It Is Not The Critic Who Counts

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. ― Theodore Roosevelt

That quote has to rank among one of my favorites. I've read it many times and I still feel so inspired and encouraged whenever I read it. To me, it has to do with critics vs vision. Every successful person has a vision, be it Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs, or President Obama. There will always be people who don't agree with your vision, ALWAYS. Critics will rise up, and in this generation where social media is prevalent, their voices will sound out far louder than ever before. However, successful people know this - They have to choose their battles. Not all battles are meant to be fought. Every second spent answering or pacifying a critic is a second that could have been spent furthering the vision. In other words, critics = distraction, and a visionary has to be very careful not to be caught up with such distractions.

In the trading context, not everyone will agree with your trading methodology. However, every second spent debating and fighting in the forums with your critics is a second that could be spent improving your strategy, back testing, reading, practicing. It is the same for every aspect of our lives, every vision, every journey. Critics will never understand the ironic relationship of the inevitable yet necessary occurrences of failure. They devote their time and energy to nitpicking on you, hiding in the shadows and ready to pounce whenever you make a mistake. Fast forward a few years and the focused visionary who failed repeatedly would have gained a treasure trove of lessons from his failures. He would be at a much higher level than where he was a few years ago. And the critic? I shall leave that question open. :)