“I believe in hope. I believe in belief.”

Once upon a time I was told I was unrealistically optimistic and that my ‘cheerleader attitude’ was a problem. I decided the place I was planted was the problem and moved on. I know I live on the glass half-full side of life and that isn’t everybody’s address. But I do know that without hope, nothing ever happens. Think about it – if you never hoped for something different than what you had, you wouldn’t have gone looking for that something different. If you didn’t have belief that you deserved every good thing that could possibly happen to a person, you wouldn’t have asked for more. Right?

Even those of you who live on the other side of the street – the glass half-empty side – have hope and belief. Some of you lovingly tend a garden, starting seeds inside on a little heating blanket under a special light because you believe in the power of those seeds to become pepper plants and basil and tomatoes. Some of you create art – like magic! – out of thin air because you believe in the vision only you can see. Some of you tutor kids at your local elementary school because you carry hope for those kids’ futures.

For many these are trying times. Yet that hasn’t – can’t – erase our hope and our belief. Carrying that spark of hope, wrapping that blanket of belief around us is how we take one step forward

Leadership requires hope. It requires belief, just like gardening. Whether you’re leading a team that’s doing cutting edge innovation or a team that’s doing something they’ve been doing for a long time, the world around us isn’t static. It’s changing and we have to change with it. There’s no way to do that without carrying a bit of hope with you. Without believing in what you can do, what the team can accomplish, and what wonderful surprises the world holds for you.

Be like Ted. Believe.