Join The First 100
A founding member campaign — and an honest conversation about why it matters
TL;DR
I’m 24 subscribers away from 100. To celebrate the people who get me there, I’m offering founding member rates — $2, $4, or $6/month for your first year — to the next 24 who go paid. After that, these rates are gone.
I don’t paywall much, so what you’re really buying is the satisfaction of knowing you helped keep this work going. If that resonates, pick your tier below. If it doesn’t, stay free — everything’s still yours.
Each of these is a way of saying: “This work matters. Keep going.” It also tells Substack, “Hey, this guy is worth promoting to other people!”
I’m going to tell you something that most creators don’t say out loud.
Building a paid Substack is hard.
Not emotionally hard — I’ve done emotionally hard. I’ve sat in the hospital waiting for news about my daughter. I know what hard looks like.
I mean the quiet, grinding kind of hard. The kind where you keep showing up, keep writing, keep recording — and you wonder whether what you’re building is reaching anyone.
That’s where I am right now. And I’d rather tell you the truth than pretend otherwise.
Where Things Stand
I’m on my way to 100 paid subscribers — and I’m closer than I was, but I’m not there yet.
76 people have said: This work matters. I want to support it. That means the world to me. Every single one of them.
But I have 24 seats left to fill before I hit that milestone. And I’ve decided to make filling those 24 seats worth your while.
The First 100 — A Time-Limited Offer
For the next 24 subscribers who go paid, I’m offering founding member rates to make the decision easier for you.
These are not introductory discounts. They are the founding member rates.
There’s a difference. Discounts imply a sale. A founding member rate says: you were here before this became what it’s becoming, and I want to honor that.
Here’s what’s available:
💛 The Lightbearer — $2/month
$24 for your first year.
You’re here because something in this work spoke to you.
That’s enough.
The Lightbearer rate is for anyone who wants to say I believe in this without it costing more than it should. If $2/month is what makes this possible for you, then $2/month is exactly right.
💚 The Steady Hand — $4/month
$48 for your first year.
Some people don’t need to be in the spotlight to make a difference. They just show up. Consistently. Quietly. Reliably.
If that’s you — if you’re someone who steadies others without needing recognition for it — I see you.
The Steady Hand is for the ones who know that presence is its own kind of power.
💙 The Shoulder-to-Shoulder — $6/month
$72 for your first year.
You’ve walked beside someone in grief, or you’ve been the one who needed someone to walk beside you. You know what it costs to show up for another person.
This tier is for those who want to be as close to this work as possible — not as observers, but as companions.
What You Actually Get
I’m going to be straight with you.
I don’t paywall much. Almost everything I write is available to every subscriber — free or paid. I believe this message is too important to lock behind a gate for 98% of those who want to see it. 98% of my subscribers remain free subscribers.
So I’m not going to tell you that paid subscribers get secret posts or exclusive access. You’d find out that wasn’t quite true, and I’d rather not start our relationship that way. I will throw in occasional posts for paid subscribers. But that’s not why you should pay for a subscription.
What you get is this: the satisfaction of knowing you helped keep this work alive.
That’s it. No bonus content, no secret community, no special perks. Just the knowledge that you looked at what I’m building and decided it was worth putting something behind.
If that’s not enough reason for you, I completely understand. Stay subscribed for free. Read everything. Share it with someone who needs it. That matters just as much to me.
But if you’ve ever listened to an episode on your morning walk and thought, this helped — and you want to do more than just receive — this is how.
The Fine Print (Because You Deserve to Know)
Each of these is a 12-month subscription at the founding rate. After your first year, your subscription will renew at the standard rate — $8/month or $80/year.
But you can cancel anytime before that renewal. No penalty. No guilt. No awkward email.
I trust you to do what’s right for your situation.
That’s not a sales line. It’s just what I believe.
Why This Matters — Beyond the Numbers
When I hit 100 paid subscribers, something shifts.
Not just for me — though yes, it matters for the sustainability of this work. A paid Substack is how I keep showing up without burning out, without running ads, without compromising what I’m trying to do here.
But it also matters to help spread the message. Substack figures that if 100 people pay for a subscription, it’s worthwhile, and they boost my engagement to nonsubscribers.
100 people who said: I believe this is worth something. I’ll put something behind that belief.
That kind of thing also changes how a creator shows up. It changes the energy in the room, even when the room is just me and a blank page at 6 in the morning.
You would be part of that.
One More Thing
If none of these tiers feel right, you can still subscribe for free. Everything I make public, you’ll have access to.
But if something here resonates — if you’ve ever listened to an episode on your morning walk and thought, this helped — this is your moment.
There are 24 seats left.
When they’re filled, these rates close. Permanently.
Each of these is a way of saying: this work matters. Keep going.
— Brian
Brian D. Smith is a grief guide, certified grief educator, and host of the Grief 2 Growth podcast. After losing his daughter Shayna in 2015, he has dedicated his work to helping others find evidence-based hope in the face of loss. Subscribe at grief2growth.substack.com