On October 17, 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake rocked Northern California. The quake collapsed a freeway, took a chunk out of the Bay Bridge, and wrecked my friend’s office. The next day his business took a hit as every client cancelled their engagements for months into the future.
I didn’t know about this until recently. COVID-19 was causing clients in his industry to cancel engagements. I asked how he was doing, but he wasn’t worried. “I’ve been through this before,” he told me. “I’ve got a game plan.”
Adversity Tests Us
The world is in upheaval just now. These times will test us like earlier adversity tested our parents and grandparents. On the other side of this we will be different. We have the best odds of being better if we dig in, choose to act, and make the best of things.
During the Great Recession, my wife and I hunkered down to wait things out. We sat on several years worth of cash and waited. Because we waited, we missed many fine opportunities. We learned an important lesson.
In turbulent times, drifting is not a good strategy. The current is likely to take you places you wouldn’t choose to go. The best bet is to take control and act to make things better. My friend and I both learned lessons in the past that we’re using today.
What About You?
My friend and I learned important lessons from dealing with adversity. But that was then. Today there are new challenges to meet and opportunities to seize. It’s not easy and it won’t be comfortable, but it offers the best possibility to make tomorrow better.
What are you doing today to make tomorrow better?
-o0o-
Terry Moore, CCIM, is the author of Building Legacy Wealth: How to Build Wealth and Live a Life Worth Imitating. Read his “Welcome to My Blog.”