After months away, I’m back on social media, but I hate the feeling of becoming a product. 

My eyes puke when seeing "silver bullets" offered by gurus (incomplete free tips with a poisoned intent to upsell something else).

Alex Hormozi is a hero of mine. His message, like Ava’s from @personalbrandlaunch, is simple: take action and outwork the competition.

While Alex’s advice is about building a business, Ava's strategy optimizes for attention. She pushes you to chase for followers. Numbers with no guarantee of value.

Her “silver bullets” were so overwhelming that they left me feeling like I was failing before I even started. To the point that her $2k or $3k a month offer seemed justified when compared to the immense, demanding work she provides. Her service felt like a life raft offered only after she’d convinced me I was drowning.

High follower counts and superficial attention are useless if the audience doesn't care about what you offer. It's like a meme account trying to sell enterprise software. No one's listening, and no one cares.

I've chosen a different path. I will document my journey and give value without selling anything.

Why? Because I’ve seen this approach work.

It wasn’t a polished brand that changed my life; it was helping people. Contributing to Stack Overflow is what allowed me to leave Latin America for a job in Dubai. A genuine interest in a tech founder led to my next role in Germany.

I believe helping others first is the path to meeting truly interesting people. Cool individuals who will share problems and ideas I might be able to solve later. Posting is an investment in my network, not a sales pitch like content creators do.

Right now, I've got a lot going on. The last thing I want to do is spend hours editing videos and planning content. Fortunately, my girlfriend and my ex-roommate, who are launching @themangomarketing, are helping me.  They get portfolio material and my feedback on how to structure their business; I get help with the execution. 

We just posted our first post, and I loved the process. Specially when my gf couldn’t stop laughing while recording my many attempts to pronounce "uncertainty". We are authentic and that resonates with me.

I worry that the time I spend building a brand is time stolen from building my product or serving clients. But the cost of not documenting and sharing may be a series of missed opportunities that will compound over time.

Ultimately, this blog and this personal brand effort are for my own enjoyment. If I can document my growth, help a few people, and meet great minds along the way, I haven't wasted time. I’ve simply built a better foundation for who knows when.