A Message To The Haters…

Throughout my life I have noticed that there will always be people who hate who I am, hate what I do, and hate what I stand for. These people are the ones who gossip about you, who talk bad about you, and who try to make your life a living hell. But what’s worse than those people are those who you think are your friends, but behind your backs are the ones tearing you down, whether they know it or not.

Recently in my job there have been a few events that have made me question the relationships I have with people. The first big experience I had was my promotion to Assistant Regional Sales Manager. I was working in the call center for a little over a year when I was offered this promotion. Now, not many people get to make as big a jump as I did, and of course it was shocking to so many that I was offered the position. What most don’t know is that I have had a lot of previous experience which helped me land the job, not only that, but I had worked hard to earn a trip to Arizona a few months prior which helped me prove myself to my current boss, Jonathan Hallstrom. But anyway, let me tell you about my first experience.

When I was offered the job, so many people came out and told me not to take it. Everyone seemed to have this idea of Jonathan as being a tyrannical dictator and they all said I wouldn’t last long working with him. What blows my mind is that some of the people telling me not to take the job are people whom Jonathan speaks highly of. One thing I have learned from Jonathan is to be humble in the face of adversity. Jonathan knew of an individual who was speaking badly of him, and rather than calling him out, he humbled himself and wrote him an email letting him know how much he appreciated what he does and who he is, this taught me that in the end, those who make it a point to put down and degrade others, will have to face and answer for it in the end and it is not our job to call judgment upon them. We all make mistakes, we all have our bad days, and we all see the world differently. We may do or say things that ruin relationships with others, but that do not necessarily reflect on our character. It is amazing what a few rumors, miscommunication, and bad previous experiences can do for the reputation of an individual. Well, I am glad I didn’t listen to all those people. Today I can tell you that Jonathan has been the best boss I have ever had. He entrusts me with my job and lets me conduct my business as I see necessary, but also gives me guidance and is always there to help me. Not only that, but he has also become a dear friend of mine and I owe him so much for helping me in my dark times. The funny thing is, I interact with him every day, and those who speak negative of him don’t, so let’s do the math and figure out who is right in this equation…

My second experience with negativity is my own. Those who are reading this are probably Facebook friends of mine. You all know I love that damn thing! I love to keep in touch with everyone since I am far away, and I love to keep everyone posted on what I do, and yes, maybe shock you every once in a while. It’s what I do! If you are my Facebook friend, it is because you have been a part of my life in one way or another. But what makes me sad and hurt is that there have been rumors started because of my Facebook account. People see pictures, read my status, and they draw to conclusions without asking me or checking with me. Now, I am an open book. I have nothing to hide. I have one face and one face only. If you see something on my Facebook that makes you wonder what I do, ask me! I will tell you, I promise. But what I don’t like and what I won’t tolerate are rumors that go too far. I love my job, my job is tough but my job is rewarding. You can ask those who work with me, I put in long hours when needed, work from home off the clock, I do what I can and try to go beyond what is asked of me and my number one concern is to make my boss happy with my work. Which from what I understand, he is.

It is amazing that as a society we are so eager to listen to gossip and then turn around and spread it to others without taking the time to find out if it’s even true. Not only that, but why can’t we just be happy for others? Why can’t we look at all the positive things about an individual and remember that we are not perfect. It reminds me of some adversity Lance Armstrong went through, he is a guy who has done some amazing things in his life and people were saying he was using drugs, a reporter asked him to respond to allegations to doping and he said, “Everybody wants to know what I’m on. What I’m on? I am on my bike busting my ass off for 6 hours a day, what are you on?” I have success because I have worked for my success, I didn’t get the job because I knew somebody or slandered the name of other applicants, I got the job because of my hard work and being willing to stand out in a sea of other individuals and go above and beyond what was asked of me. What are you doing? You are sitting at work, gossiping about me, my boss, my region, sitting there on your set job, set schedule, you don’t have a cell phone ringing at all hours of the day and night, tying you to IPCs and you don’t get yelled at when people in Utah makes mistakes. Your job is not tied to revenue, your job is not tied to EBIT, your job is not like mine. So just like Lance, people ask me how I got my job. Because I am willing to bust my hump, 10-12 hours a day, day in day out, month in, month out, so next time you hear rumors about me or my region, stop and think of how much damage you are doing to us and remember that we are all on the same team.

So, to all those out there who think they know who I am, who judge me for things they see or hear, who start rumors and gossip and make assumptions on my life, both personal and professional… GET A LIFE! Get to your job, get to work, and stop ruining your name by spreading filth and dirt that you can’t prove. Remember that God will be our judge and has asked us to stop judging others. Remember that when we gossip, speak ill of others, we are hurting more than one person, we hurt ourselves as well. And the day will come when “their basket shall not be full, their houses and their barns shall perish, and they themselves shall be despised by those that flattered them.” D&C 121:20