My stomach is in knots and has been for a week. For the last three months I’ve been pouring my heart, soul, time and money into creating the Gentleman Badass Podcast. If iTunes plays along, we’re less than a week away from the launch. I’m excited. We’ve got some great content and I can’t wait to share it with the world. On the other hand, I can’t shake this sinking feeling in my gut.
About seven years ago I posted a video on YouTube of me and my late Basset Hound Henry. The video went un-viewed for years but one day, lots and lots of people started watching and commenting on it. Most of the comments were cordial, saying how cute Henry was or how silly he was being, but then there were a couple people who started making fun of my appearance. If that wasn’t enough, others were outright vile. One guy called my a “Fucking F@&” and told me I should hump the dog. Another women told me I was the worst pet owner in the world and she wished my dog would bite me in the face. All this from a three-minute video of me and my dog on the couch… If that’s all it takes to spurn internet rage, I can only imagine what this podcast will invite.
There will be know-it-alls who pick apart the production. There will be PC Police and Social Justice Warriors who find something offensive with our work. Others will be nasty just to be nasty.
But then there will be men who listen to our podcast and take the necessary steps to change their lives for the better. For me, these are the only people that matter.
The haters are nothing more than a stomachache. The same stomachache I’ve had before every other great thing I’ve done in my life. The same stomachache which typically assures me I’m going in the right direction. It’s a stomachache that would be easy to avoid. All I’d have to do is sit back and pick apart other peoples’ work instead of doing my own. But that’s not the life I want to live and that’s not the man I want to be.
If I’m speaking your language, I think you’re going to love what we’ve created with the Gentleman Badass Podcast.
If I’ve already managed to offend you in some way, well, buckle up buttercup, there’s a lot more where that came from.