Before we jump in:
I’m an investor in an insurance brokerage called Titan Risk. They’re focused on helping SMBs get insurance policies including general liability, errors and omissions, cyber insurance, directors and officers liability and more.
The insurance guru at Titan, Jon, has helped over 1,500 clients get policies throughout his career.
He’s offering 5 free consulting calls to review your current insurance and risk management program.
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I know a lot of below average people who make phenomenal money simply because they aren’t insecure.
They are confident enough in themselves and their own abilities to move forward regardless of other people’s opinions.
They aren’t afraid of failure. They don’t spend time feeling sorry for themselves or second guessing what other people might think of them if they do a certain thing.
There is a very simple, easy way to develop thick skin:
Practice.
Just kidding. It actually isn’t easy. But it works. You have to take risks, put your neck out and do uncomfortable things. You have to have people treat you poorly and get jealous.
Then you have to shake it off and recover and get used to it. Because when you do different things, and especially when you win, people will get jealous. They’ll feel bad about themselves. They’ll work to tear you down and say negative things about you. It’s just a fact of life.
So you have to practice letting it roll off your back. You have to move along to the next project, obstacle, uncomfortable situation, and insult. And with time, it will hurt less, you’ll recover faster, and you can go about your business.
I know because I’ve had a lot of practice.
I was bullied hard in elementary and high school. Kids were cruel to me and humiliated me in front of my peers, which is unfortunately very common.
But it didn’t end there. Right around the time Dan and I were busting our butts to try to make Storage Squad work, I sat down one afternoon at the entryway of the locker room before track practice to change my shoes. Nobody knew I was there.
Some of the guys on the team were chatting it up. They were the fastest, got the girls, and had jobs lined up after college at prestigious companies.
I quickly realized they weren’t talking about just anything. They were full-on making fun of me and my business.
“We’re out here getting offers at Goldman in NYC while Huber is driving a 15 year-old van around town moving boxes. I give that business one year max. He’ll end up working for a moving company for the rest of his life. What a dumbass.”
I froze before silently backing out of the locker room and changing for practice in my car. It was hurtful and made me feel like total shit.
But then what?
I went about my business. I let the pain subside. I stayed the course. I got done with practice and went to dinner with my buddies.
I got over it and never said a thing to those guys.
If you’re doing something unique, you will be a target.
If you’re creating your own version of success and taking risks, people notice. And they judge.
Especially when you make mistakes and look foolish from time to time.
But winners aren’t afraid to do a few cringe things now and then. To step down a few rungs on the latter and work hard at something that isn’t high status or sexy. That is the price you pay for success.
The cure to all of this? Momentum.
In my first year in business I was driving trucks and moving boxes up staircases. I ended the year with about $15 per hour in earnings.
In my fifth year in business, we built a storage facility from the ground up for $2.9 million that is now worth over $10 million and has made me and my partner double digit millions each.
In my tenth year in business I acquired $50 million worth of self storage and raised over $17 million from investors.
In my 11th year I co-founded RE Cost Seg, which is on its way to becoming a very large real estate services firm.
And, finally, in my 12th year in business I negotiated the purchase of a $52 million company against a legendary investor.
Over the course of 41 days, I raised $20 million and recruited and hired an executive team to run the company.
If you had told me in 2012 where I was headed, I would have never believed you.
And if I could look into the future now, I might be less shocked, but I bet I’d still be surprised by the opportunities, relationships, and money that I plan to acquire during the next few decades.
Practice, action, results and momentum are the cure to criticism and building thick skin.
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A few tweets from this week.
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P.S. Want to estimate how much you could save in taxes by doing a cost seg study and taking bonus depreciation?
Try this calculator where you can share your details to learn how much you can save.
Note: I’m an investor in RE Cost Seg which created this tool.
Onward and upward,
Nick Huber