Have you ever been absolutely sure you knew something inside and out… only to have someone casually blow your mind with a ridiculously simple trick?
That happened to me with Photoshop.
For a long time, I knew it. Not just the basics, not just a few fancy tricks—I knew it like, really. I spent years learning every shortcut (and longcut) - inside out and upside down. I was so intent on mastering it that I even took classes to become an official Adobe Photoshop Technician. You see... my dream was to tour the globe with Adobe, teaching the software professionally.
I can pretty confidently say I was (still am) at an expert level.
Which is why I was completely bumfuddled the first time I watched an entry-level designer at my agency do something so simple, so obviously useful, that I had no idea was even possible.
I remember sitting next to them, casually observing, when they clicked one button—just one—and in an instant, they did what used to take me five painstaking steps. My jaw actually dropped. My brain short-circuited for a second. I wanted to be impressed, but mostly? I was annoyed.
HOW had I never seen this before?!
How many other simple things was I unaware of?
That moment changed the way I look at learning.
The Power of the “Ah-ha!” Moment
The experience of thinking you know it all only to realize there’s so much more just outside your view is happening everywhere right now with AI. Let's be honest with ourselves, it's happening everywhere in our lives.
The truth is, you are fully capable of learning Gen AI—I promise you. But here’s the challenge: we don’t know what we don’t know. Unlike traditional skills, where the goal is to work toward mastery, AI is evolving so quickly that mastery isn’t even a fixed point—it keeps moving.
If you’re aiming to become an “expert” in AI, my advice? Rethink the destination. Because no matter how fast you’re moving, AI is evolving even faster. Trying to arrive at expertise is like chasing a finish line that keeps sprinting ahead faster than you. Maybe you catch a glimpse of it periodically, but then it turns a corner or zooms down a hill and is suddenly out of sight again.
But that’s okay. Because the goal isn’t to be an expert—it’s to be a learner.
The goal is to sit next to someone, watch them do something and say, Wait… you can do that?!
The more of those "Ah-ha" moments you collect, the more they start stacking up into something big.
Stay Open, Stay Curious
Here are 4 things I’ve learned:
• Sit next to people who are learning.
Whether it’s a colleague, a teacher, or a friend, and watch what they do. Ask questions.
• Be open to learning things that may not seem directly relevant to you.
Some of the most useful learning comes from connections that relate in ways you'd least expect.
• Give yourself permission to learn “silly” things.
Play, experiment, and explore—because sometimes, the thing that seems least important unlocks the biggest insight.
• Say yes to learning opportunities.
There aren’t as many as you think. Take them when they come.
One Small Thing Can Change Everything
So here’s your challenge: This month, this week, today... pay attention. Watch how others work. Ask more questions. And when that moment comes—the one that makes you say, “Wait… you can do that?!”—lean into it. Because that’s what where the magic happens.
Always, always remember: You don't know what you don't know.
And before you know it, you'll be the one blowing someone else's mind.
For information on AI learning opportunities that I host, follow me on Eventbrite.
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