Today there are plenty of people who are 'hoping' our new President will be able to change things and assist our leaders in moving this country forward from the ditch it is in economically. I can't say I remember there being more excitement for a new president in my lifetime. In talking with a friend today he said the commentators were trying to find something to liken it to and one said it was like the 'second coming'. Excuse me. Today might be a good day, but it won't be THAT good.

It's amazing what hope does to people. My wife has filled out every Reader's Digest Sweepstakes envelope we have ever received since the day we got married! Every single one. She is hoping that before the 'real second coming'  they will show up on our doorstep with those silly balloons and that big check with her name on it. When they do, I will fall out, literally.

As a leader of people, hope is indispensable. The world's most successful business, military, sports and political figures have inspired others with hope. Winston Churchill, FDR, Kennedy, Gandhi, George W. Bush at the 911 crash scene, Martin Luther King, the apostle Paul and of course Jesus. No doubt research bears out the fact that those leaders, who can inspire hope in their followers, profit from employees who are able to sustain mergers, transitions, and acquisitions.  Not only that but profits and productivity soar and overall employees are less stressed, more resilient and happier in their jobs.  

But right now you as a leader, like me, are likely saying,"I've tied so many knots in the end of my 'hope' rope I've run out of rope." Where does one begin in finding inspiration for living out hope and encouraging others? I read it this morning and wanted to share it with you.  Chuck Swindoll writes:

"Attitudes"

"Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitude toward life. The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent of how I respond to it.

I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my success or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position. Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope. When my attitude is right, there is no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me."

So how's your hope? Start with your attitude.

rb