Opposition

Anything worth doing at all is going to be tough. It’ll be tough not only because it isn’t proven, but because people will not believe you or believe in you.

Now there are two types of opposition: doubtful opposition and absolute opposition. The first is simply not believing that someone can actually do things differently. Doubtful opposers are people that entrepreneurs need to keep in their rolodex just because everyone needs a devils advocate once in a while…especially when you prove them wrong and make that delightful little call to suggest that you did it and it worked.

The second kind of opposition, absolute opposition, tends to be more of a structural opposition. Unfortunately you cannot call anyone up and tell them that they were wrong, but this kind of opposition will actually make you a hero if you can overcome it. Structural opposition is almost always more difficult, because it involves changing a system, not an opinion.

Someone once told me that entrepreneurship is absolute optimism in the face of total rejection. Don’t let this total rejection get you down. Embrace it, engage it, and eliminate it.