It’s about those who say yes

The big question on my mind right now is: what am I really doing this for?

It’s a question founded in self-doubt and an expectation that everyone will be as excited for my content as I am.

What I hope to achieve from daily blogging, as we round off the first week of posting new content every day, is a collection of ideas, beliefs and preachments that I can one day compile and present to young people to drive change.

What happens when people say it won’t work?

9 times out of 10, people aren’t going to share the same hope and investment in an idea that the initiator does or if they say they do, they’re lying. It’s not an insult to how viable your idea is or your capability of executing it; it’s simply their lack of belief.

I’ve had numerous people tell me this won’t last a week. It has. Call it a small feat, but this says something about how we approach our challenges.

Focus on the people who believe in you, so you can prove those who don’t wrong.

Remember, there’s still that 1/10 you will say yes. When they say yes, they’ll do so emphatically. Winners are always keen to meet, motivate and involve themselves with other winners, you just have to dig a bit for them. I know this because people have generously offered me help for projects in the past that I look forward to finding for this endeavour too, even more than I have already.

Am I too young?

This is one of the first questions I encountered when considering this idea aloud. What experience do I have that gives me an edge over anyone else? Why do people want to hear from me? The fact that I started early, and have the opportunity to share it from Day 1.

The reality is that a lot of our parents and their parents before them will have, as my dad will concur, eaten sh*t for the first ten years of their careers. In doing that, they have opened doors for us that translate into having opportunities earlier than ever before. Nowadays, there are five-year-olds out there with more passion and conviction than anyone our age because they truly love what they are doing.

Youth is a tool, not a disadvantage — we’re too dumb to believe we’re wrong.

As they grow older, however, they become more and more likely to shy away from these passions. I place the blame for that on the older people around them questioning them due to the cynicism experience so often brings, thus inducing a cycle of self-doubt.

Ignoring the people who say no is one part of the equation. The next is proving them wrong. Execution is everything. It’s a waste of energy ignoring the nay-sayers if they end up being right.

People will judge you based on your success, not your faith in it happening. Draw off the support the 1/10 give you and make things happen so the 9/10 feel as stupid as they tried to make you feel when they said no.