Keys to Successful Business and Life
Success Key #8: Overcome Criticism 

A Band Gets Slammed

In the early days of rock, a band called The Yardbirds was struggling to make it. A member of the super-successful band, The Who, didn't have much confidence in The Yardbirds, predicting that they'd go down like a lead zeppelin (a large, balloon-like airship). 

The Yardbirds could have believed this biting criticism from a respected peer to heart, calling it quits. Instead, they took the cutting words and used them for their new name - Led Zeppelin (leaving the "a" out of lead so that people wouldn't mispronounce it "leed.") Eventually, they became one of the three top-selling bands of all time. (1)

Other Criticism Worth Ignoring 

Is Led Zeppelin's early criticism typical of great successes, or are they the exception? 

• Criticism of Your Movie: Successful actor Gary Cooper turned down the leading role in Gone With The Wind, stating confidently, ''I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper.'' I'm sure Clark Gable was glad he ignored the criticism. The movie went on to be considered one of the greatest movies of all time. 
  
• Criticism of Your Invention: In 1946 Darryl F. Zanuck, then head of 20th Century-Fox Studios, said that the television ''won't be able to hold onto any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.'' Sixty years after this comment, televisions are selling better than ever. 
  
• Criticism of Your Band: You'd think that the Decca Recording Company ought to have a pretty good handle on what bands are destined for greatness. But when they heard one group of guys perform, they responded, ''We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.'' The band would later be rejected by almost every other recording company in the UK. Later, they'd all kick themselves for their misjudgment. They had just turned down The Beatles, the biggest selling band of all time. (2)  

What's in it for Me?

The next time you hear The Beatles on an oldies' station, or Led Zeppelin performing "Stairway to Heaven," remember that they weren't always successful. Let the name Led Zeppelin remind you that their critic was wrong. They didn't go down like a lead zeppelin. They got the last laugh.  And don't be surprised if your road to success is lined with important people chanting, "you'll never make it." 

Action Points

• Listen to constructive criticism, but don't let it get to you. 
• Remember, people tend to resist new ideas. If you're trying something new, be prepared to get slammed by the status quo. 

End Notes

1) Led Zeppelin article in the Wikipedia.
2) For over 300 pages of such misplaced criticism, see The Experts Speak: The Definitive Compendium of Authoritative Misinformation, by Christopher Cerf and Victor Navasky, 1984. See also the Wikipedia on The Beatles, and The Guinness Book of World Records. 
3) Picture of Led Zeppelin found in Wikipedia. Presumed fair use since used in promotions.