The first decade of the 21st-Century has been packed with history-making change and it's not finished yet. Online and off there is a lot of noise about The Recovery--intermixed with just as much silent despair.

When you review what has happened in your life and career during these years, would you say you're learning from experience or are you just reacting to the latest "sound byte"?

  • Habits do not change themselves. What have you decided to deliberately unlearn about money management and home ownership? Are you consciously replacing out-of-date approaches with fresh, progressive thinking and actions?

  • Drop the good intentions and take action. Which lessons learned by you and others are you incorporating to improve returns on home ownership, in purchasing recreational property and when selecting a real estate investment?

  • The seeds of tomorrow are planted today. The seeds of the global collapse were planted a decade ago with deregulation. Your current actions and inaction will have repercussions in the years ahead. Act to create the future you want, or go with the flow and settle for what happens -- it's your choice.

Without conscious effort, hindsight remains the most common approach to evaluating the future. "If only I'd ..." is a dangerous habit in business and in life. This phrase needs to be replaced by "Thinking ahead really paid off ...". Is second-guessing yourself with after-the-fact wisdom your principal method of analyzing opportunity? Anticipation is power. Practice projecting your goals and strengths. When you automatically visualize probable repercussions and benefits of actions and inaction, you've developed a powerful, constructive habit.

For instance, where real estate markets have "heated up," buyers are reportedly caught up in bidding wars again. Are buyers spending borrowed money--thousands or tens of thousands over list price--because they are snared by hype or egged on by competition? Or, do they accept the risks because they astutely anticipated greater benefit?

  • Was the list price set to entice a bidding contest? This marketing strategy has a proven-potential for exciting buyers to pay more.

  • Have current buyers learned the financial folly of paying peak prices for a property by examining the folly of others who over-extended themselves?

  • Have buyers considered the expanded price in terms of mortgage payments and renewal when rates increase in the near future?

  • Do buyers realize that, if their "winning bid" represents top price for the neighbourhood, their home may help property values for surrounding homes, but may compromise the value of their relatively over-priced real estate?

  • Do buyers ask their real estate professional what they could purchase for the same price in a better area?

This is one illustration of how past behaviour and "we've always done it that way" thinking may not be the best approach for creating a secure, satisfying future. Which seeds for your future are you planting now?

  • The Cure Is Worse: Huge government debt and taxpayer indebtedness were the chosen cure for widespread financial collapse. How is this long-term debt going to define your future? On top of that, this is a society based on encouraging consumer spending to drive the economy for the benefit of everyone, but consumers. Then, in an economic downturn, consumers are berated for their spending and accumulated debt. How many consumers have finally decided the boom-and-bust pattern based on their debt and risk may not be the best approach for managing their finances and their future?

  • Expect The Unexpected: Too often emergency preparedness is not considered a lifestyle or a business priority. The global meltdown has proven how expensive that attitude can be. The recession has revealed to many that desperately searching for solutions in the midst of crisis can be frustrating or futile. However, as long as contingency strategies are seen as separate from life or business, not much will change.

In my experience, when you don't believe opportunity exists, you won't see it -- even when it stares you in the face. For instance, entrepreneurs may experience a shift toward contingency thinking when marketing and business-development opportunities associated with this forward thinking become clear to them. Problem solving in advance of trouble can reveal networking, relationship-building and communication advantages.

The October 2009 Amex Small Business Monitor, reported that time and money are seen as key obstacles to preparedness for Canadian entrepreneurs -- excuses that property owners use, too. "Almost half of small business owners are unfamiliar with the practice of business continuity planning, which gives owners the ability to deal with everyday disruptions such as illness, flood, fire, power outages, computer viruses and Internet failures."

According to the American Express survey, "small business owners find it difficult to address the threat: 80% of respondents said preparing for potential disruptions is lower on their to-do list, or not even on their radar." The Monitor revealed that the majority of surveyed Canadian small business owners haven't acted on practical precautions, like flu-season staffing strategies, which cost little or nothing and save time and money. Which proactive steps have you taken in your life and business to anticipate and mitigate unwelcome disruptions? Usually, it's not "if" but "when" that is the unknown.

  • Interest rates are a perfect example of "not if but when" reality. Many lenders are already raising rates on lines of credit and lowering borrowing limits, so it's not as financially rosy out there as the record-low bank rate might indicate. If you anticipate higher interest rates and higher taxes, what would you do differently today to continue making progress in your life and business?

How are you preparing for the best possible future?

Source: What's Your Point? [ What's Your Point? ], American Express Canada