It is inappropriate for me to get political… but here we go. I have a giant rant.

If you’re using an AI-generated photo for your professional headshot… please stop. You look weird. And while we’re at it, backing your car into a parking space is feral. Like… who does that? I seriously hate you.

And one more thing. If you call me and I can’t pick up, leave a message. If you don’t, I assume it’s a butt dial. Then, when you later say, “I tried to call you, but you didn’t call me back,” it makes me want to see a priest and get an exorcism – and I’m not even Catholic.

Leave a message, for God’s sake.

OK. Now I feel better. How do you feel?

Some of you may be giggling right now, or maybe you’re offended because you have an AI headshot. Others may be preparing an argument for why backing into a parking space is safer. And you know who you are if you’ve called me three times in the past week without ever leaving a voicemail.

Here’s the thing. None of those opinions are facts. They’re just opinions. Mine included.

Most opinions are simply personal preferences disguised as universal truths, and the challenge isn’t avoiding opinions – it’s deciding which ones deserve your attention.

We spend an awful lot of our lives giving other people’s opinions free rent in our heads. We worry about what they think of our business, our social media, our leadership, our parenting, our decisions, and sometimes we even change direction because someone else didn’t like what we said or did. The problem is that not all opinions are created equal.

Some come from people who know us well, have earned the right to speak into our lives, and genuinely want to see us succeed. Those are worth listening to, even when they sting a little. Others come from people who have experience we don’t have yet, and there’s wisdom in paying attention to those perspectives.

Then there are the opinions from the cheap seats. The person who can find a flaw in just about anything. The individual who has never built what you’re building, taken the risks you’re taking, or climbed the mountains you’ve climbed. Those opinions are easy to collect but rarely worth carrying.

As Theodore Roosevelt famously wrote in his “Man in the Arena” speech, the credit belongs to the person who’s actually in the arena – not the one sitting in the stands pointing out every flaw. I’ve always loved this idea because it reminds me that criticism is easy. Participation is hard.

So take the feedback that helps you grow. Let go of the criticism that only weighs you down. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but you get to decide whether it deserves a seat at your table.

That said… if you’re using an AI headshot while backing into a parking space after calling me without leaving a voicemail… you may need to rethink some of your life choices.

But that’s just my opinion.