2015 – Beyond doom & gloom lie possibilities & opportunities

I am glad to announce to you that 2015 is not a peculiar year, not by any standards. In 2015 many economic analysts have predicted chaos, doom and gloom with regards to the challenges facing Africa and the rest of the world. Terrorism threats, wars, falling oil prices, economic crisis, job losses are all signs that the citizens of many countries are in for hard times.

The good news is that whatever the experts predicted for this year was not so much different from what was predicted last year, or the year before. The experts tend to approach every New Year with cautious optimism because they cannot be a hundred percent certain how it would play out. The reason 2015 is not peculiar is because many fortunes will be made and lost this year, just like in previous years. You can choose whether to be on the winning or the losing side.

2015 holds enormous opportunities for financial advancement and progression if you can take time to search them out. There will be new millionaires and billionaires joining the rich list, as always. Opportunities are everywhere at all times no matter the situation of the economy. All you need is to identify the needs of the people and come up with a product/service that meets their need. People will almost always look for the money to purchase a product they need/want no matter their economic status.

Those desiring greater wealth must imbibe the culture of possibility thinking, being able to find a way to make things work no matter the challenges. Possibility thinkers don’t dwell on what they don’t have or what the situation is, they find a way to change the status quo to their advantage. Dwelling on your circumstances tends to distract your focus from seeing possibilities which convert themselves to opportunities.

Consider Japan. At the beginning of the last century many of its people were in extreme poverty. By the late 1940s they were a defeated country occupied by American forces with most infrastructure destroyed. On top of that Japan is a small island country without any tangible natural resources. Yet, in a few years the country was able to turn around its fortunes and become one of the economic powerhouses of the world. I make bold to assert that they were extremely focused on where they were going, refusing to dwell on where they were.

Have you also considered that 2015 could well be the year of great improvements and innovations on the way and manner many things are done? The internet was launched by the end of the last century without much warning and fanfare, and it has utterly and completely taken the whole world by storm. It is one of those inventions that one cannot contemplate life without nowadays. It has also made more people richer and wealthier much faster than any other means of wealth creation. Other channels of wealth creation are out there waiting to be discovered in 2015 no matter the current situation.

The current economic conditions are perfect wherever one is to be able to create wealth. You do not need to change your location, wherever you are opportunities abound. Developing or the so called third world countries even have more opportunities because there are still many initiatives in developed countries that haven’t taken root here. Many citizens of developed countries are even coming to developing countries en masse to harness opportunities, proof that much more wealth can still be generated in Africa.

I charge you not to give in to fretting or despair regarding this year. Don’t live in fear of the impending crisis; don’t expect to go through financial crisis in 2015. Instead declare, work towards and expect to see possibilities and take advantage of opportunities. Circumstances and situations will start to conform to what you believe, think and expect. It’s over to you now. Make 2015 count!

Kenneth Doghudje