Optimists
- Excerpt from The Wisdom of the Flying Pig -
"For myself, I am an optimist. It does not seem of too much use being anything else." - Sir Winston Churchill
While I readily admit that I am not personally acquainted with every great leader who has ever walked the planet, I will nonetheless declare: All great leaders are optimists. Optimists have a tendency to dwell on the best of all possible outcomes. They believe deeply - and probably instinctively - that the future will be better than the present or the past.
It's as simple as this: There can be no leadership without optimism. To be a leader, you must have followers - people who willingly and enthusiastically commit their hearts and minds and sweat to the attainment of your vision. Can you imagine, for even a moment, that anyone would commit so much of himself or herself to a person who is pessimistic about the future?
Leaders are driven to make things happen. They have a dream about creating something that has never existed before. Optimism is one of the indispensable tools great leaders use to make the dream come true.
"The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for." - Joseph Addison
There is, it seems, an almost universal fear of the future. Lurking in each of us is the concern that, somehow, the uncertain future conspires to diminish our comfort, our security, our status, or our enjoyment of life. And therein lies the great opportunity of optimism.
We've learned from Martin Seligman and others in the positive psychology movement that success is often rooted in optimism. And for very good reason. Optimism defeats fear. Optimism creates hope. And hope inspires confidence and enthusiasm and energy - the positive emotions that propel extraordinary effort and extraordinary results.
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