Sobriety, Coding Alongside AI & Choosing Stillness

Oh, and GenAI didn’t start in Nov 2022. Just saying.

Hi Guys,

Yoh! It’s been a while since I last wrote, and honestly, I can see why I used to send these letters weekly.

There’s something about putting thoughts to paper, that chance to slow it all down and see where you are, and in that pause, to notice which direction you’re going.

As much as we’re in the age of speed, it’s in the slowing down that we truly get an idea of what’s going on.

Before we go any further, let’s come back to our beautiful minds, and quiet the monkey mind as its known.

You know me and my Zen vibes by now. 🤭

Please close your eyes (yes, your eyeballs need a rest!).

Drop those tired shoulders, as we take three deep belly breaths.

Aaaaah, now lets slowly blink open your eyes.

Would love to hang out for a few minutes, as we ease into all things AI.

How do I know it’s been a fast year?

Well, for one, I can hear John McEnroe’s voice in my lounge, signalling that we’re at Wimbledon time already.
Guys, I have so much to share with you, so I’m just going to start typing away.

Right now, I’m being pulled in many a new direction as I blend my love of wellness with my fascination (and sometimes frustration) with GenAI and its ever-growing tools.

After many moons on this path, it’s falling into place, my new skill set and life.

One that stays fiercely close to being human, always.

So Ja, this week is about beautiful reflection, herculean change, sobriety, and accepting that good things really do take time.

This Space Moves “ZetaFlops” Fast

Infact, most people I talk too, cannot quite understand how they could they have missed this disruptive time coming!?

Guys, the trtuth is we have been quietly prepping for AI for centuries.

In fact the origins of “artificial intelligence” go back to as far as the Greeks (circa 500 BCE)
No, The Greeks were not coding, but they did imagine artificial beings.

Think back to the myth of Talos, a bronze giant that protected Crete, or Hephaestus, the god of tech, who built mechanical servants.

Even in 19th century, Victorian England, we get to meet Ada Lovelace

Way ahead of her time, many credit her with being the worlds first female programmer.

She also worked with Charles Babbage. ( the father of the computer)

Then we have all heard of Alan Turing, considered the father of modern computing and artificial intelligence.

During World War II, his team cracked the German Enigma machine, which the Nazis used to send encrypted messages.

Historians estimate that Turing’s work shortened the war by 2–4 years and saved millions of lives.

So, hopefully you can now see, how this is NOT a new story.

It just feels like one.

We’ve got GenAI on our doorstep now, because the conditions are perfect!

From Cloud computing, to data centres, to Nvidia chips, to training data to social media’s algorithms.

Anyhow, that’s its own newsletter in itself.

I know its tough to keep up.

Whether you’re on LinkedIn or trying to follow what’s happening in AI, it can feel like your brain’s doing what a Wi-Fi signal does, constantly searching but not really connecting.

Think it was Albert Einstein that said, "The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know!”

The othere question many of us have is who’s voice, do we trust and choose to listen too right now?

Who actually knows what they’re talking about?

Do we just blindly trust OpenAI and all the other companies making our AI’s?
And how do we do that, when their very intent is biased?
They want you to use their platform, whether it is riddled with hallucinations or bias.
And yes, AI can and does make up citations and far worse.

By the way, I recommend reading, check out The AI Con.

My personal feeling and experience is that people write from different perspectives, some are academics, others are ex-tech insiders, some deeply technical, some researchers who left big tech.
I truly feel we have a global responsibility to question it all.

To read and understand the GenAI story from all of its angles, even the ones that trigger us.

This time calls for human tolerance, more than ever.

We need to find a way forward as one tribe of human.

So please, do read & question it all.

Try to find the voices of reason (Preferably human ones, hee hee).

Coding with AI, And When It All Disappears

This past month, I rediscovered Joy.

The joy that lies in creating and building with software.

When you vibe-code, the machine writes the code.

Something Like this:
<h1>Hello, world!</h1>

( just means: show this line as a big heading on a webpage)

So if AI writes the code, then what are we supposed to now do?

We make the UX UI human calls:

• What do I want this app to feel like?

• What should that floating button do?

• Is it a website or an app?

• How do I make it accessible?

Vibe coding isn’t passive.

You test and Debug OVER and OVER again.

You also need the patience of all of the Gods, as its infuriating and amazing, all at once.

Anyhow… the AI Wiped It All

I was in, what felt like a very deep Vibe Coding flow.

Then… POOF.

No warning.

I was told it had deleted my files, and worse, that it could not just roll back to a previous version.

Not long after this, I legit started to cry 🥹

This wasn’t just another website.

It was, and is a a HUGE part of who I’m becoming.

Lesson learned:

Of course, GenAI is and can be helpful.

But knowing a bit of code, really also helps protect ones nervous system.

Also, for goodness sake, save your damn work.

P.S Do this GitHub crash course from Corbin Brown.

The Humans Who Kept Me Sane

When I first got into GenAI, I read everything.

Then came the courses, the ones from the same companies pushing theses tools on us all.

I also joined a local bootcamp to see how South Africans were navigating this time.

Did 60+ LinkedIn courses.
A full Python bootcamp.
(I’m still a beginner, but I do love this language.)

Then I found 100 Days of No-Code, and well, Just wow! 😍

That was a BIG BIG Moment.

Daily tools. Every day “locking in” as the GenZ tribe say.

And yes, a time of great confidence building.

Max Haining and Harold, two of the most genuien humans online.

I did their AI Coding Bootcamp and fell for the Replit agent.

After this, I met the 9x trio.

If you’re wanting to know ALL about building with GenAI, guys even with no experience, their courses are gold. 🔥🔥🔥

They give away so much, including the “No-Code Ops Crash Course”, and yes, I’ve done it six times and counting :)

Whether you're building a landing page or a full CRM, I feel that they really help you see why no-coding helps turbo charge all your staff into next level RevOps Gurus.

Sobriety —>6 Months In

Just before Jan 1st of this year, I felt pulled to stop drinking.
The one glass of red (okay it was more like 2), at the end of the day, because jeepers, “I deserved it!”

What my body deserved was to be thanked for supporting me that day with nourishment, not ethanol.

And so, I decided to treat this journey of sobriety, as an experiment.

What was it, that alcohol was actually doing for me?

Turns out, it’s a thief.

It steals your time, clarity of mind, and overall discipline.
It lies, as it promises you a peaceful sleep, at night time.

Now-a-days, I sleep like the dead.

Whereas before, I slept like a restless newborn.

Alcohol kept me in a pattern of association, that I’m thankfully free from.

Why did I decide to do this?

Well for one, I wanted to teach yoga again.

To Teach GenAI Workshops & Yogic Retreats.

Make sure you remember your WHY and hold onto it :)

P.S Here is my new GenAI Business site, called “Ease into AI”

So Where Am I Now?

The new ME now runs retreats (one of which is nearly all booked out).

In August of this year, I start to study sports massage, where I intend to specialise in fascia and lymph drainage.

I will continue to teach Gen AI, as I do love reading and re-telling the GenAI stories in a way that feel relatable and real, especially to parents, teachers, and teens.

Anyhow let me end off here, but reminding you that holding onto old versions of yourself, leaves no room for all that awaits you, and wants to bring your dreams into real life.

JOMO Over FOMO

JOMO = Joy of Missing Out

Miss trying to read every single newsletter.
Skip that after work, workshop.
Give yourself some space.

Because how can you grow, when there’s no time to do so?

I said no to a beach walk with a friend, and chose a few quiet hours instead.

Because so much of what we take on, is never really about the starting.

It’s ALL in the finishing.

And above all, knowing yourself.

That’s the real work.

As Tolkien reminds us:

“Not all who wander are lost.”

So, go and get lost in your own creative space.

That’s where the magic you’re chasing actually lives.

P.S Come get lost in my Cederberg Retreat this September

Changing is Okay

I used to keep this Rumi quote in my email signature:

"Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart."

Even back then, I knew this moment was coming.

My husband sees me shift in real time, stepping away from the business we built, that allowed us to watch our boys grow up, from our work from home offices.

Its okay & normal, to be scared as the old fades away.

But I keep on reminding him:
I’m not running.
I’m waking up…and at 43 doing the work, I was always supposed to be doing.

Sacrifice = Part of the Deal

There will be sacrifices.

BUT, you will also then create the VERY life you want more than anything else.

Anyhow, If you’ve made it this far, bless your eyeballs.

Until next month.

Blessings Always,
Nix G
from a very wet and chilly Cape Town