We’re often asked if we’ve seen a pattern of success among the many thousands of entrepreneurs and creatives we’ve interviewed over the years and when we say yes, folks naturally ask what it takes to succeed and without a doubt one of the most essential ingredients for success is optimism. Cynics may often be right, but it’s only when an optimist is right that the world changes. Below, you’ll find more discussion around optimism and how to develop and foster it.
Alexander Flanagan
Ultimately my optimism comes from necessity. I moved to this city with the intention of achieving massive goals. Things that I didn’t know were possible or realistic. I am constantly answering this question: “How can I do it?” Being able to focus on the positive possibilities and details is necessary to proactively answer this question. Doubt is irrelevant and useless in finding solutions to any problem. As I worked more I began to understand that everything is a possible opportunity. In my line of work connections and jobs come fast and spontaneously. Read more>>
Arrad
I feel my optimism in the film and music industry is partly due to a touch of naivety and a dash of delusion. I leaped into this world without fully grasping its complexities and politics. My motivation was simple: passion to create. I relished the opportunity to hone my skills as a director and make a living doing what I love. Read more>>
Danielle Nishida
Being a parapeligic woman who has endured many life changing and difficult circumstances, I have found that the key to success and happiness is remaining positive no matter the situation one is in. There is always a silver lining, a speckle of hope, a lesson, and an opportunity for growth. Read more>>
David Cruz
I feel that my optimism comes from my passion and because I try to choose the things that I do with the idea that it excites me. I know that not always you could get everything that you want, but telling myself and setting my mindset in a way that not everything that I do necessarily has to give me a certain amount of money but instead it brings me joy, fun and knowledge has changed the way my brain works. All of this has helped me bring out optimism from moments in which I even thought there was nothing else I could bring from them. Read more>>
Emily Kaler
I’ve always been an overly optimistic person, even when I was younger. I think a lot of it came from having parents who were very similar and taught me that from a young age. In my experience, expecting that the best outcome will happen usually means it will. I find that when I meet a situation with optimism it is contagious to everyone around me. Read more>>
Jane Barton
I’ve always been a glass half full type of person and it’s probably from my parents who shared this life view. Both of them had early life challenges and in spite of that they worked hard and succeeded in building full, successful, meaningful lives for themselves and for their kids. Both passed on a “can do” attitude to us. My dad, his father and my uncles began a business that sustained 4 families and when he retired he ran a trade association to help and mentor others in the field. My mom even began a successful resale shop called, “Why Not? Read more>>
Jiro Schneider
If I can speak bluntly, you don’t get things done in this life by being pessimistic. It’s easy feeling the warmth of being wrapped in the blanket of self-doubt and negativity. I know I’d rather live feeling hopeful and positive and set goals to achieve. I want to wake up feeling optimistic and charged, and if I don’t the least i can do is make the effort. We all know there’s going to be road-bumps ahead, but it doesn’t serve you to fixate on it. Pedal to the metal. Keep your momentum and don’t forget to smile. Read more>>
Trista Ainsworth
I have always been an eternal optimist. The origin of the lightness of my being is an innate sense of calm. Although I go through challenges, hard times, and grief, I know in my heart everything is going to be okay in the end. I can always see a solution even in the darkest hour, and optimism is one of my superpowers in life. Read more>>
Jeffrey Brandon
My mother is the source of my optimism. I can honestly say that she is the reason why I am so optimistic. She would always sit me down and we would practice drawing together by her bed. She would always inform me of my drawing abilities and progress. Her advice was to not let anyone tell me that I am not good or that I cannot improve on what I love or want to do with my talent. If you keep your optimism high and don’t let anyone knock you down, you will always improve at whatever you want to do. Read more>>
Lynda Reiss
I have always been a ‘cup half full’ kinda girl. I just see the possibilities, and look at every misstep as being there for a reason. Sometimes, often times, the reason isn’t obvious. But when you do see it, its often a light bulb moment. The more aware you are of this, the quicker the reasons show themselves. It is because of this way of thinking that I am an optimist. Read more>>
Felicia Jeffries
Growing up in rural Mississippi as an only child, I had to learn ways to keep myself occupied. I had a vivid imagination. I could picture a green stool, and next thing you know, I’d be spending half the day cutting down the perfect size tree for the legs of that stool, and looking for the seat in my daddy’s work shed. I was always an optimistic kid. I remember wanting to do something for my grandma when I was seven years old. She had 10 children, had been through so much in life, and I wanted to do something for her before she died. Read more>>
Jamie Cutshaver
Wow, this is a loaded one for me! I chose this question because I feel like optimism can be a tough one. But optimism for me can’t be a question. I have battled cancer five times now and I feel like I have had to be optimistic. I have no choice but to keep pushing forward and wanting to survive. My love for photography has helped me view the world through a different lens. It has helped me focus on the beauty in people and in the world. Sometimes when I am down, I take. photo of something that makes me happy and that refocuses me to be optimistic. Read more>>
Lisa & Alexa
Our optimism for a better world comes from hope. Hope and belief in our fellow man, in the belief that people are innately good, and that we have just lost our way when it comes to priorities around climate change. It is so easy to look around and feel hopeless; flooding, fires, earthquakes, atmospheric rivers, it’s all very overwhelming. For us to continue doing what we do, fighting for a better world, we have to do it with optimism and hope, it gives us the strength to keeping moving forward and fighting for our cause! Read more>>
Danielle Hodge
My optimism comes from my work experience and a gift of always seeing the bigger picture. When things get tough, I reflect on those who have paved the way before me and I really hone on how whatever I’m working on, will create an impact in the world. I’ve been blessed with a gift of self awareness I learned at an early age. Read more>>
Chinggay Labrador
I feel I’ve always been a glass half full kind of person. I didn’t realize this about myself until I was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma at a very early age—I was only 26 when I got cancer. My initial reaction was one of calm. I put my faith completely in my doctors and felt good that they had a plan laid out for me. Hodgkins Lymphoma is one of the most curable cancers out there so I had that on my side; but I also believe that it was my optimism that helped me get through chemo and radiation without feeling too rundown. Read more>>
Alina Nastase
From my strong believe in God, and that I’m always guided to serve the highest through my art, that keeps me optimistic and motivate even in the hardest moments where hope might feel like is lost, I still find optimism because I know that’s the work of the highest in my journey for what is coming next. As the winter is necessary to be so we can have a beautiful spring so I know, those down only leads to a next beautiful high. Read more>>
Crystal Brinson
Optimism comes from my heart. Optimism is showing the world YES I can even if you don’t think I should. Without being optimistic I would have no drive. I believe in my capabilities to at least try. I also believe that optimism is contagious cause without it why bother? I’ve never shielded away from voicing a positive outcome into a situation. even if the end result did not turn out very positive. Fear is the death of optimism. Read more>>
Linecia Gilmore
My optimism comes from my faith in God. My faith gives me hope in the future even when my current situation is not ideal. My faith allows me to see a way out despite what it looks like. Faith is the requirement of optimism. It doesn’t have to be grandiose or overbearing. Some days it is a minor thought or just the fact that the sun is shining. Read more>>
Megan Hahn
I’d like to say that it comes naturally, but I do think it’s taken years of experiences to shape my mindset. I was a teenager that complained a lot, but I’m also a very independent person so I took risks to try new things. This taught me how to see the best outcome. For example, I made the junior varsity basketball team in high school with a positive attitude and ability to run fast. Read more>>
Jahanna Nichols
Life has taught me that you are tougher than you think you are and no matter what comes your way, life and love always prevail. I have a great support system of friends, family and coworkers whom I can count on for anything and they are a reminder that life is beautiful. Read more>>
Hannah Barnthouse
I’ve always been the eternal optimistic; I think it comes from my core belief that your energy and actions are like a boomerang! When you believe in good, good comes back, when you do good, good comes back! It all goes hand in hand with being an optimist and hoping for the best for myself and others! Read more>>
Jeremy Levin
Interestingly enough, my optimism came from a long time of feeling quite the opposite. The glass half-empty vs. half-full saying teaches us that situations are all about the perspective from which you view them. At some point, I realized that while the many things in life are of my control, my reactions are what matters. This is the part where I am in control. Read more>>
Chéri Ballinger
When I was restarting my life after having been down for 4+ years from a TBI, I received the best advice: Every day, focus not on your own problems but instead consciously do something for someone else. Soon, you’ll forget about what worries you and the beautiful fruit of this is that you experience so many blessings as well. I realized that life is so precious and every single day is a beautiful gift and when I focused on that, I cannot help but experience such a joy and optimistic outlook! Read more>>
Eva Kmetko
My optimism has stemmed from the bad stuff: difficult situations, uncomfortable dialogues, and bad experiences. I do believe it’s a cocktail of psychological, biological, and environmental factors mixed together. I tend to focus on positive outcomes and maintain a hopeful attitude towards the future. There have been situations in my life when a positive attitude was my way out of difficult circumstances. For example, many moons ago, I worked in Switzerland, Europe and unknowingly got into a situation where I had to face the Ukrainian mafia. Read more>>
Courtney Washington
My optimism comes from my relationship with God. God wants us to have the desire of our hearts according to his plans and he gave me my talents so I know he will bless me with that dream acting role and will make sure that my business is successful! Read more>>
Arian Khoroushi
My optimism stems from a combination of factors in my life. Firstly, I believe in personal resilience. Overcoming past challenges has shown me that I possess the inner strength to face difficulties head-on. This history of resilience instills in me a sense of confidence in my ability to navigate whatever comes my way. Read more>>
Chaz Hodges
I naturally lean towards optimism, steering clear of excessive complaints. My tendency is to find silver linings in various situations. Remaining present has been my grounding force. A quote that resonates deeply with me is, “You are not in traffic. You are traffic.” It serves as a reminder that a simple shift in perspective can lead to better reactions in any circumstance. Read more>>
Brandon Bird
My optimism comes from the fact that regardless of whether society itself deserves near term optimism, we experience existence as individuals and have more control over our personal experience than our society. While we cannot and should not disentangle from the needs of our world and others just to stay positive, I think we can strike a balance that allows us to retain optimism for ourselves even when the world around us seems bleak… Read more>>
Jake Akuna
Growing up, I was fortunate to have been surrounded by some incredibly positive and influential mentors, who always encouraged me and gave me the confidence that I could do anything I put my mind toward. I was surrounded by so much positivity, the thought of failure never actually crossed my mind, so I suppose my optimism may have also been fueled by a truly astounding level of youthful naivety. Read more>>
Allison Levine
I am an optimistic person by nature. But I remember one time when I was a tween when I was feeling insecure and pessimistic about going to a party. My mom told me that I could go with a bad attitude and I would have a bad time. But if I went with a good attitude, who knows what would happen? In short, she told me that “you make your own good time.” And that is how I look at life. I see the glass as half-full; I think positively. I am optimistic and hopeful but also remain practical and realistic. Read more>>
Fryderyk HD
I have always tried to walk through my life with a smile and I imagine it’s a viral thing. I always see a bright side to everything, no matter how bad things get. Through that I get resilience in many things that I do like composing music and realizing projects which is obviously not an easy task for a DIY artist. Keeping optimistic view on life has helped me greatly in my life as a fulfilled musician. Read more>>
Janessa Marie Smith
My optimism comes from the Lord! I have been through so much in my short 23 years. Throughout it all I have remained hopeful when life has given me a million reasons to be hopeless. My experiences have proved to me that no matter how hard life, circumstances, work, relationships, family issues, financial stressors, (the list goes on and on) God always shows up and out in the end. Read more>>
Deepa Subramanian
What a fabulous question you asked me! Well, to be honest, I have always believed that I let things fall into my lap by keeping an open mind and by embracing anything that comes my way except those that my gut says no. And trust me, things do fall into my lap !
As an entrepreneur for the last twenty plus years, the way I approached my business was with a ‘learned optimism’ which is an ability to view the world with a positive outlook. Read more>>
