The Intern View: The Rules of Optimism By Ethan Maliskas

As Lincoln’s summer internship programs concluded, the interns got together for the eighth and final Executive Speaker Series session with Will Fuller, President of Annuity Solutions, LFD & LFN. The overarching topic of discussion for this session was optimism, the last of the Lincoln’s eight leadership expectations. With over 20 years of professional experience, Will was able to offer his insights and experiences to demonstrate how he has leveraged optimism, and how the summer interns can use optimism in their future careers.

The Core Values of Optimism

In his opening remarks, Will explained that there is a certain reality to optimism. “We do not look at the world through rose-colored glasses, but we need to be steely-eyed realists,” he said while describing how in professional and personal life, you have to understand that not everything is perfect, and despite that, we should be optimistic. He continued to explain that we should, “Withstand stress, withstand pressure and move forward.”

Will used the late Kobe Bryant’s optimistic mindset as an example. Bryant lived by ten rules of optimism:

1.    Get better every single day

2.    Prove them wrong

3.    Work on your weakness

4.    Execute what you practiced

5.    Learn from greatness

6.    Learn from wins and losses

7.    Practice mindfulness

8.    Be ambitious

9.    Believe in your team

10. Learn storytelling

The Challenges of Optimism

Will emphasized the importance of understanding what optimism truly is because, at times, optimism can be difficult to maintain. “One thing you can count on is you will be met with challenges,” he said, as described the times during his professional career where optimism was difficult to hold on to -- such as during the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 when he was with Merrill Lynch.

Will explained that with there will always be inevitable challenges presented to us, whether personal or professional, but, “An optimistic person has the ability to move forward and heal.” Will attributes his steadfast hold on optimism to his time at The Citadel, a military college in South Carolina.

Executing Optimism

In the attempt to encourage optimism, Will told the interns to ask themselves, “How will you perform? Your best effort on Monday might not be your best effort ever, but it should be your best for that day.” he said.

Putting your best foot forward is what someone with optimism should do to excel in their professional and personal lives. “It’s the little successes that, over time, lead to be end goal.”

The Intern Perspective

As I have concluded my summer internship with Lincoln, I think optimism was the ideal leadership expectation on which to end because this internship program was one based on sheer optimism. Will referred to this internship class as the “patient zero” of an internship experience due to the quick shift to a virtual environment. Nothing over the past few months has been what anyone has expected , but like Will said, real optimism comes from withstanding the stress, withstanding the pressure, and maintaining a forward focus. And that, in my opinion, is a perfect way to encapsulate the past eight weeks of the Lincoln Internship Development Program.