90% of my interaction with AI is work-related, like troubleshooting code, or brainstorming. Lately I’ve had AI help me with a few things in my personal life, and unsurprisingly it’s been really helpful there, too.
🍽️ Use Case 1 - Recipe Inspiration
When I walk into the kitchen for dinner, I’ll brainstorm something to do with my main ingredient, but by then I'm constrained by whatever I have on hand. Recently I went upstream and used ChatGPT’s tasks function to brainstorm in advance. I have it send me a list of seven recipe ideas once a week, on the morning before I did grocery shopping. I made sure in the task to convey my allergies and current diet (e.g. high protein/carb). It inspires new ideas before going shopping.
🪴 Use Case 2 - Gardening Guide
I’m not good with houseplants…yet. I managed to get myself consistent with watering weekly, but not all plants like to be watered weekly 🤷. Last weekend I walked around the house giving ChatGPT my plant types, and it would give me a watering guide (e.g. every 7-10 days, when top 2” of soil is dry), plus some troubleshooting info. At the end, I had it create a note in markdown format so I could put it into Obsidian, including a consolidated table at the top, sorted by frequency. Then I put these tasks in Todoist, one for each plant, so I wouldn’t forget. This is another tangible example where goals (to water all my plants well) are not as effective as systems (doing the research, notes, and implementing task management).
🏋️ Use Case 3 - Wellness Correlation Testing
For my body composition and wellness goals I’ve been tracking a few of my inputs (e.g. calories, carbs, workout days) and outputs (e.g. resting heart rate, weight) weekly for a few months. This past weekend I used Google Sheets' CORREL function to generate a table of correlations between my inputs and outputs. I pasted this correlation table into ChatGPT and had it share back the practical learnings based on my data. What did I learn? That high carbs (225g+), high protein (150g+), and higher calories (2400+) correlate to lower resting heart rate and improved heart rate variability for me. Increasing my Crossfit days also helps. Fat intake negatively correlated with those same stress measures.
Do you have any new and interesting AI use cases in your life? Please share with me so we can learn together! Email heykev@kevinnoble.xyz or reply to this newsletter.
Kevin
A Quote
“
Good teams instrument their work so they can immediately understand how their product is being used and make adjustments based on the data. Bad teams consider analytics and reporting a nice to have.
— Marty Cagan in "Inspired"
Three Things
1 - 🏎️ Consistent 5g in a Formula 1 Car Slamming on the brakes in your own car will hit around 1g. If you watch this g-force gauge they overlaid for Kimi Antonelli’s recent qualifying lap, you’ll see him consistently hit nearly 5g. Imagine 18 turns every 90 seconds on a typical track, and then doing that for an hour and a half. F1 will give you a really strong neck!
2 - 🎮 MKBHD’s Review of the Switch 2 The Nintendo Switch doesn’t get much play at my house, but I was curious to hear how Nintendo’s new console was doing. MKBHD's content is always high quality and thoughtful. $450 feels like a lot of money!
3 - 🪢 Rope Flow Nsima Inyang talks about rope flow's ability to create different movement patterns and heal different structural / muscular issues. I'm always up for an experiment, so I tried it with a rope I had around the house. I’m thinking about getting one of these weighted ropes if I keep up with it. Nsima has a deeper discussion here on rope flow's ability to help with back pain.
(please enjoy this 4️⃣ minute read)
Deep Dive on The First Follower
Leaders get all the credit.
They get the books written about them. The news articles. The accolades.
But there are many forms of leadership and many ways to lead.
Following - sometimes framed as the opposite of leadership - is actually a form of leadership.
To illustrate, check out this video Derek Sivers posted on YouTube 15 years ago.
If you can’t watch it right now, the video is Derek’s audio commentary overlaid onto a shakey-cam video from a concert. It shows a lone, shirtless, dancer on a hill at a concert. Eventually one person joins him.
Then two.
Then four.
Before you know it, hundreds of people are on the scene dancing.
The shirtless dancing guy is funny, but that’s not the point of the video. The point is to show the importance of the first follower.
The first follower is a leader. They’re necessary to create a movement.
In the words of Derek Sivers, “When you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in.”
What Are Movements?
In addition to dancing at a concert, a movement can be: - A philanthropic cause you care about - A new business - Large change at work (programs, culture, etc.) - A new path for research
What they all have in common is venturing into the unknown.
They also require people. And someone has to be first.
Dancing Alone in my Business
I’d seen the dancing video before, but it’s on my mind because a “shirtless dancing guy” sent it to me. Well, a friend - and he was probably wearing clothes - but he did start something new. He put himself out there, got his first follower, and I was second. We hope to create a movement. And this video is inspiration.
My own business, Group 18, is a version of this. I left my job, took off my shirt, and started dancing on a hill by myself. Having never started a business before, I’m sure I looked weird, but I was feeling the music, and couldn’t help myself.
Pretty soon I got my first follower, in the form of a customer. Then another. And another. I embraced each one for joining me on this movement. We danced together.
There aren’t hundreds of us on a hill yet, but the concert just started 😁
Me, on the first day of Group 18.
The Role of the First Follower
The first follower is crucial.
Following is a form of leadership. It’s brave to join someone doing something different. You expose yourself to ridicule and failure - neither of which are naturally comfortable - so it's a difficult role.
If you’re the first follower for someone, you have a key role after joining the movement; to invite others.
Humans are social animals, and we have cognitive biases that appear in social situations. We take our cues from others. Being the first follower is a form of social proof. The first follower shows that there’s something there worth paying attention to.
People emulate other people. The first follower lowers the barrier to entry for other followers. That momentum, as it builds, reduces personal risk for every subsequent follower.
The Role of the Lone Nut
The first follower is crucial, but someone has to be the lone nut on a hill.
Everything we have today is here because someone was willing to put themself out there. They got started. They tried something different.
When the time is right and you start a movement of some kind, keep two things in mind.
1️⃣ Be Easy to Follow: If you’re doing something complicated, it’s harder for people to join in. Using the dancing metaphor, if you create a line dance with 100 unique movements, no one is going to get up and try - it's not simple enough. If you make people jump through hoops to follow you, no one is going to try. Make it easy.
2️⃣ Embrace the First Follower: You saw in the video when the shirtless guy clasped hands with the first follower. Bring your first follower into the fold, make them feel welcome and safe. They’ll want to invite their friends.
A Movement Must be Public
A follower following in private is not going to create a movement. Silent approval of a lone nut isn’t going to move it forward.
For leaders and followers that means you need to encourage public discourse on the movement.
In practical terms, this is something like a testimonial. This is why all businesses try to get some sort of customer statement on their website. They’re trying to prove they’re not a lone nut. Other people believe in them.
Inside a corporate environment, it could be a statement on an internal blog post about how a trial user loved the new process or tool.
On LinkedIn, it could be comments on other people’s posts. If you like what someone is doing, tell them as much!
It could be in a meeting. When someone takes the risk to suggest a new path forward, new experiment, new whatever. Don’t just say in your head, “Oh, that’s a good idea.” Raise your hand, come off mute, and jump into the conversation. Encourage the suggestion out loud. A simple, “I like that idea” is a great first follower move.
If you’re a leader, make sure you’re getting followers to share their support publicly. If you’re an early follower, be sure to share your support out loud. You’re providing social proof, and by taking the risk yourself, you’re reducing the risk for everyone who comes after you.
Every movement begins with someone willing to dance by themselves, and a first follower bold enough to join.
Visible, simple, and welcoming action from both parties converts uncertainty into momentum, and lowers the risk for everyone who comes next.
Whether you’re the making the first moves, or the first to clap along, remember: keep it easy to follow, embrace your earliest allies, and let your support be public. That’s how big change gets started.
Call to Action
Is there a lone nut somewhere in your life who could use your support? Maybe they’re trying to change the culture at work. Maybe they’re starting a new business. Maybe they’re trying to create better habits.
Stand up. Be vocal in your support. Get out there, clasp hands, and start dancing with them.
