Hi Reader,

I've noticed something about the people doing the most interesting work with AI right now.

They're a little weird.

Not weird as in difficult. Weird as in they have a rich interior. Strong convictions about how things should work. Unusual hobbies. A distinct way of seeing that doesn't quite match anyone else's.

What I'm noticing

For a long time, a lot of professional success ran on being reliably competent at ordinary things. Produce the doc, run the process, hit the standard.

AI is very good at ordinary. It does competent-and-standard faster than any of us.

So the ordinary stuff stops setting anyone apart. What's left is the part that was always just you: the connection only you would make, the way of seeing nobody else brings. AI can't hand you that. It's built from everyone at once, and you're not everyone.

The people pulling ahead are just more themselves.

Your next move

Three ways to lean into the part AI can't average out:

1. Get clear on the angle only you bring, the thing you notice that your peers don't, and put more of it into your work.
2. Bring more of your actual interests into your work, the cross-field ones especially. The unexpected combination is the part nobody can copy.
3. When AI hands you the competent, expected answer, treat it as a starting point and push past it. That's where your own contribution begins.

Life beyond the screen

The most fascinating people I know were never trying to be normal. They've got obsessions many people would find strange, and they light up when they talk about them. Those are the people I always want more time with.

For years that kind of thing got filed under "quirky," something to tone down to seem serious. AI quietly turned it into an edge instead. The parts of you that don't fit the template are exactly the parts a model can't reproduce.

Which means the thing you once learned to tone down might be the most valuable thing you bring. I find that freeing, and I think you will too.

A question for this week: What do you see about your work that the people around you don't?

Work with me directly. If you want a thinking partner on your product strategy, AI rollout, or building your fractional practice, here's how I work with people: https://gamma.app/docs/Chill-Labs-Coaching-Information-ifjuyb0hjgw9xtb​

Come to the Water Cooler 🚰 I host a free monthly gathering for people building fractional and independent practices - honest conversations on positioning, pricing, and pipeline, plus recaps when you can't make it. Join here: https://chillaborate.com/fractional-water-cooler​

Let's Chillaborate,

Dina

Founder, Chill Labs

PS: New to the Automate Yourself podcast? There are plenty of episodes worth digging into - start anywhere: https://chillaborate.com/podcast 💙