I love listening to audiobooks while I’m driving. It is something I have been doing for decades—yep, I started listening to audiobooks when they were on CD—and since I use that time in the car to learn new things, I have been able to consume hundreds of books over the years.
Struggling to Connect: When Classic Lessons Clash with Personal Values
Recently, however, I listened to a book I knew had great information, yet I struggled with connecting the messages to how I approach things in life. The book was The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. I have made a conscious effort over the past decade or so to approach matters with empathy, compassion, understanding, and unity rather than from a place of an adversary. So, in listening to Greene talk about these great life lessons in terms of, for lack of a better way to say it, power struggle, I had difficulties relating the concepts to my own life.
My Challenge With Historical Context
The other aspect of the book that made things challenging for me was that I don’t have much interest in history. In school, I did well in the subject, but not because I enjoyed it—honestly, I have likely forgotten most of it at this point. So when he relates all of the examples to this major battle between these two empires in 300 BC or whatever, I kind of tuned out and the whole point ended up being lost to me.
Turning to AI: Making Ancient Wisdom Applicable to Today
Rather than walk away from the book, I decided to finish it and then use some AI tools to help me better understand it. I created a prompt in ChatGPT and asked it to give me chapter-by-chapter summaries of the book, but I put the lessons in terms of small business rather than war. And wow, the information is now so much more relatable for me, and I can not only understand it but embrace the valuable lessons within it.
Real-World Examples: Transforming Historical Lessons into Practical Advice
For example, the first chapter in the book is titled Never Outshine the Master and Greene’s example is about the Court of Louis XIV and the downfall of Surena. I legit have no clue who Louis XIV is, let alone what happened with him and his court, or who Surena is. But ChatGPT was able to break down the chapter like this:
- Summary: Always make those above you feel superior. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents, or you might accomplish the opposite.
- Small Business Example: If you’re working with a partner or a key client who takes pride in their creative ideas, support their ideas and add value without overshadowing them.
Another example is Chapter 3, Conceal Your Intentions, where Greene’s example includes the Duke of Milan and how he concealed his intentions to deceive his enemies to rise to power. Um, who and what? ChatGPT’s summary for me, on the other hand, was:
- Summary: Keep people off-balance by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense.
- Small Business Example: When negotiating a deal, don't disclose your bottom line. Discuss broad intentions and needs to keep opponents guessing about your real stance.
The Power of AI: Applying Timeless Wisdom in the Modern World
As we have talked about over many blog posts, the use of AI tools like ChatGPT is immensely powerful if you know how to use them. Reach out to us if you want to learn more.
Ponder This
- How could AI tools help you discover new approaches to problems that seem unsolvable?
- In what areas of your life could reimagining challenges with AI lead to unexpected breakthroughs?
- How might using AI to reinterpret traditional concepts open up opportunities you hadn't considered before?
Books
- The 48 Laws of Power - Robert Greene
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