Hey folks!

I'm on day 6 of single dad of 5 kids, and we're making it! (specifically thanks to my parents' help) A couple things on my mind...

1. OpenClaw: I promise I think about stuff other than AI, but this one's too good. OpenClaw is a free AI agent that can actually DO STUFF on your computer and browser - API directly into your social media, email, you name it. My favorite use case: twice a day it scans my inbox, sorts everything into junk, FYI, and needs-a-response, I tell it what to do, and it handles it. All from a WhatsApp chat. I haven't touched my inbox in a week. Newsletter reader and friend Dhruv Kar put me onto it - he runs a whole newsletter on OpenClaw use cases here.

2. Call Me Captain Kirk: Had this conversation twice this week. I was in a dark place 6-8 months ago around AI - reading and listening to a lot of doomers, feeling scared I'd be replaced as a digital marketer and entrepreneur. At some point I made a turn (may have written about it here) where I accepted that the worst-case scenario is horrible and outside my control, so I might as well believe and act on the best-case scenario: through AI, we're all Captain Kirks now with an infinite crew on our Starship Enterprise - free to explore, build companies, products, art, music, whatever. That's a genuinely exciting opportunity. Will there be a marketer or entrepreneur AI? For sure. But that doesn't stop me from going on adventures with my crew of robots. Agree/disagree?

3. Kids Want Challenge: As mentioned, Chandler, Charleston (12), and Ford (1) have been out of town. Something I discovered this week: the kids did best when I gave them direct challenges rather than open-ended time. Two examples:

• Find Your Way Home: I needed to get some work done, so I dropped Everett (14) and Truman (8) off about 4 miles of public hiking trails away from a coffee shop and told them to find their way to me. They were a little apprehensive, got lost once, but eventually made it - and had the best time.
• Camp Counselor Penny: I assigned my 10yo daughter Penny as "camp counselor" for our 6 and 3yo daughters for a whole morning. Her job was to come up with games and she was 100% in charge. The girls loved it, and she really rose to the occasion.

Worth remembering: if I'm worried about kids acting up or going wild, proactively giving them a challenge keeps them from being the challenge. AMA

That's it for this week!

Best,

Blake