Thanksgiving 2017: Prosperity, Collapse and the Future

I’m sitting here on my deck looking out over thousands of acres of wilderness, a cool breeze blowing and my dog at my feet.  Today being Thanksgiving I sat here for a while pondering what I am thankful for, and also wondering why we need a specific day to remind us to be thankful altogether.  Nonetheless I thought back over the last couple decades and the ebb and flow that my life and that of my family and I consider myself very fortunate to be where I am today.  As a matter of fact I am thankful for that fact every single day, although sometimes the rat race clouds my vision and things that probably don’t really matter at all get way too much attention.

I shot a text to my family earlier and mentioned that although there are many issues, we are blessed to live in the greatest country in the world.  Our freedoms are unparelled, our ability to succeed or fail is tied (mostly) to our own willingness to grind.  This allows for great success but also provides none if not very little in the way of a backstop when failure occurs.  I prefer it that way actually, having been on the serious struggle and hustled into a better position (no doubt not totally of my own volition, I believe in Divine help as well) over time.

The Calm Before the Storm

With the exception of a few outliers the audience for this type of publication is rather narrow I would suspect, this because folks are enjoying the times of plenty.  The harvest is in so to speak, the barns are full, the outlook is promising.  Yet throughout history times of plenty are always followed by times of want, need and desperation.  Folks get lured into thinking that prosperity will last forever and when it stops they are left wondering how things crashed so quickly.

Who among us even considers that what happened during the last crash could happen again and maybe even to a greater extreme?  Could the market continue to rise without end?  Consumer confidence and the economy forever expanding?  Limitless profits and prosperity for decades to come?

To believe the above is rather foolish in my opinion, but who am I as I certainly do not fall into the economic expert category.  Granted I do not have a crystal ball but we all know the best indicator of future performance is past performance.  Or…what goes around comes around.  Or….what cannot go on forever, WILL STOP.

Decisions Decisions

Here’s what not to do:

1- Live every day in fear of what may or may not happen.

2- Completely ignore the future and the potential for disaster that it holds, with no plans / preps in place.

What do to:

1- Be the squirrel, stack the nuts.  Supplies, monetary items, etc.

2- Educate those you live with and care about, as to the potential that exists.

3- Control what you can, what happens 1000 miles away in Wall Street certainly is out of the span of control but the 2nd and 3rd order effects can and will eventually trickle down.

4- Enjoy the good times because they could last for another year, 5, decade or more.

5- Understand when the bad times come, it will be every family for themselves.  Have a backup plan, and then a backup to that backup.

Final Thoughts

There is a great amount for all of us to be thankful for on this day, of that I’m certain.  I have often stated that our greatest threats are localized distasters and stand by that statement.  Yet another “big one” is on the way, when it actually occurs is anyone’s best guess.  Today take the opportunity to reflect on where you are and where you want to be if/when things go south and what actions you can take to mitigate those risks.