May 15, 2025

The Prison of Other People’s Opinions: How to Escape It

Have you ever stopped yourself from doing something meaningful—starting a business, changing direction, saying what you really feel—because you were afraid of what someone else might think?

If so, you’re not alone. Most people aren’t held back by their actual limitations. They’re imprisoned by imagined judgment—stuck in the fear of being disliked, misunderstood, or rejected. The truth is, the most confining prison isn’t built with bars; it’s built in our minds.

I recently revisited a powerful quote: “You must develop the ability to be disliked in order to free yourself from the prison of other people’s opinions.”
And it hit home.

Here’s the thing: we’re not in prison because of what others think of us—we’re imprisoned by our belief in their opinions. We assume they’re thinking about us far more than they actually are. In reality, most people are too busy thinking about themselves to care much about us.

This mindset has shown up in every conversation I’ve had with successful people. They aren’t successful because they stopped caring what others thought—they’re successful because they learned to keep going despite it.

5 Key Takeaways:

1. Being liked is not the goal. Being true to your values is.
2. You’re not trapped by others’ thoughts—you’re trapped by your belief in them.
3. Success requires the courage to be misunderstood.
4. Your legacy isn’t about how many people liked you; it’s about the lives you impacted.
5. Most people aren’t thinking about you—they’re thinking about themselves. Live accordingly.

Steffany, my wife and co-host, is a powerful example of this. She’s worked in some of the most male-dominated environments—NHL locker rooms, Olympic committees—and didn’t let the opinions or expectations of others shrink her purpose. She stayed focused on her values, her athletes, and her contribution.

And that’s the lesson: when you stay aligned with your values, your impact extends beyond what anyone else thinks of you. You build a legacy not based on popularity, but on authenticity and courage.

There’s a man named Shaka Senghor who spent 19 years in prison, seven of those in solitary confinement. But his real transformation began when he realized that the harshest prison wasn’t behind bars—it was the narrative he believed about himself. He rewrote his story, and in doing so, redefined the legacy he would leave his children.

We all have the power to do the same

So I’ll leave you with this question: Are you living your life, making your choices, and defining your legacy based on your truth—or on what you think others might think?

Because freedom—real freedom—starts when you stop living in the prison of other people’s opinions.