Big respect for this post. You hit onto a few notable points which are great for anyone to hear.
Firstly, your main point, not giving a damn about what others think, is spot on. It's easy to be influenced by the negativity of others and sometimes you need to walk away. The more you surround yourself with assholes, the more you become one.
I liked how you referenced Colonel Sanders. He is a great example of somebody with a great belief in himself and a real never give up mentality. Did you know he was a hotel owner before KFC? This hotel ended up burning to the ground.
Imagine how that would affect the everyday person.
Your friend sounds like he has the right idea too! A billionaire. That's a great goal and it's a brilliant way to think... but... just a suggestion that somebody gave me a while ago. Being semi-realistic when being practical is a benefit. Having your head in the clouds when your being practical can cause you to be irrational, acting on emotions.
Somebody once said; "You want to be a millionaire huh? Can you show me how to make $1000. Then $10,000. Then $100,000. (And so on and so forth)."
The point being, don't shoot for billions when you haven't even made $1000 dollars yet. There is such a thing as too much.
Just a suggestion, it's not meant to be demotivating to him. Trying to just inject a bit of realism.
Thanks a lot for the appreciation and the lovely advice. No, no you didn't say anything wrong and it wasn't demotivating either. In fact what you said is right and he and I both follow that. While he has long-term goal set at a billion dolalrs, he has his milestones set too like $1000 then $5000 then $10000 and so on till he can make a million in a year and then invest it somewhere to grow the money. :)