One of my favourite quotes is from Marianne Williamson “your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine…..As as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
As I’ve been working on my new exciting products lately, I found myself procrastinating the actual launch. I kept thinking my stuff needed more work, my website wasn’t exactly as I wanted it to be. etc etc etc. blah blah blah. Then I got one of my favourite ezines and as I started to read it – I felt a huge wave of something rush over me. I’m not sure if it was relief, or fear or simply a matter of all the pent up emotions of the last few months coming to a head. In any case – I started to feel liberated.
In the ezine, one of my mentors was talking about how when she first started really getting out there, in a big way, she used to cringe because although most people were positive in their feedback – often times there was a lot of negative backlash. Sadly this is the norm. Especially for women entrepreneurs. I’ve experienced it first hand many times. Women like to say they support other women, and most do, but sometimes…..they can’t even help themselves. And the reality is – it all stems from jealousy and resentment.
What you need to remember, and what I need to remember, is that is has NOTHING to do with me! It’s about THEM. If they aren’t where you are, or even where they want to be, well – that’s them. Not me. The bigger and more successful I’ve gotten, the bigger and more bitter the backlash.
Sometimes it hurts. I wont lie. I have been betrayed and put down in huge ways, all because the other person was so jealous. But I’ve realized over the years that I’m more interested in who I can inspire, who I can motivate, and who I can share my success with. It’s way more fun and it keeps me in the right frame of mind moving forward.
So from now on – I’m not going to be afraid of the small minded people out there and what they think. I’ve got big plans and some great stuff that I’m launching soon! I’m going to ignore the snide whispers that I know are out there…and focus on what Dr. Suess said “those who mind don’t matter, and those that matter, won’t mind”
I hope you’ll do the same the next time you find yourself afraid of what others might think..good luck
