Many creators and entrepreneurs are thinking about AI all wrong.
They treat it like a to-do list assistant. A shortcut for cranking out more content, faster. A way to check off tasks with less effort.
And sure, AI can do that. But that’s like hiring a world-class team of experts and then only letting them make photocopies, or fetch coffee.
The real power of AI? It’s not here to replace your work. It’s here to amplify it.
And the creators, entrepreneurs, and marketers who figure this out first? They won’t just keep up. They’ll be the leaders.
You’re a CEO.
Think about high-impact leaders in business. CEOs don’t grind through spreadsheets all day. They don’t manually write every ad, every report, every customer email.
They delegate.
They hire specialists who are great at their jobs—writers, strategists, analysts—then set clear objectives, refine direction, and make high-level decisions.
AI is your specialist team on demand.
- Need content? AI is your first-draft writer.
- Need insights? AI is your strategist.
- Need new ideas? AI is your brainstorm partner.
- Need to break into a new market? AI is your research assistant.
But here’s the catch: just like with any team, the results depend on the quality of leadership.
Bad leaders give vague instructions and get mediocre work. Smart leaders train their teams, set clear objectives, and refine outputs.
Same with AI. The better your prompts, the better the outputs. The deeper your iterations, the stronger the insights.
The CEO vs. The Tourist
Look at two entrepreneurs:
Entrepreneur #1: The AI Tourist
- Occasionally asks ChatGPT to write an Instagram caption.
- Uses AI-generated headlines without tweaking them.
- Never fact-checks, never refines.
- Their results? Mediocre, forgettable, robotic.
Entrepreneur #2: The AI CEO
- Uses AI to generate 10 content ideas, then refines the best ones.
- Asks AI to challenge assumptions, play devil’s advocate, and push strategy forward.
- Trains AI to write in their exact voice, tweaking outputs for quality.
- Their results? A content machine that scales without burning out.
The difference isn’t the AI. It’s how they think about AI.
Tactics:
If you’re ready to elevate how you use AI, start here:
1. Train AI to Think Like You
Stop getting generic outputs. Instead, train AI on your style and preferences:
- Use Custom Instructions in ChatGPT-4o.
- Upload past writing samples and ask AI to mimic your tone.
- Refine AI’s responses by giving layered prompts (e.g., “Make this sound more like me, with a casual but authoritative tone.”)
2. Use AI to Challenge, Not Just Assist
Most people ask AI to summarize. Instead, have it challenge your ideas:
- “What’s the biggest flaw in this argument?”
- “Play devil’s advocate and counter my idea.”
- “What am I missing?”
This forces you to level up your thinking, and challenge your assumptions. Are you prepping for an important meeting, or presentation? Bring AI into the prep process and ask to poke holes in your assertions, and to anticipate the kinds of questions that will comes your way.
3. Think Bigger: AI as a Brainstorming Engine
AI isn’t just for faster output—it’s for better input.
- Ask it for unexpected angles on a topic.
- Have it remix ideas across industries.
- Use it to simulate market trends and test new business strategies.
The best creatives won’t just use AI—they’ll expand their thinking with it. As Schopenhauer said, Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no on else can see. Let AI unlock your creative mind in even bigger ways, expanding the field of view for ideas and insight.
Elevate
If you’re still just using AI for efficiency, you’re leaving 90% of its value on the table.
- AI isn’t here to replace you.
- AI isn’t just here to speed up your to-do list.
- AI is here to expand your capacity to think, create, and innovate.
For the next 30 days, try this:
- Stop using AI just for just speed and shortcuts. Use it to scale and refine your ideas and thinking.
- Ask it to challenge your assumptions. Let it make you uncomfortable.
- Train it to think in alongside you–explicitly give it a role to play and define the kind of thinking partner you need in the moment. Make it a collaborator, not a machine.
The creatives who embrace this? They won’t just stay relevant.
They’ll be the ones shaping the future.
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