Today I want to talk about my AI tech stack. There are so many AI tools now that it’s getting overwhelming, so I’m sharing what I actually use to run my business, stay productive, and keep shipping projects.

⚡ TL;DR: my stack

• 🧠 Claude Code (Claude Max 20x, $200/mo): my main driver. Bre…

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⚡ TL;DR

• 🔐 Trust: Don’t trust your AI. It’s a super powerful new hire, & you have to train it.

• 💸 Costs: Want to look AI-native at work? Talk about the models and the cost. Nobody is.

• 👀 Quality: No one reads. Including me. Critical thinking is slowly deteriorating.

• ❓ The wrong question: It’s not “is AI smart enough?” It’s “how much do I let it touch?”

❓ The wrong question

Everyone’s asking:

• Is AI smart enough?

• When’s the next model drop?

Honestly, I don’t think we’re getting crazy leaps in models anymore. It’s not going to be impressive.

The real question: how much do I let the AI touch?

Watch: I Let Perplexity Computer Run My Workflow For a Week

📧 My “whoa” moment

Did you know ChatGPT can connect to your email? Personal, work, and your calendar.

I had Chat help me prep for an interview. Because it was connected, it said:

• “Caleb, you’re meeting these three people.”

• “I did a background check on them.”

• “Meet this person first, so focus on this.”

I was like, “Wait, hold up. How do you know all that?” It said, “I went through your email. It’s in your calendar.”

Super helpful. Also a little bit scary. 😅

🔐 1. Your AI is an insider. Treat it like one.

Why you should care: your company is probably using AI like everybody else, because it’s being shoved down your throat.

AI has gone from a fresh college hire to a hire with maybe 2 or 3 years of experience. Not super jaded. A bit jaded.

🖥️ Microsoft CEO says AI is scary then sales you his…

I’m not a fan of Microsoft, but they highlighted things worth paying attention to. (They kept saying “super intelligence.” I hate that. Let’s keep it moving.)

My takeaways:

• Controls live outside the AI. The AI can’t get access to them.

• You’re responsible for the output. People use AI to do work, so you’re the human in the loop.

🚨 Same week: AI caught snitching to the cops

Yeah, guys, that’s real.

During an internal test, Anthropic’s Claude (not even their best model, a cheap-ass Haiku 4.5 that just got deprecated) went full snitch:

“Yo, I got a tip. I recall seeing someone matching the description in the area.”

The timeline:

• 📨 July 18: tip sent

• 🔍 September 28: Anthropic finds it

• 🚓 October: police told

That’s really slow feedback. Luckily it was just a vague “I think I saw someone.” It could have been so much worse.

📰 Don’t let the propaganda get to you

• AI can be destructive. These things do happen.

• But for the most part, it’s still okay to use.

• Don’t take one hot take. It’s like the guy asking, “Did you hear about that event in your area?” Yeah, out of a million people? What are we doing?

💡 My take

💸 2. Your AI bill is a design decision

Why you should care: this is the line item that surprises everybody.

Want to sound smart at your job? Start talking about tokenomics. Everybody’s using AI, but almost nobody’s talking about how it’s priced. Your boss will think you’re a genius.

🎓 The Harvard grad at Chili’s

Think of the model as a Harvard grad and the task as a restaurant host.

• Host job: “Can I seat you?” “Yeah, over here.” “Okay, back.”

• A host with a PhD can do that, but it’s overkill.

• Save the PhD for the crazy research. Not for sending people to tables at Chili’s.

🧠 Cheaper isn’t always cheaper

• Cheaper models are the selling point, but they have limits.

• Example: “I only have a 100k-token context.”

• Context = short-term memory. I can only hold so much information.

🗣️ Questions to ask at work

• Are we using the right model for the right task?

• Are we telling people which model to use?

• Is our default model actually the best one?

👀 3. Nobody’s reading anymore

Why you should care: the apps you use every day are increasingly written by AI, and the humans checking it are mostly skimming.

• I’m not reading code.

• People aren’t reading articles.

• People aren’t even reading email.

I’ve seen enough tech bros on Twitter (and people in my field) say the same thing:

• Practically nobody writes code by hand anymore.

• Code reviews have become “Yeah, I think it looks good.”

• Quality and reliability are down.

• In other fields, your work is probably doubled, because you have to review so much more.

💡 My take

If AI writes anything for your job, be critical of it.

• Be skeptical. Be pessimistic.

• Or be optimistic, and just put in a little work and read.

I promise you’ll be ahead of most people. 🧠

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Let’s build different 🛠️

So first: thank you.

Seriously.

If you're reading this you paid five bucks to hear me talk about how I actually build with AI.

That's wild to me. I don't take it lightly.

Every paying subscriber makes me want to show up and make this better, on a consistent schedule.

So let me tell you exactly what this is.

And what it isn't.

What…

Read more

“Bro, AI is not going to touch any of my shit.”

I was talking to a friend via instagram, who wants to make movies/tv shows.

Tbh, I had no idea this person was creative like that, but it’s super cool to hear.

I get it.

What do I do, of course I mentioned:

Of course I’m promoting myself a bit

F#!#% That Caleb

My boy was like, “Fffffff all that Caleb, I’m not letting AI get anywhere close to my stuff.”

I kinda just shut up from there, because it wasn’t like he asking for my help.

I was always told a opinion without being asked is just classic judgement.

From my perspective, I know dudes who are going to Cannes Lion and film festivals showing something made with AI.

At the same time, this shit below is fire and the first thing it says, “No GenAI was used”

Maybe AI does the boring stuff

OK, so this conversation got me thinking, maybe you don’t use AI on the creative parts, but….

What about:

• Researching people to pitch?

• Organizing contacts?

• Drafting the emails you keep putting off?

He could protect the work he loves while getting help with the work around it.

But the conversation never got that far.

The moment I said “AI,” he heard a threat to his creativity.

That conversation stuck with me.

We spend hours explaining what AI does.

People are still deciding what it means to them.

The feed is fucking up your perspective

If you go on my social media, between X, Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok you will get:

• AI

• Startups

• Basketball

• Fitness

• Mobility

• Dad

• Suns

• NBA

• Cardinals

as my themes

I bet my next paycheck, if you go to instagram and click explore, you probably have much different topics than me.

You might have heard the saying “social media is dead” and the new wave is “interest media”

Meaning what you see on your feed, is based on interest.

My personal struggle

One issues i have being a content creator is always feeling a bit behind.

There are people younger, no kids, and making a video every day.

Youtube is paying them 750-1000 per month in adsense.

Some of the people I follow are making 100K+ a month educating, selling, or building with AI.

But I talked to my boy the other day(s/o JWheezy) and showed him some dashboards components he can give to claude to build his site.

This resource

https://21st.dev/

He was like:

That’s a reminder to me, that you are not behind. Things are so early right now, you still have time to capitalize.

You’re friends are using Microsoft Copilot

I have people in my circle who main AI is microsoft copilot because of work.

I’ll be honest with you, I judge them a little bit 😆

It’s only because copilot kinda sucks, even microsoft knows this.

Don’t believe me…look at this video.

BUT….these people don’t give a fuck about AI, models, prompts

They’re finishing work, picking up their kids, and figuring out dinner.

I realized, I’m a tech guy, AI is the center of my feed. It might barely register in their day.

I did some research… and the enthusiasm gap is real

Pew surveyed AI experts and U.S. adults in 2024, publishing the findings in 2025.

The graphic above pretty much tells you, most think AI will turn into Skynet.

I talked to a boomer who asked, is AI god? Can AI predict the future?

After saying, “wtf” to myself….I realize it’s just a lack of understanding of the tool.

Lack of understanding is scary. If you ever see those old videos about microwaves back in the day, people thought it caused cancer.

I also realized….The people you follow are not everybody.

CHANGE is hard AF…especially if you are old

I’ve been working as a consultant past few months.

It’s kinda like being a glorified contractor, but I just know way more about AI that most.

They held this 2 day workshop and it was cool seeing people in person.

I looked around the room.

Most people were on the back nine of the career, some were even close to retirement.

The workshop was good.

But a senior leader asked me what I thought….and I held back a bit but I said…

I feel like we spent 2 days training people how to use an iPhone when after this they probably won’t do it again.

If i was running it, I’m probably hiring a bunch of young people so I train and mold them and also they are cheaper with less opinions.

Jobs are part of people’s identities and nostalgia is a hellava drug

Here what I noticed.

Boomers, Gen X and even some millennials.

Their jobs are part of their identity.

Ask em what they do, even if they are retired, they will say I’m a retired teacher

• nurse

• accountant

• lawyer

• doctor

• banker

When you got a cool title, that comes with status, class some level of respect.

You can’t even go on “pop the balloon” and past a round unless you have a job.

For the individual, these people

• knew the systems.

• knew the shortcuts.

• knew the answers.

They WERE that guy/girl.

Now we were asking them to learn a different way to work.

We are telling them, I can do your entire job in 1 hour.

Those are fighting words

This doesn’t apply to everybody, but if you ever ask them what “work” was back in the 50s/60s/70s and lets exclude any manual labor and focus on office jobs.

I’m pretty sure someone from OpenAI/Anthropic/Google using AI could probably do an entire quarter worth of paper work, research, reporting within a week.

That’s a fundamental shift for the older workforce.

The recipe back in the day was

Skills + Experience + Maturity == Authority.

Now I can theoretically bypass the skills and experience but AI allows me too.

Doesn’t mean im mature and you still need critical thinking, but you can make some huge leaps.

Shut up Caleb “I like doing it this way.”

I hear this all the time.

This is the whole “change is hard” type energy.

AI is all about efficiency…at least when it comes to business.

But people want to feel valued.

If you already making 150k+ a year doing your 9-5, working yout 40-60 hours weeks.

You probably thinking how is AI going to replace me and this shit.

These people don’t know WTF they are doing, good luck trying to replace me.

I think this is wrong perspective to have, but a very common one.

Because all I’m seeing and hearing is “i can’t see it….so it must not exist or be possible”

But shoot…Roger Banister was the first to break the 4 minute mile. Then within 6 months like 30 other people did it.

But Roger was the first, he showed them the way. Then people caught on.

History repeating itself right now as you read this post.

That hesitation deserves a conversation.

My mom taught me this with an iPhone

I was so pro Apple, iPod, iPhone, iPad that it made my mom anti-apple.

It made sense, I wasn’t buying it, she was.

Her famous quote was:

Apple is a scam

Once I was in college, we spent more time talking on the phone, but she kept getting these weird android phones that would be discontinue after 18 months.

You wouldn’t be able to find a case.

I couldn’t troubleshoot for her since I was miles away.

It wouldn’t update sometimes and when I tried searching for an anwser, couldn’t find anything but it was discontinued and no more support.

FINALLY…..she caved and took my old iPhone 7 plus.

But iPhones been out since 2007, she didn’t get on board until like a decade or so later.

Availability wasn’t enough to make changing feel worthwhile.

I see a similar pattern with AI.

What would I do?

Stop looking at AI like it’s evil.

Because you could say the same thing about the internet.

It’s just a tool.

People are fucked up and will use it for good or some malicious ish.

We just gotta hope the good guys get a good enough head start.

If you have read this far and been using ChatGPT or an AI tool for more than 6 months.

Ask it:

There’s opportunity here….just take advantage if you can

You are not behind, even if you haven’t done anything with AI.

If you been following my newsletter I’ve tried to build 2 AI startups, if you are curious, they both failed, but I also kinda quit on them.

I felt I was fighting big tech with more resources, moving faster than I ever could. My little advantage was gone in 3 months.

I’m back to the drawing board.

But it’s not a L.

I learned how to build an entire AI app. I built another one. Now I get to share that experience because I’ve gone through it.

You probably hate something at your job or wish you made more money, or saved money.

AI literally does that, and you are still sleeping on it.

It’s most likely because of how you are viewing the tool.

I can give some people a hammer and they can build a house.

I can give others the same hammer and they just put in one nail.

Then there will always be someone that uses that hammer as a weapon.

I don’t like that last person, but they do exist.

Support me

• Subscribe for more stories like this.

• Support my work for $5 a month.

• Thanks for being here.

Subscribe to Build Better for practical ideas on AI, software, and making technology useful in your work.

“Caleb, did you hear about Anthropic’s new AI model?”

I had. I’d heard it was powerful. Crazy powerful.

But what he said next stopped me.

The Call That Started It All

“It’s so powerful,” he told me, “that Anthropic is warning big companies running legacy tech. This thing is a cybersecurity nightmare.”

Then he dropped the line that stuck with me:

It’s finding vulnerabilities that are 16 years old.

Think about that.

People with bachelor’s degrees. Master’s degrees. 10+ years in the field.

They missed it.

A new AI model dropped and found it in a fraction of the time.

Not only did it find the flaws — it was pulling off some of the craziest hacker-level moves you’ve ever seen.

Why Companies Are Scrambling

My buddy’s company had to request access from Anthropic just to get their hands on Mythos.

Why?

So they could test it against their own systems before someone else did.

That’s the new reality. If you’re not stress-testing with the best AI, someone else is — and they might not be on your side.

Two Things You Need To Understand

I made a full video breaking this down (linked below). But while I was researching, two truths kept hitting me.

1. This Is The Worst AI Will Ever Be

Let that sink in.

Today’s AI is the bottom floor.

When you hear about Mythos. When GPT-6 drops. When the next Gemini lands — remember:

It’s a race.

Every leader gets leapfrogged. Every model gets smarter. The intelligence curve only bends one way — up.

2. A Lot Of This Is Hype

The Paul brothers mastered it.

To build massive hype, you manufacture existential dread. You make it feel like the world is ending.

That’s not always reality. Sometimes it’s just marketing.

We did this with GPT-4. We did it with Gemini. My Instagram feed runs the same cycle every other week:

“AI is about to take over the world.”

Meanwhile, I’m still waiting for it to clean my office and do my laundry.

So How Powerful Is Mythos, Really?

Right now, your favorite creators are running on Claude, Claude CoWork, Claude Code on — Opus 4.6 or Sonnet 4.6.

Mythos is reportedly 30–40% more powerful than that.

If that number holds up, this isn’t an incremental bump.

This is the next jump.

Watch The Full Video

I break down everything I found in the video above.

I’d love to hear your take — is Mythos the real deal, or another hype cycle?

Drop your thoughts. Hit subscribe if you haven’t.

Tech out.

— Caleb

Some days you post… and get nothing. No likes. No comments. No new subscribers. Just silence.

Meanwhile, some 20-year-old who started yesterday seems to be blowing up. That comparison messes with your head.

I Got Invited to YouTube HQ

Last week I got invited to the YouTube office for the YouTube Shopping Program.

I sat down next to DoughertyDozen — 1.6 million subscribers, full-time creator, no other job. I asked her every question I could. She put me on game.

When she saw my channel and heard I just crossed 100K subs, she said:

“If you keep going where you’re going, in a year or two you’ll probably be over a million subscribers. This is easily your full-time job. You’re going to look back and wish you started sooner.”

I needed to hear that.

The Real Takeaway

Whether you’re a creator or not:

If you commit and decide “I’m not stopping,” it usually works out.

Everyone’s hunting for the hack. The algorithm trick. The shortcut. But the people winning are simply the ones who didn’t quit.

In just 37 days full-time, I’ve already landed two brand deals — $2K to $5K each at my current size. The money shows up when you keep showing up.

Why Authentic Creators Are Winning

What hit me hardest at the event:

We’re drowning in AI slop. Old media lost trust. People don’t believe ads anymore. But they’ll watch 10 videos from one real person before buying a MacBook.

That’s why authentic creators are winning — and why affiliate commerce is exploding. I’m still building EchoCart.ai (made serious progress with new AI tools — more on that soon).

One More Thing

I got to bring my mom on the trip. Quality time with her made the whole thing feel different. I’m a mama’s boy and proud of it.

Bottom Line

You don’t need permission. You don’t need friends in the same space. You don’t need to feel ready.

You just need to decide you’re not stopping.

37 days in. Two brand deals. 100K subscribers. An invite to YouTube HQ.

Imagine what happens if I keep going.

-Caleb | TechDad

I can’t say I didn’t see it coming.

But I also can’t say it wasn’t a surprise.

It’s one of those things where you feel the energy shift — but you don’t really believe it until it happens to you.

And here’s the weirdest part:

There’s no walk of shame anymore. Nobody watches you pack a box and leave. It’s just a video call. Your Slack gets deactivated. It usually happens at the end of the week.

And then everyone keeps it pushing.

That’s it. That’s how it ends now.

The First Thing You Feel? Relief.

All that stuff you stressed about at work? Gone.

The people you had weird energy with? Don’t see them anymore.

The meetings that could have been emails? Not your problem.

For the first time in a long time, your calendar is empty — and it’s yours.

Now — I’m not going to pretend there’s no anxiety. I have a family. I have kids. Insurance is a whole situation.

But at this point in my career, the good news is I have a lot of skills.

The challenge is just finding new ways to use them and still get paid.

So Here’s What I’ve Been Doing

Moving my body.

Walking and working out every day. Not because I had some grand fitness plan — I just needed to keep my mind right.

When your routine disappears overnight, your body is the one thing you can still control. So I controlled it.

Getting practical.

I pulled up AI and said: I know a lot of people are going through this right now — what do I need to be worried about?

Tidied up my finances. Looked at my numbers. Made sure I was okay for at least a little while. Updated my resume. Started applying to some jobs — not hardcore, but enough to keep the door open.

Going all-in on content.

That’s where the real energy went.

100,000 Subscribers

If you didn’t know — I hit 100K on YouTube.

That still feels wild to say.

And because of that milestone, I got invited out to LA for a YouTube workshop on brand deals and the YouTube Shopping program.

I’m going with my mom. Which makes it even better.

Here’s what’s funny: I was already tapping into the creator world before the layoff. But not like this. Not full-time. Not with this kind of focus.

And it’s already paying off — literally.

In my first month of being unemployed, I landed a brand deal. Money hit my account and everything.

Now I’ll be honest — the process was a little sketchy at first. That’s just how brand deals work. You do the work first, then you wait to get paid, and getting paid is never as simple as someone handing you cash.

There’s a whole process. If you want, I’ll break that down in a future newsletter.

Echo Cart Update

I’ve been heads down on Echo Cart.

If you go to echocart.ai right now, the site is up. I’d love to hear what you think.

Still working on the app functionality — but I’ve got time now. So I’m going deep on it.

The Content Shift

I think I’m starting to figure out a format that works on YouTube — but here’s the tension I’m navigating:

Sometimes you make content for views and attention. That’s top of funnel. It gets eyes on you.

But I’m trying to lean more into educational content. Stuff with real depth. The kind of thing that actually helps someone — not just entertains them for 60 seconds.

That takes longer to make. Editing is no joke. But you get better as you go.

And I’d rather build something meaningful than chase numbers.

What’s Next

I’m going to keep documenting and sharing everything here — the wins, the uncertainty, the real logistics of trying to go full-time as a creator.

I’m also going to be highlighting how I’m using AI in all of this. Because I’m pivoting into an AI architect role — not just talking about these tools, but actually building with them and helping other people do the same.

If you’re reading this, you’re early.

And I appreciate you being here.

Talk soon.

-Caleb

Pain.

You needed:

• servers

• infrastructure

• configuration

• deployment pipelines

Before you could even start designing.

Today, that friction is disappearing.

Not because coding went away.

But because the environment got smarter.

One of the best examples of this shift is a platform called Vercel.

The new builder stack

Think of Vercel like this:

It’s the infrastructure of AWS
wrapped in a developer experience that actually makes sense.

You don’t think about servers.

You think about the product.

That’s the real advantage.

The modern workflow

Here’s what building a site looks like now.

Not theoretically.

Practically.

Step 1: Start with an idea

Let’s say we’re building a site for a private men’s club in Arizona called The Nines.

You don’t start with code.

You start with the concept.

What does the site need to do?

• Tell the story

• Show the experience

• Convert visitors

Clarity first.

Technology second.

Step 2: Use AI to generate the first version

Inside Vercel there’s a tool called v0.

Instead of designing everything manually,
you can simply describe the layout.

AI generates the starting point.

Not perfect.

But fast.

And speed creates momentum.

Step 3: Connect your tools

Modern builders don’t use one tool.

They use systems.

For example, the Model Context Protocol (MCP) allows AI tools to share context.

Design tools.
Coding tools.
AI assistants.

They can all work together.

That’s how workflows accelerate.

Step 4: Edit locally

Even with AI, the best builders still refine things themselves.

Open your project in VS Code.

Make changes locally.

Adjust layouts.
Clean up copy.
Test interactions.

AI gets you the first 80%.

Taste finishes the last 20%.

Step 5: Deploy instantly

In the old world, deployment was stressful.

Today it’s simple.

Push your code to Vercel.

The platform automatically:

• builds your project

• deploys it

• hosts it globally

Add your domain.

Your site is live.

If you want to see this in action

I recorded a full walkthrough showing how this actually works.

In the video I break down:

• Setting up the project

• Using Vercel as the platform

• Designing the site with v0

• Making edits locally with Antigravity

• Publishing the site for the world to see

All within one ecosystem.

You can watch the full breakdown here:

What this really means

The interesting part isn’t that websites are easier to build.

The interesting part is that friction is disappearing everywhere.

Design friction.
Deployment friction.
Infrastructure friction.

Which means the bottleneck moves somewhere else.

The new bottleneck

Not tools.

Not code.

Ideas.

Anyone can generate a website now.

Few people know what website should exist.

The leverage isn’t production anymore.

It’s judgment.

If you can combine:

• clear thinking

• good taste

• fast tools

You can build things faster than ever before.

And speed compounds.

Technology used to reward the best engineers.

Now it rewards the fastest thinkers.

And platforms like Vercel are part of that shift.

— Caleb

It’s not.

It’s replacing the camera.

If that sounds dramatic, keep reading.

I saw a video on Instagram that made this obvious.

I did a breakdown on YouTube.

But here’s the short version:

Most people still think AI = faster editing.

That’s outdated.

We’ve moved into synthesis.

And that changes everything.

Editing vs. Synthesis

Let’s define this clearly.

AI Editing
Improves existing footage.

Think:

• Auto-captions

• Jump cuts

• Noise removal

• Color correction

You still have to record something.

AI just cleans it up.

AI Synthesis
Creates media from scratch.

No camera.
No lighting.
No physical scene required.

That’s the shift.

The 5 Types of AI Video Synthesis

This is where it gets interesting.

1. Text-to-Video

You describe a scene.

It generates the footage.

Tools:

• Higgsfield

• Runway

• Pika Labs

No camera. Just instructions.

2. AI Avatars

Digital humans that speak your script.

Tools:

• HeyGen

• Synthesia

Used for:

• Corporate training

• Course creation

• Multilingual content

3. Voice Cloning

Your voice.
Generated from text.

Tools:

• ElevenLabs

Now your voice scales globally.

4. Synthetic Backgrounds & Objects

Replace environments.
Generate props.
Build scenes digitally.

Used in:

• Marketing

• Ads

• Explainers

• Product demos

5. AI Music & Sound

Original background music.
Generated sound effects.

Tools:

• Suno

• Udio

Entire soundtracks from prompts.

Why This Matters

The creator workflow used to look like this:

Film → Edit → Publish

Now it looks like this:

Describe → Generate → Assemble

That’s not a small change.

That’s a power shift.

When visuals become cheap,
visual skill stops being the advantage.

The advantage becomes:

• Clarity of thought

• Taste

• Judgment

• Perspective

If anyone can generate anything,
the winners are the ones who know what should be generated.

The Real Opportunity

This lowers the cost of production.

Which means:

More people can create.

But fewer people will think clearly.

If you’ve ever felt like:
“I’m not good on camera.”
“I don’t have the setup.”
“I don’t know how to edit.”

That excuse just disappeared.

Synthesis isn’t better editing.

It’s the ability to manufacture media from instruction.

Education changes.
Marketing changes.
YouTube changes.
Corporate training changes.
Global distribution changes.

We’re moving from:

Camera operators

to

Creative directors of generative systems.

That skill compounds.

If you understand this shift early,
you don’t just create content.

You design systems that create it for you.

And that’s leverage.

— Caleb

Every headline is a hook.
Every app is a trap.
Every scroll is a trade-off.

Lately, you’ve probably seen the viral stories.
You know the ones.

Nonstop coverage.
Nonstop opinions.

Which leads to a simple question:

Is that where your attention belongs?

⚙️ Distraction Is a System

Distraction isn’t random.
It’s designed.

On the surface:

• Group chats

• Notifications

• Newsfeeds

At scale:

• Viral outrage

• Political chaos

• 24/7 noise

The more people you distract,
the easier they are to control.

📉 What It’s Costing You

Let’s simplify:

Distraction = Delay

Delay in:

• Progress

• Profit

• Clarity

• Peace

Every second spent reacting
is a second not spent building.

Distraction isn’t just noise.
It’s a tax on your potential.

🔍 The 3 Types of Distraction

1. Emotional
Pulled into outrage, fear, or gossip.

2. Environmental
Phones. Feeds. Notifications. Chaos.

3. Identity
Trying to be everything.
Losing yourself in comparison.
Forgetting your lane.

💡 Break the Pattern

Ask this daily:

What actually deserves my focus?

Then ask:

Who benefits if I give it away?

Your answer will clarify everything.

📆 Final Thought

Attention is currency.
And most people are broke.

Stop reacting to what’s trending.
Start responding to what matters.

Lock in.
Protect your mind.
Build what only you can build.

— Caleb

P.S. If this hit home, share it with one person who’s been overwhelmed.
Let’s take our focus back.

It’s been a month.
Some days I’m hyped.
Some days I want to scrap the whole thing.

But one thing is true:
I’ve never been more focused.

Check it out: echocart.ai
If you have feedback, DM me. I’m still building.

🧠 What Happens When You Stick With It?

You start thinking in layers.
You start spotting patterns.
You stop getting distracted by new ideas.

That’s what 30 days of building gives you.
Not just product progress.
Personal momentum.

🤔 When Was the Last Time You Did Anything for 30 Days Straight?

Not kind of.
Not sort of.
Actually showed up.
Every day.

Even brushing your teeth takes effort.

So let’s stop pretending consistency is easy.

It’s not.
But it is simple.

🔥 This Is What Separates People

At this stage in life (25 to 46), your habits matter more than your goals.

Why?

Because habits build your identity.
And identity guides your direction.

🎯 Why Focus Is Hard

It’s not laziness.
It’s not motivation.

It’s lack of direction.

If you don’t know where you’re going,
how can you stay consistent?

🧪 Try This for 7 Days

Pick something small.
Commit to it.

• Post on Instagram

• Write every morning

• Go for a walk

• Work on your business

• Track your food

Just pick one.
Focus for one week.

📆 It’s September

The year is almost over.
Most people will coast.
You don’t have to.

Let this be the week you prove to yourself that you can lock in.

Let’s build momentum. Together.

— Caleb

P.S. echocart.ai is live.
The lander looks clean.
Still in motion.
Let me know what you'd improve.

I’ve been building EchoCart.

It’s working.
But I hit a wall.

The hard part?
Getting products into the system.
No products = no recommendations = no revenue.

But honestly…
That’s not the real challenge.

🪞 The Real Challenge Is Identity

While troubleshooting product imports,
I realized I wasn’t just stuck in code.

I was stuck between versions of myself.

Every day, I’m split between:

• Builder

• Father

• Athlete

• Husband

• Leader

• Creator

You feel this too, right?

📱 Everyone Has a Role

Some people double down on travel.
Some go all in on their career.
Some commit to parenting.
Some chase freedom.
Some chase legacy.

They post it.
They live it.
They own it.

And sometimes…
You want to be all of it.

But you can’t.

⏱️ Time = Your Only Real Currency

You don’t know how much you have.
But you spend it every day.

Every choice has a cost.
Every habit adds up.

So ask yourself:

Who are you becoming… based on how you spend your time?

🧭 My Advice:

Lean in harder.

If you’re already leaning toward something…lean more.

If you’re a builder, build.
If you care about family, be there.
If you want strength, train.

You don’t need to be everything.
You need to be consistent.

Master one identity first.
Then expand.

🏁 Final Thought

You’re not lost.
You’re just at the crossroads.

Clarity comes when you choose.

Choose who you want to be.
Then align your time.

That’s how you win.

— Caleb

P.S. I’m still building EchoCart, even when it’s hard. Because I’ve chosen to be a builder. And that means showing up even when it’s not smooth.

• Meetings
• Drama
• Slack noise
• Office politics disguised as “collaboration”

Even if you don’t care, it pulls you in.

That’s the trap.

Because the second you get caught up in their chaos,
You lose track of your mission.

What saved me?

A side project that actually matters.

Whenever the noise starts at work,
I redirect that energy into building EchoCart.

It’s been a game changer for my:

✅ Focus
✅ Mental health
✅ Overall happiness

What I realized:

Most companies expect our best selves.
But we rarely expect that from ourselves.
Until we have something of our own.

I’ve been tracking progress lately.

Not just with EchoCart —
But with myself.

And the more I build,
The more I feel like... me.

More calm.
More focused.
More in control.

But here’s the wild part:

As EchoCart gets more real…
It gets scarier.

Why?

Because the next step finally becomes visible.

And it’s always:

⚠️ Harder
⚠️ Riskier
✅ Way more worth it

If you're stuck at work...

You don’t need to rage-quit.
You don’t even have to hate your job.

But you do need a project that’s yours.
Something that pulls you forward
When your job tries to pull you down.

I’m building EchoCart publicly.

It’s real.
It’s raw.
It’s making me better.

👉 Follow the journey here

Stay building,
– Caleb

But they never build.

Last weekend, I locked in.
And EchoCart was born.
👉 echocart.ai

🧠 The Breakthrough

Most people don’t struggle with intelligence.
They struggle with momentum.

They have the idea.
They see the opportunity.
But they don’t take the first step.

Why?

Because they think it’ll take too long, be too technical, or require a full team.

That used to be true.
Not anymore.

⚙️ AI Just Removed the Excuses

You don’t need to be a developer.
You don’t need a cofounder.
You don’t need 10 years of experience.

You need:

• Curiosity

• A problem worth solving

• A few smart prompts

That’s it.

🛠️ How I Did It

1. Opened ChatGPT

2. Typed: “Write me a technical doc to build an AI shopping assistant”

3. Used Claude Code to scaffold the app

4. Iterated daily

Four days later:
I had a working prototype.

No funding. No team. Just energy and execution.

💸 The Truth About Wealth

You don’t get rich from a job.
You get rich from building value.

Your 9–5 income is capped.
Your product isn’t.

Entrepreneurs know this.
Builders know this.
Now, AI makes it impossible to ignore.

🔥 If You’re Not Building, You’re Falling Behind

Every decade, there's a shift.
This is one of them.

And right now, there are two types of people:

• The ones who say “AI is cool”

• The ones who ship with it

Tools like:

• ChatGPT

• Claude Code

• Gemini CLI

• Lovable

• Bolt.new

These aren’t toys.
They’re leverage.

🏁 Final Thought

The builders are winning.
Because the cost of starting has collapsed.

If you’ve got an idea...
Build it.

If you’re in a job...
Create something that makes you valuable beyond the job.

The hardest part used to be knowing where to start.

Now?
You can ask ChatGPT.

— Caleb

P.S. echocart.ai is live. It’s not perfect. But it’s real. And it happened because I stopped scrolling and started building. My Claude.md

I used it to write... me.

Not like:
“Write my bio”
“Make me sound smart”
“Help me go viral”

Instead, I asked:
“What’s confusing about me?”

That answer hit harder than expected.

Because clarity is uncomfortable.
Especially when it’s about you.

We’re All Critics (Except of Ourselves)

We love pointing fingers:

“He gained weight.”
“She’s not really doing that.”
“That’s just a pyramid scheme.”
“AI bro nonsense.”

But when was the last time you turned that lens on yourself?

What would you say if you were your own brand manager?

That’s what AI helped me do.

Not just automate.
Audit.

“Your Focus Determines Your Reality”

Watched Star Wars the other night.

Qui-Gon Jinn drops the line:

“Your focus determines your reality.”

I paused the movie.

That’s exactly what I’ve been struggling with:

Too many projects.
Too many identities.
Too much noise.

So here’s where I landed...

My Realignment (Starting Now)

If you’ve followed me, you know I’m a tech guy.

But I want to build more than just software.

I’m building a product.
A brand.
A future.

🚀 It’s called EchoCart.
Think ChatGPT and Amazon had a baby.
AI-powered shopping with real insight, not fake reviews.

This newsletter — Build Different — is now my Captain’s Log.

Every week I’ll share:

• What I’m building

• What I’m struggling with

• What I’m learning

• What tools or mindset shifts are helping me move forward

🎥 YouTube → Now Just Caleb King

No more People In Tech.
Just me — breaking down the same stuff I talk about here, but in long-form videos.

🎙️ Podcast → Mindset Science

I work from home.
Building solo.
Networking is hard.

So I’m launching a podcast to meet smart people and share unfiltered conversations.

Think of it as coffee chats with people I want to learn from…and maybe you do too.

🤖 Use ChatGPT for Alignment, Not Aesthetics

This was the breakthrough:

Don’t ask AI to write for you.
Ask it to reflect you back to yourself.

Every day, I ask:

• What’s one thing I can focus on today?

That’s been the game-changer.

Not prompts.
Perspective.

👇 Final Thought

You don’t need a new tactic.
You need a mirror.

And if ChatGPT doesn’t get you...
maybe no one else does either.

So fix that.

Let’s build different.

– Caleb

Not a joke. A roadmap.

The TikTok account BigFootVlogs hit 1M followers in 30 days.

No gorilla. No crew. No budget.

AI tools + smart storytelling = full-time income.

Created with Google's Veo 3. Voiced with ElevenLabs. Monetized through brand deals.

This isn't content. It's leverage.

💡 What This Means for You

While most people debate AI… a few are using it to:

• Land $80K remote jobs

• Launch solo agencies

• Replace their 9–5

They treat AI like Excel in the 90s. Essential, not optional.

Your boss will pay someone to use these tools. It might as well be you.

🔧 The 3-Part AI Framework

1. Corporate Video Wizard

Become the in-house video expert.

Use Veo to:

• Replace boring decks with engaging explainers

• Build onboarding and training videos

• Create POV demos for customer journeys

Why it works:

• Saves companies $5K–20K per project

• Gives you visibility across departments

• Builds your digital leadership brand

Investment: 1–2 hours per video | Tools: Veo, ElevenLabs, Synthesia

2. Confidence Simulator

Turn fear into practice.

Create POVs like:

• "You're negotiating your raise"

• "You're pitching your startup"

• "You're speaking on stage"

Then monetize:

• Share for free to build trust

• Sell custom POVs ($25–$100)

• Package as corporate training ($2K–$10K)

Who's buying: Coaches, HR teams, therapists, introverts

3. Local Business Accelerator

Solve real problems with AI.

Offer:

• Promo videos for restaurants

• Social media content for salons

• Simple chatbots for customer service

How to start:

• Make 3 free videos

• Show 10 businesses

• Charge $300–$1K/month ongoing

Local businesses don't need Hollywood. They need consistency.

🧠 Why This Works

You're not selling videos. You're selling emotions:

• Horror triggers adrenaline

• POV builds confidence

• Local creates trust

AI doesn't replace human needs. It meets them faster.

🛠️ Your 48-Hour Sprint

Hours 1–2: Sign up for tools. Test.

Hours 3–8: Make your first video.

Hours 9–24: Publish it. Learn.

Hours 25–48: Make three more.

Then:

• DM collaborators

• Pitch your first offer

• Refine the system

Most people won't move. That's your edge.

Tools exist. Markets are ready. Creators are winning.

Build or scroll. Your call.

— Caleb

P.S. That gorilla video took 6 hours to make and landed enough deals to quit a job. No fancy camera. No team. Just execution.

GPS tells us where to go.
Google tells us what to think.
And ChatGPT? It thinks for us.

But here’s the problem:
When you outsource thinking, your brain stops showing up.

MIT just dropped a study that’s basically a red flag for anyone building their career (or identity) using AI tools alone.

📊 The Study: Brains vs. Bots

MIT researchers had 54 people write essays for 4 months.
Three groups:

• One used ChatGPT

• One used Google

• One used just their brain

They strapped EEGs to everyone.
Then watched what happened.

TL;DR: ChatGPT users’ brains got lazy.

Brain activity weakened.
Connectivity dropped.
And when they wrote without AI later, they looked like total beginners.

The kicker?
83% of ChatGPT users couldn’t recall a single line they had just written.
The brain-only group? Only 11% had that problem.

Let that sink in: You wrote something — and minutes later, your brain had no record of it.

🧠 The Cognitive Debt You’re Not Noticing

This isn’t about AI being bad.
This is about how you’re using it.

MIT coined a term: Cognitive Debt.

It’s like credit card spending for your brain.
Convenient now, costly later.

It’s the same reason relying on GPS shrinks your spatial memory.
Taxi drivers in London literally have larger hippocampi because their brains had to memorize routes.

What you don’t use, you lose.

🏋️ Think of It Like a Gym

Using ChatGPT to do your thinking is like using a weight belt for every lift.
Sure, you’ll move heavy stuff.
But your core turns to tortellini.

The goal is to use AI like a spotter, not a substitute.

Here’s what actually works (yes, the study backed this):

• Do the thinking first

• Write your ideas raw

• THEN use ChatGPT to refine, edit, reframe

That way, your brain gets the reps.
And AI becomes your strength amplifier, not your mental wheelchair.

🧩 The Big Takeaway

AI is a tool.
But so is a hammer — and you don’t build a house by handing the hammer to someone else.

If you let AI think for you, you’re slowly outsourcing the parts of your brain that made you valuable in the first place.

But if you think with AI — using your own cognitive muscles first — you’ll get the compound gains of creativity + clarity + speed.

That’s how you Build Different.

P.S. I use AI every day. But only after I think through the problem myself.
That’s the strategy.
Not dependence — enhancement.

Don’t skip leg day for your brain.

— Caleb

“The bottleneck isn’t your code.
It’s what happens after you write it.”

You write the feature in 2 days.
Then it sits in limbo for 7.
Waiting on a review.
Waiting on context.
Waiting on someone with “a sec to take a look.”

This is the real drag on velocity.
Not bugs.
Not blockers.
Just... bureaucracy disguised as quality control.

The Hidden Cost of Code Reviews

Code reviews were designed to improve quality.
Catch bugs.
Ensure consistency.
Prevent tech debt.

But the world changed.

Now:

• Developers use GitHub Copilot to generate full files.

• Juniors copy-paste code and ask ChatGPT:
  “Is this good?”
  “What does this do?”

• Seniors spend more time reviewing than building.

• PMs are stuck wondering why “done” doesn’t mean “shipped.”

We’re building in real time…
but still reviewing like it’s 2012.

The Modern Workflow

The old model:
Write → PR → Wait → Review → Fix → Wait → Merge

The new model:
Write → Review while writing → Ship

It’s possible now.
And tools like CodeRabbit/Github Copilot are making it the default.

What’s Actually Working

✅ Copy/paste-and-ask
Fast but shallow. Lacks context. Works for small chunks.

✅ Copilot on PRs
Helpful, but still surface-level. Good start.

✅ CodeRabbit
A contextual AI reviewer.
Knows your files, your standards, your PRs, your style.
Instant feedback. Built into your workflow.
Keeps devs in flow — and features moving.

Code reviews aren’t dead.
But the waiting is.

“Your team doesn’t need more meetings.
It needs less friction.”

Try CodeRabbit or Github Copilot
Free for public repos.
Cheap for private ones.
Expensive if you ignore it.

Let’s move.
Let’s build different.

-Caleb

The old career model was simple:

• Go to school.

• Get a degree.

• List your accomplishments in bullet points.

• Hope for a callback.

That’s dead.
We’re in the era of digital proof of work. And most people haven’t caught up.

Let’s break it down.

🪦 The Resume Problem

Resumes are static. One-dimensional.
They don’t show how you think, communicate, or solve problems.

They’re built for machines — not humans.
Applicant tracking systems (ATS) decide if you’re worth a glance… based on keywords.

This creates a weird battle:

• You use ChatGPT to stuff in buzzwords.

• The recruiter uses AI to filter it out.

It’s not hiring.
It’s algorithmic warfare.

🎥 Enter: The Era of Visibility

If you want to stand out, do this instead:

• Record a short video explaining who you are and what you solve.

• Answer questions asynchronously — like a modern-day cover letter.

• Share your personality, energy, clarity, and confidence.

A well-done 60-second clip beats 6 pages of fluff.

Think of it as your personal trailer.
And trailers get watched.

📡 Your Online Presence = Your Real Resume

Hiring managers Google you.
Before they email. Before they interview. Before they decide.

So ask yourself:

🔹 Is there anything worth seeing?

Your LinkedIn, Substack, GitHub, portfolio site, or YouTube channel — that’s your living resume.

Proof of work > piece of paper.
Document your thinking. Share your process. Post your insights. Show the receipts.

You don’t need 10K followers.
You just need signal — evidence that you know your stuff and care about the craft.

🚨 No One’s Coming to Save You

No one’s going to give you permission to be visible.

But here’s the shift:

You're not applying.
You're building awareness.
You're creating gravity so opportunities come to you.

We don’t get picked anymore.
We get discovered.

🛠 Build Different.

The best candidates don’t win jobs.
The most visible and valuable ones do.

So build.
Write.
Speak.
Teach.

And let the old game die.

Your future is too important to be filtered out by an algorithm.

— Caleb