Applied Research - been there done that

The key to making the latter portion of one’s life make sense is embracing the shift that naturally occurs with aging without slipping into autopilot.

As with most things, the temptation to adopt one extreme over another is problematic when it comes to our 40s and beyond. While growing older it is both enjoyable and valuable to invest time and energy into maintaining a youthful style, and a fit, flexible body, yet there is a danger of over doing it with cosmetic surgeries and ridiculous attempts to mimic the fashion of teenagers.

It is also possible to resist trying new things and meeting new people under the premise of being “too old for all that” and miss out on some of the most enjoyable aspects of life.

Ultimately, this becomes a matter of perspective. Being under forty and over forty the best practice is to attempt doing as much amazing stuff as possible. Recognizing that when we are young it’s mainly gathering data, figuring out what we like, and being open to new ideas. After forty we really ought not give up on new experiences and ideas but rather filter and target in on the things that are truly life giving and joyful.

Curiosity and imagination are unleashed

In the roughly two years that I (and most of the broader non-techie world) have been aware of Chat GPT and the variety of other Large Language Models there has been so much rapid change. And there has been so much press that has both over and under exaggerated the speed of change and the effects of Artificial Intelligence that it is difficult to sort through it all.

This very reality is one of the things that led to me publishing this newsletter. I’m trying to sort through the information and catch the most important new ideas as they come along.

Marketing professionals and sales agents are inundated with new tools and apps that promise to change your world, by either doing all your work for you while you get the credit or by totally eliminating the need for your job. For the record, reality is probably some sort of happy medium.

One surprising and interesting piece of this technological development is that designers have been granted access to the world of digital product without the employ of a physical human engineer. I have recently built two of the nicest websites I can personally take credit for and the level of complexity in the end product is far beyond my technical ability. I used an AI agent software that was affordably priced and highly functional. It required some level of familiarization with terminology and processes that were totally new to me but what it allowed me to accomplish was quite astonishing to anyone that knows me, including myself.

If the future looks anything like more of this. Which I think is pretty well undisputed at this point. Then we are going to have the freedom to get things to market with far greater ease and with much less outside assistance required.

My proposal to you is two things:

1. Design and taste are more important, not less. If everyone can make a website or an app, the ones that look good and are great to use will be preferred.

2. Now is the time to take your ideas and start making them a reality. I’m continually surprised to find what AI is capable of and the ways it can help me realize the things I’m thinking about.

From the ski-hat-guy

Today the piece of interesting content I wanted to share is not part of the Lucky Fox Spotify playlist but that doesn’t stop you from exploring either the playlist or the YouTube video.

The advice Jesse offers here is just really useful and helpful. Whether you are starting a business, already have one, are working in a job or looking for a job. So many of his tips are very practical and frankly he’s fun to listen to. Enjoy!

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