From Side Project to Your Unfair Advantage: AI Blew My Mind Is Getting an Upgrade
Five months ago, I started sharing what I learned about AI. Today, I’m opening a new tier with even more value for those serious about implementing AI in their work.
TL;DR: AI Blew My Mind is going paid. Free stays practical with deep dives + the new weekly “Ahead with AI” series. Premium unlocks step-by-step playbooks, automations, insider shortcuts, and priority support, plus a monthly draw where one subscriber gets a process built or optimized by me (for free).
When I first started this publication in April, exactly five months ago (happy anniversary to us!✨), I never imagined we would get here.
It all began as a way to share what I was learning while experimenting with AI in my own projects: building products, writing prompts, testing new tools as they hit the market, and following the rabbit holes my curiosity kept pulling me into. The deeper I went, the more it kept blowing my mind, which is also how this newsletter got its name.
Eventually, this restless curiosity led me to invest thousands of hours in AI. Literally thousands.
And along the way, something unexpected happened: the community around this newsletter took on a life of its own. Today, it has grown to over 2,200 subscribers, entirely organic, with only a few mentions on LinkedIn. The positive response from you has been overwhelming and it pushed me to raise the bar with every post, while always keeping it practical.
As I spend more time creating content that helps you see what life looks like when AI becomes a collaborator in your work, I've realized I want to slowly turn this newsletter into my main focus. To grow it further, deliver even better quality, and help you unlock possibilities you didn't even know existed.
That’s why today I’m laying the foundation for what comes next.
How I think we got here
What came out from your feedback confirmed what I'd been aiming for from day one: a practical approach to making AI work for real problems.
Most people in this AI space fall into the same pattern. They talk about AI outcomes ("I implemented this automation, and it saves me 5 hours per week."), but they don’t really show you the how-to. They skip the step-by-step process that would actually let you implement it yourself. Or they package that knowledge into courses that cost thousands.
This creates something I recognize all too well: that overwhelming paralysis when you don't know where to start. When every success story makes you feel further behind. When the technology feels like it belongs to people who speak a different language than you do.
I've been there too. That's exactly why I knew from the start that I wanted to do things differently.
The superpower I tapped into (and you can too)
I don’t come from a technical background and I’m not an AI expert. But I am a generalist, and I think that helped immensely. I hold a lot of skills I can access and combine depending on what’s needed.
Not speaking ‘tech’ actually gave me leverage. I don’t look at AI through the lens of code, I look at it through the lens of work. My work. Your work. Real tasks that pile up on real desks. Untapped opportunities that were in my imagination but couldn’t happen before.
The more I learned the technology, the more I felt like it gave me wings and helped me stay ahead. I don’t feel worried about being left behind as AI evolves, and I believe that if I could adapt without a technical background, you can too.
Which is why I want to continue helping you tap into that same superpower.
What the transformation actually looks like
The superpower isn't about becoming an AI expert. It's about becoming someone who sees possibilities where others see obstacles. It's about developing the ability to look at your daily frustrations and recognize them as automation opportunities. To see the gap between what you're doing manually and what could be systematized, and then actually bridge that gap.
Most people get stuck in one of two places. Either they think AI is too complex for them to understand, so they don't even try. Or they try a few basic prompts, get mediocre results, and conclude it's overhyped. Both groups are missing the real transformation that happens when you learn to think with AI instead of just using it.
The transformation feels like this:
AI handles the routine work that used to drain your energy, freeing you to focus on the things that actually require your experience, taste, and judgment.
Ideas that lived only in your head suddenly become implementable because AI can take care of the execution while you focus on the strategy.
You stop accepting slow, manual processes as "just the way things are" and start asking "how could AI help me solve this?"
That's the superpower. Not technical mastery, but strategic thinking. Not coding skills, but the ability to see patterns and possibilities. And once you have it, you stop worrying about keeping up with AI developments because you understand how to adapt whatever comes next to serve your actual goals.
It’s exactly the transformation I want for you. And it’s why I’ve decided to take the next step with this newsletter.
Today's big announcement
I'm turning paid.
This feels like a big step to share, but it also feels right.
For months, I’ve been operating in that space between intention and execution. I had this vision of what this newsletter could become, but I was still figuring out how to make it real and create a structure that delivers more value while staying sustainable.
What I discovered is that the answer wasn’t about choosing between audiences. It was about building a foundation that lets me go deeper with those who want to, while still keeping the practical, accessible approach that brought us together.
This structure works because it acknowledges where you are in your AI journey.
If you’re just getting started, the free content gives you solid foundations.
If you’re ready to go deeper, the paid tier gives you more implementations, the direct support to adapt them to your situation, and the chance to see a real transformation in how you work.
It’s not about creating scarcity or gatekeeping knowledge. It’s about recognizing that different stages of learning need different levels of support. Sometimes you need the broad strokes to see what’s possible. Sometimes you need the granular details to make it work. This way, I can serve both without compromising either.
Here's what's in it for you
💎 Premium Newsletter ($8/month or $70/year, with a 27% discount)
Two monthly premium deep dives packed with:
Step-by-step playbooks showing my systems and frameworks in action, with the exact prompts, configs, and files - the kind of insider setups most people never reveal.
Build-ready automations and reusable templates that would cost thousands to outsource.
Hard-won shortcuts and behind-the-scenes optimizations, saving you hours by cutting out the trial and error.
Each month, one paid subscriber will be randomly selected to get a process implemented by me for free.
You can bring either a clear idea you don’t know how to build or a clunky process you’d like to optimize, and I’ll help you rework it through the AI lens and put it into practice. In the first paid issue, I’ll share a short form where you can sign up to be considered for the draw.
Priority access to me via email where I respond to all your questions and recommend solutions for what's troubling you.
Full subscribers chat access to start new threads and post.
P.S. If you pledged earlier, nothing changes — you’ll stay at the same $60 per year or $7/month. Thank you for your trust and support.
What else is ahead for Premium Members
I’ve been holding this back, but I’m too excited not to share what else I’m preparing for premium members in the future:
A platform for all the how-tos so you'll have a dedicated place to go when you need to implement something: whether automations, systems, or prompts that help you achieve your goals. This will be your private library of proven workflows.
First access to the products I’m building with special perks for premium subscribers: either free or heavily discounted. These products will be available to everyone, but you’ll always get the best deal. And if there’s something you’d love to see, reach out and tell me, I might just build it.
🎯 Free Newsletter (what stays, plus more)
Two monthly deep dives, continuing as before, with a focus on practical and real-world uses of AI.
Group chat remains free. You can comment on any thread, just can't start new ones.
Free access to my space in the AI Vanguard community (created by Michael Spencer)
💥 NEW: “Ahead with AI” Weekly Series: Your shortcut to putting AI to work in real life. Each issue brings 3 tools I tested, 2 prompt use cases, and 1 experiment to try right away. Think of it as a weekly brain snack that helps you cut through the noise, stay ahead of the curve, and build the habit of actually applying AI instead of just reading about it.
The real reason to join now
While everyone else is still figuring out what AI is for, you could be building the capabilities that matter.
The fears about AI disrupting entire industries and roles are everywhere. And yet, even as adoption increases, it's not enough to remain competitive. Most people are using these tools at maybe 10% of their potential.
The thing I hear most often? "I want to use it, but what for?"
And the truth is, the possibilities are endless, but most of us can't see them because we're trapped by how we already work. We approach AI like it's just a faster search engine. We ask it to do what we've always done, just quicker. We're thinking inside the boundaries of what we already know exists.
Unless you understand and play with the technology long enough, you can't see past those boundaries. You can't spot the moments where AI completely transforms what you can achieve.
That's why while the free newsletter focuses on helping people see what AI can do, your premium subscription gives you the step-by-step roadmaps to make those opportunities real in your specific situation.
If you're not ready to go paid yet, don't worry, you still get a lot of value with your free subscription and you can always decide later on.
And if you’d like to help me spread the word, I’ve set up a referral program with rewards:
1 referral → My complete guide for working with LLMs
3 referrals → 1 month of paid subscription
10 referrals → 3 months of paid subscription
Thank you for being part of this journey. Your feedback, your questions, and your enthusiasm have shaped everything I've built here. Whether you stay with the free newsletter or join the premium tier, I'm grateful to have you as part of this community.
Till next time,
Daria
This is awesome Daria! Cheering on for you!!!
Finally! I'm very happy for you Daria, you consistently provide a lot of value and I'm sure this launch will be a success 🤗