"The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
☝️ Drucker’s quote feels exceptionally relevant right now.
Not in a Successories poster / rah-rah kind of way. But more like … peer pressure.
Literally, every DAY now, there’s a new tool, new model, new way of doing things. Followed by a mega-headline, stock reaction, and/or corporate shockwave.
It’s like whiplash trying to keep up … run your business … and tune out the noise … all at the same time.
***
No doubt about it, AI is changing. Everything.
And the most direct path is to treat it as a faster version of what you already have. Plug in a few tools, save some time, move on.
That works ... to a point.
For me, it’s triggered some much bigger questions:
WHY does this design process need to take three weeks? …
HOW can we make things easier and more efficient? …
WHY are we still measuring our value in hours? …
WHAT do our clients really even need right now? …
It’s a weird duality of total reinvention — and sheer terror.
And this isn’t the first time I’ve felt it.
***
When Canva first launched, designers lost their minds a little.
[ raises hand 👋 ]
If anyone could make something that looked designed, what would happen to designers?
What were we actually selling if creative was suddenly accessible to everyone with a laptop and a free account?
Ultimately, Canva DID take something from us: the part of design work that was always going to be commoditized.
But the clients who saw the difference between professional-ish graphics and something that actively communicates, persuades, and builds a brand over time — those clients didn't go anywhere. They still haven’t.
***
That's the real lesson, and it applies now as much as it did then.
Canva replaced the designers who couldn't articulate their value in the first place. The tool just exposed a positioning problem that was already there.
AI will do the same thing.
It won't replace businesses that know what they're doing and can explain why it matters. It’ll replace the ones already struggling to answer that question.
That's the work we do. Not just making businesses look awesome, but building the positioning and identity that holds up when everything else is shifting.
And it all starts with a honest look at where you stand.
Are YOU ready?
Get Your Brand Scorecard
***
Five days. Five qualified prospects. One new client.
Now THIS is powerful stuff.
In just 5 days, my good friend and marketing mentor Tom Poland will show you how to generate 5 quality leads and close 1 new client.
AND how to repeat that process, weekly.
It starts with five sharp questions. The kind that reveal exactly what you should be doing, so it works and actually feels good to share.
Get Tom’s free training here:
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Victory Points
By: Mike Shary
My board-game-loving, copywriter extraordinaire and mentor, Dad ❤️
Forbidden Desert is a cooperative game where you and your team are stranded explorers trying to excavate parts of a buried flying machine before the relentless sun or shifting sands finish you off. You’re low on water, high on tension, and nowhere near “ready.”
This game doesn’t hand you clean plans. It buries the parts you need under piles of sand. It forces you to ration movement, balance exploration, and stay one step ahead of dehydration. And the only way out … is through.
Each player brings a unique ability to the team, but nobody can go it alone. The Climber might scale mountains of sand, but they still need the Navigator’s guidance. The Water Carrier can help everyone survive, but only if the group works smart.
The heart of the game is not how much you are carrying. It is how smartly you share the burden.
If one player hoards gear while another runs dry, you lose. If everyone rushes in different directions, you lose.
You win when you coordinate: one person scouting, another digging, another hauling parts, all watching the storm track and adjusting together.
Your brand has the same problem. It is not that you have too many tasks. It is that they’re scattered. Social posts here, a half-finished website there, random offers and mixed messages. A good brand advisor helps you carry that load differently, by building a plan, sharing the work, and focusing effort where it actually moves you toward escape from the chaos.
If you enjoy tense, cooperative games that reward planning, communication, and creative use of special powers, Forbidden Desert is a fantastic choice for families and groups that like to feel tested together rather than competing apart.
So channel your inner desert survivor. Get out your shovels. And build that damn airship, fast!
Make it a great week! 🙌
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