Welcome to the Squadron
After this drill, you have joined the community, introduced yourself, and have one accountability partner for the course.
Why this matters
Completion rates for self-paced courses are typically 3–10%. Courses with active community participation have completion rates 4–6x higher. The single highest-leverage thing you can do to finish this course is to commit publicly. This drill is short, but it's one of the most important: the moment you introduce yourself, you've made a social commitment. Social commitments are one of the few forces strong enough to override the natural drift toward distraction.
How to do it
- 1
Join the AI Training Grounds Discord using the invite link from your course dashboard
If you do not yet have access, email magnus@smarason.is with your purchase confirmation. You'll receive the invite within 24 hours.
- 2
Read the #welcome and #how-to-use-this-server channels before posting
Two minutes of orientation saves an hour of confusion.
- 3
Post your introduction in #introductions
Use the guide prompt below to write your introduction if you're unsure what to say. Keep it to 3–4 sentences: who you are, what you do, what you hope to build.
- 4
Find one other student in a similar role or context and send them a direct message
Tell them you're at the same stage. Ask if they want to check in once a week. This is your accountability partner.
The prompt
I'm joining an AI course community and I need to write a short introduction post. Help me write a 3-4 sentence introduction for a Discord server. Include: 1. My name or handle 2. What I do professionally (I'll tell you) 3. One thing I'm hoping to build or learn from this course (use my capstone brief if I share it) Keep it friendly, professional, and specific enough to connect with others in similar situations. Avoid generic phrases like "excited to be here."
Success criteria
- ✓You joined the Discord server
- ✓You posted an introduction in #introductions
- ✓You sent at least one DM to a potential accountability partner
- ✓You have the server bookmarked for easy return
Common mistakes
Writing a generic introduction ("Hi, I'm excited to be here")
→ Use your capstone brief. A specific introduction ("I'm building a tool for teachers to grade assignments with AI") gets responses. "Hi I'm excited to be here" does not.
Skipping the accountability partner step
→ This is one of the highest-leverage steps in Module 0. Even one check-in per week dramatically increases your completion probability. Don't skip it.
Never returning to the Discord after the introduction
→ Post your capstone URL in #show-your-work when you deploy Module 3. That's what the channel is for.