Let me share something with you.
If you’re doing anything meaningful… you will attract attention.
And with attention comes everything you think you want – recognition, opportunity, influence.
But there’s another side no one really talks about.
Haters.
Critics.
And what I call… parasites.
I didn’t understand this in the beginning.
When I first started creating content, I took everything personally.
Every comment. Every message. Every opinion.
If someone said something negative, it would stay in my head.
I would replay it over and over again.
“How dare they say that about me?”
“They don’t even know me.”
And the more I grew… the worse it got.
More attention. More opinions. More attacks.
Some of it was my fault.
I was controversial. I said things people didn’t like. I had a certain arrogance back then.
And sometimes… people didn’t just criticize.
They made things up. They tried to tear down my reputation. They wanted to hurt my brand.
At one point, I even tried to fight back.
Tried to shut people up.
Tried to prove them wrong.
But that game never ends.
Because here’s what I eventually realized.
Haters don’t actually hate you.
They hate themselves.
Your success reminds them of what they’re not doing.
What they’re not becoming.
What they’re avoiding.
And instead of facing that…
they project it onto you.
But knowing that doesn’t make it easy.
As human beings, we’re wired to be liked.
Thousands of years ago, if the tribe rejected you… you died.
So today, when people don’t like you, it still hits something deep.
You feel it. I feel it.
So I stopped asking, “Why are they saying this about me?”
And I started asking a different question.
“What’s true about what they’re saying?”
At first, I didn’t like that question.
My instinct was, “Nothing. It’s all nonsense.”
But if you’re honest… sometimes there’s a small piece of truth.
And that’s all you need.
Because even bad feedback can become a resource, if your ego doesn’t get in the way.
That shift changed everything for me.
Now, here’s the part most people don’t expect.
I don’t read comments anymore.
Not because I’m weak. Because I’m focused.
My team handles everything. I don’t see the noise.
Because most of it isn’t useful.
There’s a difference between haters and critics.
Critics… sometimes they’re harsh, but they can be helpful.
They point out things you might not see.
But even then, you have to filter.
Because not all criticism is honest.
Some people position themselves as “truth tellers,” but what they really want is attention.
That’s where parasites come in.
Parasites don’t build anything. They attach.
They use your name, your brand, your success… to get attention for themselves.
Without you, they’re invisible.
So they create drama.
They criticize.
They provoke.
Not because they care. Because they need relevance.
Once you see that clearly… you stop reacting.
You stop taking it personally.
And you stop wasting energy on people who don’t matter.
Today, I look at it very differently.
If someone criticizes me, I ask: Is there something here I can use?
If yes, I take it. If not, I ignore it.
Simple.
Because in the long run… none of these people matter.
No one remembers the haters.
No one remembers the critics.
No one remembers the parasites.
People remember the builders. The creators. The ones who actually did something.
So I focus on that.
I focus on building.
I focus on creating.
I focus on living a life that actually matters to me.
And everything else?
It fades.
