Week 5 Had 3 Views (And I’m Still Here)
Week 6 of 260
“Daddy, are people watching your videos?”
My five-year-old, standing at my office door at 7 AM on a Tuesday morning.
I was staring at YouTube Studio. Week 5’s analytics. Published three days ago.
Three views.
“Last week, only three people watched, buddy.”
He didn’t flinch. Didn’t look confused or disappointed. He just smiled.
“I love you, Dad.”
Then he went back to playing with his trucks.
And somehow, in that moment, he understood success better than I ever had.
The Numbers Everyone Warned Me About
When you start a YouTube channel, everyone tells you it’ll be hard. They show you the statistics: 90% quit within the first year. The algorithm is brutal. Growth takes time.
You nod. You think you understand.
Then you actually experience Week 5 with 3 views, and you realize: you didn’t understand at all.
Here’s my actual journey so far:
Week 1: 18 views – “Not bad for a first video!” Week 2: 10 views – “Okay, cutting in half. But still double digits.” Week 3: 5 views – “This is… concerning.” Week 4: 9 views – “Wait, it went UP! Maybe I figured something out?” Week 5: 3 views – New record low.
The pattern is what destroys you. Not the low numbers themselves, but the false hope sandwiched between them.
Week 4 felt like recovery. Like I’d finally learned something. The trend was reversing!
Then Week 5 arrived with its three views, and I realized: the algorithm was just messing with me.
The 2 AM Reality Check
Week 5, around 2 AM, my wife found me at my desk. YouTube Studio still open. Three views staring back at me.
She didn’t ask what was wrong. She could see the screen.
“Why are you doing this?”
In Week 3, I had an answer ready. “Building systems. Long-term thinking. Week 260 mindset.” All the entrepreneur mantras.
Week 5? After watching Week 4’s false recovery get crushed?
“I honestly don’t know anymore.”
She kissed my forehead and went back to bed. And I sat there wondering if I should just delete the channel and save myself 254 more weeks of this.
What My 5-Year-Old Understood
Next morning, my son came into my office. He’s five. He sees YouTube Studio open on my screen.
“Daddy, are people watching your videos?”
I’m exhausted. Frustrated. Still processing “Week 4 recovery was fake.”
So I just tell him the truth.
“Last week, only three people watched, buddy.”
“How many videos have you made?”
“Five, buddy.”
“And you make one every week?”
“Yeah.”
He smiled. That pure, uncomplicated five-year-old smile.
“I love you, Dad.”
Then he left.
And I sat there, realizing: he just taught me what success actually means.
The Metric That Actually Matters
Here’s what my 5-year-old understood that I’d completely lost:
The winning is showing up.
Not the view count. Not the algorithm approval. Not the validation from strangers on the internet.
Five weeks. Five videos. Published every single week despite:
Week 2: Halved views, zero idea why
Week 3: “Is this the bottom?” panic
Week 4: False hope of recovery
Week 5: New record low, crushing said hope
I showed up. Every week.
That’s the metric that matters at Week 6.
Because right now, I have 11 subscribers. Not family. Not friends doing me a favor. Eleven actual humans who watched something I made and decided “Yeah, I want more of this.”
If you’re one of those 11 – thank you. You have no idea how much it matters that you’re here, especially at Week 6 when everything feels impossible.
You’re the reason I keep filming.
What The Numbers Actually Mean (Briefly)
Let me show you the four metrics that actually matter at this stage:
CTR: 2.1% – Thumbnails need work, but not terrible Retention: 35-45% – Hooks need tightening, content watchable Traffic: 89% algorithm – Zero control right now Subscribers: 11 total – And they’re all real
The algorithm is basically saying: “Your content is… okay. Not great, not terrible, just okay. So I’m not pushing it.”
Which is fine. Because I’m not optimizing for Week 6. I’m building for Week 260.
The Marathon Perspective
This is Week 6 of 260. That’s 2.3% of the journey.
If you judge a marathon runner at mile 0.6, what would you see?
They’re out of breath. They’re nowhere near the finish line. They’re moving slower than they hoped.
You’d conclude they should quit.
Wrong.
Because at mile 0.6, the ONLY question is: Are they still running?
Week 260, when I look back at Week 6, here’s what I’ll remember:
Not the three views. Not the false hope of Week 4. Not the “does the algorithm hate me?” exhaustion.
I’ll remember that I published 6 videos.
That I kept showing up when the numbers said “stop.”
That my 5-year-old understood success better than any analytics dashboard.
The Future-Proof Message
Six months from now, when my numbers finally DO turn around – and they will, because success is attracted to people who refuse to quit – you’ll know EXACTLY what it took.
You’ll know what “Week 5 worse than Week 1” feels like.
You’ll know what it means to keep filming when every metric says “stop.”
And you’ll know that success didn’t come because I was talented or lucky.
It came because I pushed through when 95% of people would’ve deleted their channel.
That’s worth more than any guru’s highlight reel.
What This Means For You
Look, I can’t promise your numbers will go up.
I can’t promise the algorithm will suddenly love you.
I can’t promise Week 10 won’t have 2 views.
But I can tell you this:
When you implement consistency – not perfection, not viral tactics, just SHOWING UP every single week even when the numbers say “stop” – something changes.
Not in the algorithm.
In you.
You stop needing the validation. You stop checking analytics every hour. You stop wondering if you should quit.
You start building something real.
The Manifestation Practice
Before every recording, I tell myself one thing:
“This is for the person who needs this. Not for the algorithm. Not for views. For the ONE person who needs this EXACT message this EXACT week.”
That’s how I handle Week 5 with 3 views and Week 4 with false hope and everything in between.
Focus on the person. Not the number.
And eventually – Week 52, Week 104, Week 260 – the algorithm catches up to what you already knew:
You’re not going anywhere.
You do it every week.
Even when Week 5 is worse than Week 1.
That’s what success looks like.
Next Week
I don’t know what Week 7 will be yet. Depends on what problem I’m solving that week.
But it’ll be honest. Practical. And probably longer than it needs to be.
That’s the whole point of this channel.
I’m Steve. This is Week 6 of 260.
Three views or three million, I’m still showing up.
P.S. – If you’re having your own “Week 5 worse than Week 1” moment right now, leave a comment. Or just write “Week 6, still here.” Let’s build this together. You’re not alone in this valley.