April 7 , 2008

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In This Newsletter:

Hope Is A Strategy - Article

A Bigger Purpose - A Positive Moment

The Last Lecture - Video & Book

The Levity Effect - Link of the Week

Greetings!

I’m excited to let you know that my

next book is coming out in June and encourage you to go to your local Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million or favorite book store and pre-order a copy. To make it easy we have created a one page sheet you can hand to customer service at the book store. Click Here to print this PDF.

Thank you so much for your help.

Hope Is A Strategy

While some candidates in this year’s presidential election have criticized others for inspiring hope in people, even stating that hope is not a strategy, I’m here to weigh in on the subject and say that without a doubt, HOPE is an essential strategy for success in business, politics, economics, school and life.

Please know that I’m not talking about political issues here, or endorsing one political candidate over another. And I’m not suggesting that Hope all by itself can improve people’s lives or our country’s challenges. After all to be successful one has to take action, execute and implement a plan. One has to deliver results. Hope all by itself can’t do these things. But if people don’t have hope in the future it won’t matter how great of a plan you give them, they won’t have the inspiration, drive and power to move forward. Trying to succeed without hope is like trying to drive to NY from Florida without gas. You have the map, you have the driving plan but you don’t have the fuel to get you there.

Great leaders in businesses, non-profits, politics, schools and sports teams inspire hope in their people and teams. They inspire them towards a brighter and better future and empower them to believe in what is possible, not what is impossible. They have hope that their efforts and the efforts of their team will make a difference and accomplish their goals. Then they take action with drive and determination to turn their hopes into results and reality.

When I think of hope I think of President Ronald Reagan. Regardless of your political affiliation historians agree that it was Reagan’s optimism and hope in America and the future that helped put the United States back on the road to success. He inspired hope in people and this positively changed their mindset, their behavior and their actions and ultimately this changed the collective energy of the country.

Positive energy is contagious and one leader’s hope and positive energy has the ability to impact an entire country, business, community, school, non-profit and sports team. Hope is essential to get your team on the bus and moving in the right direction. It is a strategy to empower, inspire, and unite people towards a shared vision, focus and purpose. It’s a tool for those who believe that tomorrow will be better than today and who want to inspire others to roll up their sleeves and generate real positive change.

Remember that every great success began with an idea in someone’s mind and hope in their heart. So don’t listen to the cynics. Have hope. Let it fuel you and let if fuel your team. Without it you’ll never be able to unite and inspire others towards action and results. Hope is a strategy. Use it and share it today.

Do you believe that Hope is a strategy? Do you have it? Can you inspire it in others? Join the conversation at our blog! www.JonGordon.com/blog

Sending Positive Energy Your Way!

-Jon

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Get on The Bus - The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy. Filled with ideas, strategies and hope.

Keynotes and Seminars – Download an overview of Jon's speaking brochure and share with others. [PDF file]

Executive & Team Consulting - Create positive work environments and develop positive engaged leaders, organizations and teams.

The Positive Business Conference - Are you ready to become a positive change agent - a driver of positive change in your organization, business, or team?

A Positive Moment

A short audio tip from Jon Gordon

This week's audio message:

A BIGGER PURPOSE

Listen Online Now

www.aPositiveMoment.com

Subscribe via iTunes

The Last Lecture

By now you probably have heard about Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch and his last lecture. Well, Randy recently passed the six-month mark since his terminal diagnosis. On Wednesday, April 9 (10 p.m. ET), ABC’s Diane Sawyer will host a special about Randy and his impact on the world. It’s an inspiring story that I hope you’ll watch and read. Randy’s new book, written with Jeff Zaslow will be out this week as well. To learn more about Randy and to read about the new book, click here.

Link of the Week

The Levity Effect:

Why It Pays to Lighten Up

The Levity Effect uses serious science to reveal the remarkable power of humor and fun in business, and demonstrates that leaders who are lighthearted earn more on average than their peers; entertaining workplaces have more loyal employees and customers; and employees who are considered humorous are vastly more likely to get promoted--especially to senior-level jobs.

Read more about this book and order a copy today.

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