Good morning.

Today’s note is more personal than usual, but it aligns with the heart of this newsletter. For the last eleven months, you and I have been on a journey to train the most important muscle you have. One idea each morning to strengthen your mind and shape your outlook.

What began as a simple experiment for my kids on the way to school turned into a daily newsletter, then a podcast, and today it has become something more.

A few months ago, my friend Dale said something that stayed with me. He said, “I would love a collection of your best columns in a book to give to colleagues and friends.” His comment sat with me for weeks. And since I have worked hard to build a bias for action, we pulled it together just in time for Christmas and the holiday season.

This morning, my new book The Optimistic Outlook is officially available on Amazon.

It is a powerful gift for employees, young athletes, new leaders, students, or anyone with a growth mindset who wants to strengthen their thinking one day at a time.

Before I share the introduction, I want to ask you for something simple but meaningful.

If this newsletter has encouraged you this year, it would mean a lot if you would consider ordering a copy of the book today. And if you lead a team ordering a few copies to give them, it could make a real difference this holiday season.

Your support matters, not just to me, but to anyone who needs a stronger, more optimistic voice in their life.

Without further ado, I want to share the introduction with you. Here is how the book begins:

This is your moment. The moment to turn your pessimistic voice into an optimistic one.

Not in a cheesy or forced way. Not in an “ignore reality and pretend everything is fine” way. In a grounded, truth-filled way that chooses hope over fear. The kind that improves your life and the lives of the people around you. The kind that changes how you see the world. The kind that looks for light and cultivates a joyful heart.

This shift is not easy. The world can be cruel and unrelenting. Life includes real pain, real suffering, and real setbacks. With so much difficulty around us, it makes more sense to be cynical; to expect bad things to happen and feel numb when they do.

The pessimist says yes.
The optimist says no.

The optimist sees the person who finds a small speck of good in the face of tragedy. They see the storm that destroys a city but leaves the church standing. They see a new relationship born out of the ashes of one that ended. They see authentic motivation spark from disappointment and deprivation.

Imagine I am holding a one-minute hourglass. I flip it over, and you begin to see the sand fall. Do you focus on the sand leaving the top or the sand gathering at the bottom? Most people focus on the top. They look at the gap instead of the gain. They see what is leaving instead of what is growing.

The truth is simple. If you do not choose your optimistic voice, you automatically choose your pessimistic one. Life is too short and too hard to let your mind settle into negativity. Your mind needs to be challenged, shaped, and trained to believe good things can happen and that the future can be bright. This does not mean ignoring reality. It means deciding to be positive in spite of it.

That is what The Optimistic Outlook is all about. The brain is not a popcorn kernel that changes to a fluffy white snack within minutes of being heated. Your mindset is a grouping of patterns wired over time. And those patterns are shaped by what you think about consistently. To rewire negative defaults, you must replace them with something better, day after day.

What started as a simple idea to train my kids’ most important muscle on the way to school turned into a daily newsletter, then a podcast, and now this book. 101 short lessons to train your brain.

There is no perfect way to use this book, but here is what I suggest. Read one lesson a day. Keep the daily Optimistic Outlook principle with you as you move through that day. Let it shape your perspective for twenty-four hours. Then return the next day and repeat the process.

I believe with all my heart that an optimistic voice lives inside all of us. For some, it is easier to find. For others, it takes more intention. Bringing it out more often is both a habit and a skill, and maybe this little book will be all that it takes to help strengthen that voice inside you.

This is your moment to find it. One lesson at a time.

Use your gifts,

John Eades

P.S. Don’t worry, tomorrow and future weekdays’ editions will continue to hit your inbox, whether you get the Optimistic Outlook book or not.