Having hates is an inevitable part of any bold journey – everyone who has made a difference in the world has had doubters and critics. As natural as haters might be, in the age of social media it’s become harder and hard to ignore them – and so we asked some brilliant creatives and entrepreneurs to tell us how they deal with haters.

Neil Chris

Honestly, I’ve dealt with haters my whole life—people who didn’t get the vision, didn’t get the humor, or just didn’t want to see someone like me win. But I’ve learned to turn that noise into fuel. I remind myself that most of the time, hate comes from fear, jealousy, or a lack of understanding. I don’t take it personal—I take it as confirmation that I’m shaking something up.

Plus, I’m not doing this for approval. I’m doing this because it’s who I am. Comedy, music, creativity—it’s how I breathe. If everybody likes you, you’re probably not saying anything real. So I keep moving, I keep growing, and I let my work speak louder than their doubt. Read More>>

Amber Lynn Conklin

With time I’ve learned to take a step back and ignore haters. I ask myself, is there something constructive in their criticism? If so, I learn a new perspective and take it to heart, but if not, I make an effort to internally laugh it off and move on. I’ve been through too much in life to let something so small and meaningless affect me. I focus on protecting my peace, knowing that my faith (God) gives me the strength to rise above negativity.  Read More>>

ZENA DALY

imagine giving weight to the voices of people who’ve never dared to build what I’m building. People who’ve never bet on themselves, never risked rejection, never cracked open their soul for the sake of truth or art. Why would I, someone sculpted by sacrifice and vision, shrink because of the opinions of spectators who’ve never even stepped into the ring?

People doing the work—the real, soul-taxing work of becoming—don’t have time to hate. They’re too busy healing, creating, surviving, and minding the business that actually feeds their purpose. Read More>>

Feiyang Yin

Before college, I had no formal training in art. When I decided to switch from business to art school, my first instructor asked me to paint something in acrylic to evaluate my skills. I stayed up all night painting a little boy. The next day, she told me not to waste any more time on painting and suggested I pursue Graphic Design instead. She said I have no talent in painting. Read More>>

Ethan Stafford

For me it’s a simple matter of being impervious to embarrassment but also being open to constructive critique. When I started Sinclair Noire, I was throwing paint on the wall with sounds of the records I really liked, which included Killing Joke’s “Night Time”, Skinny Puppy’s “Rabies”, and Bauhaus’ “Mask”. I never wanted to copy anyone else’s style, and I didn’t understand the idea of making anything derivative of strictly industrial, gothic rock, or post-punk. Read More>>

Bri Toria

I reminded myself of how I feel when I am stepping in my purpose and the people I have enlightened or opened up by my voice and lyricism. I also transmute their negativity and use it as fuel to light my fire Read More>>

Jennifer Andresen

This is a unique question and I think I have something strong to contribute in this question. I have the unique story of I took a very very long break from Dj’ing from 2003 to 2021. I came back to a foreign world of club events and post pandemic dwindling crowds. I saw a lot of sensationalism and competitive aggressive behaviour and experienced a ton of backlash with regards to my “shock” at this new world I was trying to acclimate to. Read More>>