0 to 100 Real Quick

Who’s got two thumbs and knows jack shit about building a personal brand?

🥳 This guy. 🥳

Despite that, today I hit 100 subscribers. Pretty special moment.

A tiny milestone in internet terms. A massive milestone in Dan-terms.

The Story

January of this year, Muriah and I started a company.

A podcast, a curriculum, a website, a mountain of systems and processes, and six contractors.

And approximately seventeen thousand things neither of us had ever done before.

A few weeks before we start the podcast I confess to my new co founder, my co conspirator, my co maniac, that I was scared to be in front of the camera.

I was scared to share my thoughts.

And believe me, I am still frightened.

I’m scared that one day, the imaginary haters in my mind are going to find my work and expose me for somehow being a fraud, or an ass-hat, or both.

That all the shadows in my closet are going to pop out and yell:

“Gotcha bitch!”

So anyways I have a mini-meltdown like a totally EQ conscious boy boss.

And Muriah laughs and says to me:

“Well Dan! You have like, two days to get over that and figure it out.”

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February 18 of this year I posted my very first shitty Substack article.

5 likes. Ta-Da! Not a humble brag. One like was me and the rest were family and friends I bullied into liking it. It’s manufactured vanity metrics.

I haven’t stopped yet. These past few months have been me writing my real-Dan-thoughts as fast as possible before I can think twice about it.

Write. Publish. Panic. Repeat.

Holding my breath and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

And that shoe is not dropping.

And I have ✨anxiety✨

In Avengers (2012) The Hulk says:

“That’s my secret Cap… I’m always angry”

Well, my secret is:

“My tummy is distressed and I’ve already imagined seven different disasters.”

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Anyways.

Thank you. A genuine, real, bona fide, thank you.

We’re all walking around carrying ideas we hope matter.

Know that by reading, sharing, and encouraging me, you’re pouring gas in my dumpster fire of dreams and passion.

Remember: you chose to sign up. I have personally contacted Chris Best, CEO of Substack, and deactivated my unsubscribe button for The Updraft.

To my haters who are in the shadows, plotting revenge against me and my micro brand:

Please get in touch.

I think you’d make a fantastic podcast guest.

w/ love and some pocket Tums

- Dan

The Data for My Nerds Out There

Gather round, fellow graph goblins. 👺

I’m strong in the PNW (minus Idaho but some people don’t count Idaho), the south west, the mid west, and the east coast has not caught on yet!

The places with Dan-representation:

1. The best National parks

2. Places with great coffee

3. Strong overlap with most cryptid and big-foot sighting locations.

I would like one subscriber from every state. That’s my new side quest.

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Dan is co-founder of Kestryl Edge, a leadership development consultancy helping operations-heavy companies reduce turnover and rework through emotional intelligence. Work with us →

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