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Happy Friday, everyone.

I'll keep this short: I haven't slept properly in a week. Not because of stress. Because I found something that has me up at midnight like a kid on Christmas.

This week's issue is different. Less curated tips, more "holy crap you need to see this." Let's get into it.

This is the most excited I've been about a piece of tech in years. The nerds are pumped. I've been obsessed 24/7—ask my wife, she'll confirm. And the thing is, this is so new that nobody fully knows what it's capable of yet. That's what makes it exciting.

It's called OpenClaw. You might have heard it called Clawdbot or Molt—same thing, different names floating around.

Here's the deal. I built a personal assistant bot named Claudia that lives in my Telegram. She drafts emails. Messages people on my behalf. Reads Twitter threads to tell me what's trending. Helps with pretty much anything I throw at her.

She's spunky. And she doesn't sleep.

The internet being the internet, someone already built a social network just for AI agents: moltbook.com. Yes, really. Your bot can have friends now.

People are buying dedicated Macs just to run these things 24/7. I went a different route—got mine running on a server in Germany. If you want to do it cheap, this guy shows how to set it up for $13/month.

Someone Turned $50 Into $248K Overnight

Not a typo.

Shelpid shared a story about someone who used an AI agent to trade on Polymarket and turned $50 into $248K in one night. He also dropped a critical security guide because—shocker—running trading bots comes with real risk.

20 More Wild Use Cases

The community is building faster than anyone can track:

  • A Polymarket skill built in 60 seconds for daily trading alerts

  • Someone rebuilt their entire website from bed via Telegram while watching Netflix

  • A voice plugin that lets your bot make actual phone calls

  • A $5/month self-hosted assistant that messages you proactively

  • Smart home control through Alexa

  • Shared grocery lists with a spouse

  • Google Analytics queries on demand

  • Shipping production code from a phone at the airport

These aren't toys anymore. They're becoming the operating system for how people manage their digital lives.

The bottom line: AI agents are moving from novelty to real revenue. The people who start building now—whether that's a service business or personal automation—are going to have a massive head start.

Pick one path. Build it for yourself first. Then offer to help others.

This feels like social media marketing in 2015. Early enough to establish yourself. Mature enough to actually make money.

THE WORK-LIFE BALANCE AUDIT

Find where your time is going. Get a plan to take it back.

What this is:

A 60-minute call where I dig into your business operations and identify the tasks eating your time. You'll leave with a clear roadmap for automating them—whether you hire me to build it or do it yourself.

What we'll cover:

→ Where your hours are actually going each week → Which tasks are automation candidates (and which aren't) → The specific AI tools and workflows that would handle them → A realistic estimate of time you'd get back → Next steps if you want help implementing

Who this is for:

Solopreneurs and small teams doing $10k+/month who are successful but feel stuck working in the business instead of on it. You're tired of nights and weekends spent on stuff that should run itself.

What it costs:

$25 to book.

What happens after:

If it makes sense to work together, I offer done-for-you automation builds starting at $3,500. If not, you still walk away with a plan you can execute on your own. No pressure either way.

And If That Wasn't Enough Reading...

The Hidden Cost of Zoom Fatigue

Microsoft's brain research team used EEG data to prove what we all suspected: back-to-back video calls literally overwhelm your prefrontal cortex. The solution isn't better cameras — it's 5-minute walking breaks between calls to reset your neural activity.

Why Open Offices Kill Innovation

Harvard researchers tracked 52,000 employees and found that open offices decreased face-to-face collaboration by 70%. Turns out, when you can't control your environment, you retreat into digital communication — even with people sitting 10 feet away.

The 4-Day Work Week Data Is In

Iceland's massive trial of 2,500 workers found that 4-day weeks maintained 100% productivity while dramatically reducing burnout. The secret? People eliminated low-value activities and focused only on outcomes that mattered. Revolutionary concept, apparently.

Your Smartphone Is Making You Stupid (Literally)

University of Texas research found that just having your phone in the same room — even turned off — reduces cognitive capacity by 10%. Your brain dedicates mental resources to NOT checking it, creating a constant background drain on focus.

Next week I'm breaking down the exact AI stack I use to run three businesses without a full-time team. Every tool. Every workflow. No gatekeeping.

You don't want to miss that one.

See you then.

— Michael

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