AI Can Do Almost Everything. So What's Left for You?

I've just finished reading The Seed — and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since.

The Seed — Finding Purpose and Happiness in Life and Work, by Jon Gordon

The book asks a deceptively simple question: do you know what your seed is? The unique value you carry, the contribution only you can make?

And then it asks something even harder: where do you plant it?

Not in the past — that's already grown or gone. Not in some imagined future. Here. Now. Exactly where you are, with exactly what you have.

We're living in a strange moment. AI can now write, analyze, code, and create faster than most of us ever could. And the natural response — including mine, for a while — is to panic. To chase every new tool. To stay visible by staying busy.

But I think we're asking the wrong question.

The question isn't "how do I keep up with AI?"

It's "now that AI can do so much — what is it that only I can do?"

Because here's what AI cannot replicate: your lived experience. Your specific perspective. The way you connect with another human who feels lost, because you've been lost too. Your purpose. Your values. The reason you care at all — because life is finite, and that changes everything.

Those things haven't changed. They've become more important.

A few weeks ago, a young colleague came to me with a simple question about a Claude subscription plan. Two hours later, we were deep in a conversation about purpose, about work, about what he really wanted to build with his life. He left with some answers. But honestly? I came away with more than he did — a quiet confirmation that I genuinely care about this. That reaching out a hand to help someone think more clearly isn't a duty for me. It's a joy. And more often than not, I find myself inspired in the process too.

That conversation made me look at what I've been creating differently.

I thought my value was in the devlogs — setting up Hermes, vibe-coding a SaaS, the observations on AI, the reflections on AI governance. Those things matter. But they're not my seed.

My seed is what happens when someone reads one of those posts and thinks: I could try that. I could do that. Maybe I know more than I thought.

It's not a show of what I understand or what I've built. It's an act of empowerment — with genuine empathy for where you are right now, and a deep belief in where you could go. Helping you get started. Helping you catch up. Helping you get clearer on what you could actually do with AI — and beyond AI, who you want to become.

So I'm done waiting for the right moment.

I'm starting The Seed Sessions — free, open conversations, once a week in the evening. Small groups or one-on-one. No agenda, no pitch. Just a real conversation about learning, working, and growing in this AI era.

If you're a professional wondering how to stay relevant, or someone early in your career trying to find direction — this is for you.

To join, just comment "SEED" below or send me a DM telling me one thing you're trying to figure out right now. I'll personally reply and share the details.

Come find your seed. 🌱

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Ian Xie

June 2, 2026

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