"Hope, the Beginning and End of All Things" by Kimberley Heart

Hope is not the last dig effort of the disenfranchised but a miraculous gift, a key awakening to all that is possible. It is through hope that we look for and find new answers and invent what has not existing before. Hope allows us to awaken the mystery of, “now for the first time.” 

It is hope that keeps us going. Hope for a better day, hope for love, hope for an end to the pain, hope for an end to the pandemic. Hope is the grand initiator of all things and much needed in today’s world of chaos and crisis.

My job as a strategic consultant specializing in crisis is to bring hope into every meeting, every challenge, every crisis. I might not use the word, but I bring the essence of the great initiator, the unprecedented power to handcraft the future and answers that which would not have been possible without hope. I understand the power of hope in business, in love, in life. I invite you to use it as your ally.

For the first time in the known history of the world, our entire civilization shut down.

We, daily, in all aspects of our lives have had to challenge our way of life, The “American Way of Life.”

We see now more than ever that:

The American Promise is a Lie… everything will come ease. Go to college and you will get a good job, even the job of your dream. Play by the rules and work hard and success is all but guaranteed. You will do better than your parent’s. There are enough resources to last forever. We are the best and brightest.

 The American Dream is Alive… you can do anything you can figure out how to do. You can and must recreate the/your world. No one will hand you anything, but there are those who will offer a hand. Dream big, really big. It will be our only way out. Do what you want to do, not what you think you should do. If you win or if you lose, it is on you and that in an of itself is a gift.

In our enforced solitude we have all had the opportunity to breathe, to decide what we really want from life, to take brave steps into what is the real American Dream. Sadly, only a small percentage of us will use this opportunity to create an unprecedented life. Be one that does.

 If we think about it, in the last 150 days, we have had to change almost everything we believed to be possible as to our work and home environments. Circumstance has demanded that we change. There was no real other choice. One of the biggest lesson of the pandemic is that we are far more capable of change than we thought. This is magnificent. This is the magnificence of hope. Grab it and do not let go. Now is the time, the best time to create and step into your dreams.

There is no change without Hope. No American or World Dream without Hope. There is no future without hope. Perhaps Helen Keller encapsulated the power of hope best, “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. We can do nothing without hope and confidence.”

Hope is an initiator and the stabilizer; it is an avenue to grander success because it stirs imagination, awakens possibility and opens to the unknown. If you look at what you and the world have accomplished in the last 150 days, you will grasp the power of hope.

So how do you engender hope on command?

 First consciously redefine your personal definition of hope. Write it down and look to see if it is marred by struggle, and strive if it is, change it.

Next, know how hope feels in you. Practice, 1-minute 3x a day for 7 days, experiencing the feeling of hope. Bring back into your awareness the last time hope filled you and lifted you. That is the feeling you want to practice as described. Remember the time you were about to open that important envelope, or make that critical call. If you were filled with hope, bring that back in and re-experience it now. Doing this embeds hope into your subconscious mind, consequently it will be available to you at any time. Any time you need a fresh start, strength during a long draught, or jump into the sea of life’s possibility and find the treasures waiting for you. Hope on demand gives you all of that and so much move.

Finally, consciously use hope as your ally. With every challenge you face bring in the big guns, Hope. Fill yourself with hope and now look at the challenge. If you are really filled with hope, you will see new answers, fresh opportunities and if you are brave a path to a new life.

___________________________________________________________

Kimberley Heart

Kimberley Heart is an expert in crisis management, strategic planning, and reorganization in the legal, and corporate environments. She works with CEOs, Boards of Directors, Managing Partners, and Executive Committees to structure and facilitate crisis mitigation, succession planning, strategic planning, and cultural integration. She is the go-to professional for leadership and executive management development for Fortune 100 companies. Beyond the legal and corporate arenas, Ms. Heart has also been called upon to create innovate crisis intervention solutions for survivors of Hurricane Andrew, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina.