Does AI Make You Fearful or Fearless?

As I go through life, I find people’s thoughts and opinions about AI fascinating, just as I found their thoughts and opinions about “technology” in general fascinating in the decades prior to the advent of AI. My mental calculation has always been that more people are scared of technology and AI than not.

In fact, I had a conversation with an intelligent and thoughtful person just the other day who said he didn’t use AI because he was afraid of it.

Reflecting on that conversation recently, I thought: I feel exactly the opposite. I feel fearless with AI!

And apparently, his apprehension about AI isn’t unusual. The 2026 Stanford AI Index shows that more than 85% of Chinese respondents see AI as more beneficial than harmful, while less than 45% of Americans see it that way.

Why am I on the other side of that equation?

Let me explain.

If other people are anything like me, I think one of the reasons people don’t like change is because they don’t know where to start. Beyond that, they don’t know who to ask for help. And if they need an expert, will they be able to afford that person?

Change means moving in a different direction or moving from a dead stop. Both require overcoming inertia, which requires a tremendous amount of energy. Think of a car that has stalled in the middle of an intersection and is blocking traffic and needs to be pushed to the side of the road. The car is heavy, and moving it from a dead stop requires a ton of energy. That’s overcoming inertia. Once the car is rolling, it gets easier to push, and the faster it goes, the easier it gets. Change is the same way; it’s hard to get started, to overcome the inertia. But once you do, watch out. Just like the car rolling faster and faster, change comes easier and easier.

Imagine a time before AI—not that hard to do.

Let’s use an example I know something about: writing a book.

You decide you want to write a book. You’ve got great ideas and you have written things, but never a book. How do you get started?

Before AI, you would search Google or some other search engine. You would receive dozens of links to follow that would provide everything from companies who will do it all for you if you pay them thousands of dollars to various levels of advice and guidance on how to do it yourself.

Which path is the right one? And if you choose a company to help you, will they perform, or will you end up with an inferior product?

Let’s say you find websites that lay out some basic instructions for you to self-publish, which is likely your best option, since you’re unknown to any publishers. Pretty quickly you discover that writing the manuscript was only the beginning. Now you need to figure out editing, formatting, cover design, ISBNs, Kindle Direct Publishing, marketing, and probably a half-dozen other things you didn’t even know about.

And guess what? You probably don’t know how to do most of these things, who can help you, or where to find them. Back to Google for each one of these steps and on and on it goes, if you haven’t already given up by now because the inertia is just too high.

All you wanted to do was be a writer. You wanted to write. And you are a writer with good ideas, but you couldn’t get your book published because of all the specialized knowledge you needed and all of the specialists you needed to hire.

I can tell you from experience that it’s easy to spend $3,000 or more to go through this process with your first book.

Now let’s do the same thing with AI.

You want to write a book. You simply ask your favorite AI platform this:

I'm a first-time author and I want to self-publish a book using Amazon KDP. Give me a simple numbered list of the major steps from finished manuscript to published book. Don't give me the details yet—just the steps. Then I'll ask you to walk me through each step, one at a time, when I'm ready.

The above paragraph is the instruction I gave to AI and is called a prompt. But there’s something important you should know: I didn’t even write the prompt myself.

I simply told AI what I wanted to accomplish and asked it to write the prompt for me. AI gave me the prompt above.

Then I gave that prompt back to AI. Here’s the answer it gave me:

1. Finish and edit your manuscript
2. Format the manuscript for publication
3. Create your book cover
4. Set up your Amazon KDP account
5. Create your book listing and enter the book details
6. Upload your manuscript and cover
7. Preview and proof your book
8. Choose your publishing rights, territories, and pricing
9. Order a physical proof copy, if publishing in print
10. Make any final corrections
11. Publish the book
12. Review the live Amazon listing and begin promoting it

Let’s say you’ve finished the manuscript. You go back to AI and ask:

I need some more detail about step 1. I have finished my manuscript. Where do I find an editor?

And AI will tell you where to find an editor and what to look for when choosing one.

From there, you’re in control. If you don’t understand the answer or have additional questions, keep asking until you understand and have a path forward. Then move to Step 2.

You don’t need to know how to publish a book. You don’t even need to know all the right questions to ask. You just need to know what you want to accomplish and ask AI how to get started.

I published my first book in 2021. It took me about a year to write it, and I hired an editor, a formatter, and joined a self-publishing group that guided me through the process.

My second book, My Favorite Daughter and the $1.50 Lunch, was published in July of 2026. It’s an illustrated children’s book with only 32 pages, so it was much simpler. Even so, a children’s book requires illustrations on nearly every page. I didn’t hire a traditional editor or illustrator.

I said I didn’t hire a “traditional” editor or illustrator, but I did have both. AI performed both functions as part of the $20-a-month subscription I was already paying for.

From first draft to publication on Amazon took exactly four weeks.

My third book is in the works and is well on track to be finished by the end of the year. Again, I’m using AI as my editor, illustrator, and research assistant. For both my second and third books, my cost has essentially been limited to my time and the AI subscription.

Writing books is just one example of why AI makes me feel fearless.

Any topic I don’t understand and want to learn about, I ask AI. Any project I want to take on, whether it is starting a new business, exploring a new career, writing and publishing a song, or troubleshooting my ’92 F-150, I ask AI.

AI may not ultimately be the expert I need. Sometimes it helps me determine that I need an attorney, doctor, accountant, mechanic, or some other professional. But now I know who I need, why I need them, and what questions I should ask when I get there.

Most importantly, I’m no longer standing at the starting line wondering how to begin.

I’m fond of saying, “When you’re stuck, you need movement.” Movement isn’t limited to something physical. It can be mental or simply doing something different. Examples include going to the gym, taking a walk, listening to music, calling a friend, playing an instrument, or simply asking a question that gets you to the next step. It doesn’t even have to be the right movement. Sometimes you just need to do something to break the inertia.

Remember the stalled car? The hardest part was getting it moving. Once it started rolling, it became easier to push. I think life works much the same way.

That’s what AI does for me. When I’m stuck, I ask a question. AI gives me a next step, and suddenly I’m moving.

I don’t feel like I have to know how to do everything anymore. I just have to be willing to start.

And with AI as my helper, I feel fearless.