Celebrate the Opportunity

As entrepreneurs and business owners, it’s incredibly important for us to stay attune to the world’s financial news. The recognition of trends, niche opportunities and the anticipation of economic movements are nothing short of necessities. However I personally, and I’m sure this resonates with the majority of you reading this, have grown tired of the incessant negativity that is spoon fed the masses daily.

Yes, things are precarious, and there is no definitive, singular resolution for the mess we have found ourselves in. But what I propose is that we begin shift this doomsday, limiting perspective into one that actually celebrates the opportunities this “calamity” has presented. The reality of the situation is that the structure of our larger global system was flawed, and needed massive renovation. Would we have preferred it happened differently? Of course we would. The painful byproducts of corporate irresponsibility, imperialist arrogance and simple greed have touched us all in some manner.

But the momentum has begun, and is ready to be harnessed. We exist in an age where the dissemination of information has created a more democratic and equitable platform for global progress than ever before. Not just in the limiting sense of more consumerism, but more comprehensively as real humanistic responsibility. Of course there will always be classes of wealth, I do not argue against that. But I would argue that they do not have to ignore the principles of mutual benefit. We all can prosper. It does not have to come at the expense of another human being.

The days of corporate monopolies, disguised as mergers, strategic acquisitions and the like are over. Commercial banking is dead. The days of building business on bricks of debt and the mortar of creative financing are over. I personally could go the rest of my life without hearing the word “derivative” ever again! So where does this leave us? Exactly where we should be, reliant on ourselves.

Strangely, no one really discusses with as much fervor about how bad things are, what actually pulled us from the first depression, or the recession of 2001. Entrepreneurs. Innovation. Risk takers. Half of our current Fortune 500 companies were started during a recession. What does this tell us? Well for one, sometimes its takes somebody skinning their knees a bit to get them stand up and do something different. Two, as the old adage goes; “every problem is an opportunity in disguise.”

There are 3 months left before we step into a new decade. How we choose to approach this next chapter, will determine its shape. Fear and unrest, or excitement and positivity.

I choose the latter.