Doesn’t matter:
How big and strong you are . . .
How “bulletproof” you believe yourself to be . . .
How marvelous, good-looking and charismatic you think you are . . .
How skilful and adept you are at your trade . . .
How clean your reputation is and how influential you are in your community . . .
How established you are as a LEADER in your Sphere of Influence . . .
SOMEONE is going to shoot at you . . . and it’s gonna hurt . . . because your pride has you believing that all of your genuine and caring, HARD work getting yourself from there to HERE should protect you from the critics’ scrutiny.
The truth is . . . The more successful and upstanding you are, the higher the likelihood that you’ll become a target.
Why?
Because you got to where you are because you STAND FOR SOMETHING . . . and if you STAND FOR SOMETHING, not everyone is going to share and/or align with that for which (and those with whom) you stand.
What can you do about this?
Many folks take it personally and allow it to consume their entire being as they search for ways to make the criticism go away . . . or to convert the “non-believers” into “believers.
Most great Historic Leaders have written about this very topic and how some of their decisions led to back-lash that cut them to their CORE . . . and that as soon as they were able to learn NOT to take it personal, they were able to lead effectively. It was those times when they compromised their own standards by succumbing to the whining of the critics that they fumbled (made decisions that went awry).
Seth Godin wrote a marvelous little blog post this morning . . .
How else are you supposed to take it?
in which he said:
” . . . it’s never personal. It’s never about you. How could it be? That person doesn’t truly know you, understand what you want or hear the voices in your head. All they know is themselves.”
YOU cannot change “THEM” or convert them to your way of thinking . . . That should NEVER be your job.
Stay with your beliefs and your passion and continue to resolutely move FORWARD.
Doing anything less is self-sabotage . . .
Just sayin’
Best,
b