We had an interesting meeting 
at my local real estate club here in Las Vegas last week. As I’ve written previously (article), your local real estate club is a great way to make connections with other investors and stay on top of things in your local market. But this past meeting was so much more.
Lately club meetings have focused quite a bit on all of the negative things that have been happening. We have an update from a local investment-oriented real estate agent that gives his take on what he sees out in the street. Lately this has been mostly about foreclosures and REO properties. We also have an update on mortgage and credit provided by a local investor who is not a lender, which gives us an unbiased look at that topic. I usually provide an economic update to the club. Even though I am very much an optimist, that segment of the meeting has been decidedly negative for quite some time.
After the updates we will have our featured speakers. Our club is guru and sales-pitch free, so you generally get good solid information. Typically we will have a couple of investors with expertise in a particular area share tips and techniques for dealing with the current market situation. However, this month’s speaker was totally different. Instead of talking about subject-to deals or finding private money, he talked about hope, pride and a belief in America. It was exactly what the doctor ordered.
An Upbeat Look
He reminded us of all of the good around us. The media focuses on the bad news because that’s what sells. It would seem that people like to hear about people who are worse off than they are. As a result, the newspapers and TV news is filled with murder, mayhem and scandal on a daily basis. If the media only reported good news would anyone pay attention?
He also pointed out that so many people who do good on a daily basis go unnoticed. He spoke of the doctors, nurses, firemen and police officers that are everyday heroes. So often the talk in the news is about the sports stars that use steroids or drugs or spend there off days beating their wives or girlfriends. People place these stars on a pedestal and seem to derive the most fun by knocking them off of it.
What about the 100 million or so people who attend religious services every weekend? What about all of those who volunteer their time in order to better the community in which they live? Instead we here about the people who commit robberies, murders and a host of other crimes. What about the vast majority of our citizens that are law-abiding and productive members of society?
A Brighter Tomorrow
Since 1929 there have been, by most definitions, 13 economic recessions. 
The twelve previous to the current one have all been followed by economic recoveries. Why would this one be any different? Without a doubt the current downturn is a bad one and will probably have a longer than average duration. But America is still a land filled with opportunities for those who choose to pursue them. It was nice to be reminded about how blessed we are to live in this country.
America lives in the heart of every man everywhere who wishes to find a region where he will be free to work out his destiny as he chooses. – Woodrow Wilson
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All time we have to believe, that tomorrow will be brighter, and it really will be so.
A positive outlook won’t change what’s happening in the world, but it will give you a different perspective to work from. It is nice to remember that despite the tough times, it can always be worse, and it can always get better.