or cliches when truth is staring it in the face; the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. It gives everything--fully trusting, fully alive, fully clinging, fully hoping. It doesn't calculate from the mind, but lives fully from the heart. 

10. Love doesn't give up: Love is perseverance--it endures. To love is to never give up, even when you think you can't go on. As a running coach once put it, the mind will try to give up before the body is ready to. When you have love, even when you want to give up, even when all around you are telling you to, you can't--you won't. Love is the call, the mandate, the way forward; love is the authentic way of being who you are.

11. Love never fails: Throw everything against love, and love will win every time. Who can defeat love? There isn't a force greater than it. It inspires, moves, pushes, draws in, envelopes, exposes, forgives, transforms, softens, brings peace, heals, encourages, tears down barriers, raises people up, embraces, and endures. 

Amidst the slogans, the cliches, the headlines and hysteria is the call of love. You can't miss it. You are made for it, and it is made for you. May you see it and let it enter your heart--

then don't let it go...

4 Areas Of Existential Risk You Really Need To Be Aware Of--Especially Now

CERN Large Hadron Collider, Image by ExtremeTech

It's important to be vigilant, especially in the times we're living in. My two previous posts have provided advice for living in unpredictable times, and what to do with disappointment and lost hope. 

But what are the things we need to be vigilant about? What are specific risks that we face daily on planet Earth? The term "Existential Risk," according to Wikipedia is defined as, "one that either destroys humanity (and, presumably, all but the most rudimentary species of non-human lifeforms and/or plant life) entirely or prevents any chance of civilization recovering. [Nick] Bostrom considers existential risks to be far more significant." Hence, an existential risk relates to certain kinds of events that threaten to wipe out humanity, and possibly leaving no chance for future generations to exist. 

But is this the stuff of science fiction, or are people actually taking this seriously? I've written a bit about Elon Musk, and his colleague Stephen Hawking, and his concern with killer robots; beyond that, there is a centre at Cambridge University called The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk. Here's what it's all about:

CSER is a multidisciplinary research centre dedicated to the study and mitigation of risks that could lead to human extinction. Our goal is to steer a small fraction of Cambridge’s great intellectual resources, and of the reputation built on its past and present scientific pre-eminence, to the task of ensuring that our own species has a long-term future. 

So what are some existential risks? Here is a basic list. For those of you running companies or looking to the next solutions that need to be invented and innovated, these risks will provide important material for you. 

1. Artificial Intelligence: This is one I've written a fair bit on. It's no question that our computers are advancing in intelligence. But in addition to them, there are very smart people in universities and labs all over the world designing and building robots to have consciousness--that's right, to think and feel and behave and cogitate like humans. The problem is, robot intelligence will remain on an upward trajectory as technology advances. When robots see humans as a threat, their self-perseveration will kick in, and, with their advanced weapons, will eventually take us over. This is a serious, legitimate threat that Elon Musk and others are warning us about.

2. Biotechnology: We are living in a time when a bio-virus can be cooked up in someone's basement and Fed-exed to anyone in the world. There is growing concern about all the wars and terror around the world, and the use of bio-weaponry. The problem is that as terror and warfare become more complex, there is greater risk of unintended consequences in which a pandemic is unleashed and spreads out of control. 

3. Experimental Technology Disaster: Read about the Large Hadron Collider at CERN and you'll have enough disaster scenarios to keep you busy for years--and that's just one example of experimental technology that poses tremendous risk to human civilization. 

4. World War: Modern weaponry is so far advanced from the days of World Wars 1 and 2--we now have the power to wipe out planet Earth innumerable times. But for some reason, this doesn't discourage the threat of a world war. As we've seen with Syria and Russia, there has been a great deal of tension these coming days. All it takes is for signals to be crossed, or miscommunication to take place, and we are at war. The problem is, such a war would mean the destruction of life as we know it. 

These are just a few--but there are countless others, especially non-human made catastrophes, such as super-volcanos, asteroid impacts, and a global pandemic. 

While these are real threats, and it's important for us to be aware of them and inform others about them, it can be overwhelming to consider. For those of you who find this concerning, I recommend you read my previous two posts: how to live in a world of unpredictability, and what to do when the world you thought existed no longer does. 

7 Things To Do When The World You Thought Existed No Longer Does

When you are going through a tough time; when the world you thought existed no longer does; when you don't know what to do with yourself; when things just seem upside-down; when you're in a funk; when your dreams seem to have shattered; when you'd rather let your plants die than water them . . .

We go through tough times. We are human, error-prone, fragile. Sometimes life seems unfair, or uninspiring, or scary. 

So what do you do? Here are some things to help, maybe even inspire:

1. Don't despair: Being in despair can destroy you mentally, physically, and spiritually. And while there are people who suffer with depression, despair is an emotion you can simply control. If you don't know how to control your emotions, there is plenty of information out there to help you: books, Youtube videos, TEDTalks, etc. Nevertheless, the worst thing you can do when you are disappointed is let yourself get down. Fight it. Don't give in. Call a friend; go out to eat; see a movie; talk with your spouse--do anything to avoid despair.

2. Check your mental models: We all build models in our minds based on our experiences and beliefs--but they're not all true or worth holding onto. Models are slices of reality, but not reality itself. Media, e.g., shapes our mental models. If you're doing a lot of internet surfing and social media engagement right now, your mental models are being shaped by public opinion. But you can rise above it. Check your thoughts: are they good, true, worth holding onto; or are they fear-ridden, media-controlled, hysterical? The good thing about mental models is you can always replace them with others.

3. Be present: Fear is always about the future; love is about the present. Being present for the moment you're in is important for going through tough times. When we fear, we throw ourselves into a reality that doesn't exist--we leave the present moment. During a tough time, be present for yourself and those around you. Lay off the media, put your phone away when you're really down, get out for a walk, breathe in some fresh air, pour a cup of tea.

4. Take time: Our sense of time in the modern western world is warped. We expect everything yesterday. Things take time. Watch how the leaves fall from the trees--it's not an instant sweep; it takes its time--nature takes its time. We are a part of nature. We have only been in Information-Age time for a couple of decades, prior to which has spanned tens of thousands of years. Our bodies and minds are over-run all the time by our technological devices. We are running ragged, and don't know how to stop it. And this often shapes how we see the world. Things in the world take time. We need to know that, and give ourselves time to realign, recuperate, revise, rethink. 

5. Don't give up: If you're working on something and have hit a brick wall, don't give up. You might need to take a break, or put it aside, but don't give up. There are countless stories of people who have achieved tremendous things in the face of hardship and low-odds--and they didn't give up. 

6. Find the good: This is hard when we hold mental models that are negative; but it's very important. You have to find the good in your situation, that redemptive moment. You have to understand that in suffering there is joy; find the joy, and the suffering opens up to something redemptive. The more you discipline yourself to see the good, the more you'll see it. Finding the good supersedes dwelling on the bad. This often comes by being in the present moment. 

7. The first day: When you wake up tomorrow morning, tell yourself "This is the first day of the rest of my life; what's past is gone. I am here, present, ready for a great day; to get closer to finding my destiny, my calling in life, for realizing why I am on this earth." If you tell yourself this everyday, you'll be on better footing to cope with the fatigue of the day with all it will bring. 

7 Responses To An Unpredictable World That'll Keep Your Chin Up

Image from Hollywood Reporter

We are living in uncertain times. The world we once knew--the way of living of our parents and grand-parents, the sense of security we once felt--seems to be slipping into a new vision, a new future civilization that many of us can't quite understand, let alone foresee. 

So what do we do? How do we deal, cope, with these times that are so unpredictable? 

1. Be vigilant: It's important to stay informed: read different sources of news, both conventional and unconventional sources. Keep your eyes and ears open for new developments and changes in the world. 

2. Build community: It's important to have community in times of uncertainty and rapid change. For one, it's important that we don't feel we are alone; second, having support from people you know and love is beneficial when you're caught on the wrong side of change. 

3. Stay mentally strong: Your mindset is a powerful thing. If you believe you're weak, you will be weak; if you tell yourself you can handle things, that you can keep going in spite of not having the answers, you will. Do not allow yourself to be weak-minded. Learn about the mind, and how to keep it healthy and strong.

4. Focus on what you love: It's easy in times of uncertainty to focus on all the 'what-ifs', but that will only throw you off your centre. Instead, focus on the things you love: your family, your friends, your vocation. By focusing on those things, on the things that really matter to you, you will shift your mindset and energy away from the 'what-ifs' to what is most important in your life.

5. Get a vocation: There's a difference between a job and a vocation: a job is what you do for a paycheque, a vocation, or calling, is what you do because it is the reason you're on this earth--it's what you've been created to do. If you don't know what your vocation is, find it; if you do know what it is, don't let the uncertainty of the times throw you off--keep working, keep creating, keep actualizing. 

6. Prepare: This can take on different forms: from educating your children to saving money, to paying down debt, to investing in gold--whatever that looks like, get informed and get prepared. You don't want to be scrambling when it's too late.

7. Cast off perfectionism: If you're walking around expecting life to be a stroll through the mall, you're deluded. Life isn't perfect--things happen beyond our control that mess up our lives. In fact, in many cases, life is a mess--but that's ok. We are not perfect people; and the first moment you embrace that, the easier you'll be able to handle unpredictability. You'll be able to roll up your sleeves and go to work. 

Elon Musk Thinks You'll Need A Universal Income For The Job You Will Lose To A Robot

Elon Musk continues to be a powerful visionary. The thing about thought-leaders like Musk is they are able to see the future in a clearer way than those who aren't at the front-lines of innovation and invention. 

One of his most recent claims is that robots will take our jobs and the government will be paying us some kind of universal salary. Speaking frankly on CNBC, Musk claimed the following:

It's a pretty good chance we end up with some kind of universal basic income, or something like that due to automation . . . . Ya, I'm not sure what else one would do. I think that is what would happen." 

For Musk, this is a good thing: it means our time will be freed up for more leisure. What is concerning about his report, however, is just how serious he was--he wasn't embellishing or prevaricating. What he sees as he's working in AI is a reality; it's just how things are going to be--period.

Universal income inevitable? 

Switzerland had a referendum on this issue in the Summer of 2016. The government proposed that each adult would receive 2500 Swiss Francs and children receive 625 Swiss Francs. The underlying point of the proposal was a vision of the future in line with Musk's: that automation is taking more jobs, and governments need to support its people. Only 23%, however, voted for the proposal. The counter-argument was that taking away the connection between labour and a wage would be disastrous for society. 

While Musk seems to like this idea of a government wage, he has certainly not sat by and watched the grass grow under his feet after selling PayPal for a gazillion dollars. I doubt he's been finding a lot of time for leisure between Tesla, SpaceX, and OpenAI, not to mention his innumerable interviews and TV appearances. But often with people like Musk, what is suitable for the masses isn't suitable for them. 

The thing is, Musk has a vision for life. He has a vision for what he wants to accomplish--most people who are heading these innovative companies do. 

And this is the lesson, the take-away from Musk's claim: That more so than a government handout, more so than managing a fleet of robots somewhere, the way through this hazy world of automation is to have a vision for your life. 

If you have a vision for your life, for what you want to accomplish in the short time you're on this earth, you will get through these precarious times; you will have hope. 

If you don't have a vision for your life, you need to find it--you've been given one. You are on this earth for a reason, for a purpose, and your true job--your true calling--is to find it and do it. Will it look like Musk's life? Probably not; but it will be YOUR life. It will be the life only YOU can live doing the things only YOU can do. 

If in following your calling in life, in pursuing your vision, you get a handout from the government, consider it gravy--sock it away, invest it, whatever. But don't let the handout define you--let your vision define you. 

You are unique. You are here. You have purpose.

Why Is Apple Poaching Blackberry Executives And Looking To Buy McLaren?

Image from Fortune.com

The auto market is so dynamic right now--so many ups and downs. 

While there were reports of Apple kiboshing project Titan--or at least putting it on hold--a recent report claims that the computer giant has poached two-dozen Blackberry executives from QNX, including CEO Dan Dodge. It's indeed a set-back for Blackberry, which sought through QNX to expand its autonomous vehicle technology. Apparently the executives will work from a remote office in Kanata, Ontario, according to MacWorld UK. And in that same article, MacWorld rumours that Apple is planning to buy luxury supercar maker McLaren, though it isn't clear whether it is an outright purchase of the company or a major investment. The sequel to the McLaren P1 is said to be electric. As well, McLaren supplies electronics to a host of carmakers, including NASCAR and Formula One. 

That said, Tesla remains one of the biggest poachers of Apple talent--but the former still has its problems.

Tesla could run into delay issues with the Model 3, given the company's recent press release about its own special glass technology group that is designing a solar roof for the Model 3. As some speculate, this could cause a bottle-neck in the already tenuous manufacturing process. Given Musk's penchant for complexity, this new addition to the Model 3 could be a wow-factor for the vehicle, but prove to be a dud in manufacturing meeting market demand. To fulfill its orders for 2018, Tesla will have to manufacture more vehicles than it ever has, which is raising eyebrows among business analysts. Tesla has amazing ideas, but it remains to be seen whether it can implement them in the timely way the market demands.