Four “AI leadership anchors” to help you maintain control while clarifying and deepening your own thinking.
How To Get Out Of Student Loan Default
How To Get Out Of Student Loan Default
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Hotel Management Course ke fayde 😍 #shorts
Career in Hotel Management and what is Hotel Management Course?
Iss video meh hum aapko ek Career Roadmap dege for Hotel Management jahan pe hum aapko btayege ki hotel industry ki basic requirements, advantages & disadvantages, hotel management courses (educations, fees, degree & diploma), departments, jobs, professional life (India vs Abroad), and iss field ka scope kya hai hindi meh!
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[Targeted] Renew Costco Membership & Get $45 Shop Card
![[Targeted] Renew Costco Membership & Get $45 Shop Card](https://globalinvestmentstrategy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-02-at-12.22.34-AM-1024x302-768x227.png "[Targeted] Renew Costco Membership & Get $45 Shop Card")
The Offer
Direct Link to offer (note: this is a targeted offer)
- Costco is sending some people (with an expired membership) a postcard or email with an offer to get a $45 Shop Card when they renew membership with auto-renew turned on.
The Fine Print
- Valid only for select memberships that expired between August 2024 – May 2025
- Offer expires November 30, 2025
- To qualify you must have a membership that expired August 2024 to May 2025 and have received a promotion postcard or email.
- To receive a Digital Costco Shop Card, you must provide a valid email address and set up auto renewal of your Costco membership on a Visa credit/debit card or Mastercard debit card at the time of sign-up. If you elect not to enroll in auto renewal at the time of sign-up, incentives will not be owed.
- Digital Costco Shop Card will be emailed to the email address provided by the Primary Member at time of sign-up within 2 weeks after successful sign-up and enrollment in auto renewal.
Our Verdict
Nice deal here for renewal. Typically the deals are only for new members who have not been a member for more than 18 months, so it’s nice to see this deal directly from Costco for those whose membership is more recently expired.
Hat tip to SD
This founder went from designing Happy Meal toys to making prosthetic skulls for a living—and her company now rakes in $20 million a year
Happy Meal toys like Transformer figurines and Hot Wheels cars have sparked joy with little kids for decades—and now, one of the designers behind the miniatures is changing lives for thousands of people. Dallas-based entrepreneur Nancy Hairston founded MedCAD, a surgical solutions company, in 2007—and in the decades since, its 3D-printing innovations have helped patients recognize themselves in the mirror again.
But before Hairston was building skull implants, she spent most of her career in the design world. When she graduated art school with a sculpture MFA from Loyola University in 1991, she had a rude awakening: She couldn’t find any open jobs for what she wanted to pursue. Meanwhile, 3D animation was all the rage at the time, so Hairston pivoted and took on a litany of modeling and animation jobs, from Mary Kay cosmetics to software company Alias. Eventually, she landed in the toy industry. The tactile practice of sculpting in clay was now being done digitally on a computer, which meant designing in 3D—and major corporations were wanting it to manufacture everything from toys to shoes.
“It was as if a lightning bolt hit me,” Hairston tells Fortune, speaking of the first time she entered the 3D-modeling world. “That was [all] the rage. That was the tool to use. So I started doing Happy Meal toys and Bratz toys for Mattel.”
However, the late 2000s changed things: The entrepreneur says her peers’ roles were all heading to Asia, leaving behind medical and aerospace work as the main points of entry in the U.S. Luckily, Hairston was already recognizing the potential for 3D modeling in healthcare—so she quit her “sensible” 9-to-5 job and launched MedCAD.
“It was thrilling and scary, but I saw the opportunity because the technology was so new,” Hairston recalls.
The call from a surgeon that changed Hairston’s life
She had already started tinkering with anatomy modeling, adapting the toy-development software she’d used for orthognathic surgery applications like jaw and teeth repairs. By the time 2009 came around, she built a business plan to get FDA clearance. And younger surgeons—who grew up exposed to advanced tech and 3D animation, Hairston says—were starting to take note as word spread of her innovations.
Then, Hairston’s phone rang. The ensuing call would alter the trajectory of her career.
“[I had] one of those pivotal moments in your life, where your whole world changes. I got a phone call from a surgeon that I knew, and he said, ‘Hey, you know, do you think you could make me a cranial implant?’” Hairston says. “And that’s how it started.”
MedCAD went on to fill the unmet needs of patients with small to large deformities stemming from trauma-related injuries or physical abnormalities. Skull implants have continued to be a huge part of the business, but the company has since expanded into other areas of the body such as foot, ankle, and facial reconstruction products, all conceptualized with 3D designs.
“We were some of the earliest people doing it,” Hairston continues. “There’s a fantastic thread to all of this is, that we are able to bring a person back as much as we can to a normalized state with a lot less surgeries. [Patients are] waking up with the ability to have teeth implants after they heal. That’s the power of this technology—we can do a more holistic approach to reconstructing a foot or a face.”
Scaling MedCAD to upwards of $20 million in annual revenue
Since founding MedCAD nearly two decades ago, the company has continued to grow in the 3D-implant space. The company tells Fortune it has achieved profitability and boasts an annual revenue estimated to be between $10 million and $20 million this year and in 2026, but did not specify exactly how much it’s making in annual profit. Cranial and neuro products are a key growth driver, experiencing 18% to 25% growth year-over-year since 2022. It’s also ramping up a direct-to-hospital strategy, but a majority of its revenue comes from long-term contracts with global medical leaders needing implants and medical devices.
Despite having a successful run in toy-designing and founding a profitable business, Hairston says she’s most energized by the difference her implants make in peoples’ lives. Sparking joy among little kids with her McDonald’s toys and Bratz dolls was one achievement, but she’s making even more waves for thousands of medical patients hoping to feel whole again.
“Toys are really fun for children, but they’re not played with for long,” Hairston says. “We can really make a difference making these kinds of products for humans that change their lives. That gave me a lot of the power and the passion to do it.”
There’s No Such Thing as ‘Best Practices’ When It Comes to Family Enterprise Governance
Each enterprise is as unique as the family that leads it, and thus requires customized structures.
Weak GDP adds to slowdown signs, but not enough to spur more BoC cuts
Canada’s real gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.3% in August, well below economists’ expectations for no change. The decline erased most of July’s 0.3% rebound, Statistics Canada noted.
Declines were seen in a dozen industries, StatCan reported, with utilities (-2.3%), transportation and warehousing (-1.7%) and wholesale trade (-1.2%) posting the largest drops.
The weak GDP reading adds to signs the broader economy is losing momentum. Canada’s unemployment rate held at 7.1% in September, while youth unemployment climbed to 14.7%, the highest since 2010 outside of the pandemic years.
“The Canadian economy was no treat in August amid a few special factors and the ongoing drag from trade/tariff uncertainty,” says BMO’s Benjamin Reitzes. “While those one-time factors should reverse—and the Blue Jays playoff run will likely provide a lift to October—the economy is expected to struggle until there’s more certainty on trade.”
Despite the disappointing August figures, there are early signs the economy may have regained a bit of ground heading into the fall. Advance estimates for September show a slight increase of 0.1%, and a 0.1% uptick for the third quarter of 2025.
Economists see high bar for additional rate cuts
With the Bank of Canada lowering its policy rate to 2.25% on Wednesday and signalling it’s now “at about the right level” to keep inflation near 2% while supporting the economy’s adjustment, economists don’t expect any further cuts this year.
TD’s Marc Ercolao said trade-related pressures continue to weigh on growth, with third-quarter GDP tracking a modest 0.4% annualized—consistent with TD’s and the Bank of Canada’s forecasts. While the effects of tariffs are becoming clearer, he noted additional easing isn’t in the cards given the current expectations.
“For now, the growth backdrop is expected to remain weak and gradually recover over the medium-term,” he wrote. “As such, we maintain our view that the BoC has reached the end of their interest rate easing cycle after delivering a 25 bps cut this week.”
Most economists share that view, expecting the Bank of Canada to hold rates steady for the rest of the year.
Reitzes added that further cuts are unlikely unless a deeper slowdown “spooks the Bank of Canada after this week’s messaging,” though he noted that “risks remain skewed to the downside” following August’s weak GDP reading.
CIBC’s Andrew Grantham struck a similar tone but cautioned that growth will need to improve if the central bank is to maintain that pause through next year, as his team currently projects.
He added that policymakers may be “slightly scared by the apparent lack of momentum towards the end of the quarter,” as the pickup in fourth-quarter growth they projected now looks less likely.
Following the weaker-than-expected GDP report, the loonie slipped 0.3% to $0.71 US. Bond markets also reacted, with the five-year Government of Canada yield falling 2 bps to 2.64%.
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Last modified: October 31, 2025
Can You Settle Student Loan Debt For Less Than You Owe?
Key Points
- Settling federal student loans for less than you owe is rare and usually happens only after default.
- Private student loan settlements are more common but can severely damage your credit and carry tax consequences.
- Most borrowers are better off exploring income-driven repayment or forgiveness programs before attempting settlement.
Settling a student loan means negotiating with your lender or servicer to accept a lump-sum payment that is less than the current balance owed. In other words, you pay part of your debt in exchange for the lender agreeing to forgive the rest.
This can sound appealing, especially if your balance has ballooned from years of interest or collection fees. But settlements are extremely limited (especially for federal loans) and often come with long-term costs.
Here’s what to know about settling your student loans.
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Can You Settle Federal Loans For Less Than You Owe?
While you can technically settle your federal loans — whether they are FFEL or Direct Loans that are in default — it’s highly unlikely that you will be able to. Why? Federal loans are money owed to the U.S. Taxpayer. As such, Congress sets the rules by which you can settle, and there are just too many ways the US government can collect from you once you’re in default.
They can garnish your wages, take your tax refunds, garnish your Social Security, or go after other federal benefits. They don’t need court approval to begin wage garnishment, either, like private loan owners do.
In fact, the Department of Education issues no public guidelines on settling federal loans because they do not want to encourage anyone to do so.
However, the Education Department does issue internal guidelines to their contracted collection agencies and guaranty agencies. (Guaranty agencies are organizations that guarantee FFELP loans against default and often service them as well, like AES.)
This Department of Education guideline memo to guaranty agencies from 1993 states that guaranty agencies are permitted to “compromise” or settle the loan under certain conditions and up to certain amounts.
Those allowable settlement or compromise offers are:
- Waiver of debt collection fees
- 50% waiver of interest and fees
- 90% of principal and interest
But say you do decide to go this route, you have to be ready with a good offer to negotiate with the collection or guaranty agency. And realize, this is all based on your current loan balance – notice how none of the offers really lower what you actually borrowed.
Can You Settle Private Student Loans?
Private student loans, however, are a different story. These loans operate more like credit card debt – if you stop paying, the lender or a collection agency may be willing to negotiate.
When settlement might be possible:
- The loan is in default or has been charged off.
- The lender believes collecting the full amount is unlikely.
- You can make a lump-sum payment (often 40–70% of the total balance).
Example:
A borrower with a $20,000 private loan in collections might offer $10,000 in cash to close the account. The lender agrees, marks the debt as “settled,” and stops further collection.
While this can end the debt, it comes with downsides:
- Credit damage: A settled account remains on your credit report for up to seven years.
- Tax liability: The forgiven balance is typically considered taxable income.
- Lump-sum payment requirement: You’ll need to pay quickly, often within 90 days.
Strategic Default To Get A Settlement
Some people consider defaulting strategically for the purpose of settling their loan. While this may be a strategy towards success if everything goes right, you could easily wreck your credit, open yourself up for litigation from your lender, and not even get want you want out of your settlement deal.
You could accrue fees and interest along the way. And you may still be stuck with the loan in the end. This is definitely more of an option for private loans, but certainly not one we recommend.
How To Start Negotiating A Student Loan Settlement
We don’t recommend most people try to negotiate this themselves – this is where you want to get a student loan lawyer involved. But if you’re set on it, here’s some basic steps to get started:
- Confirm loan type. Use your Federal Student Aid dashboard (studentaid.gov) to verify whether your loans are federal or private.
- Contact your servicer or collection agency. Ask if they’re authorized to negotiate and what settlement terms might apply.
- Request all offers in writing. Never rely on a verbal agreement – ensure terms include payment amount, due date, and language that your balance will be satisfied.
- Consult a student loan attorney or certified financial counselor. Settlements can have major legal and tax consequences.
- Get proof of payment and closure. Keep records indefinitely in case the debt resurfaces.
Alternatives (That Are Likely Better)
For most borrowers, settlement should be a last resort. Other options can provide long-term relief without wrecking your credit.
Federal loans:
- Income-Driven Repayment (IDR): Caps payments at 10–20% of discretionary income and can lead to forgiveness after 20–25 years.
Private loans:
- Ask about temporary forbearance, hardship programs, or refinancing options before considering settlement.
These programs often reduce or pause payments without requiring default, helping protect your credit and long-term financial stability.
What To Watch Out For
Borrowers in default are some of the most heavily preyed on for student loan scams. Make sure you are watching out for these key things:
- Debt settlement companies: Many advertise that they can “erase your student loans for pennies.” Most cannot. Avoid anyone asking for upfront fees or guarantees.
- Tax surprises: The IRS generally treats forgiven debt as taxable income, unless you qualify for an exclusion such as insolvency. Run the tax bomb calculator to understand the impact.
- Default risks: Once you stop paying to pursue settlement, your credit score can plummet, and collection actions may escalate.
Always verify offers through your loan servicer or directly with the Department of Education.
FAQ
Can you settle federal student loans without defaulting?
No. Federal settlements are only considered after default, once the loan enters collections.
Is forgiven or settled debt taxable?
Yes. The canceled portion of a private loan is generally taxable as income, though insolvency exceptions may apply. Federal settlements may or may not trigger taxes depending on terms.
Can I negotiate a payment plan instead of a lump sum?
Occasionally, collection agencies may accept short-term installment settlements, but lump-sum offers are preferred.
How does settlement affect my credit?
The loan will be reported as “settled for less than the full balance,” which can lower your credit score for up to seven years.
Bottom Line
Settling student loan debt for less than you owe is possible, but it’s rare, risky, and often unnecessary. For most borrowers (especially those with federal loans) income-driven repayment, forgiveness programs, or rehabilitation offer better paths to long-term relief.
If you’re in default or overwhelmed by private loans, speak with your loan servicer or a student loan attorney before negotiating any settlement.
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Editor: Clint Proctor
Reviewed by: Chris Muller
The post Can You Settle Student Loan Debt For Less Than You Owe? appeared first on The College Investor.
Shadow AI Data Breaches Cost $670K More: Nexos.ai
According to the latest IBM report, organizations experiencing data breaches that involve shadow AI — unauthorized AI tools used by employees — face additional costs averaging $670,000 per incident, compared to standard breaches.
These findings align with a recent Cybernews survey, which shows 59% of employees use unapproved AI tools at work. Additionally, 75% of these employees share sensitive company and customer data with these unauthorized applications, creating a perfect storm of financial risk.
“Shadow AI isn’t just a security problem but a hidden financial liability waiting to materialize,” said Emanuelis Norbutas, chief technology officer at nexos.ai. “As many as 93% of executives use unapproved AI tools, making leadership, not rank-and-file employees, the biggest source of risk. What makes this situation particularly insidious is that the people responsible for preventing security risks are often the ones introducing them.
“Companies keep approaching this problem as a compliance issue when it’s actually a capability gap. When your approved tools create more friction than value, employees will inevitably choose productivity over policy, and your security framework becomes irrelevant. The real question isn’t whether employees will use AI — it’s whether they’ll use yours.”
Why shadow AI breaches become more expensive
The financial impact of shadow AI extends far beyond traditional security threats. IBM research reveals that 97% of organizations experiencing AI-related incidents lacked proper access controls. Organizations effectively using AI in their security operations identified and contained breaches 80 days faster than those not using these technologies, demonstrating that strategic AI adoption delivers measurable security benefits while uncontrolled shadow AI creates costly blind spots.
When shadow AI is involved, the damage spreads further and deeper than in typical breaches: 65% of these incidents result in the exposure of personally identifiable information, and 40% compromise intellectual property, often spreading across multiple environments and complicating forensic investigations.
“Shadow AI is not a tool problem, it’s a governance crisis,” Norbutas added. “We are talking about autonomous agents operating inside enterprise walls with no oversight. These systems plan and execute actions independently, but current AI is far from ready for direct deployment in such settings. Even consumer AI chat tools like ChatGPT or Gemini, which are commonplace in workplaces, can lead to leaks of sensitive data when employees paste proprietary information into them. Every action these systems take creates a new, unmonitored attack surface.”
Shadow AI incidents also lead to increased regulatory scrutiny, with fines more frequently targeting organizations lacking proper AI governance. Organizations with high levels of shadow AI faced average breach costs of $4.74 million, while those effectively integrating AI into their security operations saw costs decrease to $3.62 million. Organizations heavily utilizing security AI saved $1.9 million compared to those not using these technologies.
“The contrast couldn’t be clearer,” Norbutas added. “Strategic AI adoption reduces breach costs, while uncontrolled shadow AI drives them up. Companies that succeed don’t just block unsanctioned tools. They provide secure alternatives that employees actually prefer to use. You can’t policy your way out of this problem. You have to out-compete it with better options.”
Practical steps to eliminate the shadow AI tax
According to Norbutas, organizations can mitigate this risk and turn a liability into a competitive advantage by adopting a strategic, user-centric approach to AI governance.
Frame the risk in financial terms, not just security policy. Start by building a clear business case that moves beyond abstract security rules. When employees use unapproved AI, they risk exposing sensitive company data and valuable intellectual property. This reframes the conversation from a compliance issue to a direct threat to the bottom line.
Hold managers to account. Shadow AI thrives when managers quietly approve of unapproved tools, directly undermining top-down security policies. Leadership must close this gap by making it clear that productivity goals cannot come at the cost of security.
Offer a secure alternative that beats the rogue tool in effectiveness and applicability. Blocking unapproved tools doesn’t work. The only winning strategy is to offer a secure “sandbox” with powerful AI that employees prefer to use, turning a security risk into a managed asset.
Make governance a living system with clear ROI metrics. Move beyond static policies that quickly become irrelevant. A modern AI governance framework must be a “living” system, one that evolves with employee feedback and is tied directly to business value and return on investment.
Why Hope Is a Leadership Strategy
Overview
On this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, John Jantsch interviews Dr. Julia Garcia, psychologist, speaker, and author of “The Five Habits of Hope.” Julia shares how hope isn’t just a feeling—it’s a set of practical habits that anyone can build to move from survival to thriving. Drawing on research, client stories, and her own journey overcoming adversity, Dr. Garcia explains how reframing adversity, processing emotions, and building real community can turn even the darkest moments into sources of strength and innovation.
About the Guest
Dr. Julia Garcia is a psychologist, speaker, and author dedicated to making hope a practical tool for transformation. Through her Five Habits of Hope framework, she helps organizations, leaders, and individuals build resilience, process adversity, and foster cultures of belonging and growth.
Actionable Insights
- Hope is not just a mindset or emotion—it’s a set of learnable, repeatable habits that can be built by anyone, even in adversity.
- The Five Habits of Hope blend emotional processing, reframing adversity, building community, taking emotional risks, learning to release, and repurposing pain into purpose.
- Reframing adversity starts with replacing negative language and identities (“I’m worthless”) with healthier narratives (“I’m worth more” or “I’m also courageous”).
- Emotional risk isn’t about adrenaline—it’s about opening up, expressing emotion (even joy), and connecting with others despite the risk of rejection.
- Community and belonging are essential—loneliness can strike anyone, but habits of hope help build genuine connection and support.
- Release is essential: Letting go of what you’re holding—stress, pain, pressure—creates space for growth and new stories.
- Hope is built by going inward, not through outward achievement; it’s about aligning your inner narrative with your real values.
- In business and teams, hope habits boost collaboration, creativity, retention, and create environments where people contribute—not just consume—culture.
- Measuring hope is less about “getting better every day” and more about having a repeatable process for returning to hope when you feel lost.
Great Moments (with Timestamps)
- 01:02 – Hope as a Habit, Not Just a Feeling
Why hope is a learnable process, not just a fleeting emotion. - 02:47 – The Dark Side of Hopelessness
Julia’s personal journey and the universal struggle with despair. - 04:22 – The Five Habits of Hope (Overview)
From owning your story to repurposing pain into purpose. - 06:13 – Reframing Adversity with Language
How changing your self-talk can reshape your identity and outcomes. - 07:35 – Emotional Risk and Real Connection
Why being vulnerable is the key to breaking loneliness and building community. - 10:24 – Measuring Progress with Hope
Why inward alignment is more important than outward achievement. - 12:35 – Hope in Business and Teams
How leaders can build cultures of hope, collaboration, and innovation. - 14:47 – The Power of Release (Exercise)
A hands-on exercise to let go of stress and create space for hope. - 18:05 – Realistic vs. Unrealistic Hope
Why hope starts with honesty, not false positivity. - 19:09 – Hope as a Practical Strategy
How habits of hope drive innovation, leadership, and culture change.
Insights
“Hope is a habit, not just a feeling—there’s always a way back to it, no matter how lost you feel.”
“You can’t have hope without honesty. The first step is to face your feelings and own your story.”
“Release isn’t weakness—it’s how we make space for growth, change, and new beginnings.”
“In business, hope drives creativity, collaboration, and real contribution—not just survival.”