The video’s answer is that smart people adopt useful technology early, from AI and automation to health tracking and privacy tools, and then pair it with habits like a dopamine detox. The opening claim is that the only sign of intelligence is the ability to adapt to changing times and environments. Historically, those who adopt technology first end up ruling over those who do not, whether the technology was guns, agriculture, industrialisation, digital networks or, probably now, AI.
What follows are the 15 tools and habits the video recommends, plus a bonus question. Several items touch on health, family and schooling, and those are the presenters’ opinions and personal experience, not professional advice.
Watch the full video here, or skip to the breakdown below.
The 15 tools at a glance
- AI for productivity (0:32)
- Smart home and business automation (1:42)
- Off-the-grid home infrastructure (2:46)
- Advanced health trackers (3:31)
- Virtual private networks (4:42)
- Social media as a distribution platform (6:23)
- Bloodwork and supplements to fix deficits and sharpen focus (7:13)
- Saunas and hyperbaric chambers (7:56)
- Alkaline water (9:11)
- Brain-enhancing apps (9:43)
- Modern-day country clubs (11:32)
- IVF and fertility (12:13)
- Micro-schools for kids (13:38)
- Super apps for services (14:19)
- Dopamine detox (14:59)
- Bonus: If you are so smart, why do you still have to deal with this
1. AI for productivity
This is more than using ChatGPT for text. Tools named include Consensus for large-scale studies through ChatGPT, Midjourney combined with Runway or Sora for visual assets, and audio tools such as ElevenLabs for voice cloning, Krisp for video sessions and Fireflies as a meeting assistant.
The pitch is that AI turns you into a one-person army. People who learn these tools may no longer need to hire extra employees, and the video predicts that for the first time someone will build a billion-dollar business alone.
2. Smart home and business automation
Technology fixes inefficiencies and saves time. At home, that means air purifiers in every room and the ability to control most of the house securely from your phone, down to telling the assistant to turn off the lights without leaving bed.
The same goes for a business: the more automated the processes, the better you sleep. They name Pilot for accounting, Gusto or Ramp for payments and UiPath for automations, and say they automate cash management so that a portion of profits goes straight into the S&P 500.
3. Off-the-grid home infrastructure
Think of it as taking back control of your consumption. Solar panels with smart batteries can charge your electric car, heat pumps use the earth’s temperature to warm the house, a rainwater system waters a home garden and smart filters make all water drinkable. Starlink supplies fast internet in remote locations.
It is a recoupable investment that can even turn profitable, and it makes a move to the countryside and a slower life possible.
4. Advanced health trackers
It starts with a watch that counts steps, calories, sleep and heart rate, then goes further. They like a Withings smart scale for body composition and EightSleep for sleep analytics and temperature control on each side of the bed. They tried the Whoop bracelet and the Aura ring and found they were not for them.
They also mention glucose sensors worn as arm patches, with a subscription of around $700 per year, and expect better, cheaper products as more companies enter the space.
The principle: you cannot optimise what you do not measure, and all your health data in one place helps.
5. Virtual private networks
The argument is that the internet has become a gold mine of personal data. Everything you buy gets labelled, everything you look at is remembered, and even your local supermarket pushes you to open an account so it can work out how much money you have.
Smart people respond with a VPN, a small program that anonymises your data with one click and makes your IP appear somewhere else in the world. Beyond privacy, the video says it helps keep hackers away from your card details. They have used one for over five years across all their devices.
6. Social media as a distribution platform
Social media has lost, in this telling, its user-friendly appeal. Adding someone on Facebook gives you the ick, Instagram is a superficial brand-soaked platform, and TikTok is sugar and caffeine for your brain.
Its main legitimate use now is distribution. Smart people have noticed how toxic the gamification of social interaction has become, so they log on only to tell people about what they are working on, and keep the private parts of life private.
7. Bloodwork and supplements to fix deficits and sharpen focus
In the video’s telling, health tech has made big leaps in ten years. Labs in many cities can break down your bloodwork and pinpoint what is missing, and some will build personalised supplement bundles to fix those deficits. You can also go at it proactively.
Better sleep, more focus and longer working hours are now available in pill form, the presenters say. They describe Adderall as common as Red Bull in Silicon Valley and Modafinil as the European equivalent, and note that supplements and nootropics are more mainstream than ever. This is a description of what the video sees, not medical advice.
8. Saunas and hyperbaric chambers
They installed a sauna at home four years ago and say they have not had a cold since, heading straight for the sauna when symptoms appear. They think saunas are underrated and cheaper than expected, with pre-built wooden ones from around $2,000. A private sauna also avoids what they call terrible sauna etiquette at gyms.
Hyperbaric chambers control the purity of oxygen and are said to help healing and rejuvenation. They were once the preserve of pro sports teams and high-end clinics, but production has increased, and a session now costs between $200 and $700.
9. Alkaline water
The benefits of alkaline water are heavily documented, naming fewer blood clots, better sleep and bone density.
There are two kinds of device. A countertop ionizer costs around $1,000 to $2,000, and the fancier option sits under the counter with its own faucet. A country, they add, should not be called developed if you cannot drink water straight from the sink.
10. Brain-enhancing apps
This one is aimed at anyone who feels stressed, sleeps badly, worries a lot or does not know what to do with their future. Meditation apps are everywhere, but the video’s view is that meditation only makes the brain stop the noise for a while. Turning down the volume on a problem does not make it go away.
You have to solve it once and for all. The pick is a tool built around five pillars of a good life: money, health, intellect, emotions and relations.
11. Modern-day country clubs
Smart people look for other smart people, and a network is one of the most valuable things you can build. Traditionally that meant paying fees to a country club.
The world has changed, and there are more select groups outside your local area. They name Sam Parr’s Hampton membership as a fit for entrepreneurs like them, and say there are organisations around the world for people interested in whatever you are passionate about. Find yours.
12. IVF and fertility
Fertility is a bigger industry than you imagine. It says that for the first time in history more than 50% of women are childless at 30, that the chances drop to a tenth after 35, and that natural conception is extremely unlikely by 40. These are the presenters’ claims.
Their conclusion is that you should not assume kids can wait. Smart people freeze embryos, so that when the time feels right they still have the choice. IVF data, they add, that lets parents select the embryo with the highest likelihood of proper development. This is a viewpoint from the video, not medical or personal advice.
13. Micro-schools for kids
In the presenters’ opinion, some parents are pulling children out of traditional school in droves because they do not want them shaped by political agendas, and that those agendas have reached private schools too. Their alternative is the micro-school.
Three or four families hire a private teacher together. The ratio of kids to teacher is far lower, each child gets proper attention, the teacher earns a higher wage and parents have more control over what is taught. This is the presenters’ perspective on a contested subject.
14. Super apps for services
In Dubai the presenters use Cafu, an app that refuels your car in your parking lot, and also washes it and changes oil, batteries or tires. Similar apps cover at-home spa treatments and haircuts, or handymen, gardening and pool cleaning.
Right now they are segmented. That is expected to change, with one well-designed app putting all services on the same screen.
15. Dopamine detox
This might not be a tool as such, but it gets you ahead. Book a house away from everyone, ideally in nature, put your phone on airplane mode under your pillow and just exist.
Your brain and hands will show withdrawal symptoms, and that is when you realise it really is the phone. Hike, sit in a forest, get in water, run around and play like you used to. Seventy-two hours, the video says, will do wonders and let you rest the way you are supposed to.
Bonus: If you are so smart, why do you still have to deal with this
One of their biggest breakthroughs came from a challenge they put to themselves: you are not as smart as you think, because if you were you would not have to deal with this right now. They take it personally and try to prove themselves wrong.
In practice that means solving a problem for good instead of for the day, and outsourcing a task to someone else so the freed-up time goes to where they have the most leverage. They say this thinking made them wealthy and happy.
Use the tools you have
The ending is simple: the way you live is in your own hands, so use the tools at your disposal to get ahead. It also asks viewers to name one tool they use that has made a real difference in their field, and to be specific.
FAQ
What tools do smart people use?
The list covers AI tools, home and business automation, off-the-grid infrastructure, health trackers, VPNs, social media for distribution, bloodwork and supplements, saunas and hyperbaric chambers, alkaline water, brain-enhancing apps, membership networks, fertility planning, micro-schools, service super apps and a dopamine detox.
How can AI make you more productive?
AI tools can turn you into a one-person army, covering text, research, visuals, voice and meeting notes, so you may not need to hire extra employees.
What is a dopamine detox?
In the video it means spending a few days in a quiet place in nature with your phone on airplane mode. 72 hours does wonders for your brain and lets you rest properly.
Why does the video recommend a VPN?
Because it argues the internet harvests personal data, and a VPN anonymises your activity with one click and helps protect you from hackers trying to steal card details.
What is a micro-school?
A micro-school is when three or four families hire a private teacher together. It lowers the ratio of kids per teacher and gives parents more control over what is taught.
What is the bonus challenge in the video?
Tell yourself you are not as smart as you think, because if you were you would not have to deal with this problem now. Then solve it for good or outsource it so you can focus where you have the most leverage.
Keep reading
- 15 Tools Rich People Use
- 15 Secrets RICH People Use to Get Everything in Life
- 15 Things Poor People Think Rich People Do (That They Actually Don’t)
