It’s funny — well, maybe annoying is a better word — how one of the so-called trappings of success is criticism. Get up in front of a crowd to speak, launch a website, develop and launch a product, start a business, and you’re in front of people. And that means you open yourself up to criticism.

I’ve been meaning to write about this since we talked about it together a month ago at Pam Slim and Charlie Gilkey‘s LiftOff 4 retreat in Portland. The subject that night was the negative thinking, the worries, the fear and the doubts that are part of launching a business. Somebody brought up this problem of dealing with critics. We talked about it, and agreed, basically, that it comes with the territory.

Reminds me of the cliche: If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

What I like what my daughter Megan said in 5 things I learned From Haters, on her Part-time Perfectionist blog. This is point one of five:

If you have haters, it means you’re on to something. Think of all the cliches I can spout about this: the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference. All press is good press. Haters gonna hate. Trolls gonna troll.

Success generates detractors. Expect it. It comes with the territory.

(Image: Daliborlev/Flickr CC)