Every once in a while, you get one of those emails that makes you stop and laugh.
Mine started with the familiar pitch: ChatGPT isn’t a magic wand. Are you struggling to get good results? Let me show you the right way.
No thanks.
Let’s get one thing straight.
I don’t have a problem with the hustle. If you’ve built a business teaching people how to use AI more effectively, good for you. There are plenty of people who genuinely need help getting started.
But maybe spend thirty seconds figuring out who you’re emailing before you hit “Send.”
I’ve spent years working in IT. I understand how software works. I understand programming logic. More importantly, I understand that every tool is only as good as the person using it.
Garbage in, garbage out.
That didn’t suddenly change because AI showed up.
AI Isn’t Magic—It’s a Tool
One of the biggest misconceptions people have about ChatGPT is that you type one sentence into it and somehow expect it to produce a masterpiece.
That’s not how I use it.
For me, ChatGPT has become the best speech-to-text editor I’ve ever found.
I’ll spend twenty or thirty minutes talking through an idea. I’ll explain my experiences. I’ll build an argument. I’ll go off on tangents. I’ll tell stories from rideshare, from IT, from photography, from life.
Then ChatGPT helps organize those thoughts into something people can actually read.
That’s not replacing creativity.
That’s editing.
That’s collaboration.
And yes, it still requires me to know what I’m trying to say.
There Is No Secret Prompt
One of the funniest parts of the AI gold rush is watching people try to convince everyone they’ve discovered some magical collection of prompts that nobody else knows.
Here’s the secret.
Be descriptive.
Give context.
Explain what you’re trying to accomplish.
If something isn’t right, revise it.
That’s it.
Sure, there are chat rules, formatting techniques, and ways to streamline repetitive tasks. Those are useful. I’ve used them myself.
But none of those are worth pretending you’ve discovered the Holy Grail of prompting.
They’re simply good ways to communicate with a tool.
You Picked the Wrong Audience
The email assumed I was frustrated.
It assumed I wasn’t getting the results I wanted.
It assumed I needed someone else’s workflow.
The irony is that the very email trying to convince me my process was broken ended up proving my process works just fine.
Because within minutes, it became today’s article.
Not because the email sold me anything.
Because it gave me something to think about.
That’s the funny thing about creating content.
Sometimes the content isn’t the product being sold.
Sometimes it’s the sales pitch itself.
I Can Smell a Sales Funnel
Working in IT teaches you something.
Driving rideshare teaches you something else.
Running a content site teaches you even more.
Eventually, you develop a pretty good sense for when someone is trying to manufacture a problem just so they can sell you the solution.
That’s what this felt like.
Again, I don’t fault the hustle.
Everyone has to make a living.
But don’t walk up to someone who’s already using the tool successfully and begin the conversation by telling them they’re doing it wrong.
That’s a quick way to lose credibility.
Thanks for the Content
In the end, I replied asking to be removed from the mailing list and reported the message as spam.
That was the end of the transaction.
Or so they thought.
Because while they didn’t sell me their AI course, they did give me something far more valuable.
They gave me another article for The GigMan’s Life.
Sometimes the best content doesn’t come from asking ChatGPT a question.
Sometimes it comes from the person trying to convince you that you need them to ask the question for you.
And that’s a Gig Man’s Life indeed.
Fun, profitable, and safe.