Optimism is the most powerful mindset you can choose for yourself. It’s empowering. When you are optimistic, you are confident about the future.
No Hope
“Hope” is not optimistic.
Hope isn’t confidence. The reason the optimist is long on the future is because they intend to take actions to bring that future to life. Optimism is the result of believing that you have the power to make a difference and then taking action.
Hope is passive. People hope that they win the lottery. People who succeed don’t leave their success to chance. Hope is too passive, as is waiting.
You hope your dream client finds you when they run a search on Google. You hope they actually search Google. You hope they have the sort of dissatisfaction that gives rise to changing. You hope they fill out your contact form, email you, or better yet, call you.
If you are optimistic, you pick up the phone and call your dream client, confident that you can score an appointment.
You hope that the market for your product or service picks up. You hope that the people you sell to place more orders. You hope that this year’s revenue tops last year’s revenue. You hope that what you are doing now works. Well, you hope it works eventually.
If you are optimistic, you sell into a new market. You double down on your sales efforts to your existing clients. You win the accounts you need to beat last year’s number.
Optimism Is Action
Hope indicates that you are waiting for the world to act on you. It means that you are a bystander, simply going whichever way the current takes you, passively accepting whatever life doles out.
Optimism is the confidence to actively write your own story. It is the confidence to direct your own life, doing what is necessary to generate the results you want for yourself and for others.
Swap hope for optimism. Swap passivity for action.