Ethos

Tying this all together, let’s go over to the experts…

The week of my wedding I went to see the Dalai Lama speak in College Park, Maryland.

I wish I could report, in bulletized format, the wisdom that His Holiness imparted.

But it was his smile and that little laugh that sticks with me to this day. I don’t remember a word of what he said. I do remember how that speech made me feel.

Maya Angelou was right.

And so was Gandhi when he said you must maintain your positivity, guarding even your most basic thoughts against the darkness.

Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny. Mahatma Gandhi

Optimism celebrates the small wins along the path to mastery. It helps you sleep soundly at night and wake up ready to keep pounding in the morning. It gives you strength from positive experiences and shields you from the negative ones.

Optimism gives you the fortitude to develop difficult habits. To keep going when progress is lethargic. To persist when belief is tested. To stay humble when victory is tasted. To remain in the fight until it is finished.

Optimism tends the flame while you turn your dreams and visions into reality.