Listen to this kid.

And then this one.

Somehow, as we grow up, we get told over and over, in various ways that…

• We’re not good enough.
• We’re not smart enough.
• We’re not brave enough.
• We’re not prepared enough.
• We’re not lucky enough.

We’re led to believe that by downplaying our expectations of success, it won’t hurt as much when we fail.

But in the clear light of day, we know that’s not true.

We know losing hurts just as much… even if you had already told yourself you probably wouldn’t win.

The thing is – childish optimism is so childish… that it doesn’t go away at the first sign of failure.

Okay, with kids it sometimes does.

But that’s where we parents come in.

We make them believe DESPITE themselves.

What if you dared to be optimistic?

What if someone believed in you – even when you didn’t believe in yourself?

I had a guidance counselor in college, who believed in me, despite myself.

It was my freshman year of college.  First semester.

I was fresh of the plane – alone in the U.S.A.

My entire family back in Nigeria.

I was shell-shocked, and culture-shocked.

I was also shocked because, thanks to TV and movie stereotypes, I’d thought I’d be able to coast through college.

I thought I was smarter than anyone Morehouse College could throw at me.

It wasn’t arrogance.  It was ignorance.

Halfway through the semester, I had been brought down to earth with a THUD.  I think I was close to bottom of my class, in some classes.

These dudes were WICKED SMART.

My confidence was shot.  And with that, my performance followed.
But Mrs. Dalinda Brown-Clark (RIP) believed in me.

EVERY TIME (without exception) she saw me, she would exclaim to the nearest adult:

“Have you met this young man?  He is BRILLIANT!

Mm-hmm!  Two doctors for parents… wicked smart son… this young man is brilliant.”

She said it so matter-of-factly, that after a while… despite myself…

I started to believe it.

Except this time, instead of sitting on my laurels of brilliance…

I acted like a brilliant student who had earned the right to be called brilliant, in such a competitive environment.

I worked my butt off.

I finished that year with a 3.3 Grad Point Average, or thereabouts.

And my GPA didn’t go below that for the rest of my college tenure.

Childish Optimism.

When you actually believe you will succeed EVENTUALLY…

even if there are speed bumps, road blocks, detours, ravines, acid rain, vampires, whatever.

When you actually believe you will succeed DESPITE the circumstances…

You’ll stop waiting to be lucky.

You’ll stop waiting for conditions to be favorable.

You’ll stop waiting to not be tired.

You will attack the task at hand with way more enthusiasm than is reasonable.

You’ll talk a little bit more loudly than you need to.  You might even break into song, or dance, when no one is looking.

You’ll put on shades, because your future is so bright.

You’ll know, with certainty, that your tomorrow will be better than your today.

You’ll seize the moment

Make your own opportunities

And either annoy or inspire everyone around you.

There can be no middle ground when you have childish optimism.

To the cynics out there, who think they’re smarter, more refined, more evolved, by adopting a pessimistic (what they would call a realistic) attitude…

We’re not going to try to change your mind.

But as my favorite T-shirt from freshman year said:

“LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET OUT OF MY WAY.”

I’m a Childish Optimist.  So you have no say.

Now.

I’m off to play Candyland, and ride my bike.

(Update: One of my readers, Gary B, just sent me this TIME Magazine article titled: “The Science of Optimism”. Thanks, Gary!)

Will you accept the call to adventure?