I am, by nature, an optimist.  I look for, and usually find, the best in every person, situation or event and I try to pass on this optimism to everyone I meet.  However, being an optimist does not blind me from the realities of the world and neither should it blind you.

The reality is not that everyone is going to be supportive of your efforts to make the most of your dash.  As you move out of the shadows and take your rightful place in the sun, you will be subject to the blistering sting of criticism.  And perhaps, most painful of all, this criticism will often come from the people closest to you – friends and loved ones.  They will say things like, “Who is she to think she can do that?” or “Why does he think that he’s better than us?” or “She’s changed!  She’s not fun anymore!”

I wish I could tell you that you will be exempt from these types of attacks but I doubt you will.  Every person who has ever achieved greatness has suffered the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”  For instance, when Christopher Columbus departed on his fateful journey to the New World, do you think everyone was in his corner?  Of course, not.  There were those who said, “Why can’t you be satisfied with the half of the world that we know about now?  You must think that you’re smarter than the rest of us.  You’ll get what you deserve when you sail right off the edge of the earth.”

Similar words were muttered to Dr. Martin Luther King when he began his fight for racial equality.  Today, Dr. King has a holiday when millions of people pay tribute to him but this was not always the case.  During the 1960s, many people thought that Dr. King was a “trouble maker.”  He was called arrogant and unrealistic.  He has been accused of everything from plagiarism to infidelity.  But fortunately for all of us, he persisted and in the process, made America a better place for all of us to live.

Now, surely if a man as great as Dr. King was criticized, discouraged and even lied about, what can the rest of us expect to encounter in our dash through destiny?  My friends, we can expect the same treatment and considering that most of us are more blameworthy than Dr. King (I know I am), we can expect more of it.  So brace yourself for the storm and determine within yourself that you will keep trudging forward; no matter how hard the winds of criticism, the rain of doubt and the hail of gossip.