Earlier today, someone asked me, "What's the best lesson you've learned while pursuing entrepreneurship?"

To be honest, there are a number of lessons I could share. Entrepreneurship is an ever-challenging endeavor. You're constantly learning and growing, so it's hard to identify just one lesson that makes all the difference. But if I had to pick just one, I would say this:

Entrepreneurship, and life in general, is hard enough. Like life, it's constantly pushing you to be better and better. And if you let it, it will throw you against the rocks and leave you for dead. And that's assuming everything is going your way. And like everything else in life, there will be additional challenges you'll face, particularly the negative people who want to marginalize and shoot down your dreams.

The best thing I could have ever learned to do as far as pursuing a career path/lifestyle of an entrepreneur, is to stop caring about what everyone else thinks and start enjoying my life and making decisions on what I think is best. You don't have to adhere to the advice and opinions of other people, because at the end of the day, they don't have to deal with the consequences of your decisions.

No matter what you do in life, there will be someone, somewhere, offering their unsolicited and unwanted advice about what's best for you. If you decide to go to college, there will be people telling you what degree to pursue, and why. When you search for a job, there will be people telling you why you shouldn't choose the job you want, and instead find something "safer". If you want to start a business, there will be people telling you it would be better for you to go to school. And if you decide to start a blog and share your knowledge, there will be people telling you that you're wasting your time, and you should just get a "real job". And then it all repeats itself.

The moment I stopped listening to everyone's "advice", was the moment I became truly free. I've never found more freedom, I've never known more peace.

In addition, I've also learned, is to fully embrace, accept and cherish the people around me who support me unconditionally.

I fully accept that not everyone is good for you, is genuinely looking out for you, or wants to see you succeed. But on the other hand, there are those who will. Your real friends and family who will be there to support you, even if they don't share your dream. The people who lend a helping hand without expectation, and the people who listen to your ideas and offer advice without passing judgement. The people who will tell you things you don't want to know, but need to hear. The people waiting to sing your praises at the finish line, regardless of how you got there, or how long it took.

In life, there are those who want to bring you down, and those who want to lift you higher. Put your energy into the people who build you up, and as you go higher in life, pull them up with you. Then watch how strong you become, and how far you grow together. Then keep repeating this cycle so that your circle grows stronger and stronger as more time passes. Eventually, your collective success will reach a point that the opinions of your naysayers won't be a factor, because you won't be able to hear them. Your success will do all the talking.

Take care and be blessed!

Ra