Be The Buzzard
There is a story that gets shared a lot in business circles. A buzzard is flying high when a crow starts attacking it, the crow dives, pecks, squawks, annoys and harasses. The buzzard doesn’t fight back. It doesn’t engage. It simply climbs higher.
Eventually the crow runs out of energy, can’t breathe comfortably at that altitude, and falls away.
The lesson is usually simple:
Don’t waste your energy fighting crows. Rise above them.
It’s a lovely lesson. The problem is, that’s not what happened. At least not this week. I was driving through South Wales and spotted a buzzard being mobbed in the sky. Only it wasn’t crows. It was seagulls. And that got me thinking, business metaphor, because nobody talks about the seagulls.
We Expect The Crows
When you start a business, launch a project, change career, write a book, start a podcast, put yourself out there or try to build something meaningful, you expect certain people to challenge you.
Competitors.
Industry critics.
People online.
The keyboard warriors.
The anonymous experts.
The people who have never built what you’re building but somehow know exactly how you should be doing it.
They’re the crows. They’re expected. In many ways they’re easy. You see them coming. You almost prepare yourself for them.
In fact, if you’re doing something worth noticing, criticism from competitors and critics can be a sign you’re finally getting somewhere.
Most business owners eventually learn to live with the crows. What catches them out are the seagulls.
The Seagulls Are Different
The seagulls aren’t usually strangers. They’re often people who care about you.
Family.
Friends.
Former colleagues.
People who genuinely want the best for you. Which is precisely why their comments land differently. You tell someone you’re leaving a secure job.
“Are you sure that’s wise?”
You launch a business.
“When are you getting a proper job?”
You invest in yourself.
“That’s expensive.”
You raise your prices.
“Who would pay that?”
You start growing.
“Don’t get too big for your boots.”
You work weekends in the early days.
“You work too much.”
You take a day off.
“Must be nice.”
The seagulls are fascinating because they often attack from a place of concern rather than malice. But concern can still clip your wings if you’re not careful.
Their Fear Isn’t Your Future
One of the biggest lessons I have learned as a business owner is this:
People often project their reality onto your future.
A person who values security sees risk.
A person who has been hurt by failure sees danger.
A person who has never started a business sees uncertainty.
A person who has settled for less than they wanted sees reasons why you should too.
Not because they’re bad people. Not because they’re trying to sabotage you. Because they’re viewing your journey through the lens of their own experiences. They’re trying to protect you from a story they have written in their own head. The problem is, they don’t have your reasons. They don’t have your vision. They don’t have your ambitions. They don’t have your “why”. Only you do.
The Buzzard Doesn’t Hold Meetings With Seagulls
Imagine how ridiculous it would be. A buzzard gliding effortlessly on a thermal suddenly stops mid-air to explain itself to every bird shouting from below. It would never get anywhere. Yet business owners do this all the time. We justify, explain, defend, seek approval, ask permission or Look for consensus.
We spend more time managing other people’s opinions than pursuing our own goals. The irony? Most of the people offering advice don’t have to live with the consequences. You do.
If your business succeeds, you’ll live with the result. If it fails, you’ll live with the result. Either way, the responsibility is yours. Not theirs.
Altitude Changes Perspective
Something else struck me as I watched that buzzard. It wasn’t flapping, not much anyway. It wasn’t frantically working harder than everything around it. It was using the conditions available to it, the thermals were doing much of the heavy lifting.
Business owners could learn a lot from that. Many people believe success comes from working harder, more hours, more hustle, more grinding, more sacrifice…Sometimes, but not always.
The most effective business owners I’ve worked with over the last fifteen years have learned something different. They’ve learned to find their thermals.
Systems.
Processes.
Networks.
Mentors.
Communities.
Partnerships.
Great people.
Clear strategy.
The things that create lift. The things that allow progress without constant exhaustion. The buzzard isn’t lazy. It’s intelligent.
It understands leverage.
Sometimes The Seagulls Are In Your Own Head
Let’s be honest, not all criticism comes from outside. Some of the loudest seagulls live between our ears. You’re not good enough, you’re too old, too young, not qualified, not experienced, not ready, someone else is doing it better.
What if it doesn’t work?
What if people laugh?
What if they judge you?
What if you fail?
What if you succeed?
These internal seagulls often do more damage than any external critic ever could. Because they travel with us everywhere. The challenge is recognising them for what they are, thoughts, not facts. Noise, not truth.
Focus On The Thermal
The buzzard isn’t trying to win an argument. It isn’t trying to prove itself. It isn’t trying to silence every critic. It has something more important to do.
Fly.
That sounds obvious. But how many business owners lose sight of that? How many become distracted by every social media comment? Every competitor move? Every negative opinion? Every piece of unsolicited advice? Every prediction of doom?
At some point you have to come back to the question:
What am I actually trying to achieve here?
Because that answer matters more than the noise. Always.
The Higher You Climb
There is another uncomfortable truth. The higher you climb, the more visible you become. Visibility attracts attention, attention attracts opinions, opinions attract criticism.
That’s normal. The solution isn’t to fly lower. The solution is to become comfortable with being seen. Too many people shrink themselves to avoid criticism.
They don’t post.
They don’t speak.
They don’t launch.
They don’t sell.
They don’t lead.
They don’t ask.
They don’t grow.
Not because they can’t. Because they’re worried about the seagulls. The tragedy is that the seagulls win without ever needing to attack, they’re like the avian version of ‘The Art of War‘. Their imagined criticism becomes enough.
Be The Buzzard
The lesson isn’t to ignore everyone. Good feedback matters. Wise counsel matters. Trusted mentors matter. People who challenge you constructively matter.
But random noise? Projection? Fear disguised as advice? Opinions from people who aren’t living your life? Not so much.
The next time someone questions your ambition, your direction or your decisions, pause before reacting. Ask yourself:
Is this wisdom? Or is this projection?
Is this guidance? Or is this fear?
Is this someone helping me fly? Or someone asking me to land because flying makes them uncomfortable?
Then get back on the thermal. Get back to the work. Get back to your purpose. Get back to building what matters.
Because the world is full of crows. Apparently, it’s full of seagulls too. But neither of them are responsible for where your business goes next.
You are. So rise.
Not to prove them wrong. Not to win an argument. Not to get revenge.
Rise because you have somewhere important to be. And while the crows and seagulls are busy shouting, pecking and fighting over scraps below…
Be the buzzard.
Calm.
Focused.
Purposeful.
And soaring exactly where you were meant to go.