One of my favorite things in the world is receiving support. Validation. It feels so good to feel smart and right.
But as I start to operate at a higher level, the stakes for everything get a little bit higher. And opportunity costs get higher too. And so being wrong or doing something totally ill-conceived in the first place becomes a bigger risk.
So I’ve been careful to find some good friends that I can run ideas by and know that they won’t be “yes” men. These “no” men don’t always support the idea, and they don’t shy away from telling me something isn’t good (or that I’m an idiot).
It can be something as small as the messaging on a website or as big as a product or business idea.
I know that these guys will give me an honest opinion and feedback. Usually they’ll deliver it in a way that protects my ego a little bit, but not to be confused as positive support. And as much as I love positive feedback and validation, this is at least as important if not more important to receive on a regular basis.
Of course you want to surround yourself with people who will support you. But sometimes in order to support you, you need people who are willing to honestly disagree with you and give you difficult feedback.