📰 I tried this with teaching. Here is what happened.

Quick follow-up from Tuesday

We talked about how trying and committing are two different things. And a lot of you replied with some honest one-word answers — curious, nervous, ready. I appreciated every single one.

Today I want to give you something to do with that curiosity. Something small. Something that takes about two minutes and requires nothing but a quiet moment and an open mind.

On Tuesday, we said that trying is just asking a quiet question.

So today, let us actually ask one.

Not a big question. Not a life-changing one. Just a simple, low-stakes question directed at a tool that is very good at giving calm, useful answers.

That tool is ChatGPT.

A lot of people assume they need to learn ChatGPT before they can use it.

They think there is a course to take, a manual to read, or a special way to type that makes it work properly.

There is not.

ChatGPT is designed to respond to plain, everyday language. The way you would talk to a helpful neighbor over the fence. You do not need perfect sentences. You do not need tech vocabulary. You just need to say what you are thinking.

That is it.

Here is your first prompt. Copy it exactly, or change it to fit the direction you have been noticing.

Open ChatGPT at chat.openai.com and type:

"I am [your age] years old and I enjoy [something you like — gardening, cooking, woodworking, helping people]. Give me three simple ways I could use that interest to help someone else, without spending any money or setting up a business."

Just fill in the brackets with your age and something real to you. Then press enter and read what comes back.

I typed: "I am 78 years old and I enjoy teaching. Give me three simple ways I could use that interest to help someone else, without spending any money or setting up a business."

ChatGPT gave me:

Notice how ordinary those suggestions are. No business plan. No investment. No tech skills required. Just ideas that fit naturally around a life already being lived.

That is what ChatGPT does well. It takes what you already have and helps you see it from a slightly different angle.

When you try this prompt, something small but real happens.

You are not learning a system. You are not signing up for anything. You are simply having a conversation with a tool that is very good at listening and responding calmly.

That is all this needs to be right now.

If you try this prompt, hit reply and tell me one thing ChatGPT suggested. Even just the topic is enough.

I read every reply. And if something comes back that surprises you, good or confusing, tell me that too.

See you at the bank. 💰
Bob

If you’re curious about the guy behind these emails, I put a few stories and photos over at bobcaine.com. No pressure, just a place to see the face behind the screen.