It's Not About you (Seth Godin)

I subscribe to Seth Godin's daily newsletter and quite often, his daily "musings" hit home. Today's advice did just that, and I felt the need to pass it along. It's THAT good.

It's not about you

Right in the front row, not four feet from Christian McBride, was every performer's bête noire. I don't know why she came to the Blue Note, maybe it was to make her date happy. But she was yawning, checking her watch, looking around the room, fiddling with this and that, doing everything except being engaged in the music.

McBride seemed to be too professional and too experienced to get brought down by her disrespect and disengagement. Here's what he knew: It wasn't about him, it wasn't about the music, it wasn't a response to what he was creating.

Haters gonna hate.

Shun the non-believers.

Do your work, your best work, the work that matters to you. For some people, you can say, "hey, it's not for you." That's okay. If you try to delight the undelightable, you've made yourself miserable for no reason.

It's sort of silly to make yourself miserable, but at least you ought to reserve it for times when you have a good reason.

The reason this one hit home for me, is the fact that so often I find myself wanting to please EVERYONE. I want everyone to like what I've created. It's in my nature. But here's the thing: I can't. It's impossible.

And still, I find myself trying.

Seth's post today helped me to put things into perspective. "Haters are gonna hate" and "If you try to delight the undelightable, you've made yourself miserable for no reason"--So true! I want that last quote framed to hang near my desk. Seriously. I needed to hear this today.

Maybe you did too.

No one is going to like everything you do--for various reasons. It is what it is. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and wasting time trying to convince them otherwise is just that: WASTING TIME.

Seth offers a lot of good advice whether your a writer or not, so go check out his blog and if you like what you see, think about signing up for his newsletter. You won't be disappointed. I promise. Link HERE