Be so invested in your craft that you don’t have time to listen to the naysayers.  No time for negativity.  You’re too busy creating your future.  – Jon Gordon

In today’s instant gratification, complain now society, it is often difficult to tune-out the noise.  It is so easy for anyone – any everyone – to place blame.  It is an easy trap, even for the most discipline among us, to fall into.  Something happens . . . service isn’t what we expect at a restaurant or the coach doesn’t start our child . . . so we immediately take to social media or shoot off a hostile email.

As educators, as leaders, we face a constant barrage of criticism and blame.  Honestly, I don’t believe it is from the majority; in my judgement we’ve made it incredibly easy for the vocal minority to yell with increased volume.  Social media and electronic communication has given naysayers a megaphone and an instant captive audience.

We must live with the courage of our convictions and the willingness to embrace the discomfort of telling truth to naysayers . . . the challenge of being so invested in our work that we do not – we will not – permit those who Blame, Complain, and Defend (BCD) to take us off course.  Our journey is to urgent – our work is shaping the future – to permit negative, pessimistic, and grumpy people to distract us.  We are too busy creating the future.