The Power of Optimism
By John Kageche
Optimism. Such a powerful word.
It evokes positive feelings of hope, faith, expectation, anticipation, purpose. And what is optimism? Merriam-Webster dictionary says: “an inclination to put the most favorable construction upon actions and events or to anticipate the best possible outcome.” Simply put, always seeing the silver lining in every cloud-even one about to yield a thunderstorm.
Optimism can make or break your business. There is reason why statistics show that 90 percent of start-ups don’t survive the first five years; and that 90 percent of those remaining won’t see the next five. In other words for every 100 businesses that start, only ONE will see year ten! A large part of the reason is because most people go into business for the money. When they repeatedly hit a rocky path (as they will undoubtedly do especially in the nascent stages of their business) their resilience starts faltering, they get tripped by the short-term obstacles (seemingly overwhelming debt being a major one) and shortly thereafter they throw in the towel…and another prospective thriving business bites the dust. And why? Because businesses that thrive do so, not because of an endless stream of capital, but because the founder went into the business to pursue a vision-not chase elusive cash.
My business partner is the eternal optimist. He is also the founder member of one of the businesses I am in. When hit by a massive fraud internally, which we are still recovering from close to three years later, he was shaken, yes, but did not falter. Listen to him: “It was good it happened. The reason it did was to enable us set proper systems and structures.” Meantime, the banks were breathing fire down our neck, investors were breaking down doors wanting to know the fate of their funds and the ‘phones were ringing on end with debtors. I can tell you, life was not pleasant! Despite this thunderstorm of a cloud he clearly saw the silver lining, the dawn of a new day, the faint but steadily growing heart beat. Optimism. Today we are still not out of the woods yet but the horizon is visibly clear.
Contrast this with a competitor who by some twist of fate was hit by a similar fraud only half as strong. He has never recovered. He admits that when the gravy train stopped flowing, he could not bring himself to face the ridicule, absorb the frustration and take pressure that it came with. Listen to him: “This fraud was meant to show me that I should not be in business”
Optimism is not to be mistaken for blind hope. No. Optimism is imagining, then fighting for and then working towards. Optimism is an unwavering belief that all will be well if not today, tomorrow, if not tomorrow next week, if not next week, next decade. It is the faith that moves mountains. It is what will make your clothes shop flourish despite the high turnover of tailors; your taxi business to continue after it gets grounded because you can’t afford the car repairs; your bar to open its doors despite the massive embezzlement by the barman you fired. It is what allows entrepreneurs to evolve with the changing political, economic, social and technological landscape. It is what has moved the world from a floppy disk to a CD, to a flask disk and now a memory card; it’s what moves whole countries from struggling economies to economic powerhouses; it’s what moves a simple cell ‘phone from an oral communication tool to one that allows you to send, receive and borrow money (at least here in Kenya). That is the power of optimism in business; the belief that no matter what, my product (company) can become better. It must start though with a passion for where you are going, your vision.
John Kageche (+254 722 445 919)
Lend Me Your Ears for : Dynamic Selling (Beyond the Sales Cycle) and Speak for Yourself! (Message Development, Speech Writing, Speaker Training and Coaching)
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