Who are naysayers anyways? These are people who will share their opinion with you and typically have little to no experience about the subject, and typically their opinion is negative or biased. To top it off, naysayers are normally those closest to you and think they are doing you a favour by sharing their advice and opinion.

If you have naysayers, it’s a good thing. It means that you are doing something that pushes your (and their) comfort zone, it means that you have potential, it means that you could be onto something big and great.

When I started to tell people I wanted to make money online (or with affiliate marketing), I had a ton of naysayers – friends, family, almost anyone and everyone, you name it.

Here is what some of them said:

“It’s a big scam, you it’s illegal to make money online”

“What, are you going to pretend to be a Nigerian prince and steal from people?”

“Do you know that most small businesses go out of business the first year?”

“Don’t you remember when your uncle started his own business and it didn’t work out?”

“Go get a real job”

 

 

That is just some of the feedback and advice I heard, trust me, there was more. Now the thing with naysayers is they typically aren’t trying to sabotage you or hurt you or kill your dream, they typically are actually trying to protect you. (Those who are trying to hurt you or cause discontent are something else, some call them haters, but we will get into that another time.)

Ironically naysayers typically have never tried what you want to do, but they have read about it, or heard about it and formed their opinion about it based on that. How crazy does that sound? Think about it for a second. If you were learning how to drive, would you want someone who has never driven, who has never had a drivers license giving teaching you or giving you advice? If you wanted to learn how to swim, would you listen to someone who has never been in the water in their life and tells you all the bad things that could happen when they really have no idea and have never tried? Hopefully not.

I have a rule for myself, I will never blindly take advice from someone who has no experience on the topic. It’s not to say I won’t listen to them, but I will not form an opinion on their advice if they do not have experience on the topic.

It’s important when starting something new that you have proper support, it will help you keep on going. If you notice people around you being naysayers, be frank with them and tell them you appreciate their concern, but you need their support even if they do not agree with what you are doing. Look for groups of people that are doing the same thing, network, have masterminds and meet new people. This will not only give you support, it should also help you set yourself up for success.

Most importantly, do not be a naysayer yourself. Always be a positive influence even if you don’t agree or understand what others are doing!