The Power of the Journey: Pickleball, Content Creation, and the AI Search Revolution - Zane Ford's Lesson

Zane Ford’s Lesson on Posting Before You’re Ready

Professional pickleball player Zane Ford shared a candid confession on his Instagram. In an interview, Ford urged fellow athletes to start posting videos and documenting their journey now, even if they’re not yet at the top of their game. He admitted he hadn’t done so himself when he was coming up, and he regrets it. Like many aspiring pros, he hesitated. 

Why? Perhaps due to fear of failure and vulnerability – “What if I post now while I clearly suck… I’m not pro yet… what if I quit or get injured or just not make it?” I don’t know exactly why Zane didn’t because he did not say, but I know for a fact that these doubts are keeping many pickleball pros and entrepreneurs from sharing early on. Here’s what is key: In hindsight, Ford says he wishes he had started creating content from the very beginning because by now he’d have a huge head start.

It’s like Bitcoin. We can liken consistent content creation to investing – small contributions over time would have compounded into something big by now. It’s an eye-opening anecdote about missed opportunity, and it rings true far beyond one athlete’s experience.

Ford’s advice strikes a chord: whether you’re a pickleball player chasing the pro tour or an entrepreneur launching a new paddle brand or club, the power is in the journey. Posting from the start – documenting the grind, the progress, the setbacks, the small wins – is absolutely the way to do it. Why? Because audiences love a good origin story. When you eventually deliver results (whether that’s winning a championship or building a successful business), your followers have a treasure trove of content to lookback on. The early footage of you “clearly sucking” at the beginning becomes part of a compelling narrative arc – a receipts archive proving how far you’ve come. And even if the ultimate goal doesn’t pan out, building in public isn’t a loss; it can pivot into a different opportunity, or at least serve as inspiration and cautionary tale for others.

‍

Content Is Capital: How Human Storytelling Compounds in the AI-Optimized Era

There’s a reason content gurus often say “Document, don’t just create.” Sharing your process and growth works almost like compound interest: small posts build a loyal audience, which leads to bigger posts and a bigger audience, snowballing over time. People are naturally drawn to authenticity and progression. They want to root for someone on the rise and feel invested in their success. When athletes and entrepreneurs pullback the curtain on their day-to-day struggles and triumphs, it humanizes them. Fans start to see a person, not just a polished brand, and that personal connection creates a community of supporters who are truly engaged.

In the pickleball world, for example, many college players have become social media stars by sharing their passion and day-to-day grind on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube – building personal brands that attract sponsorship deals even before they turn pro. Social media has become an essential platform for these athletes to share their journey, build a fanbase, and secure financial support through sponsorships or NIL deals. In other words, documenting the journey can directly translate into opportunities and income.

Crucially, this “journey content” creates a durable asset. Each practice vlog, each behind-the-scenes photo, each candid reflection is apiece of intellectual property that works for you 24/7. Months or years down the line, someone discovering you will have a rich backlog to explore, which deepens their connection to your story. If and when you reach a major milestone– say, winning a big tournament or launching that state-of-the-art pickleball facility – you haven’t just arrived out of nowhere. Instead, your audience has been along for the ride the whole way, which makes the victory their victory, too.

‍

From Google to ChatGPT: A Paradigm Shift in Search and How People Discover(and Consume) Information

There’s another massive reason to start sharing authentic content early: the way people find information (and find you) is undergoing a seismic shift. For the past two decades, getting discovered online was largely about winning Google searches – ranking high for the right keywords so that people click through to your site or profile. Creators and businesses have long played the SEO game of optimizing titles, tags, and thumbnails to please algorithms. But here in 2025, we’re at the cusp of a paradigm shift in how humans search for and consume content. Users are increasingly turning from traditional search engines to AI-powered assistants and chatbots to answer their questions.

The numbers tell a striking story: a 2024 survey estimated that 13 million Americans already use generative AI (like ChatGPT) as their preferred search engine, and that number is projected to explode to 90 million by 2027. Gartner forecasts that traditional search volume will drop 25% by 2026 as more consumers embrace AI-driven search interfaces. In fact, ChatGPT’s website skyrocketed to become the 5th most-visited site in the world by early 2025, racking up nearly 5 billion visits per month.

This shift isn’t just a fad – it signals a fundamental change in user behavior. As one tech writer observed, “Google was designed to send users elsewhere as fast as possible; ChatGPT is designed to generate responses as helpfully as possible.” Users enjoy the convenience of getting a direct, synthesized answer in a conversation with AI, instead of combing through multiple websites.

What does this mean for content creators and aspiring pickleball influencers? It means the old keyword-and-algorithm SEO playbook is evolving. In the age of AI “answer engines,” getting your content discovered is less about blue links and more about becoming part of the answers themselves. Marketers have started calling this new game GEO – Generative Engine Optimization – optimizing content so that AI chatbots will refer to it when composing answers.

Ensuring you’re visible in this new search landscape circles back to the importance of having a rich digital footprint. AI models can only draw on what’s been written, recorded, and fed into their training data or what current web results show. If you’ve never shared your journey or thoughts online, the bots simply have nothing to work with regarding you. But if you’ve been steadily producing blogs, videos, social posts, interviews – all that content not only builds a human audience, it also seeds the AI knowledgebase. In effect, by creating content today, you’re future-proofing your relevance for the AI-driven search of tomorrow.

‍

Authenticity Beats Clickbait in the AI Era

Importantly, the rise of AI search doesn’t just change how content is found – it’s also changing what content gets rewarded. In the era of chatbots and smart assistants, authenticity and originality are turning into superpowers for creators. Why? Because if an AI can synthesize a generic answer to a common question, there’s little reason for a user to click on ten different cookie-cutter articles anymore. The kind of content that will still draw human eyeballs (and thus still be worth creating) is the kind that offers something the AI can’t – namely, personal perspective, novel insight, or a distinctive voice.

One SEO expert bluntly advised: “The SEOs who will continue to capture traffic are the ones focused on producing unmistakably human content – the kind AI simply can’t replicate.” In other words, trying to beat the algorithms with gimmicky click-bait or formulaic posts is a losing battle; the winners will be those who double down on real human experience and creativity.

‍

Hitting an Ace in the Pickleball Creator Economy

All these trends converge to create a unique opportunity for the pickleball community. The sport is exploding in popularity, and with that growth comes a burgeoning pickleball creator economy. Players, coaches, and entrepreneurs who get in the game early – both on the court and online –can ride this wave by being the voices and brands that new fans discover first.

By the time your product or venue is ready for prime time, you’ll have a built-in audience eager to support it because they’ve been along for the ride. Plus, your openness can set you apart in an industry – people tend to trust the brand that showed them the hard work over one that just suddenly appears with glossy marketing.

In short, by embracing content creation early, you aren’t just engaging the current community – you’re staking your claim in the future landscape of the sport.

‍

Conclusion: Serving Up an Authentic Advantage

Zane Ford’s hindsight advice to “start posting now” speaks to a universal opportunity. Whether you’re rallying on the court or hustling in business, consistent content isn’t just marketing fluff – it’s an investment in building real connection, credibility, and longevity.

So if you’re passionate about something – be it pickleball, entrepreneurship, or any creative venture – don’t wait until you’ve perfected your craft or achieved a certain status to let the world see you. Start that Substack, hit record on your phone, write that blog, share those unpolished training sessions. Embrace the fact that right now you clearly suck at some things; everyone does at the beginning. That’s exactly why your story will resonate, and why it will matter down the line when you don’t suck anymore.

In the age of AI, content creation is less about gaming the system and more about showcasing the one thing algorithms can’t replace: your unique journey.

‍

----

Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this kind of pickleball-business-mindset-WorldWeLiveIn kinda content, you'll find more of my musings on my personal Substack: geoffbourgeois.substack.com