Review Your Own Life And Avoid Critics

The only opinion of you that matters is the one you hold of yourself

We live in a world where everything is based on comparisons, contrasts, and criticisms. Social media is a headlong, out-of-control race to outperform and overshadow everyone. Unfortunately, social media is no more real than reality TV. Both are fictional farces designed to occupy our attention and divert our priorities. The obsession with impressing people who really don’t care about us is an exercise in futility. In reality, the only opinion of you that matters is the one you hold of yourself.
 

My late, great friend and colleague, Brian Klemmer of Klemmer & Associates, told me, “Other people’s opinion of you is none of your business.” As in many things Brian said and did, it changed how I think and who I am.
 
As I dictate these words, my novel Will to Win is in pre-production to become a movie. This film will be the ninth of my stories that will make it to the big screen. One of the many lessons I have learned as a result of being involved in the motion picture industry is the fact that movie reviews and critics are irrelevant and should be ignored. There is much corruption and manipulation that goes on in the movie review business and among movie critics. Even among respected and legitimate movie reviewers, a movie review is merely one person’s opinion.
 
When I was first approached about licensing one of my books to a movie studio, I began studying the industry. There are a number of lists compiled by “experts” that purport to name the best movies of all time. After reviewing several of these lists, I discovered Orson Welles’ film Citizen Kane was included in many of them. I got a copy of Citizen Kane and screened it in our small theater here at our office. After several failed attempts, I struggled to sit through the entire movie.
 
While I have the greatest respect for Orson Welles and hold him in the highest esteem, I do not like the movie Citizen Kane and could not honestly recommend it to anyone. My expressed opinion does not mean that it isn’t one of the best movies ever made. I just don’t happen to like it. Somewhere there may be an individual who doesn’t like pizza, chocolate chip ice cream, or the St. Louis Cardinals. I realize this is hard to imagine, but everyone is entitled to their opinion, and you and I are entitled to ignore it.
 
As you go through your day today, review your own life and avoid critics.
 
Today’s the day!

Author Bio

Jim Stovall is the president of the Emmy-award-winning Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of more than 50 books—eight of which have been turned into movies. He is also a highly sought-after platform speaker.   Follow @Stovallauthor