I want to start off by saying; I am not affiliated with any political party. There are some key principles by which I behave, but I do not think any one party has a monopoly on good. In fact, if anything, I believe both parties have a monopoly on bad.  I also know the book, Audacity of Hope, is not a new introduction, however, for some reason, this title has stuck in my head today and has me thinking.

I have long held hoping in low regard.  Hope is okay, but only when linked with doing all that you can do.  I have seen hope used in project management and product development as if it were going to come or our rescue, which invariably it does not.  Hope allows me to sit in my lazy boy and contemplate winning the lottery.  However, to actually win, I have to get up out of my lounge chair and take some action – purchase a lottery ticket, but even that is a long shot to achieving my financial objectives.  Hope is a reason for inaction.  I hope to live long, but I do not exercise. Hope in itself is inaction.

How then can there be audacity of hope?  Audacity, the meaning “willingness to take bold risks[1]” requires an action to be taken. Hope has no connection to action other than by desire. It takes much more than the desire to make something happen. I desire to have a full head of hair, but sadly that is not the way things worked out for me.  Hope is a catalyst at best, and as experience suggests an excuse for inaction or our desire to have our wants satisfied by random chance.

I mean no disrespect to the president, then the congressman for the title of their book. I only think hope will get you nowhere.  Hoping and wishing are equal and neither of these will solve your problems.  Something must be connected with that hope and that is hard work, persistence, constant learning and many other action-oriented words. If hope is your bold action, you may just get that for which you’ve worked – NOTHING.  The title might better read Audacity born out of Hope.