What I Learned Today 😒

Today I learned that what a lot of well-meaning business authors are telling people may not be entirely true. Specifically, that you should stop giving a crap what people think about you.

While I agree somewhat with this opinion, it's a much more nuanced than that.

You should care what some people think about you. To deny this would be to deny an important part of your humanity: meshing with the tribe, if you will.

We are programmed by nature to care what people think about us because it's an important part of our survival. In the past, those who were disapproved of by their peers and family usually had a very hard time at survival.

Literally “surviving” probably isn't applicable to the modern day (Western) world, but other important things in business are.

Just like tribes who band together to survive, you need a tribe when you're in business. A support network. A legion of fans of your product. Mentors and coaches.

To simply not care what certain people think about you is selfish and one-dimensional.

So to walk this fine line between taking risks and worrying what others think of me, I ask myself the following questions:

Who exactly disapproves of me or my work? Do they actually matter? Have they started a successful business and put in lots of hard work and learned? Are they someone I respect in return? OR are they an “armchair” entrepreneur, who likes appearing smart in articles? Or worse yet, a troll?

If they're someone I respect I certainly will take a step back and analyze why they disapprove. And then make changes and move forward accordingly.

I've made some great strides by putting on my humble hat and really thinking disapproval through thoroughly.

Disapproval is a “check and balance” we need in business, especially if we're going at it alone. Just be sure you carefully gauge who your disapprovers really are.

If it's someone you respect or who has accomplished a lot, listen up. If it's not, fuck 'em.