LIAM DARMODYᵍᵐ

Personal Brand Strategist & Networking Coach → I help entrepreneurs, executives & teams build brands to attract clients, talent & opportunity | Family Man | Connector | AI & Blockchain Bull | Hot Sauce Aficionado🌶️

I help founders, entrepreneurs, and executives build businesses by becoming trusted, visible, and referenceable in their space. My work sits at the intersection of personal brand strategy, go-to-market execution, and AI-enabled operations. I help people understand how to show up across LinkedIn, search, and AI-driven discovery and how that visibility turns into real opportunity over time.

Currently, I'm working with Brandi (mybrandi.ai), helping companies understand how they show up inside AI-generated answers and recommendations, and how brand visibility, trust, and demand are increasingly shaped by systems they do not directly control.

Seeing this shift up close has changed how I help individuals and teams show up online.

A core part of my approach is what I call Voice Enablement with AI.

Instead of writing for people, I teach them how to use AI to think, draft, and create content in their own voice. Most clients stop writing from scratch and start editing instead. Content creation becomes faster, more consistent, and still unmistakably human.

How? Because we are using your actual voice!

What I help with most often:

• Founder and executive positioning and LinkedIn profile strategy
• Personal narrative clarity for humans, AI systems, and decision-makers
• Relationship-based networking and social selling without pressure tactics
• Using AI to streamline content creation, engagement, and workflows
• Measuring what actually matters in brand and go-to-market efforts

Alongside my advisory work, I take on select fractional go-to-market and operations roles, supporting teams during growth, transition, or strategic realignment.

I’m known for helping people:

• Clarify what makes them meaningfully different
• Build trust before asking for anything
• Turn visibility into opportunity over time
• Turn chaos into organized chaos ;)

I call this manifesting serendipity.

It’s not luck. It’s intention, consistency, and showing up in the right conversations long before you need something. It's being in someone's orbit often enough that you become the first person they think of when they need your product or service. 

It's about being top of mind. 

Outside of work, I’m a husband, a dad of two, an early-morning lifter, and a proud hot sauce aficionado 🌶️. 

If you’re building a brand, a business, or your next chapter, I’d love to jam with you. 

Hi5, 
LD

Founder

I help executives, founders, and their teams build magnetic brands that attract clients, talent, and opportunity on LinkedIn. 

My services include: 

My services include: 
- Profile Optimization
- LinkedIn feature training
- Core content strategy
- Ghostediting (ask me about it)
- Content performance analysis 
- Sales Navigator training

Liam's Brand Stand was born out of my passion for personal branding and belief that LinkedIn is the ultimate platform for professionals and organizations to manifest serendipity and unlock opportunity.

This passion started as a fascination that turned into a hobby, then to a side hustle, and now, my full-time focus. I started creating content and being more intentional about building my brand here in January 2020 and since then I've amassed 35,000 followers and my content has garnered ~23,000,000 impressions, ~600,000 reactions, and ~100,000 comments. 

Completely organically.

Pretty crazy, especially when you consider I'm just a suburban dad who took to LinkedIn as a way to have conversation with other adults while cooped up in my house with my wife, a toddler, and an infant during a pandemic. 

That's the kind of opportunity that exists on LinkedIn and I'm on a mission to help more people experience it for themselves. 

If you're interested in doing so, visit: 

liamsbrandstand.com to learn more 
-or- 
calendly.com/liamdarmody to book time with me

Thanks for stopping by! 

Hi5, 
LD

LIAM DARMODY

Today I stepped on the scale & clocked 278lbs. 

I know that sounds like a weird flex, but I have not been in the 270s since August 2016.

Nearly 10 years. 

When I started my business in August 2023, I was 347lbs. 

I couldn’t walk a mile without running out of breath.
I couldn’t walk upstairs without the same.
I feared my kids asking me to play because I knew how hard that would be for me. 

I had spent the better part of 30 years using food as medicine to heal wounds from childhood, which started at A&D burgers in Mississauga, Ontario. 

I decided enough was enough. 

Joined a gym.

Started with 3x per week, which was all I could do back then. 

Then 4x per week. 
Then 5x per week.
And now 6x per week (sometimes ;)

it's the hardest thing I've ever had to do, not just because of how challenging the physical workouts are, but because it hasn't garnered massive results overnight.

I've been an all or nothing kind of guy since the beginning of time and I've started and stopped trying to lose weight many times before.

I wanted three months of hard work to magically undo 30 years of unhealthy habits.

It doesn't work like that.

I'm at the point now where the scale doesn't even really matter that much to me because I've realized that which really matters is that I'm showing up in that gym every weekday.

putting in the work to be healthier.

day by day.
Week by week.
Month by month. 
Year by year. 

I may still be round but I'm in the best shape of my life. 

And it feels amazing.

My advice to anyone who has struggled with weight loss is to try this: 

1) Find a gym with coaches & classes. Expert accountability and community are massive motivators. 

2) Go 3-5 days per week for 3 months. Non-negotiable. 

3) Meal prep. Every Sunday I throw 4 lb of ground chicken, a bag of hash brown potatoes, and 15 eggs on a blackstone flat top and make a meal for myself that has 100 g of protein. That's breakfast after the gym every day. 

If you do that, you will notice a change in yourself, not just on the scale but mentally. You will start to believe that you are capable of things you never thought you were capable of. 

And that will motivate you to keep going.

I’m still on my journey. I’ve got a long way to go, but I have zero doubt that I will get there now. 

And that is something I haven’t felt ever before. 

It’s liberating as hell. 

Good luck. 

My DMs are open if you ever want to jam about it.

I’ve got to go carry both of my kids up the stairs now, and I’m proud to say I won’t be winded. 

Hi5,
LD
🌶️

Personal Brand Strategist & Fractional GTM Operator helping founders build their businesses with LinkedIn & AI 🌶️ Hot Sauce Aficionado 🌶️

No alternative text description for this image

HUGE NEWS! 

My incredible wife Megan Bailey Darmody has a new job! She’s swapping floral fragrances, petals, and stems for wax, wicks, and fragrance sticks by joining CandleScience to lead performance marketing. 

CandleScience is one of the largest suppliers and educators in the candle making industry and I am so excited for her (and to have more candles around the house…;)

Megan is an absolute boss and I’m so proud to be her husband. She inspires me every single day. 

Please join me in congratulating her on the new role!

Hi5,
LD
🕯️

Brand Strategist and Fractional GTM Operator helping founders grow their businesses with LinkedIn and AI • Hot Sauce Aficionado 🌶️

This is not okay. 
This is not what America is supposed to be.
This is not what “law enforcement” looks like. 

This is not “the land of the Free”
This is not “the Home of the Brave” 
This is not “one country, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”

This is barbaric.
This is cowardice.
This is fear mongering. 
This is absolutely devastating.

This is the execution of an American citizen exercising his unalienable constitutional rights. 

And it’s f*cking unacceptable.

I am astounded that this continues to happen with seemingly zero repercussions. 

What are we doing? 
How did we get here?

And most importantly, how do we stop it? 

I don’t care what side of the aisle you’re on politically, if you are willing to stand by and watch this without speaking up or taking action, you’re not my kind of people. 

Political differences are acceptable—appreciated, even. 

Staying silent as American citizens are murdered by masked “men” beating their chests and brandishing weapons to fuel their bravado is not. 

My heart goes out to the families who have been impacted by these devastating displays of government overreach. 

I cannot begin to comprehend your pain and nothing I say could possibly fill the void left by such a tragic loss.

But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t say something. 

I will never forget this image. 

Especially not at the polls.

☮️&❤️

This one's for my fellow dog owners... 

The other day, a weird triangle box showed up on my doorstep while I was working and when I opened it, I found this AI-generated portrait of my dog, Lucky DarmoDoodle, looking far more classy and refined than is reality. 

Turns out my wife found this site called Vogue Paws that will turn any photo of your hound into a portrait worth framing. 

This is not an ad for that service, I just think it's cool. 

I'm curious...

Do you have a pet? 

Hi5,
LD
🌶️

Dear Leaders, 

Please stop putting random hour-long meetings on people's calendars without context. 

Sincerely, 
Everyone who's ever worked for someone else.

Underrated life hack: 

Make others feel seen, heard, & understood.

Too many people think that all you have to do is show up a few times per week on Linkedin, write a few posts, and start drinking from a lead firehose. That doesn’t work here anymore.

5 years ago it may have, but not now. 

Building your brand/business on Linkedin requires so much more than simply publishing content.

Linkedin is a signal farm and your ability to pay attention to and engage with those signals is what determines your success here. 

I view it as a funnel exercise.

Once you see it that way, you can’t unsee it. 

I always say that Linkedin is the world’s largest CRM, and the leads are already built in and pre-qualified for you (if you build your network right). 

This is the Linkedin Signal Funnel. 

Do you view it this way, too? 

Hi5,
LD

graphical user interface, text, application

Today I went for a 30-minute walk and talk where I actually held my iPhone up to my ear the entire time like it was 2007. It was weird. Do not recommend.

I bet I’ve said “I wish I knew how to code” hundreds of times over the last two decades. I definitely have had no shortage of app ideas. 

I’ve been hearing so much about vibecoding and dabbled a little bit, but never built anything that actually worked on my phone.   

Until last night, when Sitting in front of the TV watching football, I vibecoded my first functional mobile app using ChatGPT and Claude Code.

I:

-> installed Node.js
—> used it to run Expo from the terminal
—->used Expo Go on my phone to preview the app

Things I knew nothing about prior. 

And in 2 hours I coded a functional MVP of an app I’ve been thinking was a good idea since becoming a father. 

It ain’t pretty (yet), but it’s functional. 

And I’m feeling pretty proud of myself, not to mention I really enjoyed the whole experience. It’s kind of like solving a puzzle.

All in my native tongue. 
No programming knowledge necessary. 

What a time to be alive! 

I’m curious… 

Have you used AI to build any software yet? 

Hi5
LD
🌶️

Are you a generalist or a specialist? 

I spent the better part of the first twenty years of my career feeling pretty insecure about the fact that I was more of a Swiss Army knife than a specialist. 

I was genuinely surprised when I would get new opportunities with higher titles because we've been taught to believe that you don't climb the ladder unless you have a very specific set of skills and scope. 

But being a generalist has always been my natural motion. I’ve always been too curious and too fascinated by too many things to just focus on one. 

These days I see articles about how “the future belongs to generalists” and companies are focusing on cultivating T-shaped talent—people with depth in one area and breadth across many others. 

I'm excited about this narrative and a lot more comfortable embracing that jack-of-many trades moniker nowadays than ever before.

Excited about the future.

I’m curious: 

Do you consider yourself more of a specialist or generalist? 

Hi5,
LD
🌶️

P.S. this post started as a comment on Conor Grennan’s recent post about generalists. Go follow him for fantastic AI thought leadership content.

I don’t know about you, but I’m seeing a lot of new faces viewing/following/connecting these days and for the most part they are exactly the types of people I generally want to be talking to:

Founders at tech companies
Fractional executives 
Executive coaches 
Marketing folks
Comms folks
Ops folks
AI folks 

Come to think of it, that is a lot. I guess I like to talk to a wide variety of people, but regardless, I’m seeing a lot more of them and I like it. 

I think LinkedIn’s new 360Brew AI system is brewin! 

How’s LinkedIn treating you these days? 

Hi5,
LD
🌶️

I just crossed 300,000 words whispered through Wispr Flow 
(apparently that’s the equivalent of three books!) 
Over the last six months, I’ve dictated an average of 103 words per minute, across 79 different apps. Slack. LinkedIn comments. Emails. Texts. Notes. Everywhere.

Wispr Flow is the best tool I found in 2025. 

It’s one of those special products that revealed a problem I didn’t realize I had—I didn’t realize how much mental load typing created until I didn’t have to do it anymore.

Same way Uber changed how I thought about taxis.
Same way Tesla changed how I thought about driving.

Once I stopped typing and started thinking out loud, everything just felt so much more natural.

With AI, I can dictate stream-of-consciousness thoughts and let the machine do the cleanup. The result is faster output and more authentic writing. I’m no longer switching modes from “thinking” to “typing.” 

I just think and talk. 

That’s a massive unlock.

I’m usually an early adopter with a pretty high bar, which means I moves on quickly from most new products I try. 

Not this one. 

Wispr Flow is now core to how I work.

If you want to try it, you get 2,000 words free. Fair warning though… there’s a very good chance you’ll end up paying the $15/month.

(Sorry, not sorry)

Check it out here and get in flow!!!! 

👉 https://lnkd.in/epMgJFez

Hi5,
LD 
🌶️

P.S. Not a paid partnership. I just genuinely love this product!

It's now been a little more than three years since ChatGPT launched on November 30th, 2022. And it's so wild how much AI is changing virtually every aspect of our lives. 

I started using ChatGPT the day it came out and was a paid user within a week.

Then Claude hit the scene and I started using that. 
Then Perplexity. 
Then Gemini. 
Then Grok. 

ChatGPT's first mover advantage is strong in my case, which gives it an unfair advantage over the others because I do use it as my default for most things. 

I like Claude better for writing. 

I'm intrigued to see how much market share Gemini is gaining though I haven't really committed much time to using Gemini myself.  

I don't really mess with Grok. 

I know some people who are all-in on one thing. I know other people who use different LLMs for different purposes. I think I fall into the latter bucket but ChatGPT remains my primary for most things. And I struggle to balance usage across all effectively. 

I'm now at the point where I might be looking for that thing I did the other day and having to check multiple LLMs. 

One of my goals in 2026 is to streamline my AI stack and focus on deciding which one is really the best one for me all-around rather than defaulting to ChatGPT because it's been around for me the longest.

And so, I'm curious...

If you could only use ONE of the major AI LLMs going forward, which one would you pick? BONUS POINTS for telling us why in the comments. 

The author can see how you vote. Learn more

If I had to pick just two social networks to spend time on, it would be Substack and LinkedIn. 

Why? 

Because they're pretty complementary to one another and most people on Substack link to their LinkedIn profile, you can easily find and follow in both places. 

Admittedly, I spend more time on LinkedIn than I do Substack right now, because I’ve built a larger and more engaged following here. But I plan to increase the time I spend on Substack significantly.

Why? 

Because Substack lets me build a more direct, owned connection with my audience and because it’s a much better platform from a usability standpoint. 

It’s like Substack has gone to all the other socials, taken notes about what sucks, and built the solution. 

I’m increasingly starting to view the two this way: 

Linkedin is where you build your personal brand. 
Substack is where you build (and monetize!) your personal media empire. 

Linkedin is top of funnel.
Substack is middle of funnel. 

Going forward, I’m: 

Incredibly bullish on Substack. 
Incredibly bullish on LinkedIn. 
Insanely bullish on the two of them paired together. 

Are you on substack? 

Drop your link below if so. 

Here’s mine: https://lnkd.in/eEZA6RHN

Hi5,
LD
🌶️

“DAD!! Stop using ChatGPT to play Monopoly!” 

Whoops.

You had one job…

I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve gone to an ATM in the last 365 days. Today was one of those rare visits (to get money for babysitter tonight, which is literally my only use case for cash anymore), and of course…

Looking for a job in 2026? Read this. 
 
On Thursday January 8th, my good friend Angie Callen, PCC, MJSC and 25 of her closest career coaching friends are hosting the 2026 Job Seeker Summit, a FREE virtual event showcasing expert advice from globally-recognized career coaches, resume writers, recruiters and... 

Somehow me. 

Fun fact: my first foray into Linkedin coaching was in 2009 when I launched TalentFish Consulting on a mission to help jobseekers cast a wider net. It was after a layoff and I thought: "teaching people how to network their way into their next opportunity sounds fun... let's do it!"

Only it was short lived because I networked myself into a new job shortly thereafter and didn't have time for side hustles. 

But the principles I taught then are even more valid today and 2026 is going to be a big year on Linkedin, so you might as well jump into some of these sessions to learn from those who know it best. 

The 2026 Jobseeker Summit starts at 9am MOUNTAIN time on Jan 8th and here's the lineup: 

9AM: Event welcome + resume AMA
10:30: Resume Breakout Sessions
11:30: Interview AMA: Real talk on Modern Interviews
1:15: Job Search AMA: Beyond the Boards
2:30: Job Search Breakout Sessions
3:30: AI Panel: From ChatGPT to CareerGPT (this is the one I'm on!)
4:15: Mindset Panel: Bounce Back & Burnout Recovery

Hear from 25 different career coaches, resume writers, and recruiters. 

For free.

Don't pinch yourself. It's true. 

Whether you're looking for a new job or not, the things you'll learn at the Job Seeker Summit are worth the time and price of admission (remember, it's FREE). 

Pre-register for access to giveaways during the day and ALL recordings from the event here: https://lnkd.in/eeGfPgdG

See you there! 
LD
🌶️

2026 Job Seeker Summit - Jan 8th - 9AM MT - FREE!

Unexpected benefit of taking two weeks off of LinkedIn: “it can only get better from here” 🤪Happy to be back. I love this place.

After 14-days of kids being home for the holidays, Megan Bailey Darmody and I decided it was high time for a bit more structure around the things our kids do around the house. 

We’ve tried fridge lists and white boards, etc, but they never really stuck, so I enlisted the help of Google’s Gemini to help me create a master tracking sheet that is more interactive and satisfying than a simple checklist on a fridge. 

Here’s how it works:

- Kids aren’t allowed on iPad on weekdays, unless it’s to update their to do list. This will happen on my iPad or with Mom or Dad’s phone. 

- Each day they complete 💯 of their tasks, they unlock 20% of their weekend iPad time allotment, reflected by a green progress bar atop their tasks and a big “TOTAL EARNED” tracker.

- If they hit all 5 days, they unlock a celebratory badge and all of their iPad time. 

The beauty of this is that I created it entirely with the help of Gemini. The formulas are definitely more complex than anything I knew how to create myself but it was able to tell me what I needed based on the inputs that I was giving it. 

And of course it also gave me a prompt I can use for building a prototype app in Lovable.  

(Stay tuned for more on that front)

What a time to be alive.

Parents, I’m curious… 

How has AI helped you improve around the house?

Hi5,
LD
🌶️

__
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+Follow LIAM for AI, branding, & business innovation content

Appreciation post for founders who value operations & core operating principles: 388 impressions. Post about ATM not functioning: 10,000 impressions. Checks out. 

Remember: exciting or frustrating as they may be, impressions are not the metric that matters most on Linkedin. Far from it. 

Fill your network with active people who might be interested in seeing your content and post about: 

Who you are
What you know
Why you're here
How you help

Start conversation with those who show interest

Consistency & patience compounds over time.

One day that 388 impression post might bring in a opportunity. 
Or maybe the 10,000 impression post does it.

The point is: 

When in doubt, zoom out. 

It's not about the performance of each individual post. 
It's about the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. 

We're building personal brands here, folks, and those last as long as we do (and beyond), so don't let short-term frustration prevent long-term success. 

How do you handle ups and downs? 

Hi5. I'm rooting for you, 
LD
🌶️

Make happiness your company’s superpower | Using positivity experiments and a happiness blueprint to unlock your team’s performance | Team Coach | Founder @ Smiling Bowtie

You're Not Just Building an App. You're Building a Feeling.

Most founders think they're selling a product.
They're not.
They're selling confidence. Ease. Trust. Belonging.

But somewhere between the idea in your head and the code on the screen, that feeling gets lost.
It gets buried under features, frameworks, and friction.

That's where I come in.

I don't just build apps.
I build experiences that feel right.

The kind that make your audience say, "Finally, someone gets me."
The kind that turn your big idea into something people actually use and love.

Because good tech doesn't just work.
It connects.

WHAT I DO

I help founders, solopreneurs, and business owners bring their ideas to life through emotionally intelligent design.

The kind of apps that feel as good as they function.

Sometimes that looks like building custom AI apps designed for trust, not just features.
Other times it's helping product teams craft user flows that increase engagement and retention.

And for growing businesses, it's partnering as a Fractional Product & Experience lead, architecting both the tech and the human journey behind AI products.

WHY IT WORKS

I'm a systems-thinking creative who spent 20+ years leading in fashion, tech, devops, coaching, and EQ before realizing something big:

I wasn't meant to just build systems.
I was meant to build experiences that make people feel something.

Now I turn ideas into apps that reduce workplace anxiety, improve team connection, and help people feel seen and valued.

Because the future of tech isn't just artificial intelligence.
It's emotional intelligence, built right in.

WHO I WORK WITH

Founders building their MVP who need a technical partner who gets the human side.
Product teams who know engagement isn't about more features, it's about better experience.
Executives who want tools that actually reduce turnover instead of just tracking it.

If your idea matters and you want it built with care, clarity, and emotional depth, let's talk.

DM me or visit: https://smilingbowtie.com

Antoni Tzavelas, ACC

Today I celebrate my beautiful wife Laura's milestone birthday.
 
And looking not a day over 30 🥰
 
You know that quote "behind every successful man there is a strong woman"?
 
I never loved it.
 
Not because it's wrong. 
But because it puts her behind me. 
And that's never been true. 

Not once.
 
She's been beside me. 
Ahead of me sometimes. 

Quietly holding things together while I was out there chasing the next thing, thinking I was doing it on my own.
 
I wasn't.
 
Every exam. 
Every course. 
Every pivot. 

Every moment I wanted to quit and every moment I forgot to celebrate... she was there. 

Not cheering from the sidelines. 
Actually in it with me.
 
And here's the part that still gets me...
 
She did all of that while raising our kids to be the kind of humans you actually want to be around. 

Patient. 
Kind. 
Real. 

That's her fingerprints all over them.
 
I used to think I got lucky. 
Now I know it's bigger than luck. 

She chose this. 
She chose me. 
And she keeps choosing this life we've built together.
 
So yeah. 

Milestone birthday. 
Big number. 
Whatever.
 
What I'm actually celebrating is her. 

The woman who made space for everything good in my life to exist.
 
Happy birthday, sweetheart. 

I cherish you. 
Always have. 
Always will.
 
Yes this is sappy. 

But absolutely no F***s given.

Antoni Tzavelas

Your App Genius | Building apps that are an extension of your brand | AI Technologist | Fractional CTO | Coffee + Pizza Aficionado

I stopped speaking last year. 

Stepped off stages, said goodbye to keynotes, and dove into building apps with 0 coding experience.

4 months later, I'm sitting on more learnings than I shared in a year of talks about workplace happiness.

And this morning I realized, I've been hoarding them. 
Waiting for... what exactly? 
For them to sound smarter? 
For the story to have an ending?

Meanwhile, someone right now is staring at an idea they want to build but think they're not technical enough for. 

Someone's pivoting for the 3rd time, wondering if that makes them flaky. 
Someone's leading a team while still figuring out the thing they're supposed to be leading.

I just lived all of that.

Last week I built a fancy transcription integration into Miru Pulse Inc. 

Worked beautifully. 
Forgot to test it after. 
Broke the entire login page. 

No one could access the system. 

Found out when an influential person my co-founder invited tried to log in and... error page.

That's the stuff no one talks about in polished keynotes six months later. 
But that moment? That's where the real learning lives. 

The panic. The fix. The humility of realizing you can break the front door while building a back room.

We don't need more polished retrospectives from people who figured it out five years ago. We need the real-time stuff. 

The "I just broke my own login page yesterday" stuff.

So I'm winding up speaking again. 
Not because I've arrived. 

Because the learning is happening now and someone needs to hear it while it's still got dirt on it.

If you've learned something recently, even if it's half-baked, share it. 

The middle is where people actually need help. 
Not the ending.

Today is Scott MacGregor's birthday.
 
And I need to tell you about him.
 
I've known Scott just over a year. Met him once in NYC, 2024. And somehow, in that short time, he's rewired how I think about relationships.
 
Which is saying something. 

I've been relationship-first my whole life. But Scott? He took something I thought I understood and made me realize I was just scratching the surface.
 
Here's who Scott is.
 
He's the guy who built The Outlier Project. A community of speakers, authors, Olympians, founders, Navy SEALs, Green Berets... I mean, extraordinary people... because he believed something most people only say out loud: 

That everyone deserves access to extraordinary humans. Not just the well-connected. Not just the ones who already made it. 

Everyone.
 
And he didn't just build it. He opens the door. Wide. For people like me.
 
When I found The Outlier Project, I wasn't looking for a network. I was looking for my people. And Scott saw me. All of me. And graciously invited me into his world like I'd always belonged there.
 
That's his superpower. He makes you feel like you matter. Not because of what you've done. Not because of what you can offer him. 

Just... because you're you.
 
He has this framework he teaches called "Who's Your Oprah." I won't spoil it, but I'll say this: 

It changed how I think about the people I surround myself with. Not transactional. Not strategic. Just intentional. Genuine. The kind of relationship-building that comes from a pure place.
 
Scott shows up for people first. Always. With nothing expected in return. And because of that, when he calls? People answer.
 
I'm one of them now.
 
Trusted partner. Close friend. One of the good ones.
 
Happy birthday, Scott. 

Thank you for seeing me, and for reminding all of us that we already belong.

If you’re not learning AI right now, you’re not being cautious. 

You’re falling behind.
 
I’ve rebuilt myself 7 times across my career. New careers. New skills. New resets. Learning has always been my safety net. When something stopped working, I learned my way out.
 
But if I’m honest…  

The last 2 years, I slowed down. I stayed comfortable. I kept up just enough and watched from the sidelines.
 
Then I stopped talking about AI and actually started using it.

Not reading 10 threads a day.  
Not saving 50 posts for “later.”
 
Vibe coding. Building. Breaking things. Fixing them.
 
And everything changed.
 
I got faster without rushing.  
I built 2-3x more without working longer.  
I unlocked skills I had quietly decided were “off the table” for me.
 
Here’s the part people don’t like hearing:
 
AI isn’t a “nice to have” skill.  It’s the new baseline.
 
This isn’t about prompts or tools. It’s about learning how to think, build, and move differently. AI doesn’t replace your skills. It turns the volume up on the ones you already have.
 
Waiting 12–24 months for things to “settle” sounds smart.  But it’s really just comfort in disguise.
 
Curiosity has always been the real career insurance.  Right now, AI is rewarding the curious.
 
Because let’s be honest…
 
The people who learn AI won’t just survive what’s coming.  They’ll win.  Quietly. Efficiently. Repeatedly.
 
So ask yourself:
 
Are you learning with AI…  

Or are you about to watch someone else take the victory lap?

Lately I’ve been noticing something, and it feels too honest not to say out loud.
 
Pretty much everything good that’s shown up in my life over the last 4 months didn’t come from pushing harder. 

It came from slowing all the way down.
 
Most mornings I sit. 
Early. 
Quiet. 
No phone.  

Just me and whatever name you want to give it… God, Source, higher power. 
I don’t overthink it. I just show up.
 
I didn’t start meditating to “manifest” anything.  
I started because I had an addiction to control.
 
Planning. Forcing. Fixing. 
Trying to stay ahead of life.  
It looked responsible. It felt chaotic inside.
 
Meditation cracked that open.
 
Sitting in stillness taught me how to loosen my grip and live in the unknown without trying to tame it. To stop predicting every outcome. To let silence lead for once.
 
And here’s the part I keep reflecting on.
 
When I stopped controlling, life started offering.  
Business showed up without chasing.
Opportunities landed without effort.
 
But that’s not even the biggest shift.
 
It’s the gratitude.
 
Some mornings it hits so hard it feels ridiculous. Tears. Full body joy. 

That kind of overwhelming goodness where you’re crying because there’s nothing wrong and everything feels right at the same time.
 
That’s why I start my day here.  
Not to be calm. 
Not to be spiritual.  

But to touch that frequency and carry it with me into the rest of the day.
 
Meditation was my guiding light out of the chaos.  It opened doors and emotions I never thought I’d have access to.
 
I’m not sharing this as advice or a reveal.  
Just a reflection I didn’t want to ignore.
 
Letting go gave me more than control ever did.

I hope this helps someone else as much as it helped me.

I’ve changed careers 7 times.

Fashion Designer.
Sys Admin.
Cloud Engineer.
DevOps.
Training. 
Coaching. 
Keynote Speaking.
Now building with AI.

None of them were safe.  None were guaranteed.
 
Here’s what I’m noticing in today’s job market and why it feels familiar.
 
Roles are changing faster than they can be named.  
Job descriptions are outdated the moment they’re posted.  
And more people are stuck asking, “What should I apply for?” while the work itself keeps shifting.
 
This is the same tension I felt every time I moved into a new field.
 
I never started with job postings.  I started with the work.
 
Before I had a title, I would:  

Learn what the role actually involved day to day.  
Notice where teams were overwhelmed or quietly stuck.  
Build skills around those gaps... sometimes through courses, sometimes through a lot of unpaid time and curiosity.  
Show up already useful, not just qualified.
 
That approach used to feel risky.  Now it feels like the reality of how work moves.
 
What I’m seeing now is this:  

The people finding opportunities aren’t waiting for roles to exist.  
They’re responding to real needs.
 
So if you’re job hunting right now, here’s a simple place to start:
 
Pick one role or industry you’re curious about.  Study the work, not the title.  Ask yourself where help is actually needed and build toward that.
 
You don’t need permission to be useful.
 
Creating your own lane isn’t a future strategy.
 
It’s already happening.

Architects don’t hate clients.  

They hate noise.
 
Not because clients are difficult.  But because uncertainty creates it.
 
“Any updates?”  
“Can we tweak this?”  
“Just checking in…”
 
That’s not collaboration.  That’s noise disguised as curiosity.
 
If I were to build one app for architects, it would eliminate the noise by combining 3 simple things into one calm client portal.
 
First: Clarity 
 
Clients can always see:  
What’s decided.
What’s pending.  
What’s next.  
What needs their input.
 
No more status emails.  The answer is already there.
 
Second: Boundaries  

Any change goes through the system.  
Cost impact.  
Timeline impact.  
Approval required.
 
No “small tweak” conversations.  The app becomes the bad guy.  The architect keeps the relationship.
 
Third: Responsibility

Clients see decisions they owe.  
Deadlines.  
And what happens if they miss them.
No chasing. 
No guilt.  

The timeline moves because of choices, not reminders.
 
When you put these together, something interesting happens.
 
The architect stops managing emotions.  
The client feels informed instead of anxious.  
And the project moves forward without constant interruption.
 
Good design needs space.  

Good systems protect that space.
 
What if the best thing you built for architects wasn’t a drawing tool…  but a noise-removal system?

Everyone's building custom GPTs. 

Almost nobody's making money from them.

Here's the uncomfortable truth about the AI gold rush:

Building cool technology ≠ Building a business

I see entrepreneurs everywhere showing off their latest GPT creation. Impressive demos. Clever prompts. Zero revenue.

We took a different approach.

Started with custom GPTs like everyone else. But in 45 days combined altogether, we had a full SaaS product with paying customers.

The secret? We stopped being AI developers and started being business builders.

While others obsessed over prompt engineering, we focused on:
• Solving real problems people pay for
• Creating seamless user experiences  
• Building actual sales processes

Your GPT isn't your product. It's your prototype.

The real opportunity isn't in the AI. It's in the transformation you deliver.

Stop building experiments. Start building businesses.

The AI boom won't wait for you to figure this out.

I’ve met so many founders with great app ideas who never ship them.  

Not because the idea isn’t good.  

But because they don’t trust it will hold up once real people start using it.
 
And honestly, I get it.
 
I knew architecture.  
I knew security.  
I knew systems and scale.
 
What I didn’t know was how to code it all together.
 
So the idea stayed stuck longer than it should have.
 
Most people don’t have the skillset to build an app that’s ready for the masses.  
One that doesn’t break at 100 users.  
One that feels calm, safe, and solid from day one.
 
Then AI removed the last barrier for me.
 
Now I help founders turn real ideas into real apps.  
Not fragile demos.  
But real products, designed to grow.
 
And yes… sometimes that realization hits while smiling next to a very judgmental chicken in a Santa hat.
 
Confidence looks different for everyone.  

Mine apparently clucks.

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LIAM DARMODY

Antoni Tzavelas, ACC

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The Battle

LIAM DARMODY

Antoni Tzavelas, ACC

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