AI-Mazing Part Deux

I don't know if you were paying attention to the stock market earlier this week, when all of the software stocks in the world collapsed enormously overnight. That was all because of the threat of AI. The fear is that it is now so easy to create something that people will not use software anymore. They'll just build it.

We all know that's not true because building software that does lots of things for lots of people is hard.

But right now, it is incredibly exciting that YOU can create powerful, amazing applications yourself without knowing how to code. In our last missive A-mazing or AI-mazing , I talked about the excitement that I had creating my Call Lab and Discovery Lab products (and I just added a new one, Visibility Lab).

Not to be outdone, Julia has decided that she is going to build a product to expand her impact and expertise even though she has zero coding skills. There are many things that my wife is amazing at..technology is not one of them. But she's not going to let that get in the way.

Why does business news feel like it’s written for people who already get it?

Morning Brew changes that.

It’s a free newsletter that breaks down what’s going on in business, finance, and tech — clearly, quickly, and with enough personality to keep things interesting. The result? You don’t just skim headlines. You actually understand what’s going on.

Try it yourself and join over 4 million professionals reading daily.

Check it out

It's actually not all that much. It's sort of like Jukebox Hero, where all you need a guitar and stars in your eyes… (Though today you need something like Loveable, Relay.app or Claude Code.)

So rather than a guitar, you need software, but that isn't actually the biggest requirement. The biggest requirement to create something that extends and expands and amplifies your expertise is the belief that you can do it.

Although Julia is brilliant, she doesn't know an API from an APR. But the most magical thing is she does not need to know what an API is or how it works. These AI coding tools are so sophisticated that you can just ask it questions like, "What's an API? How do I implement it?" Depending upon which LLM you use and which browser you use, you can actually give instructions to an agent that lives in your browser, and it can just do things for you.

Now, you do have to watch them and help them sometimes, BUT if you need to know what an API is, you can ask the LLM. If you need to get an API key from some platform, you can have Claude in the browser or ChatGPT agents do that magically.

Frankly, you can build anything, but if you are on the north side of 50, you have had a career full of work that you don't want to do. Or you have had a career of work that you know how to do, but other people don't. Or you just might want to create something else entirely that has nothing to do with your career.

the biggest limitation to creating something today is in your ability to describe it explicitly. For most of these coding tools, you don't need to know how to make anything work. You just have to be able to explain what it is that you are trying to make work. Julian's application is, believe or not, about executive function. It involves:

She doesn't need to know how any of that works. She can just type in what she wants to have happen, or, if you use something cool like Wispr Flow, you can just talk to the LLM and tell it what you want to build, and it will clarify things. It will ask questions, and it will help you step by step create something that you want to create.

Knowing when to retire starts with understanding your goals. When to Retire: A Quick and Easy Planning Guide can help you define your objectives, how long you’ll need your money to last and your financial needs. If you have $1 million or more, download it now.

Download Your Free Guide

When I first started this whole vibe coding thing, I felt like a stranger in a strange land. I didn't know exactly what to do or questions to ask, but I came at it with a beginner's mind. Since I've worked in technology and marketing for a long time, it wasn't really as foreign as it might be for some others like Julia. As I watch her think through what she wants to build, the kind of experience she wants her future customers to have, the benefit that she wants to create, it's really quite amazing. These crazy tools have unlocked an entirely new piece of Julia, and I want you to take the leap and try unlocking something for yourself.

It might be something as simple as making a brand new website, which I did just a few days ago (Check out Tim Kilroy - WTF Is Up With Your Agency). I built every single page, wrote every single word (with some help from my friends at Claude) and I was able to drop in pictures and images and links and transparent backgrounds and animations - all this stuff that I don't ACTUALLY know how to do. This technology has made things so accessible that the limits for you are now removed. The limits are largely around what you believe you can accomplish.

I am not a woo-woo sort of guy. I know stuff is hard, and I know that things can get in the way. You might get frustrated or bored or feel like you're over your head. You might be frustrated, and you might get bored, but I promise you that you aren't in over your head.

The skills that you need to build something extraordinary, you already have. You have experience and insight. You have ideas and concepts about how things could be better. You have experienced problems that other people are currently having. If you can imagine a solution that can be effictive via a web or mobile application, you can build it.

chapter neXt is a newsletter/community/guide for entrepreneurial folks in their 50s and beyond. It is published by Julia Kelahan (check her out on LinkedIn, her amazing strength-based learning center & her ADHD & Executive Function coaching business) and Tim Kilroy (check him out on LinkedIn & his agency growth business & his agency-focused newsletter). They are the proud parents to 5 kids & live near Boston.