What's on Your Mind?

Work is full of potential rejection. Ask a colleague for a favor, and they may refuse. Apply for a job, and you may not get it. Seek a promotion, and you may be passed over. Submit a proposal to a client, and it may not be accepted. One key part of success is to be willing to learn from these failures, rather than to be paralyzed by them. Yet, you may find it hard to get over a rejection. Before you can learn anything from a failure, you first have to get beyond the emotions associated with rejection. Dealing with rejection sensitivity The first question you have to ask is whether a particular rejection is bothering you, or whether rejection in general is a pro…

Giving money away has never been so easy—thanks to AI. Daffy, a platform that facilitates charitable giving, is rolling out a suite of new AI-powered tools that’s making it easier than ever to donate to charity. So easy, in fact, that a Daffy user can feel like a billionaire making a quick donation to their chosen charity without having to fill out forms, mail checks, or any of the other tedium that can slow the giving process down—simply hit a button, or make a verbal command, and make a donation. Specifically, Daffy’s new tools include a Quick Donate feature, which converts free text or voice commands into an immediate donation. Daffy will need some direction (u…

When the Eaton Fire burned through Altadena in January, Patricia Lopez-Gutierrez and her children had to flee from the house they’d been renting for a decade. Lopez-Gutierrez also lost work: She’s a housecleaner, and her clients lost their own homes in the fire. “I’ve been here for 18 years, and I really don’t want to leave this area,” she said through a translator. “My children and their schools are here. I’m trying to get more work so I don’t have to leave.” As she struggles to pay her bills—including at her rental house, which ended up surviving the fire but was so heavily damaged by smoke that she’s desperate to find a new place to live—she turned to St. Vince…

In 2021, Eugene Kashuk was looking for a new venture. The Ukrainian entrepreneur realized in the wake of the pandemic that there was a large gap in education. Students were lagging behind, particularly in math. Kashuk started Brighterly, a platform that connects math teachers from all across the globe with students in the United States for private tutoring. Brighterly offers private lessons for $20 per 45-minute lesson—much cheaper than the average rate of about $40 per hour in the United States. In part, Brighterly is able to keep costs down because it uses AI to generate lessons so teachers are able to use their time to focus on their student instead of coming…

When you describe it in words, the Indianapolis 500 might seem like a boring watch: Cars go round and round an oval track 200 times, totaling 500 miles over the course of a few hours. But if you were a driver, you’d be having a hell of a different experience. Think screaming speeds of 230 miles per hour, pulling 4 Gs on corners, with one’s reflexes and split-second decisions drawing a thin line between victory and tragedy . . . over the course of a few hours. It’s a level of intensity that TV networks have been trying to bring viewers into for years with in-car cameras and things like driver radio communiques. It has been working. Last year, NBC—which covered the spec…

Building trust and forming meaningful relationships within teams can be a daunting task for leaders, especially when time is limited. Through our research, we identified a streamlined approach that Generators—the type of leader that people want to work for, known for creating strong, collaborative environments—use to foster relationships quickly. We call it the SWIFT process, an acronym that guides leaders in cultivating meaningful connections. The SWIFT process entails: Setting aside time for relationship-building sprints Welcoming others warmly Intentionally inquiring about others’ lives Following up with thoughtful questions Taking time to self-ref…

The U.K. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a woman is someone born biologically female, excluding transgender people from the legal definition in a long-running dispute between a feminist group and the Scottish government. Several women’s groups that supported the appeal celebrated outside court and hailed it as a major victory in their effort to protect spaces designated for women. “Everyone knows what sex is and you can’t change it,” said Susan Smith, codirector of For Women Scotland, which brought the case. “It’s common sense, basic common sense and the fact that we have been down a rabbit hole where people have tried to deny science and to deny reality and hopefull…

If you’re trying to keep an eye on March Madness but you still need to get some actual work done, Google’s Picture-in-Picture Extension feels like a secret weapon. This free Chrome browser extension lets you move any video into a resizable, floating window that sits on top of anything else you’re doing. It’s perfect for keeping the games on in the background while still doing other things on your computer. How to use the Picture-in-Picture Extension Start by downloading the picture-in-picture extension from the Chrome Web Store. In addition to Google Chrome, it also works with most other Chromium-based browsers, including Brave, Vivaldi, Opera, Arc, and Microso…

U.S. TikTok Shop employees received a memo on Tuesday, recommending staff to work from home Wednesday ahead of “difficult decisions.” The memo, which was earlier reported by Bloomberg, told staff they would be updated on “organizational and personnel changes” via email, followed by HR outreach, suggesting possible layoffs. TikTok Shop, the Chinese-owned company’s marketplace feature launched in 2023 in the U.S., allowing users to shop for products in the app. The marketplace—which hosts everything from popular US brands like Crocs, to third-party merchandise in the likes of Temu and Shein— hit $100 million in single day sales on Black Friday alone. “TikTok Sh…

This nondescript piece of home decor is about the size of a narrow bookshelf, and it looks like a vertical soundbar speaker. In reality, it’s a new home fitness device—and it hides a gym’s worth of workout machines. Amp is a $1,995 home fitness device that streamlines the clunkiness of a cable-based workout machine into the form of a thin, wall-mounted home accessory. It’s now available to pre-order for $99. Just six feet tall and one foot deep, Amp consists of a vertical mounted bar with a movable arm that pivots off the side and serves as the main workout interface. Unlike the typical gym machine with a stack of weights attached to a cable, Amp’s single cable interf…

As the geographic center of Indianapolis, Monument Circle is in many ways the heart of the city. The 284-foot Soldiers and Sailors Monument towering in the middle is a beloved local landmark, and the plaza and fountain around its base has been a gathering place since it opened in 1902. But the way most people experience it is through the window of a car. Monument Circle is technically a traffic circle, which means the center of the city is little more than a place for cars to drive. The past couple of years, however, have shown another possibility. Since 2023, from June through November, part of the traffic circle has been closed to cars and converted into Spark on th…

OpenAI is introducing image generation directly within ChatGPT. Powered by its flagship multimodal model, GPT-4o, the chatbot can now create visuals straight from the chat interface. The feature will initially be available to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Team, and free users. Enterprise and Education tier users will get access soon. “Today we have one of the most fun, cool things we have ever launched . . . native images in ChatGPT,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said at the beginning of a video stream Tuesday. Altman acknowledged that the feature had been highly anticipated—especially since competitors like Google Gemini have offered integrated image generation since mid-2024. …

A number of big-name tech companies have announced or are said to be planning layoffs this month, in continuation of a trend we saw in February. March 2025’s most prominent tech layoffs include those from Jack Dorsey’s fintech company Block, online meal kit company HelloFresh, server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), social media giant TikTok, and retailer Wayfair’s technology division. Here’s what you need to know. Jack Dorsey’s Block lays off over 900 workers Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s latest company, Block, has announced that it will cut 931 jobs. Block owns the popular fintech app and platforms Cash App and Square. The 931 laid-off workers represent ab…

After filing for bankruptcy protection and being nearly obliterated in the process, discount retail chain Big Lots is getting closer to determining the timeline for its path forward, the brand’s new owner has confirmed with Fast Company. Variety Wholesalers, the North Carolina-based retail company that is seeking to take control of hundreds of Big Lots locations—mostly in the South and Midwest—now has a tentative plan in place for the “soft openings” of many of those stores, according to a spokesperson. Although a bankruptcy filing earlier this month identified 200 locations that are expected to be transferred to Variety, not all of the stores have been assigned y…

One of the world’s most iconic and controversial maps just got a major redesign. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York has unveiled the final version of an updated map of its subway system, marking the first time the map has had a full redesign since 1979. It’s a visually bold, user-centric design that, according to the MTA, will make it easier for people to understand where they’re going and how to use the system. The new maps are expected to be installed in train cars and stations over the next few weeks. The map features bright, color-coded lines for each train line, which criss-cross a stylized map of the city in horizontal, vertical, and dia…

Nations are trying to reach an agreement to charge commercial vessels a fee for their emissions in what would effectively be the world’s first global carbon tax. The International Maritime Organization, which regulates international shipping, set a target for the sector to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by about 2050, and committed to ensuring that fuels with zero or near-zero emissions are used more widely. Its Marine Environment Protection Committee meets Monday through Friday in London. The committee, comprised of IMO member states, is working to approve proposed new global regulations to put a price on maritime greenhouse gas emissions and to set a ma…

In early March, New York City subway riders noticed a new development at the West 4th Street station, near Manhattan’s Washington Square Park. Construction workers for New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority were photographed removing a bench on the station’s platform and replacing it with a curving metal structure. Looking a bit like an oversized shaving razor with two handles, the metal object is known as a leaning rail or a leaning rail. Its horizontal face, slightly tilted and about three feet off the ground, is intended as a place for subway riders to lean their backsides while they wait for a train. Comment byu/thrilsika from discussion innycrail G…

The historic Buffalo Trace Distillery has temporarily closed after deadly flooding ravaging Kentucky swept into its facilities, forcing the popular bourbon company to turn away the public and staff. In a statement released on Sunday, the Frankfort, Kentucky-based distillery said it would remain closed through April 10 but warned that date could change. “Due to the unprecedented and ongoing rain and flooding, we are not able to advise on the impact to our total distillery footprint,” Buffalo Trace said. “We will assess those realities in the coming days as the facilities become safe to navigate and will make necessary adjustments to operations as required.” A s…

According to new research from Whop, a marketplace for digital products, one in three Gen Z consumers now make purchasing decisions based on recommendations from AI-generated influencers. The report gathered survey data from 2,001 Americans 12-to-27 years old and found the trend particularly strong among college-aged consumers. Nearly half of 19-to-21 year olds follow AI influencers, with 47% of young men following these accounts, compared to under 40% of women. While many have argued that AI influencers lack the authenticity needed to sell products, that might not matter—especially to Gen Z. Authenticity vs reach Previous research backs this up. Nearly h…

Almost half of Americans have considered or plan to move abroad to improve their happiness, according to a Harris poll published today. Specifically, the poll found that four in 10 Americans have at least thought about leaving the country within the next few years. And among Gen Z and millennials, almost one in five respondents reported “seriously considering” an imminent move. The results show that Americans are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the “American Dream” as the cost of essentials like rent, healthcare, and education continues to rise. Here are three main takeaways from the poll: Home ownership and cost of living are top of mind Per…

In 1983, six businessmen got together and opened the first Hooters restaurant in Clearwater, Florida. Hooters of America LLC quickly became a restaurant chain success story. With its scantily clad servers and signature breaded wings, the chain sells sex appeal in addition to food—or as one of the company’s mottos puts it: “You can sell the sizzle, but you have to deliver the steak.” It inspired a niche restaurant genre called “breastaurants,” with eateries such as the Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery and Twin Peaks replicating Hooters’ busty business model. A decade ago, business was booming for breastaurant chains, with these companies experiencing record sales growt…

Han Jong-Hee, a senior Samsung Electronics executive credited with elevating the company’s television business, died Tuesday, the company said. He was 63. Han, a co-chief executive who oversaw the company’s consumer electronics and mobile devices businesses, died at a hospital after being treated for a heart attack, Samsung said. Han joined Samsung in 1988 and spent most of his career in TV-related divisions, during which the company became the world’s leading TV manufacturer. He was appointed co-vice chairman and CEO in 2022. Samsung, one of the world’s largest technology companies, has dual strengths in components and finished consumer products. The company had separ…

If your company is losing Gen Z talent, chances are, the problem isn’t them—it’s you. The phrase “quiet quitting” has become a catch-all for blaming Gen Z workers for workplace disengagement. Older generations stereotype them as unmotivated, unwilling to go the extra mile, and too demanding. But here’s the reality: Gen Z isn’t disengaged—they’re just done tolerating bad leadership. My research, including surveys, interviews, and case studies across industries, shows that what many have labelled “quitting” is actually a rational response to workplaces that lack fairness, structure, and alignment with employee values. Instead of writing off an entire generation, le…

One of China’s largest server makers, H3C, has flagged potential shortages of Nvidia’s H20 chip, the most advanced AI processor legally available domestically under U.S. export controls, in a client notice seen by Reuters. The potential supply crunch could create obstacles for China’s artificial intelligence ambitions at a time when its tech firms are aggressively expanding their investments in AI. “H20’s international supply chain faces significant uncertainties,” the company said in Tuesday’s notice, adding that current inventory was nearly depleted. Geopolitical tension that is roiling global trade and supply of key materials was responsible for the uncertainty…