Hope Dealers
Nov 15, 2021
"Hope is the positive expectation of something great happening... and soon. "
---Jan McDonald
It has been said, “Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air...but only for one second without hope.” Many people have lost hope these days. Just when we think things are settling down and looking better, "they" change the rules. "They" pull the rug of positive expectancy out from under us.
When we lose hope, we begin to downsize our dreams. If you have done that you know that it creates a feeling discontent, uneasiness and discomfort. That's because that is not who we are. We are created to always seek fuller expression--to be, do and have more.
When we fell while learning to walk, we didn't say, "Well, walking is great for the rest of you guys. I'm just going to be a crawler." Nope. You got up and you tried and tried and tried until you walked.
Remember when we were kids, how we daydreamed about our future? Many of us had great hopes for our future. That's who we are. Fuller expression is in our DNA. 
Napolean said that leaders are dealers in hope. The world needs hope dealers right now. People need to have bright things in their future. I am challenging us to dispense hope during this holiday season to others. Let's be the bright thing in their future.
How?
1. What do you hope for? The first step in dispensing hope is to have something for ourselves to hope for. Write down one thing that you hope for? Remember, we can't give what we don't have. Once we have that hope, we can nurture it.
The Wright Brothers hoped they could fly. Everyone thought they were crazy. They tried so many times, that it "seemed" like there was no hope at all. They believed they could fly--they believed in their hope. They nurtured that hope and were successful.
2. Give our hope to others. Hope is a gift that energizes and motivates people to do more for themselves. AND if they don’t have hope—we can loan them ours…they can borrow ours. Where in your life are you able to loan hope to others?
3. Put hope in the future. We do that by cultivating two mindsets. The first is believing that the future is going to be better. The second is believing that we have the power to make that true. If our future is going to be bright, it’s up to us. We can’t base our hope on outward circumstances and situations, our hope needs to come from within. WE HAVE THAT POWER! We can do it!
4. BE the hope for the future. Hopeful people shine in the midst of difficult situations. Hope gives us the ability to see possibilities and opportunities not only for us, but for others. Gandhi quotes that we can BE the change we want to see in the world. I believe the same goes for hope.
Who, in your sphere of influence, could use some hope in their lives? Loan them yours. BE their hope. If you are struggling to find hope for yourself, I'm just an email away.
Dealing in hope,
Jan
Jan McDonald
The John Maxwell Team
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