I really sucked on LinkedIn, until I made this one dramatic change:
I starting writing for myself, not my audience.
Social media might be the most destructive invention mankind has ever unleased on the world.
–> It uses our innate need for belonging and approval against us.
–> It compels us to care what complete strangers think.
–> It thrives on our misery and isolation.
For me, LinkedIn is my drug of choice – I’m not anywhere else.
And while it hasn’t always been easy, it has also been a gift.
–> It has helped me find a voice I didn’t know I had.
–> It has given me an outlet for a creative side I had lost.
–> It has helped me make real, genuine friends (I’m not good at that).
If this sounds like a fairy tale, I don’t blame you.
In the beginning, I’d spend hours crafting posts about things I thought my audience wanted to hear.
But they landed with a thud.
It’s crushing when you spend that much time sharing ideas only to find nobody cares.
I almost gave up many times.
Then I said, fck it.
If nobody is reading, I might as well write about what I want to write about.
I started writing the posts that POURED out of me.
Instead of the ones I had to wrestle to the page.
And guess what?
It resonated.
People can feel the difference.
As my confidence grew, I found my voice.
I admit it’s still not always easy.
I still get caught up caring what strangers think.
It often feels like a toxic love affair.
Like I’m playing a game, and only one of us knows the rules.
And I’m sure I’ll be back on here someday soon, ranting about how this place is destroying my confidence and self-worth.
But today, I’m grateful for everyone that has read this far.
If you’re struggling to find your place here, try writing about something that you really care about.
It doesn’t matter what it is, or what people think.
Maybe your ideas just need a home.
