Business Insights I Learned From Ricky Nelson

I'm not much of a philosopher. I kind of act first and worry about the repercussions later. And that works well if you have a thick skin. The problem is I don't have very thick skin. 

I'm also not much of a "meddler". If people ask my opinion, I will tell them what I think. And if they ask for advice, I will give it. But I don't go out of my way to give unsolicited advice. 

But there are many who feel compelled to share advice - whether you ask for it or not. Whenever you do things in the public eye, there are many who will have an opinion about WHAT you should do and HOW you should do it. And this especially applies to the Internet, where people feel a certain sense of anonymity.

When you run a home internet business, people will send you "helpful" emails about all the things you are doing wrong. They will also send you emails about all the things that "bother" them, because they are certain it bothers lots of other people as well. They will even read all kinds of motives into why you are doing what you are doing.

It's always a hoot to read 2-3 pages of why I do the things I do - from someone who doesn't know me from Adam! Funny, but a little scary. They must have x-ray glasses to see inside my head. To see my motives. Wow, I need some glasses like that!

When I was growing up, there was a really cool song by Ricky Nelson. You see, Ricky was the son of Ozzie and Harriet. He sang a lot of 50's malt shop type music, but later on, his musical direction changed. In October of 1971, Ricky was reluctantly persuaded to play a Rock n' Roll revival show at Madison Square Garden. By this time Rick's hair had grown shoulder length, he wore bell-bottoms and a purple velvet shirt, and he sang his new material.

Halfway through his set, the crowd began to stomp and boo. Ricky was deeply shaken and left the stage. Later, he decided to put his thoughts down on paper: 

"I went to a Garden Party, to reminisce with my old friends, a chance to share some memories, and play our songs again.

When I got to the Garden Party, they all knew my name, but no one heard the music- I didn't look the same. 

But it's all right now. I learned my lesson well. You see you can't please everyone so you gotta please yourself." 

"Garden Party" became Rick's first million-seller in over a decade, hitting #6 and going gold in 1972. On the cover of the album is a different image of Rick. He stands in formal black and white, defiantly holding out his Les Paul guitar with confidence in his eyes. 

I would add one caveat to Ricky's personal anthem, "you can't please everyone, so you gotta please yourself". You also gotta please the Lord.

So, don't let the naysayers get you down. They usually don't have a real home businessanyway, so they have to criticize yours! Pray for direction, choose a path, push the envelope a little and don't look back!