[Smarter #1] Passive Income with AI, and Other Experiments
Friends,
You're receiving this Smarter newsletter because you're smart, successful, and curious. Plus, I like you.
This newsletter is about all things Smarter: how to save time, make money, and optimize your life. Why work harder when you can work Smarter?
Who else is on this distribution list? Fellow C-suites, serial entrepreneurs, and people changing the world. You're busy, practical, and appreciate that this is 100% written by Rachel Loui. Because AI is amazing, but machine-generated content is not why you read this newsletter.
How does my background help you with all things Smarter?
I'm a healthcare nerd and previous biopharma Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Business Operations. This means I scoured ways to save time and make money like it was my job.
Incidentally, I did this role in Shanghai during China's meteoric rise to the world's second-largest economy. Thus, I'm great at spotting global trends, disruptive growth, and fake goods.
I came back to my childhood home of Silicon Valley to start a health tech company. This meant I became resourceful like my livelihood depended on it.
I then joined Google. Mostly because I liked getting free food. Learning the business application of tech, and in consequence, AI, was an extra bonus.
And now, I'm a fractional AI strategy and commercialization consultant. I charge clients money to make them even more money. All while sharing my best secrets with you. For free.
Want to Know a Secret?
Everyone thinks it, but nobody talks about it. We all want money. Even better, we want it flowing into our bank accounts while we sleep. Call it financial freedom, a burnout remedy, or generational wealth. But I don't know anyone who doesn't get more excited about the word "income" when it's preceded by the word "passive." Can AI help? I'm about to find out.
I spend my days advising hotshots, staying healthy, and playing with AI. Despite my previous Google employment, I'm actually not a techie. I got curious about Gen AI because a consultant essentially exchanges time for money. (So does any W2 employee, for that matter.) Getting a machine to do time-intensive grunt work means giving myself a raise.
Can I design a way for AI to automatically figure out: a) what people want, b) what Rachel Loui can uniquely provide, and c) how to sell it for me? Let's find out together.
What if the Elephant in the Room Gives Out Free Rides?
With all the fears of AI-driven job loss, humanity is missing the bigger picture. When the internet came out, AOL replaced encyclopedias. The internet also subsequently made companies like Amazon, Uber, and my former employer all possible. Now, not only are internet-requiring tech workers highly compensated, internet-requiring apps make our lives amazing.
I don’t ask if AI will replace my job. (As a consultant, the answer is: yes.) I ask if AI can become our jobs. Is it possible to "hire" AI to generate income for us so we don’t have to? Even better, could we vicariously reach the height of any career aspiration with AI without the long hours? Imagine a world where we reset the career button and watch AI navigate an alternative choose-your-own-adventure profession while we sit back and munch on popcorn. It’s worth testing the theory.
I'm doing this experiment for the intellectual challenge. But let's be real. Like you, I also like the idea of my bank dollars sitting around making babies together. So that I can spend more time focusing on the people, hobbies, and experiences I love. Incidentally, I do love trying new things, writing about the adventure, and sharing the learnings with friends. You joining this AI-passive-income hunt with me is a win-win. If following the adventure sparks ideas on how you can make passive income too, even better.
Other Smarter Secrets
The next newsletter episodes document the start of my AI-passive-income exploration. But that's only one way to be Smarter. Here are some other Smarter ideas, all backed by evidence. May at least one be helpful to you or someone you care about.
1. Smarter Time: Say someone asks for a video call. My default response is, "Let's make our eyeballs happy with a phone call. Want to do a virtual walk and talk while getting our steps in?" Sitting is the new smoking, limiting screen time reduces eye strain, and how the heck does one accumulate 10K+ steps a day when starting at 5 p.m.? Even better, 95% of the time the suggestion is met with pure delight. It also keeps me memorable with new contacts.
2. Smarter Money: I bought (not enough) NVIDIA stock in 2016. Buying crypto in 2017 gave me a free car. That being said, the only investment I do now is dollar cost averaging into broad index funds. I listen to rich people interviews (Moneywise is my favorite). It's surprising how many Silicon Valley billionaires try angel investing, venture capital, and other rich people ventures before settling on index funds as the general way to go. I likewise spent my 20s and 30s chasing the next big money win. But when it comes to optimizing the low-headache-to-high-consistency ratio, if it's good enough for Warren Buffet, it's good enough for me.
3. Smarter Health: I meditate, exercise, and get good sleep on a daily basis. I also don't have kids nor a boss scolding me for tardiness. For anyone optimizing health, the easiest start is getting morning sunlight when you wake. Stanford professor Andrew Huberman nerds out on the data. For me, morning sunlight wakes me up, exposes me to nature, and starts the day happier.
4. Smarter Life Perspective: I make all my life choices by answering one question: When I'm on my deathbed, what will I be glad I did? If the recipe for corporate strategy is “goal, current state, steps to achieve it,” I call this my goal-in-mind strategy for life. I knew 90-year-old Rachel would be glad I had fun in my 20s, so I moved to New York City after college. I knew experiencing a BRIC country during the heyday of emerging markets would be interesting and great for my resume. I figured, What's the worst that could happen in China, diarrhea? So I took the overseas job. Now I look at AI the way dot-comers saw the internet. Could I end up embarrassing myself by making zero passive income in front of a large newsletter audience? Sure. But 90-year-old Rachel will smile and think, Hey, at least I tried.
5. Smarter Way You Can Help: If an accountability partner get you to a gym, your following of this newsletter gets me in front of an AI screen. In a month, new entry into this invite-only mailing list will require an application. Consider yourself a VIP. You’re already subscribed. If you found this newsletter interesting, pass it along to a friend or colleague. Even better, encourage them to subscribe within the next month so they can skip the velvet rope. Who knows, maybe they'll find Smarter ways to save time, make money, and optimize life, too. If so, they’ll owe you a nice dinner.
Think this is the worst newsletter you’ve ever received in your life? I won’t be offended if you unsubscribe. Promise.
Until next time,
Rachel
Rachel Loui is a former Google executive and life sciences Chief Strategy Officer. Today, she uses those experiences to help companies strategically deploy AI and human neuroscience to save time and make money at Strategic Growth Factor. She’s also an improv comedian, international keynote speaker, and book author. Her true passion is trying life experiments, writing about them, and (hopefully) inspiring her readers. Thus, while AI is amazing, this newsletter will always be 100% finger-typed by Rachel Loui. When it comes to human stories, your eyeballs deserve the best.
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