“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”
Dale Carnegie
City-building, nation-building, company-building are accomplished by people who are positivists, people with … hope. Hope plays an important part in all human endeavours.
Listen to what Winston Churchill had to say to rally the people of the United Kingdom as they faced their darkest day. The Nazis were in control of much of Europe, the British army had been defeated and the remnants had been evacuated from Dunkirk. On June 4th, 1940, here is the last paragraph of Churchill’s speech to the House of Commons:
“I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty's Government-every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation. The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength. Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”
“Hope has two beautiful daughters - their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are,” St. Augustine
“There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope,” Bern Williams
We should use our ability to analyze alternatives and rank them to put ourselves in a position to make informed judgments. However, at the end of the day, no matter how good our analytical tools become, everything we do is ultimately based on experience, judgment and faith that it will all somehow work out.
Warren Gencher & Dr. Bruce M. Firestone, Ottawa, Canada.
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