“The person who seeks all their applause from outside has their happiness in another’s keeping.”

Dale Carnegie

I am constantly reminding myself to not base how I feel about my performance on what other people think. If you do all that you can to prepare, and you execute with your very best effort, who cares if people applaud you or not. Do I like it better when they do? YUP!! I really do like it when people like me. However, and my wife and kids can testify, I honestly don’t care if someone likes me, approves of me, or applauds me or NOT.

One day, several years ago, when my oldest son was in middle school, it was my turn to pick up in car line. He got into the truck, we exchanged hugs, and asked how each other’s day was going. I mentioned, laughingly, a response to an op-ed piece I had written for the newspaper, it was ripping me, but was poorly written (SHOCKER!).

My son laughed with me, and said, “Dad, half the world hates you!”

Well, it’s probably a lot higher percentage than that, but those folks aren’t contributing to my family’s well-being anyway, so who cares. 300 Spartans took on the world’s superpower, Persia, and stopped them dead in their tracks. I’m pretty sure, Leonidas wasn’t heartbroken over the fact that Xerxes didn’t like him. In fact, Leonidas didn’t much dig Xerxes either.

Every major decision I’ve made in my life, had a truck load of folks who didn’t applaud the decision I made. And guess what, had I made the opposite decision, I would have had a truck load of folks who didn’t applaud the decision. Live your life, make your choices based on the criteria that making these decisions will bring you closer to realizing your vision and overall goals. (Of course, if you don’t have a vision, making decisions is like taking a vacation with no destination, or start date, but that’s for another day.)

Today, instead of taking into consideration the validation of others (family, friends, coworkers, the boss, etc.), think about becoming the one validates them. Can you imagine being a lowly foot soldier in World War II and having General Douglas MacArthur slap your shoulder and say, “You’re doing a great job, keep on keeping on”? Do you think MacArthur was seeking validation?

Boo Yah!