You are your own ChatGPT
The entirety of your life is a unique dataset that informs every decision
Everyone’s talking about AI these days.
ChatGPT.
Large Language Models.
Algorithms that learn and predict and transform information.
But here’s what I’ve realized after 30+ years as a financial advisor:
You’ve been your own AI all along.
What GPT actually means
GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer.
Break that down:
Generative = you create outputs (decisions, actions, choices)
Pre-trained = based on everything you’ve learned up to this moment
Transformer = you take in new information and transform it into a response
Sound familiar?
That’s exactly what you do every time you make a money decision.
You take in information—a news headline, a friend’s advice, your advisor’s recommendation—and you transform it into a decision based on your entire life history.
All of it…
Your childhood.
Your wins and losses.
Your fears and hopes.
Your parents’ money habits.
That time you lost money in 2008.
That time you didn’t.
All of it shapes what comes out.
Why this matters
I watch this play out every day with my clients.
Two women. Same age. Same savings. Same advisor (me).
Completely different decisions.
One spends freely on travel. The other keeps money “just in case.”
One helps her kids financially. The other wants them to be independent.
I wrote about Carol and Dana before—two retirees with $3 million each who see money through totally different lenses.
Carol’s husband died young. She learned: life is short, spend now.
Dana’s parents fought about money. She learned: you can never be too careful.
Same numbers. Different training. Different outputs.
Neither is wrong.
They’re just running different decision models.
The comparison trap
This is why comparing yourself to others is so dangerous.
Your neighbor retires at 60? That’s her model, not yours.
Your sister has no financial plan and seems fine? Different training data.
The confident woman at book club who “just knows” what to do? She’s running on her history, not yours.
Theodore Roosevelt said,
“Comparison is the thief of joy.”
He was right.
When you compare your financial decisions to someone else’s, you’re ignoring the fact that you’re each processing completely different information through completely different life experiences.
It’s like wondering why your Google search results don’t match your friend’s—when you’re searching different things from different places with different histories.
Of course they don’t match.
Your advantage
Here’s the good news:
Your unique history isn’t a problem. It’s an edge. An opportunity.
You know things others don’t. You’ve learned lessons they haven’t. You’ve survived situations that taught you what matters.
That training is valuable.
The question isn’t “Am I doing this right compared to her?”
The question is “Am I making decisions that honor my training—my values, my priorities, my vision?”
As I’ve shared before, personal finance is more personal than it is finance.
Your model should reflect you.
The risk of going solo
But here’s where people get stuck:
They embrace their uniqueness—then try to make decisions in a vacuum.
No plan. No structure. Just winging it based on how they feel in the moment.
Or worse: they accept a cookie-cutter plan that ignores everything that makes them unique.
A plan built for “someone with $2 million” instead of a plan built for you.
That’s like using someone else’s search history to make your decisions.
It won’t work.
You need a strategy—a plan—that reflects your training.
Your history. Your present. Your future.
Not a media soundbite. Not a rule of thumb.
A plan as unique as you are.
What to do next
If this resonates, here are three steps:
1. Explore what really matters to you
Not what should matter. What does matter.
Your goals. Your values. Your priorities.
This is the foundation.
2. Visualize your future
What does your life look like in 1 year? 5 years? 25 years?
Be specific.
How will you spend your days? Who will you spend them with? Where will you be?
What will you see, smell, hear?
3. Take the first step confidently
This is the most important part.
Move in your direction.
The first few decisions are the hardest. But each one makes the next easier.
I’ve watched clients build this “decision muscle” over time.
Someone with 5 financial decisions under her belt feels very different than someone with 50.
Trust builds with practice.
Bottom line
You are your own Large Language Model.
You’ve been trained by your entire life.
Every decision you make is generated from that training.
Stop comparing your outputs to someone else’s. They’re running a different model.
Start honoring your unique training—and building a plan that reflects it.
As I’ve said before, we all need some objectivity with our money. That’s why I get help with my own finances.
But objectivity doesn’t mean ignoring your story.
It means finding someone who respects your training and helps you make decisions that fit your model.
Not theirs. Yours.
Reply with your thoughts or questions. I’d love to hear how this lands for you.
Are you ready for Thanksgiving?
I appreciate your continued readership.
Please let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions for future essays.
Until next Wednesday,
Russ