“I never invite idiots to my house.”
— Elizabeth Montagu
Is there anyone more miserable than someone whose business is something they detest?
Let me ask that another way:
Do you actually like your followers? Would you choose to hang out with them if you didn’t have to, or would you prefer to keep them at arm’s length?
It’s not fun being a Thought Leader if you don’t like your followers. They tend to… well… follow you. Are you sure you want them there?
Or did you have this idea that you could somehow not have any followers at all — except, obviously, to the extent that they buy your stuff?
Let me help you with something: that almost never works.
Respect is sometimes taken for granted, but everyone knows the moment it’s gone.
If you’ve seen an entertainer who has lost respect for their audience, you know it.
I tell my wife sometimes, “it’s you and me against the world.” Would you say that to your prospects? Your customers? Your followers?
There’s almost always an “us” and a “them,” and you had better hope that the people closest to you and the people that you depend on to fund your work are included in the “us” and not the “them.” It’s no fun the other way around.