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Why I'm not worried about AI Images

Why I'm not worried about AI Images

In this issue: Why you can't use other people's rulers to measure your success, why I'm' not worried about AI, the shape of fear, and the actual path to success.

PJ Milani
July 15, 2025

🤔 INTERESTING

Illustration by milaniCREATIVE.art showing two door locks. On the left, a bundle of colorful keys fails to fit into a lock, symbolizing “You can’t use other people’s keys…” On the right, a single golden key fits perfectly into its matching lock, completing the phrase “…to unlock your doors.” The image conveys the idea that personal growth and success require individualized solutions.

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When you use other people's definition of success to measure your happiness, consider this:

You wouldn't use other people's house key to open your front door.
So why use their scorecard to measure your life?

Their success might be a corner office.Yours might be Tuesday afternoons free.
Their win might be scaling to seven figures.
Yours might be to make it to all your son's soccer games.

Both are valid.

But happiness has never been a one-size fits all game. It's a personal fit.

📐 DESIGN

A short clip on what I think will happen as AI images take over

If ALL you use is AI images to communicate your ideas, you are slowly blending in. There’s a place for it in your process, but how do you differentiate yourself from everyone else using AI?

My hypothesis: People will get bored of AI images (if not already). And that means there’s still opportunity. Remember: how you draw something is unique to you, imperfections and all. And it’s those very human imperfections you might fear that make your work interesting.

If you choose to lean into it, it may turn into your competitive advantage to stand out over the AI slop that is shaping the creator landscape today.

🔮 ENCHANTING

Illustration by milaniCREATIVE.art comparing imagined fear and reality. In the top panel, a small character recoils in fear from a large, intimidating dragon labeled “Fear in your imagination,” made from tangled black line art. In the bottom panel, the same character stands holding the unraveled line, revealing the “dragon” was just a mess of string, labeled “Reality.” The image visualizes how our fears often seem worse in our minds than they are in real life.

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❝

We suffer more from imagination than from reality.

Seneca

🧠 ANALOGY

Visual metaphor by milaniCREATIVE.art showing two side-by-side train tracks labeled “The Path to Success.” On the left, “Expectation” is a straight, smooth track leading directly to a red diamond symbolizing success. On the right, “Reality” is a chaotic, looping, tangled track with twists and turns, but it still ultimately reaches the diamond. The image humorously contrasts idealized vs. actual progress.

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You're not doing anything wrong because your path is messy and loopy.
Because here's the thing, human beings don't grow in straight lines.

We grow in spirals.

We may circle back to places we've been before, but we're different each time. Stronger. Wiser. Better equipped.

And still moving forward.

🤓 WHAT I’M READING NOW

“The Inner Compass” by Lawrence Yeo

From the new book, "The Inner Compass" by my good friend, Lawrence Yeo (author of the popular blog, "More to That")

If you're someone who wants to cultivate the courage to trust yourself to live a more meaningful life, you might enjoy Lawrence’s book.

Check out my 5 visuals inspired by the book to help you build more self awareness and self-understanding.

Illustration by milaniCREATIVE.art showing the power of writing to sharpen intuition. On the left, a dull, jagged knife represents “Your intuition before writing.” On the right, a polished, razor-sharp knife labeled “Your intuition after writing” symbolizes how writing refines and clarifies your thinking. A visual metaphor for turning rough thoughts into precise insight through the act of writing.

I created these 5 visuals of my favorite takeaways from the book

Text-based graphic on a light blue background with a bold header reading “Stress Test Your Intuition.” Below, a quote by Lawrence Yeo from “The Inner Compass” states: “Without self-understanding, you’ll always use external validation as a proxy for what you want and how you’ll get it. This is outsourcing your intuition to other people’s judgement over your own.” The bottom right features a blue button-style label that says, “Root of most problems →”. The image encourages self-awareness and trusting one’s inner guidance over external opinions.

Let me know in the comments what you think of this format!

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