Chasing Views Won’t Make You Successful—But This Will

I've learned success isn’t about going viral—it’s about finding your own voice.

Image by Substack

My mom had just been diagnosed with cancer and I found it difficult to control my negative thoughts.

So I turned to writing.

Not to build an audience or make a name for myself, but to make sense of this confusing experience called life. Late at night, early in the morning, in between hospital visits — I poured my thoughts onto the page because it was the only thing that seemed to help.

Engagement wasn’t important. Metrics didn’t matter, either. At the time, I only had 120 followers on Medium and didn’t care how many people read my work.

Fast forward to 2024, and I’ve now built an audience of over 40,000 on Medium. More than enough to fill a football stadium. I have writers sending me emails every day. Asking how they can get more views, likes, and shares, with the eventual goal of becoming successful. Yet, if they want to build an audience, I always say the most important thing is finding your own voice.

Everything else is secondary.

That’s why I write in my private jou…