Most people use AI like a search engine. They open a chat, ask a question, copy the answer and close the tab. That's fine, but it's the toy version.
The real version is an AI that can act: it builds things, launches them, connects your tools and remembers your work. Here's the setup I'd give a friend. No coding required.
1. Get a server, and give your AI the keys
Set up a server on DigitalOcean. Then give its command-line tool (the CLI) to your AI, Claude in my case. Now it can launch servers, deploy apps and manage them for you.
This is the first real unlock. You stop asking "how do I do this?" and start saying "do this."
2. Give it your domains
Connect your domain provider's API too. Your AI can then buy domains and point them at your apps, all through a conversation. No DNS settings, no support tickets, no guessing.
3. Keep all your data in one place
Your server becomes your home base. All your data lives there, not scattered across a dozen apps.
That makes you tool-agnostic. You can plug in Claude, ChatGPT or whatever is best for a given job, and they all work from the same data. You can also give other people access to your server, so you can build things together.
4. Connect everything
The more your AI can see, the more useful it gets. Connect as much as you can:
- Your email (Gmail)
- Your calendars
- Your files (Google Drive)
- Your meeting recordings (Fathom)
Now it can prep you for a call, find that thing someone sent you last month, or draft a follow-up from what was actually said.
5. Talk instead of type
I use Wispr Flow to talk to my computer. I speak, it types, anywhere. I dictate notes, tasks and instructions to my AI while I'm walking around. It's faster than typing, and I capture ideas I'd otherwise lose.
6. Make things, and ship them
Once this is set up, building a website is no problem. Build things for other people, too. Here's the rule I follow: if you build something, it should be live, on a real link, shared with someone. Something on your laptop doesn't count.
This is your first point of leverage: code. You don't need to learn to program. You need to learn to direct something that can. (More on that in Leverage: code, content, capital.)
7. Add content and creative
For images and video, I use Higgsfield, and ChatGPT for images too. Add Zernio as a connector and your AI can post to social media for you.
8. A whiteboard for thinking
For working through ideas, I use the Paper app as a digital whiteboard alongside my AI. Sketch, talk it through, then have the AI turn it into something real.
9. Keep the tools simple
You don't need a complicated developer setup. Skip VS Code. The Codex app on desktop and mobile is basically all you need to start.
Where to start
Don't do all nine steps this weekend. Do the first two: a server and a domain, both connected to your AI. Then build one small thing and send someone the link. Everything else stacks from there.
Questions, or want help setting yours up? Let's connect.