#149 Lessons Learned from 3 Years of AI

Welcome to the final AI Edition of 2025!

Last week, I shared my Top 3 Takeaways from 2025’s Growth Editions. This week, we're doing the same thing for our Productivity Editions🕺 

All year long, we’ve covered our fair share of AI news, tools, and trends. Our main goal was to make sure you’re always informed.

But here’s what I’ve realized over the course of my own AI journey: being informed only gets you so far. The real magic happens when you actually use it. When you experiment with it. When you test it as a solution to real problems you’re facing.

The headline for last week’s Growth Recap was Language = Strategy.

This week, it’s Action = Advantage.

Before we dive in, I have a quick favor to ask:

If you know someone who’s on the fence about AI or simply doesn’t know where to get started, please forward this to them. I know what that feels like and think my perspective could be beneficial to anyone who’s hesitant or worried they missed the boat.

Staying Productive At Year End With…

TOP AI TAKEAWAYS FROM 2025 🤖 🦾 

Lesson #1: And…ACTION 🎬

When ChatGPT launched in November 2022, it was revolutionary. A tool that could help you think or create through simple prompts. Not search, but an actual conversation that yields immediate results 🤯 

This is what most people think of when they hear “AI,” but the tools have progressed so much in a few short years it’s not even funny.

Now you can create images, videos, websites, apps, and much more in mere seconds.

Take the writing app I experimented with back in September. I wanted to create an app that would A) help me improve as a writer and B) motivate me to write every day. Nothing major - just a couple sentences here and there to stay sharp and document my journey.

I put together a prompt and tested the tool (Replit), and the output was insane. Seriously, go check out the link.

Takeaway: The only reason I have confidence to experiment with the newest tools, like AI agents and new high-powered browsers, is because I took action when the opportunity presented itself. Don’t be satisfied with the role ChatGPT now plays in your life. When you see or hear about something new (maybe ask Chat for a list of the newest tools every so often?), test it out for yourself.

The more action you take now, the more prepared you’ll be for the future. And it’s okay if you haven’t started yet. You’re not too late. But I don’t know if I’ll be able to say that this time next year…

Lesson #2: Maximize BOTH Your Personal and Professional Lives

Life’s gotten busier for me over the last two years. Cross-country move. Engagement. Wedding planning (and saving). New position at work. Wedding and honeymoon. Factor in a 2 year old pup and doing 75 Hard, and it’s been tough. But here’s a peek behind the grind, or more specifically, how I made it less grinding (and grew myself in the process):

A) Projects in ChatGPT

Instead of a million random chats, I started using the ChatGPT Projects feature:

• A project for LinkedIn posts

• A separate for DMs and cold outreach

• A separate for video scripts

• A separate for OTF

Four projects, each with its own set of "Instructions" so the bot knows what I’m doing and how I want to sound.

Now when I sit down to create, I'm no longer starting from scratch. I've got a fine-tuned system I’ve trained. This has saved me so much time and stress over the past several months, I couldn’t recommend it more.

B) Research With Perplexity Comet

I shared this recently, but it's worth repeating:

There's a difference between Googling "how do I fix this faucet" and clicking random videos versus using Perplexity Comet to:

• Find the exact video for your problem

• Summarize the steps in bullet points

• Tell you the parts you need to purchase

• Give you local plumbers just in case

The result? Again, saving more time and frustration. You get to the solution faster with less effort.

C) Standing Out at Work

If you're in a team environment, there's a massive opportunity hiding in plain sight:

You can become "the AI person" just by using it more / before everyone else.

You don't need 13 years of experience to be valuable anymore. You need to be the person who has ideas on how to incorporate AI into your team’s workflow.

Lesson #3: Stay Informed

I said earlier that action was more important than information, but that doesn’t mean you should read whatever you can when you have the time. I know AI-fatigue is a real thing, especially with all the negativity out there:

• "These Jobs Won't Exist in 24 Months"

• "Here Are the Only 5 Jobs That Will Survive"

• "AI Will Replace X, Y, and Z"

But while it’s tempting to tap out, you don’t have the luxury of ignoring this.

It’s already shaping the jobs that get created, the skills that get rewarded, the tools “normal” jobs expect you to know/use, and the opportunities that come with even the most remedial knowledge.

You must stay informed.

Here are a few bits of information from past editions that have stuck with me this year:

• The claim that "AI proficiency will be as fundamental as computer literacy" in the near future.

• The Axios piece showing AI jobs spiking even as overall hiring slows (and the $$$ associated with AI skills vs classic jobs)

• The reality that tools like ChatGPT are hitting Netflix-level user numbers in a fraction of the time.

And then there's the darker side: the hallucinations, increasing Cyberattacks and AI-generated scams, data center energy usage, impact on mental health…

Is it overwhelming? F#$% to the YEAH.

But burying your head in the sand doesn’t protect you. Paying attention does.

Here’s what’s worked for me in my quest to acquire knowledge without getting overwhelmed:

• 1-2 AI newsletters I actually read regularly (OTF counts 😉)

• 1 podcast episode per week on the future of work/AI.

• 1 intentional session per week where I experiment with a new tool related to a current issue or problem I’m having.

In sum:

Looking back on all of 2025's AI/Productivity editions, here's what I keep coming back to:

1. Action Is The Top Priority: Open the tools. Use them on real problems you’re experiencing. Do the reps! Action = Advantage.

2. AI Can Maximize Your Life: We’re busier than ever. Get your life back in the form of time, energy, and mental health (while developing a skill that could lead to pay raises, promotions, and other new opportunities).
   

3. Staying Informed Keeps You Ahead: You don't need to know everything, but you need to pay attention.

Before You Go!

Thanks again for reading. We’re gonna keep this structure rolling through the end of the year, returning next week with our Top 3 Takeaways from a year’s worth of OTF Money Editions.

In the meantime, I’ll sign off with one last ask to forward this to anyone you think needs to get on the AI train before it leaves the station (I think these reviews are an easy way in for new readers).

PS - if you have an interest in AI and want to learn more in an accessible, relatable, practical way, please reply to this email and I will personally jump on a 1-on-1 video call to help you in any way I can (no charge!).

As always, see you next Tuesday 🤝 

Find Dan on LinkedIn

You are now On The Fly & In The Know.