# Dealing With Online Hate: How I Learned to Rise Above
When I first became successful, I started to receive a lot of hate online. People were lying about me, my military career, and the things I had done. It was disheartening to say the least, but I learned a valuable lesson from it. This is an important subject to talk about because I believe that anyone who experiences this kind of hate can learn how to rise above it.
## What I Learned
I realized that when you become successful, there are a lot of people who don’t want to see you do well. It’s like a hyper-competitive nature that people get involved in. Everyone wants to be the best of the best, and when someone is doing better than them, they feel threatened. I saw this firsthand when I got out of the Navy SEALs.
One particular person started lying about me and created YouTube channels to spread the rumors. He said I was dishonorably discharged, kicked out of the SEAL Teams, and refused to fight in combat, none of which was true. He even went so far as to say that I never deployed, when in fact I had deployed twice.
I had to get a lawyer to handle the situation and it was a difficult time for me. I realized that this person was trying to take my character and destroy it. He wanted to spread lies about me in order to make himself feel better.
But I learned an important lesson from this experience. I learned that no matter what lies people tell about you, the truth will always prevail. I had proof of my medal from Iraq, and I was able to prove that I had deployed twice. I was able to show that the lies this person was spreading were false.
## How to Rise Above
When you experience online hate, it can be difficult to stay positive. But I learned that the best way to rise above it is to stay true to yourself. Don’t let the lies and negativity get you down. Instead, focus on the things that make you unique and special.
Be confident in who you are and what you have accomplished. Don’t let anyone else define your worth or your success. You are the only one who can decide that for yourself.
Finally, remember that the truth will always prevail. No matter how many lies people tell about you, the truth will eventually come out. So don’t let the lies and negativity get you down. Rise above it and stay true to yourself.
