Can you recommend some good Steve articles on dealing with naysayers/critics etc

[Breakaway]

I am in need of one of those articles, you can suggest more than one. I have read some good articles from Steve and I would like to read some more at this time.

Recently I have embarked on an ambitious venture, and whenever I talk about it, most of the people I talk to try to dismiss it, even though they are not people who are successful. And honestly I am a lot smarter than they are.

I'm a confident person, so it surprised me that their criticism actually had an effect on my psyche. I asked myself why it bothered/frustrated me if I don't seek other people for validation in general, why would I care what they think of my plans now? I'm still not 100% sure why. Perhaps I am a very positive person, and their negativity of someothing personal to me exposes a blind spot that I've overlooked? I've tried to use this experience postively, as I do with anything.

[Parthon]

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/200...tor-or-a-cage/

That's the best one I've found. There are others but that hits the nail head on.

As for their opinions. Acknowledge them, let the other person have them, don't dismiss or refuse them point blank, weigh them up for merit and if they have none, dump them. It does sound like you are getting a bunch of well meaning advice from a bunch of fearful people though, so it will be rather polluted.

I think the reason why you feel weird is that you know they mean well for you, but the advice they give is totally at odds with it. It's because the advice says more about them than it does about you. Let them have their advice, take from it what you will and thank them for spending the time to give it.

Lastly, don't get attached to your venture. You can work on it 100% and put everything you can into it, just don't identify with it. If you don't invest your sense of self into it you won't have to defend it whenever anyone says anything bad about it. This will prevent you from having to defend it from the bad advice and just take everything as it comes. It means you don't have to act on the bad advice, you can just let it be.

I hope this helps you somewhat.

[Breakaway]

Thanks for the reply. It is definetly more to do with them than it has to do with me, since they barely even know me, and barely even understand what my venture is all about. They also live a life that is not very successful or happy.

I agree with everything you said, except for the last paragraph. I don't think that I can really "seperate" myself from my passions. They are one with me. Yes, I have to not be blinded by it. But when I work hard and focus so hard on something, it becomes a part of me. I don't think I would want it any other way.

[Parthon]

It's more about not having to defend it all the time, wasting time and energy on worry and wasted effort.

You can put your whole passion and focus into it, bring it into yourself and even call it yours, the bad part comes from when an attack on it is viewed as an attack on you, and therefore you have to defend it. It's the emotional and mental attachment you have with the venture that causes the friction.

Invest yourself in the venture, but don't invest the venture in yourself. That way you won't be affected by criticism about the venture. You'll just turn around and say "Yeah, that might be true, but I'm doing it anyways. What are you doing for yourself?" Flip their advice back on them, and focus the attention on why they said it.

Once I find some good articles on how to fully involve yourself in something without getting attached, I'll post them.