🌱 The most powerful way I’ve used ChatGPT

This week I had a breakthrough using ChatGPT. 

The real power came from two things:  

1. It knowing enough context about me (it knows me well!)

2. Asking the right questions

This prompt is now one of my favorite ways to get clarity on something I’ve been stuck on:

Prompt (for you to copy):

Imagine we go back and forth way more here and I learn and experiment with every single resource. Until finally I have an aha moment of clarity. Describe in my words what I would have learned and my breakthrough. 

Here’s your 3 insights in 3 minutes.

😏 Childhood Systems

By fourth grade, I had a system:

Mon–Tues: Dad’s
Wed–Thurs: Mom’s
Fri–Sun: Alternating

I made it up after my parents got divorced. I remember thinking, “Huh. I just made that up… and now we’re actually doing it.”

(Later I’d realize: that’s how life works. Most “rules” are just made up.)

But back then, I was just figuring things out.

On Tuesday nights, I’d pack my favorite pants to make sure I had them for the longer weekend.

On Wednesdays, I’d prep my soccer gear, because I had Hebrew school right after school, then soccer practice right after that.

At a young age, I learned to think ahead — to build systems that made the rest of the week smoother.

That kind of planning served me… until it didn’t.

🤔 A Better Operating System

As an adult, I found myself caught between two competing philosophies:

• The Drill Sergeant: “Outcomes over process. Grind it out.”

• The Zen Master: “Let go of the outcome. Trust the process.”

Neither felt quite right.

That’s when I came across psychologist and founder coach Dr. Gena Gorlin, who introduced me to a third path:

The Builder’s Mindset — a life philosophy grounded in agency, values, and honest pursuit.

Here’s how she breaks it down:

The builder’s mindset resonated instantly. 

Not because it promised ease, but because it brought clarity.

It wasn’t about chasing outcomes or pretending not to care.

It was about doing the work for the right reasons — not out of fear or guilt, but from clarity and alignment. 

I LOVED her essay A different and better way to live beautifully articulating all this.

🎯 Detached Drive

This builder’s mindset helped me see just how much energy I was WASTING.

Not on the work, but on worrying. On outcomes I couldn’t control.

I now think of this as Detached Drive.

The best analogy I’ve found for this is an archer: 

Trying to steer the arrow mid-air? Total waste of energy.

Detached drive doesn’t mean you don’t care. It means you DO care deeply. 

So much that you focus only on what’s yours to own. 

The prep and form all the way up until the release. That’s it. 

It’s about doing the hard work with full effort and then letting go. 

Not to be passive. But to be precise. 

Not scattered or second-guessing.

Just proud of how you showed up.

Salud,
Mitchell