Look, I Think I’ll Just Use a Piece of Paper

Douglas Adams wrote this in the 70s. How did he so accurately predict how frustrating conversations with AI would be half a century later?

My encouragement to us all this week is this: yes, AI is great, but don't forget to go back to paper, for how you calculate arithmetic, how you problem-solve, how you apply critical thinking, and how you come up with copy.

Because at the moment we are overusing AI. AI is a tool for certain jobs. Not a hammer where everything looks like a nail.

We want critical thinking hypertrophy, not atrophy. Paper is often better for this.

Taking self-proclaimed numbers with a pinch of salt

I'm fed up with people believing the numbers they see everywhere. Social media is full of wannabe business moguls who sometimes "look" very legitimate, saying "my business makes 30, 50, 100k a month."

Most of the time there's no way to verify any of this. And so many of us are believing it.

Most of us are not taking these figures with a pinch of salt. Many of you are feeling bad because your businesses are not doing similar numbers, and you're wondering what you are doing wrong to not get that.

The word discernment comes to mind. A skill that sits within the critical thinking toolbox, and one very much worth developing.

In an effort to level up my content creation. Hesitantly.

Because, in all honesty, I really do not enjoy it all that much. But I think it's a necessary evil.

So I paid for a content consultation, as I want more coherence, more consistency, and overall a better public image. The right eyes on me and my business. At the moment, I think it's all a bit jumbled.

The consultation was expensive but really good. It helped me sharpen a few things across the board, and now I have my homework cut out implementing the new strategy.

90s classic.

Good Will Hunting.

Damon and Affleck wrote this in their twenties. I can't believe they were that young.

My favourite line: “You don’t owe it to yourself, you owe it to me.”

The Travels of Ibn Battuta.

A Muslim scholar who goes travelling across the world for 30 years, about 700 years ago. These days we'll watch YouTube videos; we'll watch influencers travelling the world. But what about this guy who did it 700 years ago? Mostly on foot.

Now, for space adventures. I'm also reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Very funny. I've never read it before. Obviously heard of it. Probably a lot of people have read it. It's nice to just read something that has that British wit and humour to it.

That's everything for this week.

Matt

Work with me on

Closing bigger deals. Founders who need to sell. The mental game of revenue generation, or even getting into the industry in the first place.

Hit reply if any of that relates to you. Always happy to talk.

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