From Under 100 Followers to 380K: 6 Perspective Hacks

After 9 months writing online:

• I had under 100 followers
• I wrote blogs no one read
• I was ready to give up entirely

But in the 2 years since then, I've added 380k followers & grew a newsletter to 70k readers.

So what changed?

These 6 "perspective hacks" ↓

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023

1. In the beginning, no one is watching—and that's a good thing.

At first, I thought to myself:

"No one is reading this. What's the point?"

And this bummed me out & held me back for a while.

But then, I reframed it into an advantage.

Here's how:

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023

The fact no one was reading in the beginning was my beginner advantage.

It was like taking shots in an empty gym.

I could put in reps & improve my craft without pressure from a constant stream of eyeballs.

Ironically, this made growth easier—which leads to the 2nd realization:

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023

2. Think in percentages, not absolutes

In the beginning, the numbers are small.

• 1 like
• 2 replies
• 6 followers

It's hard to feel like you're making any progress.

Luckily, a little bit of mathematical "trickery" can get you through this early growth "slog."

Here's how:

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023

There are two ways to look at growth:

• Absolute changes
• Percentage changes

So going from 3 to 6 followers is either:

+3 followers
+100% follower growth

Which of these is more motivating?

Clearly the second one!

So in the beginning, apply "percentages" to your metrics.

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023

3. Realize: no one on Earth is thinking about you as much as you think

I still remember the first time I hit publish.

I expected a wave of criticism from every single person I ever met to pour into my inbox.

But much to my surprise, that didn't happen.

Here's what did:

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023

I hit publish on that first blog post—and heard nothing but the internet's crickets of indifference.

Turns out, these people I thought would read every word (mostly my high school friends) were way too busy thinking about themselves.

And now I think about this graphic daily: pic.twitter.com/GHms3ZtHFK

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023

4. I do not need to be an expert—I just need to be one step ahead of someone else

In the beginning, I had a massive case of impostor syndrome.

I'm not an "expert" in anything—why would anyone listen to me?

But then I reflected on my own learning style and realized:

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023

People don't want to learn from "experts."

Why?

Because most "experts" are out of touch with beginners.

Instead, it's much easier to learn from someone a few steps ahead of you.

It's why 3rd graders always love to learn from 4th graders (not 8th graders).

Now for the last 2:

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023

5. Optimize for progress, not perfection

I thought before I started writing, I needed to have:

• The perfectly designed blog
• The perfectly optimized note-taking system
• The perfectly planned content calendar

Turns out, I didn't.

Here's why:

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023

Chasing the "perfect" system is nothing but procrastination disguised as productivity.

Truth is, you have no clue what the ideal system looks like—so you're going to waste hours building & rebuilding it.

And if this sounds like you, come back and read this thread later: https://t.co/ySNv1BKbV8

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023

6. Don't compare my step 1 to someone else's step 9—especially on something that compounds exponentially.

Lastly, I remember looking at the people with huge followings and thinking:

"There's no way I'll ever get there. Why even bother?"

But here's why this was a mistake:

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023

The only difference between me and them back then?

How long they had been playing the game.

And that's why I write threads like this—because 3 years and 15,000 tweets later, I'm on the other side.

And I would have done anything to receive advice like this back then.

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023

To recap, try these 6 "perspective hacks":

1. Embrace the empty gym
2. Realize: no one is looking at you
3. You do not need to be an expert
4. Think in percentages, not absolutes
5. Optimize for progress, not perfection
6. Don't compare Step 1 to someone else's Step 9

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023

Boom, that's it.

I hope you found these helpful, even if you only apply 1 or 2 of them.

If you enjoyed them:

1. Follow me @dickiebush for weekly threads every Tuesday at 9 AM

2. Hop back to the top tweet to like & reply with your biggest takeaway: https://t.co/UXXRMddc6m

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023

And if you're a beginner looking to get started writing online:

Here's a free 13,000-word Ultimate Guide with everything you need to get started (and avoid the classic mistakes I made):https://t.co/34AcQYvtSZ

— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 11, 2023