{"id":3171,"date":"2012-07-05T12:01:57","date_gmt":"2012-07-05T16:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/?p=3171"},"modified":"2012-05-10T15:18:52","modified_gmt":"2012-05-10T19:18:52","slug":"let-optimism-change-your-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2012\/07\/let-optimism-change-your-world.html","title":{"rendered":"Let Optimism Change Your World"},"content":{"rendered":"

The economy has been bad \"\"<\/a>for a while. People and businesses are struggling. Yet there are many people and businesses that are rising above that with a mentality of optimism. I\u2019m one of them. You can be too Jon Gordon<\/strong><\/a>, author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller, The Energy Bus has a new book about the power of faith and positivity in one\u2019s life and career, The Positive Dog: <\/strong><\/a>A Story About the Power of Positivity<\/strong><\/a>. I\u2019m delighted to have him as my guest today. Here\u2019s what he has to say about what he learned from the companies in Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n


\nThe Bubble of Optimism<\/strong>
\n by Jon Gordon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a bubble that surrounds Silicon Valley. It\u2019s not the kind of the bubble that is about to burst and cause markets to crash and people to lose fortunes. Rather it\u2019s a bubble of optimism that drives innovation, creates jobs and represents everything that is right and great about America.<\/p>\n

While the rest of the country was going through the great recession the people who lead and work for the companies in Silicon Valley refused to participate in the recession. They were too busy trying to change the world.<\/p>\n

While companies and businesses around the country were closing their doors and people were losing their jobs and homes, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Google and thousands of other innovators and start-ups were changing the way we communicate, connect, learn, read, search, interact, live and work.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In Silicon Valley there is a bubble of optimism that is filled with a collective belief that anything is possible. If you have a great idea it gets funded. If you are willing to innovate and work hard the American Dream is very much alive and available to you. If you believe and you can execute and turn this belief into a reality, you can change the world.<\/p>\n

The innovators of Silicon Valley are alchemists who turn ideas into gold. Where others see what is impossible, they see what is possible. While others see them as crazy, they see the future.<\/p>\n

When a new idea or product fails they come up with a better idea and a better business. Failure is accepted as a part of innovation and growth. Ideas are tested and the best ones win. When old management techniques no longer work the innovators create new practices to make meetings productive (Jack Dorsey at Twitter and Square), engage employees (Duarte), and extract the genius and ideas inside each of their employees (Google).<\/p>\n

Silicon Valley embodies the can-do spirit, creativity, drive and courage that made and will continue to make America the birthplace of ideas and innovations that change the world. But you don\u2019t have to live in the valley to embrace their approach.<\/p>\n

Amazon and Starbucks have created a bubble of optimism and innovation in Seattle. Zappos has found happiness in Las Vegas. GM and the big auto companies are powering forward with new ideas and making world class cars in Detroit. And thousands of technology start-ups located in cities and universities across the United States are dreaming of ways to change the world.<\/p>\n

Every business, wherever they are located, can create a bubble of optimism that inspires them to think differently, act differently and lead differently. And you don\u2019t have to be a technology company to surround your business with a bubble of optimism. Whether you are a traditional big company or a small business there is a new idea or a better way of doing something waiting for someone to implement it.<\/p>\n

The question is, are you bold enough, optimistic enough and even crazy enough to do it !?If you are, you just might change the world!
\n***************<\/p>\n

Check out Jon Gordon<\/strong><\/a>‘s new book, The Positive Dog: A Story About the Power of Positivity<\/strong><\/a>.
\n***************<\/p>\n

Take the 31 Days of Self-Love Challenge<\/strong><\/a>–a pledge to do something loving for yourself for the next 31 days–and get my book, How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways<\/a><\/strong> for free at http:\/\/howdoiloveme.com<\/a><\/strong>. Read my 31 Days of Self-Love Posts from 2012 HERE<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Please leave comments under my posts so we can stay connected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The economy has been bad for a while. People and businesses are struggling. Yet there are many people and businesses that are rising above that with a mentality of optimism. I\u2019m one of them. You can be too Jon Gordon, author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller, The Energy Bus has a new book about…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,2],"tags":[403,405,404,399,115,401,402,400],"class_list":["post-3171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-positive-mental-attitude","category-self-empowerment-confidence","tag-amazon","tag-apple","tag-facebook","tag-jon-gordon","tag-optimism","tag-silicon-valley","tag-starbucks","tag-the-positive-dog"],"yoast_head":"\nLet Optimism Change Your World - Lessons from a Recovering Doormat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2012\/07\/let-optimism-change-your-world.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Let Optimism Change Your World - Lessons from a Recovering Doormat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The economy has been bad for a while. People and businesses are struggling. Yet there are many people and businesses that are rising above that with a mentality of optimism. I\u2019m one of them. You can be too Jon Gordon, author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller, The Energy Bus has a new book about…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2012\/07\/let-optimism-change-your-world.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lessons from a Recovering Doormat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-07-05T16:01:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-05-10T19:18:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/files\/2012\/07\/Jon-Gordon.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Daylle Deanna Schwartz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Let Optimism Change Your World - Lessons from a Recovering Doormat","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2012\/07\/let-optimism-change-your-world.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Let Optimism Change Your World - Lessons from a Recovering Doormat","og_description":"The economy has been bad for a while. People and businesses are struggling. Yet there are many people and businesses that are rising above that with a mentality of optimism. I\u2019m one of them. You can be too Jon Gordon, author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller, The Energy Bus has a new book about…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2012\/07\/let-optimism-change-your-world.html","og_site_name":"Lessons from a Recovering Doormat","article_published_time":"2012-07-05T16:01:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-05-10T19:18:52+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/files\/2012\/07\/Jon-Gordon.jpg"}],"author":"Daylle Deanna Schwartz","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2012\/07\/let-optimism-change-your-world.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2012\/07\/let-optimism-change-your-world.html","name":"Let Optimism Change Your World - Lessons from a Recovering Doormat","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2012\/07\/let-optimism-change-your-world.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2012\/07\/let-optimism-change-your-world.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/files\/2012\/07\/Jon-Gordon.jpg","datePublished":"2012-07-05T16:01:57+00:00","dateModified":"2012-05-10T19:18:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/#\/schema\/person\/4250884f68a588907744baa491f9df35"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2012\/07\/let-optimism-change-your-world.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2012\/07\/let-optimism-change-your-world.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2012\/07\/let-optimism-change-your-world.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/files\/2012\/07\/Jon-Gordon.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/files\/2012\/07\/Jon-Gordon.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2012\/07\/let-optimism-change-your-world.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Let Optimism Change Your World"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/","name":"Lessons from a Recovering Doormat","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Daylle Deanna Schwartz","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/#\/schema\/person\/4250884f68a588907744baa491f9df35","name":"Daylle Deanna Schwartz","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/83b\/83ba6e1423377712fe408a5fab971bfax96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/83b\/83ba6e1423377712fe408a5fab971bfax96.jpg","caption":"Daylle Deanna Schwartz"},"description":"Daylle Deanna Schwartz is a speaker, self-empowerment counselor, best-selling author of 15 books, including Nice Girls Can Finish First (McGraw-Hill), All Men Are Jerks Until Proven Otherwise and founder of The Self-Love Movement\u2122 where she's giving away her 13th book, How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways, a She's appeared on hundreds of TV and radio shows, including Oprah, Howard Stern, and Good Morning America and has been quoted in dozens of publications, including the New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Marie Claire, and Men\u00b9s Health. After being a consummate People Pleaser who felt unworthy of getting her own needs met for many years, Daylle found a path of self-love that enabled her to build her self-esteem and reinvent herself into a dual career. She learned to get taken seriously without being overtly assertive when she became one of the first women to start an independent record label (on a dare!) and learned to play ball nicely and successfully in an industry dominated by men. To help independent musicians empower themselves, Daylle writes music business books for Billboard\/Random House, including the very popular Start & Run Your Own Record Labe and I Don't Need a Record Deal! Daylle's books have been translated into over 10 languages and are popular around the world. She speaks for colleges, organizations and corporations. Through her company, Project Self-Empowerment, Daylle creates programs and materials to help people empower themselves. One goal is to raise the money to self-publish her book, How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways and give it away for free in colleges and through organizations, to give thanks for all her blessings. Daylle uses her writing and speaking to help others find the kind of contentment and empowerment that she has.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/author\/dschwartz"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3171"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3178,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3171\/revisions\/3178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}