An Eternal Optimist

I'm an optimist. I have to be. Let's face it, there is more than enough bad news to go around these days, what's the point on dwelling on it, especially if we can't control it. A long time ago, I learned not to get upset by things I can't control. I'm a bit of a control freak, so that was a tough lesson (and admittedly one I still struggle with from time-to-time), but it was a critical lesson that has helped me understand my place in the world.

Having an optimistic view on life is more important now than ever in my opinion. The deep financial mess we are in right now is due to a number of factors, but one of the things keeping us from a quick recovery is this deep psychological funk, a view that things are only going to get worse. I guess that's why I was so encouraged the past few days to see the stock market rallying. Any sign of progress or success, any stories that are good, constructive and positive in nature should be celebrated. I believe that the mainstream media tends to focus and dwell on the controversial, the negative, and the pessimistic side of the world. Is it any wonder that a 200 point loss on Wall Street receives more attention in the media than a 200 point gain?

My optimistic side has shown through in the growth and development of Success starts here. Our business has seen challenges similar to others in our industry. But I'm not going to dwell on that here. For as much as we are challenged at this point in time, we also have some wonderful stories to tell. There is a lot of good going on here at McGladrey, just as there is a lot of good going on in other communities and organizations across the country. It's a great pleasure to share these stories with you here, and I hope you enjoy reading them.

A little optimism here and there can go a long way. Don't fret over things out of your control. Celebrate whatever that is good that surrounds you. Find ways to turn negatives into positives. Learn to appreciate the little things in life (That's how I was able to cope with rooting for a baseball team last year that had over 100 losses. Every strikeout, every home run, every great catch was something to savor).

I may be a bit naive in saying this, but I think that if everyone in the world made the effort to be a bit more optimistic in their work and in their life, this world would be a much better place. Naive maybe, but ultimately, am I wrong? Think about it, optimistically.