Choosing Optimism Leads to Happiness

International President Mark Weinsoff at home in Goleta, California

Mark Weinsoff was not always an optimist. The path to the Presidency of Optimist International took him through careers in radio broadcasting, banking, business ownership and technology management. While he encountered the Optimist Creed early on this path, he did not truly incorporate optimism into his life until 16 years after he joined the Northside Optimist Club of Santa Barbara.

Mark grew up in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. After graduating High School, he moved to Goleta to attend the University of California, Santa Barbara (USCB). He had a plan for a career in radio broadcasting, so he worked at the campus radio station doing music shows, news and public affairs broadcasts, and management roles as traffic manager, music director and program director.

During this time, he gave a tour to a student contemplating transferring to UCSB from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Connie Hammond worked at the radio station at Whitman, and she wanted to be sure that she could continue in radio at her new school. Mark must have been a good tour guide, because she transferred to UCSB and they were married in 1985.

In his senior year at UCSB, Mark was offered the opportunity to be general manager of the campus radio station. He says the experience he gained managing a diverse group of 120 students and community members was more valuable than the classes he took to attain his degree in Business Economics and Communication Studies. He shifted the focus of the station more towards public affairs and community service broadcasting, beginning a lifetime commitment to community service. He also increased fundraising significantly at the station. After graduation, he was hired as the first professional non-student manager of KCSB-FM.

Mark tells the following story about his time as student manager: “I was sitting in my staff advisor Joe Kovach’s office one day when I noticed a framed document on the wall over his shoulder. I will never forget the first time I read the Optimist Creed. I thought to myself 'what a wonderful world this would be if everyone lived by that creed'." Mark was not aware the creed was there because Joe was a Member of the Breakfast Optimist Club of Goleta.

Mark left the radio station to start a new career in banking. He became marketing director and branch manager of a Santa Barbara bank. Three years into his banking career, one of his customers invited him to breakfast with the Northside Optimist Club. Bankers were encouraged to join service Clubs, so he accepted the invitation. When he entered the restaurant for the Optimist Club breakfast, he was surprised to see the Optimist Creed that he remembered seeing in Joe Kovach’s office years earlier. He knew immediately he wanted to be a Member of this Club.

At the time, he thought it would be a good way to contribute to the community in a positive way while cultivating banking business and bringing the Optimist Creed into his life on a regular basis. He did not know it would do much more. Over the following decades, being a member of the Optimist Club would help him lead the life he always wanted. First, another career change was in order. Connie had also changed careers from radio to banking. She was in charge of electronic banking in the early days of automatic teller machines. When their first child Will was born, they decided Mark would be a stay-at-home dad while working out of the house as a financial planner and over the next two years, Will attended Northside Optimist Club meetings every Wednesday with his dad. When their second child Beverlee was born, Connie stayed home with the children. Mark continued working as a financial planner, but he also started attending graduate school at Pepperdine University where he earned a Master’s Degree in Psychology two years later.

In his graduate school studies, Mark was exposed to the field of Positive Psychology which at that time was in its infancy. After graduation from Pepperdine, he decided not to pursue this academically as it would have required him to move away from Santa Barbara, so he started a third career as sole proprietor of a business teaching computer skills to children Four years later, he sold the business when he found a position as a technology manager at his alma mater UCSB.

He spent the next 22 years managing a staff of four people to provide computer services for more than 1,000 staff at UCSB. He also started the Optimist Club @ UCSB, which was comprised of both university students and staff. The best part about the regular hours and paid days off was it enabled him to do two things: expand his role in the Optimist organization beyond his Club activities, and further his objective to research the field of Positive Psychology.

He served as a Distinguished Club President, was twice a Distinguished and Outstanding Lt. Governor before earning the title Distinguished Governor of the Pacific Southwest District of Optimist International. These positions required a great amount of Mark’s free time and after his year as governor, he directed that time toward studying positive psychology, positive organizational behavior and leadership publications.

This is when he finally learned how to live an optimistic life. For years, he believed he was an optimist, yet he always found himself pursuing happiness without finding it. Through his studies in positive psychology, he learned that happiness comes from within. He points out,

Mark learned that a few simple changes in his life would make him a happier person, improve his family life, and make him a better manager at work as well as a more valuable Member of the University community (see the inset in this article to learn what these simple changes were). He also learned that optimism is contagious and attracts people. People want Optimism in their lives, and science has shown that Optimists live happier, healthier, and more successful lives.

Now that Mark had discovered that optimism was the secret to happiness, he wanted to share this with others. He knew that Optimist Clubs could and should be sources of Optimism in their communities and he set about converting the Northside Santa Barbara Club from an Optimist Club to an Optimistic Club. He took the role of President for the second time with the mission to enable the Club to provide Members with the five scientifically proven components of well-being as defined in the book "Flourish" by Martin Seligman, commonly known as the founder of Positive Psychology. Mark uses the acronym OPERA to represent these five elements: Optimism, Purpose, Engagement, Relationships, and Accomplishment.

As Optimist Club President, Mark incorporated activities and reflections of gratitude, positive intent and hope to provide an Optimistic experience at every gathering. The Club continued youth activities that provided Members with meaning and purpose in their lives. He fostered engagement with mindfulness activities such as a savoring walk and the engagement with youth through community service. He encouraged relationship-building activities such as pairing off and sharing with each other what a particular line of the Optimist Creed means. At Optimist Club meetings, he recognized accomplishments of the Members and offered modules in the Personal Growth and involvement program. While none of these elements focused on Membership growth, the Club experienced 41% growth that year. The only change was to provide an optimistic experience at Club meetings.

Feeling that he had proven Optimist Clubs and Members benefitted from Choosing Optimism, Mark started to incorporate this philosophy into his efforts as an Optimist International Vice President, Board Director and Certified International Trainer. He has chosen to make this the theme for the 2020-2021 year, because he knows our organization will be better when we Choose Optimism.