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Don’t Mock Me!
My favorite part of the Noah’s Ark story is not that he listened to his god and therefore
managed to save mankind and the animals, and it is not the rainbows, or even the
dove as a symbol of divine peace and love. My favorite part happens long before
the rains begin to fall. I love that no matter how much people laughed and scoffed
at what he was doing; Noah still went right on building that ark. Think about how
many days, weeks, months it took to build that thing and all the while they were
mocking him. His commitment and tenacity is an awesome example of doing what you
believe in no matter what those around you might think. Noah was willing to look
foolish in the eyes of everyone around him so that he could fulfill his destiny.
As an entrepreneur, I find that story quite inspirational. How many of us were
laughed at or mocked when we first started our adventures into self-
People continually say, “Oh you’re so lucky! I wish I was a rich business owner,” whenever they encounter a successful entrepreneur. I find that statement to be ignorant and somewhat insulting. Like Noah, most entrepreneurs started out with a vision of some sort, a passion, and a strong sense of purpose as they began building their business. Many of us are shot down from the very start before we even begin. The minute we start telling friends and family of our plans, they start reminding us that we are not smart enough, talented enough, or wealthy enough to launch such a dream.
I remember years ago when I first took my big leap of faith and quit my ‘real job’
to create Tomorrow’s Edge. My children and my best friend supported me, but everyone
else sweetly and politely reminded me of all of the reasons that I should not do
it. A friend of mine called me on the telephone to remind me of how he had told
his boss to go to hell one day and quit his job to start his own company. Two years
later and bordering on bankruptcy, he was begging that same boss to forgive him and
to take him back on as an employee. “Don’t you know just how many people fail at
self-
A woman who had been like a second mother to me for many years told me that since I did not have a formal college degree and a doctorate in mental health, that I was not qualified to even think about doing the work that I was about to do.
A woman from my church who had been extremely close to me got really angry and chewed me out one day because she said I was trying to start my own church and was trying to copycat our minister. Her loyalty to our minister was lovely, but I really did not see how Tomorrow’s Edge was ever going to be a church or even a religion.
My own extended family never even heard me as I told them over and over for the first five years of the company’s existence that I was even doing this thing. They all acted as if I was sitting home painting my nails pink and web surfing all day every day. Most of my family still really has no clue what I do and why I do it.
Does any of that matter? Heck no! These people’s opinions of me and of my goals do not change a darn thing. And that’s the point. When you have a goal, a dream, a vision, a mission that burns a hole in your soul when you are not working at it, then you are willing to look like an idiot and a stubborn fool if that is what it takes to succeed. So what if you don’t have a loving support system. It’s your dream, your goal, your vision, your mission – not theirs. If they were meant to do it, then they would have that relentless fire burning in the depths of their souls to roll up their sleeves and help you. It was never theirs to love in the first place, it was always meant for you and you alone.
If you do not have the backbone, tenacity, focus, drive, and raw passion to get beyond
what others think of you and your dreams, then you have no business trying to be
self-
The naysayers are your practice customers and your practice competitors. They give you the opportunity to seriously answer the important questions: Are you committed, really committed? Do you have what it takes to stand up for what you truly believe in? Can you sell the nonbelievers on the viability of your ideas? Do you believe in your goal? Do you believe in yourself? Can you defend your decision to go into business for yourself without getting angry and emotional? Thank your family and friends for mocking you!
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