Welcome to the 165th Edition of the Orangeletter

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In this issue, I discuss:

• What Is Our AI Future?
• My Content Marketing Predictions
• The Power of the Bamboo Tree
• Is Attitude a Choice?
• My Aunt Em

Future Freedom

Geoffrey Hinton, one of the fathers of the AI movement, was asked the advice he would give to his children about a job for the future. He said, “become a plumber.”

Hinton believes that most knowledge work will be left to machines. The opportunity according to Hinton, until AI can deal with spatial issues better, will be in working with your hands.

It’s a topic I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. Maybe you have as well.

That question is probably the key reason I wrote the book, Burn the Playbook (in the final editing process now). It’s the advice book I always wanted to give my kids.

The gist is this: if you want to build a life of freedom on your terms, you need to ditch the traditional job path and create a following based on your skills and what makes you different. This is something I deeply believe in.

But (there is always a but), I’m not 100 percent sure it will work…because of AI. In the next three years, I believe building an audience around what makes you different will most definitely work. After that, I’m unsure of the effects of AI.

So much so, I’m thinking about adding an “AI Disclaimer” to the front of the book. Should I? (not for you to answer but thinking out loud about this).

Content Marketing 2025+

In a recent interview, I was asked this question:

What is your take on the state of content marketing in 2025? When do you think the dynamic started to shift to quantity over quality? Looking back now, do you think it was idealistic to expect content marketing to replace advertising?

My answer:

My take on the state of content marketing in 2025? It’s noisy, fragmented, and largely misunderstood. We're in an era where the tools have gotten better, but the intent has gotten worse. AI has made it easier than ever to create content, but it hasn’t made it easier to build trust, which is still the end goal. Trust takes time, and most content marketing programs look like shorter campaigns.

When did the shift to quantity over quality begin? I'd point to around 2016–2017, when the rise of “10x content” and SEO-driven publishing pushed brands to create for algorithms instead of audiences. That, combined with the explosion of martech tools and AI content generation, turned content marketing into a volume game for most.

Was it idealistic to think content marketing could replace advertising? It was never supposed to. Content marketing makes advertising work better and vice versa. Advertising still has its place. It’s fast. It’s scalable. But it’s rented attention. The best model is to use rented attention to build assets like audiences.

Content marketing, done right, is slow, relationship-driven, and designed for longevity. It’s not that content marketing failed...it’s that we let the playbook get hijacked by short-term thinking.

In 2025, the brands and creators who win will be those who build direct connection over dependence on platforms. Everything else is noise. Use social media for that purpose and you'll do just fine.

The future of content distribution is owned, trusted, and intentional. It’s not about reaching everyone. It’s about reaching the right people consistently, on channels you control. The brands and creators who win won’t chase algorithms. They’ll build direct connections through email, communities, and platforms they own. Distribution will shift from volume-based promotion to trust-based access. Everything else is noise.

Final take:

​This NeimanLab report is fascinating.

We have officially moved from TV dominance to social media (surprise). Different people have different influencers, which has created an ever-growing confirmation bias.

This means the news I get and continue to receive is not the news someone else will get.

But the opportunity is that trust has shifted to individuals. If you (or your company) can become the niche, best source for something, you will be liked and trusted by a number of people. Hopefully those people are your customers. If they aren’t, you can change your product mix.

The Bamboo Tree

So, great opportunities ahead for everyone with the right desire, but it will (and should) take time. I’m reminded of the bamboo tree (I put this story in the book).

Bamboo farmers plant seeds and water them daily. For the first four years, nothing appears above ground. But underground, a massive root system is forming. In year five, bamboo can grow up to 90 feet in just five weeks.

Building your Tilt (differentiation) and your audience? It’s bamboo work.

No visible growth for years. Massive acceleration afterward if you stay the course.

Believe it or not, you may be better off as a creator or marketer if it takes longer to build your audience assets (see Bamboo example ;)

The Choice Is Yours

On Tuesday I went running on my regular three-mile run. Tuesday morning is also trash day, so I had the opportunity to run by the trash collectors.

The first person I passed collecting the trash was disgusted. Obviously not happy to be doing what he was doing at that moment. Made perfect sense to me. I imagine being a trash collector is a very challenging job.

The second person was humming and smiling. I passed and waved and he smiled. He looked like he was having the best day of his life.

I immediately had two thoughts.

The first was the song, Working Man by Rush. Geddy Lee wrote that song in response to playing in front of a group of 9to5ers working the same job day in and day out. He just didn’t understand it. For me, I understand why someone would work a particular job. But I don’t understand how many people feel they have no choice in what they do for a living (i.e., stuck in a job).

The second thought was that each of us have a choice of how we want to live our lives. Attitude is a choice. While external factors (like collecting the trash) can influence our mood, how we choose to respond to these factors is up to us.

So if you are in a bad mood, this is a choice you are making.

If it’s very difficult to change your mood about something, change your surroundings.

Whether you are 19 or 91 you can do whatever you want to do. The only thing stopping you is you.

When my friends complain about their jobs, this is always my thought. “Why can’t you do something else?” I imagine there are always external reasons I’m not empathetic with, but we do indeed only live once. What are you waiting for?

Aunt Em

A few months after I started dating my wife, she invited me to a family graduation party. This would be first time I was to meet the majority of her family. Needless to say, I was scared.

As we walked up to the house where the party was, I saw the tiniest woman standing on a table. I was unsure how she climbed on the table. Perhaps she was helped. She couldn’t have been five feet, no more than 100 pounds. But I immediately saw her zest for life.

She was holding pom poms, and doing a cheer for the graduate. “Gimme a T” she was yelling, and everyone responded “T”.

This is a woman that clearly loved life. She was my wife’s Aunt Em.

Now over 30 years since that moment I have seen Aunt Em cheer for birthdays, anniversaries and sometimes just for love or she saw a person who needed cheering up. Whenever someone asks me about Em, I picture that glorious woman being the life of the party, doing the cheers, smiling and dancing and outwardly loving.

Aunt Em passed away this week at the age of 97.

I never had a lot of one-on-one time with Em. When I went to visit her in assisted living I was usually with my wife. But one time it was just her and I. I was asking her questions about her life. Growing up. What she did? How she cooked? I’ll never forget the life in her eyes as she spoke to me.

Even toward the end, as she was telling us she was ready to leave, the woman radiated love.

If there is a point, it’s that Em didn’t care what anyone thought. She did what she thought was the right thing at every moment. She lifted people up at every opportunity. She gave and gave and gave. She lived a servant’s life and made the world a better place.

Make the world the better place. Isn’t that what life is all about?

Isn’t that something that each of us, in whatever place we are at this moment, can do today?

I think yes.

Thank you Em. You were loved and you will be missed. I’m here doing a cheer for you.

“Give me an E!”

If you would like me to talk about something specific for next issue or ask me a question, just reply to this email.

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Keep learning and growing,

Joe

17040 Amber Dr, Cleveland , OH 44111-2908
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