I have often said that I like to try to predict the future. This materializes most concretely in the area of investing – I think the core being an investor is literally attempting to predict how the world will look in the future. If your view is different from other people, and you are correct, then you win.
However, lately as the markets have played out like a broken record the results of a too-levered too-risk agnostic system, my thoughts have turned from future predicting to future creating…and this brings my thoughts to entrepreneurship.
The world today has many problems:
- A challenged financial system driven by a falling real estate market and a slowing economy.
- A massive and growing national debt.
- Homeowners with too much mortgage debt.
- Middle class families that are being squeezed by expenses ranging from health care to consumer credit.
- An educational system that does an inadequate job for many – especially minority urban youth.
- Environmental challenges.
- A dependence on foreign oil.
- Global poverty and illness.
- A health care system that does not serve the poor.
However, the only way these problems will be solved is if *we* fix them. Thus, the inspiration for entrepreneurship emerges.
Rather than standing by and watching these problems and “predicting” their continuation, instead I think we should try to envision a future where these problems are solved. And further, I think coming up entrepreneurial solutions to these problems is crucial.
And so lately my mind has shifted to this mode of thinking.
I don’t think I could stop the “future predicting” part of me if I tried. But I feel like trying to think about trying to solve these other problems for the next period of time.
Please share any ideas you might have, and I will do the same.
JWu | 23-Oct-08 at 1:43 pm | Permalink
i agree. either make it or sell it… don’t count it.
Sarah Stuart | 23-Oct-08 at 4:38 pm | Permalink
Hi Paranoid Bull:
i agree with you and JWu. You wrote many of the problems of the world right now:
“The world today has many problems:
A challenged financial system driven by a falling real estate market and a slowing economy.
A massive and growing national debt.
Homeowners with too much mortgage debt.
Middle class families that are being squeezed by expenses ranging from health care to consumer credit.
An educational system that does an inadequate job for many – especially minority urban youth.
Environmental challenges.
A dependence on foreign oil.
Global poverty and illness.
A health care system that does not serve the poor.”
taken from your text
But I would like to know in practice how would you solve these problems. It’s true America could follow the Netherlands example, for example :p and invest in education and in health. These are the foundations of a country. Why?
Well, for many reasons, but in some extent, if you have educated people you will have eventually a shift in the global perspective of the world or everything around and so, it’s probable that you can stop having few “fighting” for many and start having “many” fighting for the rest of the few.
The thing about good and bad actors is that maybe you will be able to distinguish in between them, maybe you won’t but in my opinion that shouldn’t make any difference at the beginning. What am i saying? I am saying that if you base a law in judging behaviors maybe you do not have access at, you are probably going few times to condemn innocents because the trends pointed that way. So what would be the solution? When you benefit a village for example, you are not going to benefit just the “good people” who go to the church every sunday morning, you are going to benefit everyone in there. This is your start.
What happens then has to do with the person him or her self and can only be pointed or concluded after the change has started. If the person after this doesn’t follow the law, then your problem of bad actor comes to an end.
It is easy indeed, because bad actors usually maintain their roles so becomes easy to find them in the middle of the mist.
This is just my opinion.
I would like to hear your ideas about how to change every one of those points you wrote before. I haven’t thought about them yet, so I really don’t have any ideas right now to share. This is an interesting topic for me, so I’m glad you post these texts and make an opened discussion about it.
I will think about the topics too and I’ll let you know what come up. If you are willing to interact this way, of course!
Let’s create the future! I’m up to it!