The Truth About AI, Intuition, and Building a Business in 2026 - Part 1

I think the question of will AI replace us is the wrong question. I think the question that I would like for you to consider is how do you use AI without losing yourself? Welcome back to another episode of the Yes And Podcast. I am your host, Bunny Young, serial entrepreneur, mother of 4 incredible kids, Army wife, all of those things that you would see on a resume. But that's not what I'm here to tell you about. What I'm here to tell you is to remind you that the voices in your head that are saying that you are bad at business are lying. There's no playbook. You get to build a life and a business that look just like you and that work for you, not the other way around. And not by going faster, but by going deeper into the strategy and the energetics that make you and your business a unique unicorn. So just for you, what we are going to do today is drop a little bit deeper into the energetics of something that is on everybody's mind and a lot of topics being talked about, which is AI. And you may be surprised at what I'm going to say about AI. Here's the flavor of what I want to share with you is that I don't believe that AI and woo or energetics or spirituality are on opposite sides of the spectrum. I actually believe that there is alignment and synergy in both of those. And as we dive deeper into this podcast episode, I want to share with you not just my opinion of it, but also how I'm using this in my business to amplify. So buckle up, get a warm, delicious drink or whatever it is that you want to settle in and cozy through this episode with, because this is going to be a great one. You also may want to grab a pen and a piece of paper because I hope that I'm going to be giving you gold that you're going to want to take notes for. Welcome to this episode of the Yes And Podcast, and the intention for this episode is to really bridge between that intuition and intelligence aspect of AI and Woo, and also how, as a leader in this space and in this industry, whether it's in coaching or whether it's in entrepreneurship, I feel like you can use AI to be able to create even more safety and more power and more alignment And I also wanna cut through all of that bro marketing AI hype and outsourcing your power to AI, as well as this concept that the woo aspect is just to like sit on your couch and manifest a million dollars without actually taking action. So I think a lot of the things that you're holding yourself back with in entrepreneurship and that I've held myself back with in entrepreneurship are not solved by AI. AI, actually. I think that AI is a tool. It's the same thing as money. It's the same thing as a laptop. It's the same thing as a car. It can only get you to the destination if you're willing to put the energy into it, if you're willing to use that resource, and then it becomes an amplifier, an incredible amplifier that I'm going to be sharing with you, just like the little mind-blowing ways that a tiny bit of automation, a tiny bit of strategy, a tiny bit of systemization through AI can just blow your mind. And I also wanna share with you some of the tech and some of the tools that I'm using. So before we get any deeper into this, I had some heated conversations that sounded something like, Bunny, you love the environment, you love the ocean, you're so passionate about making the world a better place. How on earth could you be behind and supportive of using AI? So here's how I think about it. Cars are ruining the atmosphere. The invention of cars had a negative impact on so many things in this world, in the environment, in the atmosphere, in mortality rates. I, I could go on and on about the invention of cars, and I could focus on that. And I can also choose to focus on emergency services and medicine and fire services and travel and being able to see loved ones at a more frequent rate and being able to travel long distances at a timeline and all of the incredible miracles that came with the evolution of transportation. The thing that I think that we're missing is that AI is not new. It's this level of AI combined with the adoption of individuals that are using it that is what makes it seem like it's this new thing. But artificial intelligence in and of itself is not new. We've been using artificial intelligence since the '70s, actually. I mean, basically since we— even before we started using computers, we used artificial intelligence in some way, shape, or form for a variety of different things that are not relevant to this podcast episode. And so the volume that we are now doing it, the speed that we are now doing it is requiring these massive server farms that are not a positive impact to the environment. However, one of the things that I have this conversation with my best friend around, I'm going to make this analogy. When I was 11 years old, I gave up eating meat. I gave it up for Lent, and I've never eaten meat intentionally since that day. Now, in our 20s, my best friend went back to eating meat, and she didn't eat meat because she thought it was this great travesty that we kill animals and eat them. I didn't eat meat because I gave it up for Lent, and when I went to go back to eating meat, it just, it didn't taste great and it made my stomach hurt. And so I was like, no, I'm not going to eat meat anymore. I was never under the delusion that by me not eating meat, I was saving cows. However, I was aware that it was one less person contributing to some of the things that are wrong with the meat industry in this world. Now, if I'm really bothered by the meat industry in this world, not participating in it is not the solution. It's actually participating in it in a way that you are solving the problem. And I believe the same thing is true with AI. If you have a problem with what it's doing to the environment, then participate in the solution. And if you're gonna take pen and paper and try to create a solution, you're gonna lose because the machines are creating solutions at billions times faster than we can with the human brain. So my desire, my prayer, my hope is that by participating with AI and using AI to amplify the good that I'm already doing in this world as an amplification, that I can solve more problems than I create. And that my biased opinion is that AI can solve more problems than it creates. It's similar to my feeling around money and how I share my thoughts and my biases around money is I don't— money is neutral. It is, it's a piece of paper. It's, it's this thing that really has no thought, no desire, no dream in this world. However, if you put it in the hands of somebody who is going to have the capability and the capacity and the resources to build a well, that money becomes a solution for an entire village that didn't have access to clean water. And so AI is in and of itself pretty neutral, right? Once you give it an input, then it takes off and it starts to do its, its thing. Is it evolving? Is it always going to be neutral? Is it always going to be, you know, as devoid of dreams and desires as money. I don't know, but I know right now that it's a tool. It is a tool that is laying there at our feet until we use it and until we put it out into this world. And, and we're not going to be able to put that genie back in the bottle. There's, there's no world in which we don't have AI anymore, at least not in this generation. And so if it's possible to move on from that conversation and agree that I do see how it's harming the environment, and I do see a lot of disruption that is being caused by the use of AI. I also look at who's using it. And so the question of will AI replace us? AI can never ever replace the, the soul. What AI can replace is the tool. What AI can replace is like inputting data into a computer. Those are all the things. In my business, though, I don't have AI write my emails. I write my emails and I ask AI to organize them and format them to increase the engagement and the readability. My voice is there. My art is there. It, it's like using a tool for increased comprehension. I think about it as I used to work at a school for the deaf and blind in Tucson, Arizona, and I think about how that community felt when cochlear implants started to become more and more mainstream, and you had individuals that felt like you're abandoning the deaf community by using this tech to be able to hear sounds. And then you had individuals who were excited about the possibility of what it could mean for their life to hear their, their baby's voice, to hear their mother's voice, to, to hear a bird, to hear a dolphin. So it really is like the energy with which you're putting into this. If you believe that AI is going to replace you, my encouragement to you would be to raise your standard of how special you are. And the authenticity that you have can, can never be replaced. There's only one of you in the entire world. AI is never going to be able to replicate that. AI can't replicate the way that it feels for me to hold my kids. AI can't replicate the look that my husband gives me at the end of the day that tells me how much he appreciates and loves me. AI can't coach the way that I hold the container for our DEFY calls on Thursdays. That's, that's not going to happen. And what I can look at is the things that are not any of what I described that AI can help me with so that I can do more of those things so that I can have more looks with my husband, so that I can pour more into our Defy community, so that I have more time to hold my kids. Because I think the question of will AI replace us is the wrong question. I think the question that I would like for you to consider is how do you use AI without losing yourself? How do you use AI to not replace you, to not write your content for you, to not write your nurture sequences, to not take you out of your business, but rather to bring you further into your magic. It's not a conversation of AI versus authenticity. It's authenticity supported by AI, in, in my opinion. And that either-or thinking, I think, gets us in a lot of trouble. AI is here as a tool, as a resource for us to be able to amplify our magic, if that's what we choose to use, to be able to overcome burnout. But there's so many things that AI can, can never touch that still require your soul and your passion and your intention and your authenticity. What AI can help you with is to be more consistent in bringing that out into the world and looking at it as, okay, we used to do when I started my companies, it was all offline organic. So it was how many conversations could I have with people in person? And then the internet and computers. And so then it was like, how many rooms can I be in and connect with? And it was like I was still having these conversations with these people, but I didn't have to get on a plane or I didn't have to get in a car to go connect with them further. I could send them an email. I could go to their website and learn more. And so it was like it accelerated our ability to connect. And so now with AI, it's like, how can I use that to just continue to be more consistent? How can I just add AI into the riverbanks? You've heard me, if you've been listening to this episode or to this podcast for a while, you've heard me say like, I want you to think about the structure of your business, the systems in your business as the riverbanks. That's what strategy is. That's what structure is. That's what systems are, is the riverbanks, the container that holds the energy. The water of the river is the flow, is the creativity, is the intuition. And that the flow cannot be AI. You've seen Instagram posts where people are trying to replace their magic and their flow with AI. I mean, I even have captions that my team has written and I I'm like, those sound so flat. There's no flow. What AI can do is it can provide and support the systems of the container so that you can put more and more of your energy and your magic in it. And you need both in order to have a healthy river, right? Being able to have all of the structure, all of the systems, but never actually putting your energy, never actually putting your magic out in there is is going to be a drought. And putting all of your flow and all of your magic and not have any systems to be able to repeat it, not having any systems to be able to support that, the direction of that energy and of that flow, is just going to lead to a flood. And then both lead to burnout. So how do we integrate AI into your life and into your business and not lose that woo aspect, because again, they're not on opposite ends of the spectrum, but not lose that energetic flow aspect. And just dropping into your body and understanding that your entire body is, is a system and is a structure and is its own level of intelligence. And the mind will tell you different things than your body will tell you. And so I talk to clients who are using AI and I'm like, be mindful of the hallucinations of AI because I've seen clients' AIs that are just cheering on the most, like, how do I use a nice word for this? Ludicrous strategies. And it's because the AI was not put in a position to have access to enough information to be able to provide the support to that client. And so remember that it's very similar to your mind versus your body, is like your, your mind is very loud and very noisy and has a lot to say. Your body is softer and is quieter, and it takes more practice to kind of drop in, but yet your body is actually what holds 85 to 90% of your energy and your power. Not your mind. And so AI is just this noisy little chatterbox. You have to remember to bring your energy and your power and allow that to go through AI so that you're directing AI. It's not directing you. That's something that I really want to make sure that you hear me on and take a moment and pause and write that down is that you are directing AI. AI shouldn't be telling you what to do in your business or what to do in your life. AI is giving you information, and then you're the one who is the meaning maker and putting that into action. Ah, so one of my goals with this episode is to remove a little bit of the fear and reposition that AI as a tool of support ultimately to your power. AI is not creative in the way that humans are. It's simply language processing, repetition, speed, pattern recognition systems. That's all it is. You're still the artist. It doesn't— AI doesn't originate truth. It just organizes and amplifies whatever the inputs are. So it's still your responsibility to have the highest input. And that comes from living your life outside of a computer and interacting with other human beings. And then AI can just organize and amplify whatever that is. One of the first things that we do in Defy is I have all of our individuals that join Defy do 30 ideal client interviews. Sometimes this takes a week, sometimes it takes a month, sometimes it takes 6 months. Sometimes people are so resistant to finishing their 30 ideal client interviews that it's something that we're not talking about until the very last part of the program. And it's like, well, they want to build the business, they want to build the outline, they wanna build the, the modules and the membership and discuss pricing and all of that. But it's like, until you have the connection, until until you're plugged into the energy, there's no clarity and there's no truth. Once you are on that road of understanding the energy of the magic that you want to bring into this world, we can build a business around that. And that is the same thing as AI, is like AI can come in and amplify that, but it could never clarify for you your truth unless you have the input first. I, I tell people often that like when they say, well, what do you do? I'm like, I could tell you what my businesses do. What I do, I would have to show you. You know, like before there was the word for magic, what was a magician? They— you didn't know what to expect from a magician. You didn't know that they were going to make a, a person disappear or levitate or, you know, pull a rabbit out of the hat. Like these There are things that just didn't make sense until we had exposure to it and we recognized it. Oh, that's, that's magic. And so there's people in this world that know what coaching is, but this, what I do, this alchemy of life and business and energy and strategy, like there's no word for that. And so my invitation is to connect with another being, another soul by demonstrating. And then once I do that over and over again, then I can go to, to AI and put those transcripts of those sessions in. And say like, how would you describe this? And yet it's still not going to be the same level of magic of experiencing it because AI doesn't give you your voice. It just is reflecting what you feed it. And if I don't have the words, then AI is not going to have the words. But AI can inspire me with some of the language. And then I, when I'm reading it, it's like, oh, I resonate with that, or I don't resonate with that. All right. And so there's a lot of fear with AI and disconnection. And I actually think that if, just like I said with the cars, if you're willing to use it as a tool, AI can provide you with more time and more energy and more resources for more connection. And the jobs that will be replaced with AI allow— my biased opinion is they allow those people to be in a space and in an opportunity to go and do something that no one could ever replace them. It gives them the permission and the freedom to go do something where they are irreplaceable. I remember the day I, I, when I started A Better Place Consulting, I had a business partner. This is something we don't talk about often, is I had a business partner And part of the reason that I had a business partner is I was not completely bought into entrepreneurship. Again, if you've been listening to this podcast long enough, you know that I'm a third-generation entrepreneur, and I told my mom the only thing I never wanted to be was an entrepreneur. And so the day that I started A Better Place Consulting and we had this partnership, about 9 months later, it was a little less than a year, my husband was leaving for military service, and it was maybe a day or so before he was leaving, and and I had— well, let me back up. So I had made the decision— I need to tell this story in another episode— but I had made the decision that I was going to leave this business partnership. I, I promise I will give you the whole thing in another episode. And basically, my business partner didn't want me to leave, and we had this kerfuffle, and She just stopped talking to me. And then one day it was over. We, we were done. I had A Better Place Consulting. She had her own company and we were done. That day, that morning that that all happened, I walked into the gym where my husband was working out. It was like the day before he was leaving for military service. And he looks at me and he's like, I guess you work for yourself now, finally. And I think about that as this disruption. That I perceived where it was like the, the hemorrhaging and the breaking of this business relationship was actually the permission. And I think about this when I've let people go from employment with my companies. I know that the devastation of not having that paycheck can be incredible and can bring people to their knees. And yet there is a permission with saying, this is not where you're supposed to be. There's another better place, literally better place for you to bring your magic. And I think about that with AI. Like, if AI ends up being the thing that breaks you up with your J-O-B or your position, what is it actually giving you permission to do? What is it allowing you to do? Just like cars increased access and increased connection an expanded opportunity. I think whatever AI replaces is just expanding human potential and opportunity for us to do things that are within our purpose and our potential that— because that, that could never be replaced. So, that is my thoughts on that. I totally need to record another episode on, on the full story of my journey into A Better Place Consulting, and I promise I will on another episode. Ah, I still have like so much that I want to share with you. I think we might have to do a part 2 of this AI episode. So let's say that that is part 1, and what I want to leave you with is that this piece, this conversation of AI, I have brought into Defy, into our 12-month business accelerator, because Defy as a program and as a 12-month business accelerator is, is not just a program, it's not just course is not just a mastermind, it is a community. And this question, the reason I'm bringing it to the podcast is that it's a part of our conversation in our community and Defy, in my communities and my own masterminds and, and all of that. And so if you're like, I love this take on AI, I love the conversations that we've started, and I wanna explore more of what that would look like in bringing even more AI. Into my business and into my community to support my magic, we've got you. That's like exactly what we do inside of the program, one of the many things that we do inside of our Defy community. And so you can go into the show notes, you can click the link to learn more about that and find an invitation for you to be able to explore what it would mean to be more in this energy.. And for those of you who are already in the Defy community, I love you guys so much. And for those of you that are listening to this and are like, yes, I just want to hear more about AI and other versions of the Yes And podcast, we have so many more seasons and so many more episodes coming for you. So check the show notes because we've got some special things down there for you from templates and AI resources and my tech stack. I'm gonna go fully into my tech deck that I'm using for AI in part 2 of this episode. So I'm going to close it off for now, put a little bow around part 1 and go into part 2. Thank you so much. Wherever you listened to this and took us for your Yes And podcast, whether it was the shower, a nice long walk on the beach, whether you're listening to it while you're building your own AI tech deck, I appreciate you. It means the world to me. It truly does. I read every single review that you leave. I read every single post that you put up. When you tag me that you've listened to an episode of the Yes And Podcast on social. So please do that on Instagram. It's @thebunnyyoung. Please leave a review. Please, please, please send this to a friend. Like, honestly, it is such a gift, not just for me to be able to know that you're loving these episodes and sharing them, but also it's a gift to whoever you're sending it to because there's no other podcast on the face of the planet that is like the Yes And Podcast. It will never be replaced by AI. So here we are. I will see you on the next episode of the Yes And Podcast. I am your host, Bunny Young.