When ChatGPT Failed Me… I Rage-Typed a Prompt That Changed Everything
All I wanted was to be done for the day. Instead, I built a smarter way to use AI for content that actually works.
You know that feeling when you’re this close to being done for the day… And then a simple task goes full gremlin on you?
I just needed to write a quick email. One. Last. Email. Then I could go reward myself with a little cozy espionage, herbal poisonings, and MaoMao brilliance. (Apothecary Diaries fans, you get it.)
But ChatGPT?
Decided to serve me the personality of a cardboard box in a suit:
“Dear valued customer…”
Excuse me?
I typed, deleted, re-typed 27 times. (No exaggeration. Yes, I counted.)
Then I snapped. I typed:
“Why can’t YOU just ASK ME what you need to know?”
I meant it as a sarcastic rant.
But… it kinda worked.
the painful truth about AI prompts
If you’ve ever used ChatGPT (or Claude, or Gemini, or whatever today’s shiny tool is), you know the story:
You ask:
“Write a sales email”
“Help with my About page”
“Give me content ideas”
And what you get?
A warmed-over LinkedIn post from 2017 with the energy of beige paint.
We’re told AI is powerful—but most of us are getting the output equivalent of a shrug and a generic template.
So we compensate. We layer in persona details. We say things like:
“Act like a CMO with 20 years of experience, one espresso shot from a breakdown, and a thing for bold copy.”
Sometimes it helps. Mostly, it doesn’t.
Until I rage-typed my way into an actual insight.
the accidental genius of “ask me instead”
That sarcastic line?
“Why can’t YOU just ask me what you need to know?”
Wasn’t meant to be smart.
But it was.
Because the problem wasn’t the prompt.
The problem was the entire interaction model.
We assume we need to perfect our request to get a useful result. But what if, instead, the AI could prompt us?
Ask better questions. Fill in the gaps. Sharpen the idea before trying to execute it.
So I started digging.
And a few nights later—while procrastinating said email and doomscrolling Reddit—I stumbled on a prompt that did exactly that.
It flipped the script: ChatGPT would interview you before writing anything.
I tried it.
And whoa. It worked.
But the prompt wasn’t really in my voice. So I did what any clarity-obsessed digital detective would do:
I made my own version (because of course I did)
The Reddit version? Solid.
But I wanted one that:
Talked like me (read: sass with strategy)
Worked across platforms (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini)
Gave me the option to move fast or go deep
And felt like a smart assistant, not a templated bot
So I created Prism—my personal AI prompt optimizer.
(Yes, she has a name. What? Yours doesn’t? Fix that.)
Prism’s job is simple: Take your vague, jumbled, chaotic ask… Ask a couple of smart questions… And turn it into a crystal-clear prompt that actually gets good results.
She’s like a strategist in your browser, with just enough snark to keep things honest.
how it actually works
Let’s take a real example:
You:
“Help me write a sales email for my new offer”
Old ChatGPT:
“Hello, I’m excited to tell you about our services…”
Prism:
“What’s your offer? Who’s it for? What pain point are they desperate to solve? And how do you talk when you’re not trying to sound professional?”
You answer. She builds a better prompt. Then you feed that into ChatGPT—and boom: The email doesn’t suck anymore.
This works for:
Launch content
Email funnels
About pages
YouTube titles
Product descriptions
Course intros
Blog outlines
And yes… even meal planning
Prism doesn’t write the thing. She helps you ask for it better.
system mystic bonus: you can use her too
I made this Prism for me, but if you want a smarter way to get AI to stop handing you beige copy and start actually helping?
You can have her.
Here’s the full System Mystic version of the Prism prompt—remixed, irreverent, and ready to drop into ChatGPT:
👉 Click here to use Prism in ChatGPT (Note: You’ll need ChatGPT Plus to create your own custom GPTs.)
Or if you’re a DIY kind of human you can copy/paste her instructions into your own setup.
final thought: it’s not about prompts, it’s about clarity
The magic here isn’t that I made a cool prompt. (Though I did. Obviously.)
The magic is this:
Most people try to be clever with AI. But the real win is being clear.
Prism forces you to slow down and actually figure out what the hell you’re trying to do. She won’t let you off the hook until you’ve asked yourself better questions.
And when you do?
The output improves. The overwhelm fades. And you might even get to your anime faster.
try it + tell me what happens
Paste in the Prism prompt.
Ask her something vague.
Let her interrogate you like a very chill creative director with a glittery pen.
Then come back and tell me what she helped you create—I’m collecting stories for Prism V2.
Because I don’t think this is just about prompts.
I think it’s about finally getting honest with yourself about what you want, why you’re doing it, and how to ask for it out loud.
And maybe also… finally writing that one email.
Want me to build you a custom prompt tool like Prism? Or help you figure out WTF is wrong with your website? You know where to find me. 😉
Stay curious, stay coherent ✨
Lisa
Your resident System Mystic @ B Unlimited
Creator of Prism + other small digital rebellions