The Man Who Cried Pearls (A Warning for All of Us)

Let’s have an honest conversation about something that is quietly changing all of our lives whether we are ready for it or not. I know it’s just a newsletter that you are reading, but I hope it’s like a conversation we are having. I hope it’s something that makes you go, “Whoa! This is crazy!”

It’s something that we have to learn and wake up to before it’s too late.

Let's start with a story.

There is a story in a famous novel called The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

A man lived a simple, happy life. He was not rich. But he was content — satisfied and at peace with what he had.

One day, he became sad and started to cry. And something strange happened.

His tears turned into pearls.

(Pearls are beautiful, expensive gems like diamonds or gold.)

The moment he realized this, he got excited. But when he got excited, the tears stopped. No more pearls.

So he started looking for ways to make himself sad. Every single day.

His wife probably said something like: "Why are you doing this to yourself? We have a good life. We are happy."
But greed had already entered his heart.

He kept crying. And the pearls kept coming. He collected more and more.
It got to the point that he had to find new and creative ways to make himself sad and cry.

Until one day he found himself sitting on a mountain of pearls. Crying. Holding a bloody knife, with his dead wife in front of him.

He did not even know what he was crying for anymore.
Was it for her? Or for more pearls?
The scariest part of the story?
He thought he was succeeding.

Now think about today.

AI has made everything easy.
Easy to write. Easy to record. Easy to create. Easy to make money.
A few different apps. A few clicks. A few minutes. Done. You have a piece of content to post.

I could ask ChatGPT to write me a powerful, inspiring story about success and happiness. Then ask AI to read it out loud using an AI voice. Record it. Post it on YouTube or Podcast.

All in 30 minutes. While I am lying in bed, probably sad and stressed without growing or learning any meaningful skill from this.

I post the video, whose content I don’t really care about, but the views are coming in. The followers are increasing. The money is easy.

So I keep going.

Just like the man with the pearls.

My ego gets to me. Instead of working on myself, instead of reading, learning, growing and improving, I am building a fake identity. Someone who looks successful on the outside (in my videos) but is empty on the inside.

And slowly, I stop caring about what is right. I only care about the clicks.
As long as people are watching my videos and I am making cash, it doesn’t matter what content I post or whether or not I believe in what I post.
That is the real danger of AI. Not the technology itself. What it does to you and your way of thinking and how it makes us stop thinking about the negative consequences.

What can you do to stop the dangers of AI?

1. Stop following the crowd. Everyone is using AI to create fake content.
That does not make it right. Separate yourself. Be different.

2. Question what you see, read, and hear. Fake videos. Fake voices. Fake photos. They are everywhere. Not everything online is true. If you don’t question what you see online, then you will soon not understand what is real and what is fake, what’s true and what’s false.

3. Start real learning. Read books. Listen to podcasts. Read newsletters like this one. Take courses. Attend classes. Educate yourself so that you don’t fall for the temptations of shortcut success.

Always remember this: You become what you read, watch, and listen to. So choose carefully.

4. Surround yourself with real people. Real people help you grow in a real way. They push you forward. They tell you the truth. Stay close to them. And stay away from fake people as much as you can.

One last thing and this is important.

I wrote this myself.
No AI. No ChatGPT. No searching online.

All from memory. From years of real learning such as reading books, listening to lectures, thinking and writing, growing, etc. It’s nothing huge, but I just want you to understand that what comes easy, goes easy. What you build with real effort, with focus, with time — that stays.

Your brain is more powerful than any AI machine in the world.

But only if you use it properly.
So go and start real learning today. Read a page. Listen to a lesson. Improve one skill.
One step. Every day.
That is how you grow.

This week's words to remember:

With love and respect, Z at The English Zone

P.S. If this issue made you stop and think, share it with one person who needs to read it today.