Welcome to Gratitude Driven, a weekly newsletter where I share practical ideas and insights across personal growth, professional development, and the world of AI/ML. āØ
In This Newsletter
Thank you for your support <3https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h9VVJIqtvA&t=1s
Tired of news that feels like noise?
Every day, 4.5 million readers turn to 1440 for their factual news fix. We sift through 100+ sources to bring you a complete summary of politics, global events, business, and culture ā all in a brief 5-minute email. No spin. No slant. Just clarity.
Content Engineering for AI Agents: Complete Course
I have another comprehensive course video this week, this time on context engineering for AI agents!
This is such an important topic. Highly recommend checking this one out.
Blog version is here.
Want to Level Up Your AI/ML Career?
Last month I launched the AI/ML Career Launchpad, the learning community I wish I had when I was starting my career in the field.
Itās a structured path for navigating skill development, portfolio projects, job applications, and more, all with direct access to me for any questions you have along the way.
Our next call is on May 26th where weāll be discussing blockers to your AI/ML career and how to overcome them.
Learn more here. š
How to Handle Being the Dumbest One in the Room
This weekend I'm going to a workshop for entrepreneurs scaling businesses to 7-8 figures.
I am not in their league. My little content business is growing, but we're far from 7 figures, much less 8. I just spent some time pulling the financial reports that they requested, and I had to figure out some really basic things like what a cashflow statement is, and how to calculate the gross margin for a service business (honestly I still don't think I did that right).
Needless to say, I'm probably going to be the least knowledgeable person in the room.Ā
I think this is a feeling we're all pretty familiar with in tech. When we first start out, the field seems overwhelmingly complex. Then we learn a bit and discover it's even MORE complexĀ than we thought! We get our first job and everyone seems to know more than us... because they do! We really are the least knowledgable ones in the room.
It's easy to let that feelingĀ become overwhelming and demotivating. But it's also possible to use it to our advantage.
There's nothing shameful about being a beginner. In fact, if we are open and honest about how little we know, it can be extremely freeing. We can be humble, ask questions, and learn from those ahead of us. In a way it completely takes the pressure off.
Some of them might judge us, but if they do, that says more about them than us. Anyone worth knowing remembers what it was like to be a beginner and will admire our willingness to put ourselves out there, try new things, and be brave enough to ask for their help.
In practical terms, here's how I plan to handle being the dumbest one in the room (and introverted on top of that):
I am going to prepare questions in advance. This is a room full of people I can learn from, so it makes sense to have targeted questions to my biggest challenges ready. This will help me learn and is a great icebreaker. People love to give advice.
I will remember that everyone was a beginner once. Being a beginner is the default state -- I'm a beginner at 99% of things in life, and probably will remain that way forever.Ā
Remind myself why I'm doing this. I want to help more people, and to do that I need to scale my business. When it was tech stuff, I was trying to get a job that could help pay for my family. Staying rooted in purpose helps me feel less scared.
Think of what I have to share. I might be the worst entrepreneur in the room, but I'm probably the most knowledgeable about AI. When I was a beginner in tech I wasn't good at programming, but I was strong with stats and experiment design. Asking questions is great, but also find ways to be helpful to others if you can, too.
What are some situations where youāve been the most junior person in a room? How did you handle it? Reply to this email and let me know.
Want to chat 1:1? Book time with me here.
Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
Note: This email may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase I may make a small commission, at no cost to you. Thank you for your support!