I think people are misunderstanding when I say "AI will wipe fields out"
the thing that worries me isn't AI getting smarter
my friends with companies are no longer hiring entire teams. they're hiring 1 person to do the work of a team using AI
yes you can be that 1 person and still have work. but it also means that there are less seats at the table, and the people competing for that seat is getting better every year
think about how many jobs are there because someone needs to do the work. now what happens when one person can do it all? do you need a team of paralegals, finance analysts, consulting associates, accounting interns, junior engineers, real estate agents?
not when it's faster and cheaper to just tell the AI what you need done
and before you say "well akshually I have a biz so I don't need to worry about this"
yes you do. because now it can one-shot product plans, designs, supplier lists, tell you marketing angles, handle customer support, and create your ads for you. now anyone can make a business in a fraction of the time
so now what happens is that every business is now more saturated, more competitive, and the people you're against are looking for every little edge they can get their hands on. instead of starting from 0, everyone is now starting from 90
imagine running a race where everyone gets better shoes. everyone runs faster, but nobody moves up in rankings
when your competition gets better, it means all the little things start to matter.
this is already how professional sports works. at the highest levels, everyone trains, eats well, and has access to elite coaching. so athletes start looking for that next special red light therapy or ice bath protocol that'll give them even the smallest advantage, even a 1% boost
but now instead of just sports, the entire economy is becoming like this.
again I am not saying this to doompost. I am saying this because your attention needs to be redirected. instead of thinking "don't worry about AI" or "AI is going to kill me," think:
instead of getting better at competing, how do I become someone people don't want to compete against
here's one way: nepotism.
usually nepotism is a bad thing. but in general, people prefer working with people they know.
like imagine I need a lawyer
I could search google for 1000 lawyers, read hundreds of reviews, and try to figure out who's good.
or just ask my friend.
my friend goes, "oh yeah I know a guy, he did my work before, he's great"
now that lawyer doesn't have to be the absolute best, but someone I trust already did the selection for me
the competition didn't "disappear," but the decision was made BEFORE there was any competition.
that's why I've become more interested in networks, trust, alliances, long-term partnerships. a relationship that you're willing to give a little extra upside to the guy because you like him.
people don't replace their friend or pet or spouse or child because there's a "better one" available later
so there's two ways to play the game:
1. compete with strangers on price, credentials, speed, whatever
2. someone thinks of you before they even start looking
I want to optimize for #2 where people think of me when an opportunity comes up
someone whose work they trust. someone they like collaborating with. someone they feel comfortable recommending to people they care about
can I build up a reputation where people know it's worthwhile to work with me, they know that I will deliver high-quality, so that they start talking and create luck for me. because luck is also competition-free
Sly Fox Tip: this is also why I write online. because I want many people to have access to my thinking.
I write something that helps someone understand a problem, make a decision, or improve their life. then that improvement gets associated with me. if that happens enough times, now I have alliances
the most valuable thing you can do in a world of infinite competition is having people around you who want you to succeed because you're you.
so are you doing this? how are you avoiding the competition, creating allies, and making your own luck?
I keep hearing that OAI's first generation chip, Jalapeño, is having yield issues....
+There are also rumors that they're pulling in the second generation because of it.
I would reframe how you view perfectionism
You aren’t aiming to be perfect because perfect does not exist anywhere in the universe, especially in nature.
But excellency does
So instead of striving to be perfect, strive to be excellent.
You can work with excellent but perfect has no ending. And perhaps that’s why so many people aim to be perfect. Because you can always prepare and never take the shot.
You need to be gratefulness-maxxing anon. You need to be expressing thanks multiple times per day for the sun and stars and moon, for the fact that you aren't horribly sick/injured, for every single second you are blessed with on this earth. You need to be gratefulness-maxxing.
💰 Want to send cold emails that actually convert? 💰
Run through this checklist before you hit send:
Is there a pattern interrupt or personalization?
Is it short? (2-3 sentences)
Do you have social proof?
Have you hit pain points?
Do you offer quantifiable results?
prompting has changed, it's not useful anymore to say "you are an expert marketer"
it's better to prompt it for the target customer: "write for an early 20s, huberman obsessed biohacker..."
even more important now than ever to know *who* the exact ICP is that you're selling to