MASSIVE CHAOS = MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY....IF YOU CAN FOCUS!

Dear Friends,

If you are like me, the first few days of a new year is full of lots of rapid and random thoughts and ideas as to how to proceed with your life both personally and professionally in the coming year. Thoughts of what worked last year, what didn't, what will work this year given the economy, do I really understand what is going on in the economy or am I just guessing like everyone else, etc......WOW, it can be distracting and counter productive to think about all this!! I am not big on New Year's Resolutions, but one thing I AM resolving to do this year is to FOCUS. A very good friend and partner of mine subscribes to a "Quote of the Day" service and receives an email with a new and inspiring quote everyday, and typically he forwards them on to a few of us. I truly enjoy reading them, but one recently hit home. "MASSIVE CHAOS = MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY". I like to think of my self as an opportunist who loves to study current trends and then figure out how to position best to take advantage of the opportunity that lies within. That being said, I believe this particular quote was stopped a little short, that's why I have added "IF YOU CAN FOCUS" to the end of it. It is absolutely true that with MASSIVE CHAOS COMES MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY, but, one will benefit from none of the opportunities if one can't FOCUS! My dad once told me that it is very important to pick your date for the prom wisely because there simply isn't enough time to dance with them all, or something like that, and I believe the same is true with your investments and when it comes to money. It is very easy to read the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Marketwatch, Creative Real Estate Online, or any other investing publication available and realize that there are people making (and losing!) money hand over fist in almost every industry out there. Also, it is very easy to get distracted with all of these opportunities and think, "gosh, if that guy or gal can make money doing that, so can I, I better get involved now before it is too late!". That is all well and good, but, the one common denominator that exists with the people that are making money is...........FOCUS! They are completely focused on what they know best and maybe that is a couple different things, but it is never 100 things, it is a select few in which they have chosen to focus. I as much as anyone am guilty of getting distracted with opportunity, but as I look around it is becoming more and more evident to me that an un-divided focus in a few areas is what will create the most "MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY" in all the "MASSIVE CHAOS" for me and mine. One more key point I feel like I need to make...... Just because one is focused in a couple areas does not mean that it is okay to become tunnel-visioned and not pay attention to one's surroundings. It seems that EVERYTHING is intertwined in some form or fashion, and a movement in one arena will surely in some trickle-down fashion affect what you are doing. There is no better example of this then the current economic crisis that stemmed early on by the fall of the housing market, Lehman Bros, AIG, etc. This is exactly why it is very important to be aware of your surroundings despite your focus. Enough rambling and on to my focus, and Happy 2009 and Happy Focusing!