Today, I was particularly moved by a post written by Carol Roth, on her blog Unsolicited Business Advice titled, "The Difference Between Inspiration and Copying." I agree with Carol's position that abandoning creativity and individuality, in exchange for merely imitating someone else's business concept, doesn't help anyone. It hurts the copy cat's business and credibility; it hurts his industry as well.

The sad reality is that some people lack fundamental ethics. There are people who will watch and mimic our every moves. They will steal our ideas. They will bad mouth our businesses behind our backs. They will do anything possible to make us look like less-than-stellar business people. The even sadder reality is that those kind of people will always exist and we can't do a thing about it. We all know, social networking magnifies the problem.

These crooks under the guise of potential business partners, clients or customers can now watch us day and night. Since we cannot control them or their motives, what do we do? We can control our reaction. We can choose not to let these people distract us from what's important - building our businesses! Every ounce of you may want to react to them, but here are three reasons why you should just let them be and...MIND YOUR BUSINESS...literally!

pay attention to what matters

The more time that you spend worried about what they are doing, the less time you are spending on the business at hand. Not only that, but you have given those bad apples exactly what they wanted. I think that a main reason why people steal ideas from others is because: (a) they lack the confidence to develop their own; and (b) they view you as a strong competitor, a threat. They want to get you on the defense; the more time you spend in defense mode, the less you are developing new business ideas and execution strategies, partnerships and the like. Think about it!

you have a solid reputation, don't ruin it!

One reason that you have become so successful is because people respect you. They trust you. They value your business ethics. These perceptions are key and often what separates two equally talented people from one another. When someone wrongs us, a natural and first reaction is to address it, either publicly or privately. Please know that either approach can be damaging to your reputation. What begins as "private" will become public, and what starts as public will remain....yep, you got it! Public.

Now, you may be thinking, who cares? I don't have anything to hide. Again, there are many talented people that walk this green Earth, many of them may have the same business focus as you, live in the same city as you and have the same network as you. What separates you from them, are the nuances. The fine details. Think about the last person that you made a conscious choice to hire, contract or partner with. Now, think about the person whom you didn't hire, contract or partner with! Why was that?

don't stress over what you cannot control

The fact of the matter is that people are who they are. They will do what they want. And you, cannot do a doggone thing about it. Sure, you can oust them or try to set them straight, but the chips will continue to fall as they may. Being a business owner, in itself, can be stressful. Working in a demanding profession can be stressful. Managing a household can be stressful. Dealing with less than honest business folks can be stressful.

The common denominator is that, in these situations, we choose to stress. Or, we can choose to NOT stress! Stress is counter-productive. It is draining. It is stifling. It is just plain unnecessary. Don't you have enough to do? As a final thought, God gave us unique talents, and a distinct way to share those talents with the world. In other words, no one can do WHAT you do, HOW you do it! Not even those "secret admirers!"

What are your thoughts?