Inner Circle Briefing: 01/14/26
New Year Kickoff Edition
The four of us are dedicating a combined 80+ hours per week testing AI tools, building workflows, and extracting patterns from real-world implementations with clients and companies.
While most people were winding down over the holidays, we were testing multi-model workflows, building year-planning systems, and asking uncomfortable questions about AI’s trajectory. Michael published a 15,000-word blockbuster article. We built frameworks for the skills you’re quietly losing to AI.
1️⃣ Michael Simmons on why AI might become the largest belief system in a decade (two in-depth articles)
2️⃣ Max Bernstein on why “new” beats “better” for positioning your expertise (complete prompt framework)
3️⃣ Tam Nguyen on the skills you’re losing to AI without realizing it (diagnostic prompt)
4️⃣ Zain Haseeb on designing your 2026 with intention, not resolutions (two complete systems)
Each week, we post our latest discoveries to our private WhatsApp channels in real-time. Then, we share the best of what we learn and build in this briefing.
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In-Depth Preview Of This Inner Circle
1️⃣ Michael Simmons: The Religion of ASI
What you get:
Deep analysis: Why AI’s teleology (what it means) matters more than its utility (what it does)
The harbingers: Video examples of people forming relationships, friendships, and marriages with AI
Historical pattern: How creating AI “in our image” leads to predictable psychological shifts
Multi-prompting method: A complete workflow for querying three AI models simultaneously and synthesizing their answers
The frontier signal: When future generations look back on this moment, workflow automation will be the least interesting thing about AI. Michael spent dozens of hours researching what almost no one is discussing: AI as a belief system. The “Religion of ASI” may be one of the most important legacies of this era.
What this unlocks: The multi-prompting method came from Michael’s natural workflow while writing the article. Tile three browser windows. Ask the same question to Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity. Synthesize the responses. No single model dominates everything anymore. This approach leverages the Wisdom of Crowds effect across AI models.
2️⃣ Max Bernstein: New Is Better Than Better
What you get:
The positioning trap: Why “better” language triggers skepticism while “new” language triggers curiosity
The cognitive fingerprint reframe: How to communicate your patterns as novel territory, not competitive superiority
The quick test: Count how many times you use comparison language in your current positioning
Complete prompt: The “New vs Better” Language Map that audits your LinkedIn or website and rewrites your positioning
The extraction: Your Cognitive Fingerprint is structurally novel. No one else has your exact combination. But when you translate that into “I’m better at...” language, you’ve commoditized yourself back into a competitive market.
The gap: “Better” triggers: “Prove it.” “New” triggers: “Tell me more.” One starts a credibility contest. The other creates curiosity. Most experts are fighting the wrong battle.
3️⃣ Tam Nguyen: The Skills You’re Quietly Losing
What you get:
The drift pattern: How AI shifts from amplifying your skills to replacing them over 6 months
The ratio diagnostic: A prompt that analyzes your AI conversation history and shows your Replace vs. Amplify ratio
Your blind spot: The specific skill you’re accidentally outsourcing without realizing it
The fix: Exact prompts to flip your worst habits from replacing to amplifying
The bottleneck: Month 1: “AI helps me work faster.” Month 3: “AI helps me think clearer.” Month 6: “Wait, I actually can’t do this without AI anymore.” The shift happens slowly. By the time you notice, you’ve lost capabilities that made you valuable.
Why it matters: Instead of “Generate ideas for my next project,” try “Here’s my voice memo braindump. Pull out the 3 strongest ideas and show me why they work.”
The prompt: Audits your Claude or ChatGPT history to identify your Replace-to-Amplify ratio, so you can use AI without losing the capabilities that make you valuable.
4️⃣ Zain Haseeb: Design Your 2026
What you get:
The 7-Square Year Designer: A complete life design system from Jesse Itzler: 1 Misogi (year-defining challenge) + 6 Mini-Adventures + 4 Quarterly Habits
The Two-Minute Habit Starter Kit: James Clear’s rule for actually establishing habits before trying to optimize them
Full prompt systems: AI-generated Misogi candidates, adventure ideas, habit triggers, and calendar skeletons
Variants included: Partner buy-in, zero budget, checklist mode, red-team mode, 5-level graduation ladders
The leverage point: Most people write 10-15 goals in January. By February, they’ve forgotten most of them. By December, they wonder where the year went. The 7-Square approach commits you to just 7 intentional moments on your calendar. Do this for 40 years: 40 Misogis, 240 adventures, 160 habits that became part of who you are.
The multiplier: The Two-Minute Rule fixes the biggest mistake in habit formation: trying to optimize something that doesn’t exist. “Exercise 45 minutes daily” becomes “put on workout clothes.” Create the identity shift that generates physical results.
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