Whether you are a gardener or the CEO of an Inc 500 company, letting the opinions of others control every fiber of your being is unhealthy. Period.

Perhaps you drive a Toyota Hybrid instead of the Porsche you can afford because you don’t want to look like you think you’re all that. Or, perhaps you squeeze your savings dry to buy that Toyota Hybrid instead of taking the subway because you’re afraid that people will see you as a not-that-successful startup CEO?

If you are anything like the other 98 percent of the people who reside on this planet, you actually do care what other people think of you.…

2014 was a good year for your business, but not a great one. It is not that you did anything particularly wrong. You considered the size of your business, and made decisions based on that. If things keep progressing in this manner, you are going to have a perfectly acceptable small business one day.

There is a good chance that if you stay the course, 2015 will also be just fine. But if you are wondering when you are going to have that breakout year, the answer is, never. At least, it is never as long as you keep thinking like a small fish in a big pond.…