What do you do with the naysayers?

I've listened to naysayers (or dream stealers for lack of a better word). I didn't succumb to their words...or rather, I did until I chose not to.  You have enough doubt in yourself without having to hear it from anyone else...especially if you are venturing into the unknown. I've heard it time and time again at different intervals in my life.  I remember when I was a teenager, hanging out at a friend of mines house and her aunt saying to me "Jerry, you ain't nuthin' and you're never gonna be nuthin'"  I laughed it off at the time because I knew where the words were coming from, and it didn't have as much to do with me as it did what I represented to her.  But it didn't matter.  Her words still stung, and it resonated with me.  Obviously it did because here I am many years out of being a teen and I can still hear those words as if she said it to me a few hours ago.

I know that there are many of you that deal with this very scenario day in and day out.  People will tell you that you can't do something and you're left wondering to yourself, "Well, why can't I?"  Sometimes, it's your parents that are the naysayers.  Sometimes it's your friends.  It may even be someone that you're having a close, intimate relationship with.  So what do you do?  What happens when you have a dream and someone is constantly whispering in your ear telling you that you can't do it?

Well, you can figure out what your options are.  Is it money or lack thereof?  Will your dream mean giving up more practical things like keeping a roof over your head and eating?  Some people will say that it is all of those things...and I get it.  In one article that I published a few months ago, I addressed that very topic...Do you live your dream...or look for work?

But I'm getting off topic here.  What happens when someone whose friendship you value tells you in plain language that what you want to do can't be done?  Or rather, it can't be done by YOU?  Do you listen to that person?  Do you take it to heart?  You can, but ultimately, it's your dream, and part of your inalienable right to having a dream is protecting it.  It doesn't matter how outlandish it sounds.  It doesn't matter how crazy it may seem to you or other people.  Consider who the naysayer is and where the negativity is coming from, and then you decide for yourself.  Be realistic with yourself.  If you're in your late 30's and want to be a pro basketball player, you may want to trade that idea for something that is more attainable.  That's what I mean by being realistic.  But if your dream is to start your own business or write that next novel...I say go for it.  Keep the naysayers at bay.  Listen to your gut.

Sometimes, you may want to tell that person.."I hear what you're saying and I appreciate it, but I'm going to listen to this voice over here!!"