JA Westenberg

I spent a decade checking my follower count before I brushed my teeth. Comparing myself to Zuckerberg at night. Reading YC essays on the bus trying to crack the code.

I've come to call this The Strive.

I don't do it anymore.

Here's what I do instead:

https://www.joanwestenberg.com/why-i-quit-the-strive/

Why I quit "The Strive"

This newsletter is free to read, and it’ll stay that way. But if you want more - extra posts each month, no sponsored CTAs, access to the community, and a direct line to ask me things - paid subscriptions are $2.50/month. A lot of people have told

Westenberg.
Apr 10 at 1:56amTypefully
Show threadChris MillsApr 10
@Daojoan #ZFG I am vastly more content to no longer care about gamifying my online experience. The #Fediverse is, for me, like going to the local coffee house back in 1989.
Show threadAdam H. Sparks Apr 10
@Daojoan thank you. This resonates
Show threadjeffrey, he/him/his (cis♂️) ♌Apr 10
@Daojoan looking forward to reading. Thanks!
Show threadFranz GrafApr 10
@Daojoan
Just so true.
Show threadFlixxieApr 10
@Daojoan i was never in the position to envision me as the next Mark Zuckerberg nor was I even remotely interested in starting a multi-million dollar company so I cannot relate to that but I wanted to say that I really enjoyed this text and reading through your path of reaching a more peaceful and satisfied inner state made me quite happy. You have a really nice writing style!
Show threaddiscobeezApr 10

@Daojoan "The Strive has narrative tension. Will they raise the round? Will the product launch? Will they make it?"

It's like the hunger games!

Show threadFlipApr 10
@Daojoan this is great, thanks for writing and sharing.
Show threadManuel KehlApr 10

@Daojoan
This whole article resonates a lot with me. Thank you for writing this!

> It takes "I'd like to make a living doing something I care about" and inflates it into "you need to build an empire." Those are different things.

This puts into words perfectly how I feel when folks ask why I’m doing the indie iOS dev thing vs. looking for “funding” to “scale” and maybe even pivot / abandon my projects for something with more “growth potential” - guess I’ll send them a link ;)

Show threadManuel KehlApr 10

@Daojoan and I’m certainly not immune to falling into the trap of thinking this is what you have to do…

Depending on who you chat with or whose content you consume, it’s almost inevitable to come to this conclusion from time to time, so an article like this is a very welcome reminder and reality check :)

Show threadαxel simon ↙︎↙︎↙︎Apr 10

@Daojoan Small typo: "But **tey** don't, and I didn't for a long time" :)

Great read, nicely put.