Cautious Optimism: 17 Secrets to Success in a Broken World (Pt.2)

This is Part 2 in a series … to read Part 1 click here.  To read Part 3 click here.

To recap from the previous article, the first five Secrets to Success in a Broken World are as follows:

1.  You are going to make mistakes, but don’t worry about it.
2.  Fear of failure is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
3.  Look to the future.
4.  Remain healthy and avoid fatigue.
5.  Never give up on your idea.

Here are more of the 17 Secrets to Success in a Broken World

6.  Optimism, enthusiasm and energy are your allies.

Patricia Ireland, an ex-flight attendant who rose to the presidency of the National Organization for Women, famously announced, “I don’t think you lead by pessimism and cynicism. I think you lead by optimism and enthusiasm and energy.”

As a business leader, your educational pedigree is not nearly as important as that spark of infectious optimism that invigorates everything you do.  They don’t teach that in business school.

If you are enthusiastic about your business, core ideals, products and services, your enterprise will flourish.

Under the weight of leadership, energy will sustain you.

It’s easy to be pessimistic and cynical, but lowering yourself to that level makes you ineffective and inefficient.  Resist falling prey to this business-killer.  You are better than that.

7.  To be powerful, optimism must be rugged, resilient and proclaimed from the rooftops.

Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, publisher, actor, radio DJ, and activist.  He fronted the California hardcore punk band Black Flag from August 1981 until early 1986.  With that background, it may be a surprise that he can be profound.  But he is.  As proof, he once said, “My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud.”

Optimism can be fragile.  Make sure that it wears heavy boots.

Don’t keep your optimism to yourself.  It is meant to be shared, and shared loudly.

Makes sure that everyone — your employees, your customers, your suppliers, your investors, your friends and family — hear it and expect it to be proclaimed from the rooftops.  If you do so, it will resonate.  It will invigorate.  It will encourage.  It will enlighten.

8.  Cultivate a “You Can Do It” attitude.

Richard M. DeVos is an American businessman, co-founder of Amway, and owner of the Orlando Magic NBA basketball team.  In 2010, Forbes magazine listed him as the 62nd wealthiest person in the United States with an estimated net worth of $4.3 billion.  He once advised, “Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push.  A smile.  A world of optimism and hope.  A “You Can Do It” when things are tough.”

Things will get tough.  When they do, your highest calling in business is to transform your optimism into a verb.  Use it powerfully, and give your fellow workers a little push in a positive direction.  Do it with a smile, plus a heavy dose of optimism and hope.

And while you’re at it, give yourself a little nudge as well.  You’ll need it … and you deserve it.

9.  Don’t get discouraged, even when your upward climb seems painful and difficult.

Lucille Ball was an American comedian, plus a film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcom I Love Lucy.

All was not easy for her during her career, and her upward climb in Hollywood was sometimes painful and difficult.  But she endured, and developed an optimistic way of life.

Ball received many prestigious awards throughout her career, including some received posthumously such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush on July 6, 1989, and The Womens International Center’s Living Legacy Award. She once said, “One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged.  Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.”

There are going to be times when you seem to be climbing a towering palm tree in your bare feet.  You’ll get tired, overworked, and susceptible to discouragement.  But it is precisely at those moments that you need to stay busy and optimistic.

Discouragement is a luxury you cannot afford.

Your climb may be painful, but the view from the top is worth it.

10.  Optimism is the foundation of courage and true progress.

Nicholas Murray Butler was an American philosopher, diplomat, and educator. Butler was president of Columbia University, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.  He once remarked, “Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress.”

Once you have developed a healthy dose of optimism, the next step is to show it courageously.  In the face of impending danger, you don’t have to bang your cymbals behind the Polar Bear, but you do have to take aggressive action.

Achievement is the prize, and true progress the result, when you make optimism your foundation.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

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