I Posted LinkedIn Motivation Content and Couldn’t Stop

I was having a normal Tuesday. Then I made a LinkedIn post about “hustle culture” and “grinding.” You know the type. Woke up at 4 AM, hit the gym, made seven figures before breakfast, etc.

The problem: None of it was true. I was unemployed.

The Spiral

The post got 847 likes. People I went to college with were commenting “So inspirational!” My mom shared it. A recruiter DMed me asking if I was looking for opportunities (I was, desperately).

So I kept going. Posted about my “morning routine.” Posted about “lessons from building a startup” (I’ve never built a startup). Posted a carousel about “10 habits of successful people” with stock photos.

I became the guy I used to make fun of.

Rock Bottom

Got exposed when someone from my actual LinkedIn network commented: “Bro you were literally at my house playing Xbox last Tuesday at 4 AM when you claim you were at the gym.”

The post had 2.3K likes at that point. His comment got 847 replies. People started going through my post history. The screenshots spread to Twitter. Someone made a TikTok.

I deleted LinkedIn. Then reinstalled it 20 minutes later to see the damage. Deleted it again. Reinstalled it again.

Recovery

Took the Corn Cob Club quiz. Scored a 4 (Severely Cobbed). Started the 12-step program. Went outside. Touched actual grass, not the metaphorical kind I kept posting about.

Three months later, I have a real job now. I post on LinkedIn maybe once a month, and only about things I actually did. Turns out you don’t need to fabricate a motivational arc to have value as a person.

Lessons Learned

• If you have to lie about your morning routine, you don’t have a morning routine
• The LinkedIn algorithm rewards fiction, but real life doesn’t
• “Hustle culture” content is just depression with a vision board
• Nobody who actually wakes up at 4 AM posts about waking up at 4 AM

Still can’t look at carousel posts without cringing. But I’m healing.

Status: 89 days since last motivational post. One day at a time.