Alright, It’s early. I haven’t even had breakfast yet and well…
…grab a seat and pour yourself something strong,
We’re about to dive into some real talk before the birds wake up.
The kind of talk that might make you squirm a little, but that’s okay.
Growth is uncomfortable. Like wearing skinny jeans after a buffet. But stick with me, because this is the kind of stuff that separates the wheat from the chaff, the doers from the dabblers, the legends from the “who was that again?”
Let’s talk about community.
Yeah, yeah. I know, it’s not a new concept.
Community has always been the secret sauce, the lifeblood, the holy grail of building something meaningful.
But in the age of dopamine-driven follower counts and vanity metrics, people forgot…
They got distracted by the shiny numbers, the big, bold milestones. Hit 10k followers? You’re a god. 100k? Saint. 1 million?
You’re untouchable. Or so they thought.
And then we all heard about Instagram ‘fluencer @arii.
You know the story, right? Two million followers, couldn’t sell 36 t-shirts. Thirty-six. That’s fewer than the number of people who show up to your cousin’s awkward karaoke birthday party. And that, my early morning friend, is the cautionary tale of our time.
Because here’s a suck- y but honest truth which everyone needs to know…
Followers don’t mean shit if they don’t care.
Let me say that again for the people in the back of the bar.
Followers. Don’t. Mean. Shit.
Not unless they’re invested. Not unless they care about you, what you stand for, and why you’re doing what you’re doing.
And that’s where community comes in. Not followers. Not subscribers. Not “fans.”
Community.
Real people who give a damn about you because you give a damn about them.
People who stick around not because you’re selling them something, but because you’re giving them something.
Be it a perspective, a connection, a reason to feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves. That’s the magic.
That’s the juice.
(Speaking of juice. I’m about to get a freshly brewed bean juice before it hits 6am…)
Building a community isn’t fast. It’s not sexy. It’s not the kind of thing that makes headlines. It’s slow, deliberate, and sometimes downright frustrating. You’re gonna feel like you’re shouting into the void some days.
But slow and steady? That’s how you build something that lasts.
See, the online space is shifting. People are jaded. They’ve seen the influencers with their rented Lambos and fake smiles and “Hey guys! Buy my thing!” energy.
They’re tired of it. They don’t want to be sold to.
They want to belong. And if you’re not giving them something real, something that makes them feel seen, heard, and valued, they’ll scroll right past you.
You’re just another face in the endless, mind-numbing feed of content.
(You see this shit every single day without fail on the business side of Facebook and LinkedIn)
Here’s a little trick THEY won’t tell you, though, and it’s a big one…
You need to stand for something.
You need to have a message, a view, a voice that’s so clear, so unapologetically you, that it either pulls people in like a goddamn magnet or pushes them away.
Polarise, my friend.
Be a lighthouse, not a disco ball.
Cult leaders figured this out a long time ago (minus the creepy Kool-Aid stuff)
They didn’t try to appeal to everyone. They didn’t water themselves down to be “likable.”
They found their people, Their ride-or-die believers by being so specific, so bold, so them that the right folks couldn’t help but follow.
And you? You can do the same.
But it takes guts. It takes consistency. It takes showing up, even when it feels like no one’s listening. It takes focusing on your audience, not just your numbers.
And it takes time. But here’s the good news…
The stuff you build slow and steady? It’s unshakeable. It’s the kind of thing that doesn’t crumble when the algorithm changes or the platform shifts or the shiny new toy comes along.
So, here’s my challenge to you.
If you’ve found these emails awesome send a friend here https://stphnwlkr.com/list
Forward them this email so you can get them in to my world.
Secondly…
Forget about the follower count. Forget about the vanity metrics. Focus on your people. Find them. Serve them.
Build for them. Show up for them. And for the love of whiskey, make it fun. Entertain them. Delight them. Make them think, laugh, cry, whatever. Or like me, piss them off. Make them irrationally angry because you write ALL OF THE WORDS.
Just make them feel something.
Because when you do that?
When you build something real?
You win. Maybe not today. Maybe not next week. But in the long run?
You’re unstoppable.
Now, I’ve got more secrets. Oh, I’ve got plenty.
But I’m not spilling them all just yet. This is just a taste. Some brain food for the year ahead.
So chew on it. Sip your drink. Let it sink in. Then go out there and build. Slow. Steady. Relentless.
And hey, when you’re ready for round two? You know where to find me.
Stephen Walker
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Stephen Walker
Unit 146317
PO Box 7169
Poole
BH15 9EL
United Kingdom