Let’s wrap up our quick look at Colin Powell’s thoughts on the power of grounded optimism with one more gem.
This one’s from Rule #4 of his 13 Rules.
The Rule? “It Can Be Done.”
Powell tells us: “This familiar quotation is on a desk plaque given to me by the great humorist Art Buchwald. Once again, it is more about attitude than reality. Maybe it can’t be done, but always start out believing you can get it done until facts and analysis pile up against it. Have a positive and enthusiastic approach to every task. Don’t surround yourself with instant skeptics. At the same time, don’t shut out skeptics and colleagues who give you solid counterviews. ‘It can be done’ should not metamorphose into a blindly can-do approach, which leaves you running into brick walls. I try to be an optimist, but I try not to be stupid.”
← I laughed when I first read that last line and again as I typed it out.
“I try to be an optimist, but I try not to be stupid.”
← Hah!
Once again, we want to ground our levity with some gravity to reach the optimal level of buoyancy.
That’s Today’s +1.
Let’s start with “It can be done.”
As we stay open to the data that’s coming in.
So we notice any potential brick walls.
In short and in sum: Let’s try to be optimists, but try not to be stupid.
(Laughing some more.)
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