6. You don't have enough talent.
Responding to his desire to become a recording artist, Ray Charles' teachers said: "You can't play the piano, and God knows you can't sing. You'd better learn how to weave chairs so you can support yourself."
7. Don't even try, you'll just be disappointed.
When auditioning for a part in a high school musical, a teacher rejected Diana Ross saying: "You have a nice voice, but it's nothing special."
8. You don't fit the mold OR you're not the right "type."
Trying to convince her she didn't have the right look, fashion photographer Richard
Avedon told Cher: "You will never make the cover of Vogue because you don't have blond hair or blue eyes." When she did, Vogue sold more copies than it had ever sold before.
9. Don't give up your day job.
Commenting on the first manuscript of an unpublished author, a New York Publisher told James Michener: "You're a good editor with a promising future in the business. Why would you want to throw it all away to try to be a writer? I read your book. Frankly, it's not really that good." Michener's first book, Tales of the South Pacific, later
won a Pulitzer Prize and was adapted for stage and screen as South Pacific.
10. There's no market for it.
When hearing his plans to launch Perrier in the United States, several consulting firms advised Gustave Leven: "You're foolish to try to sell sparkling water in the land of Coca-Cola drinkers."
The only opinion about your dream that really counts is yours. The
negative comments of others merely reflect their limitations --- not yours.
There is nothing unrealistic about a dream that aligns with your purpose,
ignites your passion, and inspires you to plan and persevere until you attain
it. On the contrary, it's unrealistic to expect a person with such drive and
commitment not to succeed.
-- Cynthia Kersey
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