“Do you ever pay attention to what’s written on the Internet about you?”

“Nope. I know what my intention is. People’s opinions of me who don’t know me and have never met me, that’s none of my business. That’s a projection of theirs, and it has nothing to do with me.”

Earlier, my wife put the most recent copy of People magazine on my reading table, not for me to read but just to set it down somewhere while she did something else.

Do you see the difference?

[pullquote]To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. ~ Elbert Hubbard[/pullquote]

Of course, when I saw the headline that it was about the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, I had to pick it up and see, “Who?” … “Why Her?” … and, you know, see how well it aligned with my world view.

But, as I started to read the article, I was immediately drawn to Paltrow’s response to the question posed in the title of this article.

It’s none of MY business!

Do you notice anything different about her response?

What grabbed my attention was her response, that “it has nothing to do with ME.“

Usually, we respond to rumors, gossip or mean-spirited observations and accusations about us with something quite different, along the lines of it’s ”none of THEIR business,” referring to the person making such observations rather than to ourselves.

To Paltrow’s credit, she got it right by turning this riposte on its head and placing this challenge where it belongs. NOT ON ME!

This isn’t our battle!

As leaders, we need to know that it’s not our battle when someone criticizes us.

If they don’t know us, have never even met us and have no idea what we’re trying to accomplish, why should we let them get in our heads and derail our plans for world domination?

Fighting the Resistance is hard enough.

Listen to the Most Beautiful Woman in the World.

Don’t let the unseen cynics on the battlefield.

Question: How do you keep the critics from invading your space and subverting your plans?