Corven sends us to this Amazing Video.

Like every other person in the audience of this video, I found his performance stirring and even moving. But I was unsettled by a few things. First, that Cord, the blogger who posted the video, felt like the singer had no confidence. I completely disagree. Bad teeth doesn’t mean no confidence. His posture on stage makes it clear that he has completely mastered his craft.

But the real takeaway for me is how small-minded, snarky and downright mean the three judges are. Even (or especially) when they are surprised by his performance, they act as if they somehow deserve to sit in judgment of him.

They don’t. Critics rarely do.

The market is a harsh critic. It’s not always fair and it can be demoralizing. Fortunately for us, Paul ignored all of them until he had pushed through the Dip.