Rely on your research

You don't need permission. You don't need decades of experience. You can just do things.

A fundamental shift happened when I stopped asking people what to do and started doing my own research.

For most of my life, if I wanted to learn, I'd find someone to ask—my parents, a friend, an "expert."

As it turns out, research produces better outcomes.

This meant diving into Google, research papers, forums and subreddits, and genuinely nerding out. Often it required days or weeks to just to learn where to look.

Sometimes I came up empty handed, or worse: with the wrong information.

But here's the interesting part: AI has changed everything.

You no longer have to figure out what you don't know—which is often the hardest step.

Take strength training. In my experience, most people start by copying others or hiring a trainer.

But getting into the nuances of strength and hypertrophy training?Understanding periodization and progressive overload?

That might take years.

It might take decades.

And you might spend those decades following misguided advice, working with coaches who rely on outdated methods (or no method), or doing the wrong things.

Most people do the wrong things.

Now, you can ask Claude or ChatGPT: "Explain the evidence-based approach to strength and hypertrophy training for maximum results. Break it down into simple, actionable bullets that detail implementation."

And you get a comprehensive breakdown.

Instead of relying on the person who happens to be in your social circle, you now have access to synthesized knowledge from thousands of sources.

I might not get everything I need, but now I know where to look for:

• Things I've never done

• Topics where I think, "I don't even know where to look"

• Stuff where I’ve said “It’d be cool but I don’t have enough time”

This approach has helped me accomplish more than I thought possible.

But what if we took this one step further?

What if instead of asking anyone—human or AI—”what do I do?” We started with research and then actually did things?

The tools for self-improvement have never been more accessible. The barriers to entry for learning any skill have never been lower.

You don't need permission. You don't need decades of experience.

You can just do things.