Your Unfair Advantage In The AI Era
166: Bet on what others won’t.
Welcome reader! If everyone around you can produce similar results with the same level of effort. Is it an advantage? One of the questions you should ask yourself. Our advice? Stop wasting your time listening to those trying to sell you something. The real advantage in the AI era? It has nothing to do with AI.
Using the principles and knowledge provided in this post, you will be able to:
Separate the noise from what matters
Understand they lie to you
Realize that if everyone else is capable of reproducing the same results… It is not an advantage
Start working on your unfair stack (doing what others won’t)
What will it take to achieve? Common sense and a little effort.
What this post is NOT (before you get the wrong ideas):
Us saying you should not focus on AI
That AI is not worth your time or is propaganda
That you won’t have an advantage if you know how to use AI
Or any other negative association with AI
Questions You Should Be Asking Yourself
Additional reading on the topic:
What is happening around you: The delusion of the masses is the nicest way to put it. Losing focus on what matters, being unable to come up with basic takes (common sense), and offloading cognitive abilities to the machines. Should you do this? No. Should you pay attention to how others are doing it? Yes. Why? Because that's where your ultimate unfair advantage will come from. Doing things that others won’t do. Not only will they not be doing it at all, but most are completely unaware. As with every post on this website… When they zig, you zag. Where does most of the advantage come from? Blindness. Most of those we have mentioned will fall into the loop. Being unaware that they are all playing the same game. Where unknowns and ignorance will cause massive slowdowns, and a lack of vision on what matters. Luckily, not something that will happen to anyone reading this.
When a thing becomes common, it loses its power. - Oscar Wilde
Is it an advantage if everyone else around you can do it: This is where things get interesting. Suppose you have paid even a bit of attention to what is going on around you. Everyone pushes the narrative that knowing how to use AI tools is an advantage. No one can deny it. We did it, and we still believe that is the right way forward. Because on the opposite side. Without knowing how to use AI tools and what is out there, you simply won’t be getting ahead. At the same time, you have people preaching extremes. Telling everyone to go fully into AI and forget about everything else. Our opinion? That is the wrong approach. Mainly because most output generated by AI is easily replicable. Better said, it requires minimal effort to achieve similar results. In our books, that should not be counted as positive but rather negative. Making this advice is not something you want to take in the long run. The basic argument all comes down to this: most who give advice, such as this one, don’t consider that prompting as such does not require much skill. Which is something everyone reading this should keep in mind. No matter how advanced models become or how good a prompt you can come up with. It is still a low-effort and highly replicable outcome. When you start putting 1 and 1 together. Things start to make much more sense. AI has been the biggest advantage over the last decade. No denying it. Yet everyone who uses it can achieve similar results just by using a basic prompt they have come up with from Google? Now ask yourself again: is it really an advantage? It may be at this moment because only 5% of the population is currently using it… Something we will leave up to you to decide. There are pros and cons to this argument. We don't know how things will age, but what we do know is that as time passes. The majority will seek an even easier way out. Avoiding complex and uncomfortable situations or using the brain for basic tasks. Completely relying on the AI to do the heavy work for them. Guess where the real growth comes from?
Avoid becoming a victim: It is impossible to completely detach from the AI era, or however you want to call it. Plus, neither is that something you want to do. The important thing is that you don’t become part of the statistics - you don't want to be so "locked-in" that you don’t know how to create human connections. Or talk with the other people. Neither do you want to be so distracted that you are unable to separate the knowledge and information. Using AI for basic cognitive tasks? You are better than that. How many times have you seen Twitter accounts asking the most basic question that, if they just took 30 seconds to think about, they would understand? Those are signs of AI victims that we have yet to witness. Since you are reading this. There is a good chance that this will not happen to you. But it should serve as something you pay attention to and ensure you don’t find yourself in this position.
Building skills (an unfair stack): While everyone will be too busy living in their own world. Unloading common sense and basic tasks to the AI, and completely losing the ability to ask the questions they should have asked from the start. Those who realize that: 1) human nature won't change much, 2) common sense should never be taken for granted (challenging ideas and what others push should be encouraged), 3) that mental health equals health and plays a massive role in your life and 4) being able to eliminate noise and focus will be the ones who will win. There is more to add here, but this should serve as a good starting point on what will put you in the top 20%. How should one build an unfair advantage stack? We would say that in the next 10 years, younger generations will face multiple challenges in taking care of and managing themselves (emotions, mental health, and being unplugged. Being completely isolated in their own fictional worlds, which once challenged them. It won’t make much sense. There is no one to blame here - you can only feel lucky if you find the right information to steer you in the opposite direction. What do we mean by that? Lack of social skills, being completely unable to put their finger on what they like or dislike, multiple mental health issues caused by a lack of real-world exposure, and an inability to challenge the information that has been presented to them. You don’t want to be part of this. Why? Because it will become a new normal.
Unfair Advantage Stack - Four Categories, One Goal
Things you must take care of to achieve an unfair advantage. These are the basics. But at the same time, more than enough to push you into the 20% where most don’t operate.
Social Skills
Knowing how to hold a conversation
Making eye contact when talking to people
Overcoming social anxiety (it is just a result of limited social exposure to various groups)
Practicing active listening
Being able to adapt to different groups of people (underrated)
Making sure there are no negative associations with yourself
Being able to tell stories
Your overall appearance
Knowing how to hold a conversation: We had to put it first, even though it is nothing but a mix of multiple things on the list (such as knowing when to ask questions or active listening). They all play the role. It is one of those things that never gets the attention it deserves because everyone assumes it is easy. It is easy if you are asking questions or talking to keep the conversation alive. But it is an art if youre following the right protocols and making others actually listen to what youre saying or get the information you want.
Making eye contact when talking to people: It is absurd that we even have to mention it. But do the opposite of what your peers do. Make sure to maintain eye contact while talking with others. Not the creepy kind (you need to blink and look around) - you want to understand how to make eye contact. The eyes are the mirrors of the soul. Meaning that there is much to be gained from looking someone in the eyes. It is one of the first things you should focus on when building your social skills (conversation) and improving them. More so if you are someone who is looking for 1) your better half (where a big part of the game happens), or 2) dealing with boomers (who just love confidence).
Overcoming social anxiety: We are sorry to disappoint you. Social anxiety is a cope. It is a form of stress that occurs for no other reason than insufficient exposure to different scenarios and people in general (or from deep trauma). As time goes on, more people claiming they have "social anxiety" will become common. The solution? There is only one. Put yourself out there ASAP. Slowly exposing yourself each time, becoming more comfortable. A practical tip is to become regular at one place, building banter with other regulars, and slowly moving on to other locations. Becoming more comfortable in new environments and with new people. Social anxiety should not take more than 6 months to overcome (except in cases of trauma). It could be even shorter if you already have a group of friends you go out with.
Practicing active listening: A Major percentage of your success in social skills comes down to active listening. The reason is simple. When you actively listen to the other side, you gain the ability to avoid asking filler questions and jump straight to the right stuff. Something that will make others respect you and keep getting you invited to spend more time with them. Avoiding fluff that makes you boring in the eyes of others, or anything you should not be asking in the first place. Requirements? Be fully present. That is the baseline on which you are building by showing your interest and asking open-ended questions that are relevant to the current topic (but could be expanded upon or led in another direction).
Being able to adapt to different social groups: This is where your EQ (emotional intelligence) comes into play. You will not tell the same stories when you find yourself in a corporate setting, nor will you share the same stories with your high school friends. Different groups require different approaches. Similar to social anxiety. The more you expose yourself, the more sense it will make - pay attention to how different groups perceive what you say. This is 80% of the game.
Making sure there are no negative associations with yourself: If you are not 100% sure of whom you are dealing with. Avoid throwing or giving any negative comments. Aim to be the most optimistic individual in the room. Someone who makes other people feel good (that should be your goal). Sharing a common enemy is one of the most effective ways to get closer to someone else. However, it is not something you want to do if you are unsure of whom you are dealing with. Not just with whom you are dealing, but how they feel about the other side. Usually, those approaches require time and effort. Overall, it is better to avoid any negative association in case of backfire.
Being able to tell stories: Experience required. If you are someone who knows how to tell a story and keep everyone's attention… That is a powerful sign. A sign that you have a skill others would pay for. Something you should be paying attention to from the first day. Why? Because it provides you with instant feedback on how others see you, your presence, and whether you are perceived as boring or not. It is also part where you will have to figure out what makes a good story for the audience you are speaking to. Drama, or are they just looking for a laugh? This is important. Last piece of the puzzle? Being enthusiastic about all of it. Knowing how to tell stories will open doors to jobs, projects, friends, partners, and much more. A valuable life skill, and more so when everyone will lose it as they depend more on AI.
Your appearance: No, this is not about looksmaxxing. You already know our take. It is closely connected with mental health, and another proof that young people suffer today. Following wrong information and having wrong sources. You should do everything possible to take care of your teeth, get a fresh haircut, hit the gym, and take care of your nails. That does not count as looksmaxxing. Those are the basics everyone reading this website should do. It is a total investment of up to 10 hours per week and has a huge impact on how others perceive you. Your appearance will always go hand in hand with social skills.