My daughter and I watched the Hunger Games movie this past Sunday.  I think it is an awesome movie.  I have a favorite line.  Coriolanus Snow, the President of Panem rules over 12 districts using brutality and oppression.  Coriolanus talks to his games manager and asks:

Why do you think we have a winner?

Coriolanus answers: “Hope – it is the only thing stronger than fear.  A little hope is effective.  A lot of hope is dangerous”.   You see, Coriolanus feared that 16 year old Katniss Everdeen was becoming an underdog heroine.

I love this because I love all things entrepreneurial.  The biggest problem with business growth – especially with women business owners – is fear.  But, with “a lot” of hope, we can overcome our fears.  We can become winners and achieve heroic feats.

I came across an article on hope recently written by Jennifer Robison of the Gallup Business Journal.  The article is entitled, “Making Hope a Business Strategy”.  Jennifer shares a discussion with Dr. Shane Lopez of the University of Kansas School of Business.  Lopez studies hope.  Isn’t that something?!

Lopez advocates that business leaders must understand what hope is and how to unleash its power.  Lopez states that we should make business goals meaningful; and turn excitement into practice, thoughts and plans.  Of course, this is a man after my own heart.  This is exactly what I preach and teach.   Well, there is one line in the Robison article that really excited me.  It states “[t]hink about what your company will look like and how you will feel”.

Well, you can find a lot of content about the importance of visioning in business development.  I use it.  I have a vision board.  Visualization works.  But, what I have not devoted a lot of time to is reflecting on how I would feel when I accomplish my big goals.  It would be too easy to simply say, “Oh, I would feel real good.”  That’s too sophomoric.  Right?

This is about real emotional awareness and really getting in touch with our feelings.  I am no therapist – so all that I can say is that it is tough.  All too often, we bury our feelings.

Sam Russell wrote an article I found in Tiny Buddha entitled “4 Tips for getting in touch with your feelings”.  He advocates: (1) Dig deep and think about what’s really getting to you; (2) Stay committed to communicating your feelings; (3) Don’t let yourself reach boiling point in difficult situations; and (4) Vent your feelings physically.  He advocates channeling, experiencing, and transforming feelings.  Wow!  Again – tough!

This leads me to a quote I microblog often by Kerry Elkind, a co-member of the Linkedin Women for Hire Group.  Kerry has shared:

“hope is not a strategy…it takes strategy, planning, and execution”.

I think at the core is the emotional awareness piece.  I think this is a missing link for many entrepreneurs that struggle to climb into the winners’ circle.  So, besides all of our routine business chores and new initiatives, we should also strategize, plan, and execute on getting in touch with our feelings – our feelings of hope and fear – as well as business related anger, sadness, and frustration.

Here are some questions for you to ponder.  I would love your comments below:

What big goals do you have? How will you feel when you accomplish them?  How will you get in touch with your feelings?