Today’s Solutions: February 01, 2026

By The Optimist Daily Team

“Ideas of every kind are constantly galloping toward us, constantly pass through us, constantly trying to get our attention.” Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic

In today’s Optimist Emissary conversation we covered the top four stories from the last month, including a discussion of the best ways to get enough protein while following a vegan diet, an update on the Ocean Clean-up project, how a new neighborhood in Mexico made out of 3D printed homes will house 50 families in need, and the extraordinary efforts of an organization to end dirt floors across the world. These stories have been the most read and shared by The Optimist Daily audience and we are excited to see the proliferation of solutions. We love seeing the way that ideas that come from Ted Talks and graduate projects are turning into earth-saving, community improving and wellness expanding work. Keep sharing, Emissaries! 

Our conversation continued with a discussion with Emissaries from around the world from India to Albuquerque about ways that they are putting Optimism first in their communities. Harriet, in India, expressed a desire to find ways to connect The Optimist Daily’s mission with a local Management Institute and further the commitment to “good for the world” leadership thinking in business.  A key goal for The Optimist Daily in 2020 is to bring the solutions and positive thinking offline and into local groups, perhaps “Emissary” book club-type gatherings for example, and we expanded on how this might come about. 

We discussed our relationship with money, both on a personal and institutional level and Emissary Francesca shared her readings from Sarah McCrum (Love money: Money loves you) and the soon to be published Gale West (Money come Dance with Me).  Lynne Twist’s book, The Soul of Money is another fantastic resource in repositioning the role money can play in healing the world. (Lynne is also an Optimist Emissary, by the way!)

Emissaries also weighed in with questions about partner organizations and other businesses that are doing good and spreading meaningful content in similar and expanded spaces. Rinaldo, who has worked at the inception of many of these organizations, shared his experience in helping them grow. Thank you, Richard, for offering that into the discussion! 

Our commitment to you with these Emissary Conversations is to provide a space to share what’s working, tell us what we can do better, and offer ideas on how you see solutions where others might only see problems. Our ask for each of you this holiday season is to spread the gift of optimism and share The Optimist Daily with your friends and family – either with a free subscription or an Emissary Membership. 

Enjoy today’s conversation and we’ll meet again in the New Year! 

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