"My play was a complete success.
The audience was a failure."
-- Ashleigh Brilliant
"My first book (The 4-Hour Workweek),
after being turned down by 26 out of 27 publishers,
had just hit the New York Times bestseller list
and seemed headed for #1 on the business list,
where it landed several months later."
-- Timothy Ferriss
Just because some people say it is not good, doesn't work, will never work, shouldn't work, or other such, doesn't make it true if we don't accept it as truth. It certainly can be, and often is, truth for them, but it need not be our truth just because they say it is truth.
One could create miles of quotes of people who have been turned down, outcast and ignored for what they believed in, and yet succeeded only because of their own conviction and despite the disbelief of the many. I love Ashliegh Brilliant's quote where the whole audience is a failure. That is a very interesting way to look at it. Indeed, the way we look at it is everything to what it becomes.
How many people do you think thought that Steve Jobs was crazy as a loon in the garage playing around with electronic circuits and such with Steve Wazniak? Then he sold his car to start the company? Craziness for sure.
I've studied many of these "failures." People like Harvey Firestone, Conrad Hilton, Ray Kroc, J Paul Getty, Henry Ford, Alfred P Sloan Jr., John H Dessauer, J C Penney, Wallace E Johnson, Fred Smith, Colonel Harland Sanders, William C Durant, William T Piper, A P Giannini, Tom Monaghan, Bill Lear, Dr Edwin H Land, and hundreds more. Some of those names may be familiar and some not, but you know the companies and products and they have benefited millions.
It's easy to get discouraged, to begin to agree with the audience and let go and forget about the struggle to go on. I thank God that none of those mentioned in the previous paragraph felt that way. They went through some very dry times and times when they couldn't seem to find a friend, then at some future point, every one wanted to be their friend. Public opinion is not necessary important, but sometimes that opinion can be a benefit to drive us harder, smarter and faster toward success.
The most important thing for all of us is to believe in ourselves FIRST and foremost. If it's not working yet, this doesn't mean it's not going to work. Maybe it's time to change it up a bit, swish it around and add some flavoring, and glow-in-the-dark sparkles.
Opinions Can Be Interesting. . . Or Not. . .
Spread Some Joy Today--Confidence is a special friend. . . and a joy to behold!
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