Seven Thousand Sign-ups

Once, more than four thousand people signed up for a free talk I was giving, and the number kept growing.

I upgraded my Zoom account. I bought an Ethernet cable. My adrenaline was going up.

In the end, more than seven thousand people signed up. It’s still hard for me to believe.

I had only shared it once or twice. I had deliberately put “as a Product Designer” in the title, assuming that narrow focus would mean fewer people. Near the end of the talk, my kids came home and I got distracted and rambled. My delivery and my English were far from great. I had a slow start.

But somehow, it became one of the three most attended talks in the platform’s history.

When it was over, it felt like crossing the finish line of a half marathon.

I’d been excited, nervous, and anxious for days. And when I finally finished, there was only a brief sense of relief. My mind had already moved on to the next thing.

What I learned:

Place more bets, even when things aren’t perfect.

Don’t take yourself too seriously.

Embrace randomness.