The Clifton Review

The Clifton Review is a tri-weekly column that examines the question of the Clifton project along with the evolution of the war between two billionaires. We covered the start of this war with articles describing the battle over easement rights, the mysterious burning of a home, the blocks to rebuilding, and countless questionable court filings.

The 2018 series salutes fashion mogul Peter Nygård’s Golden Jubilee detailing his rags to riches story and incredible business success over these past fifty years. The Clifton Review will take an inside look at how he did it.

‘Haters’

By P.J. Malone

Do you have a ‘hater’ in your life?

Taking a look at how fashion mogul Peter Nygard went from a poor boy to a multi-millionaire is a perfect opportunity to delve into some of the philosophical considerations of life, especially because success doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

There is so much more that goes with success than just making a bunch of money or reaching the pinnacle in your career and living happily ever after.

You would think achieving success would be the difficult part. But most will tell you, it’s actually the ‘happily ever after’ that’s a bit of a challenge.

There are several factors that contribute to one’s ability to achieve one’s definition of success; as well as there are several factors that contribute to one’s happiness. What I want to talk about is one of the things that can stand in the way of a successful person’s happiness.

The ‘haters’, or as some would call them, the detractors.

Let’s be clear about who we are talking about. Considered the top definition of a “hater” Urban dictionary contributor, Dion, describes a hater in the following way:

A person that simply cannot be happy for another person’s success. So rather than be happy, they make a point of exposing a flaw in that person.

Hating, the result of being a hater, is not exactly jealousy. The hater doesn’t really want to be the person he or she hates, rather the hater wants to knock someone else down a notch.

I’m not usually very Pollyannaish in my thinking about life; yet, I must ask, why are there such negative people in the world? Why do we have to tolerate them? Why do they even exist?

In an Entrepreneur.com article with the title “Why the Most Successful People Have the Most Haters”, Performance Consultant John Brubaker gives his perspective on haters:

“Criticism is self-hated turned outward. I believe hate is often a sign of weakness, envy and fear. Haters hate on you because you’re doing what they cannot, will not or are too afraid to attempt.”

Brubaker suggests, “There is one way to avoid having haters. Sit on the sidelines, do nothing, don’t set goals, be average and no one will judge or hate you.”

Can you imagine what would happen if Peter Nygard sat on the sidelines and did nothing in the face of his haters? Can you imagine, if his haters caused him to give up, how the thousands of people he has helped over the years would be negatively impacted?

And it can’t be easy dealing with haters who are out to destroy you.

Nevertheless, since he is celebrating 50 years of business success, and gone from poor boy to multi-millionaire, he must really have learned how to stand up to his haters. That Finnish Sisu spirit of his came in handy—Sisu, described as ‘being brave, resolute and determined to fight against all odds’.

Since we all have haters in our lives, we must take a lesson from Peter Nygard. As Nygard knows, and as Brubaker asserts, haters “can doubt you, they can fight you — but they never stop you.”