Want To Build A Worldwide Audience?

Recently in my mastermind group, the subject of “haters” came up.

You know what I mean…we’re talking the diametric opposite of “glowing testimonials” here.

Apparently, one of the guys in our group who is in the early stages of building his list had just experienced his first “hate mail”, and he was wondering how exactly to handle it.

That’s a question ALL of us are hit with sooner or later in the Internet marketing business, isn’t it?

When you decide to build a list you inherently decide to make yourself vulnerable to the wistful opinions of Internet users…all of whom have the distinct luxury of hiding behind a veil of anonymity.

In a very real way this is a GOOD THING, because you can ALWAYS bet that you know EXACTLY where you stand with your tribe.

They’ll let you know with BRUTAL honesty–either by their actions, their non-actions or…yes…their words. And no matter how much you blow it off the inevitability of it at first, the truth is that no matter how well-meaning your e-mail missives are, people can write astonishingly mean things to you in response.

And it HURTS because we’re human. And this guy in my mastermind group was getting his first taste of the pain.

Someone else in the group glibly offered this advice to him:

“Haters are going to hate. If you don’t want people to talk [negatively] about you, then you’re in the wrong industry.”

Truer words have never been spoken.

And I have to tell you, it really is better to learn the art of getting over “haters” sooner than later.

Why? Because the bigger your list grows to be, the more “haters” you’re going to encounter.

And although I’m not necessarily on board with the whole philosophy that says, “if you haven’t ticked someone off today you’re not doing your job”, I fully agree that the larger your audience gets the thicker your skin is going to have to be.

A BIG part of making that easier on yourself is to KNOW your purpose, and make sure that you are completely congruent with it every time you hit “send” on an e-mail to your list.

But even so, having an “anonymous” audience of any decent size brings with it some rather unexpected consequences, even as it indeed opens the doors in many ways to the kind of creative, professional and financial freedom we’re looking for.

So in essence, we’ve all got to ask ourselves how much “fame” we really want in our chosen niche.

And if your answer is, “as much as I can carry”, then here’s a rather poignant story from my distant past.

One morning as the newly-hired 23-year-old area director for a non-profit org, a would-be member of my fund-raising committee walked into my office.

Out of nowhere, he proceeded to berate me from just about every angle. Essentially, in his mind I had no business even working with kids at all…let alone run the local chapter of the organization.

I was completely blind-sided by this. And man, when he left I felt like I wanted to quit.

I wondered if he was right.

Not FIVE MINUTES later, the phone rang. It was one of the kids’ moms.

She proceeded to bestow endless praise on me for “changing her kid’s life”, “saving their family” and so forth. In no uncertain words she told me that I was the greatest blessing ever to come to their town.

When I hung up with her, I felt SO MUCH better. I had just had my worth reaffirmed, after all.

And guess what? I was an immature bonehead.

Were I a grounded adult with a mature sense of identity, NEITHER of those events would have affected my state of well-being or caused my sense of purpose to waver.

I would have long since aligned my life mission with my life purpose and carried it out with all the energy in my soul…REGARDLESS of what other people thought.

Now if you see a pattern of constructive criticism from people who have your best interest at heart, that’s one thing. But given that we as a group willingly bare our souls before the anonymous Internet, that’s another thing altogether.

Nobody has to look you in the eye when they offload their opinions.

Heck, they don’t even have to tell you who they are. So if anything, I rejoice in the simple fact that testimonials don’t come from this crowd unless they’re earned.

But even the testimonials shouldn’t affect my purpose or even my current mood. One of the great freedoms of being a successful Internetmarketer is the freedom to TELL YOUR STORY, or to send the message you are most passionate about to the world.

Are you ready for WHATEVER comes back to you as a result?

SO, ARE YOU READY TO ‘FIRE THE BOSS’ YET?

Today’s message was an honest one, but if you have a fire within that’s guiding you to follow your heart and get about the ‘business’ (in the truest sense of the word) of making a lasting positive impact on the world you were probably ENERGIZED by it rather than discouraged.

If so, why not consider putting me directly to work for you on a 1-on-1 basis in order to put your plan on the fast track.

Write me at:

scot@unchainedoffice.com

…and tell me your story. From there I can work with you to build a customized plan of action that takes you from where you are today (i.e. working for someone else) to where you want to be (i.e. working to fulfill your dreams).

Here’s To Greatness,

Scot McKay

P.S. I’m thinking of doing more Unchained Office videos. Go ahead and send me your topic suggestions.