“After every storm, there is a rainbow. If you have eyes, you will find it. If you have wisdom, you will create it. If you have love for yourself and others, you won’t need it.” – Shannon L. Alder
Some of the most successful folks in our community thrive despite experiencing mental health challenges. We are inspired by their strength and honored that they would share their stories with us below.
Annalisa Summea
As Taylor Swift says, “haters gonna hate”. There’s always going to be someone who is against you or doesn’t believe in what you’re doing. This is especially true the more somebody gets successful. As someone who has had a lot of success in my own writing life and on behalf of my writers, I’ve had my fair share of haters come along. For me, I confess it is difficult. Read more>>
Hassan Chammout
get asked this question a lot. But, one thing I’ve come to accept over the years is that there are always going to be people that don’t want to see you succeed, and their voices may seem louder than your supporters. Every time I’m told I can’t do something, I rise higher and continue to grow. You have to understand that haters will never be satisfied with your accomplishments, no matter how big or small. Read more>>
Candace G.
I continue to persist despite the haters, nay-sayers, and etc. by not even giving them any of my time or energy. In life there will always be people who are not “for you”, but there will always be many people who are “for you”. Not everyone will like you or what you do and that is ok because there is always a lane for you with people who are rooting for you to succeed, to flourish, and to win. Read more>>
Brian Haynes
The best way to persist through haters/nay-sayers is to remember why you started your journey, all the amazing steps along the way to get you to where you are today, and to take them head on. You must always understand your own personal value and never let someone else decide that for you. Read more>>
Andrea Piontkovski
Being in the public eye is not an easy job. Whatever you do, your posts, your point of view, your decisions, your work, or your life style, will attract the attention and support of people, but you will also have to learn how to deal with some of the most hateful comments you can imagine. There will always be haters and difficult people out there and you can’t simply give up or get discouraged because of their negativity. Read more>>
Denis Carvajal
Stay focus on my journey and purpose, my family support is very key and it keeps me grounded and laser focus on my work and parenthood…. I think most will agree with me that if “They don’t like you but they still find the time to watch everything you do” Read more>>
Graham Brown
I used to care a lot about what others thought and said about me. I would hyper focus on the littlest comments or opinions other had of me. And I don’t want to make it sound like all is fine or I am never bothered by negative comments because thats impossible. Read more>>
Damon Terry
If you don’t have any nay-sayers, haters you are not doing something right, so I just keep creating keep pushing the envelope to boundaries that no man has entered and create my own lane. Read more>>
Nashaé Peavey
I had a handful of people that came up to me trying to persuade me out of doing art as a career at a young age. I was lucky enough to have more friends and family by my side pushing me to do it! I wanted to show the ones that say “Art is not a real job.” I didn’t want to do the societal norm of sitting in a cubicle at a 9-5 job to be considered employed. Read more>>
Britney Newman
Persisting despite haters and naysayers is challenging but very rewarding. There are a number of things I do to navigate this situation. One, I clarify my goals and aspirations. Two, I believe in myself and my confidence allows me to believe in my abilities. Three, I remind myself of my strengths, achievements, and the reasons why I am pursuing my goals. Read more>>
Chevin Meadows
I wouldn’t say it was haters or nay sayers of course I’ve ran into those small issues. The process of building a brand correctly in a business that doesn’t necessarily have a blue print. Read more>>
Christina & Mitch Smith
It definitely isn’t easy, but we take it one day at a time. Over the last 18 months of running this business, we have learned to accept that we are going to have haters and nay-sayers. We are going to have people who don’t understand what we are doing and not everyone is going to like us. Read more>>
Charlese Milford
While I wouldn’t necessarily label them as haters or nay-sayers, I’ve found that the level of support I initially anticipated or hoped for isn’t always there. Even among close friends and family, there are those who haven’t engaged with my books or podcast episodes. Social media interactions, such as likes and shares, have also been limited. Read more>>
Chris DeVore
I think that being truly in love and passionate about what you do supersedes the concern of what others think about you. Read more>>
OJ Neon
Well, I feel like I’ve been called a lot of things, doubted on a lot of things, and often told my way wouldn’t work; would fail. I’ve been around people “more experienced” than me who downplay my ability, just for my skill to show one way or many. The one-liner I would use for my persistence. Read more>>
Tessa Scissorhands
Well, first I say thank you! To those who take their time and energy to keep an eye on me, say “oh did you see what Tessa said/did/showed/posted?’ “They hate us cause they ain’t us,” right? If someone is willing to hate on you and keep it going, they are using their time and energy thinking about you, so thank you. <3 Read more>>
Becca Elder
It hasn’t always been easy. Sometimes just seeing things people say hurt. Why do people have to degrade you for trying to doing something you genuinely enjoy? You are trying to do something you love and people feel the need to harshly judge you for being unconventional . It can make it extremely difficult to want to continue. Read more>>
Danicia Tate
Despite the haters and nag-sayers I am a very resilient individual. Raised by an even more powerful person. Read more>>
Alexus Pittman
Honestly, I had to learn to ignore them. I didn’t get such a huge business support system by focusing on nay-sayers. I know they exist but I also know they see me. I know they see my progress so if anything I’m making it my duty to shine brighter when it comes to this business thing. Read more>>
Craig Lawrence
Well the good news is that I’ve got a lot of folks who are solidly in my corner. Like any artist, any small business owner, I have people that I didn’t get along with, I didn’t deliver to their satisfaction, I said no to a complicated request or a fee that was too small. Or you just work differently than other artists. Other people who think there’s one right way to do things and it’s the way they do things. Read more>>
Maiya Jones
Over time I learned that the people who may discourage you, are those who have never chased their own dream. They didn’t possess the qualities to do that. They were simply too coward to take that initiative to put theirselves out there, so they envy you. I use that as my motivation, they are people who said I would fail, now I have to show not only them but myself it can be done. They may even look at you as inspiration but they will never let you know that. Read more>>
Tyasia Collins
I’ve never took in the negative energy. Growing up my dad always told me people going to talk about you regardless rather your doing good or bad. When being doubted by many it makes you go harder and want more for yourself just so the haters could have a little more to talk about . Read more>>
Shanell Larner
Being a medical intuitive, reiki master teacher, medium and someone who practice a variety of spiritual modalities, it can cause a person to feel like a target to those who do not have the same beliefs. However, this is a mindset linked to not having confidence. As I developed into my Spirituality and expanded in my knowledge of it, I became more confident about my profession and my business. In the beginning when I first began this journey. Read more>>
Mark Brown
The saying in film and televisions is “We go through a thousand ‘NOs’ to get to one ‘YES.”” That sounds daunting until you realize that you don’t get to the “Yes” unless you go through those “NOs.” The NOs are how we grow as artists. Bruce Lee said he didn’t fear the fighter that knew 10,000 moves. Read more>>
Chantal Roberts
In the face of negative comments and doubts, my determination was fueled by a profound belief in the message I had to share with the world through my first book, “The Art of Adjusting: Writing Down the Unwritten Rules of Claims Handling.” Despite not being picked up by a traditional publishing house, I took the bold step of starting my own publishing journey. Read more>>
Devante Barnes
God is the only one im trying to impress…🌈🏋️♀️🎶 Read more>>
Mary Newstrom
I persist because of my drive and commitment to helping others grow spiritually. People who are nay-sayers are saying they cannot do something or are afraid of doing it. If you do not let that affect you by ignoring it, you can have great adventures or achieve great things. My advice is to put that out of your mind and go for it! Read more>>
Dr. Teresa A. Smith, aka Dr. TAS
This is an intriguing question that strikes a personal chord with me. During my childhood, I experienced bullying from both my peers and adults. While hurtful, this experience is unfortunately not uncommon. Such is the nature of human interactions. Read more>>
Annosha K. Biggins
Jill Scott said it best in “Hate On Me ” when she sang “Hate on me hater, now or later, cause I’m gonna do me…” This song is my anthem for haters, and trust, I’ve had plenty {of haters} especially recently as I’ve grown in my professional career. Mother Teresa charged me with such grace in her infamous “Anyway” poem; “Be…do…give anyway.” Read more>>
Mike Byrd
Dealing with negative individuals wasn’t easy, but I rose above their influence. At first, their comments and attitudes weighed heavily on me, sowing doubt and affecting my confidence. However, I realized their negativity said more about them than me. I consciously focused on my goals, surrounding myself with positivity and supportive friends. Read more>>
Benjamin Kath
I love this question because I’ve really figured this out in the last year – not just with music but in everything. People that form wrongful opinions of people, or are just clearly out to attack – almost always have something they’re struggling with in their own life. It’s made me more at peace with receiving hate, realizing the person attacking me is working through their own struggles, and it’s actually not really about me at all, but them. Read more>>
