Now, knowing all this PLUS being confronted with
- Religious Fanaticism here and abroad
- Global Economic ‘contractions’ as we have not seen them since the great depression
- A world which is driven by technology and changes now every 5 years instead of every 100 years or more
- Populations which are NOT interested in doing what they/ we have to do, but only what they/we want to do… and
- Politicians, who become elected by promising exactly THAT, whether it makes sense, is realistic or not.
- Weapons of mass destruction in the hand of fanatics (i.e. North Korea, Iran, Pakistan (Venzuela?) etc.) and the increasing likelihood of those weapons to “fall” into the hands of terrorists.
What might our future look like??
Well, as with everything, the answers to that question will of course depend on who you ask (and what their agenda is). Since my sole agenda is to grow PBA, helping all partners to be successful and our candidates to become (somewhat) independent from the (economic) mess (and effects thereof) we are all facing, provide for and raise my children to become good & responsible & productive citizens, become a better husband and man, leave this world a better place than I found it, here is what I think has the highest likelihood to happen:
- Within the next 12 months to 2 years we will have another global economic collapse (similar to the Great Depression)
- Within the next 10 years, we will see MANY more natural (& man-made) disasters (which include potential ‘virus outbreaks’, due to man made experiments and/or how we ‘produce’ protein (pigs/chicken etc.)
- We will see ‘emerging countries’ who put a lot of their resources and finances into renewable energy (and by that gaining a competitive advantage over other nations, like China does over the U.S. right now).
- We will see ‘Charismatic Leaders’ emerging ‘out of nowhere’ who promise ‘the people’ everything they/we want to hear, but who will be making things much worse and wreaking havoc for the country/world…
- We will see civil ‘unrest’ triggered by natural disasters (think Katrina/ floods in Pakistan etc.) as well as more and more people STARVING due to the deteriorating economical conditions…
- We will see (more) wars fought over (the last) natural resources (instead of investing into/working on renewable resources).
- We will see discretionary income & spending dramatically decline and a renewed focus on basic items like food, shelter, clothing, energy and security.
- We are and will see many more business opportunities focused on that versus the ‘fancy stuff’ everybody wants, but nobody needs.
- We will have the leaders of the ‘free world’ ask their citizens publicly to start small businesses (already happening here in the U.S.), because they KNOW that they cannot fix this mess, only small businesses can, being the largest employer and tax payer every capitalistic society around the world has.
- We will find that people will start valuing ‘small things’ more than they are today (similar to what we saw after 9/11, because crisis brings out both the worst AND the best in people.
- We will teach our children how to become entrepreneurs instead of employees, because as a population we lose all faith in larg(er) corporations.
- We will become more independent and open-minded and therefore STRONGER as a people and nation(s).
- We will experience a long time of ‘discomfort’ and hardship and change before things will start to look better (for our children?).
- We will become ‘micro-economies’, will DE-centralize (i.e.. local communities will become more self-reliable, plant/ raise their own food locally, small business will serve the local population, big distributors (i.e. Walmart, BestBuys etc.) will become less prevalent, in a nutshell we will get back to how we did business and lived before the industrialization (but this time WITH the creature comforts and added efficiency modern technologies provide.
- We will drive less and work more out of our homes.
- Even in rural communities small biz owners will be/ are able to access/ communicate and cater to world markets (like it happened in/ for India).
- We will never go back to the excess and waste we have experienced/ lived during the end of the last/ beginning of this millennium.
- The ‘party’ is over, let the new times begin and EMBRACE them with open arms/ minds and hearts!
It’s OK to be scared, it’s NOT OK to be paralyzed or refuse to see and acknowledge our new reality. Only if we are willing to look at the truth for what it is –just the truth- will we be able to not only survive, but MASTER (the dawn of) the new times which have already begun.
I am confident that we will prevail, but it will take time, because people have a natural tendency to cling to what they are familiar with, which not only slows down the natural process of evolution, but also makes them part of the problem, instead of the solution.
This is NOT going to happen to PBA. In the year 2004 we already had pictures of the great depression on our website and back then many (executive candidates) laughed at us and said “you guys are nuts’, this is not going to happen again in the foreseeable future”. I’m sure that after reading this little chapter many will say the same again.
It doesn’t matter though. What does matter is that those who (are willing to) acknowledge our new reality have found a place and a future –for themselves, their families and their peers.
Read More Articles at Personal Business Advisors
http://www.personalbusinessadvisors.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment