feedback is feedback. when i hear one of my ideas is stupid/unfeasible/unrealistic/ill-conceived, i now probe for more detail. i try to get beyond semantics to see if i can learn anything.

probing helps me move from reactive to proactive stance, from attached to objective. this way, i can better filter the noise.

note: some of the biggest mistakes i made in my past startup were listening to too many people or not listening closely enough to a few. that is the paradox of good judgment (which i believe comes from some combination of gut instinct and pattern-watching; listening is just another form of data collection for the latter).