Going viral was the furthest thing from my mind.

It was the Saturday of the Passover/Easter weekend, and I had just returned from a 4-day road trip with my Dad. I wanted to share the gratitude I had for being able to spend that time with him, so I took to LinkedIn to express it.

What happened next was a total surprise.

That post got traction; a lot of it.

Tens of thousands of people reacted to it, and more than 3,000 people left a comment. My connection requests skyrocketed, and my inbox was full of messages. It was exciting and exhausting all at once.

And now, four weeks later, it's still getting eyeballs.

Everyone wants to go viral, but there's no one recipe for doing it.

Everything about the post was anti-viral. It was personal on a professional network, and I posted it on the Saturday of a holiday weekend.

But there were a few things about it that screamed virality:

• It was about my Dad - everyone has a dad

• It was sweet - it conjured up emotions

• It contained a simple message

It was a post that nearly anyone could relate to, and that's precisely what happened.

And it continues to happen. To date, the post has generated:

• 77,000+ reactions

• 3,000+ comments

• 374 reshares

• 7 million+ views

Sometimes things happen when you least expect it.

Going viral should not be your goal. Instead, being genuine, sharing relatable content and staying consistent should be. Do that, and you never know when something is going to catch.

And to see the post, click here.