Greetings, Grasshopper.

I trust you enjoyed your New Year festivities, as did I. As I mulled over the lessons of 2023, I am reminded of an old classic.

My local TV station ran "The Wizard of Oz" every spring when I was a kid, around Easter time. I absolutely loved this movie, and would watch it every year. My favorite character? The Cowardly Lion.

As a kid, he made me laugh. I mean, those facial expressions! Bert Lahr was really committed to his role. Wikipedia reports that his scenes often took many takes because he kept making his fellow actors laugh. Respect.

As an adult, I'm struck by what the Cowardly Lion had been teaching me all along: The truly brave face their fears so they can build their courage. Also: sometimes the truly brave need to find themselves along the way.

As entrepreneurs, it's on us to face our fear and find our bravery every day. One fear I consistently face is this: if I just drop the facade and be myself, that people won't like the real me.

I know, right? I hate that this one still shows up and nips at my heels. When it does, I'm used to facing that fear and doing the opposite. (The cape helps, in my opinion.)

A big fear many are having is what will happen this year with bots and AI. And I get why. We are truly stepping into the unknown. Some people are ready for it, some are not, and some want to ignore it all.

I've chosen to dive in first. I want to know what faces us, and the choices we're going to have to make. Most of all, I want to learn how to leverage AI in my business ethically, so I can pass that information on to you.