I have a confession. I was one of those people who (staunchly) resisted using AI. For a very long time. As someone who’s spent years developing my own ideas, expertise, and intellectual property, I was wary of handing any part of my creative process over to technology. I had concerns about protecting my work, preserving my voice, and maintaining the very things that make what I do uniquely mine. And honestly, there was a part of me that didn’t think it could do it as well as I do it myself… And then I started experimenting with it. And something rather unexpected happened. My creativity EXPLODED! Suddenly, ideas that would have taken hours to research, organize, or bring to life became easier to explore. I could think through possibilities, challenge my assumptions, and spend more of my energy on the parts of my work I actually LOVE. I’ve even used AI to help me find a house, organize an interstate move, and figure out my sourdough baking! Which got me thinking... If technology could give us back some of our time, energy, and mental capacity, what would we actually choose to do with it? Would we simply fill that newly available space with more tasks, more responsibilities, and more things to achieve? Or could we consciously invest that freedom in creativity, connection, and the experiences that make life more meaningful? That’s the conversation I wanted to have with my guest on this episode of Life: By Design. Meet Suze Lake, a Canadian-born AI Consultant and Business Strategist now living and working on a farm in Norfolk, England. She’s experienced her fair share of those sliding-door moments that change the trajectory of a life - from moving halfway around the world in the pursuit of love, to spending 18 years building a creative product business, only to then pivot and reinvent her career around the new technology. Suze has a wonderfully grounded way of looking at technological revolutions. We talk about how recent advancements have transformed the way we live, from horse-drawn ploughs to modern farming equipment, from the arrival of the internet to the rapidly expanding world of artificial intelligence. And one of the things I particularly love about Suze’s perspective is her emphasis on using technology to amplify the expertise, knowledge, and experience we’ve spent a lifetime developing. Suze shares a story about spending THREE HOURS following an AI assistant’s instructions to solve a technical problem… only to realize that her own instinct could have solved it in five minutes. We must always, always revert to our human brains. Every revolution is just a new tractor: you don't fear it, you learn to drive it. I think that’s such an important part of this conversation, especially as we become increasingly comfortable turning to technology for answers. Our ability to think critically, challenge ideas, draw on lived experience, and trust our own judgment is central to our continued growth. And imagine what could become possible if we combined those distinctly human capacities with technology that could take some of the repetitive work off our plates. I always tell my clients that we want to use AI to amplify the expertise and knowledge that you already have and not completely replace you. AI isn't going anywhere. We need to be able to use it to benefit us, protect our intellectual property as well. And also be passionate about building our expertise. Suze challenges us to rethink our relationship with AI and consider what becomes possible when technology takes care of the repetitive work… …freeing us to invest more of ourselves in creativity, connection, and living a life designed around what matters most. In this episode, we explore: • The sliding-door moments that change our lives. Suze’s extraordinary journey of personal and professional reinvention, and the courage to follow what feels right.• Embracing change in a rapidly evolving world. Why AI represents another major turning point in human history, and how curiosity, adaptability, and intentional choices can open up new opportunities.• How AI can amplify your expertise and creativity. Making better of everything you’ve learned - your expertise, and decision-making - while keeping intuition, experience, and human discernment at the heart of what we do. • Reclaiming our time, energy, and mental freedom. Practical examples of how AI can reduce overwhelm, lighten our mental load, and create more space for the people, experiences, and activities that make life meaningful. And SO much more… The opportunity to live more intentionally is right in front of us. And how we choose to use these tools will shape what comes next. So here’s the question I’d love you to sit with after listening: Ask yourself… “If technology could give you back some of your time, energy, and mental capacity, what would you choose to do with it?” About Suze: Born in Canada and based on a farm in Norfolk, England, Suze Lake is an AI Consultant and Business Strategist and a self-confessed systems nerd who spent 18 years building her own product-based business before pivoting into operations and strategy. Today, she helps established, overloaded founders stop being the bottleneck in their own businesses. Her philosophy is simple: AI is here to amplify your expertise, not replace it. She believes AI can help protect and extend the value of your knowledge, and that every revolution is just a new tractor: you learn to drive it. Ready to reclaim some mental space? Suze has created a free tool called The 3 a.m. Offload, designed to help you clear the unfinished tasks and mental clutter that keep your brain working long after you’ve finished for the day. TRY THE 3 a.m. OFFLOAD »» ACCESS HERE »»(Let us know in the comments what you discover!) CONTACT SUZE LAKE LinkedIn Instagram @creativesolutions_suze Visit Suze’s website and learn more about her work »»» Creative Solutions with Suze Lake About Kate Vanden Bos:Kate Vanden Bos is an intuitive consultant, host of Life:By Design podcast, and creator of The Growth Cycle™ — a personal evolution framework built on your natural cycles and seasons. Find out more at MyGrowthCycle.com Life: By Design is a conversation series where we move beyond polished talking points and into the real terrain of being human. These are conversations about growth, identity, energy, transition, truth, and what it means to create a life that actually fits. Not a life built by default. A life grown by design.========================= LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GROWTH CYCLE Everything we talked about in this episode is exactly why I created The Growth Cycle™. It’s a 12-phase map to guide your own evolution - and once you have it, you’ll wonder how you navigated without it.→ MyGrowthCycle.com © 2025–present Katherine Vanden Bos. All rights reserved. The Growth Cycle™ is a trademark of Katherine Vanden Bos. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed without prior written permission. Content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute professional medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice. This content may not be used to train artificial intelligence or machine learning models. Life: By Design | katevandenbos.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lifebydesignkvb.substack.com
