The Power of Hope in an Uncertain World

Transcript

Introduction to Hope

Speaker 1 0:00

Well , hello there . This is Living your Success 24-7 with Michael K . How are you all doing ? I hope ? Great . Hope . You had a great day and having a good week . It was hump day , right , what they call that Wednesday , moving into the tail of the end of the week . So , but let's get to the point .

Speaker 1 0:24

I want to talk about hope . Yes , that's right , a whole podcast about hope and maybe the lack of hope too . We'll touch both sides of that coin . Why do I want to talk about it ? I said you know what you know .

Speaker 1 0:41

First , number one you got to be healthy . Health , whether that's physical , mental , spiritual , and all those between you got to have and arguably , 1.2 or 1B , because 1A is health . I would say arguably the second most important thing to have is hope . Think about it , it's well . On that , it's easier to see the lack of hope . Well , that could be bad , because if you have no hope for your life , or hope to realize your dreams and your goals , your ambitions , the game is kind of over , isn't it ? The game is kind of over , isn't it ? And I think hope is fundamental to our existence , because with hope you don't quit , with hope you move on , hope , you get to that next level . Let's say you're playing a video game , you're level one . Well , if you had no hope to do well to get to number two , you would just quit and that's it . Game over , quit , done Over and out , but you're still playing a video game . Why ? Because you want to get to level two . And as soon as you get to level two , what do you want to do ? Get to level three ? You're playing a video game . That's hope . That's hope . Now , yes , I'm using the video game analogy here , but

Hope as Life's Fundamental Need

Speaker 1 2:47

let's define hope first before we move on .

Speaker 1 2:49

What is hope ? What do you think it is ? Can't hear you . What do you think it is ? Hope ? Is that belief ? Maybe a belief system , an idea , a concept that the following day , week , month , year , decade will be more fruitful than it is today ? And today may not be horrible , but with hope not only can you be good today , you could be great tomorrow . But a lot of times when we think of hope we look at today's suck , yesterday's suck . I have hope that tomorrow and next week won't suck . I think that's usually what people think of when they say hope . It usually starts from a negative . You just keep hope alive , just keep pushing on .

Speaker 1 3:52

Most people don't say you need more hope and greater hope . If you got the gold medal in the Olympics , let's say you're in the Olympic game , you cross over the finish line first the 100 or the 200 or whatever it is and you cross over , you get a gold medal . Everyone's congratulating you . No one's saying , oh hope , you have more hope tomorrow . Usually you don't hear that . May that be appropriate . I guess Someone got a gold medal or they win first place . Arguably you could say if they're number one , they got hope . That's an assumption .

Speaker 1 4:34

But you can believe if everything's going all right , you're not thinking about oh , I need more hope . But why not think about it ? Maybe you're not at that pinnacle of your career or that level or that milestone yet of your life , but you're all right . You can be a billionaire , millionaire , well off financially , you have nice family , well adjusted kids , but still you long for hope . You want more hope . I don't think it's anything weird about that , even though it does feel strange . If you win the race , I'm going to say I hope you get more hope next year .

Speaker 1 5:19

But usually you do that to the losers , right ? Oh , keep hope . You have more time to improve your skills , your knowledge , to get better . Usually it's in that context . So , whatever context it is , or whether or not , having more hope won't hurt , will it To just say amen , and I accept it , thank you . And so let me let you stew on that for a while .

Speaker 1 5:49

So , no matter what position you are in , personal or professionally ,

Hope in Success vs. Failure

Speaker 1 6:01

and we thirst , yes , we thirst for more . Give me more , give me more . Now , to some extent , you can call that greed . In one context , right when your bucket is already full , your cup has already fell to the top and you're still aiming for more . Now , I don't think that is conceptually evil , do you ? I don't think so . I think . Well , it's easy to see .

Speaker 1 6:30

We call someone out . They're being arrogant because they want more . Not only do they want five cookies , they want 10 cookies , and my cookies too . So you can see where that could be arrogant , egotistical . So you can see where that could be arrogant , egotistical , possibly evil , if you take it to an extreme like that .

Speaker 1 6:50

But I wouldn't over-worry or analyze other people , I would be focused on myself . Oh , let's be selfish to focus on yourself . Yeah , I know some people are saying oh , you focus on one , talk about you yourself . That means you're selfish , you're mean no , it means you're taking care of business , just like when you get on an airplane and they do the safety procedures , you know what they do first with that mask . Put your mask on first before helping your child or anyone next to you , because if you're not together and see a lot of people look externally at people and say , oh , they must be great , they're happy , they're wonderful . Look , they're successful , they have a new fancy luxury car , they're wearing five carat diamond rings Necklace , they seem they're always happy , never yelling , and always the kids are well behaved and et cetera , et cetera , et cetera .

Speaker 1 7:55

But deep down and when you get behind those closed doors , it's another picture , and don't take my word for it . Look at those shows , those crime shows . Well , what do the neighbors say ? And the people at church or school or job ? They always seem so happy , they always seem so well-adjusted . We did not see this coming in our neighborhood . They always spoke and were friendly . This coming in our neighborhood . They always spoke and were friendly .

Speaker 1 8:29

So that rosy-looking picture could be deception , not one of happiness , joy and hope , quite the opposite . So the point is you can't judge a book by its cover . Either way it works , because somebody that's looking miserable . Maybe they don't feel well , maybe they're thinking , or something . They can have more joy and happy than you . Yeah , that's right , I said it .

Speaker 1 9:00

So , personally , I want more hope . Hope , I'll accept that , don't you ? Life is a roller coaster up and down , down and up , and some days could be a down day where you just the hope meter is pretty low . And so what do you do about it ? Well , first , we don't want you to avoid being realistic to a situation that's serious . You know life is love and love is life . You know , maybe it is , maybe it isn't that day , maybe it's not a good day , maybe this isn't .

Speaker 1 9:40

So you got bad news , ok , but that's where hope kicks in that you can overcome whatever challenges . Maybe lost your job , despite saving the company and enriching your former employer by millions of dollars , and then they let you go . And so , good candidate for hope . And again , even if you use the analogy of baseball , get to first base . Well , there's two other bases to go through . So I would say congratulations , congratulations , you made it to first base , now you got to get to home plate . Congratulations , you made it to first place , now you got to get to home plate . Another milestone , another factor where hope kicks in .

Speaker 1 10:31

What's my point of all of this ? I don't want you , my faithful listeners Thank you so much , by the way Please subscribe , hit that notification that you know new episodes , podcasts , are coming out , and share it with family and friends . So

Taking Action to Fuel Hope

Speaker 1 10:52

back to the story . So think about the positives and , true , think about the negatives too . If you're weighing decisions of , maybe you get five offers on a new job , five companies want to hire you . Which one is the best one ? Or you're confronted with having to have surgery or not have it . Which doctor do I believe ? Or which school to go to , which car to buy , which house to buy , what investment ?

Speaker 1 11:35

We always have choices and the fundamental , the nexus to all of these options , is that we possess hope , in my opinion , because without that say oh , woe is me , it's done , it's over . You quit your mind and then your body responds to your thinking stinking thinking , your thinking , stinking thinking . And things can unravel faster and spiral down faster in the absence of hope . Now , if you had hope , saying no , I know things look rough , they look impossible , they don't look like they're going to turn around , but we are going to get through this . We are going to go out there and kick this team's butt are going to get through this . We are going to go out there and kick this team's butt . We're going to win . Or we're going to do well on that presentation to get that promotion . We're going to do well on whatever it is .

Speaker 1 12:34

And you can't just say it . I know there's a power of positive thinking out there , but you got to back it up by practicing , studying , rehearsing . If you're a musician , you're about to go on stage . It's months , days , years of rehearsing . If you're in sports , practicing every day , hours on end . See , people don't see that part , not people that don't know you , they don't People that know you . See it that the struggle was real and you obviously had hope because you were out there practicing , rehearsing every dang day and you're taking action , action . Action brings hope alive . Just waiting for the bucket to fall down from the heavens arguably foolish waste of time . So remember , whatever you're hoping for , what specific actions do I need to take to make that hope come to fruition , to come alive , right ? So All from the one word hope .

Speaker 1 13:54

All of this conversation , the last few minutes , is about that . One word for how many letters for HOP ? Four ? How many letters Four H-O-P-E . So when it starts to rain on you , when you're ready , when the umbrella let's say the umbrella broke on you , the car broke down I want you to not give up . I want everyone that hears this message Do not give up . I want everyone that hears this message do not give up . Push through the storms .

Speaker 1 14:30

And let me ask you this question how do you get a rainbow ? How do you get rainbows ? It's , the rainbow is an aftermath of a storm , a rain , tsunami , whatever it is . It's the aftermath of that . And then you get this nice multicolored rainbow . It looks pretty . So there's life after a storm .

Speaker 1 15:04

Because what are we talking about ? Hope , what's the flip side of that ? Some problem , some situation , despair , maybe sadness , depression , maybe sadness , depression . So it's important that you recognize what's happening inside of you and if you want to help your brothers , sister , father , mother , friend , bestie , whatever it is , you want to be able to address this , mostly by listening . And I'm not giving .

Speaker 1 15:46

This is my observation and Michael Caine's experience . I'm not giving any medical advice , health advice , just giving my opinion and my experiences . This is how I did things and do things and what was done to me . It's like to be there to be able to put that smile on your face , despite it raining on you . The umbrella's broke . It's a storm out there

Weathering Life's Storms

Speaker 1 16:23

and you're in it . You will get through it . Why ? Because you're sowing the seed of hope . No matter how bad it looks like , You're not going to quit , you're not going to give up . And , ironically , some people who make it to the next level or the level beyond that level three , four , five because they don't have those other things that come with hope , that internal joy , right Focus or emphasis on things that really matter , because none of us have taken that money with us to the next , to the grave where it's over . No one's taken this , you know . So build memories , please .

Speaker 1 17:14

I'm an investor , so I'm not talking about not investing . But it's not about just the money in this conversation here , not just about the money . The Benjamins , as they , say yeah , invest wisely , do your research , invest . But investment is not just in stocks or money or real estate . It's in yourself , it's in your internal core that drives you , like the engine of a car drives you . Ooh , the motor's on . If the motor ain't working , the car ain't moving right . So if you lack hope , you're not moving toward the promised land , you're not moving toward the prize , and sometimes we don't know how close we are , how close we are to getting that prize . So please continue to listen to my show .

Speaker 1 18:15

And who am I ? What am I ? I'm your coach , unofficially , okay . So I want to help as many people as possible . That's my motivation . Why ? Because that's who I am . Some people are doctors , some people are lawyers . This is me , and so there's other people too , out there , to be fair and equitable , that you can listen to online and in real personal life , physical , in the physical . Yeah , and you should . That's what you need to do . I'm just an available option . How's that ? So people come first , before machines and other stuff .

Speaker 1 19:11

And if we all would realize that , yes , this world would be a better place and we should be able to agree to disagree without calling each other names . I wish the world were different , where people were open to other people's viewpoints in a more hospitable way . I hope that will happen one day in this generation . I hope so . A lot of people in this time . This

Finding Joy Despite Challenges

Speaker 1 19:47

is what's going on with the economy . They're losing hope , justifiably , I get it . Fears of recession , fears of not getting another job , not getting your health back to where it was not experiencing joy and creating good memories . People are losing that , they're scared , they have fear , and those are real , and those are real . So , saying all that , why am I saying that people should have hope ? Because we can't give up . That's why , under any circumstances , any circumstances , can we just give up and just roll over and die ? That's not an option . That is not an option , folks . So seek counseling if you have professionals that are out an option , that is not an option , folks . So seek counseling if you have Professionals are out there , license People that are , but regardless of license , somebody that cares , right , genuinely A good person .

Speaker 1 21:07

One thing you can do , despite not wanting to when you wake up , when you go to that mirror , force a smile . Even if you don't want to Smile , force it if you have to , let's do it now . Practice smiling from where you are . Say , no , I don't know , I got too many bills due . I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow . I'm not smiling , it's horrible . No , that may be true . Smile here , we go , smile , smile . How about laugh ? How about laugh ? Okay , mine may be sinister , I don't know , but smile and laugh .

Speaker 1 21:48

People say , oh , you're crazy . Crazy with hope , crazy with joy , crazy , crazy , but I love life and life , life well , life and life , life well , life is life . Whether the rollercoaster is going up or down , I'm gonna control me . Tell yourself , I'm gonna control me . Can't control anybody else , but I can keep my dreams , my wishes , my thoughts in a positive direction . That's what you can do . So I hope you got something out of this and I wish you all well . Continue to listen to me .

Speaker 1 22:40

Thank you for supporting my podcast , living your Success . And again , we're about helping you Be the best version of you , and so Don't spend

Final Thoughts and Closing

Speaker 1 22:59

another day regretting and wasting more time . Use the time that you have , which we don't . Spend another day regretting and wasting more time . Use the time that you have , which we don't know how long . So that's it . Let it run its course in a happy way , and when things get sad which it often will just smile , and that'll be the first step you can take and then go from there . So , that said , this is Michael Caine , with Living your Success 24-7 . You take care , my friends . Adios .