“Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be?”
―Charles Bukowski: A Little Book of Essential Quotes on Life, Art, and Love
If you are a writer, artist, photographer, or musician, you open yourself up to criticism whenever you share your work. But you shouldn’t let that stop you because you will never please everyone.
Don’t let the opinions of others keep you from your potential.
Approval addiction and perfectionism kill creativity. They give you a great excuse to not try. If you don’t try, you can’t fail. But you also can’t succeed.
For years, fear kept me from sharing my gifts and fully living my life. Three years ago, I started writing and sharing my other creative gifts. I decided I had been hiding long enough.
Life is too short to let fear hold you back.
2 Hard Truths
You will make mistakes.
You won’t please everyone.
Congratulations—you’re human!
If you’re going to accomplish anything in this world, you must stop worrying about what people think and take risks.
Don’t reach the end of your life with regrets over missed opportunities.
The best lesson I’ve learned as a creator is to not take criticism personally.
It’s difficult, I’ll grant you. But if you write or create to please everyone, you will lose your voice—and your audience.
Your unique voice is what draws your audience to you, and you will never please everyone, no matter what you do.
Get comfortable with the fact that you will have critics.
If you have critics, it means that you are saying something worthwhile.
It sounds corny, but focus on being the best “you” you can be.
We all have unique gifts and viewpoints. Something that you write or create will be the exact thing someone else needs.
Don’t underestimate the power you have as a creator.
If you are always chasing trends, you will never develop an audience. Authenticity builds an audience because your passion will shine through.
Constructive criticism is helpful, but forget about the haters and the trolls. They will always exist. Don’t let them steal your power.
Instead, put your energy into creating content you are passionate about.
“If something burns your soul with purpose and desire, it’s your duty to be reduced to ashes by it. Any other form of existence will be yet another dull book in the library of life.”―Charles Bukowski: A Little Book of Essential Quotes on Life, Art, and Love
Consider your heroes, real or fictional. What qualities do they have that you appreciate?
I’ll bet you admire them because they are fearless. They stand up for what they believe and don’t let anyone keep them from living the life they love. Heroes embrace using their gifts for the greater good.
Your gifts benefit the greater good, too. You may not realize this, but society needs your gifts. It diminishes the world when you hide them.
Don’t stand in the shadows waiting until you are perfect, or you may wait your whole life. Start today. Pick something you love or want to learn—and DO IT!
Decide today to live your life to the fullest. No more holding back. You won’t regret it.
Focus on your future
I have too many creative plans to waste time on haters, and I’ll bet you do too. So focus on your future and don’t waste time defending yourself.
If you receive helpful critique, learn from it and move forward. Don’t waste time beating yourself up.
Time for a truth bomb. Do you know how we succeed?
We fail.
Over, and over, and over.
Until we don’t.
Have the guts to fail. It’s worth the effort.
You're right, fear of failure and other people's opinions can hold us back from achieving our true potential. Thank you!