A Fitting End to 2020

As I sit down to write this week’s article, the whole world stands by for the US presidential election. Hopefully the time this article is published, America and the world will know who will reside in the Oval Office come January.

The polls have Biden winning, but did Trump stun everyone again? How did the so-called “silent majority” vote? Was there be a blue wave? A red tsunami? Or, worst-case scenario, is this election in limbo, waiting for votes to be recounted?

Speaking as an outsider, I find it all rather fascinating. One thing’s for sure, 2020 has been a rollercoaster of a ride for all of us. It seems only fitting that we arrived at this pivotal moment in history.

Hyperbole perhaps, but I have for years been concerned about the world’s financial system which decoupled from gold back in 1971. As a result of Nixon’s decision to move away from gold, we’ve been blessed to live at a time of incredible growth.

Take Dubai, back in 1991, it consisted of little more than a few buildings in the middle of a desert. Today, it looks like an oasis. Don’t believe me? Just head over to Google and type in “Dubai 1991 vs today.”

The first photo you’ll find will have you picking your jaw up off the ground. The same can be said for other cities such as Bangkok and Manila which have become sprawling metropolises with some of the most stunning malls you’ll ever see.

On the flip side, we have had bigger and bigger crashes to the economy, the last being in 2008. What amazed me was how few people saw the danger of sub-prime loans. When Lehman Brothers announced bankruptcy, it sent ripples through the system and hit my family hard to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars. Poof. Just like in an episode of South Park, it was gone.

From that point on, I made my financial education a priority, and what I learned amazed me.

Those of you who have read my articles know that I’m a productivity consultant. If you attended one of my lectures, you’d notice that I don’t just focus on time management strategies, but also include a healthy dose of personal development. That’s because, on average, I have spent about two hours a day studying from the likes of Tony Robbins, Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, Brendon Burchard, David Allen, Dan Kennedy and moreover the last 12 years. All the while, I kept my eye on the financial markets.

Covid-19 and the lockdowns that have been initiated all across the globe have pushed our world into uncharted territory. Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (otherwise known as FAANG) have benefitted handsomely from the work-at-home world much of us live in today. On the flip side, the entire tourism industry (airlines, cruise ships, hotels), is hanging on by a thread. With any luck, 2021 brings some much-needed relief for those industries hit hard by the pandemic. Even so, we probably won’t be out of the woods just yet.

That’s why I personally believe the next few years will be critical. This election is so important, not just for those in the US, but for the world as a whole. Maybe I’m wrong, and everything will go back to normal. I sure hope so.

Regardless of whether Trump has been reelected, or Biden was elected the 46^th president, it’s important to remember what my virtual mentor, Jim Rohn, used to say. “It’s not what happens that determines the major part of your future. What happens to us all. It is what we do with what happens that counts.”

Life goes on. We must deal with the cards we are dealt. A bad hand of cards in poker doesn’t mean you’ll lose. We all need to take responsibility for our own lives.

The good news is that thanks to the internet, it’s never been easier to get educated. Jim Rohn taught me another great piece of advice when he said, “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” These words have stuck with me and guided my life ever since.

2020 has been one for the books and it’s still not over. Hopefully, once this election fog clears, we can all move towards a better tomorrow.

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