Followers Don’t Matter — Focus On This Instead

Fulfillment doesn't come from going viral, but from knowing you've built something real.

Photo by Substack

When I first started writing, I stared at my notifications for countless hours.

I vividly remember refreshing the page, seeing the views go up, and feeling a surge of pride coursing through my veins. It seemed like proof that I was on the right path, and every viral article meant I was getting closer to “success.”

But the more I chased numbers, the emptier I felt. No amount of likes or shares could fill the gap that opened up inside each time I hit “publish.” And so, every milestone I hit seemed to bring me back to square one, leaving me wondering if I was missing something more meaningful in all the noise.

So I tried something different.

I started writing as though I was sending messages in a bottle downstream. I didn’t know where they’d end up or who might read them, but that didn’t matter. Nor did I care. Instead, I had faith that, in time, my articles would reach the people who needed to read them most.

If you’re reading this, I’m guessing you know what it feels like…