It’s a fact of life; if you follow the crowd, you’ll never be highly successful.  On the other hand, the minute you step away from the crowd, you invite criticism–people judge you and make disparaging remarks about your ideas and dreams which can be hurtful.  So, how do you deal with criticism?  You focus on its positive side.  Criticism means you’re being noticed and people who get noticed have far better odds at succeeding than people who don’t.  Criticism also means that you’re doing something worth remarking on.  This makes you remarkable and being remarkable is a lot more fun, exciting and profitable than being ordinary.  Finally, even though you’re being criticized, you can take comfort in the fact that you’re on your way to fulfilling your dream while the people who are criticizing you are still mired in mediocrity.   This past week marked the 50th anniversary of the Barbie Doll.  Ruth Handler, Barbie’s creator, knew the doll would be successful when everyone told her it wouldn’t sell.  The lesson here is: If you want to be highly successful, you have to do something worth criticizing.