During this season of Thanksgiving, reflecting on the many things for which we are thankful is only amplified when put in perspective with the news of today presenting the challenges facing so many people: 1 in 8 Americans and nearly 1 in 4 children are on food stamps; a record 49 million Americans had trouble finding enough to eat in 2008 (note: data is a year old, with every reason to believe the numbers are higher now); job loses are continuing to mount, and we will probably be 11%-plus unemployment number by next summer; the growing number of uninsured, the cost of employers to deliver health care coverage for 160 million Americans has surged 31% in the last five years; the equity and commodity markets have priced in a 5% GDP (2010) for the US and much of the developed world, but there are many who are expecting a lower growth figure of 2%; reportedly, the US will be dispatching an additional 34,000 troops to Afghanistan over the next year; global debt issues reducing the chances for a solid economic recovery.
This is just a glimpse of all the bad news we read about daily, without beginning to mention the problems facing people in other parts of the globe. However, I remain optimistic, since I’m one of those inflicted with the “to do the next deal” gene. Call it doing “psychic-business” if you like, but it’s all about setting goals and generating ideas that make good things happen. So far I have either been talented or lucky enough to make good things happen. The future is never easy for most of us, yet we figure out how to make the best of what we have and what we are able to generate. By working out of the visions of our psychic-business, we are able to make the real world a better place.
This attitude is not pure folly. While there is much that is negatively impacting our daily situations, there are more positive things happening that will result in a better future. Over the next few decades we are going to see a new wave of global information sharing and education, resulting in new ideas and new businesses unlike ever seen in the history of human-kind. Results are already evident as the ideas of one person are shared over the Internet, resulting in a matrixing (the result of sharing ideas, forming a “we”) that will help make advances in ways currently unimaginable. As we are better able to solve environment, energy, medicine, transportation, jobs, political, social and moral challenges, our biggest challenge may be in helping people adapt to the disruptive side effects of such accelerating change, and the fact that such change may result in a society of individuals lacking the convivial tools to effectively survive the disruption.
It is the nature of an optimist to always be thinking of how he/she can improve their personal lot, even if it’s only to make it through the day. By doing so, we are looking for new opportunities that will help us open the doors for tomorrow’s new opportunities. Remember, today’s opportunity may be tomorrow’s loss, therefore I feel blessed to be inflicted with the “to do the next deal” gene.
This blog entry shares images of some of our family that illustrate why I feel it’s important to be optimistic about the future. To be a pessimist is to never be in the business of making the future better. I therefore give thanks for there being a future to which we can give toward making it a better place for all.
kenne
. . . and we thank you.