What’s Giving You Hope?

It's sometimes hard to find the silver linings during a time like this. We're in the doldrums of quarantine, many of us have experienced loss, some of us are trying to homeschool and work at the same time, and the daily headlines are frightening. So we wanted to find out in the midst of this crisis, “Where are you finding hope?” Almost 300 people in the SPI audience responded to our question. Here are several answers (edited for length and clarity), that we found particularly inspiring, and we hope you find encouragement in them as well.

“I am hopeful that my husband and I, as well as many other people across many other industries, will see clearly that now more than ever that we can and need to take our careers and income streams into our own hands. The world is changing fast and there are opportunities like never before for innovation and new ways of doing business and making a living. This pandemic just might be just the nudge people need to go after a new way of life with more control.”

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“Even though life has been a bit crazy while homeschooling five kids, there have been many unexpected opportunities that have popped up because of COVID-19. I've had a goal to do a news interview since I started my business several years ago, and recently I had my very first news interview with KOIN6 in Portland. I was also an ‘expert' in my field for two parenting conferences that were put together at the last minute to help parents during the quarantine. While working from home with five kids is no walk in the park, I wouldn't trade this time with my kids for anything! We've made so many memories—camping in the backyard, homemade popsicles, one-on-one dates, homework sessions, baking challenges, forts, reading new books, movie nights with the projector, and yes, plenty of tears and hugs. I feel hope when I see what this challenge has made possible and for me, not only for my business but for my family as well!”

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“I've noticed a clear pattern with how I view the world. I feel happy and content when I'm action-oriented and moving towards my goals, and I feel frustrated and distressed when I'm stagnant and not growing as a person. My positive outlook is the direct result of taking intentional actions that build momentum toward personal goals. One way or another, we'll all end up on the other side of COVID-19, but it's up to us how we show up when that time comes. Will we have developed ourselves personally, professionally, and spiritually or will we be exactly the same person as when it began?”

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“The thing that's giving me the most hope right now is learning how to turn my decades-long tech sales and account management career into ways to serve people. I want to teach aspiring, new, or struggling salespeople what I learned the long, hard way. My hope is they excel as quickly and easily as possible. Who knows, many people may end up selling something for a living once the COVID-19 crisis is over. Going down this journey gives me hope because it takes my sales experience, which I worked extremely hard for, to help others who may need to make a career change.”

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“I feel hope when I see all of the amazing entrepreneurs coming together to support one another through summits, workshops, and offers that serve people where they are.”

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“I'm inspired by so many people helping those in need. Little things, like my pastor going out and replacing the water heater for one of our members, or getting to bring a meal to one of our older members and chatting from the car to her porch. The other thing that gives me hope is the AMAZING creativity of our business community! From Wordcamps online to our drive-up farmer's market, business owners are finding ways to stay afloat that they would never have considered or had time to implement. I'm excited to see how this translates when we are free to move around the country again.”

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“Here are the things that bring me hope: Human innovation. Very smart and kind people, who are working to make this a better place. The helpers, as pointed out by Mr. Rogers’ mom. The human spirit of always getting up and rising from the ashes again and again.”

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“My faith, trusting God, my family, my followers are all giving me hope. I talk about the pandemic on my blog, in newsletters, in my Facebook group, and on Instagram rather than ignoring it. I get a lot of great, supportive feedback (and hope I'm giving it, too). I scrambled to put together an eBay email challenge to offer those who may have lost their jobs a way to make some income. It was really successful.”

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“My son is giving me hope. He's eight months old and he's as happy as he can be playing with Mommy and Daddy all day. He reminds me that you can always find joy with the people you love.”

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“Instead of focusing on what’s going on right now, I’m using this time to learn new skills that will allow me to leave my 9-5 job soon. I love having more time to spend with my daughter, I’m improving my SEO skills, teaching myself how to use Adobe illustrator, and focusing on writing more user-intent blog posts. I’m motivated more than ever to do some of the things I’ve always wanted the time to do.”

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“This is what's giving me hope: A trip I am planning with my dad. The trip is to celebrate his retirement. I love to travel so it gives me something to look forward to doing.”

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“The rulebook of how ‘it is' is being tossed out the window. The way 9-5 employees and employers look at job flexibility will change, how we look at connecting with each other is changing, and taking our simple freedom of movement for granted will at least be suspended for a while. Dusting off the noise and looking at what really matters is happening all around us. And for some, it's bringing out the best.”

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“I am a speech therapist and I am able to serve my clients through teletherapy. Seeing them work on their communication skills despite the pandemic gives me hope.”

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“I've always believed that bad times create opportunities. It may take a bit of time to recover some equilibrium and adjust to the loss, but then the world is open for new possibilities. I had to close my private practice . . . partly because it wasn't financially sound to continue but also because of COVID-19. I loved it but I'm making this change an opportunity to create a blog and webinars—a different kind of business that I am hoping will lead to great financial rewards as I head into my 60s!”

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“I cherish the extra time with my teenage kids! They will be gone from home any day, and we are having great talks and game time!! My husband manufactures respirators and masks and it's amazing to see all the parts of the supply chain working quickly to increase production. He says everyone is working hard! Having a bigger goal helps people to focus in the right way.”

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