Aussie writer with 1B+ content views in 10 years | I teach people to use writing online to create career opportunities | Let's connect: tim@timdenning.com

I quit my eCommerce startup with 100+ employees. Then got depressed, developed an eating disorder, and got a minimum-wage job in a bank. I now work for myself and make 7-figures writing.

I'm not that smart and have no college education. The way I used the internet made the difference.

And going to a Tony Robbins event changed my mindset. He taught me to go from being a victim to be in control.

This led to:

• 1B+ content views
• Financial freedom
• Book deal with a major publisher
• Meeting my heroes (like Tony Robbins)
• Quitting my banking career forever in 2021
• Multiple successful businesses fuelled by obsession

My mission: Help 100,000 people start online businesses. 

My beliefs that drive everything I do:

- Anything is possible
- Positivity above all
- Ego is the enemy
- Challenge the status quo
- Chase obsession, not passion
- Always be kind, grateful, and a good person

How can I help you?

• Social media audience building
• Starting or growing an online business

Join my email list with 200,000+ other high performers for more helpful insights:
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Tim Denning

Corporate "culture" is the biggest lie in business. 

Nobody wants to admit it.

I spent over a decade in banking watching companies obsess over culture. We had culture committees. 

Culture surveys. Culture town halls where executives would stand up and talk about how much they valued their people.

Then they'd go back to their offices and send emails at 11pm expecting responses.

━━━━━

I remember when remote work first became a thing at my company. They treated it like a privilege. You had to apply for it. You needed manager approval. 

You had to prove you could be trusted to work from your own home like some kind of child asking for permission.

Then C0VID hit and suddenly everyone could work remotely. T

he company didn't collapse. Productivity didn't tank. People actually got more done because they weren't spending two hours commuting or sitting in meetings that could have been emails.

For about 2 years, everyone pretended this was the future. Executives gave interviews about how they'd never go back to the old way.

━━━━━

Now look at what's happening.

The same companies that said remote work was revolutionary are demanding people come back four days a week. They're calling it "collaboration." They're calling it "culture."

I've been in those offices. I know what actually happens.

People show up, put on their noise cancelling headphones, and do the exact same work they were doing at home. 

They sit in open plan offices designed for collaboration and spend eight hours trying to block out the noise so they can concentrate.

The only difference is they wasted an hour getting there and another hour getting home.

━━━━━

When I got fired in 2019, I was devastated. 

I'd given that company 10 years. I'd shown up to the office every day because that's what good employees did.

Looking back, getting pushed out was the best thing that happened to me.

I started building my own business. I work from wherever I want. I don't have to pretend that sitting in traffic is "culture."

━━━━━

Companies don't actually care about culture. They care about control.

They want you at your desk because it makes managers feel important. They want you in the building because they signed expensive leases and need to justify them.

Real culture isn't about where you sit. It's about whether you trust people to do their jobs.

The companies forcing everyone back to the office don't have a culture problem. They have a trust problem.

P.S. What's your experience with return-to-office mandates?

If you want to level up your career faster, then join my unconventional Substack newsletter with 183K others: https://lnkd.in/gMkRFmj9

Aussie writer with 1B+ content views in 12 years | Teaching high performers to build million-dollar digital businesses | Let’s connect: tim@timdenning.com

Most people chase the wrong version of success.

I know because I used to be one of them.

When I worked in banking, I had a colleague named Steve who bought a brand new Mercedes. He parked it in the premium spot every morning. 

Made sure everyone saw him get out of it. He talked about the leather seats, the sound system, the way it handled on the freeway.

Steve also worked 60-hour weeks. He missed his kid's school plays. He had to ask permission to take a long weekend. He was stressed, tired, and trapped by a car payment that demanded he keep showing up to a job he hated.

I remember sitting in a meeting with him one afternoon. His phone buzzed. He glanced at it and his face dropped. It was a photo from his wife. 

His daughter had just lost her first tooth. He missed it. He was stuck in a conference room listening to quarterly projections while his kid was at home wondering where daddy was.

Steve had the car. But he didn't have the life.

━━━━━

When I got fired, I lost the salary. I lost the title. I lost the security that comes with a corporate job.

But I gained something I didn't expect. Time.

I started building my own business. The first year was brutal. I made less money than I ever had. But I also had something Steve never did. 

I could be home on a random Tuesday afternoon. I could take my daughter to the park while other dads were stuck in meetings. I could watch her discover the world instead of hearing about it secondhand.

That's when I realized the Lambo dream is a lie.

It's not about the car. It's about what the car represents. People think if they get the Lambo, they've made it. They've won. They can finally relax.

But the Lambo requires the income to maintain it. The income requires the job. The job requires the hours. The hours steal your life.

You end up working for the car instead of the car working for you.

━━━━━

I've coached thousands of business owners since leaving my corporate career.

The ones who are actually happy aren't the ones with the flashiest stuff. They're the ones who built businesses that give them flexibility. 

They're the ones who can pick up their kids from school. They're the ones who don't have to ask a boss for permission to live their life.

The pattern is always the same. The people chasing status symbols are running on a treadmill that never stops. The people chasing freedom figured out how to get off the treadmill entirely.

━━━━━

My daughter just turned 3.

Today I took her to get ice cream at 1PM on a Monday. The shop was empty. We sat outside in the sun. 

She got chocolate all over her face and laughed about it. No rush. No meetings to get back to. Just a dad and his daughter enjoying a random afternoon together.

That moment is worth more than any car

I don't want the Lambo. I want more Tuesdays like that

What does success look like to you?

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I gave a company 10 years of my life. They gave me 2 weeks notice.

When I got made redundant, I remember sitting in that meeting room thinking about all the times I'd stayed late. All the weekends I'd worked. All the family dinners I'd missed because something "urgent" came up at the office

I thought loyalty meant something. I thought if I just kept showing up and doing good work, the company would take care of me. That was the deal, right? Work hard, stay loyal, and you'll be rewarded.

Turns out I was the only one who believed in that deal.

━━━━━

There was a guy in my office named David who'd been at the company for 22 years.

He started there straight out of school. He trained half the managers in the building. He knew every system, every process, every client relationship. The company was his entire identity.

When they restructured his department, they let him go with a standard severance package. Same as everyone else. Twenty-two years of loyalty got him the same exit as someone who'd been there for two

I watched him clean out his desk. He looked confused more than anything. Like he couldn't understand how this had happened. He'd done everything right. He'd been loyal. And none of it mattered when the spreadsheet said his role was redundant

━━━━━

I used to judge people who job-hopped.

I thought they were disloyal. I thought they didn't understand the value of commitment. I thought staying at one company and working your way up was the honorable path

Now I realize those job-hoppers understood something I didn't. They knew the relationship between employee and employer is transactional. Always has been. The company will keep you as long as you're useful. The moment you're not, you're gone

That's not cynical. That's just how business works

━━━━━

Loyalty to a company that would replace you in 2 weeks is insanity

I'm not saying be a bad employee. Do great work. Hit your targets. Be reliable. But don't confuse being good at your job with owing your life to an organization that sees you as a line item on a budget

Your company is not your family. Your manager is not your friend. Your job title is not your identity. These are business relationships. Treat them that way

━━━━━

The only loyalty that makes sense is loyalty to yourself

Be loyal to your own growth. Be loyal to building skills that travel with you when you leave. Be loyal to creating options so you're never dependent on one employer's decision about your future

I spent a decade being loyal to a company. Now I spend my time being loyal to what I'm building. The difference in how I feel every morning is hard to describe.

━━━━━

Stop sacrificing your life for an organization that would post your job listing before your desk is cold

Build something that's actually yours. Or at least build skills that nobody can take away

That's the only job security that exists anymore

P.S: Have you ever felt burned by corporate loyalty?

Join my Substack: https://lnkd.in/gMkRFmj9

If nobody's rejecting you, you're not doing anything with your life.

Harsh but true.

In my banking days I watched colleagues avoid asking for anything. They wouldn't pitch ideas to leadership. 

They wouldn't ask for raises. They wouldn't apply for roles they actually wanted.

When I asked them why, the answers were always the same. "I don't want to look desperate." "What if they say no?" "I'll wait until the timing is better."

They were protecting themselves from rejection. And in doing so, they were rejecting themselves before anyone else had the chance.

━━━━━

I remember the first time I pitched an idea to a senior executive at my company.

I'd spent weeks preparing. I rehearsed my talking points in the shower. I ran the numbers over and over. I was convinced this idea could save the company money and make our team more efficient.

He listened for about 90 seconds, then told me it wasn't a priority right now. Meeting over.

I walked back to my desk feeling like an idiot. My face was hot. I kept replaying the conversation, wondering what I could have said differently.

But something interesting happened the next week. 

That same executive stopped by my desk and asked me about a different project. He remembered my name. He remembered I was someone who brought ideas to the table.

The rejection didn't close a door. It opened one I didn't even know existed.

━━━━━

When I got fired, I had to start pitching myself constantly.

I pitched my writing to publications. Most said no. I pitched my services to potential clients. Most ignored me. I pitched ideas to people I admired. Most never responded.

In my first year of building my own business, I probably heard "no" more times than I had in my entire corporate career combined.

And my business grew anyway.

Because every rejection meant I was actually doing something. I was taking swings instead of sitting on the bench hoping someone would notice me.

━━━━━

The people who never get rejected are the people who never ask for anything.

They stay safe. They stay comfortable. They stay exactly where they are.

I've worked with thousands of business owners. The ones who struggle most aren't the ones getting rejected. They're the ones who won't put themselves in a position to be rejected in the first place.

They won't send the cold email. They won't post the content. They won't make the offer. They're so afraid of hearing "no" that they guarantee themselves a lifetime of "nothing."

━━━━━

Rejection is proof that you're in the arena. You're not watching from the sidelines. You're actually playing the game.

If you're not getting rejected regularly, you're not taking enough action. You're playing it too safe.

Go get rejected this week. Pitch something. Ask for something. Put yourself out there.

The worst they can say is no. And that's not the end. That's the beginning.

P.S. What's a rejection that ended up being a good thing for you?

Join my Substack newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gMkRFmj9

The weirdest people I've met are also the most successful.

I don't mean weird in a bad way. I mean they never tried to be normal. 

They refused to follow the script society handed them. In banking I worked with hundreds of people over a decade. 

Most of them were interchangeable. 

They dressed the same. They talked the same. They had the same opinions in meetings because they were too scared to say anything different.

Then there was Dave.

Dave wore sneakers to client meetings. He'd interrupt senior executives mid-sentence if he thought they were wrong. He'd leave at 3pm on Fridays because he wanted to pick up his kids from school.

Everyone thought he'd get fired. Management talked about him like he was a problem to be solved.

Dave got promoted three times in four years. He became one of the youngest directors in the company's history.

━━━━━

I asked him once how he got away with it. He laughed and said he wasn't getting away with anything. He was just being himself.

"Most people spend their whole careers trying to fit in," he told me. "They're so busy copying everyone else that they forget to be useful. I'd rather be useful than popular."

That stuck with me.

I spent years trying to fit in at that company. I wore the right suits. I laughed at the right jokes. I stayed late because everyone else stayed late. I was so focused on not standing out that I became invisible.

The people who got ahead weren't the ones who blended in. They were the ones who had the guts to be different.

━━━━━

When I got fired, I realized I'd wasted years performing a version of myself that wasn't real. I'd been so worried about what people thought that I never asked what I actually wanted.

Building my own business forced me to stop pretending. 

There's no corporate dress code when you work from your living room. There's no manager to impress. There's just you and the work.

I started writing what I actually thought instead of what sounded professional. I started saying no to things that didn't interest me. I stopped trying to sound smart and started trying to be helpful.

My audience grew faster than it ever had before.

━━━━━

Fitting in is a survival strategy. 

It keeps you safe. It keeps you employed. It keeps you average.

The people who refuse to fit in take a risk. They might fail. They might get laughed at. They might get fired.

But they also might build something remarkable. They might become the person everyone else wishes they had the courage to be.

I admire people who refuse to fit in.

Not because they're rebels for the sake of it. Because they trust themselves more than they trust the crowd.

P.S. When did you stop trying to fit in?

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If you're easily offended, you're easily controlled. 

Most people never realize this.

I spent years in banking letting random comments from colleagues live rent-free in my head. Someone would make a snarky remark in a meeting. 

I'd replay it for days. 
I'd adjust my behavior. 
I'd shrink myself to avoid future criticism.

I was a puppet. And I didn't even know who was pulling the strings.

━━━━━

Getting offended is a choice most people don't realize they're making.

Someone criticizes your work. You can let it ruin your week. Or you can ask yourself: Is this feedback useful? If yes, use it. If no, delete it from your brain and move on.

That's it. That's the whole framework.

But most people skip the evaluation step entirely. They go straight to emotional reaction. They let strangers control their mood, their confidence, their entire day.

━━━━━

I've coached thousands of people trying to build businesses and careers.

The ones who struggle most aren't lacking talent or ideas. They're paralyzed by what others might think. 

They won't post content because someone might disagree. They won't launch products because someone might criticize. They won't charge what they're worth because someone might call them greedy.

They've handed the remote control of their life to people who don't even think about them.

━━━━━

Being easily offended means being easily manipulated.

Think about it. If I know exactly which buttons to push to make you angry, sad, or defensive, I control you. Politicians know this. Media companies know this. Toxic people in your life definitely know this.

Every time you react emotionally to provocation, you've given someone else power over your mental state. You've become predictable. Controllable.

━━━━━

Training yourself to not get offended isn't about becoming cold or emotionless.

It's about being selective with your energy. It's about choosing which battles actually matter and which ones are just noise designed to distract you.

Someone disagrees with your opinion online? Good. Let them. You don't need everyone to agree with you. You need to stay focused on what you're building.

Someone talks behind your back? Good. Let them. Their opinion of you is none of your business. Your opinion of yourself is the only one that pays your bills.

━━━━━

The most successful people I know have thick skin and selective hearing.

They hear criticism, evaluate it quickly, keep what's useful, and discard the rest without emotional attachment. They don't waste mental energy defending themselves against every slight.

They're too busy building to be bothered by people who are too busy judging.

━━━━━

Want more peace in your life?

Stop giving random people the power to disturb it. Train yourself to pause before reacting. Ask yourself if this will matter in a week, a month, a year.

Most things that offend us today won't even be memories tomorrow.

Save your energy for what actually matters.

What's helped you develop thicker skin?

Most people's version of freedom looks like this:

Work 40+ years. Save enough. Retire. Do nothing.

They call this "the dream."

I call it a slow death.

━━━━━

Retirement isn't freedom. It's delayed living.

You spend your best years trading time for money. Your healthiest decades sitting in meetings. Your most energetic moments answering emails.

Then at 65, you finally get permission to live. Except now your body hurts. Your energy is gone. Half the things you wanted to do require a younger version of you.

The math doesn't work.

━━━━━

I watched my friend’s dad do this.

He worked his whole life for a company that didn't care about him. Saved diligently. Did everything right. Finally retired at 64.

Two years later his health started failing. The travel plans got shelved. The bucket list gathered dust.

He traded his best years for a retirement he couldn't fully enjoy.

━━━━━

Freedom isn't an age. It's a feeling.

It's waking up and deciding how your day goes. It's saying no to things that drain you. It's having options instead of obligations.

You can have this at 35. Or 45. Or right now.

But not if you keep waiting.

━━━━━

I used to think freedom meant "not working."

I was wrong.

Freedom is working on what matters to you. It's building something you own. It's choosing who you spend time with and what problems you solve.

The people I know who "retired early" and did nothing? Most of them are miserable. No purpose. No growth. Just endless days of golf and Netflix.

That's not freedom. That's a comfortable cage.

━━━━━

Society sold us a broken definition.

Work hard now. Sacrifice now. Live later.

But "later" isn't guaranteed. And even if it comes, you'll be a different person with a different body and different energy levels.

Stop optimizing for a future version of yourself that may never exist.

━━━━━

Redefine what freedom actually means.

Freedom isn't quitting everything. It's designing a life where work doesn't feel like work. Where Monday doesn't feel different from Saturday.

Start building that now. Don't wait for some magical age when you're finally "allowed" to live.

The permission slip you're waiting for doesn't exist.

Give it to yourself.

If you want to level up your career faster, then join my unconventional Substack newsletter with 176K others: https://lnkd.in/gMkRFmj9

“The work of a Chief of Staff isn’t easy — but it’s deeply purposeful. What drives me isn’t the title — it’s the trust. I do this work because every leader needs someone they can trust completely — a partner who watches blind spots, brings honesty and perspective to every conversation, and turns vision into execution. As an executive leader, I’m that trusted partner — the one who anticipates, aligns, and delivers so leaders can focus on leading.” Pooja Ruprai 

Pooja Ruprai is an Executive Chief of Staff known for bringing clarity, alignment, and momentum to complex organizations. With experience spanning three industries from telecom, merchant services, and banking (currently Consumer Technology and Generative AI), she operates at the intersection of strategy, financial management, and people — connecting executive vision with disciplined execution. 

A thought leader and trusted partner to senior executives, Pooja is known for her candor and discretion, driving alignment, and helping leaders connect authentically with their teams. She modernizes how executives communicate and show up — shaping narratives and digital presence that amplify credibility and influence. 

Execution isn’t just a skill — it’s her signature. Pooja has managed a combined budget of over $250 million and a workforce of more than 1,500, driving initiatives from concept to delivery. Known for her precision and adaptability, she optimizes operations and planning while leveraging the latest AI tools (NotebookLM, MS Copilot, etc.) to enhance decision-making and execution speed. A respected leader in her field, Pooja builds high-performing teams grounded in trust, accountability, and purpose. She brings structure and empathy to complexity — creating environments where people thrive and performance follows. 

Colleagues describe Pooja as a strategic advisor and cultural connector — someone who inspires confidence, strengthens teams, and turns vision into lasting impact.

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