It’s an old joke, and it takes a few different forms. One version features the parents of twins, alarmed by their children’s starkly different outlooks on life. In another, two students, armed with shovels, are left alone in a room as part of a scientific experiment. Some variations take place on Christmas morning.

Yet a few narrative elements are always the same: There’s a pessimist, an optimist, and a giant pile of horse manure.

No matter the details, the joke goes that one child is angry and disappointed, while the other—the optimist—digs excitedly into the pile.

Why? Because the optimist believes that with all that manure, there’s got to be a pony somewhere.

I believe in the pony in the pile. I believe in higher-quality content even as companies are pressured to produce more of it than ever. I believe in the power of authenticity, the intelligence of your audiences, and in my client’s abilities to chart an optimistic path forward amidst a swirl of disruptive change.