Bring On The Haters

Because it means you’re saying something worthwhile.

[Frog and Onion | Flickr | Modified]

A few weeks ago I felt the first bit of hater backlash via a Reddit thread. It was in response to my post about why I still work at my 9-to-5:

Obviously, this person doesn’t know me. Obviously, they generalized my entire worldview and neatly stored it away in their “millennial garbage” filing cabinet.

I’m not going to lie, it hurt a little to read what he had to say. I was tempted to write a blog post to lash back. But I took a beat. I thought for a few seconds. And I realized something important…

I’m finally saying something worthwhile.

If you have haters, doubters, or naysayers (and aren’t racist or a mean person) it means you are sending a message to the world worth hearing.

And if you aren’t prepared, it’s time to start digging in for battle.

I Met A Guy Named Gary

I’m going to reverse the situation I demonstrated above.

I used to be a hater. It’s true. I was part of the local chapter, I made tee-shirts, I even memorized the motto (Haters gonna hate).

Okay, I wasn’t that extreme, but roughly one year ago I stumbled across on the internet a man named Gary Vaynerchuk, or more…