Uncover Your Blind Spots

§ July 20th, 2026 § Filed under Uncategorized § No Comments

Last month, I suggested you use an AI platform to come up with ways to monetize a particular ability. But what if you aren’t sure what skill you would like to make into a career? 

As I said, we often do not give ourselves credit for the skills we have. When something comes easily to us, we tend to think it’s easy for others. 

Skills that will not be replaced by AI, at least not any time soon, are those that require human interaction. Here are some ways to uncover your blind spots while considering the effect AI might have on those skills. 

1. The Energy Audit

Track your daily tasks for three to four days and note whether each activity leaves you feeling energized or drained. Next, upload this list to an AI platform with the following prompt:

“Here is a list of my tasks and how they made me feel. Based on this information, what are the common themes in my ‘Energizing’ tasks? What does this suggest about my natural talents, and how could I use AI to automate the ‘Draining’ tasks so I can focus on my strengths?”

Afterward, upload your resume or LinkedIn profile link and follow up with:

“Reviewing the attached resume, this LinkedIn link, and my energizing tasks, which could be the basis for a new career or business suited to my strengths?”

2. The External Feedback Loop

Pay attention to what coworkers and friends depend on you for, as well as the compliments you receive. Focus on human skills like problem-solving, communication, leadership, and helping others. Identify which tasks you learn or complete quickly.

Combine these insights into this AI prompt:

“People come to me for help with ____, compliment me on my ability to ____, and I can quickly learn how to ____. With this information, what would be a good career or business for me?”

3. Career History Themes

Review your career history for tasks you frequently perform across different roles. If you have a detailed resume, upload it to an AI platform and prompt it:

“Reviewing the attached resume, identify any common themes.”

Follow up with:

“How can I turn this common theme into a new career or business that will not be replaced by AI in the near future? [Optional: Add what matters most to you, such as profit, recognition, or stability.]

Conclude by asking:

“How can I leverage AI to make this career or business more successful?”

4. Activity Matrix Ranking

When I had my own business, I had gotten involved in so many activities. I used a method to determine what I should focus on and what I should drop. I listed those activities (training, website text writing, proposal writing, networking, database creation) and scored them on a 10-point scale for three different measures.

For me, it was 

  • Enjoyment level (highly recommended)
  • Income generation
  • Income potential

Your metrics might include teamwork, creativity, or helping others – whatever is most important to you.

This was before AI, but I don’t think I needed that assistance. Ranking the activities gave me clarity on where I needed to spend my time. I might still do some of the activities that scored fewer than 10 points overall, but I knew I needed to focus more time on the higher scorers.  

Next month, I’ll talk about ways to future-proof your business by accentuating human abilities even while using AI. Hope you’ll join me again.

What is your passion?

§ June 3rd, 2026 § Filed under Uncategorized § No Comments

Certainty vs. Exploration 

Years ago, while teaching Professional Development at St. Philip’s College, I worked with two distinct types of students. For those with a defined career goal, my job was clear. We outlined the necessary steps, starting with getting a job within their chosen industry or in one that was closely related. 

Working with students who were unsure of their career goals was a more difficult process. I used two exercises.

  • “Losing time”  I had my students list activities that, when they did them, they would look at the time and wonder where the last few hours had gone. 
  • “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Phrasing the question this way helped my students think back to their original dream, before family, friends, and teachers told them that their dream was unrealistic. 

My follow-up question would be, “What was it about that activity, job, or career that interested you?” One student who wanted to be a ballerina realized she actually wanted to be on stage. At that point, we were able to come up with other careers that would give her that opportunity.

I did have one that totally flummoxed me. She wanted to be a boy. She was not suggesting a gender change. She simply envied her brothers’ outdoor freedom. She ended up deciding that working in the forest service was a good fit. 

The Engine of Entrepreneurship 

Owning a business is a marathon. There will be times when the process depletes all of your reserves – financially, physically, and emotionally. Passion, remembering why you wanted to do this in the first place, becomes the only thing that can get you through those difficult times.  

If you are an “accidental entrepreneur,” you already have a passion. Your next step is to learn as much as you can about how to run a business. Do you need an MBA? Absolutely not. The most successful entrepreneurs I’ve met have had little formal education. They have, however, sought out training that helps them start and grow their businesses. We are so fortunate in San Antonio to have tons of no-cost resources, especially https://launchsa.org/, where I work now, and https://sasbdc.org/, where I worked for 14 years.

Identifying Your “Blind Spots” 

For those who are in their second act, look for what I call “blind spots,” those effortless tasks that we mistakenly assume everyone can do. Because these skills come naturally, we fail to see that they are both rare and valuable.

In all the jobs I’ve held over the years, coworkers constantly asked me for writing and editing help. Because good writing instruction had made the skill natural to me, it took decades to recognize it as one of my primary strengths.

Monetizing Talent in the Age of AI 

What strengths do you have that you have overlooked? Once identified, plug them into an AI platform and ask, “How can I monetize (or build a business or career) out of my ability to ________?”

Next month, we’ll explore more ways to identify your blind spots and leverage those skills with AI. 

Second Act or Accidental Entrepreneur

§ May 30th, 2026 § Filed under Uncategorized § No Comments

As you may know, I retired from the UT San Antonio SBDC in November. Two days later, I started a contract position with Launch SA as a…you guessed it…business advisor. I miss the SBDC team, but I love the team I work with now.

Since I have some time available (four-day weekends), I thought I would start my newsletter up again. The feedback I received from that first email was overwhelmingly positive. Of those who voted, the two topics that were most popular were The “Second Act” Business Strategy and The Accidental Entrepreneur. 

These overlap quite a bit so I think I’ll combine them. 

I am definitely in my second act (or maybe third or fourth, I’ve lost count). If you are in the same situation, wanting to change careers or getting ready to retire and not sure what you want to do, let me offer some advice. 

Before I retired, I uploaded the address of my LinkedIn page and my website to Gemini, my current favorite AI platform. My prompt was “I want to start a new career. Review https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystaldarby/ and https://crystaldarby.com/, and determine activities or jobs that would fit my skills.” 

You can add sentences to that prompt to limit the choices, like “leave out anything having to do with ____” or “include anything that I can do remotely.” 

If you need the business to be profitable, write an additional prompt similar to “Of these choices, which would have the lowest startup costs and which are more likely to be profitable?” 

If you have a product or service that you have been doing as a hobby or on a very limited basis, you might want to use “I want to turn my love of _____ into a profitable business. How should I start?” If you have already started, “I am selling (example: my services as an educational consultant or handcrafted pottery). What should I do to make this into a profitable business?”  

You may want to use additional AI platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, etc.) to see if more ideas pop up. 

I explored various AI platforms to brainstorm overarching themes for this newsletter, selecting the best ideas and adapting titles to match my personal perspective. Interestingly, the concept for “The Accidental Entrepreneur” was something I hadn’t considered until it emerged from that process, and I think it’s a fantastic addition.

Now, I’d love to hear from you! Please let me know if you found this issue helpful or if you’ve had a chance to try any of these suggestions yourself.

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