“Very disappointed – No real practical advice“. ~ Amazon.ca reviewer of More than Cashflow.
One of my greatest fears has now happened. I received my first one star review on Amazon.
It’s ok if you’re laughing. It is silly to fear bad reviews … but, I have often felt a huge fear of judgement.
I know it’s not just me with this fear.
Public speaking is one of the greatest fears in North America. It’s not because people fear opening their mouth and letting words come out. Most of us do that quite easily; some maybe a little too easily.
A fear of public speaking is really a fear of being judged by the people in the audience.
I’m not afraid of public speaking anymore. And, now that it’s happened, I can tell you I am also not really afraid of bad reviews anymore.
The people who will judge and criticize you are NOT the ones achieving greatness, creating success and having a lasting positive impact on others.
First, those people are way to busy to criticize you and they know how hard it is to put yourself out there, so they aren’t about to judge you for doing it, even if you could do it better. Second, most people do want you to succeed and will support you. You can’t let the voice of one person who is miserable in their life ruin the more positive message from the majority.
So yes, I felt a flicker of emotion when I saw the one star amazon review. Then, I kind of laughed, and wondered what kind of book he was looking for that he felt mine was not practical.
Then, I moved on.
I still fear judgement of course. Fears like that don’t just vanish. But I also know that laying low or holding back will never get me where I want to go.
It won’t work for you either.
The solution to most challenges is almost always that you have to do the very thing you’re afraid of doing.
It’s too easy to give yourself credit for doing work that doesn’t get you where you want to go.
I get so many emails from people who spent hours on MLS and claim there just aren’t any deals that work. My suggestion is always the same – get off your couch and get your boots to the ground, talk with people in the area, and look at a lot of houses. Deals have to be uncovered and created. Eventually you’ll find them on MLS, but for now, you have to become an area expert.
I also hear from a lot of people who struggle to raise money for their real estate deals. They want credit for the work they have done even though it’s not getting them the cash. They want to hear that a tweak to their website, a different approach to their emails or a better business card is what they really need. They don’t want to hear that the reason they are struggling is because they have to do the very thing they are afraid of doing – meet people face to face and start asking for referrals, investors and finally, money!
There are external obstacles that can be holding you back. It is possible you need someone to help you overcome an obstacle, figure out what to do, or give you a system to follow. But once you have that piece, there is only one thing holding you back from the life you want to live… and it’s that person who is staring back at you in the mirror.
So face your fear … it might be as bad as you fear, but more likely it will leave you laughing that you were ever afraid of that one star review. 🙂
