Haters Confirm Greatness

This is the Momentum Podcast.

One of the most profound realizations an entrepreneur can come to, is that haters confirm greatness. Anyone who has ever done anything great has also had a tremendous amount of hate come their way because they rock the boat. In this episode of the Momentum Podcast, Alex is going to show you exactly why when an entrepreneur experiences criticism or hate or negative comments, it is actually a confirmation that they're doing exactly what they need to be doing. I hope you enjoy.

Charfen and this is the Momentum Podcast made for empire builders, game changers, trailblazers shot takers, record breakers, world makers, and creators of all kinds. Those among us who can't turn it off and don't know why anyone would want to. We challenge complacency, destroy apathy, and we are obsessed with creating momentum so we can roll over bureaucracy and make our greatest contribution.

Sure we pay attention to their rules, but only so that we can bend them, break them, then rewrite them around our own will. We don't accept our destiny. We define it. We don't understand defeat because you only lose if you stop and we don't know how. While the rest of the world strives for average and clings desperately to the status quo, we are the minority, the few, who are willing to hallucinate there could be a better future. Instead of just daydreaming of what could be, we endure the vulnerability and exposure it takes to make it real.

We are the evolutionary hunters. Clearly the most important people in the world. Because entrepreneurs are the only source of consistent, positive human evolution and we always will be. In the past few weeks, I've seen a clear shift on Facebook. A shift towards higher levels of aggression. A shift towards a lack of decency and a lack of empathy, and just a lot of really aggressive and sometimes even violent comments. Watching it escalate and ramp up over time.

It reminds me of this event that I went to where I got to sit with Daymond John. The guy who started FUBU. I mean, what an amazing human being. Daymond John, one guy starts this jeans company called FUBU and partnered with Samsung, which is one of the largest companies in the world. So one guy, multi-billion dollar company. Daymond John's an amazing human being. Just as an side, also an incredibly vulnerable and transparent human being.

We were sitting next to each other at a Genius Network event and he sat down and there was a card on the table that had the lunch menu and he flipped it to me and said, "Take me forever to read that, what's for lunch?" I said, "What?" He said, "I'm dyslexic. It would take me forever to read that. What's for lunch?" I was blown away that me, a stranger, he was just that open and that real with who he was. So I immediately just really liked him. It was an amazing day.

It was great meeting him. So later on he was on stage speaking and it was during the Q and A, and he got a peculiar question. He was asked, what have you learned from watching rappers? At first I thought it was kind of an off base, maybe even a little questionable question to ask a black business professional. What have they learned from rappers? But it was interesting. Daymond stopped for a second, thought about it, contemplated and then he said, "That's easy. Haters confirm greatness."

He went on to share a ton of incredible thoughts around haters. Around people who comment negatively on your posts. Around people who come out against you. Around people who instigate and who shame and who say things. It was so amazing what he said. He said, "Here's what I learned from watching rappers. Is it not only do haters confirm greatness. If you're a rapper and nobody's hating on you, nobody's going against you. Nobody's saying anything about you. You're not making enough noise." Then he said, "Not only that, but the better you are, the more that those haters will come at you." Then he said, "Here's what I really learned, is that you use them to your advantage." I don't remember if it was me or somebody else who was like, "How do you use them to your advantage?" He said, "The same way that rappers do. Look at the big feuds between people who are in that world.

People who are singers and artists. When there's a feud, there's a ton of attention. There's a ton of exposure. There's a ton of free news." He detailed all of that. He said, "The way that they use the negative attention is to get even more attention." I want you to watch as we put money behind this post and as we promote this post. What will happen is, there will be a ton of very negative comments and you'll see that there's people who just want to pull somebody down.

of haters confirmed greatness. Every single human being who's ever gotten up in the morning and said, I'm going to do something different. Everyone who's ever declared, I'm going to change the status quo. Anyone who's ever said, this world can be better. This world can be different. I can make things better. I can move things forward, has gotten a tremendous amount of negative feedback.

See, as entrepreneurs, we are this tiny little percentage of the population that goes out into the future, imagines a new reality, comes back to the present and then insist it becomes real. That's who we are. That's what we're made of. That's how we get up every single day. When you look at the rest of the population, the rest of the population lives in the present. I always share with clients that when you look at the population, they strive for average and cling desperately to this status quo.

They don't want it changed. So as an entrepreneur, when you're moving things forward, when you're changing things, when you're making things happen, you are going to get massive amounts of criticism. Look at anyone who's written a bestselling book or a number one movie, or has created a multi-billion dollar company and you will see accolade. You will see praise. But on the flip side of that coin, you will see the haters.

You will see criticism for anyone who's ever done anything great. So here's how I've used that to my advantage. Every time I get a negative comment, I just think to myself, haters confirm greatness. Every time someone says something unkind or put something on one of my ads, I remind myself, haters confirm greatness. Every time I get that type of attention, I remind myself that the rappers who weren't doing anything didn't get any attention.

So I must be moving in the right direction and doing something. I share this with you, because I want you to do the same thing. Because here's the reality of being an entrepreneur. There's a massive amount of vulnerability and exposure in doing what we do. The day you declare yourself an entrepreneur is the day you declare yourself a commodity. It's the day that people around you start judging you. Just because of what you do. Not because of who you are.

The day that you say I'm going to make this world a better place. I'm going to change things. I'm going to move things forward. I've got an idea. I've got a better way to do this, is the day that the people around you, not all of them, but some of them, are going to feel the pain of not doing that. Or they're going to feel the pain of not being in your position. They're going to feel the pain of standing still.

Unfortunately with human beings, if they haven't resolved their trauma. If they haven't worked out what's going on for them. If they feel the jealousy or the fear or the frustration that you are triggering in them, they will attack you. Here's what we need to remember. Haters confirm greatness. If we get attacked for moving something forward. For changing the world. For making this place better. For growing our business. For selling more.

For doing more, especially in the climate right now, we need to accept that. Let it wash over us as confirmation that we are doing exactly the right thing. Because right now the world needs entrepreneurs more than it ever has. What will get us through this? What has gotten us through situations like this in the past and what will get us through situations like this in the future is what always has. Entrepreneurs rising above the noise, identifying an opportunity to grab ahold of it, get into momentum and making it real.

On the way they take the rest of the world with us. So if you've experienced some criticism or some negative comments or if somebody has looked at you in a light that you don't especially appreciate, just remember, they don't know how to communicate it to you, but they're just confirming your greatness. If you'd like to be in a space where you don't have to worry about negative comments. If you'd like to be in an entrepreneurial space where you can share your successes, share your wins, tell people how things are going.

Get real advice and get real input from other people. Join us. We have a community on Facebook. It's called the Charfen Community and I'd love to have you join us. It's Charfen Community, Predictably Grow Your Business in Any Market and I look forward to seeing you there. Remember if somebody criticizes you or puts you down or says something to you that's unkind because you are creating momentum and moving forward and making something happen.

Use it as fuel to tell you you're doing exactly the right thing you should be and go forward. Don't stop. Make it happen. Keep going. Remember, every time a hater says anything, they are only confirming your greatness. Thanks for being here and just watch the negative comments pile up in the comments section. There's going to be a lot of confirmation here. I can feel it.