Almost everything that’s changed the world in a positive way has been an unreasonable idea. It’s unreasonable, until it’s commons sense. That’s how change happens and so in order to make a difference in the world, it’s incredibly important to be able to ignore the naysayers. Some of the best and brightest from our community share their stories and advice below.
Brad Messier
There have been naysayers from day one, with myself being one of the loudest and most persistent critics. On the day of our initial kitchen inspection, an official remarked, “Well, you probably won’t make a million dollars on this one. Good luck!” Good luck indeed. Read more>>
Gretchen Corsillo
I have always found myself working in fields that are misunderstood by the general public. My day job is working as the director of a public library, and I own a business reading and teaching tarot. I truly cannot even count the number of times I’ve been met with snarky comments implying that I don’t work hard or that my work is evil. This used to bother me extensively, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to really understand that other people’s opinions don’t matter. What matters is that, at the end of the day, I love what I do. Read more>>
Lorenzo Zucchi
Well, it’s a good question. Sometimes I can’t sleep at night thinking about my next story and then I say to myself: don’t forget you already have written stories to be published that no one will care of, so why bother?
Because in the end I think I gave my writings a mission: to change the world a bit, step by step.
It’s not important my success in life, people who are ahead of time are rarely appreciated for what they deserve. Read more>>
Jasmin Uy
In the beginning of my business journey it was hard dealing with people that were hating on me or people that didn’t believe in me. The one thing I would always tell myself was that no matter what I did or didn’t do people would always have something to say so might as well just keep doing what I’m doing, right? Its definitely easier said than done but even blocking people on social media to create a more positive space for me is what I did. At the end of the day protecting your peace, creating boundaries that align with you and your business, and having a more abundant perspective on life is what really helped me block the haters. Read more>>
Jesse Lee
Over the course of my lifetime, I have encountered people who would simply pick at me for being who I am, for having green eyes, for my close bond with my mother, for how other people can easily connect with me. It is something that sometimes makes you think “wow some of us are really born to be envied for simply existing. Envied for the things we played no part in being like genetics”. A lot of this hate came from mostly other males at school, high school and at home with my brothers. Growing up was rough, I was constantly bullied and sometimes still am but growing up in such a tough situation where many would even take their own lives or runaway, I instead developed a thick skin, a “Don’t mess with me” attitude that many who saw my struggles admired. Read more>>
Amelia Brown
I consistently remind myself of the reasons I started my company and why I am so deeply passionate about what I do. Confidence is also essential—I am committed to becoming a truly successful woman, and I am determined to achieve that by any means necessary. Read more>>
Andrew Oporto
People used to say to me, “Wow, it must be hard going on stage.” It’s definitely harder being poor for 10 years trying to chase a dream in comedy. You have to make the mental choice to do what you want to do in life. Happiness comes above everything, and you have one life to live so you might as well do what you enjoy doing. Haters will make you tougher, and can actually contribute to your strength and resilience. Read more>>
