A distinguishing characteristic of Americans is their ability to see a brighter future, no matter their circumstances. This is not true for all, but collectively, it has been a characteristic that has driven us forward since before the revolution. We escaped England and Europe in the hope of a better life and a belief that, left alone and freed from government control, we can achieve anything.
Stopping to Think, Hearing Echoes
“When there is no hope for the future, there is no power in the present.”
This observation is often attributed to an anonymous resident of a Maine town that was scheduled for submersion with the construction of a new dam. Very similar wording has been used by others to express how our outlook for the future can affect our behaviors today.
When I first heard this phrase, something struck me as odd about it, and I struggled to process it. The problem was that the words could be reversed, and it would still have meaning. But the reversed meaning has profound differences that swing from despair to hope. The meanings switch from victimhood to resiliency, from despair to ownership of one’s life and circumstances.
So, does empowerment create hope, or does hope create empowerment? I believe that personal actions and the ability to dream about the future create empowerment. But I also think that building that dream is our responsibility, not someone else’s.
Often, people survived the Nazi concentration camps by developing a sense of longer-term purpose beyond the walls of their imprisonment. For example, Pinchas Gutter was a survivor of multiple camps, including Majdanek and Buchenwald. Gutter later reflected on how he mentally clung to the idea of rebuilding life after the war. Despite losing his entire immediate family, he survived and eventually built a family spanning three generations. All freedom was stripped from him except the freedom to dream about a different future.
From the Future to the Present
The phrase, as written initially, has a future-to-present directional focus where your power today is dependent on your hope for tomorrow. This phraseology bothers me because it is a defeatist attitude. It is founded on the belief in one’s inability to control one’s destiny. We see this too often today in a mentality of victimhood spread by those who would tear us down.
We see it on our college campuses, where protest after protest emphasizes perceived injustices without offering solutions. Social injustice, microaggressions, DEI, and wokeness in general all work to build a culture of victimhood. Solutions are beyond these crowds; they are mired in self-pity. These are the children and grandchildren of the Baby Boomers, still searching for the Shangri-La that never existed. Unless someone has built a future state for them, they cannot move forward.
This perspective presents the idea that without hope, we become catatonic. The concept that without hope, we become somehow inert. This is a belief that someone else controls the future, and unless they construct a future state for me, I am powerless to move. It is a belief that one cannot dream and develop goals to create a better place without help from others.
From the Present to the Future
But the reverse of the original phrase is also possible, and when viewed positively, it gives us direction and hope.
“When there is power in the present, there is hope for the future.”
In this slant on the concept, one believes that they have a responsibility to move forward or, by default, the future will become bleak. This is a more pragmatic view where we understand that hope is not something we wait for; it is something we earn through taking a leap of faith in the future.
If one believes that they are in control of their destiny and that hard work today will lead to a better future, or a better life tomorrow, then they are halfway there. In this environment, one understands that in America, the decision to move forward is a personal choice. The “power in the present” is owned by each of us. The power to act, to improve, is not forced or enforced on us. It is a gift derived from the freedoms we enjoy.
Am I willing to take one step forward knowing it will lead to something better, or somewhere better? Am I willing to take a step that will give me a new perspective? And from there, I will take another. Am I willing to take that step knowing I might fail, only to take another that might reverse that challenge?
Denzel Washington often frames this in his speeches on the importance of faith, preparation, and perseverance. These are all things within our control. As he says, “I’m going to win!” He understands that he is in control of his success or failure, that his actions today shape the future. Hope for the future resides in our actions today.
Controlling the Future
Two of the most unusual books I have read during my adult life are Winning Through Intimidation and Looking Out for #1, by Robert Ringer. In these books, Ringer takes on the necessity of owning the direction and outcome of your life. The books have some unusual takes on life, not all of which I agree with, but one concept I remember came back to me repeatedly during my career.
“The sustenance of a positive attitude through the assumption of a negative result”
As I remember, Ringer framed this thought in the context of sales. Anyone who has worked in sales knows that not all contacts lead to purchases. In Ringer’s world, ninety percent of calls resulted in no sale. However, knowing this ahead of time framed repeated failure as an acceptable part of a process. If I see the struggle of sales and the usual negative response, I can process that struggle as normal and focus on the ten percent of calls that result in a sale. In Ringer’s world, I can maintain a positive attitude, assuming the struggle is a process, not a result.
Resilient people who know this can thrive in a world that crushes others. They are on a path to defining their future, not waiting for someone else to define it for them. It is the spirit of people like Pinchas Gutter who realize that, despite all the obstacles placed in their path, they control their future, not others.
As Americans, we have the freedom to dream and then pursue our dreams. We do not wait for others to give us the power or permission to move forward; it is our responsibility. If we fall, we get up again and again. We build our own dreams and have the freedom to assume the power to get there. This is just one of the echoes we hear from our Republic, but an important one.
Resources and Further Reading
FINALLY, the Origin of “If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It,” By Catherine Ramirez, Magic Made Today, magicmadebydisney.com, April 27, 2021.
I’M GOING TO WIN, By Denzel Washington, YouTube, youtube.com, ~2021.
Looking Out for #1: How to Get from Where You Are Now to Where You Want to Be in Life, By Robert Ringer, amazon.com, Revised edition, October 30, 2019.
No, Walt Disney Didn’t Say “If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It,” By Brian Delpozo, AllEars, allears.net, March 29, 2025.
Repression, resentment and resilience: A portrait of concentration camp survivors 80 years after their liberation, By Denis Monneuse, The Conversation, theconversation.com, January 23, 2025.
Video Series | Holocaust Survivors Reflect: Memory, Dignity and Justice, United Nations Staff, United Nations Outreach Programme on the Holocaust, un.org, Last accessed August 10, 2025.
Winning Through Intimidation, By Robert Ringer, amazon.com, Revised edition, June 3, 2014.
