By Using Artificial Intelligence I’m Building the Future by Embracing & Reading the Past
Seeds, Parking Lots, and AI: Why I’m Building the Future by Embracing & Reading the Past
This article is part of the Working With AI series on MediaCrush
This week, I found myself reading Penpreneur — an excellent book that champions analog funnels, physical newsletters, and a slower, tactile path to audience building. At the same time, I continue to go back to Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act, which frames creative sparks as “seeds” — small ideas planted now, meant to be nurtured later-both cramming my cranium. The two have commonalities and distance, so far one keeps pulling me back – we shall see what the future holds.
I’ve been building my projects in a hybrid space where these “old-school” lessons meet AI-enabled momentum. And honestly, right now, it’s working for me.
Old School vs. New Tools – It’s Not a Contest!
The Penpreneur has lots to offer and excites, I’m still active in my digestion of the work process: build offline, mail something tangible, and create scarcity. It’s nostalgic with earnest honest storytelling from the dome, I admire that style and I get it — I still love getting meaningful mail, flipping through magazines, drawing and taking notes on nice paper. I will offer a deeper divce into Penpreneur in a future post,
But here’s the reality: AI clears the busywork. It hands me back time to do the things that matter — time to think, to question, to create. Without it, I wouldn’t be building sites, drafting posts, working on passsion projects, and shaping book projects all in the same week.
Rubin’s Seeds and My Parking Lots
In The Creative Act among many other imoportant notes Rubin talks about “seeds” — creative sparks that may not grow right away but are worth saving and returning to.
In my process, I use what I call “Parking Lots.” Whenever I’m tempted to wander off into a tangent or new idea, I don’t ignore it — I park it. That way, it’s not lost, but it also doesn’t derail the work in front of me. Planting my seeds in a Parking Lot.
This system, combined with AI’s ability to synthesize my scattered thoughts, means I can balance momentum (the 80/20 rule: do > plan) with openness (capturing ideas for later) and it feels wonderful!
The Bigger Picture
Reading books like Penpreneur keeps me questioning — is there a place for physical newsletters in the future? Probably. Reading Rubin keeps me grounded in the fact that creation is never about a single tool, but about cultivating the right environment.
And AI? AI is the accelerant. It doesn’t replace the seeds, or the Parking Lots, or the analog touchpoints. It just helps me move faster between them.
Closing Spark
At 64, I’m not interested in choosing sides — analog vs. AI, old vs. new. I’m interested in building bridges. That’s what Media Crush is about: showing that we can draw from the past, embrace the future, and create something that makes life richer today. Come on in–
A seed is a small creative idea captured now, even if it doesn’t fully grow until later. It’s a way of valuing sparks of inspiration and giving them space to develop
Parking Lots are a system for capturing ideas and tangents without letting them derail your main focus. They let you revisit those sparks later while maintaining forward momentum.
Both approaches encourage saving and nurturing ideas for later, instead of losing them. Seeds highlight creative intuition; Parking Lots highlight focus and execution. Together, they balance creativity and productivity.
AI acts as an accelerant — synthesizing ideas, saving time on busywork, and helping creators move faster between sparks of inspiration and tangible results.
100 % Yes! Many creators find value in tactile tools like notebooks or printed newsletters. Analog methods can coexist with digital and AI tools, offering a richer, hybrid approach.
Anyone & Everyone — from writers and educators to entrepreneurs and families. The blend helps people of all ages keep their ideas organized, stay productive, and create more freely.
AI FOR REAL LIFE
MediaCrush empowers families, entrepreneurs, and creators — especially those 50+ — to use AI as a practical partner. We bridge the gap between big tech and real life, showing how tools like ChatGPT can help grow or start a business, simplify homeschooling, spark creative projects, and launch new businesses. Our voice is grounded, approachable, and multi-generational: advice that works for you, your kids, and your grandkids.
