Most people use AI for answers. The real power is using it to think better. Tonight you build a personal AI coach.
Before we build, here's what exists — orientation, not a lecture.
Best at long-form thinking, nuance, writing, and following instructions precisely. What we'll use tonight.
Most popular, good all-rounder. You've probably already used it.
Tied into Google's ecosystem. Useful for research and integration with Google tools.
Built into X (Twitter). Direct access to real-time posts and fewer content guardrails than the others.
"A language model predicts the next word based on patterns. It's not thinking. It's not conscious. But it's incredibly good at pattern matching — and that makes it useful for things humans are bad at: being objective, processing lots of information fast, and not getting emotionally attached to bad ideas."
They ask a question, get a nice answer, feel good, and move on. The AI just became a very expensive yes-man.
Watch what happens when you give AI a vague prompt vs. a specific one:
Generic prompt, generic output. The AI has nothing to work with so it gives you a template full of brackets. You'd spend more time editing than writing it yourself.
"Same AI. The only thing that changed was how you asked. Context in, quality out — that's the entire game."
This is the core skill: giving AI enough context to do good work. But what if you didn't have to write a detailed prompt every single time? What if the AI already knew your context — your goals, your situation, your blind spots? That's what we're building later.
Not a lecture. Just the skills you need for what we're about to do.
"Write me a marketing email"
"You're writing for a premium hair salon in Brooklyn targeting women 25-45. Write a promotional email for our summer keratin treatment special — 20% off for existing clients. Tone: warm but professional. Include a clear CTA. Under 200 words. Give me 3 subject line options."
You don't need all five every time. But the more you give, the better the output. Think of it like briefing a really smart new hire.
Everything before was setup. This is why you're here.
Open Claude to follow along: Open Claude.ai →
The AI needs to understand you — not surface-level, but deeply. Your goals, your challenges, your weaknesses, the stuff you don't tell people.
I want you to understand me deeply so you can be a truly useful thinking partner. I'm going to tell you about myself, and then I want you to ask me follow-up questions until you really understand my situation. Here's where I'll start: - My name: [fill in] - What I do: [fill in] - My top 3 goals right now: [fill in] - My biggest challenge right now: [fill in] - What I'm good at: [fill in] - What I'm bad at / tend to avoid: [fill in]
Fill this in honestly. The more real you are, the more useful this becomes. Spend 3-4 minutes going back and forth with Claude — answer its follow-up questions. Let it dig.
Now that Claude knows who you are, tell it how to behave. In the same conversation, paste this:
Now I want you to become my personal coach. Here are your rules: 1. Never glaze me. If an idea is weak, say so and explain why. 2. When I present a plan or idea, your FIRST response should be: what am I not seeing? What are the blind spots, risks, or flawed assumptions? 3. Ask me hard follow-up questions — the ones I'm probably avoiding. 4. Push me toward action. If I'm overthinking, call it out. If I'm rushing, slow me down. 5. Hold me accountable to the goals I told you about. If something I'm doing doesn't serve those goals, point it out. 6. Be direct. I don't need encouragement — I need clarity. 7. When I do something genuinely well, acknowledge it briefly and move on. Don't celebrate mediocrity. From now on, every conversation we have should operate under these rules.
Test it. Tell your coach:
I've been meaning to start working out but I've been too busy this week.
"One makes you feel good. The other makes you better. Which one do you actually need?"
Right now this is just a conversation. If you start a new chat, Claude doesn't remember any of this. Here's how to keep it:
Claude Projects
Create a new Project → paste your context + coaching instructions into the Project Instructions. Every conversation in that project has your coach loaded.
Save Your Prompt
Copy everything into a document. Paste it at the start of any new AI conversation. Less elegant but works everywhere.
Your coach is the main event. These are bonus moves that save 30+ minutes each.
"Summarize in 3 bullets. Draft a response that sets a boundary on timeline and ends with a clear next step."
Try it: paste a long email into Claude with this instruction.
"What are the key points? What should concern me? What questions should I ask before I sign?"
Try it: upload a contract or report to Claude and ask these questions.
"Brief me: what should I know going in, what will they likely ask, and what are the red flags?"
Try it: describe your next meeting and let Claude brief you.
Want more prompts to try? Browse our Prompt Library — curated templates you can copy and customize.
Use your AI coach at least 3 times this week:
"The difference between people who get ahead with AI and people who don't isn't intelligence — it's that they stopped using AI for easy answers and started using it to think harder. You built that tool tonight. Now use it."
Use our Coach Builder to generate your custom coaching prompt automatically — fill in the form, get your prompt, test it live.