I don’t usually get caught up in vanity metrics, but this one made me stop for a second.

Recently, my YouTube channel crossed 250,000 views.

Here’s the kicker… I started this channel back in 2009.

Yeah, you read that right.
Sometimes it takes a while to build momentum.

For years, it was nothing more than a place to drop the occasional video. No real strategy. No consistent uploads. Definitely no “viral” moments. But somewhere along the way, I decided to stop treating it like a side project and start treating it like something worth building.

And that’s when things started to shift.

The 250,000 views? They’re not just numbers.
They represent the late nights editing when the house was quiet. The times I hit “publish” knowing maybe a dozen people would watch. The trial-and-error of figuring out what content actually connects.

If you’ve ever built anything—a business, a brand, a body—you know exactly what I mean. The early stages are lonely. It’s you versus obscurity. And most people quit there.

But here’s the reality:
The only way you get from zero to 250,000 is by doing the work long before you see the results.

It’s not about instant wins. It’s about showing up again and again until momentum finally starts working in your favor.

So if you’re out there building something right now, wondering if it’s worth it… it is. Even if it takes you 15 years to feel like it’s moving.

If you’ve watched even one video, thank you. You’ve been part of the fuel that keeps me going.

And if you want to see what I’ve been working on, here’s the link: youtube.com/ivantemelkov.

Here’s to the next 250,000—hopefully they won’t take another 15 years.