hope is not a strategy

a letter on hope, a possibly better approach... but don't lose hope, it plays it's part. hashtag#unbrandedletters

Dear You,

I want you to imagine for a moment...

Imagine you walked into a hospital with a severe health complaint that required a surgeon's expertise. Your surgeon examined you and said,

"This looks really serious; I hope you get better and whatever it is just disappears."

The surgeon suggested no solutions, no surgery, no recommendations, or no action. How would that make you feel?

If you were to replace this scenario with hiring any expert or professional to do something for you, especially if you're paying, and they say, "There's no plan; we can just hope for a great outcome," how would that make you feel?

Hope is definitely not a bad thing, but it is even better to do your best, have a plan/strategy, and execute. When you have done all you possibly can and exhausted all options, then you can hope. Hope, when used as a motivator, can drive you to take action. Hope should be the thing that comes after action.

I am of the opinion that you can hope for the best but prepare for the worst. In any given scenario: applying for a job, facing a health issue, chasing a goal, building your brand, executing a marketing strategy, whatever it is... show up, give it your best, focus on the things you can't control, and execute on that. Then maybe direct your hope to the things you can't control after/while executing.

Think about it like insurance. We hope we never get into a car accident, but we take an insurance and drive carefully with our seatbelts to ensure, if the accident ever happens, we will be protected as much as possible. In every important case, we take action and build with the storm in mind. When I was bungee jumping, they safeguarded me and checked everything 3x and over. They hoped I'd make it and come out alive, but they also did everything they could to ensure I did. A friend always says: we don't build houses only for the good times; we build with the storm in mind to protect and withstand as much as possible.

This is my belief, and it has worked for me in life and work contexts too. I would love to hear about your experiences with hope and how you apply it in your life. Your experiences matter and can inspire others.

With Love,

Blessing Abeng..