What happens when AI can write your emails, create your content, and make your marketing sound like everyone else’s? How do you build trust and stand out when original thinking becomes increasingly difficult to recognize?
Best-selling author and SaaS entrepreneur Ryan Levesque discusses his new book, Return to Real. He explains why authentic storytelling, original thinking, and human connection are becoming increasingly valuable in an AI-driven world.
Ryan shares how an embarrassing email confession opened major business opportunities and why authentic storytelling matters more than ever. He also discusses his Category of One framework, the future of nonfiction books, and a dangerous black bear encounter that changed his perspective on confronting problems.
But before we proceed, don’t forget that this episode is brought to you by Video Case Story, collecting, crafting, and delivering customer stories. Learn more about using case stories to improve AI search visibility at videocasestory.com/youtubeai.
How an Embarrassing Email Confession Created Major Business Opportunities
Ryan’s first two best-selling books were written with the help of ghostwriters. With Return to Real, he took a different approach and wrote every word himself. This decision reflected a larger shift in how he wanted to communicate with his audience and represent his own thoughts.
For seven years, Ryan’s company had sent emails under his name that were written by other writers and, more recently, AI. Some messages were sent without his review or approval. Frustrated that the content no longer reflected his voice, he sent an email titled “An Embarrassing Confession” and committed to personally writing his future emails.
Ryan also explains why low-effort AI-generated content can become an insult to its audience. He calls it “work slop,” describing situations where someone spends seconds generating content that requires considerably more time from another person to consume. His argument isn’t against using AI, but against replacing original thinking and meaningful communication with content that lacks personal effort.
Why Storytelling and the Neuroscience of Trust Matter After AI
Ryan believes storytelling is the most valuable post-AI skill because of its ability to create emotional connections between people. Drawing on his neuroscience background, he discusses how the brain responds to experiences that capture attention and establish trust.
He contrasts dopamine, which is associated with reward and attention-driven behaviors, with oxytocin, a hormone involved in social bonding and connection. While digital platforms have spent years competing for attention, Ryan predicts that trust and belonging will become increasingly important in the next decade.
Ian connects this discussion to the work of Dr. Paul Zak, who has studied the relationship between neuroscience and storytelling. Their conversation explores why emotionally engaging stories can help audiences feel connected to someone they have never met.
How to Become a Powerful Storyteller
For Ryan, becoming a powerful storyteller requires understanding how the audience experiences a story. Rather than focusing entirely on personal achievements, he encourages storytellers to:
- Include specific details that make an experience memorable
- Introduce unexpected moments that hold the audience’s interest
- Help readers or viewers recognize themselves in the story
- Connect personal experiences to lessons the audience can apply
- Keep the audience’s perspective at the center of the message
These principles also influence how Ryan approaches writing. He believes stories should do more than entertain. They should help people understand something meaningful about their own lives or businesses.
Why Nonfiction Books Must Change and What a Black Bear Taught Ryan
Ryan believes traditional prescriptive nonfiction books are becoming less valuable as AI makes instructional information easier to access. Someone looking for basic guidance on starting a podcast or building a quiz funnel can now receive answers without reading hundreds of pages.
Rather than relying entirely on instructional content, Ryan encourages nonfiction authors to borrow storytelling techniques from fiction. By combining engaging narratives with practical lessons, authors can create experiences that go beyond information alone. This approach is central to how he wrote Return to Real.
One of the book’s most memorable stories comes from Ryan’s experience on his Vermont farm. While checking his livestock near dusk, he encountered a 300-pound black bear approaching his beehives. With only a walking stick, he managed to scare the animal away and initially believed the danger had passed.
Days later, the bear returned and destroyed 24 beehives, killing tens of thousands of honeybees and wiping out a year’s worth of work. Ryan realized that simply hoping the problem would disappear had allowed it to become much worse.
The experience became a metaphor for the difficult decisions people avoid in business and life. Ryan explains that problems left unaddressed often return with greater consequences. That realization influenced important decisions he later made in both his personal and professional life.
How to Become a Category of One in an AI-Driven Market
As more businesses rely on similar AI tools and content strategies, standing out becomes increasingly difficult. Ryan introduces his Category of One framework in Return to Real to help entrepreneurs identify what makes their perspective and approach different from everyone else’s.
The framework brings together several elements:
- Mega trends: The larger changes influencing markets and industries
- Unconventional approaches: Different ways of solving problems within those changing markets
- Personal motivations: The reasons behind choosing a particular business, including personal purpose and financial motivations
- Critical combo: The unusual combination of life experiences that shapes someone’s unique perspective
Ryan connects this framework to a permaculture principle called the edge effect. In nature, the areas where two ecosystems meet often contain the greatest diversity. He believes businesses can apply a similar principle by combining knowledge and experiences from seemingly unrelated fields.
Why Authenticity Matters More in an AI-Driven World
As AI makes content production faster and easier, Ryan believes businesses need to invest more effort into the qualities that make their communication distinctive. His experiences demonstrate how original thinking, personal stories, and meaningful relationships can create opportunities beyond simply publishing more content.
For entrepreneurs, marketers, authors, and business owners, Return to Real offers a perspective on standing out without losing the human connection behind their message.
Watch the full episode of The Garlic Marketing Show to hear Ryan Levesque discuss his new book, Return to Real, and the importance of authentic storytelling in an AI-driven world. Discover how his Category of One framework helps businesses stand out and why human connection and trust matter more than ever.