AI for Breakfast

Chris Witham • May 16, 2024

Post 120 - Thought Thursday - GPT-4o


As you may know if you've been following this blog, Thursday became ‘Thought Thursday’ where I ask an AI for a thought of the day and get it to give me some info and a summary.

Today's post from the latest version of ChatGPT is an interesting one because all I asked in my prompt was ‘Thought of the day please’ and this is how it went:


ChatGPT

"Embrace the beauty of progress over perfection. Each small step forward is a victory in itself."


Let's tackle today with a mindset focused on continuous improvement and celebrating every achievement, no matter how small.


Me

Who said it?


ChatGPT

I came up with that one myself! If you're looking for an inspirational quote by someone else, here's one I like:


"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." — Winston Churchill


It's a great reminder to keep moving forward regardless of the challenges we face.


So it seems ChatGPT is now a reasonably capable philosopher! I find this pretty amazing, however, I thought I better check so I gave ChatGPT's quote to Perplexity to see if in fact someone else said it, seems not, and Perplexity came up with the following, which is good to know in conjunction with ChatGPT's wise words!


Perplexity AI

Progress is a beautiful journey that we should embrace and celebrate every step of the way. Perfection is an illusion that can hold us back, but focusing on consistent progress empowers us to keep moving forward. Each small step in the right direction, no matter how tiny, is a victory worth acknowledging.

As the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wisely said, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."[17] When we have a big goal or dream, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by how far we have to go. But if we just focus on taking that first small step, and then the next, we will be amazed at how far those steps can take us over time.

Progress is not always linear. There will be ups and downs, twists and turns. But if we stay committed to constant improvement, we will make progress. As the author and motivational speaker Tony Robbins puts it, "Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out."[5]

Embracing a progress mindset frees us from the pressure and disappointment of chasing perfection. When we celebrate each small win, we build momentum and motivation to keep going. A 1% improvement every day may not seem like much, but compounded over a year that becomes a 37x improvement![18]

Ultimately, life is not about reaching a perfect destination, but rather enjoying and growing from the journey. As the actress Jameela Jamil beautifully states, "I don't want to be perfect. I want to be improving. I want to be evolving. I want to be moving forward."

So let's embrace the beauty of progress in all areas of our lives. Let's be kind to ourselves and honor how far we've come.
Every small step forward is taking us in the right direction. Progress, not perfection, is the path to a fulfilling life. As the author Neil Gaiman reminds us, "Take it step by step, and you'll get where you want to be."[11]

Citations:
[1] https://www.beardbrand.com/blogs/urbanbeardsman/progress-over-perfection
[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2021/05/11/progress-over-perfection-a-mantra-for-hr-and-leadership/
[3] https://janetaylor.net/remembering-to-choose-progress-over-perfection/
[4] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/first-5-steps-embracing-progress-over-perfection-forge-bel-lloyd
[5] http://aware-ae.com/how-to-focus-on-progress-over-perfection/
[6] https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/small-steps.html
[7] https://caseinterview.com/progress-over-perfection
[8] https://www.thejournallife.co.uk/blog/baby-steps-are-better-than-no-steps
[9] https://www.lifehack.org/816187/moving-forward
[10] https://www.lisamasiello.com/insights-blog/embrace-change
[11] https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/taking-life-stride-top-10-inspiring-one-step-time-quotes-motivate-journey
[12] https://janetaylor.net/quotes-to-inspire-you-to-take-small-simple-steps-each-day/
[13] https://maestrolearning.com/blogs/progress-over-perfection/
[14] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/trust-process-goal-benefits-embracing-journey-johnsson-
[15] https://www.adam-eason.com/10-ways-you-benefit-from-embracing-uncertainty/
[16] https://aicontentfy.com/en/blog/benefits-of-embracing-failure-and-learning-from-mistakes-in-startups
[17] https://teamgenie.com/5-key-benefits-of-embracing-team-coaching-for-organisational-change/
[18] https://hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of-small-wins
[19] https://www.redlinegroup.com/insight-details/the-advantages-of-embracing-an-underdog-mentality
[20] https://www.oxfordaqa.com/news/the-benefits-of-embracing-student-centred-learning/

Lines of colorful computer code on a dark background.
By Chris Witham December 11, 2025
Where AI really helps your Business If you spend any time on LinkedIn or X, you’ll have seen bold claims about how AI can help you build software in a matter of days. There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of big promises, and a fair bit of confusion for business owners trying to work out what’s real. A new term doing the rounds is “Vibe Coding” —the idea of describing what you want to an AI assistant and having it generate the code for you. It’s becoming popular because it can move things forward quickly and help people explore ideas they wouldn’t have been able to create alone. And the truth is, it does have its place. The challenge isn’t the technique. It’s the expectation that AI will automatically deliver finished, reliable, production-ready tools without any real design or thinking behind them. AI accelerates the work you already do well Used properly, AI can: • Remove huge amounts of repetitive work • Speed up drafting and iteration • Generate working prototypes in hours • Help non-technical people explore ideas • Improve documentation, planning and communication This is where it shines. But it still needs clarity, structure, and well-designed processes around it. It’s like having a very fast assistant rather than a fully formed development team. Why many AI projects don’t deliver what people expect Independent research this year showed a clear pattern: • Many early AI initiatives failed to produce measurable business value • Companies abandoned AI ideas because they couldn’t scale or integrate them • The gap between an impressive demo and a reliable tool is larger than people thought This doesn’t mean AI is overhyped. It means teams jumped straight to execution without the groundwork. The technology isn’t the issue. It’s the approach. Small businesses don’t need Enterprise Platforms Most UK small businesses don’t need to build a full software product. What they actually need is: • Better workflows • Faster content generation • Clearer communication • Improved customer support • Tools that reflect the way they work • Consistency and repeatability AI is perfect for this. A custom GPT trained on your tone, your documents and your processes can become: • A writing assistant • A customer support helper • A knowledge base navigator • An internal guide for staff • A quality-control layer • A process automator No engineering team needed. No complex infrastructure. No stress. Where AI builds real value right now AI works best when it’s part of a thoughtful, guided approach: • Define the outcome you want • Build a lightweight prototype (AI helps here) • Add structure, rules and guardrails • Connect it to your real workflow • Test it with real users or staff • Iterate until it feels natural You can still move fast. You just avoid building something brittle that breaks the moment it’s needed. The key insight: AI doesn’t replace expertise, it amplifies it AI is at its strongest when someone knowledgeable decides: • What it should do • What it shouldn’t do • How it should behave • What tone it should use • How it fits into the business • What checks and constraints matter That’s where tools like custom GPTs genuinely shine. They’re not software products in the traditional sense. They’re flexible assistants shaped around your business. With the right design, they can save huge amounts of time and deliver consistent, practical value without any of the complexity of building a full system. A more useful way to think about AI in 2026 Instead of “AI will build everything for you”, a healthier mindset is: AI speeds up the work, but you set the direction. For small businesses, that’s more than enough to make a real difference.
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