Who Asked You?

People should fear natural disasters, and the reaction to Hurricane Dorian is rational and responsible. They should fear violence and accidents.

But to fear buyers, to fear making a presentation, to fear writing something—these are irrational fears. They are fears of rejection and ego damage.

It’s very tough to recover when your car or home is destroyed. But people do it daily. It shouldn’t be at all hard to recover when someone says, “I didn’t like what you wrote” or “I didn’t like your presentation.” My usual response to that is, “I don’t recall asking your opinion.”