The promise of hope

When I was just starting out in the early days of my career, I faced numerous rejections. During job interviews, sales pitches and attempts to secure funding, rejection was a constant companion. It was during this period that I met a mentor, a seasoned entrepreneur with decades of experience. He shared a story from his early days that I have never forgotten.

He was on the verge of bankruptcy. His company was failing, and he couldn't see a way out. Creditors were knocking, and it seemed like every door was closing on him. One evening, feeling particularly low, he took a walk by a river, trying to clear his head. There, he saw a group of children playing with a makeshift boat. They would place the boat in the water, watch it capsize, retrieve it, fix it and try again. No matter how many times the boat capsized, the children's enthusiasm and hope never waned. They were determined to see their boat sail.

This simple scene struck a chord with him. He realized that his approach had been all wrong. He had been focusing on the failures — the capsized boats — without considering that each failure was an opportunity to learn, to fix what was wrong and to try again with renewed hope and determination. Inspired by the children's perseverance, he went back to the drawing board. He analyzed his business, identified the flaws and started fixing them, one by one. It wasn't easy, and it took time, but eventually his business not only recovered but thrived.

This story taught me an invaluable lesson about hope. It is not just about naively wishing for things to get better. It is about learning from your failures, making the necessary adjustments and approaching your challenges with a renewed sense of purpose and optimism.

My dear friend, Lou Holtz, always says you need four things in your life, otherwise you are going to have a tremendous void. No. 1, everyone needs something to do. No. 2, everyone needs someone to love. No. 3, everyone needs someone to believe in. And No. 4, everyone needs something in their life to hope for.  

What do you want to do? You have to have hope, ambition and dreams.

My wish, dream and hope, aside from being a professional golfer, was to own my own factory. I didn't know what I would manufacture, but I always hoped to be able to walk the factory floor and be able to have my employees look up to me.

But I didn't wait for it to fall in my lap. I acted on that hope and made my dreams come true.

Hope is what gets many of us through our worst days. Hope is believing that every cloud has a silver lining, and when that cloud rains, it makes things grow. A perfect partner is faith, for without faith, hope is meaningless. 

Hope also plays a crucial role in economic decisions. Entrepreneurs start new businesses with the hope that they will succeed and contribute to the community's prosperity. Consumers make purchases, hoping that their choices will lead to satisfaction and well-being.

Overall, hope is the undercurrent that propels society forward. It is the belief that despite current challenges, there are possibilities for a brighter future that can be realized through collective effort and perseverance.

A leader is a dealer of hope. But if you don't have it, you can't share it. It starts with you. What gives you hope? What do you hope for?

In Greek mythology, Pandora opened her fabled box and let out all evils except for hope, which Greeks considered to be as dangerous as the world's other evils. Soon they discovered that without hope to offset their troubles, humanity was filled with despair. So Pandora let out hope as well. In the myth, hope was more potent than any of the other major evils. 

In modern times, we consider hope to be anything but evil. It's what gets many of us through our worst days. Inflation, credit card debt, foreclosure, dwindling retirement funds, businesses folding — any of these could make a person lose hope.

In my observation, hope is a powerful motivator that drives communities and individuals to strive for better outcomes, even in the face of adversity. When people have hope, they are more likely to engage in actions that can lead to positive change. 

Mackay's Moral: Hope is the compass that guides us through the darkest nights, fueled by the lessons learned in the light of day.

• • •

Harvey Mackay is the author of the New York Times bestseller "Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive." He can be reached through his website, www.harveymackay.com, by emailing harvey@mackay.com or by writing him at MackayMitchell Envelope Co., 2100 Elm St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414.