Ryan Hanley - Finding Peak

05/29/2026

Most founders are using AI completely backwards.

More output from the same broken operating system is not strategy.

It is faster work slop.

This is the way.

Hanley

05/28/2026

You don’t have an AI problem.

You have a misalignment problem.

The Clifton study proved it: same investment in strengths returns 12x more than pouring into average.

Stop running faster on a treadmill that goes nowhere.

This is the way.

Hanley

05/28/2026

They started building the Cologne Cathedral in 1248 as a way to pay homage to the relics (bones) of the Three Magi (Three Wise Men) that visited Jesus after his birth.

It took 600 years to complete, and for four years was the tallest building on earth.

600 years to complete…

Greatness requires faith and patience.

I was reminded of that today in Germany.

This is the way.

Hanley.

05/26/2026

Are you one of the people saying AI hasn't delivered on its promises?

You're making the same mistake critics made judging the Wright Brothers in 1905.

We're in year TWO of accessible AI. The Wright Brothers didn't fly commercial routes until 11 years after Kitty Hawk. Mass air travel took 75 years.

Every transformative technology follows the same pattern: the gains come after organizational redesign, not before.

I built my last company AI-first before anyone called it that. The returns were real, just not what people expected.

AI doesn't make you 10x faster at the same work. It eliminates 70% of work that was never your actual job.

Read why the critics are wrong (again): https://ryanhanley.com/essays/the-airplane-didnt-work-either-an-ai-story

This is the way.

Hanley

Every transformative technology looked broken before it worked. The critics judging AI by 2025 results are judging the airplane by 1906 results. Don't repeat that mistake.

05/22/2026

What does high agency actually look like?

It's not confidence. It's not even intelligence.

It's being the person someone calls when they're stuck in a third-world jail cell.

Not because you're the smartest. Because you figure things out.

I was 17, broke, writing letters to baseball coaches at a garage sale table. No connections, no roadmap. Just determination to figure it out.

That's high agency. And it's not a personality trait - it's a state you can access consistently.

The secret? Stop playing Hard Mode. Find your Easy Mode and use AI to protect it.

Most people use AI to go faster. Wrong move.

Use AI to eliminate everything that pulls you away from your zone of genius.

Read how: https://ryanhanley.com/essays/the-high-agency-playbook-using-ai-to-protect-your-zone-of-genius

This is the way.

Hanley

05/21/2026

Why are college students booing AI?!

There have been a handful of commencement speeches over the last month where the topic of AI has been booed by the audience.

Most recently ex-CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt.

This doomerism is manufactured.

Be very careful of the AI Doomers…

A much more likely outcome of AI is pure abundance.

This is the way.

Hanley

05/19/2026

Chaos reveals character…

We are living in chaotic times.

That is not an excuse to fall apart, give in or give up…

The world needs strong men and women right now.

That’s you.

The rock in the strong.

If not you? Who?

This is the way.

Hanley

05/18/2026

The secret to unreasonable success?

It’s boring.

It’s not a hack. It’s not a morning routine.

It’s consistency.

But here is the truth no one tells you: you are going to mess up. You will miss a day.

Most people let that one miss break the habit. They quit.

My high school baseball coach gave me the cheat code:

Don’t miss twice.

The unreasonable ones? They never miss twice.

Are you going to let one bad day ruin the mission?

Drop a 💯 in the comments if you refuse to miss twice.

This is the way.

Hanley

ryanhanley

05/15/2026

What if I told you that grinding harder is actually making you less successful?

I just had a conversation with Liz Tran, who coaches billion-dollar startup CEOs, and she completely changed how I think about productivity.

Your genius is a gas tank. Running on empty gets you nowhere.

She'd rather have 15 minutes of you at your peak than 6 hours of you depleted and not thinking clearly.

The most dangerous thing successful people do? Stop being students.

Your past wins don't guarantee future relevance. The career ladder is gone. You need agility now more than ever.

Check out my full conversation with Liz: https://ryanhanley.com/essays/the-agility-quotient-the-intelligence-that-matters-now

What fills your tank when you're running on empty?

This is the way.

Hanley

05/15/2026

What if AI's job isn't to make you faster, but to make you unnecessary to everything except the three things that actually matter?

I built an AI Chief of Staff named Max who runs my business while I sleep. He sorts podcast requests during my son's baseball games and drafts contracts while I'm recording.

But he never picks up the phone when a client calls. Never solves the hard problems. Never closes deals.

Because those three things - relationships, problem-solving, and selling - should never touch AI.

Everything else should.

Most executives are using AI to write better emails. The smart ones are building systems that run without them in the room.

Here's how: https://ryanhanley.com/essays/the-3-things-you-should-never-hand-to-ai

This is the way.

Hanley