I talk about digital writing & personal progress

Here's a quick rundown of how I've spent my last 5 years:

1. Studied math and played football at Princeton. I graduated in 2018 with a degree in financial engineering and played center for the Tigers. In college, I was a 280-pound offensive lineman, so for the last 5 years, I've had to completely rewrite my personal operating system on the health & fitness front. I currently weigh 185 pounds and have learned a lot along the way!

2. Graduated and immediately started working for BlackRock in New York City. I worked as a junior hedge fund trader for 4 years, focusing on global macro markets. This was my dream job and the only corporate job I've ever had. In fact, it's the only job *interview* I've ever had (since I interned there as a junior in college).

3. Realized working for someone else was not going to be the long-term path for me. 12 months into working on Wall Street, I saw someone in their mid-40s ask their boss for permission to go to their son's Little League game. At that moment I realized I wasn't cut out to take directions or instructions from other people for very long.

4. Started to write on my old blog, then on Twitter. Rather than quit immediately, I started to passively explore other opportunities by writing online, starting out on my old blog (which no one knew existed), then transitioning to Twitter in July of 2020.

5. Changed my trajectory with a 30-day writing challenge, which led me to start Ship 30 for 30. In September 2020 I was ready to give up writing entirely. But I gave it one more shot, this time moving from a weekly blog post to a daily Twitter thread. The challenge was a huge success. It took me 9 months to reach 100 followers and 1 month to go from 100 to 2,000. And that personal writing challenge turned into the foundation of Ship 30 for 30, which started as nothing but a Slack accountability group to help people publish consistently.

6. Scaled Ship 30 while working remotely for all of 2021. I built and scaled Ship 30 with Nicolas Cole to over 2,000 students in 2021—all while continuing to work full-time (remotely) for BlackRock. But towards the end of 2021, Ship 30 hit an inflection point and it no longer made financial sense for me to continue working on Wall Street.

7. Left BlackRock in March of 2022 to write and build on my own. After weeks of weighing the pros and cons and trying to project my path forward, I made the decision to leave BlackRock and chart my own path. 15 months into making that decision and I'm confident it's the best one I've ever made.

Dickie Bush 🚢

I used to have one severe addiction:

Planning.

My brain loved the cheap dopamine of gathering:

• Books to read
• Tasks to complete
• And videos to watch

But when it came to taking action, the euphoric rush faded.

What ended my addiction?

This story of two men learning to fish:

The first fisherman heads straight to the marina to buy the best fishing boat money can buy.

He specs out a custom, carbon fiber rod.

And he spends time reading up on everything there is to know about fishing:

• Casting techniques
• Baiting techniques
• Reeling techniques

You name it, he's bought the book on it.

And of course, he's watching the fishing channel every night for hours, learning from the best of the best.

A few months later, he finally feels ready to fish.

The next day, he heads out on the lake in his new boat with his fancy rod and wealth of fishing "experience" built up over the last few months.

But six hours in, nothing. Not even a nibble.

What happened?

Turns out, the second fisherman had already sucked the lake dry.

On day one, the second fisherman grabbed a shitty rod, sliced up a hot dog, and went out to the lake.

• The first day, nothing
• Second day, nothing
• Third day, nothing
• One week, nothing

But on the eighth day? His first nibble.

And every day after, he honed his technique.

He found a baiting technique that worked a bit better. Or a new spot with a few more fish.

And after three weeks of iteration, he found the winning combination.

Before long, he was hauling in hundreds of fish every day. To keep up with his daily haul, he hired a small team to help him. And from there, he opened a restaurant with fat margins to sell his fresh fish.

And after that, he opened a fishing school to teach others his craft.

He did all of this while the first fisherman sat around gathering gear.

Sure, the first fisherman felt productive. He was "learning" after all, right?

But there was one difference: feedback.

Every day the second fisherman had an idea of something that might work better. And he went right to the market to validate his assumption. If it worked, his strategy improved. And if it failed, he learned something new.

The moral of this story?

Get to action as quickly as possible.

When you find yourself gathering gear, grab a shitty rod and start fishing.

Bad way to learn copywriting:

1. Bookmark dozens of posts
2. Read all the books
3. Apply none of them

Instead, just read The Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joseph Sugarman.

It taught me more about copywriting than dozens of books combined.

And you can steal Sugarman's 7-step process to write high-converting copy (that helped me generate $15,000,000):

—
📌 Copywriting helped me build a 7-figure writing business.

(While working 12-hour days at my Wall Street job)

But I made my first $10,000 on the internet as a ghostwriter.

And right now, becoming a LinkedIn Ghostwriter is the easiest way to land high-paying clients.

Want to know how to land LinkedIn writing clients in 2025?

Here's a free, 5-day email course on how to get started: https://lnkd.in/eCFfC5cX

7 Steps To Write High-Converting Copy (From Joe Sugarman)

At 24, a stranger on the internet paid me $5,000.

The crazy part?

I thought they'd sent it by mistake!

But I'd actually just stumbled across an insanely lucrative business anyone can start:

Ghostwriting.

Everyone should have writing clients who pay $5,000+ for a project.

(This is ultimately how I quit my job on Wall Street so I could travel and work from anywhere in the world.)

But most people are stuck figuring out:

• What service to sell
• Which clients to target
• How to charge premium rates

So, last month, Nicolas Cole 🚢👻 and I put together the Writer Positioning Playbook to help you:

• Escape the freelancer rat race
• Confidently charge high-ticket prices
• Land ideal clients who value your expertise

Inside, you'll find:

• The 1 simple shift to 10x your rates overnight
• A 3-step framework to upgrade your Positioning
• An AI prompt to find 5 high-paying clients for YOUR specific background

Plus, you'll see real examples from a $3M ghostwriting agency.

Want access?

Comment "playbook" and I'll send it across (for free).

And if we're not connected, send me a connection request with the word "playbook" and I'll DM it to you.

How To Land $5,000 Writing Clients

A daily habit I wish I'd started earlier in my 20s:

(It's not investing)

Writing & publishing online every single day.

In the beginning, I tried everything:

• Every app
• Every "simple hack"
• Every piece of writing advice

And I still struggled to build a daily writing habit.

But then I studied the routines of legendary writers.

And their secrets have helped me write every day for 5+ years.
 
These are the 10 tiny habits that make writing every day effortless:

—
📌 Writing online completely changed my life:

• Helped me quit my corporate job
• Made my first $10,000 online as a ghostwriter
• Built my $19,000,000 digital writing business

And it also taught me ONE thing for certain:

The easiest way to make money online is to become a ghostwriter.

Want to land high-paying ghostwriting clients?

I wrote a FREE 5-step blueprint with everything you need to make money ghostwriting on LinkedIn.

Click here to get (free!) instant access: https://lnkd.in/eQW3B7Y4

10 Tiny Habits To Make Writing Every Day Effortless 

Demand for ghostwriters is exploding on LinkedIn.

But the problem?

Landing high-paying clients is difficult.

Especially if you suck at sales (like I did).

So, I wrote a MASSIVE 3,580-word AI Mega-prompt to script all my sales calls.

I trained it on the 9-step sales framework I've already shared with 1,500+ Premium Ghostwriters.

Here's my LinkedIn Sales Script Prompt:

—
📌 Want a free copy you can use in the next 60 seconds?

I bundled this Mega-prompt inside my LinkedIn Ghostwriter OS.

Inside, you'll get:

• 20+ AI prompts to help you build a business
• My "Leaks & Faucets" strategy for finding leads
• Viral content LI templates (that anyone can use)
• My $3M Sales Call script that closes high-ticket deals
• Voice matching prompt to write in any client's style
• A step-by-step, 30-day implementation roadmap

And tons more!

Comment "ghost" and I'll send you a free copy.

(And if we're not connected, send me a connection request with the word "ghost" and I'll send it over.)

Land High-Paying LinkedIn Clients With AI

This French teacher had one goal in mind:

To 4x her income.

Why?

Because Laura B. wanted to fund the work she's most passionate about—teaching her students how to become fluent in French.

So she took the plunge and joined our Premium Ghostwriting Academy.

And as a ghostwriter, she scaled quickly.

She sold:

• 5 Email Courses
• 8 Consulting Packages
• Dozens of Thought Leadership Packs

And now she's using this extra income to build her tutoring business.

Laura's example goes to show that anyone can become a ghostwriter and use this in-demand (and lucrative) service to either:

1. Create a new income stream
2. Or scale their existing income

Because executives, founders, and creators around the world are realizing how much they need a personal brand to scale their businesses.

And the salaries I've seen them pay are wild:

• Content Strategist at OpenAI ($319K - $393K/yr)

• Thought Leadership & Narrative Manager at Google ($211K - $297K/yr)

• Head of CEO Content at PayPal ($137.5K - $236K/yr)

And the best place to start right now is LinkedIn.

Want to start making money as a LinkedIn Ghostwriter?

I put together a free, 5-day email course to help you land high-paying writing clients.

Click "Visit my website" at the top of this post to get instant access.

Helping visionary founders & execs be radically original on LinkedIn using The Creative Catalyst Method | Building $1M+ pipeline strategies | Founder @ Kennedy Creative

Most executives treat LinkedIn like a resume.

I treat it like a revenue engine.

I work with enterprise B2B executives and founders in the 7–9 figure range to turn authority into measurable growth.

Through The Creative Catalyst Method — a system built on content + outbound — my clients transform visibility into deal flow, building 7+ figure pipelines in as little as 6 months.

And the results speak for themselves:
	
• 30+ MQLs generated in less than 60 days
• Clients getting 3+ leads every week with content + outbound
• A 5-figure deal closed by an agency in under 60 days
• $100K pipeline built in less than 90 days for a SaaS company

What makes this possible isn’t just content.

It’s the combination of strategic positioning, executive voice, and consistent outbound touchpoints that makes your brand unforgettable — and turns authority into revenue.

If you’re an executive ready to move from authority → pipeline → growth, let’s talk.

👉 Book a call or connect with me here on LinkedIn.

Doug Kennedy

You’re an 8- or 9-figure founder. You’ve got traditional lead channels dialed in.

• SEO brings in steady traffic.
• Paid ads keep the pipeline full.
• Maybe you even run some TV spots.

You might even post on LinkedIn here and there.

But organic LinkedIn?

That’s for smaller founders. For personal brands. Not for serious companies.

Right?

Wrong.

Here’s why organic LinkedIn isn’t beneath you, it’s your biggest missed opportunity.

1. Your buyers are here. Every day.
	
• LinkedIn isn’t just for job seekers—it’s where decision-makers spend their time.
• The same C-suite execs you’re trying to reach through ads and outbound? They’re scrolling LinkedIn between meetings.
	
2. People buy from people, not just companies.
	
• A great company page is nice. A founder-led brand builds trust faster.
• Look at the biggest B2B companies crushing LinkedIn…their leadership is front and center.
	
3. Your competitors aren’t doing it (yet).
	
• Most 8-9 figure founders ignore organic LinkedIn, which means the ones who show up consistently win big.
• If your competitor’s CEO is in the feed every day, and you’re nowhere to be found… guess who has the advantage when buyers start paying attention?

Organic LinkedIn isn’t beneath you.

It’s your unfair advantage if you take it seriously.

Ready to get started? Send me a DM!

Helping B2B executives turn authority into revenue on LinkedIn | Building 6+ figure pipeline strategies with content + outbound using The Creative Catalyst Method | Founder @ Kennedy Creative

No alternative text description for this image

So many people post on LinkedIn without understanding why people engage.

But attention isn’t random, but it’s psychological.

Here are 10 growth tips backed by psychology and neuroscience to help you grow your audience and keep their attention 👇

1. Start with emotion: people decide emotionally and justify logically.
2. Mirror their language: we trust people who sound like us.
3. Use the Zeigarnik Effect: open loops keep readers hooked.
4. The “You” ratio: talk to one person, not a crowd.
5. Tell micro-stories: emotion makes content memorable.
6. Repetition builds familiarity: familiarity builds trust.
7. Use social proof: proof creates belief.
8. Create pattern breaks: variation resets attention.
9. Follow the rule of 3: our brains love rhythm and structure.
10. Stay consistent: credibility comes from showing up.

Each one of these principles taps into how the brain actually works and when you use them, your content connects deeper, faster, and longer.

If you want a library of ideas to put these tips into action:

👉 Comment “101” and I’ll send you my free guide: 101 LinkedIn Post Ideas

It’s the fastest way to stop guessing what to post and start growing with purpose.

10 LinkedIn Growth TIps

It’s almost 2026 and I still need to say this:

LinkedIn has changed since 2016. 

Far too many founders and CEOs don’t even have a banner on their profile. 

Here’s the change and why it’s important 👇 

LinkedIn 10 years ago: 

➔ Digital resume, listing work experience and education
➔ Networking was mostly connections, not conversations
➔ Primarily a job-hunting tool
➔ Company pages: basic info and job listings
➔ Content: text-only, low engagement

LinkedIn TODAY: 

➔ Hub for articles, videos, and thought leadership
➔ Used for recruitment AND sales 
➔ Engagement drives everything—comments, insights, discussions
➔ Personal branding takes the lead
➔ Multimedia: videos, polls, live streams, and more
➔ Two-way conversations that spark real connections

The companies that are going to dominate the market are already taking advantage of the platform to:

- build founder-led and executive brands
- establish authority in their niche
- fill their pipeline and drive sales

Those who don’t will lose opportunities. 

Are you still living in the past on LinkedIn, or are you building something to own the future?

The other day, I shared the last 10 years of my life with someone I had just met.

•  My relationship with God.
•  How I met my wife.
•  Why I moved to Delaware County, PA.
•  How I started writing on LinkedIn and X.

It’s a crazy story and I didn’t expect him to be all that interested. 

But to my surprise, he was locked in, listening to every word.

That moment reminded me:

→ Someone out there needs your story. People are drawn to real, authentic journeys.

→ Gratitude shifts everything. Telling my story reminded me of how good God has been.

I’m stepping into 2025 with excitement and gratitude, ready to build relationships that matter.

Your story matters too. 

Who’s someone you could share it with this week?

The fastest way to lose sales on LinkedIn is weak positioning.

You can be great at what you do.
You can post consistently.
You can share valuable insights.

But if your positioning is unclear, broad, or generic…buyers won’t see you as the person to hire.

After writing for founders, CEOs, and operators across multiple industries,

I’ve noticed the same positioning gaps show up over and over and they quietly destroys trust, authority, and inbound

So I broke down the 7 biggest positioning mistakes and how to fix each one

👉 Swipe through the carousel

taplio

The Battle

Dickie Bush 🚢

Doug Kennedy

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreDickie Bush 🚢's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDoug Kennedy's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Dickie Bush 🚢

Doug Kennedy

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Dickie Bush 🚢's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDoug Kennedy's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreDickie Bush 🚢's LinkedIn Performance