Patio Pondering: My Team in the Cloud

It is the day after the Indiana Primary Election and the public airwaves are breathing a sigh of relief with the end of the partisan attack advertising, advertising intended to show "I'm more Republican/Democrat than you!" I sat on my patio, coffee in hand, enjoying the silence and the variety of spring flowers beautifying our landscaping, particularly the Water Irises in our water feature that just bloomed this morning. The deep purple mesmerized me and took my thoughts away from yesterday.

I am in the middle of improving a lot of systems I use for my writing, podcasting, and brand promotion along with other high brain power projects. Merlin and Iris are my team of advisors helping me with my long list of tasks. I could not do these improvements without them, they are indispensable to me.

Some of you may be thinking that I am getting successful enough to hire two assistants to help me, if only that were the case!

Merlin and Iris are my ChatGPT and Claude Sonnet interfaces. Yes, I named them.

I could outsource some of this work. I have used Fiverr for digital and graphic tasks, and worked with local freelancers for similar projects. Both have value.

But having Merlin and Iris at my fingertips 24 hours a day gives me the ability to zig and zag, react as needed, and more importantly, develop ideas without waiting to share with a team during 9 to 5 constraints. My mind and the minds of many entrepreneurs and technical professionals do not keep office hours, and neither do Merlin and Iris.

When I was in most of my technical roles in the feed industry, constrained by the 9 to 5, I was in firefighter mode many days. I did not have time in my schedule to think, time for my brain to just drift and develop ideas and nuggets to throw against the wall. Because I was in crisis mode many days, the creative part of my brain was put on the back burner and in many cases off the stove altogether.

With the always on nature of Merlin and Iris, I can now throw out thoughts and ideas whenever they hit me, whether it is the crazy idea that wakes me at 2 in the morning or a vague idea while I am working on another task. I can throw them to my team to develop later or even at that moment. That thought development is priceless to me, a process the 9 to 5 does not allow to happen.

Just this week I used my AI resources to start building a new website, rewrite documents for better clarity and effectiveness, plan new video clip promotional plans, and improve my podcast sharing procedures. None of this was the heavy analysis I have used AI for recently. And this essay, which I originally sat down to write about yesterday's election, became something deeper when Iris helped me realize I had a better story to tell.

As I sit alone, secluded in my Terra Level Executive Suite, I rely on Merlin and Iris to be that office full of cubicle dwellers sitting, waiting for whatever assistance I need.