Confession: I love working on my birthday. 

Actually, I work (at least a little bit) almost every day.

Not because I’m especially driven… 

But because, to me, “work” is a form of play. 

I get to connect with people (like you) who bring out the best in me, which feels like playing. It's very fulfilling and gratifying.

I get to share the marketing tools I’ve developed over nearly 40 years and watch them transform people’s businesses in real, concrete ways.

Just this week a client said "Yay, I have a path!" and she was actually excited to do her marketing "homework." 

That's what brings out the best in me.

And I get to stay curious about new technologies, like AI.

(In fact, I just asked my personal marketing chatbot, “Artificial Ilise” how to get the best sleep - apparently one hour of deep non-REM sleep is enough to remove the toxins from the brain. So it's less about how long we sleep than which cycles we get.)

As my own boss, I get to decide what time I wake up and how I spend every precious moment. 

Today, I let my body wake me up (thankfully Fanny slept in). I’ll also be watching a couple webinars and doing lots of learning, which is actually my favorite thing to do. (Call me weird!).

Will I take off early today to enjoy a birthday rosé among friends? 

Of course. Then multiple desserts. 🎂🍨🍰🍫

But before I go, I want to share something with you…

It’s a peek inside my recent Simplest Marketing Plan “Office Hours,” where I answered one of the most common questions I’ve been getting lately:

“When should I use AI?”

Should you use it for content creation?
Marketing strategy?
Client work?
Ideation?

Here’s what I think: AI is for removing obstacles.

Watch the me share my 4 favorite ways it does this in the clip:

Essentially, I want you to use AI…

When you’re stuck – like when you need to pivot your business but you’re not sure if your idea is viable.

When your mind is blank - and you need content ideas, marketing angles, or a place to start. Artificial Ilise will offer possibilities to get your wheels turning, so you’re never staring at a blank screen for long. (Of course, check her ideas as you would anyone else’s!)

When you don’t know what to say or you’re trying to do something uncomfortable - like setting boundaries without losing that new client who’s texting you at all hours.

When you start doubting yourself – like after submitting a proposal to a prospect. Artificial Ilise can help you calm down and react in a professional manner.

Of course, any AI tool can help. But since my “Artificial Ilise” chatbot is “trained” on all of my books and decades of my best thinking, she really responds like me!

Whatever you end up using AI for, I hope you’ll approach it with curiosity and fun.

And your whole business, too.

After all, making it “fun” is one of the best parts of being in business for ourselves.

That’s all for today. Until next time...

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