“I’d rather be a sucker than a cynic.”

A journalist was investigating a group of people panhandling on a street corner.

Turns out…they weren’t actually homeless.

They were running a scheme.

So the journalist tracked down someone who had been giving money to one of them and asked:

“How do you feel about that?”

The response?

“I’d rather be a sucker than a cynic.”

That hit me.

Because it speaks to something deeper than that situation alone.

It speaks to how we choose to show up in the world.

The truth is…

We rarely know what people are actually going through.

Someone can look completely “fine” on the outside…

…but be walking through:

-a divorce
-a career collapse
-an identity crisis

And yet they’re standing in line at the grocery store like everyone else.

It’s so easy to become cynical and assume the worst.

But there’s something powerful about choosing empathy.

About choosing to believe the best… even when it costs you.


In the full episode, Danielle Bruno Baldwin shares the difference between “inspired by” and “inspired to,” why inspiration at work is so rare, and how leaders can intentionally create conditions in which people don’t just show up but run through walls for the mission.

If you care about leadership, inspiration, and how we connect with people in a world that’s becoming more disconnected…

You’ll want to listen to this one.

Check out the episode HERE.