“I was raised in inner-city Dublin and never met my dad. One St. Patrick’s Day my neighbor was drunkenly killed with a golf club. It’s a miracle I got out of that place. Technology—the internet—saved my life, almost literally. I want to make the world more rationally optimistic to give the next million kids in rough situations the best chance to flourish.”

Stephen writes the Rational Optimist Diary and co-hosts the Rational Optimist Show. He’s also an investor and entrepreneur.

“I used to be a pessimist, probably because I graduated college in 2008 and started my first job in finance in NYC during the financial crisis. But it’s true what they say: Pessimists sound smart, optimists make money. I first came to appreciate optimism in investing... then realized rational optimists live happier lives, have better careers, and raise happier kids. Why be anything else?”

Dan edits the Rational Optimist Diary and co-hosts the Rational Optimist Show. He’s also an entrepreneur and a certified public accountant.

As a pioneer in writing thoughtful investment research newsletters for individual investors, John has long urged readers to prepare for what he calls The Age of Transformation. His message is fundamentally optimistic. Powerful new technologies are converging to reshape our economy. They will improve the world more in the next 20 years than the last 100, including a revolution in biotechnology that will eliminate many diseases, add healthy, happy, active years to your life, and perhaps slow aging.

But the short term will be tumultuous, in large part because overindebted governments will struggle to maintain control:

“It’s not too much of a stretch to say we’re in a race between how much wealth and value and improvement in lifestyles human ingenuity can create versus how much destruction of wealth and lifestyles governments can cause.”

John is a founding member of the Rational Optimist Society. He’s also an author, speaker, entrepreneur, macroeconomic analyst, and investor. His weekly newsletter, Thoughts from the Frontline, was one of the first free e-letters to deliver independent research to individual investors. Today, it is one of the most widely distributed macro newsletters in the industry.

"I came to the United States in 1983. I discovered that with hard work and a can-do attitude, my dreams could come true. Setbacks happen but an optimist always looks for solutions and eventually finds them. As an entrepreneur and organizational leader, I always surround myself with optimists. They solve the biggest challenges and make every day better."

We founded the Rational Optimist Society to give needed hope to younger generations. We need their optimism in order to drive progress and solve the challenges of our time.

Olivier is a co-founder of the Rational Optimist Society. He’s also an entrepreneur, CEO, and investor.

"When I was 19 years old, I learned that if I studied something I loved every day for an hour or two, in no time I would develop the skills needed to succeed. It is that simple.

In today’s world, the opportunities for self-learning are mind-blowing, and anyone can become almost anything they want without racking up the debt previously associated with a first-class education.

Take even a little time to understand the dynamics of today’s rapidly blossoming world—and the tremendous opportunities now available—and you cannot help but be optimistic about the future."

David Galland, co-founder of the Rational Optimist Society and a contributing editor, divides his time between England and rural Argentina where he is currently a partner in a company pushing the boundaries of wine production at extreme-altitude vineyards.

"In the mid-2000s, I was a partner in two start-ups and an executive at a fast-growing healthcare company. Life was amazing. Then the financial crisis hit. All three businesses failed and, as they say, I got rinsed. I had a negative net worth!

With the help of my steadfast wife, I turned around and got back in the game. Today I’m happier, healthier, and wealthier than ever. How? I won the birth lottery. I was lucky enough to be born in the US, where dreams still come true. Where despite all the negativity in the press and all the political division, a kid from a small town who grew up kinda poor got not one, but two chances to achieve great things.

Knowing how good things are today is a key element to making tomorrow even better. Once you know, you can’t help but be a rational optimist."

Ed D’Agostino is a partner and the COO at Mauldin Economics, an advisor to a national real estate investment fund, and an investor in knowledge-based businesses. He is the host of the Global Macro Update podcast.