"the skill that changed my life? becoming a machinist."

I don't even know what that is. but this old man said it built his whole life.

someone else said running. "it will change your life. literally extends your longevity." that made me laugh.

on the beach I talked with two ladies and their four dogs. one older lady said "making friends" is the skill that changed her life. simple but valuable.

I've been asking people this question all week:

for younger people: "what's the one skill that would change your life?"

for older people: "what's the skill that changed your life?"

the answers were very different but both valuable.

younger people mentioned skills like planning, sales, communication, fitness. but I noticed that what they're really looking for is connection. not the skill itself.

Dom for example said she wants to learn sales. why? because she wants to travel more often with her partner. so she doesn't really want to learn sales. it's about traveling with her partner. there are many different ways to achieve that.

older people mentioned skills they actually learned. their jobs. their capabilities. how far it brought them in life.

(video at the bottom btw)

something else I learned: this was an extremely valuable exercise.

I would say that one of the skills I want to learn is connecting more often with complete strangers. cold approaching them. because there's nothing to lose.

but I have to tell you the truth.

I failed this challenge.

I said I would talk with 50 strangers this week and I only managed 23.

I honestly feel bad to realize how fearful and judgmental and fragile my ego is. to not be able to just smile and randomly approach 50 strangers. ask them some basic, interesting, pleasant questions.

I wish I could have done 100 interviews. not even 50. yet my inner judgments and fear got the best of me. and I regret that because it is limiting my life. it really is.

I would see people on the bus or walking on the streets that I found interesting. people I really wanted to talk to. but then my inner judgments blocked me.

sorry for the rant. I know I should be trying to lead by example but fuck it. I wanted to share this side of the journey too.

AI is not afraid of asking 5 million people those simple questions. but I am not there yet.

right now I'm at the airport. 40 minutes until my flight back to Europe. it was a great week. A lot of work in Santa Barbara. ups and downs.

I'm sharing a free guide to help you connect with strangers. the openers, tips, and strategies that worked, using NotebookLM AI from Google: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/21b85d78-ca39-45f4-98f9-eb6682ce8b47

let me know if you have tips or questions about this week.

next week: double my arm strength in 7 days

can I use AI to coach me to double my strength? I won't become a bodybuilder but increasing strength is something I always wanted.

what skill do you want me to explore? reply and tell me so I can add it to the list.

If you missed week 3, HERE are the 5 lessons for coding an app from 0.

Reply to this email with all your questions, comments, or tips, I will answer.

Or share with friends who want to join.

- Alex