Security at warp speed
The world-it is a changing-I think Bob Dylan said something like that in the ‘60’s. Those words were never more true today, where the things you count on can be taken away in a nanosecond. That’s the bad news.
Here’s the good news: with the right re-adjustment of energy and attitude, you can use the rapid change to your advantage. Yes, you can really position yourself to benefit from the breakdown or weakening of traditional sources of security.
To do so you have to adjust two very important energy sources:
A. The fear response- If you are American-and most readers of this blog are- you have been brought up to believe that the United States Government and the dollar are pretty much invincible. Recent events in Congress with the debt battle, and the downgrade of the United States by Standard & Poor, call this in question. Predictably, the response of world markets is a huge sell-off fueled by fear of the unknown. Here’s a great reason not to join in: If you are consumed by fear, you can’t take care of the business right in front of your noses. Also, and perhaps more importantly, you will not be able to see the unfolding
opportunities created by most people’s fears, and those opportunities can be great.
B. The emotional response- This is related to the energy of fear, but goes even deeper. The recent downgrade
of the United States by Standard & Poor touches an emotional nerve, because to many people the security of
the United States is linked inextricably to its economic security; the United States was always seen as a safe haven.
Is this the end of that perception? Hardly. Standard & Poor is only one of three credit rating bureaus, and
the other two credit bureaus did not downgrade the United States from its AAA rating. In a way, the downgrade by
Standard & Poor performs a very valuable service to the United States and its people, if it is taken that way:
it is a wake up call to all politicians to end contentiousness and polarization. It is also a not so subtle sign
that there are other economies in the world that are ascending fast(do I have to say China?) and to remain number
one the United States needs to get its house in order. Remember: a house divided cannot stand.
Once the initial fear/emotional response is over in the market, it will be interesting to see if our politicians
“get it,” or if they just revert to the blame game. This will no doubt affect future economic gyrations that get
all the headlines. But those headlines don’t have to affect you so drastically, unless you let them de-moralize you.
The big challenge is to remain in charge of your individual economic lives, and steer them in the right
direction, regardless of what the government does, or what negative headlines may arise. In order to do so,
you must recondition yourself and overcome the fear/emotional energy so prevalent today.
