Sometimes you’ll do something that people will love, and life is wine and roses. People shower you with accolades, call you all sorts of very complimentary things, and business booms.

Sometimes you’ll do something that people will hate, and it seems like everything you own is on fire. People call you all sorts of very unflattering things, business might take a hit, and life feels like a very rocky road.

Both of these are okay. Both of these are good. Both of these show that people still feel something towards you, and it’s up to you to take that energy and direct it, shape it, focus it, and wield it to the best possible outcome.

In Buddhism, we use the symbol of the lotus flower for enlightenment not because it’s beautiful, but because it typically grows in piles of crap. From a very literal pile of crap, we can still get beauty. You can still take negative feedback and work to transform it into something positive for your marketing.

When you should worry is when no one cares. When you announce something and you don’t get fan mail or hate mail. When you send a newsletter and no one opens it. When your website hits a 100% bounce rate and no one’s sharing with their networks. The opposite of sweet or sour or bitter isn’t another flavor, it’s the absence of flavor entirely.

As long as your audience, your customers, your friends, your fans are giving you some kind of feedback, you’ve still got something to work with. When that’s gone, it’s time to throw in the towel and reboot. Don’t worry too much about sentiment being positive or negative.

Worry if anyone cares.

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