The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex

Episode: The AI Skills That Will Make You Rich in 2025

Guest: Alicia Lyttle (AI Consultant & Educator)

Date: December 12, 2025
Host: Paul Alex Espinoza

Episode Overview

In this episode, Paul Alex sits down with Alicia Lyttle—an AI consultant, early digital marketer, and online educator—to discuss the AI skills set to be most lucrative in 2025. The conversation explores Alicia’s entrepreneurial journey, actionable AI strategies for beginners and business owners, and a candid discussion of the opportunities and risks AI brings to the workforce.

Alicia delivers practical advice for integrating AI, debunking myths around its difficulty, and shares how anyone can level up—regardless of background—by becoming AI literate. The tone is motivational, relatable, and rich with actionable insights for both aspiring entrepreneurs and established professionals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Alicia’s Entrepreneurial Backstory & Pivot to AI

• Early Beginnings: Alicia started in digital marketing in 2000, building online courses before social media existed. She reflects on her first product launch:
  • "In our first year, we made half a million dollars online. I learned that the money is in the list very early on." (02:02–02:38, Alicia)
• Learning by Doing: Alicia emphasizes the importance of embracing imperfection and learning on the go:
  • "I was of the mindset that it didn't have to be perfect to make profits. Let's just go. Let's just launch and then clean it up." (04:59, Alicia)
• Parental Influence: Her entrepreneurial spirit and drive to "just do it" came from her mom (a cleaning business owner) and her “pivot mindset” stems from being open to change and tendency to follow passion.

2. Embracing Change & The Value of Pivots

• Alicia stresses her willingness to pivot as trends shift:
  • "What I feel is trending and hot, and then I have a passion for, I really go for… When ChatGPT came out in 2022… I was like, oh, this is a game changer. I'm pivoting again." (10:28–11:21, Alicia)
• Advice for Entrepreneurs Feeling Stuck:
  • “When we find something that we're passionate about and create, we can be creative... Sometimes we call it the shiny object syndrome… but when you're making a business decision, it becomes a pivot.” (13:42, Alicia)

3. Becoming an AI Leader: Study, Application, Teaching

• Self-Education Sprint: Alicia invested two weeks learning ChatGPT intensively:
  • “I went on like a sabbatical…I just learned ChatGPT… and when I came out of those two weeks, I said, this is game changing.” (14:32–16:03, Alicia)
• Teaching Entrepreneurs: Alicia’s approach leverages demonstrations over theory, teaching people to use AI through live, practical examples:
  • “It’s all demonstrations. It’s not PowerPoint. It’s, let me open up ChatGPT and show you how to do this.” (19:08–20:43, Alicia)

4. Practical, Beginner-Friendly AI Onboarding

• AI for Everyone: Alicia insists AI is accessible to all ages and tech levels—even those with minimal digital skills:
  • "Absolutely [my mom can use it]. In our consultant program, we have a lot of retirees... it's so interesting." (23:15–23:26, Alicia)
• Step-by-Step for Security: She introduces privacy settings and multi-factor authentication for beginners:
  • “Go to Settings, go to Multi Factor Authentication… turn on your Multi Factor Authentication...then go to Data Privacy...turn off ‘improve the model for everyone’.” (23:26–24:40, Alicia)
• Prompting for Non-Technical Users: Use dictation/microphone and “brain dump” techniques to create powerful prompts:
  • “Push the dictate button and do a brain dump… Then say, 'rewrite this prompt for ChatGPT for clarity and impact.'...'rewrite this to turn it into a mega prompt.' Copy, paste it, and watch the magic happen.” (24:41–26:13, Alicia)

5. AI in Business: Speed, Leverage, and Value

• AI = Speed and Efficiency: AI reduces project times from weeks to days, especially for content, presentations, sales copy, etc.
  • "To launch a new course...would take me six weeks. Now we're three days at the most… for eight pages in a funnel. Done." (21:53–22:16, Alicia)
• Biggest Needle Mover: Identify automation opportunities for pain points—outsource to AI and measure the impact.
  • “Just do one thing that increases their revenue or decreases production time.” (20:53, Alicia)
• Social Proof, Instant Feedback: Entrepreneurs provide quick testimonials and results, underscoring rapid success with AI tools.

6. The Future Workforce & AI Literacy

• AI Literacy as Essential: LinkedIn data shows AI literacy is the #1 skill in demand:
  • "LinkedIn said, based on their data...number one is AI literacy...number one job on the rise is being an AI engineer. Number two is an AI consultant, which is what I am." (30:10–30:36, Alicia)
• Workforce Transformation: Teams will be composed of humans plus AI agents as collaborators.
  • "In the future, teams are going to look completely different. In our business, they already look different. We have AI agents integrated and working with our team." (33:15–35:15, Alicia)
• Education Shift: AI training is being mandated in schools and required by employers:
  • "There's executive orders now to put AI in K through 12th grade… [employers ask] ‘How can we make sure that every person we hire is AI literate?’" (35:19–36:34, Alicia)

7. Broad Accessibility with Accredited Certification

• Alicia offers a CPD-accredited AI consultant program—suitable for all, delivering a robust credential valued by corporations:
  • “When people take our course, it’s not Alicia certified you, but it’s certified through an accredited institution. And that makes all the difference.” (37:03–38:03, Alicia)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI Accessibility:
  “You don't need to be a prompt engineer to use this tool. Just push the dictate button and do a brain dump.” – Alicia Lyttle (24:41)

• On the Speed of Change:
  “It's not moving at the speed of light anymore, it's moving at the speed of AI.” – Alicia Lyttle (19:08)

• On Leveraging AI as a Coach:
  “Every single coach needs to have AI tools for their clients. They need to ride the wave… offer your clients ‘AI Alicia’ that they can talk to when you're unavailable.” – Alicia Lyttle (30:10–32:27)

• On AI Literacy Becoming Table Stakes:
  “If you’re not AI literate, you’re already left behind.” – Alicia Lyttle (30:36)

• On Team Structure in the AI Era:
  “The future of work is us working with AI agents together as a team.” – Alicia Lyttle (33:15)

• Words of Encouragement:
  “Say ‘yes’ to leveling up with AI and you'll see that everything for you starts to change in such a positive way… bring your friends and family… Friends don’t leave friends behind in the AI revolution.” – Alicia Lyttle (40:56–41:52)

Important Segments & Timestamps

• Alicia’s Digital Start & First Big Win: [02:02–02:38]
• Embracing Imperfect Action: [04:59]
• Pivots & Passion-Driven Entrepreneurship: [10:28–11:21]
• How She Mastered and Transitioned to AI: [14:32–16:03]
• Teaching AI Through Demonstrations: [19:08–20:43]
• Beginner-Friendly AI Setup & Security: [23:26–24:40]
• Prompting with Voice & Brain Dump Method: [24:41–26:13]
• Practical Business Impact of AI: [20:53–22:16]
• AI Literacy as #1 In-Demand Skill / Job Market: [30:10–30:36]
• The Future of Work: Human+AI Teams: [33:15–35:15]
• AI in Education & Corporate Upskilling: [35:19–36:34]
• Details on Alicia’s Accredited AI Certification Program: [37:03–38:03]
• Rapid, Practical Encouragement to Embrace AI: [40:56–41:52]

Alicia’s Resources & Where to Find Her

• Instagram: @AliciaLyttle
• Website: alicial.com
• Free (monthly) AI Marketing Summit: AIMarketingSummit2025.com

Final Words of Encouragement

"You got this. That's the first thing. And it's easier than you think it is… Say ‘yes’ to leveling up with AI and you'll see that everything for you starts to change in such a positive way… Friends don’t leave friends behind in the AI revolution. We're in the AI revolution right now. So bring along those people you care about and help them as well."
— Alicia Lyttle (40:56–41:52)

For starters and seasoned pros alike, this episode is a must-listen if you want to future-proof your career, maximize business efficiency, and ride the AI wave—in simple, actionable steps.