Becoming a Hopeful Optimist: Strategies for Leaders in Challenging Times -44
Are you struggling to maintain optimism in turbulent times? In this insightful episode of the Marli Williams Podcast, Marli delivers a heartfelt pep talk aimed at reigniting your spirit. She shares her three keys for unleashing your "Inner Hopeful Optimist," helping you build a compelling vision, take inspired action, and celebrate your wins. From the lessons of historical leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. to practical steps you can take today, this episode offers valuable insights for anyone looking to lead with purpose. Curious about Marli’s bonus tip? Tune in to discover how connecting with other optimists can amplify your impact. Perfect for leaders, motivational speakers, and change-makers, this episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to transform challenges into opportunities.
Marli Williams is an international keynote speaker, master facilitator, and joy instigator who has worked with organizations such as Nike, United Way, Doordash, along with many colleges and schools across the United States. She first fell in love with transformational leadership as a camp counselor when she was 19 years old. After getting two degrees and 15 years of leadership training, Marli decided to give herself permission to be the “Professional Camp Counselor” she knew she was born to be. Now she helps incredible people and organizations stop waiting for permission and start taking bold action to be the leaders and changemakers they’ve always wanted to be through the power of play and cultivating joy everyday. She loves helping people go from stuck to STOKED and actually created her own deck of inspirational messages called StokeQuotes™ which was then followed by The Connect Deck™ to inspire more meaningful conversations. Her ultimate mission in the world is to help others say YES to themselves and their big crazy dreams (while having fun doing it!) To learn more about Marli’s work go to www.marliwilliams.com and follow her on Instagram @marliwilliams
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Transcript
NOTE:
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Marli Williams [:Hey, everyone. What's happening? I am super stoked to welcome you to the Marli Williams podcast, where we will explore authentic leadership, transformational facilitation, and how to create epic experiences for your audiences every single time. I am your host, Marli Williams, bringing you thought provoking insights, expert interviews, and actionable strategies to unlock your potential as a leader, facilitator, and speaker. Thank you for joining me on this journey of growth, transformation, and impact. Let's lead together. The Marli Williams podcast begins now. Let's dive in. For this week, I'm coming to you with a bit of a pep talk for your heart, for your soul, for your mind, your body, your spirit.
Marli Williams [:I know that it's been a rough couple weeks since the election, and I feel like no matter what is happening, there's always challenges that show up in our life. Right now, it can feel even more challenging, more heavy. Or we're moving into the darkness of winter. And if you're like me in a place like Portland, Oregon, it's dark, it's cold, it's gray, it's rainy. And, you know, how do we keep going in the midst of the darkness, in the midst of change, challenge, chaos? What do we do? How do we navigate that place as people? How do we navigate that place as leaders? Again, when you're leading communities, people are looking to you as a beacon, as a light, as a source of guidance, of inspiration. It doesn't mean that, like, everything is rainbows and unicorns. Right? It's the question is, like, well, what happens when it's not? And things are challenging. Like, how do we choose to meet this moment? And so what I wanna share with you today is all about helping you unleash your inner hopeful optimist.
Marli Williams [:I have been a self-proclaimed hopeful optimist, I think, for most of my life. It's kinda what pays the bills. I mean, I am a motivational speaker, so being optimistic, that works in my favor for the most part. And I think the hard part with optimism and even hope, and like Barack Obama has said, the audacity of hope is, does that mean I'm ignorant? Does that mean I'm naive? Does that mean I'm not paying attention? There's that classic bumper sticker that many of you might have seen out in the world at some point that says, if you're not angry, you're not paying attention. And I think that anger has its place. When we are angry, it tells us that something isn't okay, and that there's something that we can do about it. And that's where the hopeful optimism part comes in because we can be angry and not do anything about it. Right? And leadership to me is about seeing an opportunity to make something better and then choosing to do something about it.
Marli Williams [:Because it's really easy to sit back and complain and be discouraged and down and frustrated. And what I know to be true is that when we take inspired action on behalf of the things that matter to us, that is what fuels the fire. So I wanna share with you my 3 keys of unleashing your inner hopeful optimist. So if you are maybe feeling stuck in the muck, down in the dumps, I hope that what I share with you today really helps to uncover this part of you. Because I know that we all have this, And I think right now, we need hopeful optimists to help us get through this, get onto the other side. And I hope that this helps you be able to do that. So number 1 is having a compelling vision that inspires you, that fuels you, that motivates you, that drives you. And when I think about the great leaders of our time, people like Martin Luther King Junior, He started out in his speech.
Marli Williams [:I have a dream. I have a dream. And that was his vision for a future that he could not yet see. And some people thought he was crazy, clearly. But so many other people, he gave them hope because of the vision that he had. He didn't get up there in front of 1,000 and 1,000 of people saying, I have a plan, and here are the 10 steps that we're gonna take to get there. Having a plan is great, but having a vision that can move people, that can fuel people, that can inspire people to rally behind that. Again, when we're in the midst of facing the darkness of this current reality, it's not about being naive.
Marli Williams [:It's about really having a vision for the type of future that we all want to create. Well, hopefully, most of us wanna create where everyone gets to feel heard and seen and loved and valued for exactly who they are. They get to love who they love. They get to be who they are meant to be in the world, fully alive, fully expressed. And when I think about creating a compelling vision for our future, I invite you to consider what does that look like? What does that sound like? What does that feel like? And you can take this in any direction that you want. You can go totally macro. What's your vision for the world? And then you can kind of break it down. What is your vision for our country? Or what is your vision for your state, for your community, for your town, for your neighborhood, for your family, and for yourself.
Marli Williams [:And you can choose your own adventure here. Some people are really big picture visionary dreamers, and they think about kind of things at a global scale. And some of you, it's just like, what is my vision for my family, for my kiddos, for myself? And somewhere everyone can be somewhere in between. So I really invite you. You can hit pause on this podcast and really think about what is a compelling vision for our future that inspires you. Where do we wanna go? It's hard to get where we're going if we don't know where that is. So part of being an epic transformational leader is creating that compelling vision for yourself, for your people, for your audience, for your community, for your events. You know, what is it that you are creating in the world? Okay.
Marli Williams [:So that is step 1 of unleashing your inner hopeful optimists. All hopeful optimists. Again, that vision is what fuels our hope. It fuels our drive. And once we have that compelling vision, then we can take bold, inspired action in service of that vision. Because we all know those people that are just the dreamers. But dreamers plus the doers is what creates the change. So having this compelling vision that drives us and fuels us to take action, and I think a lot of people get stuck in, I don't know what action to take.
Marli Williams [:What's the best action? What's the right action? What's the perfect action? And so we would rather take perfect inaction. Kind of sit around, wait for this all the, like, kind of blow over, and then see what happens from there. As epic leaders and hopeful optimists, thinking about, you know, again, some people are macro thinkers. You're thinking about action in a global way of you're calling your senators or your legislators or your petitioning. You're signing things. You're you are going to the rallies, like, works for some people. And I think sometimes we often wait for these big, bold, brave actions before we take even the smallest action. And I think, you know, what are those smaller actions that we can take on a daily basis to fuel ourselves as hopeful optimists, as leaders, so that we have the energy to show up for this movement, to meet the needs of this time.
Marli Williams [:And your action can be getting enough sleep, moving your body, connecting with your community, showing up for your kiddos, being a teacher, being an educator, being a coach. Right? All of these things, like how are we showing up in these micro ways for ourselves, for our inner circle, for our communities, again, so that we have the energy and the capacity to again, meet this moment. And everyone has a different role. And what happens is I think we judge ourselves based on, oh, so and so is doing all of this, and they're raising all this money, and they're doing this, and they're doing that. And, you know, I'm not doing enough. It's like that. Not enough land that we can fall into. And I like to think of what is the simplest, smallest action that you could take today, this week, this month in service of the vision that you have for our future.
Marli Williams [:And sometimes, again, that looks like taking action for yourself, showing up for you, showing up for the people around you. Sometimes it looks like making the phone calls and doing the big things. But the little things matter too. But again, having this compelling vision that drives you, that fuels you to take some sort of action. And that is what helps when we take action. That is what fuels our energy, our motivation, our inspiration. When we are moving forward. It's harder to take action when we feel stuck.
Marli Williams [:And a lot of people out there, like, they want us to feel stuck, unsure, discouraged, and like they want us to just hide in a hole for the next 4 years. And guess what? Y'all know we're not gonna do that. We're gonna get out there. And I invite you to reflect on what is my part in all of this, and how do I wanna use my gifts to meet the needs of this particular moment in time? And how do you wanna influence or impact your small corner of the world? And to let that be enough to be in the enoughness of that, whatever that looks like for you. So that's step 2 in unleashing this hopeful optimist. We have the compelling vision. We're taking inspired action. And the 3rd step of the hopeful optimist journey, 3rd key, if you will, is to remember to celebrate your wins, to celebrate yourself, to celebrate how far we have come.
Marli Williams [:Even though sometimes it feels like we're moving backwards, we have made progress in our world. And I think it's so easy to get down, to get distraught, to get discouraged when we feel like things are moving backwards and not forwards, but we will not go back. We will not go back. And I think it's really important, every small little win to take the time to celebrate. To celebrate you showing up for yourself. To celebrate the actions that you are taking. The things that are maybe happening locally in your community. The measures that got passed.
Marli Williams [:The things that we can do outside of our own doorstep. I think it's just like acknowledging our neighbors and our communities. And what are the things that we can do? And how can you know, when you do take that action, to take the time to acknowledge yourself, appreciate yourself, celebrate yourself, celebrate the people around you. Because when we do that, that is also creates energy and momentum and fuel. Because when we don't take time to celebrate our wins, I think that that is what leads to overwhelm, frustration, stress, and burnout. Because we end up like no matter how many actions I take, it's never going to be enough. So we have to pause. We have to celebrate our wins along the way.
Marli Williams [:And I have a bonus key for you, my friends, as you're on your hopeful optimist journey is to connect with other optimists, to connect with other leaders, visionaries, change makers, people that are out there making a difference. If you don't know where to start, find someone who's making a difference and hang out with them. Connect with them. Ask them how you can support them because it can feel so lonely, so isolating, and we don't have to fight this alone. There are people to support you. There are people to rally together that believe what you believe, and that are making a difference. And when you find your people, when you find your community, when you find those service driven, heart centered leaders, it can change everything. Hopeful optimism is contagious.
Marli Williams [:And I invite you to spread that love, spread that joy, find ways to nourish yourself, to fuel yourself, to show up for your people, for yourself, for your community, and know that we will get through this. We will be stronger on the other side. I think that this is the time again to come together to really become even stronger, even stronger in ourselves, in our convictions, in our the messages, in our movement, and for what matters most. So I hope that those 3 keys plus the bonus round really help to unlock something in you as, again, a bit of a pep talk in these darker times that we're going through. And again, just a little plug here at the end. If you are looking for connection, if you're looking for community, if you wanna be in this epic energy of really creating our hell yes future, I invite you to join us this January in beautiful Baja, Mexico, January 10th through 15th. Get out of the darkness, out of the rain, out of the snow, hang out in the sunshine with me and a group of other amazing women leaders, entrepreneurs and change makers, really crafting their hell yes life. Getting super clear on what it is that you wanna create for yourself, but also what do you wanna create for the world? What is your mission? What is your message? What is your movement? And having the courage and confidence to go back into your life and make that happen.
Marli Williams [:That's what it's all about. So if you're listening to this podcast, you get $250 off joining us for this all inclusive epic 6-day retreat in Mexico. I got some spots left, so check out the website Marli williams.com/retreats. I would be honored to serve you, to support you, and to help unleash your inner hopeful optimist. We all have one, and I just wanna welcome you to the club as a hopeful optimist. So I hope that this podcast landed for you. I hope it supported you if you know someone in your life who could use a boost, a pick me up, and a pep talk, feel free to share this with them, rate, review, all the fun things to help us spread the word. And I am just sending you all so much love and energy, and I want you to know I see you.
Marli Williams [:I love you. I hear you. I support you. And just know that we got this. I got you, you got you, and we got each other. So let's do this together. Alright, my friends. Until next time.
Marli Williams [:Take care. Thank you for joining us on another inspiring episode of the Marli Williams podcast. We hope you're leaving here with renewed energy and valuable insights to fuel your leadership, coaching, and speaking endeavors. I'd love to invite you to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast to help us reach more aspiring leaders and speakers like you. We have more exciting episodes and remarkable guests lined up, so make sure to tune in next time. Until then, keep leading with purpose, coaching with heart, and speaking with conviction. This is Marli Williams signing off. See you next week.
