Find a way

The older I get, the more I feel this way:

I don't want to hear WHY something can't be done or WHY an idea won't work, etc. Find a solution...somehow. If you can't get through an obstacle, go around it, over it, beneath it, or forge a different path that might take you on a detour but will ultimately lead you to your goals.

Throughout my life, I've had people tell me why this, that, or the other won't work. I was told I wouldn't make it as a freelancer for more than a year or two, mainly because few freelancers last past that time. I just celebrated 19 years of being a full-time freelancer. It's not been an easy road, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's FREEDOM for me. I DO NOT miss working in a cubicle, surrounded by office politics and corporate bullshit. Nope...that scene isn't for me.

Second, I was told SUN SIGNS FOR WRITERS probably wouldn't sell to a publisher because it was a hybrid book, and one combining subjects that hadn't been done before. Glad I didn't listen, because I sold it to the FIRST publisher I pitched it to—Writer's Digest Books, an imprint of F + W Media, Inc. I got a nice advance (for a first-time author) and snagged the agent I wanted, too.

I could give numerous other examples, but you get the gist of what I'm saying. It may take me a long time -- years or even decades -- to reach goals that I have set for myself; however, I'm tenacious and determined to soldier on despite naysayers or critics. I simply DO NOT CARE what they think.

So I leave you with this: when you make a decision or set a goal, you'll usually have a bunch of naysayers or critics who will tell you WHY you shouldn't do it, HOW it cannot be done, or WHY it would be easier for you to give up and go back to being an obedient lemming. Don't listen to that bullshit. Smile, nod, and do whatever you wanted to do in the first place (like Robert Downey, Jr. claims he does).

It's your life. You hold the cards. Play them any way you damn well please! After all, (eventual) success is the best revenge, isn't it?