Sometimes, it can be easy to let the cynics and naysayers of the world get you down. The algorithms of the world amplify their nonsense and make them seem more numerous than they are. But you know a secret? They’re never the ones that get the final word. That honor belongs to the doers.

History is full of examples of people defying “conventional wisdom” or “common sense” (bah) and doing the impossible. A few examples are:

• Making AIDS a treatable medical condition.
• Connecting the globe through wireless communications.
• Space exploration.
• Routine internal surgery. (Yay for antibiotics!)
• Lasting peace between France and Germany, after centuries upon centuries of war.
• The abolition of slavery in America. (Still a work in progress: see here and here)
• Plenty of classical pieces, dismissed as impossible by world class performers, were subsequently performed by others. This article provides several examples.

Cynics, I truly believe, are fundamentally jealous. They’re jealous of other people’s hope, their faith, their ideals, and their will to fight. They’re jealous of the spirit of continuing to hunt for the solutions that they themselves have failed to find.

Instead of succumbing to their attitude, here’s a better idea. Demonstrate your spirit to succeed and see if you can’t inspire the cynical to go regain what they’ve lost.