It's human nature to quit when it hurts. But it's that reflex that creates scarcity.

Are you copying others? People won't pay extra for that. You won't be followed for that.

Without people pushing against your quest to do something worth talking about, it's unlikely to be worth the journey. Persist.

The way to work with a bully is to take the ball and go home. First time, every time. When there's no ball, there's no game. Bullies hate that. So they'll either behave so they can play with you or they'll go bully someone else.

Defending mediocrity is exhausting.

Once you free yourself from the need for perfect acceptance, it's a lot easier to launch work that matters.

Just saying yes because you can't bear the short-term pain of saying no is not going to help you do the work.