I admit it.
I sell hope.
You might call me a dealer. I'm okay with that.
Call it optimism if you will. I like to think of it as encouraging other people to live out their best potential.
There are those who are critical of this mindset; those who are quick to point out everything that is wrong with the world. The economy. Human trafficking. The shifting of global power. Pollution. The health crisis.
They have a point.
Where we differ is how we approach all these problems.
I believe that hope gives birth to answers.
It gives us access to the resources we need (both internal and external) to start solving those problems.
I believe in acknowledging reality; I just don't believe in stopping there.
Once we've identified the problem, it's time to start focusing on the solution.
A great writer once pointed out three essentials for living on the earth: faith, hope, and love. And while he said that the greatest of these is love (and I agree), I believe that love is birthed when we mix faith and hope.
Optimists just spend less time dwelling on what's wrong with the world. They spend less time thinking about what might go wrong with their plans.
Sometimes they fall on their faces.
But everything we love about the world originated in the heart of an optimist.
You might think that is overstating the case.
But I happen to believe we were all created by the ultimate optimist-God.
He knew just how wrong the human race would be capable of going. How wrong we would go.
But he saw something in us that he loved.
And he created us anyway.
Gave us the capacity for faith, and for love, and for hope.
That, my friend, is optimism. I like it.
So I'll just keep on selling hope.
And I hope you will too.