You Don’t Have to Pay to Learn AI - Really

Another day, another “exclusive” AI workshop lands in my inbox.

You know the pitch.

Limited seats.

One-time pricing. Join now or miss out on the future.

This time it was a course promising to teach me how to build AI agents—normally for the “low price of X,” but today only, I could get bonus Y, access Z, and a mysterious “fast action” feature they somehow forgot to explain.

So what did I do?

I asked the very thing they were teaching me to pay for: “ChatGPT, show me how to do this myself.”

And—no surprise—it did.

Not perfectly. Not with the glossy marketing language or the hype-laced urgency. But with enough clarity that I could see the truth:

Most people don’t need another $997 course. They need a clearer question, a better process, and an AI partner willing to walk through the steps with them.

Let’s break this open.

The Real Problem Isn’t Skill — It’s Confidence

People buy courses because:

• They think AI is too technical
• They assume someone else knows the “secret steps”
• They fear being left behind if they don’t invest immediately

But AI is not rocket science.

There are no secret steps. And the tools have evolved to the point where a curious, intelligent person can figure out 80% of the fundamentals on their own—with a capable assistant sitting right on their laptop.

The truth is this: If you know how to think, ask good questions, and explore, you can learn AI faster than most people teaching it.

Courses give structure, accountability, and shortcuts—yes. But the real learning? The real understanding? That comes from doing the work, not buying the work.

My Shortcut: Ask AI to Teach You the Thing They’re Selling

Here’s exactly what I did: I took the pitch, the landing page copy, the sales claims…and I fed them back to ChatGPT with a simple prompt:

“Show me how to learn everything this person claims I need to buy. Break it into steps. Tell me what I actually need to do.”

ChatGPT walked me through:

• How to think about AI agents
• How to design a workflow
• How to turn my constraints into “jobs” for an agent
• How to build the basic version without code
• How to expand it later with better tools

Did it give me a polished course experience? No. Did it give me enough direction to build the thing myself? Absolutely.

And here’s what no one selling courses will tell you:

The deeper learning comes from experimenting, breaking things, and asking follow-ups— not from watching someone else click through a demo.

Everyone Says: “Take the course if you want to stay ahead.”

Here’s why they’re wrong:

• AI changes faster than course content.

By the time the videos are edited, half the tools have been updated. • Most courses teach tactics, not thinking. You become dependent on the instructor, not empowered in your own process. • You already have an AI tutor with infinite patience. And it costs you exactly $0 extra.

The truth is: You can learn 90% of what you want with AI as your coach, trainer, analyst, and thought partner—if you’re willing to engage it properly.

And the remaining 10%? That’s where targeted learning comes in. Books. A YouTube tutorial. A 1-on-1 consult. Not a panic-buy “fast action bonus.”

Here’s What I Learned From Actually Doing It

AI won’t magically make you smarter. It will make you more capable—if you treat it like a partner, not a vending machine.

You want to learn agents? Tell it: “Explain this like I’m building my first one. Don’t skip steps. Test my understanding.”

You want to automate your content workflow? Say: “Be my content studio. Build the process and run it with me for a week.”

You want to build a simple app? Ask: “Show me the easiest no-code stack to do this. Give me the first 3 steps.”

The secret is not the tools. It’s the collaboration.

Stop outsourcing your confidence.

Start using AI to expand your capability.

Before you buy another course, try this experiment:

1. Take the sales page.
2. Copy the key points into ChatGPT.
3. Ask:

If it gives you what you need, great. If you want more structure or accountability, then invest.

But don’t assume someone else has the magic. You can learn this yourself—with the right questions and the right assistant.

If you want, I can help you build the exact “learn-it-yourself” agent you need. Just say the word.