Advice to my Younger Self

This is a memo I am writing to the version of myself that arrived at this computer 2 hours ago, (technically younger lol).

So ChatGPT has a feature where you can create Custom GPTs. If you are already lost, think of a GPT as a human. What this means is if you wanted to create a Personal Trainer GPT, for example, you can give the instructions:

Hi I’m Bob I’m looking to lose 40 lbs, I belong to Crunch Fitness and my biggest issue is figuring out a workout routine.

This means every time you write the personal trainer GPT, your story is already embedded within your request. So if you write to the GPT “Create me a workout plan for the week” — the plan will be tailored to the fact that you want to lose 40 pounds, have no routine, and belong to a gym with most equipment available.

The advice I give tonight is in the wake of GPT creation.

Advice

I love to optimize. It’s really fun. If I am editing a video, I like figuring out how to get from 6 hours to 3 hours. Sometimes it may take me 20 hours to figure that out, but it’s something I really enjoy doing.

To cut to the chase, today I spent 2 hours trying to fix a GPT I had created earlier in the day.

The advice I give to myself can be applied to many walks of life, not just GPT building — hence why I am writing about it today. It’s a basic but important lesson.

When you are trying to optimize, start VERY simple

So many times we look at problems as this big gross mess and struggle to chunk it down into digestible parts. This chunking is the necessary component into leveling up your problem solving and optimization skills.

Example: See the equation

2X + 48 = 4X

You can figure this out in 2 main ways.

A) You can try to find X which is a number that when multiplied by 2 and with 48 on top becomes 4 times itself. This is a really hard problem to solve quickly.

B) You Simplify the problem. You see that if 2x + 48 = 4x. Since 2x + 2x = 4x, 2x must equal 48. This is a much easier problem to solve. What number times 2 is 48?

24… obviously.

Why this matters

I tried optimizing my custom GPT with a 2 hour long transcript of advanced-level investment philosophy by investment fund managers. What a recipe for disaster.

I literally kept trying everything in my power to try and fix the GPT but it wouldn’t fix.

Then as I start to open this blog I realized the issue: I never simplified the problem. Thus the solution became opaque and rather impossible to find.

-Jack