Do you believe in Hope? or Magic?

In this Year of Hope as called by Pope Francis, I wanted to touch on this topic. In addition, please consider a prayer for Pope Francis, as his transition from this life seems to be approaching. The Pope continues to show us hope, through his joy, despite his medical challenges.

Hope has become my greatest friend over the years. First in business, that no store was too impossible to fix, to every employee had potential, so long as they could give some effort through helping them see potential, the rest can eventually be taught. I later learned to work to their strengths, just as I did the markets I was in. Quite often however when the eventual turn around happened, many thought it was luck, or I had some special resources that no one else had. As I’ve become more spiritual and religious over the years, I see it as a superstitious belief. Just as people think some random magical practice will bring desired results, so too goes our world, only to pass away in doubt when the results/blessings they hope for never come, leaving them to despair & doubt, instead of hope.

This brings me to getting back to the basics, the fundamentals. This was always my hope in business, and has since been my hope in the Church. Too often we try to redefine the way things are, only to be left confused that the wheel we just reinvented, doesn’t actually work. One of these great examples I experienced as a manager was leadership. Many like to sit behind a desk and point orders, only to see limited change, if any. However as I grew and worked side by side with my people, I quickly realized leading by example gave hope, that they too can achieve this. Later in life, Jesus Christ dwelling among us finally made sense. How can I possibly uphold this standard that the Bible has called us to for thousands of years. Then I am reminded that God dwelt among us, and took on the nature of His creation, to show us, there is hope, if we get back to the basics.

I’d like to focus on the basics now, image is a big part of things. If you look sloppy people will think you don’t care for your product since you don’t care about yourself. This was always a basic fundamental when I arrived at a store. I cleaned and organized it, so it would be prepared for anything. Ironically there’s many gospels that call us to cleansing, so that we might be prepared. Once we have been prepared, comes the building part, putting out consistent product. This again is an image moment. It was important to give people what is advertised in their picture, anything else will leave them feeling deceived. Once again this kind of sounds like the Church. Now we are all sinners and hypocrites at one point or another, however we want to reflect the true image of Jesus and the Church, since that is what will inspire people to join us in life and business. When we fail to do these two basics along with good service, we’ll hemorrhage people in our lives or customers. Like many chains in our current economy, we find ourselves bankrupt wondering what happened.

This is where we need to further focus on hope, that even when we fail, we can learn and fix what we did wrong, instead of hoping for it to magically disappear. Very often we think some good vibes, voodoo or pixie dust of sorts can manipulate things. The action of Faith, Hope and Love can trigger momentum. When I was away from faith, I had to have faith that what I was doing would work, since that’s what I was taught by another successful businessman. I had to hope, that eventually I would build momentum, despite being thousands of dollars in debt when I walked in the door. Most of all I had to love what what I was doing. That passion as first was doubted when I arrived, as many thought I wouldn’t last a month like the people previous to me. However I truly loved what I did and in that love, I gave others faith and hope in my abilities, and often their own abilities as they would often share their success was never as good when they were with me.

The key however to the success I’ve learned is trusting God and being honest with yourself. If you know something is wrong, patiently fix it, even if it seems hopeless, do not make excuses.. I’ve experienced struggles over the years, and in my hope and constant examinations of my life, things always improved. Whether it’s moments I realized I was the problem, or moments where the other might realize it, things always found a solution eventually when everyone in the room is looking in the mirror, honestly assessing where they can improve.

In close, consider hoping for the next phase in your life and begin to lay that foundation. I’d like to share a glimpse that nothing happens over night, but with hope (Habakkuk 2), the vision will eventually unfold. The heroic journey will bring greater joy, than the instant gratification many seek in our current time. To know you earned something, will give you great dignity and self worth. Too often we settle for less than we are worth, and get less than what we settled for leaving us disappointed.

-In 2008 after 5 years working for the same company, I felt I was back where I began, and no hope of moving up, and my partnership deal wasn’t going to be as good anymore compared to past deals. I left and floated around for 2 years.

-2010 I came back to faith, and wanted to open my own pizza shop. In the middle of this short journey, I lost my main source of income and saw the typical fight to get my head above water. I decided it was time for a hard reset on life.

-2013 I felt a call to get back to roaming around, and after attending WYD 2013 in Brazil, I was inspired by the 3.7 million people worshipping as one, from 170 different countries. I wanted more of this peace/unity.

-2016 I began to rebuild my credit which was below 500. Despite planning to go to seminary, I wanted the back up plan to start my own business.

-2016-2019 I used Uber/Lyft as a transition into running my own business as well as subsidizing buying equipment necessary for the coffee business, and travel that would inspire my concept.

-2019 moved to Virginia to prepare for marriage, worked 2 part time jobs to make ends meet

-2020 at the end of May in the middle of a pandemic, I took the leap of faith, and now I truly work for the people, my family and the Lord.

-2025 after seeing an ice cream class certificate at an ice cream shop in Long Branch, NJ circa 2012, I hoped one day I would attend the class. When the time was right, this small hope was fulfilled.

I have a litany of these stories and hopes fulfilled, that I hope to start documenting online in video format soon.