Stop Learning AI, Start Building With It

Hey there!

I keep hearing people saying things like:

• "I really need to dedicate a weekend to learning AI"

• “It’s so overwhelming, I don’t know where to start”

• and my personal favorite “I just bought a prompt engineering course, I am going all in!“

And every time I hear this, I want to scream.

Not because they're wrong to want to learn—but because they're setting themselves up to fail in the most boring way possible.

You know what actually works?

Getting obsessed with something that matters to you.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband, who is currently in his “sourdough dad era” was freaking out because his starter “Bruce“ was not doing well and the bread came out flat as an UFO.

Something was off with the measurements, hydration or whatever it is these crazy sourdough people are doing.

He was upset. I was sitting with my laptop, minding my own business, building a landing page in Lovable.

And then it hit us - why don’t we build something that solves his problem?

I started a new project in Lovable, asked my husband what would solve his problem and two hours later we have vibe coded a sourdough baking tracking app.

Curious to see the result ? 🥖Check it out here🥖

HOW COOL IS THAT?!?

Meanwhile, people spend months in structured AI courses and still feel like beginners.

The secret isn't dedication or discipline or the right course.

It's finding something you actually give a damn about and letting AI help you make it happen.

We are used to learning in a certain way

People treat AI like it's calculus—like there's a proper sequence you need to master before you're allowed to do anything interesting.

But AI is just a conversation with someone who happens to know everything. You already know how to have conversations.

The people who get ahead aren't the ones trying to become "good at prompting" first. They're the ones who start with a real problem and figure it out as they go.

The side quest advantage

Instead of asking "What should I learn first?" start asking "What do I wish existed?"

Maybe you're tired of meal planning for your family's specific dietary needs.

Maybe you want to organize your daily health routine in a way that actually makes sense to your brain.

Maybe you're curious if AI can help you turn your random voice memos into structured ideas.

These aren't "beginner projects"—they're the kind of personally meaningful experiments that teach you more than any generic tutorial ever could.

Break the analysis paralysis

This prompt forces action over analysis and gets you building something meaningful immediately instead of staying stuck in research mode.

Copy this into ChatGPT or Claude:

I keep getting stuck in learning mode instead of doing mode when it comes to AI. I research tools, watch tutorials, and plan approaches but rarely build anything meaningful.

Here's what's been on my mind lately that I wish was easier or different: [describe something specific that frustrates you or sparks your curiosity - could be work-related, personal, creative, whatever genuinely matters to you]

I want you to:
1. Pick the ONE most promising opportunity from what I described
2. Tell me exactly what to do in the next 60 minutes to make progress on it using AI
3. Give me the specific first prompt I should try
4. Suggest 3 actual apps or tools I could build with no-code platforms like Lovable that would solve this problem
5. Explain why this particular experiment will teach me more than any tutorial

Give me 3 multiple options to choose from and give me a clear path forward. I want to build something I can actually use today, even if it's imperfect.

Build something real

If you want that real confidence boost, don't just brainstorm—build something you can actually use.

That sourdough app that we build in 2 hours with Lovable was just a fun example, but there is so much more you can do with it. You literally describe what you want and it guides you through creating it. No coding background needed.

Think about that one productivity app you've been missing, or a custom tracker for something specific to your life.

Spend a weekend building it.

The satisfaction you get from using something you actually created changes everything.

You can try Lovable here if you're curious. 

The thing is, once you start building stuff like this, you realize how many opportunities you've been missing.

You start seeing AI opportunities & possibilities everywhere—in your content creation, your client workflows, your product development.

The ideas start flowing faster than you can implement them.

If you want to accelerate

That's where having strategic support becomes valuable. The side quest approach works solo, but if you're a solopreneur or online business owner who's already using AI and wants to move faster, I've opened up a few 1:1 coaching spots over the summer.

Not to walk you through AI basics, but to help you see the AI & automation opportunities you're missing and map out an integration strategy that aligns with your specific business goals and workflow.

Sometimes having someone who's been deep in this space help you connect the dots can save months of random exploration.

Book a 1:1 call with me

Take the blue pill?

Most people will read this and still go looking for the "proper" way to learn AI. (especially if you a a recovering corporate millennials like myself)

But a few of you will close this email and immediately think of something you want to try.

You'll spend an hour experimenting with an idea that doesn't make sense to anyone else but feels exciting to you.

Those are the people who will be building impossible things six months from now while everyone else is still taking courses.

Until next week,

Your AI Solopreneur Bestie, Elena

P.S. What's your sourdough app equivalent? What have you been wanting to experiment with? Hit reply and tell me—these responses always spark ideas for future content.