If we continue to pursue hope, then we had best become a producer of it, rather than a consumer of it.

Peter Block

This quotation is taken from Peter Block's amazing book, The Answer To How Is Yes, featured in my Great Books list.  Love the book.  Love this man.  He is one of the most powerful minds of our time.

I'm currently writing the chapter on the Illusion of Hope for my upcoming book, Coaching Into Greatness:  4 Steps to Success in Business and Life.  You can bet that I use this quotation.  In fact, it opens the chapter.

What does it mean to be a "consumer of hope"?  I love that phrase.  To me, it gives us a taste of how hope can be a form of scarcity.  When we look at the Tipping Point of hope, we find that it can actually keep people from doing what they can do.  Hope can keep us waiting, rid us of our power, and keep us doing things that don't benefit us for much longer than we normally might.

What does it mean to be a "producer of hope"?  People who produce hope are creators, activators, change agents -- people doing what they can do.  That last phrase has become my mantra lately.  The Living Into Greatness work at it's core celebrates doing what we can do.  That's what it's all about.  You don't have to look far to see people in the world, in your own community, doing what they can do.  They are "producers of hope".

Are you a "consumer of hope" or are you a "producer of hope"?