You remember Pauline \u2014 on the tracks with the 20th-century Limited bearing down. Ming the Merciless was licking his chops. But we all know that hope springs eternal. That phrase comes from the 18th-century poem \u201cAn Essay of Man\u201d by the English poet Alexander Pope.<\/p>\n
\u201cHope springs eternal in the human breast. Man never is but always to be blest.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is the nature of all men and women, young and old, to look ahead to future happiness and a better life. At a base level, hope extends from buying lottery tickets to rooting for a sports team. But I want to think about hope as an act of radical rebellion, an active discipline in the service of denying the absurdity of the human condition. We turn to hope to keep ourselves from giving up and accepting the madness.<\/p>\n
In the classic entrepreneurial discussion, hope gets twisted a bit. We talk about dedication, relentless pursuit, never giving up, seeking answers, etc. But those behavior answers are rooted in action, and that diminishes the power of hope as a spiritual idea.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Philosopher Ernst Bloch calls hope \u201can ontological category\u201d \u2014 an engine that drives us toward a future that is not yet fully formed. We humans believe that we can affect the outcome, that the world is not completely random, that our actions can have consequences. Sure, we can hope, but if we do nothing in our actions to \u201chelp hope to actualize in our benefit,\u201d then sitting on the couch alone is not going to get us there. Think about the immigrant experience in its largest perspective. We move from here to there, hoping it will be both different and better.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The more optimistic of the philosopher group, S\u00f8ren\u00a0Kierkegaard and Martin\u00a0Heidegger, view hope \u201cas a fundamental byproduct of human freedom.\u201d Without freedom, they argue, it is nearly impossible to have hope. Consider the breadth of that idea. Think about detention, ghettos, dictatorships, etc. We just finished our 250th anniversary, and we paid massive lip service to freedom. I suspect that we do not fully acknowledge the inexorable link between freedom and our hope for change.<\/p>\n
Another philosopher, Gabriel Marcel, distinguishes between hope and \u201cjust wishing.\u201d Hope arises when faced with despair, but it allows us to consider the possibility of positive change despite adversity. The key word there is possible, which bumps up against its twin, impossible. Then you have hopelessness.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
But dare I seem an aging Pollyanna, let me ask you to consider Friedrich Nietzsche, who viewed hope \u201cnot as a virtue, but as a dangerous illusion and the worst of all evils.\u201d He said that hope prolongs human suffering, passively enduring harsh realities. A bit more Nietzsche, if you will: \u201cWhat doesn\u2019t kill me, makes me stronger.\u201d Finally, he declaims, \u201cGod is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.\u201d Not a lot of room for hope in that one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We humans from time to time are tilted heavily toward the darkness, but the ultimate counter to that seems to be religion. Hope and prayer have some commonalities. A proper caution is in order, however. I don\u2019t think praying for financing is going to have much effect on the Valley venture capitalist.<\/p>\n
I grew up in the Midwest, and on the radio at night, I listened to Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II, more commonly known as Reverend Ike. He preached the gospel of material prosperity. If you can see yourself in a Cadillac, then you will find yourself in a Cadillac. He was famous for his \u201cblessing plan.\u201d Radio listeners sent him money, and in return he blessed them. \u201cMoney up to your armpits, a roomful of money and there you are, just tossing around in it like a swimming pool,\u201d he would say. I suspect the Nigerian prince may have gotten some pointers from Ike.<\/p>\n
Now it is time to look the devil in the eye. Luck. The unknowable force that does not lend itself to hope, prayer, diligent actions, good intentions or rigorous effort. Sometimes it just shows up, uninvited, unexpected, but deeply welcome.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
My little AI company sale closed, but in the end, in the quiet space, I know the truth. I was just damn lucky. That basket of banjo picks that I had collected can now be put on eBay. Collector items.<\/p>\n
Rule No. 835: It\u2019s better than a magic trick.<\/p>\n