What people think about you is not important. What you think about yourself is everything.

What people think about you is not important. What you think about yourself is everything.

Ask me if I care what you think about me. The honest answer is yes, of course I do. I care what people think about me, my companies, my reputation and my honor.

More important, however, is whether or not what you think about me is going to change me in any way. Again, the honest answer is perhaps it will or perhaps it will not. In the end, I am the arbiter as to whether or not your opinion of me means anything whatsoever to me. As it should be.

Our experience in life demonstrates how other people’s perceptions of us can open doorways or close them in… numerous ways. So it would appear, at first blush, as if it is incredibly important to measure that variable and to continuously take that into consideration in almost every important decision that we are called upon to make in our lives.

Even though these factors may prove to be true, at the essence of the contemplation must lie the potential that only your perspective is likely to be more accurate than most and, as a result, must be the top consideration in your self determination. 

We are all subject to self delusion. It is a prerequisite in life and whether we might believe that we are above that, I’ve never met anyone, starting with myself, who is not fully aware of the disparity between reality and the delusion that we might be willing to sell ourselves. Given each individual’s propensity to delude themselves, how then is it feasible to allow our own opinion of ourselves to take the highest ranking in consideration?

As with everything in life, I believe there must be a balance that auto calculates the disparities between what we think others believe against our own internal perceptions so that we might find our true assessment deep within. Often times, there is a shade of gray that is more likely to be accurate and perhaps more valuable than either their perception or our own.

In today’s aphorism, it presents a binary option for the resolution, in the sense that you either believe an external opinion or an internal one. But, in my life experience, most things are not binary. Most things are a blend.

That said, the true power of today’s aphorism stems from a recognition that creating our own sense of self must never be predicated solely on the external opinion of others. They come to their individual assessments through a massive collection of tastes, filters, life experiences, and beliefs that have been ingrained since childhood and so on. Allowing for their perspective always has some potential value, but certainly not enough to categorically alter our own. How could they possibly know us well enough to discern the myriad variables that comprise who we truly are?

Learning to trust our own internal assessments as to who we are, what makes our strengths and weaknesses, and what our potential in life truly is, is unquestionably an evolution in perspective, approach, self criticism and self praise. All of these must be in balance in order that we have our best effort at being relatively accurate in our understanding of whom we truly are.

The power of the mind is critical. It is only through the power of the mind that the greatest accomplishments in life are achieved. The internal mechanism that is capable of convincing us of creating an internal resolution which has the power to propel us to ever greater magnitude is one of the most valuable things we need ever discover about ourselves. It is the internal guiding force that convinces us that what appears impossible to others is actually achievable. With that internal compass, every aspect of man’s achievement to date has been nurtured and accomplished.

So, do I really care what you think about me? Of course I do. I would be wise to take into consideration what anybody thinks about me so that I might find lessons in that process that I might not have found through self evaluation. But, far more important, is what I really believe about myself, because there is power and strength in every thought. The more that you think, the more your thoughts become words. The more they become words, the more they evolve into definitive actions. 

I never lose faith if someone else’s appraisal of me is not what I had hoped. Try and learn from it wherever you may and then,  like water off a ducks back, let their opinions dissipate back into the ethos so that you might continue your own process of internal growth and self realization.

This is truly a cornerstone in personal growth and building your personal power. Happy Wednesday!

On a separate note, does anybody have an iPhone 13? We have discovered an anomaly in Sizzle and I’m trying to confirm if it is tied specifically to the iPhone 13, so if you do and you would be willing to do a quick test for me, I would really appreciate it😊😊

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Written by Brian Weiner
When I was 5 years old, I discovered that the lemon tree in the backyard + dixie cups + water and sugar and I was in business. I have been hooked on that ever since. In 1979, I borrowed $14,000 to create a brand new product... photographic greeting cards with no text on the inside, called Paradise Photography. That was the start of The Illusion Factory. Since then, The Illusion Factory has been entrusted by all of the major studios and broadcasters with the advertising and marketing of over $7 billion in filmed, live, broadcast, gaming, AR, VR and regulated gaming forms of entertainment, generating more than $100 Billion in revenue and 265 awards for creativity and technology for our clients. When I took a break from film school at UCLA to move to Hawaii, my mother did not lecture me. Instead, she took 150 of her favorite aphorisms and in her beautiful calligraphy, wrote them artistically throughout a blank journal. That is the origin of the Lessons from the Mountain series. Since then, on my journeys to the top of a mountain to watch the sunrise, I have spent countless hours contemplating words of wisdom from the sages of all races, genders and political persuasions, constantly accumulating the thoughts to guide me on my life path. I hope you enjoy my books. Please let me know your thoughts, as I highly value your feedback!