In my job, I have the privilege of working with some of the most courageous people in business…entrepreneurs. Or as I like to call them builders, courageous for some very basic reasons. They try to do things people say are impossible, or are bad ideas, or just plain something people will not accept. I mean who would have thought that we would connect with all our friends on the web or drink gourmet $5 cups of coffee every day.
I would put these people in the area of critics. The type of people who would rather bring something down and attempt rather than build anything for themselves. If you are a builder, there is good news—we need critics. In fact, you should thank them. Here is why: Critics make it harder to build, and because of that, people who are not courageous will not face the criticism. Thus making a filter between those who build and those who do not build.
The other thing critics do is provide builders with motivation. Every builder has a story about a critic and how they used the criticism they received to motivate them to another level. So the next time you are frustrated with your critics. Thank them. Without them, everyone would try to be builders, and without them, we all wouldn’t have the motivation it takes to push over the tough spots we all go through in building.
