For me, life is about being positive and hopeful, choosing to be

Hear the radiant words of Billy Porter, spoken not merely as a performer, but as a prophet of resilience: “For me, life is about being positive and hopeful, choosing to be joyful, choosing to be encouraging, choosing to be empowering.” In these words is the secret of a warrior who has faced both scorn and praise, both hardship and triumph, and who has learned that life is not what the world bestows, but what the heart chooses to embody. This is a teaching for all who walk through valleys and peaks alike: that the greatest strength lies in the choices of the soul.

To be positive is not to deny sorrow, but to meet it with light. Darkness surrounds every life—grief, injustice, failure—but to remain hopeful is to declare that night is never final, that dawn will come. Such a spirit cannot be broken by circumstance, for it draws its strength not from what happens, but from the well of faith within. Porter’s words remind us that hope is not a feeling given by fortune—it is a decision, an act of courage renewed each day.

He speaks also of the power of choosing joy. Joy is not the same as pleasure, which comes and goes with fortune’s tide. Joy is deeper, a state of the soul that endures even amidst trial. To choose joy is to lift the heart above bitterness, to celebrate life even in its imperfection. This is not naivety, but strength—the same strength that led enslaved people to sing songs of freedom, lifting their voices above their chains. In this, joy itself becomes an act of defiance, a refusal to surrender the soul to despair.

And then, the call to be encouraging: for life is not only about the self, but about lifting others. The one who encourages becomes like a lantern in the night, guiding weary travelers forward. History shows us this in the life of Harriet Tubman. Though hunted and burdened, she returned again and again to lead others from slavery into freedom. Her strength was not only in her own endurance, but in her power to encourage, to whisper courage into trembling hearts. Such is the power Porter names—the call to be a source of courage for those who falter.

Finally, he speaks of being empowering. This is the highest form of love: not to dominate others, not merely to console them, but to awaken in them their own strength. The empowering person does not say, “Lean on me forever,” but rather, “Rise, for you too can stand tall.” Think of Eleanor Roosevelt, who used her voice to awaken power in women across the world, giving them the courage to claim their rights and their dignity. Empowerment multiplies strength, passing the flame so that others may carry light into the world.

The teaching of Porter’s words is thus: life is not given meaning by wealth, status, or acclaim, but by the choices we make each day. To be positive when the world is bitter, to remain hopeful when others despair, to choose joy when sorrow presses in, to be encouraging and empowering to those around us—this is the life that echoes beyond death. It is the life of the soul that shines like a beacon, lifting others and itself into greatness.

Practical actions flow from this wisdom. Begin each day by naming your choice: today, I will be positive; today, I will guard my heart with hope; today, I will find one thing to celebrate with joy. Seek opportunities to speak words of encouragement to a weary friend, or even to a stranger. When you see someone doubting themselves, do not merely comfort them—empower them, reminding them of the strength already within them. Such daily acts are small, but they accumulate into a life of profound light.

So remember the counsel of Billy Porter: life is about being positive, hopeful, joyful, encouraging, and empowering. These are not fleeting moods, but choices that shape destiny. Embrace them, and you will live not only for yourself, but as a source of strength for generations. For the soul that chooses light in every season becomes unbreakable, a flame that burns long after the body has turned to dust.