CHAPTER 6
Communicating Optimism and Hope
Leaders are dealers in hope.
NAPOLEONLonger than anyone else, decade after decade after decade, Billy
Graham has been included in Good Housekeeping’s most-admired
list. Over the years, presidents and other luminaries have
appeared, then faded. But Billy has always been at or near the top
of the list.
One day Fred Smith, who had chaired one of Billy’s Cincinnati
crusades, asked us, “Have you thought about the Good Housekeep-
inglist?”
“Not particularly.”
“Take a close look. Every person on it is positive.”
When thinking about those who have appeared on the list,
images come quickly to mind. Dwight Eisenhower’s big, broad
smile. John F. Kennedy’s vigor and crinkly-eyed humor. Billy Gra-
ham’s warm gaze beside his wife, Ruth. Yes, year after year, vir-
tually everyone on the list is positive, including Billy Graham. He
may talk about sin and its tragic effects, but we resonate with his
positive message of new life and hope.
But here is a remarkable thing we learned. His family nick-
named him Puddleglum.
Puddleglum?
When we first read that fact in a publication from Billy’s own
organization, we were taken aback and puzzled. Puddleglum is a
character in C. S. Lewis’s book series, the Chronicles of Narnia. A