17 Dec 2025 · 0 min
Short micro-podcast by Brian Johnson that revisits Rick Snyder's model of hope (three components: goals, willpower, way power) and proposes adding a fourth element—"want power"—emphasizing that an inspiring goal must also be genuinely desired. Includes a quick self-check prompt and a closing call-to-action to the Optimize website.
You're listening to Optimize with Brian Johnson. More wisdom in Less time.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. Way back in the day, we talked about Rick Schneider's wisdom on the science of hope. As you may recall, he tells us that hope consists of essentially three parts. Number one, a goal that inspires us and makes us believe that the future will be better than our current reality. Which, by the way, is the essence of hope. Not believing our futures will be better is the essence of hopelessness, which is associated with all the things we don't want. Number two, a sense of agency that we can actually make that better future a reality. And number three, a willingness to explore multiple pathways to get there, pivoting and going over, under and around the inevitable obstacles we will face. Now, Professor Snyder captures those three facets in three words. Goals, willpower, and way power. Before we proceed, how about a quick check in on how we're doing? Hope wise, how are you doing with each of those three elements of optimizing your hope? You got a goal that's inspiring, you believe you can achieve it, and willing to explore multiple pathways. Fantastic. Now I think we could consider adding a third power to our willpower and our way power. Let's call it want power. That goal, you've got to really want it. Do you? That's today's +1. Want power + willpower + way power let's optimize our 3 WPs + 1 WPE + 1 WPE PL + 1 WP.
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Optimize with Brian Johnson. To find out more, go to Optimize Me.
