Found a great little quote today.

“To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” Elbert Hubbard

Everyone wants to be liked as a co-worker, as a friend, a spouse, a sibling, and we often govern what we say to avoid any criticism and to just get along. For fear as someone might labeling you as opinionated or not a team player; god forbid. So you curb your tongue, hold back your opinion, your critique, and all to avoid being criticized as a cowboy, rebel, non team player. In effect you will do nothing, say absolutely nothing nodding your head, and stand for nothing. They will say he or she is a great team player, possesses a positive attitude, a real company man or women. Unfortunately this attitude is all to common in corporate settings around the globe, bloated payrolls full of yes men and women. I’m not advocating that you should go out of your way to be a pain in the ass to everyone around you, but don’t let the possibility of a little criticism turn you into one of the living dead.

Here are a few ways you can be a more valuable co-worker, friend, spouse, or sibling:

1. If you see a bad process then call it out and offer up a better one.
2. If it looks like a train wreck is coming it usually is, so let those around you know about it.
3. If someone’s behavior is intolerable then confront them.
4. Do some research and offer up solutions and not condemnations.
5. Instead of being nothing, stand for something in your professional and personal life.

What would history be today if Winston Churchill or Abraham Lincoln were afraid of a little criticism?

Maybe you won’t help end World War II or pass the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, but you certainly don’t need to amount to nothing just to avoid the inevitable criticism that comes with having some strongly held convictions.

Stay in the game!