Popular Opinions
What’s one of the biggest risks to success? Lack of funding? No, or bad ideas? Lack of direction?
Nope.
One of the biggest risks to success is caring too much about what others think.
There will always be opinions shared widely no matter what you do, where you are in your leadership journey, or what you aspire to achieve. Some of those opinions will be uplifting, positive, and helpful, but it’s likely that many opinions may be negative and come from a place of wanting you to instead play it safe or stay on the “known path.”
So what can you do about it? Here are a few tips and reminders when you are faced with the inevitable “popular” opinions:
Surround yourself with people who challenge, inspire, and uplift you. As you carve a path towards ambitious goals surround yourself with people on a similar path, who see you as a partner on the journey versus a competitor. Remember, you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Take inventory of who you surround yourself with.
Look at 5 people who you respect and aspire to achieve similar success. Asses their path; where did they come from, and what did they overcome. Reverse engineer their life as a reminder that you can achieve anything you want.
Remember your why. Write down your goal and why you want to achieve it. Remembering your why when things get tough is the best way to keep yourself focused, and shut down the noise and distractions. As a bonus, consider building a vision board as visualization is a powerful tool. This can be a poster board in your office or a background on your computer or phone; just put it somewhere you will see every day.
Have a high opinion of yourself. Keep a list of positive things people say to and about you. Keep a list of your achievements. Reference it when you need the boost.
Anything worth doing is hard, and doing anything risky will get a reaction. Most of the negative reactions and opinions you receive when going after your goals or ambitions are grounded in others’ fears and regrets for not taking their own risks. Build resilience and remember your why and go after it.
Also always remember, your opinion of yourself can be your superpower.
“The eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages.”
Join the waitlist for our upcoming Mastery Class: Mastering Self where we will focus on the building blocks to setting ambitious goals grounded in your values, and how creativity and powerful routines can help you achieve success. 💻
Video: Amanda Fahmi: How to Care Less About What Others Think
Video: Manar Al-Dina: Stop Caring If You Want To Be Happier - TED
I read a lot of newsletters, daily. I love that it’s a quick way for me to get up to date on the happenings on a diverse set of topics. A few of my favorites: The Hustle, Morning Brew, Seth Godin’s Blog, Atlas Obscura, Oprah Daily, Newsette. Are you a newsletter fan? Reply and let me know which newsletters you read 🗞️
In addition to newsletters, I also listen to a wide variety of podcasts of various topics and lengths. here are a few of my favorites: The Daily, NPR News Now, Marketplace, Marketplace Tech, Don’t Keep Your Day Job, The Highest Self, Planet Money. Do you listen to podcasts? Reply to this to share your recommendations with me! 📢
Leadership & Executive Presence is a short read, but it packs a punch!
This is a short read that is packed with short lessons and tips on leadership from several sources the author interviewed.
I always find that books that include personal experiences can present leadership lessons and concepts in a more approachable way.
I recommend it the next time you are looking for a quick read that definitely introduced me to new concepts I will be trying.
P.S. Reply to this newsletter and let me know what you are reading 📚
Consider how many different pieces of content you see in any given week. See something that really resonates with you? Share it with us so we can feature it in our Social Media of the Week section!
This week’s feature is from Lisa Marie Platske:
“Don’t wait for an opportunity. Create it.”
Change is one of the constants of life so I appreciated this post from Lisa.
It was a reminder to go after what you want, ask yourself what you want your life to look like, what you want to spend your time doing and create the path to do it. Will it be easy? No. Will it be worth it? Absulte.ly.
If there’s an opportunity you are waiting for, go create it.
