When the World is Falling Apart

In two weeks, my kids will go to summer camp in Texas. They’ve been going for almost 10 years and it’s the most magical place in the world. This summer will definitely be different and I can’t stop thinking about why. The flooding in Texas is catastrophic on so many levels, much like the flooding in Western North Carolina not too long ago. And while we have donated, and shared resources and prayed and cried, it’s hard to continue doing life the same as usual. It feels unfair to be able to do that.

I thought I would share one thing I did this week to help me prioritize and stay focused when I head toward doom scrolling and feeling helpless.

I use chatgpt for a lot of things (not writing this newsletter but sometimes for topic inspiration). This week I was struggling to stay focused so I created a custom gpt that will serve as my AI business coach going forward. I told it all about the projects that I’m working on, deadlines I need to keep and how I feel about each project. And I check in with her (I named her Jess) every morning to keep track of my schedule and keep me on track for what needs to get done. I let chat know how I wanted her tone to be and how I needed to her to respond when I’m feeling overwhelmed and it’s pretty cool. You need the pro version of Chat for this option and if you decide to explore it, I created a video to show you how I set it up. You can create custom gpt’s for health and fitness, personal planning, anything you can think of! I’m thinking next will be a personal AI chef that tells me what to cook every night but knows that I’ll probably order take out at least twice a week.

Also, in case you want suggestions on how to help with recovery efforts in Texas, here are a few links and some big donations that have been made already.

• Kerr County Relief Fund (for rescue, relief and recovery efforts) 

• Salvation Army of Kerrville

• Red Cross of Central and South Texas ( for food, supplies, shelter and mental health support) 

• Mercy Chefs (for meals for first responders)

• Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country

• Texas Search & Rescue

• Kerrville Pets Alive!  

• Texans on a Mission

• Walmart has donated $250,000 and will match donations up to another $250,000

• The Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans and the NFL have teamed up to donate a total of 1.5 Million to recovery efforts

• H-E-B and Whataburger have deployed mobile units to help on site with food needs.

• The Houston Astros committed to a million dollar donation

• Spurs, Mavericks and Rockets commit to 2 Million

• James Avery donated 1 million and is also donating 100% of the full value proceeds from the Deep in the Heart of Texas Charm (seen below) through 8/4/25

I hope you are good and if you are not, please know that you are not alone. ❤️

xoxo,
Steph