There's No Such Thing as Being "Behind" in AI (And Why That's Liberating)

The fastest-moving technological shift in our lifetime is happening right now. But here's the liberating truth: there's no such thing as being "behind" in AI—only different starting points.

I had coffee with a brilliant entrepreneur last week who apologized for "being so behind on AI." She's running a successful consulting business, has two kids, and is managing aging parents. Her idea of being "behind" was not having played with ChatGPT for writing her newsletter yet.

Meanwhile, I've been deep in AI tools for over a year, and I still feel like I'm constantly playing catch-up. New models are released weekly. Tools evolve faster than I can learn them. The AI newsletter I subscribed to last month is already covering concepts that didn't exist when I started writing this post.

That's when it hit me: We're all beginners in AI, and we always will be.

The Myth of Being "Current" in AI

The idea that you need to be "caught up" on AI is not just wrong—it's counterproductive. AI isn't like learning Spanish or mastering Excel. It's more like trying to stay current with the weather: it's constantly changing, and yesterday's forecast doesn't help you plan for next week.

Think about it this way: the developers building these AI tools are discovering new capabilities as they go. The researchers publishing papers are surprised by their own results. If the people creating AI can't predict what's coming next, why do we pressure ourselves to stay ahead of a curve that's constantly redrawing itself?

What "Current" Actually Means

Being current in AI isn't about knowing every new model or trying every shiny tool. It's about understanding these three fundamentals:

- AI amplifies what you already do well - It's not about replacing your skills; it's about making them more powerful.
- The best AI strategy is the one you'll actually use - Consistency beats complexity every time.
- Your business problems haven't changed - AI just gives you new ways to solve them.

That's it. You can ignore 90% of the AI noise and focus on those three principles, and you'll be more "current" than someone trying to follow every AI influencer on Twitter.

A Different Approach: The 3-2-1 Framework

Instead of trying to learn everything, try this approach:

- 3 tools you use regularly - Pick three AI tools that solve actual problems in your business. Master those before adding new ones.
- 2 newsletters you trust - Choose two reliable sources for AI updates and ignore the rest of the noise.
- 1 experiment per month - Try one new AI application monthly. That's it. No pressure to adopt everything.

This framework keeps you informed without overwhelming you. It's sustainable, focused, and actually actionable.

Why "Behind" is Actually an Advantage

Here's what I've learned from watching early AI adopters (myself included): being first often means being wrong. We've tried tools that no longer exist, learned workflows that became obsolete, and invested time in approaches that didn't scale.

If you're just starting your AI journey now, you get to:

- Learn from our mistakes
- Start with more mature, stable tools
- Focus on proven use cases instead of experiments
- Build on established best practices

The entrepreneur I mentioned earlier? She'll probably implement AI more efficiently than I did because she's not carrying the baggage of outdated approaches.

The Real Question Isn't "Am I Behind?"

The real question is: "What specific business problem am I trying to solve?"

Start there. Not with the latest AI model or the tool everyone's talking about on LinkedIn. Start with the thing that's actually frustrating you in your business right now:

- Writing social media posts takes too long
- Customer service emails pile up
- Content creation feels repetitive
- Data analysis intimidates you

Pick one problem. Find one AI tool that addresses it. Use it consistently for a month. Then, and only then, consider adding something new.

Progress and Implementation Over Perfection

Just try it.

There’s probably a YouTube video available for whatever you want to learn or understand. The tech and tools come out so fast, and there are YouTubers whose entire channel is dedicated to producing videos about this daily (it’s a little exhausting watching them. Oh, to be in your 20s 😂).

You may end up like me, where I’m now learning the basics of setting up good production and guardrails for developing with vibe coding tools (i.e., going a little backwards, but that’s okay).

It might delay things a bit, but I want to do it right.

What matters is that I started.

My call to action for you today is simply to try it.

Get started.