Well, 20 years ago, when I was in the middle of a different line of work writing drama,

television series in Los Angeles, I had a revelation while waiting for my car at a parking

valet after a party. Standing beside me was a wise, Oscar-winning actor-director-director writer

who had a couple more decades of experience in show business than I did and had enjoyed more luck than bad luck in his career.

And he asked me what I was working on and I told him about a couple of scripts that I was juggling, making sure that I didn't sound naive enough to think that those scripts were definitely going to get made.

I thought I was layering in just the right amount of

pessimism to sound professional, to sound like a realist. His eyes found mine and he said softly,

optimism is a choice. Pessimism is a choice, too.

You can choose optimism.

Then he got into his car and I was left there realizing I'd heard something very important.

And that's when I began trying to teach myself for the very first time in my life to choose optimism.

And after a while, I actually got pretty good at it.

I came to realize that choosing pessimism as an emotional defense against disappointment does not work.

If you suffer a loss, you're going to be in just as much pain, whether you saw

that loss coming or you didn't. And so I want to repeat to you tonight what that wise man said to me

that night, optimism is a choice. There is no reason for you not to go to sleep tonight without hope.

Nelson Mandela went to sleep every night with hope. For 27 years, Nelson Mandela fell asleep

with hope in his heart in the Robin Island prison. Nelson

Mandela was an optimist. Nelson Mandela always believed he was going to get out of prison.

He remained an optimist for those 27 years in prison. Nelson Mandela had more reason to be a

pessimist than any of us have ever had.

Nelson Mandela was an optimist for his future freedom when he was in prison and for the future

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