Fierce Optimism

Book excerpt: Attitude can be sexy— a practical and inspirational guide for using kindness and positivity as a winning strategy from Celebrity Apprentice champion, Hollywood veteran, and New York Times bestselling author Leeza Gibbons. We live in a winner-take-all world, in which only the toughest thrive. On the surface, from the living room to the boardroom, it’s certainly no place for nice. Civility and kindness are often the price of admission, and empowering communication is checked at the door. Leeza Gibbons is a culture changer who doesn’t “mess with mean.” She has fiercely redefined optimism, and used positive communication as an empowerment strategy to win with class. She refuses to to sacrifice kindness as she has succeeded in getting ahead. Working for decades in an intense, often merciless industry that rewards novelty, ruthlessness, and the next big thing she has applied smart principles and excelled through savviness—without having to sell her soul or fake it. But redefining nice does not mean being a pushover. As the winning contestant on the hit show Celebrity Apprentice, the former host of Entertainment Tonight relied on her fresh and authentic “no drama” mentality and smart strategies to outmaneuver the other contestants without disempowering them. Throughout the competition, Leeza kept her cool and, most importantly, remained true to herself and her values. In this book, she reveals the secrets of her years of success and bares the stories and vulnerable moments that led to where she is today. Her success is proof that optimism works. You can play it your way and still win. In Fierce Optimism Leeza combines stories from her own life and tales of other pioneering business leaders with core principles that others can apply to take them to the next level of success: • Engage optimism and kindness as your competitive edge • See success unshared as failure • Empower the team, and you win • Pay it forward by mentoring others • Be transparently you Filled with down-to-earth advice and empowering stories, Fierce Optimism makes clear that with kindness, authenticity, and smart teamwork, you can be nice—and win.