The real test of your success isn’t how many people love you.
It’s how many people you’ve managed to piss off.
That’s not me talking, though I can’t say I disagree.
That’s Dr. John Demartini on today’s QOD episode. And before you write it off as edgy provocation, sit with the math.
Praise and criticism, he says, are conserved. They always come in pairs.
The moment one person rips into you, somebody else is cheering. The moment one person stands up to applaud, somebody else is rolling their eyes. You only ever notice one half because of where your attention is pointed.
So here’s the question…
If you want to reach a lot of people, you’re going to be praised by a lot of people. Which means — by the law of the universe Demartini is describing — you’re also going to piss off a lot of people.
There’s no way around it.
You don’t get to be praised globally without being criticized globally.
Demartini’s words: If you’re gonna reach seven billion people, you’re gonna have to have 3.5 billion people pissed.
I love that.
Every time you’ve gotten quiet, played small, hedged a stronger opinion, softened a stronger pitch, walked back a bolder idea — what you were really doing was trying to be liked by everyone. Trying to not be criticized.
But here’s the bad news Demartini delivers…
You will not achieve the greatness you’re born for worrying about rejection.
You actually need the criticism. Just like a tree growing to the sun has to shed branches along the way, you have to shed approval to grow into who you actually are.
So today, ask yourself this:
Whose disapproval have you been organizing your life around?
And what would change if you decided — just for this week — that pissing them off is part of the job?
You’ve got a dream. The world is waiting. Stop trying to be liked.
Tap the play button to listen to the full episode.
—Sean
Source: Unknown
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