1 million words, 1 lesson.

Thank you — sincerely.

Describing the last 18 months of my life would require about 1,775,321 words.

Instead, I’ll shorten it to 1 lesson:

𝗜𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲, 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲.

When I quit my corporate job, moved to Hawaii and went to full-time freelancing last year, I started writing about my experiences.

What I expected:

- To sharpen my writing

- To reach a wider audience

- To bring on a few new clients

And yeah, those things happened.

But they’re byproducts of the real outcome.

Since I started posting those weekly newsletters 6 months ago, the most stomach-flipping result has been realizing how special, how supportive and how important community is.

My newsletter shares thoughts about my life. But I’ve had people say …

• “You never know how you are impacting people with your writing …”

• “I love reading your insights; they are truly an intellectually refreshing moment of my day …”

• “Just wanted to send a quick note sharing how much I enjoy your writing each week …”

My newsletter is free, but people sign up for paid subscriptions just because they want to show their support. My college roommate from 11 years ago. An old boss. Friends of friends.

The real outcome of my newsletter has been to remind me that a village is willing to do more than raise a child.

So much of life — especially if you’re an entrepreneur or a business owner — can be lonely.

You’re on an island.

You’re battling your own head.

You’re grinding because you believe, even though the outcome isn’t guaranteed.

And then you get a message saying, “Hey man, we haven’t talked in years but I just wanted to let you know I’m following along and I love what you write.”

And you realize: No matter how great you think you are when things are going well or how hopeless you feel when you're struggling — there are more people supporting you than you ever knew.

So 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 to everyone who has supported, subscribed and reached out.

You tell me to keep writing because I never know who my words are reaching.

I could say the same to you.