Plant Seeds of Change by Speaking of Health, Happiness, and Prosperity to Everyone You Meet
For transformational leaders, the power of optimism can’t be overstated.
Optimism can help us maintain momentum and commitment, move steadily through challenges, and garner support from others.
In addition, the power of optimism can spark change in others, inviting them to step into a bigger, better version of themselves and creating a space for dreams to flourish.
In this series, we’re examining the promises of The Optimist Creed, a powerful set of promises created by the renowned American New Thought leader, teacher and author, Christian D. Larson.
We covered Promise #1, and we’re moving on to Promise #2 : “to talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.”
Use the Power of Optimism to Invite Visions of Success
This principle is best illustrated with a story.
Imagine an elegant, powerful woman in the lobby of a gorgeous hotel. She’s just checked in, and accompanied by the bellman, she walks into the elevator to go to her room.
He pushes the button for the very top floor, where she’ll be staying in the presidential suite.
When the doors close, you would normally expect a silent, awkward elevator ride.
Instead, this woman asks the bellman three powerful questions — questions that change his life forever.
These three questions not only give him the ability to live a happier, healthier, more purposeful life, but over the course of the five years, quadruple his income.
This transformational leader is doing a lot of amazing things in her life, including living by The Optimist Creed.
In deciding to live by this creed, one of the promises she’s made to herself is to talk health, happiness, and prosperity with everyone she meets.
So when they get in the elevator and the doors close, she turns to the bellman and asks three questions.
The first question is simple: “How is your day going?”
His answer: “So far, so good.”
For most people, this reply wouldn’t raise any questions. After all, it’s something that many people would say.
But for this woman, his answer is a code.
It tells her that the bellman’s general approach to life is “Let’s wait and see what happens.”
It’s a telltale sign that he lives a circumstantially-driven life; he looks to the circumstances around him — what life is giving him — to determine what type of a day he is having.
Upon hearing this answer, she asks the next two questions that change his life.
She says, “Well, let me ask you this. If you were, at the end of this day, to say, ‘Wow, that was the best day I’ve ever had as a bellman!’ what would have to occur? What would the evidence be that you had just had your best day as a bellman?”
The bellman thinks about the question for a few seconds, then says, “My pockets would be full of tips.”
The woman replies, “Wow, that would be an amazing result! Now let me ask you this … who would you have to be and what would you have to do so that your pockets are full of tips?”
The bellman quickly replies, “I guess I’d have to be cheerful and bubbly. I’d have to provide amazing service.”
She smiles warmly at him and says, “Awesome! Well, I’m holding for you that this day ends with you saying, ‘This was the best day I’ve ever had as a bellman.’”
With that, the doors open, and they step out into the presidential suite.
The bellman turns to the woman and cheerfully says, “Ma’am, is there anything else I can get for you?”
“As a matter of fact,” she replies, handing him a $20 bill, “I’d love a cup of coffee.”
He goes down to the Starbucks in the lobby of the hotel and brings back a cup of coffee, prepared to her specifications.
As he hands her the coffee, she says, “Keep the change — you’re on your way.”
Over the next five years, that woman — Mary Morrissey, the founder of Brave Thinking Institute! — continues to hold events in the hotel where that bellman works.
Over the next five years, he reports his results to her, as he lives more and more into being of amazing service, and as he continues holding in his mind the vision of being the person who is ending each day saying, “This was the best day I’ve ever had in my career.”
The bellman is promoted to head bellman, then to captain, and on up the ladder. He’s promoted because he’s living into the answers to those questions in a whole new way.
Speak of Health, Happiness and Prosperity to Yourself
Whether your biggest dreams are centered around health, happiness or prosperity, you can harness the power of optimism to create the results you want.
Start by asking these questions of yourself:
What would have to occur for me to have my best day (or achieve my biggest dream)? What’s the evidence I would see?
For example, if you’re focused on health, you might say that the evidence you’d see if you were having a great health day is that you’ve had 10 glasses of water to drink, you’ve made healthy food choices all day, and you fit in 30 minutes of exercise and 8 solid hours of sleep.
What would have to occur — and who would I have to be — for those results to occur?
Sticking with our health example, you might say that you would plan and prep your meals the night before, block off time on your calendar for exercise, set a timer on your watch to remind you to drink your water, and turn off the television 1 hour earlier so you can go to bed on time.
You might also identify that you would be a person who would pay attention to your choices, and then pause to ask yourself whether the choice you’re about to make is in alignment with your vision of health.
Speak of Health, Happiness and Prosperity to Yourself
Speaking of health, happiness and prosperity to everyone you encounter is a bit like scattering seeds.
You never know what will take root, but you can be confident that your efforts will change the world over time.
How can you speak of health, happiness and prosperity to others — or when have you used this in the past and witnessed results?
I’d love to hear more about your experiences!
