If Victor Perton had his way, the greeting ‘how are you?’ would be a thing of the past.
“If you get rid of that question and replace it with something like, ‘what’s been the best thing in your day?’, 80 percent of people are going to share a story of hope and optimism,” he says.
“Most people want to hear more stories of optimism, and those shared stories are like fuel in the tank for themselves and the community.”
CEO and Chief Optimist at the Centre for Optimism, Victor says it’s this unabashed positivity that has the potential to unlock creativity, productivity and boost general wellbeing in the workplace.
“The world economic forum actually declared the loss of optimism to be one of the greatest business risks in 2022 and beyond,” he says.
“The scientific evidence is that pessimists can’t innovate, so, if you’re a boss and you want to achieve innovation, ask your team the basic question of, ‘what makes you optimistic?'”
Most people want to hear more stories of optimism, and those shared stories are like fuel in the tank for themselves and the community.
This underpins what the Centre for Optimism is all about, and it’s something Victor is excited to ask people when he is in Armidale for the upcoming ‘Spring Into Optimism Festival’ this September.
Organised by the UNE SMART Region Incubator (SRI) in collaboration with the The Centre for Optimism, Armidale Regional Council, NBN co. and SQNNSW Innovation Hub,, the two-day festival will include a ‘Breakfast for Optimists’, an ‘Economic Optimism’ session, a school’s event, and an ‘Optimistic Debate’ which will open up conversations around optimism in business and how we can boost the economic success of regional communities.
“The first outcome we’d love is for people to actually think about what makes them optimistic, and what makes them optimistic about Armidale,” says Victor.
“That powers on innovation, it powers on entrepreneurship and it powers on people meeting each other. Obviously, it’s centred around the UNE community, Armidale Regional Council, and Business New England, but I’m hoping the whole community gets involved. We’re hoping to make the town absolutely stink of optimism.”
Through embracing innovation, saying ‘yes’ to new ideas, and implementing the cutting-edge research on regional entrepreneurship from the UNE Business School, the UNE SRI is helping to achieve this.
The SRI builds and grows business by providing mentors, researchers, events and corporate and community partners. With this support, SRI Founders have created more than 180 jobs and raised more than $18 million, giving us plenty to be optimistic about in this region.
“Over 60 Founders belong to the collaborative community created by the UNE SRI in Armidale and across the New England North West,” says the SRI Armidale Regional Connector, Pip Spilsbury.
“The SRI builds and grows business by providing mentors, researchers, events and corporate and community partners. With this support, SRI Founders have created more than 180 jobs and raised more than $18 million, giving us plenty to be optimistic about in this region.”
While economic optimism plays a key role in fostering regional resilience, Victor says we all have a responsibility to be optimistic in our day-to-day lives – especially those who are role models for the younger generation.
“Kids are positive, but they’re not necessarily optimistic. So, in order to foster optimism in our future leaders, we need to model it and make sure we let young people speak their truth,” he says.
“We are in a fog of pessimism, and everyone needs to be a beacon of optimism.”
The Spring Into Optimism Festival will kick off on the 1st and 2nd of September in Armidale. Details are below:
- Breakfast for Optimists – Are you in business, an entrepreneur or a simply an optimistic member of our community? Come along to the beautiful New England Regional Art Museum on the first morning of Spring and be introduced to the power of Optimism by Chief Optimist Victor Perton. 1st September at New England Regional Art Museum, 7.30am to 9.30am. Register here.
- Economic Optimism session – Aimed at the New England business community, this networking event will ask the question, ‘What makes you optimistic about economic development in our region?’. 1st September at NOVA (122 Faulkner Street, Armidale), 10:00am to 12pm.
- Optimistic Debate – Led by Chief Optimist Victor Perton, this community conversation will ask the question, ‘How does Optimism underpin a thriving economic future for our community?’. 1st September at NOVA, 5.30pm to 8.00pm.
- Optimism in the Gorge: Sunrise Yoga and Meditation – An event for the eco-optimists to meditate on the joys of Spring at sunrise. 2nd September, Blue Hole, Gara Gorge, Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, Castledoyle Road, Armidale, 6.00am to 8.00am.
In the meantime, have a think about what makes you optimistic, and submit your answer here.
