Arrogance and Being "Bigger than the Game"

[JJ]

Pay attention to the people you NEED to pay attention to - supervisors and experienced peers being at the top of the list.

Coaches to a much lessor extent, but if they are reporting to your supervisor that you are "arrogant and unapproachable", ask your supervisor why they are saying that (don't ask them). It's his job to investigate and get back to you with tangible information and not "opinion".

Fans and reporters are just that. They have a vested interest in what's going on but their actual input is not valuable. They don't have the training that your supervisors do, and while they like to think they have influence over what's going on, they really don't. Take any criticism - and any compliment - from them with a grain of salt.

You can beat your head against a wall forever wondering who you should be impressing and who you should be siding with and who you should try to befriend, but it all boils down to "can you work". If the people you NEED to pay attention to say "yes" to that question, you're on the right track.

JJ