A friend of mine was recently asked to address a group of businesspeople on the theme of optimism. His successful career in both the video game and TV industries was often summarized in terms of his seemingly unconquerable optimism. He asked me what I thought about the subject, and it got me thinking.

Just what is optimism? Off the cuff, we’d all probably define it in terms of positive thinking about the future. The optimist sees the glass as half full, presenting the opportunity for more to be poured in. We could also describe it in terms of what it is not. That is, it is the opposite of whining and complaining about everything. We’d all prefer to be surrounded by folks who are positive in their outlook instead of calling attention to every little thing they find uncomfortable.

But can there be too much optimism? For many, optimism comes dressed in hyper-confidence and........

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