From the Editor: The Pursuit of Sweetness
I often speak with industry members and consulting clients about the importance of being optimistic about the future, especially for people who are leading their companies. The responses usually agree with my views, but sometimes they take the form of:
“I’m too busy fighting problems to think about being optimistic” or
“Optimism doesn’t win fights, courage does!”
Luis Ayala
To some people, optimism and courage are different personality traits, but for me, they are connected at their core. Optimism is usually defined as “a belief that the future will be good and that things will work out well”, while Courage is usually defined as “the choice to face fear, pain, hard times, or great risk.” Courageous people may not think of themselves as being optimists, but when they chose to face fear, pain, hard times or great risk, it is because they believe that the results will be worth it. In other words, they believe that the future will be good after their acts of courage. Doesn’t this sound like the definition of optimism?
Ernest Shackleton (the British-Irish explorer, who led three expeditions to Antarctica in the early 1900s) definitely knew what courage looked like. After their ship, Endurance, was crushed in ice floes in 1915, Shackleton spent two years leading his team of 27 men to safety!
There are many great Shackleton quotes about courage and bravery, but one in particular stands out to me:
“The quality I look for most is optimism: especially optimism in the face of reverses and apparent defeat.
Optimism is true moral courage.”
Discussing the differences between the two words, however, is not as important as making sure that you try to embody at least one of those traits, especially during difficult times. As the distilled spirits industry continues to adapt and react to the new distribution challenges, make sure that your colleagues and employees can see you as someone who provides them with the optimism to see a better future and the courage to take the steps to get there.
Cheers!
Luis Ayala, Editor and Publisher