I’ve done something that’s definitely at the edge of my comfort zone (where life begins?): I’ve started a YouTube channel.
It’s called The Neophyte, and it’s about using AI to slow down rather than speed up, about creating space for what matters instead of just doing more. Which, if you know anything about the journey with my novel Connection:Lost, makes sense.
But here’s the thing: I didn’t start this channel to “build my author platform” or “10X my book sales” or any of the other productivity-porn reasons we’re supposed to do these things.
I started it because I finally realized what I’ve been trying to say all along.
The Channel I Didn’t Know I Needed to Make
When I wrote Connection:Lost, I was sitting across from my kids, watching them disappear into screens, feeling that ache of disconnection. The book was my bridge back to them, a story set in their world so we could meet somewhere in the middle.
And it worked. We connected.
But publishing it? That’s where things got interesting.
I discovered self-publishing. Then I discovered AI tools that could help with editing, formatting, marketing, all the mechanical parts of getting a book into the world. And suddenly, publishing a novel went from “impossible dream” to “thing I actually did in six months.”
But here’s what really struck me: AI didn’t just help me publish faster. It helped me create space.
Space to think, create, experiment.
Everyone’s using AI to do more. I was using it to do less. Well, less of the things I didn’t want to do.
And I realized: that’s the whole point. That’s the counter-narrative. That’s what I actually want to talk about.
Why “The Neophyte”?
I’ve spent most of my life feeling like a perpetual beginner – like everyone else got the manual and I just stumbled through. Music career that never quite happened. Books I started but never finished. Creative dreams I shelved because they seemed unrealistic.
Sound familiar?
The thing is, I’m 53 now. Gen-X. Midlife. And I’ve discovered something: being a perpetual neophyte – someone who’s always learning, always questioning, always beginning again – is actually the perfect mindset for the age we’re living in.
The world’s changing faster than anyone can keep up with. AI is rewriting the rules. The old playbooks don’t work anymore.
So maybe those of us who never quite figured out the old rules are perfectly positioned for the new ones. Or maybe the rules change so fast now, we are all being relegated to perpetual neophytes.
What the Channel Is Actually About
The Neophyte explores four main themes:
1. AI + Creativity – How I published my first novel at 53 using AI. Reviving 20-year-old music demos with Suno. Helping my daughter use AI for her Etsy art business. AI as creative partner, not replacement.
2. AI + Parenting – Bridging the screen-time divide with gaming kids. Using AI to enhance (not replace) family communication. Teaching children to use AI as a superpower in their world.
3. AI + Life Design – How I designed systems for my business that let me run it on two hours a day. Settling in New Zealand for intentional living. Designing a life around what actually matters. A marriage that’s survived 16 years and counting. The philosophy of intentional living as counter-culture.
4. Philosophy + AI – What it means to be human when machines can create. The ethics of AI-assisted work. The examined life in the age of automation. Big questions that matter more now, not less.
The Author Connection (Because This IS an Author Site)
You might be wondering: “Isn’t this a lot to add to an author platform?”
Yes. And also no.
Here’s the truth: Connection:Lost exists because I designed a life where I had space to write it. The book is proof of concept for the philosophy I’m exploring on the channel.
I work two hours a day on my business. The rest of my time? Writing. Music. Being present with my kids. Experimenting with AI. Living in a beautiful part of New Zealand. Not hustling, not grinding, not “building an empire.”
Just… living intentionally.
And that intentional design is what made the book possible.
So yes, I’ll be talking about writing and publishing on the channel. But I’ll also be talking about the life design that makes writing possible. The AI tools that create space for creativity. The philosophy of using technology to slow down instead of speed up.
Because honestly? At 25 I wish someone had told me to stop and take stock of who I was, not my peers, or social norms, or advertised career paths, to truly ‘know myself’. And then to go create a life that suited that.
Who This Is For
The channel is for people who are tired of productivity porn. Parents who want to be more present, not less. Creatives who thought they’d missed their chance. Anyone questioning what it means to be human when machines can do more and more of what we believed was unique to us.
It’s for people who don’t want to “10X their output” or “optimize every minute.”
It’s for people who want to use AI to create a life they actually want to live.
And yes, it’s for authors. Especially indie authors who are drowning in the “publish faster, market harder, do more” advice.
What if we didn’t?
What if we used AI to handle the mechanical parts so we could focus on the parts that make us human – the storytelling, the connection, the craft?
What I’m Not Promising
I’m not an AI expert teaching tactics. I’m not selling courses on how to “crush it with ChatGPT.” I’m not claiming AI will solve everything or ruin everything.
I’m just a Gen-X parent, author, and creative who’s been stumbling through this AI revolution trying to figure out what it means for people like us: the ones who never quite fit the mold, who always felt a step behind, who shelved dreams because they seemed unrealistic.
I’m documenting what I find. The experiments. The failures. The things that work.
Some videos will be about writing and publishing. Some will be about parenting and technology. Some will be philosophical rambles about what it means to be human in the age of AI.
The Invitation
If any of this resonates – if you’re tired of hustle culture, if you’re curious about AI but overwhelmed by the “move fast and break things” mentality, if you’re a creative who thought you’d missed your chance – come join me.
The channel is called The Neophyte. You can find it here:
New videos weekly. Exploring what it means to be human in the age of AI.
And yes, I’ll still be here writing books, now that Connection:Lost has proven I can do it. Because the writing and the life design? They’re part of the same project.
We’re not building faster. We’re building intentionally.
See you on YouTube.
Paul
P.S. If you haven’t read Connection: Lost yet, it’s available on Amazon.
Seven gamers. One island. The beta test was a lie.
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