The Red Dot: One mindset shift that gets results 🚀

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been an optimist. My father was mentored by the literal father of The Power of Positive Thinking, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. Every day, my Dad reminded me:

💡 “What the mind can conceive, the mind can achieve.”

And now, optimism is even part of my job title—thanks to Simon Sinek, I’m an “Optimist Instructor” on his team of leadership experts.

I’ve always felt my optimism internally, but I never realized how much others saw it—until someone did.

🔴 The Red Dot

Rewind about 12 years. I was in my tiny Soho apartment, deep in learning about positive psychology, unknowingly laying the foundations for what would later become BRAVE®.

I often shared ​Shawn Achor’s TED talk​ on happiness and success with friends (if you haven’t seen it, it’s a must-watch—it’s informative and hilarious).

One day, after watching it, my roommate, Lauren, ran out of her room, iPad in hand, and exclaimed:

"OMG, you make so much more sense now! You’re the red dot!!” 🙈

In the talk, Shawn tells the story of a research study where participants were shown a page full of blue dots—with just one red dot.

When asked what they saw, nearly everyone pointed to the red dot.

Our brains are wired to notice what’s different. But Shawn flips the perspective: What if we saw difference not as a problem, but as the source of growth?

Lauren explained:
​"You’re the red dot—you don’t think like everyone else. I’ve never met someone who sees as much possibility as you. This explains it."

She was right. I didn’t watch the news. I was awful at keeping up with pop culture. I didn’t let the crowd dictate my mindset. Not because I wanted to ignore reality—but because I was intentional about what shaped me.

I chose optimism. It wasn’t naive. It wasn’t oblivious. It was a leadership choice.

🤨 But What About Toxic Positivity?

These days, optimism gets a bad rap. “Toxic positivity” is thrown around as a catch-all insult for anyone who doesn’t dwell in negativity.

So let’s be clear:

💡 Positivity isn’t toxic. Hiding from the hard stuff is.

Hiding looks like:
🚫 Refusing to acknowledge reality and escaping from it instead.
🚫 Numbing hard emotions rather than making space for them.
🚫 Insisting on finding a silver lining just to avoid discomfort.
🚫 Chasing short-term wins at the expense of long-term growth.

And in business? It looks like this:

🚨 Where Fake Positivity Hurts Companies

1. The Startup That Wants to Move Faster​
A fast-growing company hires rapidly, but onboarding is chaotic. Leadership says:
​"We’re building the plane as we fly it! Just stay positive—we’ll figure it out.”

❌ The result? New hires feel lost, senior employees burn out, miscommunication spikes, and turnover skyrockets.

2. The Leader Who Won’t Admit Bottlenecks​
A visionary CEO pushes for speed and innovation. When employees raise concerns, the response is:
​"We’ve overcome bigger challenges. Let’s focus on what’s possible."

❌ The result? The team stops speaking up. They think, “Why bother? Nothing changes anyway.” Morale drops, KPIs slip, and frustration builds.

3. The Leader Who Overvalues ‘Culture Fit’​
A hiring manager interviews a candidate with fresh ideas but different ways of working. Instead of seeing potential, they say:
​"I don’t know if they’re the right culture fit—we need people who are all-in on our mission.”

❌ The result? An echo chamber forms. Innovation stalls. The best ideas never make it to the table.

Real Leadership is Choosing Optimism—Not Avoidance

💡 In fast-growing companies, it’s easy to mistake speed for progress and positivity for leadership.

But real progress comes from facing the hard stuff with optimism.

Why? Because a company can only grow as fast as its leaders grow.

✔ High performance requires optimism.​
✔ Growth requires optimism.​
✔ Innovation happens in the red dots.

🤔 Where Can You Choose Optimism?

True optimism isn’t blind positivity. It’s leadership. It’s the ability to:

✅ Assume positive intent: maybe they weren't trying to hurt you. Maybe they were just stressed. Maybe they were just human.
✅ Coach an underperforming teammate: it's the ability to motivate, without micromanaging.
✅ Choose your lens: your brain wants to find threats, micro aggressions and reasons to put someone on the "other team." That mindset loses—neurologically, biologically, and eventually, financially.

So how do we lead in a world that wants to see the negative?

🔴 We Be the Red Dot.

We choose optimism. Not as an escape—but as a strategy.

We acknowledge challenges and lean into what they teach us.

We lead.

Because optimism isn’t naive. Science tells us it’s what fuels resilience, strengthens relationships, and increases our capacity to solve problems.

And those are the leadership skills that drive bottom-line results.

⭐️ Optimism Requires Hard Conversations

The BRAVE® Framework gives you a playbook for these conversations. It’s a how-to guide for turning difficult moments into real impact.

I can’t wait to share it with you.

I can’t wait to be optimists together.

I can’t wait to show the world what leadership—and culture—can be.

💡 Remember: “What the mind can conceive, the mind can achieve.”

We’re here whenever you’re ready.

🚀 To the moon,​
Elisabeth