People who dream big dreams and proceed to put substance under them are always open to criticism. Some people just don't grasp dreams. Others are jealous because they didn't have them first. And, I have come to suspect, there are some people who think their job in the world is to tear down the rest of us. Friend, you have a dream, don't you? So it is a given that you should expect to endure your share of criticism. The question is what are you going to do about it?

If the criticism is legitimate, learn from it. The people and corporations that fail are the ones so thin-skinned that they cannot hear bona fide complaints. A true friend will always run the risk of speaking the truth because he/she cares about you. A criticism of a product service can be the insight needed to improve it.

If the criticism is mistaken or mean-spirited, rise above it. Maintain the high ground when you're under fire. No victory is worth winning at the expense of picking up the mud that has been slung at you and throwing it back. If you must respond, just use facts. Try never to give in to the temptation to get even. Jesus is the perfect example of turning the other cheek and returning good for evil.

When you are criticized, hold fast to your dream and continue pursuing it. The critics win if you stop doing your job in order to fight them. Your best long-term answer will be to see your task through to completion. The American President Theodore Roosevelt had a credo about the criticism leaders must take for their daring and boldness. Today, I'd like to share that credo with you and I sincerely hope you will be strengthened by his words:

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who does actually try to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly." Roosevelt went on to say: "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the grey twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

Friend, today gives you a chance to do something significant. Don't let critics turn you away from doing your duty, finishing your task, and pursuing your dream. You are greater than any circumstances, any attitude, any setback you may face. None of these is qualified to sit in the driver's seat of your life. Perhaps you would like us to send you "THE SUCCESS PLAN" which contains eight important decisions to help you succeed in life. If so, just request your FREE copy by writing to Discovering A Better Life: P.O. Box 1540, Albany W.A. 6331.Email: abl-alb@omninet.net.auabl-alb@omninet.net.au