I don’t talk about my AI use here all that much.
Which is funny, because behind the scenes, I’ve been pretty far down the rabbit hole.
Claude with Obsidian. A Grok bot. ChatGPT routines. Plenty of experiments that taught me something, even when they didn’t earn a permanent place in my day.
Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time with Instinct. And I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about it.
Here’s one feature I love: Carolina Wilke and I each have our own AI, and we’ve added each other as trusted contacts. Our agents can communicate and help coordinate things on our behalf.
That is very, very cool!
We each have our own context and our assistants can work together to get things done on our behalf.
But the part I’ve put the most thought into is what my AI has to work FROM.
A business has a lot of history. You’ve made decisions, changed your mind, learned what your clients actually need. Some of that lives in documents. Plenty of it lives in your head.
An assistant needs a way to understand which version of the offer is current, which draft is an experiment, and what you mean when you say, “That doesn’t sound like me.”
Mia Kiraki 🎭, who writes ROBOTS ATE MY HOMEWORK, helped me think this through in her essay How to build a world for your AI.
She’s one of my favorite voices in the ai space right now. I used that essay to help build the “world” my Instinct works inside.
For me, that meant giving my strategic documents, references, writing examples, and business decisions a home, with clear guidance about how to use them.
My voice belongs there. So do the principles I trust, our current offers, and the difference between an idea we’re exploring and a decision we’ve actually already made.
Otherwise, a beautifully written answer can send you moving towards something you already decided wasn’t the right direction.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
A person raises their hand with interest in our small group cohort program, Your First Yes. Their email conversation is in Gmail, their assessment results are in Notion, and the offer I’m prepared to share with them lives in Google Drive.
Previously, bringing that together meant opening tabs and reconstructing the conversation before I could make decisions on how I’d best like to communicate in service of someone making a decision.
Now I can ask the system to read the history, find where we left off, so I can craft a useful follow-up message without having to hunt for what the person has already shared with us.
In one evening of auction outreach, this setup helped prepare eight WhatsApp message links and 19 Gmail drafts.
I still crafted the words and assumed full ownership over what to send. But having the context cohesively in one place ready gave me a much easier place to begin.
If you’re experimenting with AI, start with one job you already do every week. Give it the sources you trust and describe what a good result looks like. Then test it on something you do regularly and already have a strong understanding about what the process should look like.
One call preparation brainstorm. One follow-up. An invitation you’ve been meaning to write.
You’ll learn more from that than another afternoon consuming more AI content. You’ve got to get your hands dirty and make it practical!
And this is a pattern I see well beyond AI.
You can have years of experience, thoughtful writing, and work that really helps people, while still struggling to answer, “How can someone buy this?”
The offer is half-written. Your Substack readers love what you share. When someone asks about working together, you’re still piecing the answer together.
All that depth deserves a clear path into the world.
That’s the thinking behind the auction idea Carolina and I shared yesterday: one private, 90-day build for someone who already has meaningful skills and experience.
We’d help shape the offer, build the invitation and emails WITH you, and use your Substack to bring it to the right people. Carolina will also support what comes up around being seen and receiving money for your work.
You’d have somewhere to be supported in decision making while you’re actually moving the ball forward.
We’re exploring an auction with bidding starting at $1. The winning bid would set the price.
If you’d like a clear offer you can put in front of real people, without having to piece every part together alone, read what we’re considering and tell us whether you’d bid.
Everything Is Connected,
Phil ❤️⚡️
If you’re building a business from the heart but feel the walls going up around your next step, our free Harmony Map assessment helps you see what’s creating friction and where to bring your attention so you can move forward.
Who we’re celebrating: Toku McCree, turning five years of work into a deck you can use
This week I'm celebrating my friend and past client Toku McCree and the launch of Toku Tarot.
He's built a 78-card deck with a question on the back of every card. You don't have to know how to interpret tarot to have somewhere to begin. The question gives you something to explore.
One card is called The Beginner's Mind. Its question: "What do you want that feels impossible?"
Toku says this project has been five years in the making. He's spoken openly about the fear of what people would think of the deck, and of him.
Now he's putting it into the world.
And there's a part of this I'm especially pumped about. A long time ago, Toku and I talked about an opportunity for custom decks for communities. Now we're planning a customized version for Sacred Business Flow!
An idea we talked about is becoming something our community can hold and use.
So here's to you, Toku. For giving this work a form other people can explore. I'm excited to see where it goes. Check out the deck here.
And you have work of your own that you're ready to bring to real people, take a look at the private-build auction Carolina and I are considering. We'd help you turn it into a clear offer, build the invitation and emails WITH you, and stay involved as you start making invitations. Tell us in the comments whether you'd bid.
Happenings
Your offer. Your Substack. Us in your corner. - Opens October 14
You have work you want to offer. Choosing the focus, naming the price, and sending the invitation keep getting in the way.
Carolina and I are opening one private spot for 90 days to build your offer, invitations and emails WITH you, and help you bring it to real people. We'll stay involved as you make invitations and refine the offer from what you hear.
$1 opening bid, not the final price. Bidding opens in the comments of Wednesday's launch post. Read the idea and tell us if you'd bid →
The Weekly Highlights
She had built a successful business doing work she loved, but slowing down still felt like guilt. One observation on our call made her shoulders drop, and it might explain why the success you’ve earned still feels so hard to enjoy.
Carolina's "hell no" to four days of live translation became a yes after a pause - a conversation about trusting yourself to begin before your experience gives you proof.
You’ve helped people. Why is this invitation so hard?
What would it take to trust yourself before you have proof?
The Chinese Bamboo and Your Sacred Business
You keep writing, making invitations, showing up, and still the ground looks quiet. Our short animated film, Your Roots Are Listening, is for that season of your Sacred Business: three minutes and twenty seconds for anyone wondering whether their work is taking root.
Memorable Quote by Mia Kiraki 🎭
Confidence, in practice, is our tolerance for being seen mid-process
Source: Mia Kiraki, Confidently Creative? (Aug 17, 2026)
