Well, we made it through 2012. It was a tough year with seemingly endless amounts of things to worry about. From the end of America to the end of the world, it seemed like everyone had their own apocalypse story. 2012 saw us through debt ceilings, financial cliffs, dead-end calendars, storms of the century, political scandals, celebrity affairs, and even the death of the invincible Twinkie. Yet, despite the news commentators’ doom and social media viral gloom, we are all still here to welcome in 2013.

For me, I learned a lot in 2012. Most importantly, I learned that we are addicted to fear and worry. Just as important, I also learned that though fear sells, it is a killer to all things productive. Nothing good has ever come out of fear. It squelches innovation and murders ingenuity. Why? Because fear and worry make us lose hope and it is hope that enlightens us and paves the way to better days.

When we have hope, we have the power to conquer what holds us back.  We are able to see the future and look for ways to improve it. The lesson is that we should hope more. When our founding fathers first set their feet to the path that created the United States, they did so because they hoped in a better opportunity. They feared keeping things in the status quo, but they did not let the worry overtake them. Instead, they set their eyes on hope and took action to see their dreams fulfilled. Their hope has created a great legacy. Their hope founded a new nation. Will we now let fear tear down what hope has built?

Whether we are talking about our country, our business, or even our personal lives, hope is a better companion than fear. We must learn to worry less and live more. In 2013, let us drive forward with thoughts of hope and prosperity. Let this be a year of innovation and change brought on by a confident heart. Sure, we do not know what tomorrow will bring but if history is any guide, chances are that tomorrow will bring with it another day.

In 2012, we lived through the end of the world. Now it is time to build a new one. For those of us that survived the end, it is now our time to take control of our lives. 2013 does not find us in a post-apocalyptic state so it is up to us to do what we have always done: look at fear as something to be destroyed rather than as a way to live. The truth is that the only thing we really have to fear is living in another year of spreading new worries or reigniting old ones. This year, I challenge each one of us to live guided by hope. We know what fear can bring; let us use 2013 to test drive hope. We can then compare notes in 2014…unless the solar flares, asteroids, aliens, and communists launch a joint strike against us and we all go up in flames in a nuclear holocaust.

Here is to a great new year!