"Every day is a gift. Share them. Be optimistic with your optimism!" - Futurist Jim Carroll
For some reason, the phrase I used to open one of my Daily Inspiration posts a few weeks back drew a fair bit of attention; I started out with this observation:
Yup, here I go with that optimism thing again, but I'm optimistic about my optimism!
And so here I go with that optimism thing again. After all, it's Friday!
Let's talk about how you can feed your optimism machine - it begins with the attitude you start with each and every day. For me, that's the process of writing my Daily Inspiration - often begun the afternoon or evening before, I spend my time first thing each morning composing and organizing my thoughts. I'm now writing 4,000 to 6,000 words each morning while I enjoy my coffee and before I start anything else. It's my moment of meditation, quiet reflection - I'm setting my mind for my approach to the day.
Once my post is done, I'm ready to take my optimistic soul into the rest of the day. But first, I need to chase the sunrise! I use to charge into the office after breakfast to get things done - but not since 2016. Now, most mornings when I'm not on the road, I'm either first on the tee sheet for golf (7 am!) at my home club; or when golf season comes to an end, I'm out for my early 7km (5 miles) walk. I'm chasing the sunrise!
People seem to find optimism in my optimism! To me, in a world that becomes darker, more complex, and more worrisome each and every day, I find some optimism in that thought.
With the late sunrises now taking hold in the Western Hemisphere, and in these last days before the end of Daylight Savings Time, much of the walk through the forest is in the darkness. But I'm chasing the sunrise - and am often rewarded with moments of splendor as it peaks through the dark sky. I find another moment of inspiration at that moment!
The other day, I was rewarded with the view seen in today's quote. Halfway through my route, there is a large clearing - and I caught this moment as the sun tried to make its presence known through the massive fog barrier which has settled in over our region for the last several days. What does this have to do with the future? It's the start of another day! What does this have to do with innovation? Innovation is all about having a sense of optimism as to what comes next. What does this have to do with inspiration? Everything!
My Youtube Short video that day caught the sunrise fog:
The thought that came to my mind at that sunrise moment? How blessed I am to have the opportunity to see such a sunrise! How wonderful a gift I have received to be able to focus on my optimism! And how wonderful that I can share this sense of joy and optimism with others - I think I'm now reaching about 50,000 people through various social networks and mailing lists every day. Every day is a gift - share them!
And so I filmed my video version of my Daily Inspiration at that moment. What's this about? Some weeks ago, I decided I was going to explore using TikTok and YouTube Shorts as described in this post:
https://jimcarroll.com/2022/10/daily-inspiration-youre-never-too-old-to-learn-new-stuff/
I've now found myself spending a few moments during my walk filming the video version of my Daily Inspiration. I still don't quite yet know what I'm doing but I'm learning, and I can say I'm pretty stunned by the number of views I get on each video. (Not staggering numbers but for me - wow!). You can see my Youtube shorts here: https://www.youtube.com/c/JimCarrollFuturist/shorts and my TikTok feed here: https://www.tiktok.com/@futuristjimcarroll.
I've been a busy guy - sharing my optimism! People seem to find optimism in my optimism! To me, in a world that becomes darker, more complex, and more worrisome each and every day, I find some optimism in that thought.
And so, I share my optimism. It works for me, and it seems to work for others.
My wife keeps asking me what I am going to do in retirement. I respond that first, I don't plan to retire. And second, I comment that I'm going to keep walking and posting my Daily Inspiration because if you are consumed by optimism, people like it when you share it!
Futurist Jim Carroll is optimistic about his optimism. He has a final round of golf this morning for the season at 9am, and won't be able to chase the sunrise. But his morning walks will continue in earnest, and with ski season starting in just over a month, he's eager to start his optimistic day by being first at the chairlift.