Optimists Making the World a Better Place

Jodie Ginsberg, President, Committee to Protect Journalists

 "In a world in which it's easy to feel bombarded by the negative, I am constantly uplifted by the stories of those striving to make the world a better place - through small acts of kindness and grand acts of sacrifice. Human beings are essentially good. Knowing that is enough to champion the case for optimism."

Dr Richard Munang, UNEP Africa Regional Climate Change Programme Coordinator

"What makes me optimistic is the people of the world. With a mindset change, we can start to know that there is no problem that we the people cannot solve. We will make the world a better place"

Helen Szoke, then CEO at Oxfam Australia

 "We don’t have the luxury of not being optimistic.  There is too much in the world that needs optimism as the force for good and the motivation for change to make the world a better place.  Yes let’s analyse what is wrong and what needs to be done, but then be optimistic that we can make change.  If we don’t have optimism then we don’t have hope!"

Abhishek Bhati, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Bowling Green State University

 "What gives me optimism is that some people are committed to making the world a better place. Efforts matter."

Sibonginkosi Abigail Moyo, Co-Founder of the Love Alive Foundation

 “What makes me optimistic is knowing that there are people who work tirelessly to make the world a better place.”

Boris Johnson, former Prime Minister of the UK

"I have always been deeply ‪optimistic about the potential of ‪technology to make the world a better place. If we get this right, future generations will look back on ‪climate change as a problem that we solved by determined global action and the prowess of technology."

Mikhail Gorbachev, last leader of the Soviet Union

"An optimist is someone dissatisfied with the existing state of affairs who is not resigned to it and constantly looks… for opportunities to make the world a better place… I declare myself an optimist."

Joel Backwell, Executive Director of the Victorian Government's Office for Suburban Development

 "What makes me optimistic is the power of diversity and knowing that the best in everyone is good enough. And that as leaders, if we nurture and bring out the best in everyone in our community, we can solve any problem, meet any challenge and make the world a better place for us all."

Rae Snape

 "I am a Radical Optimist because I believe in the brilliance and creative power of young people and teachers to make their schools, society and world a happy and even better place!"

Tim Diamond , General Manager, The Cotton On Foundation

“Optimism is a way of life; it not only helps determine & create your own pathway but it projects its qualities to others around you. I owe my success and learnings through failure to optimism - and the work we do, is driven by an eternal optimism, one that hopes and expects that the world can be a better place. Always. That optimism demands action and drives an ever-better mentality.”

Lisa Chikarovski-Johnston

 “Optimism drives us to look at the ‘solution’ in the context of a ‘problem’ - it changes the negative connotation of ‘problematic’ into an opportunity to think about how we can do better. Striving to improve is the underlying driver of innovation - the desire to make the world a better place.”

Sister Jayanti, European Director of the Brahma Kumaris

“Just as nature goes through its cycles, and day will definitely follow the darkest night, although there are many things that feel very dark at the moment, there is a conviction that light will not only penetrate the darkness but banish it - so that the day will begin. Legends and myths of every civilisation have remembered that the power of good ultimately conquers evil. This is the optimism with which I hold a vision for a better world.”

Dr Olivia Ball, City of Melbourne Councillor

“Young people make me optimistic and their clear-sighted view of what’s fair and right. I remember being patronised as a young person, and hope that no young person is deterred from their fight for a better world.”

Claude Fussler, Founding Partner at Académie Durable

"At our core, we all wish to leave a legacy, a better world for our children. So simple initiatives to protect nature, reach out to people, save water and energy are quite effective.  That's what makes me optimistic."

Neville Christie

"The daily practice of gratitude not only fosters optimism that leads to creativity, but it is the wellspring of innovation that creates a better world for all."

Gary Olson

"In terms of optimism of the will, Gramsci means that humans have the capacity to overcome new challenges, to courageously move forward and create a better world in the face of very long odds. We can’t predict the course of history but human agency is paramount and history is made by human will."

Michael Franti, Musician

"I believe the great battle that's taking place in the world isn't between left and right. It's between cynicism and optimism. There are people who believe it's possible to create a better life and a better world. When we lose that sense of optimism is when we quit, when we give up."

Fabian Dattner, Leadership Expert

 “Ultimately optimism is founded on the premise that something better is possible and that there is always a better way to look at life and see options, at least one of which sparkles. Victor Frankl, the author of ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’, thought it was because there was something yet to be done in life and this belief enabled people to survive in the most awful of places. For myself I just can’t imagine not trying to build a better world, doing my bit to sow the seeds of possibility. So at heart I am optimistic... or possibly mad! I prefer the former.”

Ramez Naam, Futurist

"I am, in the words of the Extropian philosopher Max More, a “Dynamic #Optimist”. That means I believe that things will get better. But not because they just magically get better on their own. I believe they’re going to get better because we’re going to make them better. It takes action. Or perhaps it’s better to think of it the way that Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates have talked about – as being “Impatient Optimists” who believe that the world is getting better, but that we have so much more that we could do to make it get better faster. It’s up to us. We can’t just be bystanders. If we want a better world, we need to act."

Keith Rhodes, Videographer

I had a little exchange today with Victor Perton at The Center for Optimism, and he asked me, "Keith, why don't you do a little selfie video about why you are optimistic?" So, Victor, I see what you're doing, and it's a good idea, so here is my answer. 

"As I go about my travels, 99.9% of people are working to make the world a better place. 

Now, you wouldn't believe it if you listened to the media; you'd think we're all going to hell in a handbasket. 

But no. Earlier this week, I was making a video about reconciliation with First Nations people and dealing with racism in general. I was making a video about a particular type of activewear that helps women recover after pregnancy. Even thinking about my own son and his environmental activism, rehabilitating native vegetation on spoiled land, gives me hope for the future. 

I'll put it back to you. What makes you optimistic?

Read more of these inspiring quotable quotes in "Optimism: The How and Why" by Victor Perton, CEO of The Centre for Optimism.