There are two brands of hope: the kind that keeps us motivated, and the kind that keeps us from taking action. This week in Bliss for Business: lessons on hope from the 2012 election, and hope letting go of hope can bring you business success.
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It’s a bit intimidating to be writing an article about Hope that’s destined to be published the morning after election day. Okay, a lot intimidating. And while the connections are there to be made between business and politics, that’s really not my bag. But even in my near-media-blackout in the days leading up to the election, in the midst of the Facebook rants and jabs thrown by people on all sides, I’ve been noticing Hope. An awful lot of it, in fact.
Maybe too much.
Is it possible to have too much hope?
The last time I wrote about Hope in the Bliss for Business series, I defined it as “the difference between ‘I don’t know what I’m doing’ and ‘I don’t know what I’m doing yet‘”. That’s the kind of hope I believe in, the kind that keeps us going, keeps us strong. And there’s been a little bit of that going around.
But there’s another kind of hope, the kind more akin to wishing than motivating. And that’s what I’m seeing the most of this election season. Heck, I see it all the time, in clients, in students, in colleagues, in myself.
Wishing and hoping alone won’t make things happen. At least not in the way you want them to.
You can stand in the middle of the street, hoping that by the end of the day you’ll make it to the corner at the end of the block, but unless you take a step, you’ll never get there. (Or you’ll get hit by a car, in which case you might get there sooner, and more battered and bruised than you intended.)
It’s not enough to want change at the government level. You need to vote for it.
It’s not enough to hope that the electoral system in your country changes. You need to take steps to make it happen.
It’s not enough to wish that you’ll be in better shape by the time that big event happens. You need to move.
It’s not enough to want new clients. You need to work on getting them.
It’s not enough to dream of success, or even to define it. You need to do the work.
Is hope bad? No. It gets us through the rough times, gives us light to cling to, something to hold on to. Just be careful that you’re not holding so tight to hopes and dreams that you keep yourself from taking action.
An invitation
I’d like to invite you today to examine your hopes and dreams. Where are you simply wishing instead of taking action? What’s one step you can take today to put yourself in a place of action? Share with us in the comments or on Facebook (or if you’re more comfortable sharing non-publicly, email dani at daninelson dot com). Let’s take action together!
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Dani Nelson is a geek and a hippie with a passion for helping smart, creative entrepreneurs make their businesses better. Her secret ingredients? Strategy, tenacity, tasty beverages, and two unshakeable beliefs: that you (yes, you) have awesome things to share with the world, and that marketing doesn’t have to be awful.
Keep moving is the message I’m getting here today, Dani… and good advice to! A piece in my bigger puzzle is to show my paintings. I’m creating time in my calendar for more art dates so I can get the canvases painting. Painting doesn’t happen on wishin’ alone, that’s true! Thanks for the kick in the pants! ;o)
“Painting doesn’t happen on wishin’ alone”…you nailed it, Tracy! And neither does marketing, or growth (or the dishes, for that matter). 🙂