3 Exciting Reasons Why The Future is Going to Be Awesome
Family Update: My third child, Alex, had his 7th birthday last week. That’s a BIG deal for a 7 year-old. Considering it was his special day, Alex got to choose the dinner menu. So what did he request? Hot dogs and mashed potatoes. We feasted on hot dogs and mashed potatoes!
Last week I was chatting to a faithful listener of my radio program who said to me: “Dave, what I like about your show is that you are so optimistic. I am so sick and tired of all the doom and gloom on the radio.”
While I appreciated the compliment, I couldn’t help but think to myself, “But I’m NOT optimistic. I am realistic.”
The mainstream financial media is so relentlessly negative and combative, that if some guy shows up pointing out some encouraging historical date, he is branded as an optimist.
So without further ado, it is time for me to be truly optimistic.
The future is awesome. Can you even imagine what kind of scientific breakthroughs we are going to see in the next twenty years?
Clean drinking water is a global crisis that causes an untold number of deaths each year across the world. Did you know that in the next two years, a product is being rolled out that can transform salt water into drinking water using minimal energy? It’s called the Slingshot and it was developed by the same visionary who created the Segway.
This means that within ten years, the human population could have unlimited clean drinking water (the planet is made up of 71% water- so it’s not like we are running out).
And what about unlimited energy? Solar panels are 97% more efficient than they were in the 1970’s and the technology is advancing at breakneck speeds. Within a decade, solar power will be cheaper to produce than power from fossil fuels. Within twenty years, it is not outside the realm of possibilities that we could possess unlimited free energy.
And if we have unlimited water and unlimited energy, do you know what that means? Unlimited food! This is not science fiction. This is happening.
So what does this have to do with your money? I can’t help but think these innovations are going to help the world economy. The lightbulb was patented in 1879 for goodness sakes. That was only 140 years ago.
Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, PayPal, Intel- these are all relatively new publicly traded companies that have made vast fortunes for their shareholders. This is not going to stop.
I want to be clear, I am not prognosticating. Could we enter into World War III and find ourselves in some sort of post-apocalyptic wasteland? I suppose. But make sure you don’t confuse possibilities with probabilities.
Could the economy descend into unprecedented chaos with banks failing and currencies collapsing? I suppose. But I’d rather focus on the fact that for 200 years this planet has been advancing at a breathtaking rate. I’m excited about the future (and you should be too!).
And by the way, if the economy DOES collapse, does it really matter where you have your money in the first place? We are all on the same sinking ship at that point.
We are living in a golden age of human development. Turn off the financial news and enjoy the ride.
Be Blessed! (and encouraged)
Dave
Consumer Alert! Consumer Alert!
I, like you, am bombarded with scary rhetoric about the economy from all angles. Articles, radio, tv….everywhere. I like to point out, from time to time, especially blatant examples of this fear-mongering.
Here it is: A History Of Economic Cycles Going Back to the 1850’s Suggests a Recession is Near. (link).
This appeared on CNBC’s website. I want to say this without sounding too upset: Nobody knows when the stock market is going to go up or down. It is INCREDIBLY irresponsible for the news media to publish something like this (especially someone like CNBC).
Not to mention the guy who wrote the article was the “chief economist” for AIG which had to be bailed out by the government to escape bankruptcy in 2008! Pay attention to the news source. Anytime anyone starts prognosticating about what direction the economy is heading: change the station or turn the page. A diversified, disciplined, long-term investing strategy works. Period.
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