I have subscribed to Nick Murray's newsletter, Nick Murray Interactive, since he started the publication 25 years ago. Nick's bio page from his newsletter website describes him as follows: Nick Murray has been a financial advisory professional for more than fifty years. He is one of the industry's premier speakers and the author of twelve books for financial services professionals. His one book for clients, Simple Wealth, Inevitable Wealth, has sold nearly a quarter of a million copies.
Nick has repeatedly shared one statement with his financial advisor subscribers for nearly a quarter century: "Optimism is the only realism."
If you look at the chart below, courtesy of our friends at Capital Group/American Funds, you will see that Nick has a valid point. Since 1987, when I started my career as a financial advisor, there have been numerous financial, geopolitical, and healthcare crises. However, a free market, capitalistic economy, constant innovation, and technological progress have allowed us to overcome these challenges. Over the last nearly four decades, this has led to a growing economy and a rising stock market.
Optimism can be seen as a rational mindset because it encourages action, fosters resilience, and helps individuals navigate challenges effectively. While not blind faith, rational optimism acknowledges potential difficulties but focuses on solutions and opportunities for improvement. This approach can lead to better outcomes in various life domains, from personal growth to financial stability, because it encourages proactive coping and a bias towards action.
There is a distinct lack of optimism in today's world. In talking with clients, friends, and business leaders in my sphere of influence, many have a decidedly negative view of the world and where things are going. Much of this has been driven by significant political divides and geopolitical stress that we see going on in global events. I believe this is driven by 24-hour cable news and social media, which have a decidedly negative bias. As the saying goes, “If it bleeds, it leads.” Studies show that negative stories outpace positive ones by more than 4 to 1. No wonder people feel bad after watching the news.
However, many wonderful and exciting things are going on that may lead the world toward a much brighter tomorrow! I am going to share a couple of resources with you today. I will have more to share in future blog posts. My goal is to give you a reason to be happier and feel better about the future. In other words, I hope that if you read or watch these resources, they will be the antidote to what you see and hear in the rest of the media sphere.
The first resource I would like to introduce you to is the Rational Optimist Society and its weekly newsletter distributed on the Substack platform. I subscribed to this weekly publication as soon as I learned about it. I look forward to getting their latest observations each Sunday in my e-mail. I have shared this resource with many clients and have been told that it is one of the most valuable resources I have ever shared. You can find information on them at the following link below, including a place to sign up for their free weekly newsletter.
https://www.rationaloptimistsociety.com/
Source: Rational optimist Society
Each week, the newsletter takes a deep dive into some area of technological advancement and innovation. This may be related to drones, blockchain, material science advances, genomic studies, AI assisted drug development, or nuclear energy. They then look at what these advances may mean to the future of human life. They will look at the practical application of these advancements in such areas as agriculture, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, or national defense.
According to their website, there are three reasons to subscribe to their newsletter and become a rational optimist.
Reason 1:
Your kids will thank you!
Rational optimists know humans can solve almost any problem through innovation.
How inspiring! Yet our kids are more likely to learn the opposite – that the world is on the brink of catastrophe. Is it any wonder kids today are depressed, anxious, and often gripped by dangerous ideologies? It’s up to us to teach our kids the inspiring truth, so they can’t be swept away by pervasiveirrational pessimism.
Reason 2:
Benefit from breakthroughs.
Technology is advancing faster than ever. Rational optimists take advantage of breakthroughs to become healthier, wealthier, happier, and even live longer.
Knowledge is power. You can be confused and worried by the rapid changes, or you can master them to improve virtually every aspect of your life, from your health to your career to your investment portfolio.
Reason 3:
Optimists make better lovers.
No joke. Research shows optimists have happier marriages, make more money, raise happier kids, suffer less anxiety, and are much better investors.
Anyone of any age can become a rational optimist… and it just might transform your life.
The second resource I would like to introduce you to is the American Optimist podcast, hosted by American entrepreneur Joe Lonsdale. I was recently introduced to this at a conference. The podcast has been available on its website for nearly four years and has more than 100 episodes. It is also a free service.
According to their website:
Welcome to American Optimist hosted by Joe Lonsdale, entrepreneur, investor, and founder of four multi-billion-dollar companies and other mission-driven organizations. American Optimist is an alternative to the fear, cynicism, and zero-sum thinking in mainstream media. Learn from the innovators and leaders who are solving our nation’s most pressing challenges -- and doing it in a way that will lift everyone up. Hope should dominate our discourse, and American Optimist will show you why.
Source: American Optimist
A link to the home page of the podcast is provided below.
https://www.americanoptimist.com/
When we work together toward an optimistic vision of the future, anything is possible.
In essence, rational optimism is a way of approaching the world that balances hope with reality, leading to greater resilience, proactive coping, and a greater likelihood of success. It's not about ignoring problems or being blindly cheerful, but rather about acknowledging them and choosing to focus on positive outcomes and potential solutions
In future blog posts, I will share additional resources to help you believe that an optimistic and even abundant future is possible. These resources reinforced my belief that we should be long on humanity and innovation and short on government. As always, my goal is to help educate you, our trusted friends and clients, as we continue “Moving Life Forward.”
© 2025 Jesse Hurst
Senior Wealth Manager
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