Perpetual Optimism

The following is from General Colin Powell’s: 18 Lessons From A Very Successful Leader.

Lesson 12: “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier” – The ripple effect of a leaders enthusiasm and optimism is awesome. So is the impact of cynicism and pessimism. Leaders who whine and blame engendered those same behaviors among their colleagues. “I am not talking about stoically accepting organizational stupidity and performance incompetence with a “what, me worry? Smile.” “I am talking about a gung ho attitude that says we can change things here, we can achieve awesome goals, we can be the best. Spare me the grim litany of the “realist”, give me the unrealistic aspirations of the optimist any day!”