Alright now, I learned my lesson well,
You can’t please everyone
So you gotta please yourself
Ricky Nelson
It’s easy to find a reminder that, in business, it’s important to stay human and pay attention to other people’s thoughts and feelings toward what we are doing.
It’s however less common to find a reminder that, as a micro company, trying to apply that to everyone will tear both you and your business to shreds. The question is only when that’s going to happen, not if.
In light of that, I’ll share a rule that I live by: I never spare a thought for the thoughts and feelings of people that I would never ask to advise me. In other words, if there isn’t a scenario in which I would ask a rude, self-obsessed client to advise me about my language, style, or pricing practices, then I absolutely don’t care what they think about it.
If a commenter on my videos doesn’t seem like the type of person that I would trust to be honest and constructive with their feedback, then their bad-faith verbal droppings can safely glide off my consciousness like water off a duck.**
I do welcome feedback, especially the kind that can help me get better and help more people. And I like making people laugh. But when a rando laughs at my approach, price, or advice, I just remind myself that laughter is a sign of a pattern being broken, and not much else. So, I surprised a fool. Oh well. On with my life.**