We are deep into Project Prometheus right now, and I have to tell you, it’s getting exciting. If you haven’t been following along, this is our experiment in building AI systems that allow an appraiser to operate as a single-person entity and still pull in over $100,000 a year without working yourself to the bone. The results are still coming in, but what we’re seeing so far is blowing my mind. We’re proving that you don’t need a massive team to scale your income if you have the right technology in place. I can’t wait to share more of the final numbers with you soon, but for now, just know that the future of the solo appraiser is looking incredibly bright.

Let’s talk about the power of taking action. It’s easy to have those "shower thoughts"—you know, those brilliant ideas that pop into your head about how to better your life or your business. We all have them. But having an idea is the easy part. It’s a whole other level when you actually work through the process of parsing those ideas out, studying the pros and cons, crossing the T’s, dotting the I’s, and actually taking a step forward. That’s what separates the 98% from the 2%.

Most of us get paralyzed by the "paralysis of analysis." We overthink every possible outcome until we talk ourselves out of doing anything at all. Some people actually take action, but the vast majority avoid it because they are terrified of failing. But here’s the truth: those who are truly successful in life accept the failures right alongside the successes. In fact, it’s the failures that drive them to more action and greater success down the road.

When you take action, you will fail. That is a given. It’s not a possibility; it’s a certainty. If you stay down after a failure, you will never be successful because you’ll never try again. But if you get up, brush yourself off, and move forward while learning from the mistakes you’ve made, you will put yourself squarely in that 2% class of successful people.

Think about anyone you know who is highly successful in life. Show me anybody who has reached that level without experiencing major failures along the way. You can’t. I’ll give you a personal example. Years ago, I made a major business decision to get into audiobook rentals. It was a model similar to what Netflix was doing with DVDs before streaming took over. I invested $140,000 into that business. Three years later, I finally sold it and took an absolute bath on the deal. It was a massive failure. But you know what I did? I brushed myself off, learned some hard lessons about business models and market timing, and moved on to the next thing.

That failure didn’t define me; it refined me. It taught me what not to do, which is just as valuable as knowing what to do. The fear of losing that $140,000 could have kept me from ever starting another business, but I didn’t let it. I took the hit, accepted the failure, and kept moving forward.

If you’re sitting on an idea right now—whether it’s a new marketing strategy, a different way to structure your appraisal business, or even a completely new venture—stop overthinking it. Do your due diligence, yes, but don’t let the fear of failure stop you from taking that first step. The worst thing that can happen is that you fail, learn a valuable lesson, and try again. The best thing that can happen is that you succeed beyond your wildest dreams. But you’ll never know which one it is until you take action. So get out of the shower, dry off, and start building something. The 2% club is waiting for you.

Point #1: Plaude

I recently picked up a little device called Plaude that I put on the back of my phone. It allows me to record every meeting I have. It will translate it for you, but you don’t have to pay the monthly fee. I think you get 300 minutes for free, but I just upload the entire audio into Gemini. It does a better job synthesizing it anyway.

Point #2: Melatonin

As I get older, I find sleep fleeting. A little extra melatonin when I go to bed and a quick shot when I wake up at 3 a.m. has done wonders to keep my mind sharp the next day. Ten milligrams is the sweet spot for me. It’s a simple hack, but it makes a huge difference in my productivity.

Never underestimate the power of networking. We talk about it a lot here, and the reason is very clear: networking works. But there is a huge difference between networking for leads and networking for relationships. The leads will come if your intent is pure. That doesn’t mean you approach networking without the thought of potential business collaboration, but it means your main driver has to be bringing value to those around you. When your main value is bringing success to others without a thought of your own, karma works.

You need to get out of your appraisal cave and make it happen. Business is still done face-to-face and through a handshake. Here are a few places you should be looking to join:

•Join a mastermind group

•Join Rotary

•BNI (Business Network International)

•Chamber of Commerce

•The Elks Club

•The Moose Club

•The Deer Club (I’m joking about the Deer Club, but maybe they exist!)

The point is, get out there. People do business with people they know, like, and trust. You can’t build that kind of trust sitting behind a computer screen all day. You have to shake hands, look people in the eye, and genuinely care about their success. When you do that, the referrals will follow naturally. Don’t go to a Rotary meeting with a stack of business cards and a sales pitch. Go with the intention of meeting three new people and finding out how you can help them. Maybe you know someone who needs their services, or maybe you can just offer a listening ear. That’s how you build a network that actually works for you in the long run. It’s about planting seeds, not harvesting crops on day one. So pick one of those groups, go to a meeting this week, and start building relationships. The leads will take care of themselves.

I recently sold my Kia Stinger to purchase my wife a Tesla Model Y due to extremely favorable financing. We ended up getting a new car rather than a used one, which was our original plan, and the hardware for full self-drive is mind-blowing. They say that you don’t drive a Tesla; a Tesla drives you, and I have to say that is correct. The decisions it makes are honestly better than a human being. For those that don’t trust it because they trust their own eyes, remember that it has a multitude more "eyes" than you have.

AI is changing our lives every day. I can’t believe that AI is driving us around. There is a tidal wave of change coming, not just through the AI that you use on your computer and your phone, but the AI that will be used in autonomous cars and robotics. I, for one, am excited for the changes. I’m also cautious, but there’s never been a more exciting time to be an appraiser.

Now, go create some value!