This resonated so much! Thank you very much for the shout-out too, appreciate you! I've learnt so much from you on here and your posts are all very interesting and thorough! It can be tough when you have a goal and others just take and leave or in the case you mentioned have the audacity to say something negative! I believe in your goal, it may feel like the long road but honestly this is the path where much reflection can be had, mistakes rectified, positioning yourself with clarity and not on a hype or rush.
For example on here, it does start out fast, people subscribe, they read, they like, comment then as time passes some stop like you said maybe life or they're building their own thing which is great, this is why I don't chase numbers, I know it can be easily done, there's people doing it, I've even helped someone get more subscribers but what we strive for are a community people not numbers, people who see the vision who subscribe to show support, to value the time and effort put in. I admit I've not read every person's work I've subscribed to as at the beginning I did sub for sub but then I stopped, I realised no, I want to subscribe to people who I can support, learn from, or at least read a different perspective on a topic. So yes your work caught me right from the beginning and I will continue to support it, if you need more support outside like on X, LinkedIn just say, you deserve it. Keep it up!✨️
C Simone, this means more than you probably realise.
And thank you again for being here consistently not just reading, but actually engaging with the ideas. That kind of presence is rare online.
You touched on something really important too: community vs numbers. Early on it’s easy to get caught up in growth metrics, subscriber counts, claps, impressions… but the longer you build, the more you realise the real value is the handful of people who genuinely see what you’re trying to do.
Those are the people who keep you steady when the noise fades.
I respect what you said about stepping away from the “sub for sub” mindset too. That’s real growth. Curating the voices you engage with makes the whole space healthier for everyone.
And I appreciate the offer to support beyond Substack — that kind of generosity says a lot about you.
We’re all building our paths here, just in different ways. I’m glad ours crossed.
Appreciate you Alex! Let's keep it going! You're my AI teacher on here and I'd be lost without your work trying to figure things out but you make it so much easier!
One day as you said you'll look back and laugh as you'll have surpassed even what you expect.
The thing I've learnt when it seems like a long road in business is to never give up, it's at that point that if you do, you could be missing out on the most life changing thing!
A quick nutshell real story- decades ago I ran a drama company with a uni friend, we had a show at Bloomsbury theatre and the day before only a few tickets had been sold, did we give up? NO! We took to the West End with our actors performed some of the scenes, engaged with passerby, handed out flyers, the night of the performance there were too many people, some had to stand throughout it. This was self-belief, we believed we could do and that right there is what we all need, no one can do it for us but we have our own self to believe in. When you believe in your vision, nothing will stop you! ✨️
Honestly, that’s exactly the kind of mindset most people never see behind anything that ends up working. From the outside people just see the full theatre they don’t see the day before when it looked like nobody was coming.
Going out to the West End, performing scenes, handing out flyers… that’s real builder energy right there. You created momentum instead of waiting for it. I respect that a lot.
And you’re right about the long road. Most of the time the moment people quit is exactly the moment where things were about to turn they just couldn’t see it yet.
Also, thank you for trusting my writing enough to call it helpful. That means a lot. Half the time I’m just thinking out loud while I build and hoping it helps someone else make sense of this fast-moving AI world too.
I’m glad you’re here on the journey with me. Let’s keep going. ✨
Beautifully written
thanks
This resonated so much! Thank you very much for the shout-out too, appreciate you! I've learnt so much from you on here and your posts are all very interesting and thorough! It can be tough when you have a goal and others just take and leave or in the case you mentioned have the audacity to say something negative! I believe in your goal, it may feel like the long road but honestly this is the path where much reflection can be had, mistakes rectified, positioning yourself with clarity and not on a hype or rush.
For example on here, it does start out fast, people subscribe, they read, they like, comment then as time passes some stop like you said maybe life or they're building their own thing which is great, this is why I don't chase numbers, I know it can be easily done, there's people doing it, I've even helped someone get more subscribers but what we strive for are a community people not numbers, people who see the vision who subscribe to show support, to value the time and effort put in. I admit I've not read every person's work I've subscribed to as at the beginning I did sub for sub but then I stopped, I realised no, I want to subscribe to people who I can support, learn from, or at least read a different perspective on a topic. So yes your work caught me right from the beginning and I will continue to support it, if you need more support outside like on X, LinkedIn just say, you deserve it. Keep it up!✨️
C Simone, this means more than you probably realise.
And thank you again for being here consistently not just reading, but actually engaging with the ideas. That kind of presence is rare online.
You touched on something really important too: community vs numbers. Early on it’s easy to get caught up in growth metrics, subscriber counts, claps, impressions… but the longer you build, the more you realise the real value is the handful of people who genuinely see what you’re trying to do.
Those are the people who keep you steady when the noise fades.
I respect what you said about stepping away from the “sub for sub” mindset too. That’s real growth. Curating the voices you engage with makes the whole space healthier for everyone.
And I appreciate the offer to support beyond Substack — that kind of generosity says a lot about you.
We’re all building our paths here, just in different ways. I’m glad ours crossed.
Let’s keep going. ✨
Appreciate you Alex! Let's keep it going! You're my AI teacher on here and I'd be lost without your work trying to figure things out but you make it so much easier!
One day as you said you'll look back and laugh as you'll have surpassed even what you expect.
The thing I've learnt when it seems like a long road in business is to never give up, it's at that point that if you do, you could be missing out on the most life changing thing!
A quick nutshell real story- decades ago I ran a drama company with a uni friend, we had a show at Bloomsbury theatre and the day before only a few tickets had been sold, did we give up? NO! We took to the West End with our actors performed some of the scenes, engaged with passerby, handed out flyers, the night of the performance there were too many people, some had to stand throughout it. This was self-belief, we believed we could do and that right there is what we all need, no one can do it for us but we have our own self to believe in. When you believe in your vision, nothing will stop you! ✨️
That story is powerful, Simone.
Honestly, that’s exactly the kind of mindset most people never see behind anything that ends up working. From the outside people just see the full theatre they don’t see the day before when it looked like nobody was coming.
Going out to the West End, performing scenes, handing out flyers… that’s real builder energy right there. You created momentum instead of waiting for it. I respect that a lot.
And you’re right about the long road. Most of the time the moment people quit is exactly the moment where things were about to turn they just couldn’t see it yet.
Also, thank you for trusting my writing enough to call it helpful. That means a lot. Half the time I’m just thinking out loud while I build and hoping it helps someone else make sense of this fast-moving AI world too.
I’m glad you’re here on the journey with me. Let’s keep going. ✨
Thanks for the shout out, much appreciated!
And love the John Nash Beautiful Mind thing!
Looking forward to reading more of your work