ChatGPT Check!

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**My Version of this Post:** "Posts are my own opinions and not necessarily my company's"

The end of the year is upon us. I have faced so much change this year but still managed to keep up my learning strategy with a number of courses coming to a close with the year.

Today I am celebrating the completion of the ChatGPT masterclass. Although the certificate shows 17 hours, it took closer to 85 to complete with the amount of practice it took to get the traction I wanted.

The tool takes quite some playing to get to the real value, but as someone who has pursued continuous learning, it really excelled in the task of identifying what you don't know from a list of what you do, which has turned out to be an excellent benefit.

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Continuous learning has always been a coping strategy for me, as it has allowed me to gain insight and grow as a person outside the often narrow pigeon holes that the corporate world often prefers people to iterate in.

I have always felt a need to learn how peripheral skills and even tangential skills fit into the sequences we all perform each day. I find this often lets you see the icebergs that more linear thinking cannot, or at the very least, it helps you see around the corners.

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One of the biggest challenges I have noted while learning denser, more complex content over the years is that I had to do it at suboptimal times of the day.

It would nearly always be late in the evening after a long day plus commute or on a weekend when my mind wanted to lose its focus and the hour I could cram in on the morning commute was not nearly enough time.

Using ChatGPT to let an exhausted mind off the hook on evenings where you just need to hear the story told in different words has been an eye-opener.

?Having a tool that helps you condense your thoughts and then present options for next steps saves a lot of time and suffering.

As I have discussed in previous sharing, I believe creativity is jumping to conclusions from a baseline of knowledge. AI tools like ChatGPT allow you to plug holes in your knowledge and reduce time spent searching for understanding that is often nothing more than a better-aligned metaphor with your personal experience.

What AI and tools cannot do is give you a strong sense of curiosity or a motivated desire for adventure; they cannot make you want to squeeze your understanding into a more nuanced prompt so that you can get something back that you didn't expect.

AI cannot take pleasure in getting out of the building or synthesize the euphoria people can feel from being out in the world where perspective is learned through context-rich accidents, giving the creative process a push in the right direction.

What AI can do is help you think and prepare for situations, helping you to see what steps you will need to take if you want to further the direction you are already going in, with the possibility that you can reduce the number of repetitions at the last step before your confidence takes you to the next.?

I did not need to use AI to write this because I enjoyed writing it. It's part of a trail I am leaving myself, so that I can see how far I have come. I know from experience how few people will ever read it because I am not going to drive any traffic to land here.

That being said, what comes after this is the result of my having written this post and then copied and pasted it into ChatGPT with the following prompt.?

Act like you are a 48-year-old professional with strong business analysis and product skills, where your product is mostly software and user experience driven. Imagine that you are well-traveled, having worked and lived on multiple continents.

Improve this post, which celebrates the completion of a certificate in the generative AI tool ChatGPT. Take note of the voice and tone, but elevate the wording, allowing strong product management skills to show through with key

words that have an impact beyond the content of the passage, showing this person to be action-oriented and worthy of any challenge.

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**ChatGPT's Version:**

Certainly, here's the text formatted for better readability and visual hierarchy:

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As the year draws to a close, I reflect on the myriad of changes I've navigated. Amidst this transformative journey, I've upheld my commitment to learning, culminating in the completion of the ChatGPT masterclass. While the certificate indicates a mere 17 hours, the journey was an intensive 85 hours, characterized by dedicated practice to achieve my desired proficiency.

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ChatGPT is a tool that demands exploration to unlock its full potential. As an ardent advocate of continuous learning, I discovered its remarkable ability to discern what I didn't know from what I did. This discernment has proven invaluable.

For me, continuous learning has been both a refuge and a strategy for personal growth. It has liberated me from the confines often imposed by the corporate world.

Learning isn't confined to the mainstream; it extends to peripheral and tangential skills. These skills provide a unique perspective, allowing one to perceive hidden complexities and anticipate unforeseen challenges.

Throughout my journey, a significant challenge has been finding optimal times for learning complex content. Late evenings after a taxing day or weekends when focus is less than ideal. ChatGPT has been a revelation, providing clarity during those moments when I yearned for a fresh perspective.

This tool excels at condensing thoughts and suggesting next steps, saving both time and anguish. I firmly believe that creativity is the art of drawing conclusions from a foundation of knowledge. ChatGPT helps fill knowledge gaps, reducing the time spent seeking understanding through aligning metaphors with personal experiences.

While AI and tools have their merits, they can't instill curiosity or a thirst for adventure. They can't evoke the joy of exploration or the euphoria of experiencing the world. However, they excel at aiding preparation and decision-making, potentially reducing the need for repetitive steps before embarking on new endeavors.

In composing this piece, I didn't rely on AI; I wrote it out of genuine enjoyment. It serves as a personal record of my journey and a testament to how far I've come. While I anticipate limited readership, it remains a cherished part of my self-reflection.

In my role as a seasoned 48-year-old professional with extensive experience in business analysis and software-driven products across multiple continents, I embrace challenges with an action-oriented approach. The ChatGPT masterclass has enriched my toolkit, enhancing my product management skills and equipping me to tackle any endeavor with unwavering determination.