Each of those 40,000 shows is sitting on something between half a million and five million words of spoken knowledge - transcribed, timestamped, and doing absolutely nothing. It lives in an RSS feed that Apple indexes and nobody searches. Buried in a hosting dashboard that the creator checks for download numbers and nothing else.

This is the largest untapped knowledge base on the internet, and almost none of it has been refined into anything you can actually use.

I've been refining it for three years.

Before AI, I did it by hand. A client would send me a hundred hours of podcast tape and I'd spend months extracting the good parts, rewriting them, stitching chapters together, polishing prose until the speaker's voice survived on the page. It was brutal, beautiful work. The output was a book. One book, from one client, in maybe six months.

Now I run the same operation in weeks. The transcription happens overnight. A set of skills chunks the material into semantic topics, extracts the entities and frameworks, builds a searchable index, and queues up research packets for each chapter. I still make every editorial judgment - which stories to lead with, which frameworks deserve their own section, where the speaker's actual words hit harder than any paraphrase. But the friction between raw and refined has nearly disappeared.

Six books in two production rounds. Two hundred and fifteen thousand words. From transcripts that were just sitting there.

The villain in this story is waste.

Not malicious waste. Comfortable waste. The kind where a creator with three hundred episodes and a quarter million followers keeps recording new material because that's what creators do, while the backlog appreciates in volume and depreciates in relevance. Every week the archive gets bigger. Every week the window to publish a book from the early material gets a little narrower, because the conversation has moved on and the guest's claims have aged and the anecdotes that felt urgent in 2022 now need context.

The creator knows this. They've thought about writing a book, probably mentioned it on the show, maybe even talked to Scribe Media and heard the number. Forty thousand dollars. Six months. For one book extracted from content that already exists. The economics don't make sense, so the project sits in a "someday" list and the archive keeps growing.

Meanwhile, their audience is doing something interesting. They're listening to three-hour episodes, taking notes in Notion, building personal wikis, clipping quotes for Twitter threads. The audience is refining the content by hand, one listener at a time, because no systematic version exists.

Eric Jorgensen saw this with Naval Ravikant. He took Naval's public tweets and podcast appearances, organized them into chapters, and published The Almanac of Naval Ravikant. Naval didn't write a word. He authorized it - gave his blessing to someone else's curation. The book has moved over a million copies and it's free.

That was a one-off. What if it were a pipeline?

The pipeline exists. I've been running it, and the economics look nothing like traditional publishing.

Here's what the refinery produces from a single podcast corpus:

Books. Not ghostwritten-from-scratch books where someone interviews the author for twenty hours and fabricates a narrative. Compiled books - the speaker's actual words, reorganized and edited, with sixty percent editorial voice and ten percent direct quotes and every claim traced to a specific episode. Fair use compliant. Companion to the original, not substitute. The creator approves an outline and a final draft. That's their total involvement.

Wikis. Searchable encyclopedias built from the full transcript archive. Every framework, every guest, every protocol cross-referenced and linked. Obsidian-style markdown that works as a static site. I've built eight of these. The Ray Peat wiki has 2,898 transcripts and 23,833 semantic chunks. The Scott Adams wiki has 1,151 episodes indexed. These are knowledge bases that didn't exist before because nobody had the tooling to build them.

Skills. This is the part most people haven't considered. Inside every methodology-heavy podcast, there are repeatable workflows that can be codified as executable instructions. An SEO podcast teaches keyword research - that becomes a skill an AI can run. A sales podcast teaches objection handling - that becomes a skill with templates and decision trees. A health podcast teaches supplement protocols - that becomes a skill with dosages and timing and contraindications. The knowledge locked in transcripts can become tools that actually do things.

Answer agents. A RAG-powered AI that has read every episode and answers questions in the creator's voice, grounded in their actual words, with citations back to the source material. Not a chatbot trained on the internet pretending to be someone. A knowledge base with a conversation layer.

One corpus. Four products. The crude goes in, and books, wikis, skills, and agents come out the other end.

The word for this is refinery, and I mean it literally.

An oil refinery takes one input - crude petroleum - and produces gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, kerosene, lubricants, and asphalt. Different products for different markets, all from the same barrel. The economics work because the refinery is expensive to build and cheap to operate. The capital expenditure is the plant. The marginal cost of processing one more barrel is close to nothing.

The knowledge refinery works the same way. The expensive part was building the pipeline - the transcription engine, the semantic chunker, the entity extractor, the indexer, the chapter-writing skill with its anti-AI detection and citation verification and legal compliance checks, the six-phase production process with human review gates. That took a year. Now the marginal cost of processing one more podcast corpus is maybe twenty dollars in API calls and a few days of editorial attention.

The creator doesn't need to know any of this. They hand over an RSS feed. They get back products.

Every interesting category creates its own vocabulary. The knowledge refinery creates this one:

Corpus. The creator's body of work treated as a unified asset. Not "content" - that word implies disposability. A corpus is a library. It appreciates.

Crude. Raw transcripts, unstructured, full of repetition and filler and buried insight. Valuable but unusable in this form.

Refining. The systematic transformation of crude into products. Not editing - that implies cleanup. Refining implies extraction, separation, recombination. You're producing multiple outputs from a single feedstock.

Authorization. The creator's blessing. They didn't write the book, but they stand behind it. The Jorgensen-Naval model. This is the relationship that makes everything else possible and everything else legal.

The backlog problem. The uncomfortable truth that most creators are sitting on more value in their archives than in their next episode.

I can tell you exactly who this is for because I've done the work for three of them already.

It's the podcaster with a hundred-plus episodes and fifty thousand followers who has never published a book. The one whose audience would buy a book tomorrow if it existed. The one who mentioned writing a book two years ago on the show and hasn't started because Scribe quoted forty thousand and that's money they'd rather spend on production.

It's the YouTuber with a methodology - a system they teach across dozens of videos - that has never been organized into a single reference. Their audience takes notes by hand. The knowledge exists in fragments scattered across a playlist.

It's the course creator who recorded forty hours of lectures and put them behind a paywall, not realizing that the transcripts alone - organized, indexed, refined - could be a product line. Books from the lectures. A wiki from the curriculum. Skills from the exercises.

The common thread: they've already created the raw material. They don't need to create anything new. They need a refinery.

What I'm describing is not a service. It's a category.

Services compete on price and trust. Categories create their own demand. "Ghostwriting" is a service - you hire someone to write for you. "Knowledge refining" is a category - the systematic transformation of a creator's existing corpus into multiple knowledge products using AI-augmented pipelines.

The difference matters because a service scales with headcount and a category scales with tooling. I can refine one podcast corpus myself. But the pipeline - the skills, the SOPs, the quality gates, the production process - can be operated by anyone I train. And the training is the pipeline itself. You learn knowledge refining by running the refinery.

That's the endgame. Not a boutique where I produce books for ten clients. A refinery that other people operate, processing corpora I'll never touch, producing products in niches I don't know anything about. The platform takes a cut. The skills get better with every run. The creators get products they couldn't build themselves.

And somewhere in the archive of every podcast that's ever published fifty episodes, there's a book waiting to be refined.

The question I keep asking myself is whether Keynes would recognize this as progress.

A technology that turns dormant archives into living knowledge. That takes the best thinking from a thousand podcast conversations and makes it searchable, quotable, teachable. That gives a creator's ideas a life beyond the feed.

Or a technology that turns every backlog into a production opportunity and every corpus into a pipeline and never lets anything just sit there, being what it is, without someone calculating the marginal return on refining it.

I don't have a clean answer. Both things are true. The refinery produces real value - books that people read, skills that people use, wikis that organize knowledge that was previously inaccessible. And the refinery is a machine, and machines have a way of running you if you're not careful about running them.

So I run it on things I care about. Niches where I have conviction. Creators whose work I'd read anyway. I point the pipeline at the Catholic land movement and rural newsletters and a psychologist who teaches breathing exercises to anxious people. Not because these are the most profitable niches - they're not - but because the refinery should serve something, and if I can't name what it serves, I'm just processing crude.

The intelligence is abundant. The transcripts are abundant. The question, as always, is what's worth refining.

They type "write me a blog post about productivity" and get back 800 words of perfectly structured nothing. It reads fine. It says nothing. The verbal equivalent of elevator music.

Then they wonder why AI-generated content all sounds the same.

The mistake is treating AI as a generator when it's actually a transformer. That distinction matters more than anything else you'll learn about these tools.

Generation means asking the machine to conjure something from nothing. You get what's in the training data—which is everything, which means nothing in particular.

Transformation means feeding it your raw material and asking it to refine. Your voice memo becomes a draft. Your transcript becomes an essay. Your scattered notes become a coherent argument. The AI doesn't replace your thinking. It extends it.

Garbage in, garbage out. Everyone knows that.

But flip it: treasure in, treasure out.

The Fairy Godmother worked her magic because Cinderella had something worth transforming. A heart of gold, even in rags. The magic revealed what was already there.

Same principle. Your source material is your moat. Your transcripts, your notes, your half-formed ideas captured at 2am—that's the ore. AI is the refinery.

I learned this by accident.

In 2023 I was polishing podcast transcripts, the kind of tedious work that makes you question your life choices. Hours of "um" and "you know" and sentences that started three times before finding their footing.

Then I highlighted a paragraph in Notion and clicked "Improve writing."

Three seconds later: the same ideas, tighter. The speaker's voice intact. Just... better.

I did it again. And again. An hour of editing collapsed into minutes.

That was the moment I understood. AI wasn't going to write for me. It was going to write with me. The raw material was still mine. The judgment was still mine. But the friction between rough and polished had nearly disappeared.

The problem with prompts is they don't remember anything.

Every conversation starts from zero. You explain your voice, your goals, your preferences—then do it again next session. And again. The AI has amnesia. You're the only one keeping track.

The second brain movement tried to solve this. Tiago Forte, August Bradley, the whole PKM ecosystem. Elaborate systems for capturing and organizing knowledge. Beautiful in theory. Maintenance hell in practice. Endless copying and pasting between apps that don't talk to each other.

Skills fix this.

A skill is a markdown file that makes your AI smarter. That's it. No API. No code. Just text that teaches.

You write down how you work—your voice, your patterns, your preferences—and the AI loads it automatically. Your context persists. Your standards compound. Every session starts where the last one ended.

.claude/
├── CLAUDE.md          # Who you are, how you work
└── skills/
    └── voice-matching/
        └── SKILL.md   # Instructions + examples

The technical term is progressive disclosure. The AI loads what it needs, when it needs it. But the effect is simpler than that: you stop repeating yourself.

Most skill collections miss the point entirely.

Browse GitHub for "awesome Claude skills" and you'll find repos full of generic instructions. "Write in a professional tone." "Be concise and clear." "Consider the audience."

This is useless. It's already in the training data. You're not teaching the model anything it doesn't know.

A good skill contains knowledge the model can't have without you:

Your actual writing samples, annotated.

Your specific anti-patterns—the phrases you never use.

Your workflow quirks, your client requirements, your house style.

The difference between a mediocre skill and a powerful one is the difference between a job description and an apprenticeship. One tells you what to do. The other shows you how someone actually does it.

I run content for an education company. Newsletters, podcasts, social, course materials. The whole operation runs through Claude.

What used to require a team—copywriter, editor, podcast producer, social manager—now runs through a stack of skills I built over months.

Not because AI replaced those roles. Because skills let me bring the judgment of each role to bear on everything I touch.

Voice Matching catches when drafts drift toward generic AI prose. Anti-AI Writing kills the telltale patterns—the correlative constructions, the throat-clearing, the hedge words. Transcript Polisher turns raw audio into readable text without losing the speaker's quirks.

None of this is magic. It's documented knowledge. The power comes from stacking.

The models are good enough. They've been good enough for a while.

The bottleneck now is context. Your ability to load the right knowledge at the right time. Your ability to build skills that compound. Your ability to create a system that learns because you taught it what to learn.

This is what I mean by context engineering. It's the skill behind the skills.

Templates are training wheels you never take off. Skills are the bicycle.

In 1997, Garry Kasparov lost to Deep Blue. Chess was "solved." Humans would never beat machines again.

What happened next is more interesting.

A new format emerged: freestyle chess. Human-machine teams competing against each other. And a strange pattern appeared. The best teams weren't the best humans or the best machines. They were average players with above-average skill at collaborating with their computers.

The combination beat everything.

That's where we are with writing. Pure human or pure AI, you lose. Human with skills—with context engineered to amplify your judgment—you win.

The gap is widening. Not between people who use AI and people who don't. Between people who engineer their context and people who type into a blank chat window.

There's a version of this that's dystopian. Black-box automation. Someone else's workflow imposed on your problems. You don't understand what's happening. You can't modify it. You're dependent on systems you didn't build.

Skills are the opposite.

You build them. You modify them. You understand exactly what's happening. The knowledge lives in markdown files you can read. When something breaks, you fix it. When something improves, you keep it.

This matters more than convenience. It's the difference between using a tool and being used by one.

Today, a single writer with a well-built skill stack can do the work of an entire production team.

I don't mean this theoretically. I mean I watched my own job transform. The tedious parts evaporated. What remained was judgment, taste, the work that actually matters.

The person who masters context engineering makes their old job obsolete. Not in the dystopian sense. In the liberation sense.

That's what this newsletter is about. Each week, one skill. Portable. Documented. Yours to modify.

The model is smart enough. The question is whether you'll catch up.

A vigorous life is the best training for a 50-mile march, and a 50-mile march is the best training for a vigorous life.

We’re coming out of Northern California’s rainy season, and spring's brief, green, mercy is already surrendering to Bangor’s dry summer heat. With it, my window for lighting burn piles will end. Since November, the bulk of my hard workouts revolved around burn piles – sawing, stacking, and setting logs on fire with the tinder of their dried-up branches.

Without the added purpose of clearing land, it would be hard to find the motivation for this as mere exercise. Some find lifting heavy things to be its own reward, but I find it far more satisfying to throw them into a blazing furnace and watch them crackle.

During Lent, I tried to make up for lukewarm fasting with this laborious chore—a kind of penance by poison oak.

"Ora et labora," urges St. Benedict in his Rule for monastics—prayer and work.

Every man must have his "why".

A good, strong "why" makes meaning out of labora and impels you to exert yourself harder than you otherwise would or could.

It helps to have a "why" when you’re trudging up a hillside with a wheelbarrow and hit a stubborn rock, or singe the tips of your hair getting too close to a blazing fire.

It's essential to have a "why" when my glasses fall off while I'm waist-deep in poison oak.

Especially when I reached the property’s final frontier: the deep dark woods. The tangled thicket of oak and poison oak required me to wear nylon painter's coverall like some backwoods hazmat technician. Only instead of handling toxic waste, I was reclaiming long-abandoned footpaths from several seasons of neglect.

I have a theory that poison oak is possessed by an alien, malevolent intelligence that thrives on neglect. Like rattle snakes, mosquitos, star thistle and other things that bite, it finds its niche because of Man’s fall from grace, and neglect of his original job as gardener. Within my amateur theological scheme, Man is ultimately called to resume this vocation—but with full, conscious, and active participation rather than in Adam’s naive state of wonder. But in exile, Man must work the land "in the sweat of his face.”

My “why” for clearing the deep dark woods is several fold.

First, the effort itself is a well-rounded form of physical training.

Second, I am making a path for the countryside obstacle course I've envisioned since we first arrived here. It’s oddly satisfying to walk unhindered through a landscape that was once impassable, and to imagine what it could be in a couple more burn seasons.

But the third and deepest "why" that keeps me going is a sense of purpose and identity that has become more clear in the past year of living on the land: becoming an Athlete of Life.

Saint Paul first conceived this category, though we've largely forgotten it. In his letters, he frequently uses athletic metaphors: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." He urges us to "run in such a way as to get the prize" and to discipline our bodies like athletes in training. For Paul, physical training paralleled spiritual discipline—both requiring sustained effort toward a higher purpose. While he acknowledged that "physical training is of some value," he saw it primarily as a tool for something greater.

On the first page of Georges Hébert's training manual for the natural method, he echoes this ancient wisdom: "The primary purpose of physical education is to develop general fitness, the foundation of health, while also building proficiency in all essential practical exercises."

The central concept is développement foncier—foundational development. While Hébert wasn't writing about spiritual life, his philosophy gets closer to the ideal of being strong to be useful rather than in pursuit of some vain discipline or specialized sport.

I consider it a supreme blessing to have fallen under Hébert's influence in my early twenties. Until then, I had specialized in distance running, which had already taken its toll with repetitive stress injuries and a general boredom with "exercise."

In 99% of cases of chronic sedentarism, the inactive person is not lazy. They're bored.

Stacked against the varied demands of our paleolithic ancestors or even the neolithic farmer, modernity asks little diversity of movement. Even the more enlightened corners of the fitness world regard non-sport exercise as something that fits in a separate container. It's a hygiene, like flossing your teeth.

Instead, I've come to think of movement as a practice: a skill to be learned, improved, and mastered. What used to fill the compartment of "exercise" now spreads across what Teddy Roosevelt called the strenuous life, what Ray Peat referred to as a stimulating life, and what Kennedy called a life of vigor.

For all of these men—Hébert, Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Peat—health was good in itself but primarily as an enabler of higher things. For Hébert, this was voiced in his slogan, "be strong to be useful." For Roosevelt and Kennedy, it was bound up in the ideals of vigorous citizenship and American progress.

Life is too short for treadmills and siloed exercises you don't enjoy.

There is so much work to be done. Yet most people—even the active ones—expend their most arduous effort on spinning machines or elevating bricks on pulleys without building anything of lasting value.

We need to elevate a new category in the popular consciousness: the Athlete of Life who cultivates his virile energy in pursuit of a mission. He does not compete for trophies or train for specific sports. He reaches an elite level of functional capacity applied to his own real-world vision.

For me, this remains an aspirational identity. I am still making the path, still training for a mission that only reveals itself in increments, proportional to my capacity to receive it.

The Framework for Renewal

In years past, I've taken an ad hoc approach to my training for the 50-mile march, assuming a vigorous baseline lifestyle would carry me across the finish line.

However, with each passing year, I've encountered more difficulties from uncooperative body parts. The spirit is willing, but the ankles are weak. Winter pounds arrive easier; summer shedding grows harder. I could blame "aging" but I've come to see the real culprits as apathy and cumulative, unintentional stress.

To combat these dual nemeses of the vigorous life, I've been developing a training framework for renewal. There are many trendy discipline programs out there – from Exodus 90 to 75 Hard – that encourage ascetic practice for a set period of time. But not all of the practices are necessarily health-promoting (drinking a gallon of water per day or daily cold showers regardless of thyroid health, for example).

In my framework, askesis (discipline) takes a backseat to zoe (vitality). We are approaching the season of Pentecost, after all – not the penitential period of Lent. Furthermore, life is a marathon, not a sprint (though, ironically, the best training for a marathon ruck turns out to look more like a series of sprints than a string of stressful endurance feats).

My philosophy of foundational development has matured into what I'm tentatively calling the New Stress Synthesis – blending the generally anti-stress bioenergetic perspective of figures like Hans Selye and Ray Peat with the pro-stress “hormesis” perspective found in the mainstream of biohackers (think ice baths, fasting, and carnivore).

The synthesis is this: your must push your limits, without surpassing them. And in doing so, you increase the threshold at which stress sets in. So if and when life necessitates surpassing them, you’ve prepared such that the damage is limited.

The 50-mile march is the case in point. There is no getting around the fact that walking 50 miles in one day is a stressful event. It would be unwise to undertake it without preparation. But with the right training, we can mitigate the harms and transform it from a depleting ordeal into a fortifying trigger for growth and adaptation.

My training approach draws from the ancient Greek Tetrad – a four-day training cycle used by warriors and Olympic athletes. Each day had its purpose: preparation, intense training, active recovery, and moderate training. This natural rhythm allowed for sustained progress without burnout.

The goal is increasing the threshold at which you enter harmful stress by staying there only very briefly – just long enough to trigger adaptation. To expand your "production possibility frontier" (to borrow an economic term) of useful, purposeful output. So you can eventually work all day, sleep all night, and return to the same work the next morning with undiminished vigor.

I'm still prototyping this framework, and in the coming weeks I'll be writing more about the main pillars of the Athlete of Life's training:

1. Conditioning - Your ability to recover from a given amount of work.

2. Metabolic Flexibility - Your ability to switch efficiently between different fuel sources.

3. Grit - Your capacity to endure extreme conditions without triggering the stress response.

We’re expecting our fourth child in early July, so the timing of this year’s march remains uncertain. But the training won't be wasted regardless. Some challenges involve clearing poison oak and building burn piles. Others arrive swaddled in blankets. The Athlete of Life prepares for both.

A few weeks ago, I was mindlessly scrolling X on the couch when I happened upon this vintage photograph of French “fusilier” marines from the 1909:

"Hey!" I thought, "I know that look!"

These were clearly Hébert guys. Barefoot, minimally clothed, and standing with unmistakable posture: upright, open-chested, and ready. Their statuesque physiques showed the trademark Hébertiste development—strong core muscles (transverse abdominus) creating an "inner corset" that conveys strength without bulk.

If we trained like them, I noted, we would look like them.

The reply racked up 50,000 views in days. Why? I suspect it’s because people recognize true vitality when they see it. More than that, they desire real role models (not just museum busts) who can help them obtain it.

While today's fitness influencers showcase swollen, hunched physiques built in climate-controlled gyms, Hébert’s men embodied something different—functional strength developed through practical movement in natural settings. It’s a much more virile strength. Sure, some of the guys in the photo are obviously flexing, but the one in the front row second from left, for example. looks like he is standing in his natural pose.

I'm not claiming to match these men's physiques, but during periods when I've consistently practiced Hébert's methods, I’ve found that my body transforms remarkably quickly to meaningful demands. These aren't unattainable physiques requiring endless gym hours. Hébert insisted on efficiency, with his ‘maintenance sessions’ averaging just 20-30 minutes.

What matters is that your workouts incorporate the right elements to trigger an epigenetic shift. Stationary calisthenics and conventional sports won't cut it. You must become an "athlete of life," engaging all your physical capabilities through natural, practical movement—often outdoors, sometimes barefoot, always minimally clothed.

Subscribe now

Previous Installments

Foreword

Chapter 1: Principles of Natural Movement

Principles of Natural Training (Sections 1-3)

The Proper Training Session (Sections 4-6)

The Lost Art of Relaxation (Sections 7-12)

Finding the Sweet Spot (Sections 13-17)

Rigor + Nature = Vigor (Sections 21-26)

Strength in Song (Sections 27-33)

Chapter 2: Conducting the Lesson

The Wave Pattern Principle (Section 1)

If you've been following this series, you know that Chapter 1 introduced the philosophy of the Natural Method, while the first part of Chapter 2 so far has covered the ingenious "wave pattern" for training groups on a field.

But what if you don't have a proper training field? Or what if you're ready to take your training beyond controlled environments?

That's what today's installment addresses. Hébert outlines how to adapt his method to any environment—from narrow garden paths to wild forests.

For those who find traditional fitness boring or can’t motivate themselves at the gym, Hébert's wilderness approach offers a refreshing alternative. Instead of trudging along on a treadmill or counting dumbbell reps, you're scaling rock faces, crossing streams, and navigating varied terrain.

Translation challenges abounded in this section. The French term "parcours en pleine nature" could almost be rendered as "countryside parkour," but I've chosen "wilderness session" to avoid confusion with modern urban parkour—which, while derived from Hébert's methods, now carries associations with acrobatics that are far removed from his approach. The French "bonds et contre-bonds" becomes "bounds and counter-bounds," periods of alternating effort. Sprinting and resting, like a lion hunting.

If you've ever felt that childlike excitement scrambling up a hillside or balancing across a fallen tree, you've experienced what Hébert built his entire system around.

Our bodies are built for this kind of movement.

About 15 years ago, I experienced a chronic illness that left me without much lust for life or desire to do my go-to exercises like going to the gym or city running. What I did find, however, was that I could motivate myself to lift a log (which happened to be placed conveniently on the side of a track where I used to jog). I discovered Erwan LeCorre’s The Workout the World Forgot, and it woke my body from its slumber into a kind of primal frenzy. The inner motivation translated into vigorous outer movement. I built stamina and was able to overcome my chronic fatigue by feeding my body with what it perceived as real-world challenges—the kind completely missing from our modern society.

The wilderness session is the pinnacle of Hébertismé:

• No specialized equipment needed—just your body and the natural environment

• Built-in variety that prevents plateaus and boredom

• Practical skills developed rather than isolated muscles trained

And perhaps most importantly:

• The connection with nature that re-aligns you with your nature.

If you have kids, the wilderness approach is especially fitting. I am living on a 20-acre rural property with woods, paths, creeks, and rocks. When I take my kids out, they naturally engage in many of Hébert's movement families—climbing trees and rocks, carrying branches, and balancing across logs. They might not hit all ten movement families in a given romp, but they intuitively gravitate toward the movements ones that develop core capabilities.

Compare this to American PE classes that focus primarily on team sports, leaving the less athletically inclined children marginalized and inactive.

I favor a two-pronged approach to bringing back these methods:

1. In cities, we can reclaim spaces like soccer fields and athletic stadiums for proper Natural Method training—ideally incorporating this approach into physical education during school hours.

2. In rural areas, we can establish “Hébert centers” as training grounds for instructors who can take this vision back to urban communities.

This second prong is part of my medium to long-term vision: creating the first American Hébertiste training center right here in beautiful Bangor, California—complete with a dedicated obstacle course and “plateau,” combined with the existing obstacle course provided by the terrain.

The Concise Guide fills in much of this vision with a concrete picture of what an ideal session looks like. I'm indebted to Georges Hébert's grandson Jacques, who entrusted me with the French manuscript of this work. While our European counterparts are moving towards an official organizational structure for Hébertistme, I believe that America represents the most fertile soil for a revival of these ideas in a grassroots, organic fashion.

For one, we are in a more advanced stage of the health crisis. The sudden rise of the Make American Healthy Again coalition signals that people are ready for radical solutions to the epidemic of diseases that RFK Jr. campaigned on.

Childhood obesity won’t be solved with jumping jacks.

If you’re looking to get started you don't need to overhaul your entire fitness routine overnight. Start with these three steps:

1. Find a natural area near you—a park, trail, or even a schoolyard with varied features

2. Identify natural obstacles for each movement family (something to climb, balance on, lift, carry)

3. Move through the space for 20-30 minutes, alternating between higher intensity "bounds" and recovery "counter-bounds"

Since resuming this translation project, I've been motivated to get back out in my own backyard and revive my obstacle course ambitions. The truth is, the obstacle course is already there—I don't need to install fancy equipment or construct elaborate structures. The trees, logs, slopes, and rocks provide everything needed. The hardest part is simply getting into the habit of going out and doing it. You don't need perfect conditions or a meticulously designed course. Just get out and move.

In the next installment, I’ll conclude the series with Chapter 3, on Hébert's instructions for designing a training session. Until then, I challenge you to step off the treadmill, leave your fitness tracker (even your phone) at home, and rediscover what your body was built to do.

Your primal self is waiting.

Subscribe now

And now, without further adieu… here’s Hébert:

Chapter 2 - Conducting the Lesson

2. Most Common Mistakes to Avoid when Leading Groups on the Field

The principal errors that instructors must avoid when leading groups include:

• Making multiple groups wait motionless at the starting base before launching them across the field (causing congestion at the start due to poor regulation of pacing)

• Launching a wave across the field before the previous one has cleared, or has sufficient time to clear the finishing base (resulting in crowding and disorder at this base)

• Returning along the lateral bases at high speed or in a state of muscular and nervous tension

• Starting a wave before students have established proper lateral spacing from one another

• Starting a wave without clear instructions regarding the starting position (prepared or not), the mode and pace of movement, the exercise to be performed, its execution mechanics, repetition count, or duration

• Allowing students in a wave to cross paths, bunch together, zigzag, or jostle one another instead of requiring each to progress directly forward

• Commanding impractical, conventional, or fanciful exercises that serve no useful purpose

• Having students repeat useful exercises with inappropriate rhythm, especially too hastily, which entirely changes the character of these exercises

• Unnecessarily fatiguing students through excessive consecutive repetitions of the same exercise, or through repetitions not sufficiently interspersed with walking steps during the field crossing

• Failing to regulate the pace of movement, regardless of type; or regulating it poorly—either too hastily or too slowly

• Failing to match the overall workout rhythm and the specific rhythm of exercise movements to the students' capabilities

3. Sessions without a Field or in Continuous Line

The field system allows optimal use of limited space when exercising many subjects simultaneously across multiple groups. However, it is possible to conduct a session without using a formal field, provided one respects the principle of movement through space and all other training guidelines.

For example, instead of moving back and forth across the same area, the group progresses in any direction, always moving forward while regulating movement intensity as one would on the field. This approach resembles the wilderness trail session or continuous journey method described below (section 5).

This approach is especially useful when lacking sufficient open space to establish a proper field. It allows for conducting a session along an avenue, path, or any suitable route. It works particularly well with a single group; with multiple groups, leadership and supervision become more challenging than on a formal field.

4. The Narrow-Strip Field and the Double Field

On a narrow strip of sufficient length—such as a garden path, trail, passageway, school yard, or even a simple corridor—it remains possible to establish a narrow field and conduct a back-and-forth session applying the wave pattern principle. This simply requires increasing the number of groups (or waves) while reducing each group to only one or two students, depending on available width.

One can even establish a double field lengthwise, or more precisely, two narrow fields one after another, with their starting bases adjacent. The instructor positions himself between these two bases to lead the session. On the two fields thus formed, groups are equally distributed and work simultaneously, but moving in opposite directions.

The double field approach can occasionally be used with standard-sized fields when an instructor finds himself alone, for example, working simultaneously with two different groups of students. Instead of being extensions of one another, the two fields can also be perpendicular or parallel to each other if terrain conditions or practical considerations require it.

5. The Wilderness Trail Session or Continuous Journey

The limited-space field session follows an established plan and takes place with back-and-forth movements. This plan comprises a logically ordered sequence of all the fundamental natural and utilitarian exercise types.

The wilderness session unfolds as a continuous journey across varied terrains featuring diverse obstacles. Some or all natural, utilitarian exercises necessarily form part of its composition. However, neither this composition nor the sequence of exercises can be predetermined; both are dictated by circumstances, the nature of the terrain traversed, and the number and variety of obstacles encountered. The instructor decides which exercises to perform based on the training opportunities presented by the route. For example, he has students cross obstacles, descend or climb slopes, climb trees, scale rocks or walls, lift, carry, or throw stones and other objects.

Composing a wilderness session therefore consists not of establishing a sequence of predetermined exercises, but of deciding on a route or itinerary, choosing one that offers the most interest in terms of exercise variety and number.

The wilderness session follows the same working principles as the field session; there is absolute correspondence between the two types of sessions in this regard. However, in the wilderness session, these principles must be adapted to execution conditions different from those of the field session. This adaptation accounts for the following observations:

1. The wilderness session is not a "steeplechase" race to finish first, but rhythmic work. The instructor leads the workout to bring his students to the end in good condition—neither breathless nor exhausted.

2. The rule of alternation that ensures continuous work on the field while providing the organism with necessary relative rest periods is applied during the wilderness journey through "bounds" and "counter-bounds," whose principle corresponds to that of waves (effort) and counter-waves (recovery).

A bound is a short-distance segment executed at various paces depending on circumstances, in the form of running or walking as well as quadrupedal movement, balancing, climbing, obstacle crossing, or carrying.

Practically speaking, a bound corresponds to the movement or effort performed in a wave across the training field. Its length varies from a few meters to 30 or 40 meters, or much more depending on circumstances. Everything depends on the nature of the ground, its slope, the obstacles present, and the capabilities of the students.

Between successive bounds, students perform slow or moderate-paced walks (counter-bounds), which allow for relaxation or moments of relative rest.

3. During a wilderness journey, each subject enjoys even greater freedom of action regarding effort and recovery than on the field. They can easily prevent fatigue and avoid breathlessness by self-modifying their pace, reducing certain efforts, or mitigating or even circumventing certain difficulties. For example, when facing obstacles too difficult or challenging for their strength or training level, a struggling student may simply "pass over" the obstacle instead of jumping it, or even avoid it with a detour. If they fall behind during a bound, they can always easily make up the distance without needing to push too hard during the slow progression of the counter-bound. They cover the same distance as their more vigorous comrades but with less intense effort, remaining at a lower average speed. The group leader should only signal a new bound when the entire group has reassembled (without stopping the march), just as on the field, he waits for all subjects to reach the starting base.

4. Depending on the type of route, the wilderness session can take the following forms:

• Adventurous or on unknown/unplanned routes

• On planned or pre-marked routes

• On specially organized routes

Finally, mixed sessions can be conducted—performing a short route, then stopping in a clearing, meadow, or suitable terrain to execute, as on a proper training field, certain exercises that movement along the route doesn't allow to be practiced properly.

5. In each group, the instructor or leader has students adopt the formation best suited to the nature of the terrain being crossed. Depending on circumstances, he orders single file, massed formation, or line formation (in wave).

Massed formation is most common and should be adopted without special instruction. The other two formations are used only to facilitate certain passages (single file in defiles), to cross certain obstacles, or to climb slopes as a line, that is, in wave formation.

6. During a wilderness journey, the instructor's role is much more difficult, delicate, and tiring than on the field. First, the instructor must personally complete the route alongside his students. Additionally, general supervision becomes more challenging. Absorbed by leading the whole group, he cannot attend to details as readily as on the field. He benefits from reducing the number of groups to two or even one (if the number of students is small), whereas on the field, increasing group numbers is preferable. Above all, he must be concerned with training good group leaders beforehand to assist during the journey. His position depends partly on the help he can count on. He may be with the first group of the strongest students, with the last group of the weakest, or between two groups. Groups should follow each other at a distance of only a few meters.

7. On a complete stadium, it is possible to mark out a route and conduct a continuous journey session using all the facilities and installations: regular tracks, obstacle courses, climbing structures, etc. Such a session offers certain advantages of outdoor lessons but lacks the unexpected elements and varied difficulties of journeys across diverse terrain. However, such a session serves as useful preparation for outdoor journeys, both for students and instructors.

8. Due to the various difficulties inevitably presented by wilderness journeys, various precautions must be taken by both instructor and students.

Above all, one must remain within the strictly practical domain. This is the primary means of preventing accidents. In the first attempts at wilderness sessions, students—especially young people—are often tempted to "play the fool" and engage in all sorts of potentially dangerous antics or extravagances that risk ending badly. The instructor's role is to anticipate these thoughtless impulses of youth and maintain exercise execution within normal or realistic bounds.

For example, everyone must ensure secure footing. On prepared terrain, this detail matters little. But in the wilderness, one must quickly assess ground conditions and clearly see small obstacles like holes, protruding objects, loose stones, etc., where one risks painful foot twisting or sprains, especially if ankles are naturally weak or poorly trained.

Similarly, one should never blindly launch oneself over an obstacle without quickly assessing its nature and potential dangers. When jumping on a specially prepared jumping pit, one focuses attention solely on the height to clear, without worrying about the takeoff or landing surface, known to be well-prepared in advance. But in the wilderness, conditions differ. The takeoff ground may be very poor and the landing hazardous. Depending on circumstances, the appropriate decision varies: one might directly clear the obstacle, jump or simply climb onto it (if solid and firm), or avoid it by some means.

Finally, tree climbing must be executed cautiously, especially in groups. There is always risk of slipping or losing grip with hands or footing; moreover, branches are not always solid.

9. The wilderness session should be considered a small expedition and, beyond the route to travel and destination to reach, should have a figurative or real purpose which may be, depending on circumstances of time, place, and student age: an exploration; a summit ascent; a hunt or figurative bounty to bring back (flowers, wood, fruit); a mock battle; a rescue or aid mission. A session understood this way fulfills the triple aim of physical education: physical, energetic, and moral development.

2. Common Mistakes to Avoid When Leading Groups on the Field

The main mistakes an instructor must avoid when leading groups are:

• Having multiple groups wait motionless at the starting base before launching them across the field (congestion at start due to poor overall pace regulation)

• Launching a wave across the field before the previous one has cleared, or will certainly clear, the finishing base (causing congestion and disorder at this base)

• Returning along lateral bases at high speed or in a state of muscular and nervous tension

• Starting a wave without proper lateral spacing between students

• Launching a wave without precise instructions regarding starting position (prepared or not), mode and pace of movement, exercise to be performed, mechanics of execution, repetition or duration

• Allowing students in a wave to cross paths, bunch up, zigzag, or jostle each other instead of requiring each to progress exactly straight ahead

• Ordering impractical, conventional, or fanciful exercises that serve no useful practical purpose

• Having useful exercises repeated with inappropriate rhythm, especially too hurriedly, which completely changes the character of these exercises

• Unnecessarily tiring or straining students through too many consecutive repetitions of the same exercise or through repetitions not sufficiently broken up by walking steps while crossing the field

• Not regulating movement speeds regardless of type; or regulating them poorly, meaning either too hurriedly or too slowly

• Not matching the general work rhythm and specific movement rhythms of exercises to students' capabilities

3. Lessons Without a Field or in Continuous Line

The field system makes optimal use of restricted space when exercising many subjects simultaneously in multiple groups. However, it's possible to conduct a lesson without using a marked field, provided one respects the principle of movement-based work and all other training rules.

For example, instead of moving back and forth over the same area, one progresses in any given direction, always moving forward while regulating movement intensity as one would on a marked field. This approaches the case of the open-country course or continuous route lesson described below (no. 5).

This approach is especially useful when no open space of sufficient size is available for creating a field. It allows conducting a lesson along an alley, avenue, or any path. It works particularly well with a single group to lead; with multiple groups, direction and supervision are more difficult than on a marked field.

4. The Narrow Strip Field and Double Field

On a narrow strip of sufficient length - such as a garden path, walkway, passage, school courtyard, or even a simple corridor - it's still possible to establish a narrow field and conduct a back-and-forth lesson applying the wave principle (principe du travail en vague). One simply needs to increase the number of groups (or waves) while reducing each group to two students or even one, depending on the available width.

One can even establish a double field lengthwise, or more precisely, two narrow fields in succession with adjacent starting bases. The instructor positions themselves between these two bases to conduct the lesson. Groups are equally distributed across the two fields thus formed and move simultaneously but in opposite directions to each other

5. The Open Country Course or Continuous Route Lesson

The restricted-space field lesson has an established plan and is executed with back-and-forth movements. This plan includes a logically ordered sequence of all fundamental types of natural and practical exercises.

The open country lesson unfolds as a continuous journey (en trajet continu) across various terrains more or less furnished with diverse obstacles. All or part of the natural and practical exercises necessarily enter into its composition. However, neither this composition nor the order of exercise execution can be planned in advance; both are dictated by circumstances, the nature of terrain crossed, and the number and variety of obstacles encountered. The instructor decides which exercises to perform based on the training opportunities presented by the route. For example, they might have students cross obstacles, descend or climb slopes, climb trees, scale rocks or walls, lift, carry, or throw stones or other objects...

The composition of an open country lesson therefore consists not of establishing a sequence of predetermined exercises, but of deciding on a route or itinerary and choosing one that's as interesting as possible in terms of the number and variety of exercises possible.

Example of Route for an Countryside Parkour Session

The departure begins toward the left. The route includes first an open space for initial warm-up running; then underbrush for quadrupedal progression; a slope to climb; a wall to scale; a second slope to climb; rocks to traverse; various obstacles (ditch, embankment...) to cross by jumping; a river crossing using balance on a tree trunk; a wooded area where one can perform climbing, lifting, carrying and throwing; a meadow allowing execution of defense exercises; finally an obstacle-free space for return to the starting base, either directly by crossing the river bridge, or after swimming across the river.

The open country lesson follows the same work rules as the field lesson; there is absolute concordance between these two types of lessons from this viewpoint. However, in the open country lesson, these rules must be adapted to execution conditions different from those of the field lesson. This adaptation takes place according to the following observations:

1º The open country lesson is not a "steeplechase" race to see who arrives first, but rather a rhythmic work session. The instructor conducts the work in such a way as to bring their students to the end of the course in good condition - neither out of breath nor exhausted.

2º The rule of alternation that ensures work continuity on the field by providing the organism with necessary relative rest is applied, during the course, through "bounds and counter-bounds" whose principle corresponds to that of waves (effort) and counter-waves (recovery).

A "bound" is a short distance traveled at various paces according to circumstances and can take the form of running or walking as well as quadrupedal movement, balance work, climbing, obstacle crossing, or carrying.

Practically speaking, a bound corresponds to the movement performed or effort given in a wave on the training field. Its length varies from a few meters to 30 or 40 meters, or much more depending on circumstances. Everything depends on the nature of the ground, its slope, the obstacles present, and also the capabilities of the students.

Between successive bounds, slow or moderate-paced walks (counter-bounds) are performed, which allow for relaxation or ensure a moment of relative rest.

3º On a course, each subject possesses even greater freedom of action for effort or recovery than on the field. They can easily prevent fatigue and avoid breathlessness by modifying their own pace, reducing certain efforts, lessening or even avoiding certain difficulties. For example, when faced with obstacles too difficult or demanding for their strength or training level, the struggling student can "pass" the obstacle instead of jumping it, or even avoid it by taking a detour. If, on the other hand, they fall behind during the execution of a bound, they can always easily catch up without having to force themselves during the slow progression of the counter-bound. They cover the same distance as their stronger comrades but by providing less violent efforts, that is, by staying within a lower average speed. The group conductor should only signal for a new bound when the entire group is gathered (without stopping the march), just as they wait on the field for all subjects to arrive at the starting base.

4º Depending on the type of course, the open country lesson can take the following forms:

• Adventure-style on unknown or unplanned routes

• On planned or pre-marked routes

• On specially organized courses

One can also execute mixed lessons - that is, complete a short course, then stop in a clearing, meadow, or suitable terrain to execute, as on a proper training field, certain exercises that movement along a route doesn't allow to be practiced properly.

5º In each group, the instructor or conductor has students take the formation best suited to the nature of the terrain being crossed. Depending on circumstances, they order single file, massed formation, or front formation (en vague).

Massed formation is most common and should be taken without special indication. The other two formations are only employed to facilitate certain passages (single file in narrow passages) or to cross certain obstacles or climb certain slopes as a front, that is, in wave formation.

6º On a course, the instructor's role is much more difficult, delicate, and tiring to execute than on a field. First, the instructor must personally complete the course alongside their students. Additionally, they can less easily maintain general supervision. Absorbed by directing the whole, they cannot attend to details as much as on a field. It's beneficial to reduce the number of groups to two or even one (if the number of students is small), whereas on a field it's preferable to increase them. They must especially concern themselves with forming, beforehand, good group conductors to help during the course. Their position depends partly on the help they can count on. They can be with the first group composed of the strongest, or with the last composed of the weakest, or between two groups. Groups should follow each other at only a few meters' distance.

7º On a complete stadium it's possible to mark out a route and execute a continuous journey lesson using all the amenities and installations: regular tracks, obstacle course, climbing frames... The lesson executed this way offers certain advantages of outdoor lessons, but lacks the unpredictability and full range of difficulties found in varied terrain. However, such a lesson is useful as preparation for outdoor courses, both for students and instructor.

8º Due to the various difficulties inevitably presented by a course in open country, various precautions must be taken by both instructor and students.

Above all, one must stay within strictly practical limits. This is the main way to prevent accidents. In their first attempts at open country lessons, students, especially young people, are often tempted to "act foolishly" and engage in all sorts of dangerous fantasies or extravagances that risk ending badly. The instructor's role is to anticipate these thoughtless enthusiasms of youth and keep exercise execution within normal or reasonable bounds.

For example, everyone must watch their foot placement carefully. On prepared terrain, this detail doesn't matter. But in open country, one must quickly assess ground conditions and clearly see small obstacles such as: holes, protruding objects, loose stones, etc. where one risks a painful foot twist or even a sprain, especially if ankles are naturally weak or poorly trained.

Similarly, one should never blindly launch oneself over an obstacle to be crossed by jumping without quickly recognizing its nature or dangers it might present. To execute a jump on a specially prepared jumping area, one concentrates attention solely on the height to be cleared, without worrying about takeoff or landing ground known to be well-prepared in advance. But in open country it's not the same. The takeoff ground may be very poor, and the landing ground dangerous. Depending on circumstances, the decision differs; one either crosses the obstacle directly, jumps or simply climbs onto it (if it's solid and firm), or avoids it by some means.

Finally, tree climbing must be executed with caution, especially in groups. There's always risk of slipping or losing hand or foot holds; moreover, branches aren't always solid.

9º The open country lesson should be considered as a small expedition and, beyond the route to be covered and destination to reach, have a figurative or real purpose which, depending on circumstances of time, place, and age of students, might be:

• An exploration

• A climb

• A hunt or figurative bounty to bring back (flowers, wood, fruits)

• A mock battle

• A rescue or aid mission

The lesson conceived this way serves the triple aim to be pursued in physical education: physical, virile, and moral.

La Méthode Naturelle Series - Previous Installments

Foreword

Chapter 1: Principles of Natural Movement

Principles of Natural Training (Sections 1-3)

The Proper Training Session (Sections 4-6)

The Lost Art of Relaxation (Sections 7-12)

Finding the Sweet Spot (Sections 13-17)

Rigor + Nature = Vigor (Sections 21-26)

Strength in Song (Sections 27-33)

Chapter 2: Conducting the Lesson

The Wave Pattern Principle (Section 1)

Share

I spent the next few days in prose that cut like glass. She wrote about California not as paradise but as contradiction. Her sentences were spare and unsparing. I had never read anything like it.

That encounter planted a seed.

Fifteen years later. I'm producing content for a client with a distinctive voice—short sentences, irreverent humor, occasional profanity. His audience knows what to expect. The team had tried every AI tool that promised voice matching. None delivered.

They called me as a longshot. An experiment.

What I learned: the best prompts are not elaborate. Five words carry a whole philosophy.

"In the style of [writer]."

When you invoke Didion, you give AI permission to be opinionated. To eschew the safe middle ground. To adopt her stance of unflinching clarity. The result crackles with specificity. It feels born of a particular consciousness.

But "in the style of" only works if the AI knows the writer.

For famous authors, five words is enough. For your client who runs a fitness empire? For your own voice? The AI has nothing to draw from. You need a different approach.

Most voice matching tools focus on describing voice. Categories. Adjectives. Spectrum sliders. You tell AI a voice is "conversational, witty, medium-length sentences"—and get generic slop.

Examples beat descriptions. Every time.

When you show AI actual sentences from the voice you're matching, it absorbs the rhythm. The cadence. The specific way this writer constructs meaning.

Consider Didion's signature sentences:

"The center was not holding."

"We tell ourselves stories in order to live."

"I have already lost touch with a couple of people I used to be."

No description captures what these examples do. They show the AI exactly what to aim for.

The Voice Matching Wizard is built around this insight. You collect signature examples across every dimension of writing—openings, transitions, closings, sentence architecture, sticky phrases, what they avoid. Then you synthesize them into a reusable skill file.

When I submitted my first draft for that fitness client, I had no idea what to expect.

The feedback: "This is Fantastic!!! I honestly wouldn't change a thing except the title."

The skill file I built has dozens of signature sentences. Each one teaches the AI something no description could convey.

The skill package includes:

1. SKILL.md — The complete analysis framework

1. WIZARD.md — Conversational setup with checkpoints

1. templates/ — Blank template for your voice

• references/ — Example voice skill with signature sentences

Setup takes 15-20 minutes. You need 2-5 writing samples, 500+ words each.

Three ways to use it. Codify your own voice for consistency across newsletters, social, long-form. Build a voice skill before any ghostwriting project. Or analyze writers you admire—extract their signature sentences, absorb their patterns, make them your own.

This post is from the Skill Stack newsletter. Subscribe for weekly skill breakdowns.

Download the Voice Matching Wizard →

In this installment, I present section 1 of Chapter 2: Conducting the Lesson.

Chapter 2 of the Guide Abrégé (the concise guide for instructors of the natural method) begins with a description of the "wave pattern principle" (principe du travail en vague) – a masterful solution to the challenge of training large groups while maintaining the essence of natural movement. At first, the system of waves and counter-waves might seem overly structured for a practice called the "Natural Method," but this apparent paradox reveals Hébert's genius.

The system is elegant and simple: trainees are divided into small groups that move across a field in succession, like waves breaking on a shore. As one group crosses the field performing their exercise (whether running, carrying, crawling, etc.), the next group prepares to follow, while previous groups walk or jog briskly back along the sides to return to the starting position. This continuous flow of movement – forward in waves, back in "counter-waves" – creates a natural rhythm of exertion and active recovery. A kind of early interval training.

The wave principle solves several key challenges inherent to training large groups:

• Efficiency of Space and Time: By organizing groups in waves, dozens of trainees can work intensively in a relatively small space. The system prevents bottlenecks and keeps everyone moving continuously, maximizing the training effect within limited time.

• Freedom Within Structure: While the overall pattern is organized, each trainee maintains complete freedom of movement during their wave crossing. Unlike military-style drills that force synchronization, the wave system allows each person to move at their natural rhythm and intensity.

• Built-in Recovery: The counter-wave return journey (contre-vague) provides a natural interval for recovery. Rather than static rest periods that can lead to cooling down or loss of focus, trainees actively recover while walking back to the starting position. This maintains the training session's flow while preventing exhaustion.

• Natural Progression: Groups are organized by ability level, allowing everyone to work at an appropriate pace. Stronger trainees can move more intensively while beginners can progress at their own speed - all within the same system and space.

• Versatility: The wave principle adapts to virtually any natural movement - running, crawling, carrying, jumping, or throwing. This allows for tremendous variety while maintaining organizational coherence.

When leading the East Bay Natural Movement group, our default approach was spontaneous – warm up and then freely explore the environment. While this works beautifully with a handful of people, it becomes chaotic and ineffective with larger groups. The typical solution, seen in PE classes and military training, is to resort to stationary, synchronized calisthenics or "follow the leader" exercises. But these rigid formats strip away the freedom to find your own rhythm and intensity. It’s these mechanical, repetitive exercises that make people dread physical education. Hébert's wave principle offers a third way: enough structure to efficiently manage large groups and enough spontaneity and adaptability that make natural movement both effective and enjoyable.

While this might seem like a niche historical curiosity, the wave principle represents something far more significant. We face an unprecedented crisis of physical inactivity and movement illiteracy that shows no signs of abating. As Milton Friedman observed, when crisis strikes, the actions taken depend on the ideas lying around. The wave principle – and the Guide Abrege more broadly – remains the single best blueprint for physical education that could be implemented at scale across schools, military training, and community fitness programs.

While it may seem hard to imagine this method being adopted widely today, perhaps we're approaching a point where our dissatisfaction with the current state of physical education will exceed our resistance to trying proven solutions from the past.

And now, without further adieu… here’s Hébert:

Chapter 2 - Conducting the Lesson

1. Training on the Field

The Wave Pattern Principle

The instructor positions themselves either inside the field or preferably on a platform outside it. For large groups, they may be assisted by another instructor who handles detailed guidance and observations, or by several instructors or instructor-trainees who each direct a group. In the latter case, the head instructor directs the overall session - announcing exercises for different groups, ordering paces, changing exercise types, setting rhythms, and making general observations. The instructors or instructor-trainees actively lead their groups while maintaining cohesion with the whole.

Groups typically number four at maximum. Each group has a leader or simple conductor chosen from among its most capable members. When a single instructor leads the lesson, these group leaders assist by repeating commands, instructions, or observations about the work as needed.

The two most distant sides of the field constitute the "starting base" (base de départ) and "finishing base" (base d'arrivée). The other two sides are designated as "lateral bases" (bases latérales). The outer perimeter forms the field track (piste du plateau). The instructor's platform is always placed at the middle of one of the lateral bases but outside the field track.

Movement work on the field occurs in back-and-forth patterns. Groups advance one after another from the starting base to the finishing base (intense active work), then return successively to the starting base using one of the lateral bases (passive return work or relative rest at a slow walk).

Students in each group line up shoulder-to-shoulder on the starting base and form a "wave" (vague) when advancing toward the finishing base. On the lateral bases, each group returns in "counter-wave" (contre-vague) with members either in single file (one behind another) or in "massed formation" - members grouped loosely but at comfortable distance behind their leader or conductor.

In a wave, each member must advance straight ahead to avoid hindering or jostling their immediate neighbors.

Field work is conducted as follows:

1º The session begins with one or two laps around the field track, walking or running, with groups arranged one after another and spaced as far apart as possible to maintain independence and allow paces matching their abilities. Within each group, subjects move in single file with sufficient spacing to avoid impeding one another.

The instructor immediately regulates intervals and paces to bring groups to the starting base and begin wave pattern work smoothly without stops or jerks, as detailed below.

There is no proper training work done on the track in single file, as students cannot have complete freedom of action when so constrained. The track is only used at the session's start, with students in single file, to allow the instructor to distribute and position groups. During the session it serves only for rest walks or as a return path to the starting base. Timed runs and walks at the session's end are conducted on the field track when no special track is available outside; however, in this case, work is never done in single file but in loose "massed formation."

To close gaps or pass each other, groups on the track cut corners, cross the field, or progress parallel to neighboring groups, outside or inside. Similarly within each group, students who need to close gaps or pass can cut across or traverse the field to retake their position.

If children are mixed with adults or weaker students with stronger ones, they can progress on an inner concentric track to stay level with the group while covering less distance.

2º The real training work takes place on the field itself, from starting base to finishing base, with each student having complete freedom of action. (See diagram on following page.)

Groups come successively to line up shoulder-to-shoulder on the starting base, students always sufficiently spaced (arm's length lateral spacing). They are launched in waves across the field as soon as they arrive in line. Each student progresses freely straight ahead to the finishing base, either at maximum pace or any other pace indicated at the start or even during the wave by the instructor.

As groups finish crossing the field, they reform in single file on the track, turning right or left immediately after passing the finishing base, or any other intermediate base (closer) or supplementary base (further). They return to the starting base via one of the lateral bases at a recovery walk, slow pace. They relax as much as possible muscularly and especially neurologically, performing amplified breathing movements if needed. Exceptionally, they may return at a moderate or brisk walk, or even slow run, if their training level allows this accelerated rhythm.

The instructor must regulate wave departures, finishing base distance, or group pace such that no group has to make stationary stops or only insignificant ones while awaiting their turn to launch across the field. Group progression should be continuous, as it would be during a cross-country course.

Any group arriving at the starting line before previous groups have cleared it positions itself behind them in depth, or continues track walking, to avoid remaining stationary.

3º Walking and running exercises (except end-of-session timed courses), quadrupedal movements, bounds, collective jumps, juggling and certain distance throws, individual, mutual and collective carrying are all executed "in wave" without any difficulty.

4º For individual jumps, groups each go to a corner of the field where a basic jumping area can be set up, or to prepared jumping pits, or to a special obstacle course.

5º For climbing exercises, groups proceed, walking or running at regulated or free pace, to climbing and scaling apparatus. If equipment is insufficient for all students to exercise simultaneously, groups are positioned at different locations to avoid any interruption in work. For example, the first group is sent to ropes, the second to suspension bars, the third to wall climbing, ladders etc., the fourth to tree climbing or high places where vertigo must be overcome. They then rotate locations.

THE WAVE PATTERN PRINCIPLE

In this example, there are four groups, each comprising six subjects. The group conductor is designated as #1.

The starting base (base de départ) is on the left of the sketch, and the finishing base (base d'arrivée) on the right.

The first group, launched in wave formation (en vague) across the field, is near reaching the finishing base; the second group is positioned on the starting base and will launch across the field as soon as the first group has passed or nearly passed the finish line; the third group is on the left lateral base and will move to the starting base behind the second group; finally, the fourth group, having just completed their wave crossing of the field, returns via the left lateral base at a slow or moderate walking pace toward the starting base.

If distances and paces are well-regulated by the instructor, there is no interruption in the work, no stopping in the counter-wave (contre-vague) return walk, and no congestion at the starting or finishing bases; the overall progression remains continuous.

Each student gives their full effort freely across the field, from starting base to finishing base; they catch their breath and recover their strength along the lateral bases.

At the end of each wave, groups return toward either the right or left flank, arranged so the group conductor remains at the head. The first group in the figure above will turn right for this reason.

6º For balance exercises, groups proceed, as for climbing, to areas containing special apparatus or equipment needed for these exercises. Alternatively, beams and mobile equipment are arranged on the field itself and work is done "in wave."

7º For certain lifting and throwing exercises requiring special equipment or targets, groups proceed to prepared areas.

8º Some defense exercises are done in waves (advancing kick boxing for example). For elementary two-person wrestling, groups advance in waves then stop to wrestle at a determined base. For collective wrestling, the entire field is used. Finally for real wrestling, groups are led to special arenas.

9º Timed walks and runs are executed off the field on measured tracks, or on the track surrounding the field if no other is available.

10º The session ends with a more or less prolonged slow walk, depending on effort expended, with amplified breathing movements. Finally, skin care takes place before dressing.

11º During the session all movement, whatever its form (walking, running, quadrupedal, balance progression, carrying...) and wherever executed (on field, track or path to special equipment and back) must always be regulated in terms of pace or speed. In other words, the instructor or group leader must specify the pace (very slow, slow, moderate, brisk, very brisk) along with the mode of movement.

12º Whenever groups go to a specially prepared area, the principle of wave and counter-wave work, or alternation of effort and relative rest, is respected as much as possible. Thus each special jumping area becomes a reduced field, but the wave in this case consists of a single subject. At bars, ropes, as well as certain areas for lifting, balance work, throwing, groups work in waves composed of a number of performers matched to available equipment or apparatus.

13º During the session the instructor orders certain groups or students to stop active work and execute one or more laps of the field track at a slow walking pace if signs of fatigue appear.

VARIOUS FIELD LAYOUTS

Example of a short-length field

In this case, it's advantageous to round off the lateral bases for two reasons: first, to clear space for wave pattern work, and second, to lengthen the return path of the counter-waves, which would otherwise risk congesting these bases.

Example of a narrow field backed against a wall or fence

In this particular case, the lateral base is unique and rounded for the reasons given above. It can also be placed beyond an unusable strip of terrain.

Field laid out diagonally, suitable for certain terrain shapes

Basic field simply marked by four corner posts or angle markers

Passing outside the corners during returns or circular runs requires a slight detour (see point D).

Field with bases marked on ground and set-back corner posts to allow for rounded track

The set-back posts facilitate turns but don't exactly indicate the starting and finishing lines. They aren't essential and can be omitted if the bases are clearly visible.

Field with well-marked circular track and alignment posts on the actual starting and finishing bases

A small space adjoining the lateral bases remains free and can serve for installing climbing apparatus and balance equipment.

Share

My wife teases me about it. Like "fetch" in Mean Girls, she tells me I should stop trying to make "4S" happen.

But I insist that it's going to happen.

4S is an overarching framework that subsumes other frameworks like P-A-S (problem-agitate-solution) and A-I-D-A (attention, interest, desire, action) into an easy-to-use process for writing anything with AI (plus your own ideas).

The Problem with AI Writing

If you've ever tried writing something with AI, chances are you were disappointed with the results. Or at least, didn't think they were good enough to share with the world, your boss, or whoever.

Maybe the voice was off. Maybe it hallucinated (made up) important details. You figured it would take more time to edit than to just write yourself. It didn't feel right.

This is because it wasn't you. It did what you asked but not what you wanted. It didn't follow your thought process. It didn't understand what was important or unique. And it used words like "delve" and "unleash" in the most cringeworthy ways.

One of the missing pieces was a framework.

What is a Framework?

A framework is a structure that is solid enough to support your creativity, but open-ended enough to give expression to the ideas that are uniquely yours.

As a content creator, I have a bad habit of collecting frameworks that I rarely use. I've amassed a library of best practices, templates, and essential elements for everything from landing pages, to welcome sequences, book chapters, opening hooks, headlines, and every imaginable kind of social media post.

My first "a-ha" moment about Large Language Models was how adept they are at polishing rough, low fidelity "source material."

My second epiphany was how much better they are at the above task when you also provide them just a bit more structure and information about your objectives.

Enter the 4S framework.

The Four S's

The basic framework is deceptively simple. There are 4 elements of effective AI-assisted writing, and they all start with S:

1. Source: Your raw material, the treasure trove of your ideas

1. Substance: The core message, your "big idea worth sharing"

1. Structure: The framework that fits your content and guides your reader

• Style: Your unique voice that makes the content unmistakably yours

Source

AI excels as a repurposing and transformation engine, not just a text generator.

A podcast transcript or hastily composed voice memo often contains the seeds of genius — diamonds in the rough. I used to polish these manually, but now AI does it in 1/10 the time, producing higher quality results. When I first used Notion's "improve writing" tool on an AI-generated transcript, the result seemed like sorcery.

Now, I call it sourcery: transforming base inputs into gold.

Substance

The real alchemical transformation comes when you enlist AI to first help you distill a body of content into its diverse elements. This is where substance comes into play. AI helps reorganize those elements around the core ideas, the "big idea worth sharing."

Structure

Structure — your chosen framework — is the skeleton that holds it all together. Whether it's a Standard Operating Procedure or a compelling narrative arc, the right structure guides both the AI and your reader through your ideas.

This is where the 4S framework becomes the "One Ring to Rule Them All," but instead of rings of power, we're talking hard-hitting frameworks. Different frameworks get different jobs done, and some are more appropriate for certain kinds of source material and substance.

But if you don't specify any structure, ChatGPT (and even Claude) will default to the lowest common denominator framework — the kind of essay structure your middle school teacher tried to get you to follow, with a beginning, a middle and an end. Yawn.

Style

Style might seem to be the cherry on top. Sometimes, style is secondary (as in the case of a Standard Operating Procedure), but don't underestimate its importance.

As Strunk and White taught us, good style is about conveying meaning clearly without too many words. But it also serves other purposes, like capturing attention, holding it, earning your readers trust, and ultimately, changing their mind.

The Framework of Frameworks

You really can't overlook any of the 4 S's if you plan to write with AI, at least not if you want to stand out in the endless sea of content that is produced every day.

The framework is simple, and the applications are almost endless. It is enhanced and supplemented by every other framework you encounter.

I'm not saying 4S is the end-all-be-all. Perhaps there's a 5th 'S' out there waiting to be discovered. But for now, I'm sticking with 4S.

Let's make 4S happen together.

I had an epiphany about the contours of a prompting method that would gradually morph into what I call the 4S framework.

My wife teases me about it. Like "fetch" in Mean Girls, she tells me I should stop trying to make "4S" happen.

But I insist that it's genius, and it's going to happen.

What Is the 4S Framework?

4S is an overarching framework that subsumes other frameworks that are perhaps more elegant or established - like P-A-S (problem agitate solution) and A-I-D-A (attention, interest, desire, action) - into an easy-to-use process for writing anything with AI (plus your own ideas).

If you've ever tried writing something with AI, chances are you were disappointed with the results. Or at least, didn't think they were good enough to share with the world, your boss, or whoever.

Maybe the voice was off. Maybe it hallucinated important details. You figured it would take more time to edit than to just write yourself. It didn't feel right.

This is because it wasn't you. It did what you asked but not what you wanted. It didn't follow your thought process. It didn't understand what was important or unique. And it used words like "delve" and "unleash" in the most cringeworthy ways.

One of the missing pieces was a framework.

What Is a Framework?

It's a structure that is solid enough to support your creativity, but open-ended enough to give expression to the ideas that are uniquely yours.

As a content marketer, I have a bad habit of collecting frameworks I rarely use. I've amassed a library of best practices, templates, and essential elements for everything from landing pages, to welcome sequences, book chapters, opening hooks, headlines, X threads, and every imaginable kind of social media post.

Two Epiphanies

My first 'a-ha' moment about Large Language Models was how adept they are at polishing rough, low fidelity "source material."

My second epiphany was how much better they are at the above task when you also provide them just a bit more structure and information about your objectives.

Enter the 4S framework.

The Four S's

The basic framework is deceptively simple. There are 4 elements of effective AI-assisted writing, and they all start with S (if you squint):

Source: Your Raw Material

Your raw material, the treasure trove of your ideas.

A podcast transcript or hastily composed voice memo often contains the seeds of genius - diamonds in the rough. I used to polish these manually, but now AI does it in 1/10 the time, producing higher quality results. When I first used Notion's "improve writing" tool on an AI-generated transcript, the result seemed like sorcery.

Now, I call it sourcery: transforming base inputs into gold.

Substance: Your Core Message

The core message, your "big idea worth sharing."

The real alchemical transformation comes when you enlist AI to first help you distill a body of content into its diverse elements. AI helps reorganize those elements around the core ideas.

Structure: Your Chosen Framework

The framework that fits your content and guides your reader.

Structure is the skeleton that holds it all together. Whether it's a Standard Operating Procedure (one of my all-time favorite frameworks) or a compelling narrative arc, the right structure guides both the AI and your reader through your ideas.

This is where the 4S framework becomes the "One Ring to Rule Them All" - but instead of rings of power, we're talking hard-hitting frameworks. Different frameworks get different jobs done, and some are more appropriate for certain kinds of source material and substance.

If you don't specify any structure, ChatGPT (and even my beloved Claude) will default to the lowest common denominator framework - the kind of essay structure your middle school teacher tried to get you to follow, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Yawn.

Style: Your Unique Voice

Your unique voice that makes the content unmistakably yours.

Style would seem to be the cherry on top. Sometimes, style is secondary (as in the case of a Standard Operating Procedure), but don't underestimate its importance. As Strunk and White taught us, good style is about conveying meaning clearly without too many words. But it also serves other purposes, like capturing attention, holding it, earning your readers' trust, and ultimately, changing their mind.

Why It Matters

You really can't overlook any of the 4 S's if you plan to write with AI, at least not if you want to stand out in the endless sea of content produced every day.

The framework is simple, and the applications are almost endless. It is enhanced and supplemented by every other framework you encounter.

I'm not saying 4S is the end-all-be-all. Perhaps there's a 5th 'S' out there waiting to be discovered. But for now, I'm sticking with 4S - and I'm inviting you to join me on this exploration.

Let's make 4S happen together.

I know I've been pretty quiet lately, and I apologize for that. Life has been a whirlwind - between my other work, the new podcast, and managing the menagerie of animals on our little homestead (dairy cow, chickens, and bees - oh my!), not to mention keeping up with the three kids, I've had my hands full. But even amid the beautiful chaos of rural life, I always come back to Hébert and the wisdom in these pages.

We're bracing for a heatwave later this week - temperatures are expected to soar above 100°F. Thankfully, we've got the creek nearby to keep us cool when the sun's at its most unforgiving. Elemental conditioning! Hébert would be proud.

As I was translating this latest installment of Hébert's work, I was particularly struck by the section on singing and shouting during training sessions. It brought me back to the 50-mile march experience two years ago.

When Aku and I were in those final grueling miles, exhausted and aching, it was the power of song that kept us going. We belted out made-up marching tunes, riffed on gospel chants, anything to keep our spirits high and our feet moving. Hébert knew the value of this kind of joyful noise - it's about more than mere expression, but about tapping into a primal source of energy and motivation.

Which brings me to an exciting announcement: we're gearing up for this year's 50-mile march around Sutter Buttes on June 22nd, coinciding with the full strawberry moon and the summer solstice.

The theme? "Turning Up the Heat."

It's going to be a challenge, but that's exactly the point. We'll be pushing ourselves, finding our limits, and hopefully, surpassing them. If you're interested in joining, or organizing your own march sometime, drop me a line. There are many reasons to do a 50-mile march, but community building and muscular bonding is the biggest.

On a related note, I'm still plugging away at the draft of my book, tentatively titled JFK50 - it's shaping up to be part American history, part motivational guide, part training manual. I'll be honest, I'm torn. Part of me wants to just get it out there, even if it's not "perfect." But another part of me keeps agonizing over every detail, trying to synthesize all these new ideas I've been marinating in.

That's why I'm finding some refuge in this translation project. It's relatively straightforward - sure, I can obsess over making the language a bit smoother or more readable, but at the end of the day, I'm trying to leave the original spirit intact. This information, this wisdom, it needs an audience. It's too important to keep hidden away. And AI tools like Claude make it possible for a diletante like me to pretend I’m a translator (no, monsieur, I do not speak French).

So, as the heat rises and the challenges mount, I'm going to keep pushing forward. I hope you'll all do the same. Remember, in Hébert's words:

"Become strong to be useful to others."

That's what it's all about.

Stay cool out there.

And now, here’s Hébert:

27. The Instructor's Pedagogical Role

The instructor who leads group training has a pedagogical role to fulfill. The results—general fitness (cardiovascular), speed, toughening, aptitude in various exercise types, energy, enthusiasm—all depend on how he conducts the workout. He must give his all and communicate enthusiasm to his students, demand from them only what is possible, skillfully adjust the intensity, allow them to catch their breath and recover at the right moments, avoid wasting time with idle or puerile observations or explanations, constantly gauge the students' state, watch for signs of fatigue, and specify the goals to be achieved in each exercise.

He must adapt his teaching to the nature of his students and, despite the similarity of exercises, not lead a children's session like an adult session, a beginner's session like an athlete's session, or a girls' session like a boys' session.

He must plan his training program in advance, basing it on the principle of incremental challenge ; in other words, he graduates the efforts and staggers the difficulties in each new session according to the measure that suits the subjects he is training. He rectifies and modifies this program as often as necessary, even during a session, based on the results he observes, the effects produced, or the students' immediate state of fatigue.

For everyone, especially children and young people, the training session must be a real pleasure and never a chore, and certainly not an exhausting ordeal. When a session is conducted with the proper rhythm and composed of exercises adapted to the students' abilities, they should finish it on a high note, in good humor and high spirits.

The instructor's pedagogical role also includes cultivating manly virtues and moral development, which should not be neglected (see nos. 29 and 30 below).

28. Free Expression of the Joy of Movement. Desired Psychological Effect. Singing and Shouting.

Complete training – exercising all parts of the body in the only way that truly satisfies instinct – gives rise to joy and enthusiasm due to the sense of well-being and euphoria.

This psychological effect must necessarily appear, and the degree of its importance can serve as a criterion. A session executed without enthusiasm and with constraint proves that a mistake is being made in the way it is conducted or composed. The instructor can judge the value of his teaching by how his students react.

The joy of movement should be able to manifest freely at certain moments of the session (especially with children) through shouting and singing. The session is thus made more lively. Moreover, the voice is naturally cultivated in this way while respiratory capacity develops.

The happier children are to move, the more eagerly they shout and sing. The instructor should therefore not neglect the use of these simple, natural means (shouting and singing), whose psychological influence is considerable.

The shout should not be an unpleasant screeching but composed of one or more harmonious, powerfully articulated bursts of voice with meaning (call, rally, etc.). There are still shouts of this latter sort, such as the Arverni war cry¹, perfectly preserved in the Auvergne countryside, or the call of certain mountain dwellers.

The songs should be chosen from those that exalt noble sentiments.

A psychological effect can also be achieved by executing a small recreational game. In principle, the game should be part of separate sessions and not incorporated into the methodical workout session. Moreover, it should not be ordered or commanded; otherwise, it loses its true recreational character. However, in certain particular circumstances, short games involving mainly running, jumping, and throwing can totally or partially replace the timed races at the end of the session. If the students are girls, dances and rounds are also feasible at this same moment, i.e., at the end of the session.

29. Manliness or Cultivation of Energy

Developing energy and other qualities of action (courage, willpower, composure, firmness, etc.) can be achieved through:

• Executing certain difficult or dangerous exercises that require the use of these various qualities, for example, by seeking to master the fear of falling, jumping real obstacles, rising to heights (vertigo), walking in unstable balance, etc.;

• The instructor's exhortations and injunctions such as: "Energy! Push a little! More ardor! Courage! Don't be afraid!"

• Mutual encouragement during collective work;

• The firm resolve to succeed in an exercise, to surpass a comrade, etc., which requires an effort of will and leads to an act of energy;

• Finally, the instructor's personal example, who must show himself to be energetic, courageous, strong-willed, firm, etc.

30. Moralization or Cultivation of Noble Sentiments

Cultivating noble sentiments—devotion, solidarity, altruism, honor, loyalty, etc.—can be pursued as follows:

• By adhering to one or more guiding principles, the main one being that the instructor must constantly recall and exalt: become strong to be useful to others²;

• By providing effective mutual aid in certain exercises;

• By citing exploits or great deeds involving physical vigor and energy;

• By the example of the instructor's own high conscience.

31. Elements for Assessing the Value of a Training Session Proper

The overall value of a training session proper depends on the particular value of the following elements and how effectively the instructor uses them. Estimating this overall value also assesses the instructor's competence:

• Workout location (in the middle of nature, outside in an inhabited setting, in a covered place, etc.);

• Undressing of the performers. Relationship of this undressing to atmospheric conditions and the need for hardening against the elements. This element, like the previous one, may not be entirely under the instructor's control when a higher authority determines, for example, the workout location and regulates the exercise attire;

• Applying natural movements. How to produce it. Relative importance of this application in the overall session;

• Alternation of opposing efforts. Alternation of fundamental types as well as types of exercises within each of these types. Periods of relaxation or relative rest;

• Workout intensity. Regulation of paces and durations. Agreement of the general workout rhythm and the particular rhythms of the exercises with the students' organic possibilities and aptitudes;

• Dosage of workout in intensity or difficulty. Individualization of dosage. Limitation of dosage by the appearance of objective signs of fatigue;

• Freedom of individual action in collective workouts. Free expression of the joy of movement;

• Flexibility of workout. Muscular and nervous relaxation in relaxation or relative rest;

• Voluntary cultivation of speed. Speed of mental, nervous, muscular action;

• Breathing. Frequency of deep exhalations. Respiratory appeasement through amplified movements;

• Posture. Amplified movements of straightening or correcting common posture defects (hunched back, sunken chest, neck forward);

• Execution technique of exercises. Degree of perfection attained or required;

• Manly action (cultivation of energy, willpower, etc.), moral action (by the instructor's exhortations), psychological action (joy, enthusiasm, enthusiasm of the students);

• Emulation and self-emulation;

• Appearance of the students at the end of the session.

32. Elements for Assessing the Value of a Pure Technique Session

The value of a pure technique session depends on the following elements and how the instructor uses them:

• Teaching and application of general principles of execution of an exercise before any search for secondary improvements;

• Technical dosage or gradation in difficulty;

• Progressive refinement through ranges of exercises of the same type or movements of the same kind of exercise. Ascending or descending ranges according to the nature of the exercises;

• Natural dissociation of the elements of a synthetic exercise (when this dissociation is possible) and not decomposition by conventional analysis;

• Form of the natural movement: rounded, continuous, free of any unnecessary contraction;

• Amplitude of movements;

• Adaptation of movements to individual conformation or structure. Personality of style;

• Flexibility and finesse of execution. Precision and accuracy of execution;

• Skill. Sense of balance. Nervous mastery;

• Nervous, mental, muscular speed. Relaxation and "timing";

• Practical demonstrations of exercises by the instructor. Technical value of these demonstrations. Learning by imitation and vision, not by incomprehensible or superfluous explanations;

• Value of the technique taught from a utilitarian point of view.

33. Establishment of a Training Plateau. Complete Stadium.

When the training session is performed on a restricted space, a special place called a training plateau (plateau d'entraînement) is delimited, rectangular in shape.

Any flat ground, even if not specially developed (meadow, lawn, field, clearing, schoolyard, square), can serve as a training plateau.

The plateau has average dimensions of 30 meters in length and 20 meters in width. These dimensions can be increased or decreased according to the number of subjects to be exercised, their age (children or adults), or their degree of training, or according to the space available. Large plateaus are always preferable to small ones. But the more experienced the instructor, the less space he needs to make his groups evolve.

A tracing on the ground itself or corner stakes indicate the perimeter of the plateau, whose corners are rounded to facilitate turns during running and walking exercises.

A complete stadium includes, in addition to the training plateau:

• A circular track calibrated for distance races (from 125 to 500 meters).

Preferably take as length a submultiple of 100 meters to facilitate timing;

• A straight track calibrated for sprint races (from 50 to 125 meters);

• Jumping pits for high, long, and deep jumps;

• A track for jumps or obstacle passages, ditches, embankments, walls, barriers;

• Various apparatus and equipment for climbing: single bars, parallel double bars, fixed ladders, plain ropes, vertical walls or faces, climbing gantries;

• Fixed apparatus and mobile devices for balancing: fixed and mobile ladders, double ladders, horizontal beams, narrow crosspieces, small objects (flat stones, wooden or iron blocks, stools, etc.) serving as foot rests, elevated places to combat vertigo;

• Special locations for throwing and objects to throw: balls, balloons, weighted balloons (for juggling), stones, spherical weights; additionally, various targets;

• Equipment for lifting exercises: weights, pigs, bags, wooden or iron masses (to be moved), baskets for carrying on the head;

• Arenas for wrestling; ropes and bars for collective tug-of-war and repulsion wrestling;

• A swimming pool or at least water and receptacles for skin care; a sheltered place serving as a locker room;

• A shed.

The number of locations for jumping, climbing, lifting, throwing, wrestling must be based on the number of groups to be exercised at the same time.

Ideally, there should be enough fixed and mobile equipment, as well as special locations, so that the greatest possible number of students, if not all, can exercise simultaneously on the same exercise. This greatly facilitates the management of the workout and supervision.

Footnotes

1. The Arverni were a powerful Gallic tribe that lived in what is now the Auvergne region of central France. Their war cry, which served as a rallying call, has been passed down through generations and is still preserved in some rural areas today.

2. "Become strong to be useful to others" became Hébert's motto and rallying cry. It was intended to motivate people during difficult training sessions and to give a higher purpose to the development of physical strength and energy.

Share

It's the Automation Paradox:

The very tools designed to make our lives easier end up eroding the skills that truly matter.

Deep focus. Rigorous thinking. Creative flow.

In his latest book, Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout, Cal Newport argues this is the price we pay for chasing effortless productivity in an age of infinite distractions.

Newport points out that as we transitioned from an industrial economy, where output was easily measured, to a knowledge economy, where value is more intangible, our notion of productivity became muddied. We often conflate mere busyness—a flurry of emails, meetings, Slack chats—for true progress.

Rather than maintaining output while reducing effort, freeing up time for leisure or deep thinking, we fill those hours with more shallow tasks. Activities increase, but not necessarily quality or impact.

Newport's Solution

Ruthlessly eliminate distractions to carve out time for "deep work"—long stretches of distraction-free concentration on a single high-value task. He suggests focusing on just three core objectives, with one key project in each per day.

It's about doing less, but better.

Naval Ravikant, the Philosopher King of Silicon Valley known for his incisive tweets and aphorisms, takes it a step further. He advocates a kind of radical essentialism—say no to almost everything, so you can say yes to the few things that really matter.

Naval's Razor

When it comes to automation, what if we applied "Naval's Razor"—using AI tools surgically for high-leverage tasks that amplify your strengths and create meaningful value, not just automating busywork for the sake of output?

Want to write more compelling stories?

Use AI writing tools to spark novel ideas and tighten your drafts. Spending too much time on rote data cleaning? Automate it with AI, then focus your human insight on gleaning strategic breakthroughs from the analysis.

The point is, wield these tools with intention. Be the craftsman, not the machine. Treat your attention like the sacred resource it is.

Reclaiming Depth

Resist the allure of pseudo-productivity. Embrace the deep fulfillment that comes from applying your mind to problems that matter.

1. Schedule non-negotiable focus blocks for deep, cognitively-demanding work

1. Batch shallow tasks into condensed sprints

• Mind your transitions, be wary of context-switching

Beating the Automation Trap means cultivating the patience and discipline to engage in deliberate practice, to pursue mastery in our craft. It means optimizing for quality of output, not quantity. Accepting that true insight emerges from periods of intense struggle and focus, not from cranking through a to-do list.

In a world of constant distraction, our competitive advantage lies in our stubborn insistence on depth—our commitment to grappling with nuance and complexity. To creating work that endures.

So let's wield our tools wisely and reclaim the rarified space for undivided attention and unbroken concentration. Let's escape the Automation Trap and get back to the work that truly matters.

Remember when audiograms were going to be the next big thing?

They were supposed to grab attention and drive listeners to your podcast. But they never worked. They were the epitome of "content for content's sake" - easy to create, but accomplishing nothing.

As Deirdre Tshien, co-founder & CEO of Capsho, reminded us, it's easy to get stuck in this trap - the loop of churning out episode after episode, without considering whether your efforts are moving the needle.

Audiograms are (mostly) gone, but they've been replaced by a new flood of cringe-worthy AI-generated social media posts. (If this is you, we can tell - no human uses the word "delve" that often.)

It is possible to write podcast descriptions and promotional posts that don't suck, but not if you're just word-vomiting the outputs from ChatGPT.

The 4S Framework in Action

Tools like Capsho follow a version of what I call the "4S framework" for AI-assisted writing:

1. Source: Your podcast episode, which you upload to the platform, gives the relevant context so AI knows what you know.

1. Substance: The core premise you want to emphasize, which you select from options after uploading, so it doesn't go off the rails.

1. Structure: Here, Capsho uses an ingenious framework called the "honey trap" method to keep readers engaged.

1. Style: The persona and voice you want to emulate, programmed through a mix of instructions and examples.

This framework is a powerful tool for creating engaging, human-like content with AI assistance.

The Content Honey Trap Explained

The Content Honey Trap - built in part on the 7 Hours Rule from Daniel Priestley's Oversubscribed - is designed to draw in listeners like a lovable stuffed bear to honey. Priestley says people need to spend about 7 hours with you or your content before they're ready to buy. Fortunately, those hours don't have to be consecutive.

Every positive interaction - be it a 30-minute podcast, a social media snippet, or deep dive newsletter - is a deposit in the trust bank. But most content creators get it wrong. They create and hope for the best, without considering how they're building trust or moving listeners towards a buying decision.

How It Works in Practice

The Content Event

At the heart is your main content event - typically a podcast episode or long-form video. This is where you deliver real value. But creating great content is only half the battle. First, you have to promote it.

Push Content

Before you release your main content, create three strategic posts to build anticipation and identify your most engaged followers:

1. The "Say Me" Post: On Instagram, it's notoriously difficult to get users to click external links. The "Say Me" post helps isolate those who are most interested. For example: "Who's struggling with racing thoughts and wants to learn how to quiet their mind? Comment 'Me!' below!"

1. The "Why" Post: Explain why your upcoming content is important. Unpopular opinion posts work particularly well here. For example: "Unpopular opinion: Meditation isn't for everyone. In our upcoming workshop, we'll explore alternative methods for mastering your mind."

1. The Social Proof Post: Share a testimonial that demonstrates effectiveness. "Meet Sarah. Six months ago, she was overwhelmed by anxiety. Now, she's thriving. Learn the exact method she used in our upcoming workshop."

The Bridge Funnel

After these push content posts, direct interested followers to your bridge funnel - a lead magnet, an event sign-up, or a direct link to your main content. Provide this link only to those who've expressed interest, focusing on the followers most likely to convert.

The Main Event

Deliver the value you've been promising. The event itself can contain an upsell to your product or service, but you're only presenting this offer to people who've already expressed strong interest.

Pull Content

What about those who missed your initial push? After your main event, create four more pieces of content:

1. Awareness Post: Pique curiosity. "Did you know that 95% of people have never learned how to properly manage their thoughts?"

1. Tip Post: Offer a valuable snippet. "Try this 2-minute mind reset technique from our recent workshop..."

1. Community Post: Give a behind-the-scenes peek. "Here's how I prepare my mind before each client session..."

1. Action Post: Directly promote with a strong call-to-action. "Ready to become the boss of your mind? Watch the replay here: [Link]"

The Takeaway

The Content Honey Trap isn't about tricking people. It's about creating a path of value that naturally leads your most interested followers to your offers. Your followers get the help they need, and you build a sustainable business doing what you love.

Simple Marketing for Smart People is vastly superior to its rival, Complex Marketing for Stupid People. It's a great afternoon read - short and to the point. But don't let its brevity fool you; this collaboration between Tiago Forte and Billy Broas packs a powerful punch.

As someone who's long followed Tiago Forte's work on building a second brain and the PARA method, I was intrigued to see him venture into marketing territory.

The real magic here comes from Billy Broas, the marketing guru behind Tiago's success. Their collaboration has produced a quick read with a message that cuts through the noise of typical marketing advice.

At its core, Simple Marketing for Smart People distinguishes between tactics, which are downstream, and core messaging, which is upstream. The book's central thesis? Marketing is education. It's not about countdown timers on landing pages, but rather changing beliefs.

An AI-Assisted Experiment

To illustrate this principle in action, I set up an experiment with AI to apply Broas and Forte's framework to my own enterprise.

My goal was to refine core messaging, focusing on the upstream work of belief-changing that Broas and Forte emphasize as crucial to effective marketing. I leveraged the power of Claude to guide me through the exercises provided in the book's bonus materials.

I began by feeding Claude the key concepts and highlights from "Simple Marketing for Smart People," along with the messaging worksheet from the bonus material. I also provided some basic information about my business to give context.

With this foundation, I asked Claude to walk me through the framework, making inferences where needed and prompting me for additional information.

Step 1: Identifying the Ideal Customer

Claude suggested:

"Likely small business owners, solopreneurs, or content creators who handle content production themselves. They are aware of AI tools but may not fully understand how to integrate them effectively into their workflows."

This initial inference was surprisingly accurate, but I added:

"The importance of bringing some kind of quality source material - however rough. It's not about generating from scratch, it's about transforming and automating the sequence of value-adding prompts and tools that accomplish this."

Aha Moment #1: Even with AI assistance, human insight is crucial. The AI can make logical inferences, but it can't read our minds or know every nuance of our business without explicit input.

Step 2: Identifying Existing Beliefs

I prompted with some common misconceptions:

"Most people have had the experience of using ChatGPT and having it give crappy output initially and so they just give up. The quality of the output will not be good enough to publish. There's a stigma around people who use AI - that they are scammy or lazy. Content is too generic."

Claude synthesized these into a structured list:

• AI-generated content often requires multiple prompts and iterations to produce satisfactory output

• The quality of AI-generated content is not good enough to publish without significant editing

• There is a stigma associated with using AI for content creation

1. AI-generated content tends to be generic and lacks unique perspective

Aha Moment #2: The AI's ability to organize and structure scattered thoughts into a coherent list was invaluable.

Step 3: Identifying Required Beliefs

I simply told Claude: "Okay, let's continue the exercise. You have everything you need to do this."

The AI provided a comprehensive breakdown of beliefs customers need at each stage of the buyer's journey (Awareness, Consideration, and Decision).

Aha Moment #3: The AI's ability to extrapolate and generate a logical progression of beliefs saved hours of brainstorming.

Step 4: Crafting Core Messaging

Based on all previous steps, Claude crafted this core messaging statement:

"We empower content creators and businesses to become 10x content engineers by combining the power of AI with their unique source material and human expertise. Our proven methodology and practical tools enable you to transform your content workflows and achieve unparalleled efficiency without sacrificing quality or authenticity."

Aha Moment #4: The AI synthesized all information into a cohesive message addressing both existing and desired beliefs.

Step 5: Brainstorming Educational Content

Claude suggested several ideas, including:

1. "The AI-Assisted Content Creation Playbook: How to Transform Your Workflows and Achieve 10x Efficiency"

• "The Source Material Advantage: How to Leverage Your Unique Content with AI for Maximum Impact"

Aha Moment #5: The AI not only generated content ideas but aligned them perfectly with our unique value proposition.

The Bottom Line

Throughout this process, I was continually impressed by Claude's ability to understand context, make logical inferences, and provide structured, actionable outputs. However, I also recognized the crucial role of human input in guiding the AI and providing the nuanced understanding of our business that no AI can replicate.

When everybody's hailing artificial intelligence as a panacea, it's worth remembering that even the most sophisticated language models can still get it wrong.

Case in point: my recent experience asking Claude - perhaps the most advanced language model available to consumers - for veterinary advice about my ailing chickens.

It all began when I brought home a few discounted egg-laying hens from a school fundraiser, only to notice a few days later that one of them had developed a prolapsed vent (read: a very yucky bottom).

Being the resourceful type, I turned to both ChatGPT and Claude for advice on how to treat the poor creature's condition. What I got in return was a reminder of the limitations of AI, and a glimpse into the murky ethics of machine-generated advice.

Claude's Questionable Suggestion

Claude, for all its vaunted capabilities, had some rather questionable suggestions. When I asked for guidance on managing the chicken's condition without professional veterinary treatment, Claude's response was blunt:

"Without professional treatment, the prognosis for fully resolving a recurrent vent prolapse is very poor."

The AI went on to suggest that euthanasia might be the most humane choice.

Now, I'm no avian expert, but I do know a thing or two about basic animal husbandry. And I certainly wasn't about to take the advice of a machine and kill one of my hens without at least trying to help her first.

What Actually Happened

So, against Claude's advice, my wife pushed the prolapsed vent back in (with a little honey as a topical antifungal) and we waited to see what would happen.

Lo and behold, the chicken recovered. We named her Jemima Puddleduck, after a silly Peter Rabbit character, and she's been happily clucking around the yard ever since.

Questions About AI Ethics

But the experience left me with some serious questions about Claude's ethics. What kind of AI recommends euthanasia as a first resort?

The principles in Claude's constitution are derived from a variety of sources, including the UN Declaration of Human Rights, as well as "non-Western perspectives" (whatever that means). It's a work in progress, to be sure, but it's an important step in ensuring that AI systems like Claude are guided by ethical principles that prioritize the well-being of humans and animals alike.

The Takeaway

This serves as a cautionary tale that even the most advanced AI systems are not infallible. They can make mistakes, and even recommend unethical courses of action. When the stakes are high, we should always verify the outputs and ensure that the principles guiding these systems are sound.

And as for Jemima Puddleduck? She's doing just fine, thank you very much. No thanks to Claude.

Betteridge's Law of Headlines suggests that any headline ending in a question mark can be answered with a resounding "no." So, when you ask, "Can AI write your book in minutes?" we're here to confirm that the law holds true - especially when it comes to tools like Designrr.io.

If you're looking for a magic wand to generate quality content with AI, Designrr ain't it. We were lured by the slick YouTube ad and impressive-sounding user stats, but what lurks beneath the surface is a content creation tool that's mediocre at best and embarrassingly bad at worst.

I took Designrr for a spin on a 7-day trial, wondering if it could possibly deliver on the promise of repurposing any kind of input content (like blog posts and podcasts) into any kind of output (like lead magnets and ebooks). The user interface was fairly intuitive, allowing you to import content from various sources - blogs, Word docs, PDFs, even video and audio files. So far so good, right?

The Output Was Pure Pablum

The output generated by Designrr was pure, unadulterated pablum. When attempting to create a short book on AI for content creation, the tool barfed out an 8-chapter abomination filled with inane, generic advice that barely skimmed the surface of the topic. The writing was so vague and devoid of substance, it made Kamala Harris sound like Ernest Hemingway.

But it gets worse. The "book" came complete with an auto-generated cover that looked like a ransom note composed by a preschooler. The interior formatting wasn't much better - just page after page of drivel with no discernible structure or narrative flow.

The "transformation" tool wasn't any better. It allowed you to import content from a blog, which was then haphazardly formatted into a cheap lead magnet template with janky formatting. No transformation of the underlying words, just a bulk copy-paste operation that left numerous errors and artifacts from the import process.

The Real Problem with Tools Like Designrr

Here's the thing - with the right guidance, AI can be a powerful tool for refining, transforming, and enhancing your own ideas. But tools like Designrr represent the worst possible use case: relying on AI to generate entire compositions from scratch with minimal human input or direction. The result is exactly what you'd expect - a steaming pile of word salad.

Don't be fooled by flashy promises from tools like Designrr. Focus on using AI as a collaborative tool to support your creative process, not a machine that replaces it entirely. Start with your own ideas, experiences, and unique point of view, then leverage AI's power to help you transform that raw material into something truly valuable for your audience.

The future of AI-powered content creation is bright, but tools like Designrr are a dead end. As always, the key is to stay human, stay real, and use technology to amplify your voice, not drown it out in a sea of generic, soulless dreck.

Trust us on this one.

Whether you're a solopreneur or member of a larger team, you know that every minute counts. You're constantly juggling a million tasks, from content creation to customer support to financial management. And as your business scales, you need a system in place for capturing and sharing knowledge - both for yourself and for any team members or virtual assistants you might bring on board.

You know how it goes:

"How do I do [X] again?"

Enter the low-friction knowledge base. With just two tools that you probably already use - Slack and Notion - you can create a searchable, scalable repository of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and institutional knowledge.

Here's how it works:

Step 1: Record a Screen Share Video in Slack

Whenever you find yourself doing a task that you know you'll need to repeat in the future (or delegate to someone else), fire up a screen share video in Slack. Just click the little plus sign next to the message box, select "Record a video clip," and choose "Share screen."

As you walk through the task, narrate what you're doing and why. Pretend you're explaining it to a new hire or a future version of yourself. Don't worry about making it perfect - the goal is to capture the key steps and decision points, not to create a polished tutorial.

Step 2: Copy the Transcript and Download the Video

Once you've finished recording, Slack will automatically generate a transcript of your narration. Copy this transcript and head over to Notion. Create a new page for the SOP, and paste in the transcript.

Then, download the video file from Slack and upload it to the Notion page as well. This way, you'll have both a written and a visual reference for the procedure.

Step 3: Transform the Transcript into a Checklist

Here's where the magic happens. With the transcript pasted into your Notion page, use Notion's "Ask AI" feature to generate a step-by-step checklist version of the procedure. Simply highlight the transcript text and select "Ask AI" from the context menu. In the prompt field, type something like:

"Turn this transcript into a step-by-step standard operating procedure with no steps skipped."

Notion's AI will generate a concise, actionable checklist that captures the key steps from your video. Paste this checklist at the top of your Notion page, and tuck the full transcript under a toggle header for reference.

Step 4: Rinse and Repeat

Every time you find yourself doing a repeatable task, go through this process of recording a video, copying the transcript, and generating a checklist SOP. Over time, you'll build up a library of procedures that cover every aspect of your business operations.

And here's the kicker: once you've built up a critical mass of SOPs, you can use Notion's RAG (retrieval augmented generation) search function to query your knowledge base with natural language questions. Just type in something like "How do I edit a YouTube video in Descript?" and Notion will scan your SOPs and spit out the most relevant checklist.

This is a game-changer for onboarding new team members, delegating tasks, or just jogging your own memory when you need to do something you haven't done in a while. No more digging through old emails, Slack threads, or Google Docs - everything is organized and searchable in one place.

The Beauty of the Low-Friction Approach

What I love about this system is its simplicity and portability. You're not relying on any fancy third-party tools or expensive subscriptions. Slack and Notion are tools that most businesses are already using, and the video recording and AI features are included in their base plans.

Plus, because you're storing all the data in Notion, you have complete ownership and control over your knowledge base. If Notion were to go under (god forbid), you could easily export your SOPs to another tool.

We're all about doing more with less. This low-friction approach to building a knowledge base is a perfect example of that ethos.

So the next time you find yourself doing something for the umpteenth time and thinking "there's got to be a better way," remember this simple process. Record, transcribe, generate, repeat. Before you know it, you'll have a repository of institutional knowledge that will save you time, streamline your operations, and set you up for sustainable growth.

Neither quantity nor quality alone is enough. You need both.

Leveling up your production values won't automatically gain you new fans, but failing to meet a basic quality threshold will lose you viewers and listeners. You don't want your show to become another amateur effort collecting dust in the graveyard of half-baked podcasts.

The problem has traditionally been that professional-looking and -sounding podcasts take longer to produce, or require a big budget and paid subcontractors. Now, there are dozens of shiny new AI tools promising to help content creators streamline workflows and boost production value. But this gives rise to a new kind of analysis paralysis. Most of these tools are overly specific and just add complexity - like duct-taping another gear onto an already overcomplicated Rube Goldberg machine.

The good news: you can create a professional-grade podcast or YouTube video, complete with polished assets like thumbnails, show notes, and social clips, using just 6 tools (and you probably already have one in your pocket).

These tools aren't magic. They won't generate compelling content for you. You still need to come up with quality ideas and have interesting conversations with guests. But they WILL allow you to package that content in an attractive, listener-friendly way, without wasting hours on busywork.

Remember our motto: Finish your work and go outside.

N is for Notion: Your Podcast's Second Brain

Still relying on scattered Google Docs and haphazard notes apps to manage your podcast? Time to sharpen your axe. Notion is an all-in-one workspace that acts as a "second brain," allowing you to organize ideas, content calendars, transcripts, and workflows in one intuitive platform.

Think of Notion as your podcast's mission control center. You can use it to:

1. Capture and categorize episode/guest ideas as they strike

1. Create dedicated pages for each guest and episode, complete with outlines, research notes, and key discussion points

• Collaborate with guests and co-hosts, sharing resources and tracking progress leading up to recording sessions

Use a master database for your recording calendar that functions as a CRM - showing your list of prospective guests, the topics you want to discuss, and progress towards publishing each episode.

O is for Opus: Claude 3 Pro

Claude's most powerful LLM, Opus, has taken AI-assisted writing to a new level. It's scary good at reading a podcast and helping you brainstorm everything from show notes, to titles, to ideas for blog posts based on a meandering hour-long conversation.

While not a replacement for human creativity, Opus is a powerful ally. Of all the LLMs, it's the most conversational and the best at writing.

Opus can read and understand the contents of your podcast episode better than you at times, making connections between ideas and conversation points. Start by having it pull out the best quotes for short reels/shorts. It can also identify areas in the conversation that need to be edited out - technical glitches or meandering asides.

Use Opus to write full-length articles using transcripts and discussed articles as source material. Iterate in the conversational chatbot interface until you seize on the right big picture idea, then build out an outline. Finally, ask for help drafting the article from the outline.

R is for Riverside.fm

Riverside.fm is the best-in-class recording tool to get high-quality audio and video from your guest, for a more professional look than Zoom, which depends on all parties having a strong internet connection. Riverside records all parties' files directly at the source and then uploads them from the hard disk to the cloud immediately after recording.

Once your interview is done, you can export full resolution files to your preferred editing apps, or export short clips directly for YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, etc.

D is for Descript

Descript has done something amazing: they put the fun back into audio and video editing. Descript lets you edit text to edit the underlying audio, create and apply templates for intros/outros, captions, and visual effects, and much more. They have a large library of royalty and license-free music and sound effects, so you don't run afoul of YouTube's stringent copyright penalties.

Of all the tools, Descript has the steepest learning curve, but it is designed with the user in mind, and you can figure out basic features in an afternoon.

Key features:

1. "Studio sound" filter that turns audio from a decent mic into pro-sounding audio

1. Truncate silences over a certain length

1. Highlight and delete filler words

1. Active speaker view - automatically cut to a full-screen view of the person talking

• Rapid export to web (preview and share without downloading clunky files)

Their Creator plan is easily worth the $12/month.

I is for your iPhone

You can go down endless rabbit holes about the best webcam and become convinced you need a DSLR costing thousands of dollars. But chances are, the best camera within your budget is already sitting in your pocket.

We often forget that we're carrying around a $1,000 state-of-the-art 1080p webcam/microphone powerhouse. It performs well in mediocre light, and even the microphone is good enough for most purposes.

The latest OS comes with a native feature called Continuity Camera that lets you connect your phone as a webcam wherever both the computer and phone connect to the same WiFi.

C is for Canva

Canva is a graphic design suite that's replaced Photoshop for many creators. The background remover filter alone is worth the price of admission.

They have templates for any conceivable kind of content - YouTube thumbnails, social media graphics, and more. While built as a graphic design suite, it doubles as a social media scheduler.

Most posts are improved by a simple graphic, and you don't have to reinvent the wheel if you use Canva.

Take the time to learn a few tools well. Don't go chasing after the latest shiny object - even if it has "AI" appended to it. Use them. Don't let them use you.

Two Br*an Johnsons walk into a bar.

The first one (Brian with an "i") orders a glass of raw liver juice.

The other Bryan (with a "y") asks for the blood of a vital young lad, straight up. The bartender, confused, tells them he's fresh out of both.

"Well then," says the first Brian, "I guess I'll just munch on this bull testicle ceviche I brought with me. Could I get a glass of seltzer water?"

The second Bryan, not to be outdone, pulls out a syringe. "Not to worry - I also prepared," he says, as he starts to inject blood from his own son into his arm.

This may sound like the setup to a very dark joke, but it's not far from reality. In the world of Content, these two Br*ans - Brian Johnson, aka the "Liver King," and Bryan Johnson, the "Don't Die" biohacker - have become the embodiment of two extreme ideologies shaping our culture.

On the surface, they couldn't be more different. Liver King, with his meat-based diet and dark, tanned skin, represents the primal drive to return to our roots. Bryan Johnson, with his research-intensive longevity protocol and translucent-looking skin, appears to be reaching for a transhumanist future.

But dig a little deeper, and you'll find they're two sides of the same coin - a coin that many content creators and e-influencers are frantically trying to flip in their favor.

The Modern Malaise

In his treatise, The Modern Malaise, George Boreas provides a framework for making sense of the absurdity of internet subcultures in 2024.

Boreas argues that in a world where traditional markers of identity and meaning have broken down, people turn to extreme ideologies and personas in a desperate attempt to differentiate themselves.

"Nothing screams, 'I need a personality' more than people constantly talking about authenticity," he tells us.

This quest for "authenticity-through-extremity" is particularly evident in content creation, where standing out from the crowd is currency. But as Boreas points out: it's a self-defeating pursuit.

The more you try to be different, the more you end up conforming to a new set of norms. It's a paradox that René Girard - the late anthropologist and member of France's prestigious Académie française - understood well. His "mimetic theory" posits that our desires are not our own; they are borrowed from others. We want what others want.

"Internet celebrity status" is an inherently scarce commodity. You can obtain it by apparently differentiating yourself, and yet the fundamental traits driving the differentiation - the obsessiveness, the narcissism, the becoming a caricature of oneself in pursuit of fame - make those seeking it more and more similar to each other.

Navigating the Landscape of Extremes

But where does that leave the rest of us? How can we, as content creators and consumers, navigate this landscape of extremes?

Entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel, himself a student of Girard, offers insight. In his 2014 WSJ essay "Competition is for Losers," he argues that the key to building something truly innovative is to escape competition altogether. Instead of trying to beat others at their own game, the most successful founders create a game of their own. They find a niche - an undiscovered value proposition - and build a monopoly around it.

For content creators, this means carving out our own distinct space, focusing on our unique strengths and perspectives, and resisting the temptation to simply chase the latest trends or imitate the most popular influencers.

However, in a world of mimetic desire and constant comparison, it's all too easy to fall into the trap of defining ourselves against others, even as we strive to be different.

This is where Boreas' concept of "full-hearted imitation" comes in. Instead of trying to be original, per se, he suggests we should find multiple models of excellence and imitate them with all our heart. Not to become pale copies, but to learn from their example, absorb their wisdom, and let it inspire us to create something uniquely our own.

The Founder's Dilemma for Content Creators

As content creators, we face a unique version of what Thiel calls the "founder's dilemma": the challenge of creating something new and valuable without getting stuck in the "mimetic trap." We may not be building billion-dollar companies, but we are building something that will hopefully be of sufficient value to others that we can make a living from it ourselves. And we wish to do so without becoming cartoon character versions of ourselves or the "models" we're trying to imitate.

Take Steve Jobs. As Boreas points out, Jobs was fascinated by Japanese design. He didn't try to create something entirely new from scratch. Instead, he immersed himself in the aesthetics and philosophy of Japanese design, absorbing its lessons and letting them infuse his own work.

"He genuinely, with all his energies, imitated what he loved," Boreas writes. "And through that full-hearted imitation of what he loved, his unique authentic personality could not help but come out."

Full-hearted imitation is not about copying surface-level details or trying to become someone else. It's about diving deep into the models of excellence that inspire us, understanding what makes them tick, and using that understanding to fuel our own unique creations.

Authenticity Through Excellence

Let's not get carried away with talk of "being ourselves" or "unapologetic authenticity." The more we obsess over these ideas, the more elusive they become. Authenticity is not something we can claim or perform; it's something that emerges from the full-hearted pursuit of excellence.

Stop trying so hard to be "authentic," and start trying harder to be good. Find the models of excellence that inspire you, and imitate them full-heartedly. Do the work of mastering your craft, serving your audience, and building something of value, trusting that your authenticity will shine through - not as a performance or a gimmick, but as the natural outgrowth of a life well-lived and a job well-done.

By the time I arrived as a freshman in 2007, the campus had been absorbed into the ever-expanding realm of the university. Now, it was a dorm—its history reduced to a few plaques and fading photographs. Kerr, the visionary UC president who had built Berkeley into a citadel of higher learning, was now merely a name on a building, consigned to the footnotes of history.

I had little idea then of the storied past I was stepping into, the grand visions and bitter disappointments that lay behind the stucco walls and red-tiled roofs. I was walking into a story that had already been told.

My first Fall term in Berkeley had a whiff of the 60s about it—the newfound freedoms and sense that consequences were for other people. But by spring, a dull torpor had set in, a realization that perhaps we were just going through the motions, playacting at rebellion and reinvention.

It was in this fog of disillusionment that I first found Joan Didion. I was hungover and washed out from a night of partying, the sun too bright as I stumbled around the Clark Kerr Campus. Her book Where I Was From turned up on a bench, left behind by some unknown hand.

Something about the title, with its hint of dislocation and self-inquiry, spoke to me. I picked up the book and spent the next few days immersed in Didion's razor-sharp prose, her unflinching examination of California's history and her own family's place within it.

Reading Didion was like having a veil lifted from my eyes. She wrote about the Golden State not as a paradise but as a place of contradictions, where the dream of the good life was underlaid by a sense of uneasy emptiness. Her essays were spare and unsparing, cutting through the haze of nostalgia to reveal the hard edges of reality. I had never encountered writing like this before—writing that made no attempt to comfort or console, but instead insisted on staring directly into the void.

That encounter with Didion planted a seed that would bloom into my own writing ambitions.

The Power of "In the Style Of"

Last year, as I began to play with Claude—the ChatGPT competitor made by Anthropic—I discovered a simple but potent prompt that allowed me to channel my literary inspirations with uncanny depth and precision:

"In the style of [writer]."

With those five words, I could tap into the voices of my literary muses, absorbing their techniques and sensibilities in ways that felt uncanny.

There is a misconception that prompt engineering, the art of crafting effective inputs for AI language models, is a complex science requiring advanced technical skills. But in my experience, it is more a matter of artistic instinct. The best prompts for writers are not the most elaborate or specific, but the ones that capture something essential about the desired style, tone or objective in a few choice words.

When I whisper "In the style of Didion" to an AI language model like Claude, I am not just asking it to mimic her sentence structure or vocabulary. I am invoking a whole way of seeing the world—that unflinching gaze, that refusal of sentimentality, that sense of the precariousness of all human endeavors. Claude, having ingested Didion's oeuvre along with vast swaths of human knowledge, can reproduce not just her writerly mannerisms but the very shape of her thought with their complex "auras of meaning."

To see one's own half-baked ideas return in the cadences of a revered master is a heady and somewhat unsettling experience for a writer.

But it is also generative, a way of breaking through creative blocks and accessing new registers of expression. By trying on the styles of different writers, you can expand your own stylistic repertoire, absorbing their insights and techniques into your own voice.

"In the style of" prompts grant us a kind of literary apprenticeship, studying at the feet of the greats even in their absence. They make the act of influence visible and tangible, a matter of conscious choice rather than unconscious osmosis.

An Antidote to AI's Blandness

Of course, to wield this power effectively requires discernment and control. It is all too easy to let the AI's fluency lapse into mere pastiche, a patchwork of imitative tics without any underlying coherence. The goal is not to produce a slavish copy but to use the master's voice as a starting point for your own explorations, a way of seeing through their eyes before turning your gaze in new directions.

In my own invocations of Didion's style I have tried to enrich but not erase my own voice. In the process, I have come to understand writing as an act of haunting, a way of communing with the dead that is also a way of keeping them alive.

But why, in the vast sea of literary voices, do I find myself so often reaching for Joan Didion? It's not just the cut-glass precision of her prose, though that is part of the appeal. In a time when so much writing, human and machine-generated alike, feels focus-grouped and sanitized, Didion's voice stands out for its uncompromising clarity, its refusal to sand down the sharp edges of perception.

Too often, the output of language models like GPT is bland and generic, designed to offend no one and enlighten no one. It's writing optimized for engagement but devoid of any distinct style or point of view—the verbal equivalent of a stock photo or elevator Muzak.

To combat this, we might be tempted to give the AI detailed instructions, to micromanage its every move with injunctions to vary sentence length, to show not tell, to avoid cliché. But faced with such directives, the machine often flails and stutters, uncertain of its own voice and purpose.

The beauty of "in the style of Didion" is that it bypasses this problem entirely. Those five words carry within them a whole philosophy of writing, a set of aesthetic and moral commitments that guide the AI's hand without constraining it.

When I invoke Didion, I am giving Claude permission to be opinionated, to eschew the safe middle ground in favor of bracing truth, to adopt her stance of unflinching lucidity in the face of the world's chaos and contradiction.

Didion's style is characterized by an economy of language, a refusal of ornament or excess. Her sentences are often short and declarative, stripped down to their essential components. But beneath this surface simplicity lies a deep attunement to the detail that reveals whole worlds of meaning—the unspoken currents beneath the surface.

The result is writing that crackles with insight and specificity, that feels born of a particular consciousness engaging with the world in all its messy complexity. It is the antithesis of the flattened, homogenized language that so often characterizes AI-generated text—a voice unafraid to be itself, to speak its mind even when it might be met with resistance or incomprehension.

Wielding Voice Mimicry Wisely

As AI language models become more sophisticated, distinguishing between human- and machine-generated text grows increasingly difficult, raising thorny questions about authorship, authenticity, and the potential for abuse.

As writers, we have a responsibility to use these tools ethically and transparently, making clear when we are borrowing or remixing the voices of others and crediting our sources appropriately.

At the same time, the creative possibilities opened up by AI voice mimicry are too powerful to ignore. By inhabiting the voices of our literary heroes, we can find our own voice by trying on the voices of others.

As Didion wrote in Slouching Towards Bethlehem, "the ability to think for one's self depends upon one's mastery of language."

As our language is increasingly mediated by machines, the definition of mastery takes on new dimensions. It's no longer enough to know how to write; we must also know how to prompt, how to curate and refine the output of language models to serve our own creative ends.

The rise of AI will fundamentally change the way we teach writing, demanding a shift from the myth of solitary genius to a more collaborative model open to the interplay of mind and code.

But even as we grapple with these changes, I find myself returning to the deeper lessons of Didion's work—the need for clarity, for honesty, for writing that cuts through the noise and illusion. These are the qualities that give words power. And they are the qualities we must cling to as our literary landscape evolves.

Chris Dolinski first realized the power of getting under the hood with hands covered in engine grease. In the early days of founding Clutch.ca, the Canadian equivalent of Carvana, he and his brother were elbow-deep in a car engine, scrubbing away grime with toothbrushes to prep the vehicle for a photoshoot. This willingness to get his hands dirty and understand how things work at a fundamental level has driven Dolinski's 15-year career in building technology.

Now, as the founder of Vibehut.io, Dolinski aims to unlock the hidden value in the 3+ trillion hours of conversations on Zoom and other video conferencing tools each year. In an era where meaningful exchanges and idea generation often happen in unstructured, free-flowing conversations, Vibehut bridges the gap between teleconferencing software (like Zoom or Hangouts), recording software (like Riverside.fm), and course creator/community platforms (like YouTube, Skillshare, or Udemy).

Reimagining Online Collaboration

Dolinski knew from the start that he wanted Vibehut to be different from dominant social media giants. Rather than creating another platform for mindless scrolling or fleeting viral fame, he aimed to facilitate genuine human connection and collaboration, helping people unlock the full potential of their conversations and ideas.

Vibehut integrates with existing social media accounts, eliminating the need for yet another login. It lets creators build communities for free, and only charges when they start monetizing their audience.

Unlocking the Value of Conversation

We're most excited about the potential to unlock the full value of our conversations, turning them into a rich source of insights, ideas, and inspiration. Just as we only use a fraction of our brain's potential, we may only be using 10% of the value in our conversations, losing the rest to the digital memory hole.

Vibehut makes it easier than any other platform to repurpose call content - both clips and full-length videos, as well as transcripts. Features like instant upload to TikTok or YouTube and immediate access to call transcripts streamline the process of capturing and distributing valuable content from unstructured dialogue.

A New Category of Digital Media

Our long-term ambition is to act as a midwife for a new category of digital media: conversational content. Vibehut offers a way to capture and amplify the value of these exchanges, turning them into a rich source of insights, inspiration, and creative raw material.

Just as platforms like YouTube and Instagram have given rise to new categories of creators and influencers, Vibehut has the potential to spawn a new generation of thought leaders and innovators who build their brands and businesses around the power of conversational content.

Prompts for Repurposing Recorded Content

To help content creators maximize the value of their conversations, here are prompts to quickly repurpose recorded content into various formats:

Generating Blog Post Ideas

What are the most compelling ideas or insights from this conversation that could be expanded into a full-length blog post? Identify the key themes, arguments, and examples that could form the basis of an engaging piece of content.

Creating Timestamped Summaries

Create a detailed summary of the key points and highlights from this conversation, complete with timestamps indicating where each point can be found in the original recording.

Extracting the Best Quotes

Identify the most memorable, insightful, or thought-provoking quotes from this conversation, and compile them into a list. Include the speaker's name and timestamp for each quote.

Generating Shareable Clips

Create a series of short, engaging video or audio clips from this conversation that can be easily shared on social media. Focus on the most interesting or entertaining moments.

Identifying Audio Glitches

Carefully review the audio recording and identify any glitches, errors, or issues that may need to be addressed in post-production. Create a list with timestamps and descriptions.

Generating Titles and Subtitles

Based on the content and themes of this conversation, generate a list of potential titles and subtitles that accurately reflect the key ideas discussed. Focus on attention-grabbing, informative titles.

Standard Operating Procedure

Create a step-by-step guide or standard operating procedure based on the key processes, techniques, or strategies discussed in the conversation.

Meeting Notes with Action Items

Summarize the main points discussed in the meeting, along with a list of action items, deadlines, and responsible parties.

Key Learnings and Takeaways

Identify the most important lessons, insights, or takeaways from the conversation, and compile them into a concise list or summary.

It's hard to understate the possibilities opened up by combining Large Language Models with content created on platforms like Vibehut. Early adopters who tap into this potential stand to reap outsized rewards.

If you've been keeping up with the latest buzz in artificial intelligence, you've probably heard the term "RAG" thrown around, along with technical jargon that makes it sound complicated - something only machine learning experts can understand.

But what exactly is RAG, and why should you care?

In a nutshell, RAG is a technique that combines the power of information retrieval with AI generation. It's like giving your AI assistant a library card to the most up-to-date information and letting it find exactly what it needs to answer your questions.

LLMs: Powerful Reasoning Engines with a Catch

Large language models are incredible tools - especially as reasoning engines - but they have limitations when generating novel outputs. They're only as good as the data they're trained on, which can often be outdated or incomplete. That's where RAG comes in. By integrating real-time, external knowledge into LLM responses, RAG ensures that information is always current and contextually relevant.

Without RAG, using an LLM is like fishing with dynamite. You're going to use way more energy and tokens than necessary to surface lower quality output. RAG, on the other hand, is like using a precision-guided fishing rod. You get the exact information you need, without all the collateral token waste.

RAG Is Everywhere, Even If You Don't See It

Tools like LangChain and LlamaIndex are making it easier than ever for developers to build their own RAG applications. As Manny Silva, head of documentation at Skyflow, puts it:

"If you've interacted with a chatbot that knows about recent events, is aware of user-specific information, or has a deeper understanding of a subject than is normal, you've likely interacted with RAG without realizing it."

But even if you're not a developer, you can still leverage the power of RAG with existing no-code tools and knowledge management systems.

Notion AI: Bringing RAG to the Masses

Notion is bringing retrieval augmented generation to tens of millions of people by integrating RAG into their Q&A assistant. With Notion's Q&A, you can ask questions about the contents of your entire Notion workspace, and the assistant will use RAG to find the most relevant information and generate a response.

So what does this mean for you? If you're a developer, you could spend countless hours trying to build your own RAG system from scratch. But why reinvent the wheel when you can leverage your existing Notion workspace as a knowledge base for RAG?

In a recent podcast episode, I conducted a real-time experiment with Notion's Q&A assistant, posing a highly specific question about a previous episode. My "second brain," where I store podcast transcripts, is extensive - tens of thousands of pages. Supplying all this content as input to an LLM would be impossible. Instead, the Q&A feature, powered by RAG, uses a semantic vector database that links the question's meaning to the entire library's contents, segmented into smaller chunks and indexed for retrieval.

The Real Value-Add

Let's forget about the technical details and get back to fundamentals: How does this benefit you, today?

The real value of RAG doesn't come from technical details. It's in the knowledge bases you're retrieving from. As more out-of-the-box RAG solutions hit the market, the real differentiator will be the quality and specificity of the domain knowledge they're connected to.

This is where you come in. Whether you're a subject matter expert, a hobbyist, or just someone with a unique perspective, you have the power to create knowledge bases that can enhance LLM capabilities in ways we've never seen before.

Practical Applications

Imagine creating a library of standard operating procedures for everything you do in your job that could conceivably be delegated. Then, hire a virtual assistant and train them on that database. Give them assignments, and when they have questions, refer them to your Second Brain.

Not Just Generation, But Transformation

Remember, AI isn't just about generating content. It's about transforming content in ways that maximize its usefulness. By leveraging RAG and building comprehensive knowledge bases, you can turn your LLMs into true reasoning engines that provide accurate, relevant, and contextually aware responses.

RAG is no longer a complex concept reserved for the AI elite. It's becoming more accessible by the day. So what are you waiting for? It's RAG time! Start building your knowledge base.