Our lives are too short to waste even one week.
Any week that passes where you are not optimistic is a week that is invariably wasted, water under the bridge, never to be recovered. Optimism is the fuel that drives virtually all significant progress. Without it, you will find that you still usually stay busy but make little lasting progress.
Self-styled intellectuals have made it “cool” and “smart” to be a naysayer and pessimist. It is always easier to look smart while pointing out flaws than it is to go out on a limb and support a fresh, bold idea… and most people want to appear smarter than they are. More than 80% of people have bought into this flawed thinking. It seems to be human nature – the Pareto principle (as known as the 80/20 rule) is alive and well. Luckily, each of us has the ability to join the 20% minority. The silver lining of this cloud of negativity is that the committed, optimistic few have limitless opportunity to succeed while 80% parrot “it will never work.”
God put me here to open your eyes, to help you become a contrarian, to see opportunity and optimism every minute, every day, when so many do not. I want to inspire you to take decisive action, because ideas are worth little without determined execution and finishing what you start.
Bob Sakalas, Optimism Man
Bob is younger than Ethan Hunt but a bit older than James Bond, listens to old Stevie Ray Vaughn, Kenny Chesney, and U2, lives in Texas, is happily married, and is blessed with two extraordinary daughters who are growing up way too fast.
After several decades in technology sales, Sakalas took the road less traveled, became a smartphone software entrepreneur while investing the time to write three books (See his latest Escape Average on Amazon, along with the book’s companion video site at EscapeAverage.org). Apple defeated RIM, deflating his software venture and award-winning productivity packages for the Blackberry, returning him to the Fortune 500 corporate realm.
Bob serves as an Innovation Strategist for enterprise software leader SAP. Check out Bob’s work blog at bobsakalas.com
