{"id":43207,"date":"2018-10-23T04:45:04","date_gmt":"2018-10-23T09:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/?p=43207"},"modified":"2018-10-23T04:45:04","modified_gmt":"2018-10-23T09:45:04","slug":"dont-let-others-make-you-small","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/dont-let-others-make-you-small\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Let Others Make You Small"},"content":{"rendered":"

Big goals are often the seed for big success. Monica Louie knows this firsthand. The Facebook ad expert launched a new company<\/a> and set an audacious goal of earning $100,000 her first year in business\u2014despite having made only $8,000 the previous year with another venture.<\/p>\n

It was such a big goal, in fact, that a recently hired business coach advised her against it, stating that she would likely get discouraged en route to her goal and quit well before her milestone was reached.<\/p>\n

Louie, however, wasn\u2019t deterred.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know myself, and if I don\u2019t shoot for a big goal that seems completely out of reach, then I won\u2019t take the kind of action I need to take in order reach my full potential,\u201d she says. \u201cThis strategy paid off because in my first year of my new business, I ended up making $91,000 of revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though just landed shy of her goal, Louie says that the extra $9,000 doesn\u2019t matter. \u201cI still proved to myself that I could make an impact with my business and help a lot of people,\u201d she says. \u201cBecause I wasn\u2019t afraid to dream big, I have now set my business up to be on a path to triple that impact in my second year of business.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been said that if your goals don\u2019t scare you, they\u2019re not big enough. But what happens when others, like Louie\u2019s coach, try to keep you small, and discourage you from aiming for loftier goals?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what business leaders have to say.<\/p>\n

Consider the source<\/h3>\n

When Chicago-based fighter jet engineer Adrian Mederos decided to build a travel search engine app<\/a>\u2014and set a goal of reaching one million users\u2014he knew he\u2019d need accountability to fuel his ambition. So he took to YouTube and uploaded a video detailing his intent.<\/p>\n

To date, his channel is at 1,700 subscribers and growing. And increased visibility brings increased scrutiny.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I receive ridicule, I take a long hard look at the person ridiculing me,\u201d Mederos says. \u201dWhat have they built? What is their legacy? Where are their goals? The answer is always underwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an era of anonymous internet trolls, Mederos refuses to be goal-shamed by people who aren\u2019t even doing the work to achieve their own goals. But that doesn\u2019t mean he ignores the naysayers completely.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing ridiculed is a good sign,\u201d he says. \u201cOwn it and use it to fuel the force driving your ambition, and know that the results will show for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Search for the positive<\/h3>\n

Echoing Mederos\u2019s sentiment, business coach Jennifer Dawn<\/a> says that it is helpful to actually thank critics for their comments. \u201cThe sting of criticism can certainly hurt at first, but there is tons of valuable information to be found if you go into it looking for the positive,\u201d she says.
\nIn her own career, Dawn has faced blowback from her ex-husband, former boss, and past mentor\u2014each of whom scoffed at her plan to launch her own coaching business.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy receiving criticism it gave me the opportunity to take an honest look at myself, my direction, and what I wanted my contribution to be,\u201d Dawn says. \u201cI was then able to course-correct if necessary and feel even more satisfied about my choices. This has helped me to be more self-aware and self-confident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dawn adds that the ability to glean useful information from hurtful situations is a skill that all business leaders can learn. This skill leads to self-awareness, which she believes is foundational for success.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you can find the positive in these situations, it can really help to propel you further and keep your dreams intact,\u201d Dawn explains.<\/p>\n

Build relationships wisely<\/h3>\n

Quoting Mark 6:4, which reads, \u201cA prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home,\u201d executive coach Glenn Davis acknowledges that the people closest to us are often the most vocal critics when we set out to break new ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamily and long-time friends have the default of constantly reducing you to your past and your failures,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Davis\u2019s own inner circle was rife with judgement when he chose to leave the corporate world in 2012 to go out on his own. To counteract the negativity, he became intentional about building relationships with those who would speak to his potential instead of his past.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, that is the same advice he gives others.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of my redemption to break free from this negative pattern was to give permission to those who truly believed in me to mentor me, challenge me, and push me,\u201d Davis says. \u201cI always say, only those who are willing to walk with you up the mountain have the right to speak into your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prepare for a difficult\u2014but satisfying\u2014journey<\/h3>\n

Just as fear is often the deterrent that keeps us from starting the business, writing the book, or launching the new product, it is also what leads others to discourage us from doing those things in the first place. That, in itself, is to be expected. It\u2019s when we\u2019ve made the mistake of placing our faith in the approval of those detractors that the search for external validation becomes dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, you must be open to feedback and debates about your ideas, but that shouldn\u2019t be the sole criteria to define your start,\u201d says Ketan Kapoor, who left an executive-level position with American Express to launch Mettl<\/a>, an online talent assessment platform. \u201cThe more I craved for validation; the stronger the rejections I got.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is it easy to shut out the voices of negativity, only to find yourself navigating the uncertainty alone? No, says Kapoor. But he says that it\u2019s more satisfying from the regret that comes from inacation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are to achieve something worthy that sets you apart, the start is going to be lonely,\u201d says Kapoor. \u201cPeople only join and appreciate when your ideas get successfully incubated. If you have a firm vision grounded in reality, the road can be rough but it\u2019s sure to lead you to the destination.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Big goals are often the seed for big success. Monica Louie knows this firsthand. The Facebook ad expert launched a new company and set an audacious goal of earning $100,000 her first year in business\u2014despite having made only $8,000 the previous year with another venture. It was such a big goal, in fact, that a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":43260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[394,344,71,395,20,396,33,397,21],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDon't Let Others Make You Small | Full Focus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/dont-let-others-make-you-small\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don't Let Others Make You Small | Full Focus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Big goals are often the seed for big success. Monica Louie knows this firsthand. 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