I was just skimming an article by Robert Scoble, and made a weird little link. I hear a lot of fanfiction writers that talk about being burned out by having too many reviews telling them what to do with their stories (obviously not all), and there are fields that this applies to as well (as you’ll see the blockquote that I’m about to share). The gist of what Scoble says, is that the advice of the masses usually isn’t that great. You see messages like this a lot in stories as well, the noble leader to gets many different pieces of what appear to be sound advice, from his advisors, but knows that his “gut hunch” “instinct” etc. is correct, the path that he plots and not that of others – and usually, because most stories are predictable in this manner, it ends up being the right decision. In any event, the quote (full article is a good read as well, if you’re into FaceBook and the internet “scene”).
My former boss, Jim Fawcette, used to say that if you asked a group of Porsche owners what they wanted they’d tell you things like “smoother ride, more trunk space, more leg room, etc.” He’d then say “well, they just designed a Volvo.”
His words were meant to get us out of letting the customers run our business mode we often found ourselves falling into.
So yeah, do your thing, take other people into consideration, but do your thing. Letting others bring FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) into your dream/goal/endgame can prevent you from ever attaining it.