20-60-20

I don’t remember where I first heard this, but I remind myself all the time.

20% of people will love whatever you do. Another 20% will hate whatever you do. The remaining 60% can go either way.

There’s no actor, musician, artist, poet, author, politician or any other well-known person who is universially loved by everyone. The only way to avoid criticism is to never attempt to do anything meaningful with your life.

I’m sure there are lots of people who want to start their own podcast but a little voice in their head says, “But what if people think I suck and they hate me?” There is no “if.” Once your audience outgrows your circle of friends and family, someone out there is going to tell you just how bloody awful they think you are. And the bigger you get, the louder they get. That’s the way it goes. You just have to get used to it.

Adam Duritz, the lead singer of the Counting Crows, once had a kid walk up to him on the street and tell him, “Man, you suck.” Adam was so affected by it that he couldn’t write or perform for over a year.

In my life, I’ve been that kid and I’ve been Adam. This here podcast is my way of learning to be someone else. It’s good practice. I recommend it highly.

Rich Pav

Richard has been living in Japan since 1990 with his wife and two teenage sons, Tony and Andy.

2 thoughts to “20-60-20”

  1. you suck! Just kidding. I don’t know why people feel like they HAVE to tell someone else they suck. How about just steering clear of those you don’t like. Personally if I really hated something I’d want to spend the least amount of time doing anything related to it. Including telling someone I hated it. 🙂

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