“I just try to get 10 percent improvement,” he said. “When couples get that 10 percent improvement, they get hope. And when someone gets hope, anything is possible.”

It’s an amazing thought. When a struggling individual gets just a 10 percent boost in hope, almost anything becomes possible. I looked back over my life and realized that I’ve seen a 10 percent rise in hope transform horrendous situations into amazingly great ones.

Hope is so potent that you don’t need to get 50 percent more hopeful, or 40 percent, or even 25 percent. Just 10 percent more hope is enough to launch you into a new and better orbit.

That makes hope the highest-octane fuel in the universe.

• When you get 10 percent improvement, you get a higher Hope Quotient. And when your HQ is high, anything’s possible. Hope is the beginning of everything.
• When people become more hopeful about their health, they start on the path to getting in shape.
• When people get hopeful about breaking bad habits, they start winning battles they haven’t won before.
• When people become more hopeful about their kids, they find new energy to invest in those kids.
• When people get hope in their marriages, they start making better decisions.
• When people become more hopeful about their financial future, they begin to develop the patterns that lead to financial freedom.
• When people become more hopeful about their future, hope is the match that lights the fuse that sends them back to school or helps them apply for a new job or helps them grow and develop.
• When people become more hopeful that they could actually connect with God, it fuels the kind of actions that lead them to spiritual vitality and health.

Hope is the most important factor, because when you have hope, anything is possible. I’m convinced that any great thing that ever happens in your life, in your family, in your marriage, in your community, in your country, and in your world happens because someone has achieved a higher hope level.

In my next blog, I’m going to write about the four things that hope does that nothing else can do.

YOUR HQ BOOSTER

Hope is the most important factor, because when you have hope, anything is possible.

The post The 10 Percent Solution appeared first on Hope Quotient.

Over the course of my four-hour interview, it seemed that Louie’s life story could be described with three words: it gets worse.

Louie ran in the 1936 Olympic Games, but his hopes for future Olympic glory were derailed by World War II. Louie joined the Army Air Corps, but in May 1943, his bomber crashed into the Pacific.

Louie survived. Then things got worse.

For more than a month, with no food or water, Louie and the two other survivors drifted on a pair of canvas rafts before hitting land. They were near death when they were captured.

That’s where the real nightmare began.

Torture, hours of beatings, raging thirst, emaciation, maggots, mosquitoes, rats, humiliation, loneliness, interrogations, experimentations—a total loss of dignity.

And then it got worse—just when it looked like it was getting better.

Louie’s prison camp was liberated. He came home to the embrace of his family and a hero’s welcome. Louie was a celebrity, but inside he was a mess. Haunted by nightmares, he turned to alcohol for relief. As Louie told me, “Nobody back then had ever heard of post-traumatic stress disorder.”

For the first five years of his post-POW life, homicidal hatred toward his captors consumed him. Nothing in him could prevent his free fall into despair.

Yet Louis Zamperini didn’t slide into the abyss. What stopped him? His answer, in a word was, hope. Louie’s wife, in a last-ditch effort to save their marriage, dragged him to a Billy Graham crusade.

Over the course of two nights, Louie encountered Jesus and everything changed. After the second night, Louie told me he went home and walked over to the liquor cabinet and threw all the bottles into the trash. He hasn’t had a drink of alcohol ever since. That night, for the first time since his liberation, the nightmares didn’t come, replaced instead by peace that passes understanding.

Infused with a new energy—he founded a boys’ camp, embarked on a worldwide speaking tour, carried the Olympic torch at five different Games, regularly ran a six-minute mile in his sixties, began skateboarding in his seventies, and in his nineties was still climbing trees that needed pruning.

I walked out of Louie’s house with a profound appreciation for the power of hope. It was hope that liberated Louie from discouragement, despair, and potential suicide. It was hope that kept him alive in a concentration camp. It was hope that replaced hatred with forgiveness. It was hope that, during the worst circumstances imaginable, allowed him to remain “unbroken.” And it is that kind of fresh hope that continues to make Louis Zamperini one of the most delightful, fun, joyful, and resilient people on the planet.

In my next blog, I’m going to write about a remarkable conversation I had with a psychologist on the transforming power of hope.

YOUR HQ BOOSTER

Even in the worst circumstances, hope gives you power not only to survive—but to thrive.

The post The Greatest Single Human Being I Have Ever Met appeared first on Hope Quotient.

Howard Hendricks gave a gripping definition of discouragement: “Discouragement is the anesthetic the devil uses on a person just before he reaches in and carves out his heart.” He’s right. When people lose hope, they lose their ability to dream for the future. Despair replaces joy. Fear replaces faith. Anxiety replaces prayer. Insecurity replaces confidence. Tomorrow’s dreams are replaced by nightmares. It’s a lousy way to live.

Think hope doesn’t make a difference? Let’s get real for a second. Two people are walking in your direction. One of them is the most encouraging person you know. The other is the most discouraging person you know. Which one do you want to spend time with? That is true in every setting.

In fact, picture what happens when a person of genuine hope comes into your life. All it takes is one. In a flash, the whole atmosphere changes. The impossible actually starts to look possible (think Steve Jobs). Defeat starts to look like it could be turned to victory (think Peyton Manning). Difficult things begin to look like they might actually be possible (think Nelson Mandela). Courage replaces fear, and strength chases away powerlessness.

Yes, hope is that important!

In my next blog, I’m going to talk about the eleven major differences the presence of hope and confidence creates.

YOUR HQ BOOSTER

It’s only possible to be spiritually, psychologically, emotionally, or relationally healthy when we live with a high level of hope.

The post What Happens When People Lose Hope? appeared first on Hope Quotient.

• the greatest gift leaders can give their people—hope.
• the greatest gift parents can give their children—hope.
• the greatest gift teachers can give their students—hope.
• the greatest gift coaches can give their athletes—hope.

It’s also why . . .

• the greatest gift you can give your family—hope.
• the greatest gift you can give your friends—hope.
• the greatest gift you can give your neighbors—hope.
• the greatest gift you can give your coworkers—hope.

Let me tell you about a recent day. I met for an hour and half with some great people, leaders of a local chain of restaurants. They brought me in to train their executives and employees. What was their number one need? Fresh vision for the future. Where does that come from? Hope.

That was followed by a telephone conversation with an attorney friend from Southern California. He’s a sharp guy and a strong Christian, but his heart is breaking because his son has turned away from his family’s faith and values and is taking some destructive paths. What was that dad’s number one need? He needs the kind of inner strength that only comes to people who have hope.

I then did a Livestream video seminar with leaders from all over the country on how to turn a church from stagnant and declining to thriving. What was the number one need of the leaders of these churches? The kind of creativity and determination that only comes to people who have hope.

I stopped at a gas station and talked with a twenty-four-year-old college dropout who just came back to our area. As we put gas in our cars (a very expensive proposition), he told me he was out of work. What was his number one need? The kind of focus and resolve that only comes to people who have hope.

I wrapped up my day and was driving out of our church parking lot when I saw a poised, professional woman who looked lost. She said she was searching for one of the conference rooms. I asked her which meeting she was attending. She hesitated, embarrassed, then said the DivorceCare seminar. My heart immediately went out to her. I got out of my car and walked her to her class. She turned to me before she walked through the door, and I saw tears streaming down her face. She said, “It’s just really hard.” What is her number one need? Hope. I touched her shoulder and said, “God has better days ahead.”

In my next blog, I’m going to talk about what happens when people lose hope.

YOUR HQ BOOSTER

The greatest gift you or I can give anyone is hope.

The post The Greatest Gift You Can Ever Give appeared first on Hope Quotient.

Several years ago, my daughter, Leslie, came home from school and said, “Dad, I have to write a paper on a leader.”

“Yeah?” I said.

“I picked you, and the teacher said it was okay,” she said.

“Yeah . . .” I said, growing wary.

Without hesitating, she laid it out before me. “I have twenty questions. This is going to be at least a two-hour interview, and you have to answer them all honestly.”

At that, we grabbed our swimsuits and hopped into the hot tub. I thought, Since I’m going to end up in hot water anyway, I might as well start there!

Two hours later, she asked me her last question. It caught me by surprise. Her last question was her best question. And her last question was one of the most profound questions that human beings can ever ask themselves.

“What’s the single most important thing you do as a leader?”

I looked at her and said, “That’s easy. The single most important thing I do is make sure I stay encouraged.”

She looked at me with this blank stare—kind of like, what? Just as you may be looking at this book right now. I explained it to her.

“If I’m not encouraged, eventually nothing else matters.

“If I’m not encouraged, I’ll never be the communicator people who listen to me need me to be.

“If I’m not encouraged, I’ll never be the person I believe God wants me to be.”

I got a little choked up, looked at Leslie, and said, “If I’m not encouraged, I will never be the dad you need me to be.

“If I’m not encouraged, I’ll never be the husband Mom dreams I might be someday.” (Married guys know exactly what I’m talking about.)

Why is this a big deal? Because getting and staying encouraged is everyone’s number one need—whether they know it or not.

In my next blog, I’ll talk about the greatest gift you can ever give.

YOUR HQ BOOSTER

Getting and staying encouraged is everyone’s number one need.

The post The Most Important Question appeared first on Hope Quotient.

1. Recharge your batteries. Nobody does well running on empty.
2. Raise your expectations. Life really can be far greater than anything you’ve known.
3. Refocus on the future. Don’t look back; concentrate on what you can become.
4. Play to your strengths. Be yourself; everyone else is taken.
5. Refuse to go it alone. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.
6. Replace burnout with balance. Variety refreshes, restores, and reenergizes.
7. Play great defense. Learn to respond to bad news in great ways.

Building The Seven into your life will increase your hope level dramatically. And when that happens, anything is possible.

Recently, I spoke about The Seven at a weeklong conference. When the chart lit up the screen, I could hear people all over in the crowd say, “Got it!” I told them, as I’m telling you now, “I’m not talking so much about hope but about seven critical factors that, when they are rising in your life, will give you genuine hope.”

Let me tell you how important this is to me. Every year, I set goals. Sometimes they go well; sometimes they don’t. Five years ago, I had one goal for the whole year. I was going to work for 365 days to do one thing—raise my hope level. My goal was to be more hope-filled at the end of the year than I was at the start of the year.

By that time, I had learned that hope would improve my relationships, my marriage, and my impact, and I would be a whole lot more fun to be around. Not too long into that year, though, I realized I couldn’t raise my hope level by wishing to be more hopeful.

You raise your hope level by investing in The Seven. Why is raising your Hope Quotient job one? Simple—the ripple effect. Raising these seven leads to hope, which leads to fresh vision, which leads to great new things in your life, health, finances, and future. In short, raising your HQ changes everything, because you will finally be living with a solid, secure, emotionally healthy, and spiritually solid foundation.

In my next blog, I’ll talk about the most important question I was ever asked—and what the answer means to you.

YOUR HQ BOOSTER

Becoming a person with hope is always a result of raising the seven hope factors

The post How Do You Become a Person of Hope? appeared first on Hope Quotient.

Great book—brilliant idea! It just didn’t go far enough.

I’ve been a professor, pastor, coach, husband, and dad (by far the hardest job), and I’m currently president of Thrive Communications, which means that every year I’m face-to-face with more than three hundred thousand people in some context (Whew, I’m getting tired just writing this!). Every day I have the privilege of working with a broad cross-section of accomplished people—everyone from CEOs to soccer moms. And this is what I’ve observed: IQ and EQ are not enough.

Let me pose some simple questions. Why are some people more effective than other people? Why do some enjoy life while others endure life? Why do some soar while others sink? Consider some specific scenarios, because it’s the same in every area of life. Why are some marriages closer? Why do some parents get more out of parenting? Why do some business people advance in their careers while others plateau? Why do some people thrive emotionally, seem more happy, more fulfilled? In short, why are some people just personally, emotionally, and relationally in better shape? 

Let me give you the theme of these blogs in one sentence: Thriving people thrive for one reason—they commit to things that produce inner strength and hope.

And here’s the good news. Unlike IQ and EQ, which are largely inherited, your degree of hope, your “Hope Quotient” or HQ, can be developed to any level.

I have invested seven years into researching and writing the book, The Hope Quotient: Measure It. Raise It. You’ll Never Be the Same. It’s been worth every second.

What happens when you mix tough circumstances with hope-filled people? I’ll be exploring that in the next blog!

YOUR HQ BOOSTER

Thriving people thrive for one reason—they commit to things that produce inner strength and hope.

The post Why Thriving People Thrive appeared first on Hope Quotient.