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💡 The Big Idea: Information Is a Commodity. Transformation Is the New Product.

I just got back from the New Media Summit, and I came home with a lot to process (and a lot of sketchnotes 😉).

I went to learn about the creator economy, but I realized that the world of personal knowledge management (PKM) is dealing with a lot of the same issues:

• AI is commoditizing information
• Course completion rates are down (as is sensemaking in general)
• Staying focused is harder than ever

But the conversations I had with other creators, and the talks I attended, all pointed to the same conclusion: the people who thrive from here will be the ones who do something with what they know.

Here are my four biggest takeaways, how they apply to PKM, and what I’m personally doing with what I learned.

Online Courses are in Big Trouble.

Ryan Deis (founder of Digital Marketer and Scalable) shared a startling statistic:

Their course sales are about 20% of what they were the year prior.

As a course creator myself, that’s pretty troubling news. But if I take the time to think about it a little bit, it actually makes perfect sense.

People used to buy online courses because they wanted the information contained in them. The high quality information was always behind a paywall. But there’s so much great information available now through free content (i.e. YouTube videos) that it’s hard for people to justify paying for video courses they probably won’t watch. AI just makes this worse, as when people have a question about something now they just ask ChatGPT and blindly accept whatever response sounds correct.

People (well, most people) don’t need or want to actually learn anymore. They just want the answer.

But as I teach in my Practical PKM Cohort, there are 3 levels of knowledge:

1. Information - having something
2. Revelation - knowing something
3. Application - doing something

The reason I’m not freaking out about this is that AI can give you information, but transformation only comes from application.

So, I’m going to be reworking things over the next several months to help people get more transformation from my products and services. I’m going to simplify The Library (my membership community) to help provide real results faster. I’ve even built a few new AI tools designed to help you get those results, not just give you information.

Community is More Important Than Ever.

Sam Parr (founder of The Hustle) emphasized the importance of in-person connection. In fact, that’s what his new business (Hampton) is all about - helping successful business owners connect in real life.

IRL is better than URL.

I’ve experienced this myself. As a member of Jay Clouse’s Lab community, I attended his in-person event before Craft + Commerce last year in Boise, and it was incredible. I remember questioning whether I was going to renew my membership before I went, but after spending a few full days with the other creators in The Lab, my doubts vanished.

These were my people. They get it.

We even did our own small-scale in-person LifeTheme event last year, and it was incredible. You can get the same information online, but you can’t recreate the experience of being in the same room together.

But even if you can’t get in the same room, it’s still important to surround yourself with people who are crazy in the same way you are.

That’s why I built The Library - it’s a membership community for serious sensemakers who want to use their PKM systems to use their PKM system to help them do more of what really matters. Part of that membership is access to live cohorts, like the LifeTheme cohort that will be kicking off on April 6th. It’s a 6-week cohort where we work through the process of dialing in your personal vision and values, and the last week is where we all share our LifeThemes and celebrate together. It’s always a powerful experience, and it’s open to all Library Pro members if you want to join us.

(Now, I did make some changes recently and The Library is actually closed at the moment. I want to open it periodically to provide a better experience for everyone who joins, and doing that in conjunction with a cohort will make it much easier for new members to get involved. If you want to be notified when it opens again alongside the LifeTheme cohort in the next few weeks, click here to join the waitlist.)

Embrace AI, But Don’t Let It Think for You.

A big theme throughout the conference was the use of AI. In fact, the very first speaker (Anik Singal) shared about how he created a digital clone of himself for short-form videos.

Let me be clear: I have no interest in that. But he did make a pretty powerful point:

You can’t afford to be idealistic about AI. It’s happening, whether you think it should or not.

The trick is to figure out how to use it for good.

It can be uncomfortable to think about the AI-infused future. No one likes being tricked by AI into thinking something is real that isn’t. And we’re already starting to see waves of layoffs related to AI.

AI is, without a doubt, the most disruptive technology many of us will ever see. But the real problem is that most people are using it wrong.

Yes, AI can give you quick answers, but for a serious sensemaker, that’s not good enough. We want to know why. We want to figure out what makes it tick and then apply the learnings to the systems in our lives to create better results.

There are places where AI really shines. For example, if you need a follow-up for an action you took online, you don’t want to wait for a human to call you. You want a text within 30 seconds, or you move on. But when it comes to the creative process, no one wants AI slop shoved in their face.

Personally, I like to use AI in the ideation process to brainstorm ideas. And I’m also looking to use AI tools to automate the mundane and to help my customers get the transformation they’re after.

But it will never write for me. The creative process requires a human.

Stay Curious and Have Fun.

The closing speaker was Codie Sanchez, and her wide-ranging fireside chat was one of the highlights of the conference for me. But one thing she said in particular really stuck with me:

It’s hard to beat someone when they’re having fun.

A couple of weeks ago, I shared about my experience with burnout. At the time I wrote that, if I’m being honest, things weren’t fun.

Everything felt like a slog.

But when I heard Codie say this on stage, it hit me: I need to start having fun again.

The truth is, I love what I get to do. But somewhere along the line, I got stuck in what a mentor of mine likes to call “the doldrums.” I was meeting deadlines while trying to make ends meet, but I wasn’t having fun.

That’s going to change 😉

That may mean I miss a deadline here or there. It also means I’m going to experiment a bit more.

You see, having fun is directly correlated to your level of curiosity. When you’re a creator, curiosity comes naturally. And it means you never have to worry about running out of ideas.

So let’s get a little weird and start having some fun again, shall we?

The Bottom Line: Everything is Changing Except What Actually Matters — Curiosity, Connection, and Doing the Work.

A lot is changing right now, and it can feel overwhelming. But the path forward is pretty straightforward:

• Stop hoarding information. Start applying it. Pick one thing you’ve learned recently and actually do something with it this week. AI can give you the answer, but only you can initiate the transformation.
• Find your people. Whether it’s an in-person event or an online community, surround yourself with people who are crazy in the same way you are.
• Use AI as a tool, not a crutch. Let it handle the mundane and help you brainstorm, but keep your hands on the creative wheel.
• Have more fun. Seriously. If your work feels like a slog, something needs to change. Follow your curiosity. It’s the best idea engine you’ll ever find.

The world doesn’t need more information. It needs more people who know what to do with it.

Let’s go build something that matters.

— Mike