I had the opportunity to attend the MDRT annual meeting in June 2009.
Some personal thoughts... As far as I can observe and understand, the situation in the US is not as bleak as was painted. There seems to be 2 different worlds in America, one that is shaped by the television (let's call them the CNN followers) and another that is led by the entrepreneurs. The CNN followers has a world that is fixated on bad news and bad expectations. Everything centers around what “President Obama” did or did not do. In fact, after spending time watching the news in the US, I am so appreciative of the reporting we enjoy in Singapore which really tells the news instead of opinions.
The other group (the entrepreneurs) talks about it being a “slow but not a bad economy”. The spirit is strong, the attitude is positive and they seem to see their future “delinked” from what President Osama will or will not do. In fact, one top US financial advisor said that his business is the best it has ever been because so many advisors are leaving the business and no one is serving the “orphan clients”. Now, he gets so much referrals he is struggling for time. By the way, this financial advisor is 88 years old!
My point is the entrepreneurial nature of the Americans is very strong and my personal guess is they will emerge from this crisis stronger.
Not to say that everything will be fine tomorrow but no one is talking about a “total meltdown and the global economy starting from ground zero” anymore. The general consensus is that the economy will be out of recession next year and if history is any teacher, the markets will recover before the economy so let's all hope for more good news for the rest of the year!
Some personal thoughts... As far as I can observe and understand, the situation in the US is not as bleak as was painted. There seems to be 2 different worlds in America, one that is shaped by the television (let's call them the CNN followers) and another that is led by the entrepreneurs. The CNN followers has a world that is fixated on bad news and bad expectations. Everything centers around what “President Obama” did or did not do. In fact, after spending time watching the news in the US, I am so appreciative of the reporting we enjoy in Singapore which really tells the news instead of opinions.
The other group (the entrepreneurs) talks about it being a “slow but not a bad economy”. The spirit is strong, the attitude is positive and they seem to see their future “delinked” from what President Osama will or will not do. In fact, one top US financial advisor said that his business is the best it has ever been because so many advisors are leaving the business and no one is serving the “orphan clients”. Now, he gets so much referrals he is struggling for time. By the way, this financial advisor is 88 years old!
My point is the entrepreneurial nature of the Americans is very strong and my personal guess is they will emerge from this crisis stronger.
Not to say that everything will be fine tomorrow but no one is talking about a “total meltdown and the global economy starting from ground zero” anymore. The general consensus is that the economy will be out of recession next year and if history is any teacher, the markets will recover before the economy so let's all hope for more good news for the rest of the year!
