Why I chose Claude, and how to set it up if you do too

I didn’t choose Claude because it’s the most powerful. I didn’t choose it because of benchmarks, or because everyone in my industry uses it. I chose it because of principles.

That’s not a technical decision. That’s an alignment decision. And that’s the only kind I make.

When I read about how Anthropic thinks about what they’re building, it doesn’t contradict the way I think about what I’m building. They talk about AI being safe, being honest, being beneficial, not just capable. And I’m not interested in bringing something into my sacred work space, into my mornings, into my clients’ businesses, that operates from a different set of values than I do.

The business answer is: Claude performs well, the context window is generous, it reasons clearly. Fine. Those things matter.

But the alignment answer, the energetic truth, is that tools carry frequency. The intention behind what built them lives in how they behave. And I’d rather work with something built by people who are genuinely asking “is this good for humanity” than something built by people who are only asking “how do we win.”

For the next 7 days, you’re going to track one number. Not tasks. Not output. One thing — and you’re going to do it at exactly 5:00 PM, whether or not you feel “done.”

Part 1 — The alignment check (5 minutes)

Before you set anything up, sit with one question.

Am I choosing this tool from fear, or from alignment?

Fear sounds like: what if I pick wrong, what if I miss something, what if the other one is better, what if I’m late.

Alignment sounds like: the people who built this think about the work the way I think about the work.

If you’re choosing from fear, no tool will ever feel like enough. You’ll second-guess every model release. You’ll burn hours on comparisons. You’ll switch tools every six weeks. If you’re choosing from alignment, you stop second-guessing the moment a new model drops — because the question isn’t “is this still the best?” The question is “does this still align?”

I’m not telling you which one to choose. I’m asking you to notice how you’re choosing.

Part 2 — Set up Claude consciously (about 90 minutes, spread over a week)

Most setup guides race you through everything in a single sitting and wonder why the relationship never deepens. The same way it works with a person: presence builds presence, hurry builds noise. So we go slow on purpose.

Day 1. Create your account. Go to claude.ai. The free plan works for trying. If you know you’ll use it daily, Pro at $20/month is the floor — it removes the limits and unlocks Projects, which you’ll need.

Day 2. Turn on Memory. Settings → Memory → toggle on. Then write Claude a one-paragraph introduction to who you are. Not a feature list of your business. A you paragraph. Who you are. How you work. What you don’t want to lose. Write it from fullness, not from fear of getting bad outputs.

Day 3. Write your preferences. Settings → Profile → personalize Claude. This is your standing brief. Tell it how you speak. What you don’t want — hype, filler, motivational language. What tone you trust. Keep it short. You can always add more.

Day 4. Create your first Project. Not “all my work.” One area — the most important thing in your business right now. Add the two or three documents that hold the context. Write Project Instructions like you’re briefing a new team member you actually trust.

Day 5. Use it. Don’t add anything. No Gmail connection. No Calendar. No Drive. Just use what you’ve built for one full day. Notice what works. Notice what doesn’t.

Day 6. Adjust. Update your Memory, your preferences, your Project Instructions based on what Day 5 surfaced. The setup is a relationship, not a configuration.

Day 7. Then, and only then, consider connecting your other tools. And consider it as a question, not a default. Do I want Claude to see this? Does this expand the relationship or dilute it?

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You made a values-based decision. Honor it.

That's not naïve. That's sovereign.

The hardest part of choosing consciously isn't the choosing. It's the not-defending. Someone will tell you the other tool is better. A YouTube video will compare benchmarks and your tool won't win the round. A new model will drop. None of that touches an alignment decision. You chose what you chose because of what it stands for, and what it stands for hasn't changed.

The day you start defending your tool instead of using it is the day you forgot why you chose it. Come back here. Re-read Part 1. Notice if you're back in fear.

A new model drops and you feel the pull to switch. Or someone you respect tells you they use something else and you feel small. Or you're about to spend an hour on a feature comparison spreadsheet.

That's the moment. The answer isn't in the spreadsheet.