Believe

Gun’s Quote-of-the-Week:

“Pay no attention to what the critics say; there has never been setup a statue in honor of a critic.”

-Jean Sibelius

First, watch this video:

“Do you not believe in yourself? Can you not hear yourself?”

These are the questions Mr. Maloney is asked after performing his breathtaking rendition of Bette Midler’s touching song, “The Rose.”

Subject: Man, age 34, who has been told he has an amazing voice for God-knows-how-long. Has applied to X-Factor for five years. Has ripped up his application before mailing it in for the last four.

“People… just people,” is his response to the questions.

People. That is his reason for not risking “public embarrassment” and putting his talent out there for all to enjoy, and maybe even shed a tear or two.

Let me ask you a question. How often have you not done something because somebody told you that you couldn’t do it? Honestly?

No, I’m not just talking about applying for X-Factor or American Idol. How many of us make decisions every day based upon our BELIEFS that we can not actually do it? Are people really telling us that we are not good enough, or have we convinced ourselves of that fact?

How many girls did we not ask out?

How many promotions did we not ask for?

How many classes did we not take?

How many schools did we not apply for? I could go on and on and on.

I think we often try to hide the fact that we don’t believe in ourselves by conveniently pointing out all of our critics. One critical comment can negate 100 positive ones. Why is it that we believe our enemies but not our friends or loved ones? What gave them authority over our own trusted advisors?

So, in summary, two points:

1. Pay no attention to the critics, just like Jean said.
2. You’d best watch your mouth when criticizing somebody else. Your words could smash somebody’s hopes, dreams and perhaps even futures. You don’t know what they can do, so stop pretending that you do.

…and that’s why it’s a Gun’s Quote!