Don’t let anyone destroy your confidence

Has this ever happened to you? You’ve got an idea; you’ve thought it through; considered all the advantages, drawbacks, risks, and rewards; put together a plan—and then someone you trust and respect says, “You don’t have the ability to make it work.”

When that happens, it’s easy to back away from your plan, to accept the opinion of the other person, and to not do what you want to do or achieve what you want to achieve.

The late novelist Stewart E. White put it well when he said: “Do not attempt to do a thing unless you are sure of yourself; but do not relinquish it simply because someone else is not sure of you.”

If you have done your due diligence and you’re confident in your plan, don’t stop just because someone else doesn’t think you can do it. Ask yourself what makes that person an expert in who you are and what you can accomplish. And always remember that it doesn’t make sense to take financial advice from poor people.

Russ Whitney