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.
Reese Cisneros
My optimism comes from playing sports since I was 4 years old! Sports have been a big part of my life, teaching me discipline, giving motivation to keep going, the connection to people, the ability to be a part of a team and community, knowing that others are in it with you. I have always used what I learned from coaches, teammates, all the wins and losses and taken that into my work life. Read More>>
Sarah Cooper
I’ve always been an optimistic person (mostly), but optimism is also a conscious choice I make for myself every day. In a world where there’s so much pain, injustice, and hardship in our communities, it’s difficult to always be optimistic about the state of things, but I always strive to find beauty in the mundane, joy in the ordinary, and inspiration in the everyday. Those small moments keep me sane and inspired, and I try to share those same bits of joy with others through my work and my art. Read More>>
Amya Janine
I gained optimism by trusting in God and letting him direct my path. God created my path before I was even brought into this world. As long as I put my faith in him and work then all things will fall into place. In the word of God he has promised in Proverbs 16:3 “Ask the Lord to bless your plans and you will be successful in carrying them out.” I worry about nothing and I give it to God. Read More>>
Shadale Smith
I have always had a mentality of “why can’t I do it”? A lot of my optimism comes from mentors and watching them. If I see someone accomplish something, it lets me know, it can be done. I then think to myself, ” I should be able to do it too.” So, I keep going, move forward, and do what I have to do, rather big or small. Read More>>
Thomas Wasinski
As I was growing up, I faced various challenges and setbacks that taught me the importance of maintaining a positive outlook. These experiences have shown me that setbacks are often temporary and can lead to valuable lessons. By choosing to focus on the potential for growth and improvement, I’ve been able to overcome obstacles and continue moving forward. It feels so rewarding to look back on all of the obstacles that I had to overcome. It makes me believe that I can make it through anything. Read More>>
andrea serrano
Life is too short to dwell in negative thoughts. The more I live in a positive mindset, the more beautiful people and experiences cross my path. Read More>>
Annie Lynn
I love this question. I’ve actually been thinking and reading a lot about the word “hope” lately. To me optimism and hope are super close. For me I simply couldn’t keep as positive or optimistic as I like to be without continually taking consistent steps and actions towards specific things I’m aiming for. In short, I just don’t give up. Read More>>
Lauren Jordan
It was the only thing to keep me going. For a long time I struggled with self identity; who I was and what I was going to do that truly brought me happiness. Life tells us go to school, find a job, take a vacation once a year and work until 65. Absolutely not. I knew there was more to life than the everyday mundane. I started to loath my place of work, to the point of listening to Read More>>
Amanda Kosior
I think one of the biggest misconceptions about optimism is that it needs to exist inside you all the time. I definitely have down days and moments when I think, “This sucks, I suck, everything sucks.” When that happens, I make sure I feel those feelings fully. My mom is a long-time motivational speaker and author on living fully, and she talks a lot about allowing yourself to, basically, get it out of your system. Her advice is to let negative thoughts and feelings to have a full temper tantrum in your brain – and then, when it’s over, say to yourself, “Very good temper tantrum. Now what is the actual truth?” Of course, the truth is always that there’s sunshine through the clouds. Read More>>
Ramon Perez
Throughout my life I’ve seen a lot of people going through good, bad, worse, and great situations. What I noticed about these situations is that they are all alike on one single aspect: attitude. You will see that successful individuals are often positive, problem solvers, half-full glass type point of view. We as people feel and sense this attitude and often drift closer to people with good and authentic energy. That is not to say that less successful people are not optimistic, but instead there is blame, obstacles, half-empty glass point of view. Read More>>
LaToya Rozof
I’ve always been a “glass half full” type of thinker. I believe all of the experiences that we go through are for the next person that we encounter. We were created to help one another. Helping others and servant leadership is my my dna. My grandparents started a business that helped people deal with loss (a funeral home). I saw first hand the positive impact that it had on the community. They built a business from nothing to something based soley off kindness and were/are known nationwide. I aspire to leave my mark on the world in a similar capacity. Read More>>
A Short Walk to Pluto
As a band, we understand that this industry is not an easy one to work in. The music industry is a lot of trial and error, some things stick, and others don’t. The reason we are so optimistic about our future in this industry is the reaction we get from our audience. We put a lot of time and effort into every song we create, and we believe our audience can feel that. We see the impact it is having on listeners from their comments to them sharing our music and in live shows when people sing and dance along. Knowing we have this strong fan base keeps us inspired to continue our work and continue growing as musicians to keep our audience engaged. Read More>>
Sydney Rogers
I have found that throughout my life, my optimism has come from different places. My relationship with God is a huge reason for my optimism and it helps inspire me to keep fighting the good fight, no matter the circumstances I face. I think that hope and optimism go hand in hand a lot of the time as well, and the relationship I have with God gives me the hope I need even in situations where I am struggling. Read More>>
Raquel Johnson Stephanie Hockaday
Change is inevitable, and with time we have seen great strides in the African American Community and how ability to prosper regardless of systematic racism and stresses. Our personal influences, community connections and lengthy years working in law enforcement and the counseling arena simultaneously has prepared us to dismantle systematic racism. Indeed, our community connections motivate and provide us with continued incitement. Our community sets the tone for our community-based philanthropy. Philanthropy as defined by Essential Wellness means love of mankind, with an emphasis on the black culture. Read More>>
Camron ‘Big Cam I Am’ Smith
I am a dreamer. I always have been and always will be. I have seen a lot, and I refuse to believe that the small bit of life I have been exposed to is the limit for me. I believe that I can do anything I put my mind to. A lot of that is due to my faith in God. I truly believe that anything is absolutely possible. So even when things aren’t going the best I believe it’s going to turn around. Read More>>
Liza Marie Garcia
I’ve always been a person who believed the glass is half full. I’ve mostly taken all obstacles, challenges, and failures of plan A with stride and found the solution to the problem within a very short time frame. Read More>>
Ranjin Mathew
For me, optimism is like a blend of good vibes from the wins I’ve had, the people who lift me up, and the lessons I’ve learned from tough times. It’s about believing that challenges are temporary and that I can find ways to make things better. So, it’s like having a positive playlist of experiences, thoughts, and attitudes that keep me hopeful no matter what comes my way. Read More>>
Shanita Richards
My optimism comes from my inner strength, knowing that I can achieve almost anything with hard work and smart decisions. I own Motor City Spreads, a small business making small batch, unique, gourmet jam and jellies. All my flavors are vegan, gluten free, always fresh, handmade, safely canned and super delicious! Read More>>
Toi Arnold
My optimism stems from within as it is a feeling I’ve always felt along with my experiences. I’ve always been hopeful about my future even though it’s unknown. I didn’t know then, I’d be where I am now and I don’t know where I’ll be in the future. But something within tells me it’s going to be somewhere great and doing wonderful things. I know where I want to be and I’m confident I’ll get there. Because of the things I’ve already accomplished and experienced, I know my future is bright. Read More>>
Rico Coar
My dreams of an incredible life with financial power, health, overall wellness, joy and the desire to make it a current reality in my life and the life of my family friends and clients. Read More>>
Erishyll Isidro
I believe my optimism comes from the joy of others. I have always been a positive person, even in no-so-positive situations. I believe that there is always something good in every situation and if there isn’t then the work is not done. When I photograph my clients, I am always hyping them up and boosting their confidence because it helps them feel comfortable around me and the photos turn out even better than they had imagined. Seeing my clients and everyone around me be happy and grateful that I can provide them with such memories keeps fueling my optimism. Read More>>
Matthew Novick
Having been a striving entrepreneur and working artist the last several years, there are several questions and topics that periodicals often inquire me about; How do you face obstacles and conflicts that arise in your career? How do you remain confident in the face of these challenges? How do you manage stress and remain resilient in these hard times? Read More>>
Chaz Mazzota
My optimism comes from a lifetime of trial and error. As a independent creator, I am constantly pitching, reworking and failing. BUT with every failure comes a lesson learned. A silver lining. Each mistake I make teaches me how I can be better for the next time. If I let the fear of failure or the disappointment of another mistake weigh on me, life starts to feel like I have a ball and chain strapped to my leg. The more I accept the reality and look for the silver linings, the lighter the weight of my burdens. I feel like this can apply to everyone and the trick is to figure out how! Read More>>
Kate LaVigne
One of the last things my mom told me before she passed away was “always look for the blessings in the hard times because they are there if you look for them.” She passed away after a 5 year battle with cancer during which she never stopped working a high-level full time job as an executive and continued being a great mom, wife, and friend, mostly with a smile on her face. I figure if she was able to do that, what do I have to complaint about? That’s not to say that there aren’t hard times in life because of course there are. But now I always search for the lesson or the blessing. Read More>>
Phillip Hodge III
I’d say my optimism derives from my faith in Jesus Christ. From an early age, my parents instilled into my siblings the Christian Religion. I grew up in the church & was constantly taught to lean not onto my own understanding but unto God’s. Life gets hard at times. I’ve experienced the heartaches that come with pursuing your passion. The constant rejection can be disruptive to the creative flow because you can start to feel as if you’re not good enough. Read More>>
Sha’ron Pryor
I grew up in Compton, a city that has always gotten the short end of the stick but also has a lot of achievements and achievers come through. I think seeing this first hand is what fuels my optimism and why I continue to push no matter how long it will take. Now living in South L.A I see alot of resilence and unbreakable spirits over here. Alot of people working together to bring positive change because it quite simply cannot be bad all the time. There has to be a balance. Read More>>
Eliot Popkin
In my lifetime I have walked through a lot of challenging moments, scary things – that I would not wish onto others. Just being here, safe and sound, in my life today… it is such a gift and that is the energy I try to promote. There were many moments dealing with abuse as a child, financial insecurity, lack of trust, public assistance, car repossessions, losing homes, living in unsafe situations; and I made it through those. Your past does not have to dictate your future. That is my message to others. Read More>>
Freddie Scott
My optimism ironically comes from the environment that I was raised in. I am born in raised in Columbus, Ohio. I grew up in an urban community called the South Linden neighborhood which is rather notorious for crimes and drug use. Read More>>
George Halkias
My optimism comes from irrational thought. There’s no logical reason to feel optimistic about life and the world. Delusion keeps artists from giving up on everything. Optimism barely breaks the surface of pessimism, peaking up every now and then. Also, generic welbutrin has given me an extra artificial bump of positive energy. Medication combined with forcing myself to believe God loves me is how I stay somewhat hopeful. Read More>>
Mica Rose
I can remeber a time when I had zero optimism. When things did not go as I wanted them to, I would get extremely frustrated and stressed out. I would even wonder “why me, what have I done to deserve this?” It wasnt until I went through a series of unfortunate events in my teenage years that I realized that God has a plan for me and knows when and what is best for me. I now know that the Universe is working every situation out for my greatest and highest good. I would say that my optimism comes from this concept. Read More>>
Adelia Johnson
My optimism is birthed out of gratitude. While there could be so many things not going my way per se, when I pause and consider the life I have, the resources I’ve been favored to have access to, and the people that God has blessed me to do life with, it creates a sense of appreciation and this keeps me optimistic. Read More>>
Leslie McBride
I’m often told, I’m very optimistic and I would crush it in real estate, lol. I’ve always been a pretty positive person but that’s not always the case. I’m a deep believer in manifesting what you want out of life and being optimistic goes hand in hand with this belief. You have to be optimistic and put out what you want to get back and out of this life. Read More>>
Kikee Bah
My optimism comes from years and years of fighting my through and getting what I’ve always needed, time and time again.
Very early on, I realized that knowing myself/my worth was going to be one of the most powerful tools in my toolbox. Read More>>
Erin Rouse
Ask Elon Musk and he will say starting a company is like “eating glass and staring into the abyss.” Ask Felix Dennis, founder of Maxim magazine, and he will describe a lonely path of continuous obstacles, sometimes seemingly impossible. Read More>>
Buddy Norris
I’ve always been told I’m a very “up” person! I remember my mother telling her friends that I always woke up with a smile and ready for a new day. There have been a few occasions over the years where friends have been annoyed with me trying to find a bright side of some circumstances and trying to encourage them in my own way! Haha! Don’t get me wrong – life can be tough and full of difficult seasons for sure. I’ve just always felt a natural optimism and a positivity that I’ve tried to share with others. Read More>>
Maddie Haulenbeek
My optimism comes from the people around me. They’re my biggest supporters in everything I do! My mom is probably the most positive person I’ve ever met, and she’s instilled those values in my siblings and I from a very young age. On days when I feel down, I like to talk through things with a friend or family member. It’s easy to swirl and turn a minor problem into something bigger in your own head. Read More>>
Kerry Vosler
My personality is naturally optimistic. But when there are things beyond your control like the pandemic which effectively closed our atelier for many months, it was a choice to remind myself that this too shall pass. I overcame the closure by going on line with my students. Read More>>
Kiara Juniorr
My mother. Growing up, she always showed my siblings and I that no matter what’s going on, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. Storms don’t last long. There’s this saying “I don’t look like what I’ve been through” and it resonates with me so much because I could literally have my world crashing down but nobody will ever know because I still walk around with a smile on my face with my can-do attitude. Read More>>
Gabriela Barradas
a lot of that comes from living in the present and letting go of the nostalgia of the past and anxiety for the future. living here and now and realizing the impermanence of everything around me, has taught me to enjoy the beautiful moments to the fullest and when the path feels challenging I remember that ‘this too shall pass’ and that life gets better and better every time so I see that as an opportunity and integrate it as a lesson. i truly belive that from the most challeging moments comes the most magical evolution. Read More>>
Amanda Sweeney-Jones
I have to give credit to the man upstairs first and foremost, my faith and spirituality keeps me so optimistic that nothing can keep me down. I will always choose positivity, it starts with my mother Lee Ann Mills she raised me to be an independent lady with a mind of my own but to have a positive outlook. She always told me I could do anything I wanted to do in life, and that has always stuck in my mind and has lead me to great adventures and opportunities by not having limiting beliefs and mindset. Read More>>
Alex Vlasov
Well, the idea of optimism was always the job of art. And you, as an artist, carry on this responsibility. It is part of the gig that you signed up for, you know.
Just think about the times we are living in. There is so much bigotry or hatred. So, the question is how you can respond to all that. For me, optimism, love, and hope are always my answers to all I observe in our culture. Read More>>
