excellence, actually Back to Work: Navigating Success, A.I., and the Unknown
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Feb 26, 2026 A monthly roundup of real-world work wins and stumbles. A chaotic book launch and the fleeting thrill of bestseller lists. Deep dives into practical A.I. tools and worries about alignment and plagiarism. A simple ABZ framework to break analysis paralysis and keep progress moving.
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Bestseller Day WasOrdinary Next Morning
- Brad Stulberg woke up a New York Times bestseller but returned to ordinary life the next day, coaching AAU basketball and writing.
- Launch week had chaos: books out of stock at Amazon and Bookshop.org plus a major winter storm halted warehouse shipments.
The Peak Is Narrow Daily Life Holds Value
- The peak moment is narrow; lasting satisfaction comes from daily activities and how you spend your hours.
- Brad felt grateful for ordinary life (coaching kids) more than the ephemeral high of the bestseller icon.
Built Custom AI Tools With No Coding
- Steve Magness built personal AI tools without coding: a custom Canva, databases of his tweets and research PDFs, and an athlete mental-performance app.
- He also set up an RSS-driven weekly summary of new relevant research studies.
