As this issue lands in your inbox, we're wrapping up another Virtual Power Series Weekend Intensive.
It's funny to think these weekends didn't even exist a few years ago.
Not because we didn't want to create them.
Because we hadn't imagined them yet.
Then COVID arrived.
Almost overnight, the way we'd always served people disappeared. Live events stopped. Travel stopped. Gathering together in the same room simply wasn't an option anymore.
We had two choices: we could focus on everything we were losing… Or we could focus on how we could continue creating value.
Looking back now, the Virtual Intensive wasn't a compromise. It became one of the best things we've ever built.
Thousands of people who otherwise never could have attended one of our events have now experienced the work because we were willing to adapt.
It reminded me of something that's becoming very relevant again.
Over the past several weeks, it seems like everywhere I turn, people are talking about AI.
And the conversation usually falls into one of two camps.
One says AI is going to replace everyone. Jobs will disappear. Entire industries will be wiped out.
The other says AI is something we should resist entirely. That it's dangerous, that it's ruining creativity, and that we should reject it before it changes everything.
While those positions sound different, they have something important in common.
They're both rooted in fear.
And fear has a predictable effect on the mind.
When we're afraid, our attention naturally goes to worst-case scenarios. We begin imagining everything we're about to lose. We obsess over what might happen instead of seeing what could be possible.
That doesn't just apply to AI.
It applies to every major change we experience in life.
If you're old enough to remember when the internet first became mainstream, you'll probably remember hearing many of the same conversations.
People worried jobs would disappear.
They worried society would never be the same.
Some people embraced it immediately.
Others wanted nothing to do with it.
But the internet wasn't waiting for permission.
It arrived anyway.
Today it's simply part of how we live.
AI feels very similar to me.
Whether we like it or not, it is becoming part of the world we're living in.
The question isn't whether it's coming.
The question is who we're going to become because of it.
Over the past several issues—Issue 024: The Fear Economy and Issue 026: The Exhaustion Myth—we've talked about the importance of managing your state before trying to solve the challenge in front of you.
The same principle applies here.
If you approach AI from fear, your mind will naturally search for everything that could go wrong.
If you approach it from inspiration, curiosity, and faith, your mind begins asking a different question.
Where is the opportunity?
That single question changes everything.
Instead of asking, "How is AI going to replace me?"
You begin asking, "How can AI help me create more value?"
Instead of worrying about what you're going to lose...
You begin exploring what you might create.
The technology hasn't changed.
Your state has.
And your state determines what you can see.
One of my favorite ideas comes from Warren Buffett.
When he's asked what the best investment someone can make is, his answer is surprisingly simple.
Invest in becoming so good at what you do that you create more value than anyone else.
Because there will always be demand for someone who consistently creates extraordinary value.
That idea feels even more relevant today.
AI can summarize and analyze and automate. But it cannot replace someone who knows how to genuinely connect with another human being.
It cannot replace wisdom.
It cannot replace trust or emotional maturity.
It cannot replace someone's ability to help another person navigate grief, repair a relationship, develop courage, or create a compelling vision for their future.
Those are deeply human skills.
And I believe they will only become more valuable.
I recently spent time with our Apprentices and Trainers, something I always look forward to.
One of the things we talked about was exactly this idea.
Their careers aren't built around completing tasks.
They're built around helping people become more emotionally resilient, more intentional, and more connected.
As technology becomes more capable, those human skills don't become less valuable.
They become more valuable.
Because the more automated our world becomes, the more people crave authentic human connection.
Interestingly, we're already seeing it.
Vinyl records are making a comeback. In fact, a Forbes article I recently read noted that vinyl sales were over $1 billion last year!
People are seeking experiences that feel real.
Face-to-face conversations matter more. Community matters more. Relationships matter more.
Technology doesn't eliminate our humanity.
In many ways, it reminds us how much we need it.
One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that some of life's greatest opportunities don't arrive looking like opportunities. They arrive looking like problems.
COVID certainly did.
At the time, it felt like one enormous obstacle.
But because we chose to focus on service instead of fear, it forced us to think differently.
It challenged us to become more creative. It pushed us to ask better questions: How else can we serve? How else can we create value?
Those questions eventually led to something that has helped thousands of people around the world.
The disruption became an accelerant.
I wouldn't have wished for the disruption, but I'm grateful for what it made possible.
AI may end up being one of those moments.
If we're honest with ourselves, change has always been the only constant in life.
Our bodies change. Our relationships change. Our careers change. The world changes.
Every season of life asks us to become someone new.
Resisting change rarely makes it disappear. Learning to work with it changes everything.
That's why I don't think AI is the real threat.
Fear is.
Because fear narrows our vision. Fear convinces us to protect what we have instead of creating what's possible. Fear keeps us focused on what we're losing.
Inspiration keeps us focused on what we can build.
And history has shown us, over and over again, that the people who create the greatest impact are rarely the ones who resist change. They're the ones who learn how to serve through it.
AI will continue evolving, just like the internet did. Just like every meaningful innovation before it.
Whether that becomes an advantage or a disadvantage in your life depends less on the technology itself than on the state from which you respond to it.
Because your future won't be determined by AI.
It will be determined by your response to change.
You can always find The Connection Fix on the Blog or on The Connection Fix Podcast
However you engage best, use that.
As you think about the changes happening around you, ask yourself:
Am I spending more time protecting what I might lose... or creating the value only I can contribute?
That answer will shape far more than AI ever will.
More soon.
Have a great rest of your day, and I'll look forward to connecting again next week.
Joey