Optimism Thought of the Week

For Sunday, August 28, 2016

It’s Your Picture

By Glennel Hardy

This past week I had the opportunity to participate in my first canvas painting.  The art instructor displayed how the overall picture would look like, and guided us step by step on how we could mirror the image.  In the beginning we had a set of colors to choose from, and with each color she directed us on how much paint to apply. Within the first ten minutes of my painting, my art had taken on a totally different look.  It did not in any way look like the painting she displayed for us.  I begin to get frustrated not understanding why I could not mirror the image.

I kept chugging along and kept painting even though I could not figure out what direction I was going.  It was beginning to get way off course, and that’s when I stopped and pause. I had to step back to see where my creativity was taking me.  The art instructor seen that I was struggling, and she begin to pick out different things in my painting, that I never noticed. She complimented me on the colors, the way that I designed the shapes, and she added value to the painting.  The one thing that really stood out of what she said was “it’s your picture, it does not have to be exactly like the one on display.”

She provided extra pointers to increase the beauty of a painting that I thought was on its way to becoming a disaster.  I accepted her feedback and kept at it, and I was so joyous at the end that I did not give up on the picture that was now in front of me. It was not how I originally pictured it to be, but it was my picture.

Do not give up on your picture.

Optimism Thought of the Week

For Sunday, July 17, 2016

A Glimmer of Hope

By Glennel Hardy

There have been several times as an adult, which I was not impressed on the outcome that came afterwards.  It’s extremely hard to fight to make something work, and then later see your investment in time and resources fall apart right in front of you.  I never understood why it was important to fail, until later on in life in which I learned how to come in agreement with failure.

Failure truly has brought me to the place where I am today, which is success. There has been several initiatives that I pursued, and each one never worked out.  The very first paper that I wrote in my first year of college in English class, I received a C minus.  I never wanted to write again because I was so sure, that the paper I wrote was excellent, but it failed. I took that grade of a C minus, and forced myself to read the feedback, and with that I ended the class with a B plus.

It is hard to see success when it seems that everything around is falling apart.  It’s very important to take note of what is failing, and identifying a new approach to make it even better.  This is not the end, it’s a work in progress and we must decide, how we will approach it.

Optimism Thought of the Week

For Sunday, July 10, 2016 

Point of Negative Return 

By Glennel Hardy

“If we never go beyond what’s familiar to us, we miss the opportunity to seize what lies ahead of us.” – Glennel Hardy

One of my favorite past time events were the launch of the space shuttle vehicles from the Kennedy Space Center.  When it is a less than a minute before launch the main systems of the shuttle is transferred to the on-board computer system.  Within two minutes into the launch the two solid rocket boosters separate, as the shuttle continues to soar.

After four minutes into the launch, the shuttle reaches the point of “negative return”, meaning in the event of an engine failure it cannot return back to the Kennedy Space Center.  At the point of “negative return” the shuttle is flying too high, and too fast in the event of engine failure. As the shuttle continues to soar, it eventually breaks free from its main engine, as all three engines remaining pushes forward into orbit.

The analogy of this story is when I moved from Chicago to Phoenix, I had taken a risk to leave from where I was most comfortable, and went into the unknown, where I was the least comfortable.  Those that supported me, my mentors and my mom, eventually had to let me fly on my own, although I was still flying into the unknown.   I had reached a certain point in my life, where if I did feel unsure about what I was doing, there was no way I can go back from where I started (negative return), I had to continue to move forward.

The higher I reached for the stars above me, the fear of the unknown began to subside. Those that helped me reached to that point, eventually allowed me to fly on my own, and there was no turning back.

Optimism Thought of the Week

For Sunday, June 19, 2016

At Times We Must Walk Alone

By Glennel Hardy

One of my favorite classic movies of all time was “High Noon” starring Gary Cooper.  In the movie Gary Cooper plays a sheriff in a small western town, in which he has to come face to face with someone that he placed in prison.  In the middle of the movie the sheriff attempts to recruit some of his finest citizens to help him fight the gang that is coming to shoot him, but the citizens’ fears overshadow them so much, that they leave the sheriff to fight on his own.  In the end the sheriff takes out the bad guys.

There will come a time in which the decisions that we are forced to make would be an unpopular one. You would be forced to walk alone, and fear would come after you, but with determination you will win.

How many times have you walked alone, to get where you are at today?

Optimism Thought of the Week

For Sunday, May 22, 2016 

The Long Road Back 

By Glennel Hardy

There is nothing more discouraging then when you are headed in a certain direction, and you realize that you have to turn around and go back.  I have experienced several failed attempts journeying down long roads, before realizing I was traveling down the wrong path.  Life itself has many open roads, where we have to constantly face decision points on where to go next. Experience not only provides wisdom for us, but it allows us the opportunity to go rogue, and to take on something new, where others dare to venture.

It takes courage to journey back from where we once began, but it takes extraordinary measures to venture on a new open road. Never become weary of the journey that lies ahead of you, be eager to discover something within you, that you never knew existed.

Optimism Thought of the Week

For Sunday, March 20, 2016

A Work of Art

By Glennel Hardy

I absolutely love visiting the art museum and wandering from gallery to gallery observing the pieces of art on the wall.  As you view certain pieces of work you imagine what the artist may have been considering when he composed the piece. As you move further through the gallery you notice that each piece of art is unique, and may represent a certain period of time.

We ourselves is truly a work of art.  We represent a time and place, a moment where our masterpiece comes to existence. Like an artist we start with a few strokes of a paint brush, and then throughout life we add color, we create images, and our life becomes vivid. Every color, every shade, and every image within our piece makes up who we are today.

We are a masterpiece. We are unique and one of a kind, and cannot be copied. We may look back at times when things were rough, but they were a part of the masterpiece.  We will persevere, as our masterpiece continues.

A true artist never puts the paint brush down.

Optimism Thought of the Week 

For Sunday, February 28, 2016 

Running on Empty 

By Glennel Hardy

We have a fear of losing everything that we have today in our lives.  In the back of our mind we could be saying that things are going pretty well, and that everything seems to be in sync. Are we ever prepared to lose everything, and hit the reset button to start over again?  I moved from Chicago to Phoenix, Arizona when things were going pretty well, and I landed a new job that had taken me out of my comfort zone.  In a little over a year, I was laid off, the retirement savings I once had was wiped out, and I lost everything in that moment.

When we lose everything the hardest move for us to make is to be prepared to hit the reset button and start over.  To lose everything is ground zero, rock bottom, and at your lowest point. When we lose everything we make room for a new beginning, we learn lessons from the past, and we start fresh. When we lose everything it leaves a vacancy, in which we get to choose how we are going to fill up the empty space.

Looking back over the years, losing everything was the best thing that ever happened to me.  My life was unbalanced, and overdue changes needed to occur in my life. It’s not the end of the chapter when we lose everything, losing everything is where the new chapter begins.

Optimism Thought of the Week

For Sunday, January 31, 2016

To Rise Once Again

By Glennel L. Hardy

Chief Creative Editor

As a child I fell off my bike several times before I eventually mastered the art of staying above ground. The first time I fell my leg was heavily scarred, and I never wanted to ride my bike again.  When you fall for the first time it hurts, and we generally find it very difficult to rise up.

The next few times I continued to fall, but each time I had fallen, I begin to take a different lesson from it and begin to progress.  I envisioned going very far and fast, and being able to make it from my house to the mailbox down the street. Once I had the vision that I was riding without falling, it gave me the courage to keep rising after each fall.

We constantly get scarred and each time we do, it hits us with a heavy blow, but its part of the growth process. Every one of us can get knocked down at any moment, but not everyone can find the strength to rise again. We have to see ourselves much bigger than the fall we experienced, we have to see ourselves rising up to the occasion.

If we don’t have the vision of rising, we will never realize the powerful lesson that the fall is attempting to teach us.