Transcriber: Patricia Kuo Reviewer: Sebastian Betti
This is a story about nine little words.
Adjective, nouns and verbs.
This is a story about my shift.
But also how words can be our gift.
This is a story about nine little words.
Hope,
is a verb with its sleeves rolled up.
Now, I’d love to take credit for that quote.
But that it belongs to David Orr, an environmentalist.
Thank you, David.
But what makes those words so significant to me was
where I was and who I was when they landed upon my soul.
You see I was in a dark place and I know you all know it.
You were there with me.
It was called the pandemic.
At this time, my COVID anxiety was so crippling.
And the trolling in the online world seems to be daily tripling.
And all the time there’s this nagging voice in my head, just niggling.
You see, it was my job
to help business owners be more online,
more principled, more courageously visible.
Words, I would tell them.
Words are invincible!
Stand up for what you believe in and you will be unthinkable.
Wise words.
Until I sank.
Drowning in an ocean of negativity.
A fear of hate, of anger.
I used to tell people to be loud, to be proud, to be unbound.
And now, everyone was at it.
(Sighing)
Standing up began to feel more like digging in trenches so deep
they were more isolating than isolation.
And this separation that we felt.
It was so much more than the legislation.
We’ve lost sight of each other and how to have real conversation.
Those nine little words.
Adjectives, nouns and verbs.
Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up.
The more I had them, they began to shift something inside of me.
I began to feel something newform.
I got an idea from another business owner that I bought from.
I thought, “Oh my God, this is brilliant. This is perfect for me.”
Because I knew I had to do something.
I had to take action.
Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up.
I have to do something.
The enormity of the world’s problems.
It was normal, the way I felt was normal.
I can’t fix everything.
The leaders, the government, they won’t fix anything.
Anyone that measures success by GDP.
They refuse to see. And so I did it.
I did something I could take control of.
I planted a tree.
More than one, actually.
So, with this idea of planting this tree.
I started to talk about it.
I created a product that would I sold,
and every one I sold I planted a tree.
I donated money to a tree planting charity.
And when I spoke about her.
My words held weight.
I had something positive I could focus on, something I could create.
Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up.
But you know what was unexpected and magical?
It was it wasn’t just the trees that were growing.
I started to see the ripple effect showing.
Small business owners reached out to me to tell me about
small actions of hope that they were also taking
from volunteering, campaigning, protesting, collaboration.
Small business owners did big things.
They told the world about it, and they inspired others to do the same.
Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up.
My mum always used to tell me she’d say,
“Lisa. Actions speak louder than words.”
She’s right.
It’s why I felt so uncomfortable before.
My words and my actions were not in alignment.
And that blocked my light.
It’s one thing to speak online and say, speak your truth.
But what actions do these truth ignite?
So just imagine for one moment.
If small business owners all over the world,
did one small action of hope.
And then, crucially, told the world about her.
Imagine the change we could create.
Is that an idea that you could entertain?
Nine little words.
Adjectives, nouns and verbs.
You know what I’m going to say.
Say it with me one last time.
Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up.