By Kefilwe Morobane, Founder and Managing Director of Giving Wings

The reality is, the critic will always be there! Whether you want to: run the Comrades Marathon, start a business, present a speech at an international conference ... someone is bound to discourage you and tell you all the reasons why you can’t or shouldn’t do something.

I remember when I made the decision to leave my 9 to 5 corporate job and focus on my business, a former colleague told me all the reasons why I would fail within 3 months of running my business full-time. I allowed him to speak and to share all his fears and concerns, and I heard him but I refused to listen because he was a critic and his opinion really didn’t matter to me. On the 1st of August 2016, I celebrated my one year anniversary as a full time entrepreneur! Imagine if I had listened to the voice of that critic, where would I be today?

This week's video is by Dr Brene Brown. She is an expert on vulnerability and in this video she sheds more light on why your critics don't count.

Brené Brown: Why Your Critics Aren't The Ones Who Count

I leave you with one of my favourite quotes, Man in the Arena, by Theodore Roosevelt.

The Man in the Arena

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Kefilwe Morobane is an award-winning Public Speaker, Communications Specialist and Social Entrepreneur. She is the founder and Managing Director of Giving Wings, a Communication Skills Training Company. Kefilwe holds a B Com Honours degree in Communication Management and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Communication Management from the University of Pretoria. She is passionate about developing effective communicators and has facilitated workshops for a wide range of reputable organisations, equipping professionals with the necessary tools to help them excel in the workplace. Kefilwe has been featured on numerous media platforms namely: 702, SABC News, Power FM, Kaya FM, ETV, DRUM Magazine, SA FM, Tshwane TV and many more.