I was hired recently to give a virtual presentation to a high-performing sales team about getting started with generative AI.
The content? Solid. Grounded. No hype. Just practical, human-centered ways to think about a tool that’s changing everything.
But about five minutes in, I felt it:
That subtle shift in the room. Restlessness. Resistance. Someone even said the word “creepy.” Another called AI “manipulative.”
And later, I overheard this gem:
“Most of what AI spits out is shit.”
That comment told me everything I needed to know. Not about the tool. But about the mindset in the room.
These weren’t technophobes. They were smart, capable professionals.
But like a lot of people right now, they were standing on the platform, watching a train speed by, and convincing themselves it’s not worth boarding because it looks unfamiliar.
And I get it.
New trains make people nervous. Especially when they’ve spent their whole careers mastering the old tracks.
But here’s what I wish I could’ve said to everyone in that room:
I hear you. You’re not wrong to feel what you’re feeling.
But the reality is: this train isn’t slowing down.
You have two choices.
Get on at the next station.
Or wave goodbye to the caboose while dust flies up in your face.Because change is inevitable.
And personal growth?
That’s still a choice.
The biggest lesson I took from that day wasn’t about AI.
It was about how unprepared we are—emotionally, mentally, and culturally—for what’s already here.
We think resistance is logic. We think cynicism is insight. But often, it’s just fear with a better wardrobe.
If you’re a leader, a builder, a guide of any kind, don’t wait until the tracks are ripped up behind you.
Start learning now.
Start asking better questions.
Start building a new relationship with the unfamiliar.
Because like it or not, the train is moving. And you still have time to get on board.
