Critics Can Help You Stay Focused | Travel Research Online

Image
Image

Critics Can Help You Stay Focused

“If you absolutely can’t tolerate critics, then don’t do anything new or interesting.” — Jeff Bezos

It is a well-known fact that I wrote the book, Get Your S.H.I.P. Together- The Wealthy Travel Agent Guide to Sales. The book was first published over two and half years ago and is still a consistent best seller in its genre. Recently after years of four- and five-star reviews – I got hammered with two very negative (one-star) reviews within two days of each other. They were hateful attacks, not just on the book and how bad it sucked, how poorly it was written and that it was so thin it shouldn’t be called a book. The worst past was the attack on my integrity with the accusation that I was paying reviewers for their testimonials.

Amazon has a code of ethics for its community and removed the nastiest of the two. The reviewer toned down the rhetoric resubmitted it, which was also removed. He resubmitted it for a third and final time before Amazon finally permitted it to stand. If you are interested, here is the link. https://www.amazon.com/Get-Your-S-H-I-P-Together-Wealthy/dp/1523654589/

I host a mastermind program each month where we always spend a few minutes celebrating our successes before getting into the agenda. When it came my turn, I offered the negative reviews up as a win.

Don’t get me wrong, while I appreciate the overwhelmingly positive feedback and the travel organizations who have purchased it in bulk, I get that the book—especially those outside the industry, is not for everyone.

Ironically, I devote a fair amount to the power of mindset in the book. Before you can “Get Your S.H.I.P. Together”, you have to “Get Rid of the C.R.A.P”. The “C” stands for criticism.

We simply can’t please everyone—so, why try? There will always be naysayers who will criticize your work, tell you that you can’t do something, or that you should quit and find another profession. Typically, the longer you go without regular sales, the stronger the criticism from outside influencers. Unfortunately, many of these critics tend to be people close to you (they may qualify for the “A” in the acronym, but that’s a different subject). It is important to believe in your mission and not deviate. Am I going to rewrite the book because a couple of people don’t like it? No way. I believe in the message and how it can help others succeed.

Stay strong and don’t let others steal your dream, if Jeff Bezos had listened to critics, we would have no Amazon.


Picture

Dan Chappelle is a professional business advisor and best-selling author. His training and consulting firm helps develop sales focused business leaders and entrepreneurs in the travel and tourism industry.

His book, Get Your S.H.I.P. Together: The Wealthy Travel Agent Guide to Sales, is available on Amazon.com. For information on the Wealthy Travel Agent Academy’s business transformation programs, visit: www.DanChappelle.com

Share your thoughts on “Critics Can Help You Stay Focused”

You must be a registered user and be logged in to post a comment.