The ideal way to get paid is to get paid for just being you. That means scaling your personality with free leverage (like media and code) to give people what they can only get from you. It should feel like play to you, but look like work to other people.

That’s what I’ve been doing with my blog (Wealest.com) and this newsletter for years. I've written hundreds of articles, sent hundreds of newsletters.

But with AI and its ability to produce a lot of written content quickly, I think it’s a good time to look at other ways to build leverage apart from the written word.

Because now, if you’re writing online, you’re competing not just against other writers for attention, but computers too. It’s going to be tough to stand out if you don’t already have some type of audience or community to share your content with.

I’m not saying don’t write (I love writing and I won’t stop). I’m just saying that you should also put time and energy into video content with you in it. Because if there’s one thing humans are hardwired to be interested in… it’s the human face.

In this post, I’ll show you why video is the best hedge against AI-written content, how to get started even with zero skills, and how my wife and I are using it to build long-term creative leverage.

The most underused asset you have is your face.

Video is still one of the most human mediums. It builds trust fast because it lets other people see you. Not only are they hearing what you’re saying, but they’re watching you say it.

We used to be able to trust the written word. But we can’t anymore. The next decade will be full of AI-written content, specifically written for other AI agents.

That means if you want to create for other humans, video is one of the best ways to do it. Even if you’re a writer first (like me), you should augment any writing with video content.

So what does that look like in practice for me? Simple — it’s the year of YouTube.

The year of YouTube.

Tara and and I are going all-in on building out her YouTube channel by posting two sketches per week to build her brand.

And we’re treating it like the ultimate creative playground. From sketches, we have plans to move short films, and eventually even into full-blown series and feature films.

This connects to what I wrote about last week - about working on things that are multivariate and require you to stack different skills on top of each other.

Your written word can be replaced with a prompt. But video content with real humans and a specific point of view? Nope. A prompt can’t mimic that. It requires 1) a human and 2) too many steps (writing, shooting, acting, directing, editing, marketing, and distributing). That’s why it’s an effective hedge against AI content.

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Video is the best free leverage.

Every single person reading this has an HD cinema camera in their pocket. That’s almost unthinkable just 15 years ago. The cost of high quality video has come down so much, there’s no excuse not to be creating your own video content.

Then, when it comes to distribution, YouTube has changed the game. It allows you to scale your video to anyone on earth for FREE. You make the video once, and it can be viewed 10 million times with no extra work from you. It would be stupid not to start creating.

You may say you don’t have any production skills. You don’t have the technical expertise.

Guess what? AI can help you.

AI is your cheat-code to learn anything.

No more having to watch an entire hour video to find one small technical issue you can’t figure out - just ask AI. AI helped me design Tara’s YouTube landing page - including colors and formatting.

You can ask AI to help you learn to shoot on your camera, or learn to edit on Final Cut Pro, or learn how to add subtitles. It can tell you the best times to post, how to rewrite you script, how to export in different video format for different mediums.

AI is the greatest teacher ever built. And you can use it to learn anything.

What used to take months to learn — editing, lighting, scripting — can now be done in a week with AI. The learning curve is 1/10th what it used to be. Use it to create video assets in any niche you’re in.

The video starter list:

Want to start? Here’s what I’d recommend:

• Pick one idea you’ve already written about

• Film a 60-second explainer using your phone

• Upload to YouTube Shorts

• Repeat weekly

• Ask AI to edit, title, and tag your video for maximum reach

Try this: Post the same idea as a tweet and a 60-second video. See which one builds more engagement or replies.

And then keep going. Thanks for reading.

-Thomas

P.S. AI is moving fast and you have to keep up. This is how you…

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