Half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.

Showing up

Last year, I started writing on LinkedIn. The goal was simple: learn, share, and build a personal brand. To be honest, I have always felt a bit cringe about posting online — but I wanted to challenge myself to get over that.

I have seen how sharing things and building a personal brand can completely transform one’s career. It opens doors that people never thought possible. A friend of mine — you may know her — grew a successful YouTube channel, and it opened a door to a new career.

It can be tough.

So I also started writing. Behind those seemingly short LinkedIn posts are weekends and nights that I spent behind my laptop, trying to learn, to share, and to grow.

If you write online, you know it can be tough.

Have you ever spent hours on a post and nothing happens? That has been the case for many of my posts.

I never grow fast, I don’t know about others, but me, I just don’t. I never went viral. I never had that overnight growth. Just one post after another. But this “just keep going” mentality has its own challenges, especially when it starts to affect your mental health.

The Mental Health Bit

Sometimes I am consistent. Sometimes I just need a break.

While social media is great, it can definitely mess with your mental health.

Sometimes I wonder what people think of me — my colleagues, my boss, my friends. Am I a cringe person for posting online?

And then when a post performs, you get that dopamine hit. It feels good. But if you let yourself get addicted and start chasing that dopamine level, it gets unhealthy. I’ve had days where I felt low, asking myself: What’s the point of writing if no one reads?

I think if we are dopamine addicted and only want that virality, and we end up only trying to get that dopamine level high, then that is quite bitter.

These feelings stayed with me until I realized one thing.

Letting Go

But something changed. It’s better now. I don’t care so much about what people think, or how many likes I get anymore. (Or maybe I’m just used to the feeling, lol.)

What people think of me is not my business.

A post that performs, fine. It does not perform; that is fine too. If we do it because we want to grow and become successful and if we actually like to share things, then it is all fine!

The giver mentality

I learned this from Simon Sinek. He says we should always show up with a giver’s heart.

Before you go to the stage or hit “post”, remind yourself :

You have something really valuable to give to your audience.

What is it that you have to give to your audience?

If your words help even one person, then it doesn’t matter if one or 100 are in the room. It is worth it.

Real Connections Happen

Along the way, I have met amazing people, opportunities, and real connections do happen too. I got job offers, I got invited to talk at events, got good feedback on my presentations.

One time, I wrote about Ikigai, AI and the meaning of line - did not expect anyone to read it, but a guy messaged me. We ended up having deep conversations about life that I’d never imagined having with a stranger online.

That is the kind of thing that gives me energy and keeps me going.

Don’t quit

Building great things like a personal brand takes time. I think writing in public is not about showing off engagement or chasing viral moments. It is about showing that you are human enough to keep going — even when no one is there and it sucks.

Most people quit too early. I did it too before. Now, when I feel low, I remind myself of what Steve Jobs said: