You Don’t Need Access to a World-Class Mentor—You Need a System and AI as a Partner
You can simulate a world-class coach for free
You don’t need access to a world-class (and expensive) mentor to learn from the best.
You just need a repeatable system—
And an AI partner who can walk that system with you.
Most people believe they need a brilliant coach to unlock their potential.
Someone to guide them, critique them, and help them avoid wasting time.
But what if that wasn’t true?
What if the problem wasn’t a lack of mentorship—
But a lack of structure and feedback?
That’s what this blog series is about:
Designing a personal learning system so good…
You no longer feel stuck waiting for the right teacher to show up.
The Hidden Reason We Struggle to Learn New Skills
Here’s what usually happens:
You get excited to learn something new.
You consume a few videos, articles, or books.
You lose momentum.
You drift.
It’s not your fault.
The real issue isn’t motivation. It’s that you’re:
Missing a roadmap.
Working in isolation.
No map means no clarity.
No partner means no accountability.
And no feedback means you can’t see your progress.
That’s why people quit.
What Actually Works: The Learning Loop
Every expert follows some version of this loop:
Practice → Feedback → Adjustment → Repeat
It’s called deliberate practice.
Daniel Coyle calls it deep practice.
Barbara Oakley emphasizes “chunking” and “recall.”
Thomas Sterner calls it process over outcome.
This is what creates real skill.
And it’s what we’re going to simulate—with AI as your practice partner.
The AI Roles No One Teaches You To Use
AI isn’t just a fancy search engine.
If you prompt it well, it can be:
Your research assistant (find top books, creators, frameworks)
Your skill mapper (deconstruct what to learn, in what order)
Your accountability coach (check-ins, milestone tracking)
Your role-play mentor (simulate a Tony Robbins, Richard Bandler, or Barbara Oakley)
Your feedback engine (critique your work in seconds)
Your cheer leader (keep your virtuous cycle of learning going)
It’s not about being clever with prompts.
It’s about knowing what roles you need—and asking AI to play them.
Try This Prompt:
You are Josh Kaufman and I have approached you to help me find deeply motivating, skill-based personal projects.
My goal is to _________.
I want to apply this skill to a real, lovable project — something emotionally meaningful or useful in my life.
Please guide me like an expert mentor by asking a thoughtful series of reflective, open-ended questions that help surface:Personal passions or recurring interests
Situations in my life where _______ is overwhelming or underutilized
Emotional drivers (what makes a project lovable for me)
Types of outcomes or tools that would feel satisfying to create
Ask the questions step-by-step — wait for my answer to each before continuing.
Then, once I’ve responded to enough questions, help me brainstorm 2–3 lovable project ideas tailored to my interests and learning goals.This is how you simulate a world class coach —without needing their calendar.
What This Blog Series Will Teach You
Over the next few posts, I’ll walk you through the full system I use (and coach others on).
Here’s what you’ll build:
A Skill Map — Break down any skill in 1 hour using TOCs and AI.
Lovable Projects — Design mini-projects that make practice addictive.
Simulated Mentors — Use AI to role-play expert feedback.
Fast Feedback Loops — Reduce hesitation with micro-reviews.
Memory That Sticks — Use spaced recall and teaching to lock things in.
This isn't a theory.
It’s a system built from coaching, design thinking, NLP, and cognitive science.
And it works with or without natural talent.
Why This Works So Well
Because it gives you:
A sense of control
A feeling of progress
A source of feedback
And a partner you never had before
That’s what keeps you going when motivation fades.
Mastery isn’t about pushing harder.
It’s about setting up a process that pulls you forward.
What’s Next
In the next post, I’ll show you exactly how to:
Deconstruct any skill in under an hour using AI and a few strategic shortcuts.
We’ll build your first personalized skill map—step by step.
Resources
https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn
https://sachachua.com/blog/2013/07/visual-book-review-the-first-20-hours-how-to-learn-anything-fast-josh-kaufman/
https://www.tobysinclair.com/post/book-summary-ultralearning-by-scott-young
https://www.sonnybrown.net/the-talent-code-summary-notes-by-daniel-coyle/
https://fs.blog/deliberate-practice-guide/