Why I'm Hopeful and even more Optimistic

This blog outlines the reasons I’m hopeful, even optimistic, as well as 3 reasons why I am optimistic.

First, let me acknowledge the difficulty and pain so many are facing during this pandemic.

Unemployment and bankruptcies will reach uncharted record highs, and hospital systems are now overloaded, having to make unconscionable decisions about who lives and who dies.

Uncertainty is plaguing us all, and the worst is still to come.

Yet there are reasons for optimism in the long-term. These have helped me hone my focus, stay positive, and build value on the other side of this crisis.

Let’s dive in…

3 Reasons Why I’m Hopeful, Even Optimistic

(1) The human race has never before faced a SINGULAR enemy. 

And we are responding, in unison, in record numbers!

By my estimates, somewhere between 100 - 200 million physicians, scientists, nurses, technologists, engineers are all taking aim at this pandemic. They are running tens of thousands of experiments in parallel and sharing information with a transparency and at speeds we've never seen before.

These advancements may seem deceptively few at the moment (as we are only hearing about the earliest treatments), but thousands of additional impromptu experiments and therapeutic approaches are being initiated globally, across hospitals, doctors’ offices and research labs.

As these experiments bare fruit and yield data, I have little doubt that we will experience a tsunami of solutions that will disrupt and decimate this pandemic.

One snippet from a recent NYTimes article encapsulates this optimism perfectly:

“While political leaders have locked their borders, scientists have been shattering theirs, creating a global collaboration unlike any in history. Never before, researchers say, have so many experts in so many countries focused simultaneously on a single topic and with such urgency. [...]

Normal imperatives like academic credit have been set aside. Online repositories make studies available months ahead of journals. Researchers have identified and shared hundreds of viral genome sequences. More than 200 clinical trials have been launched, bringing together hospitals and laboratories around the globe.”

United by urgency, scientists are casting aside nation-specific territorialism, research secrecy, and academic publishing politics. At the same time, government approval processes for clinical trials are now expedited at a historic pace. And online archives of pre-published academic research, such as medRxiv and bioRxiv, are being flooded by scientists from every corner of the globe.

New diagnostics, antivirals, vaccines, and therapeutics are rushing towards society at exponential speeds..

(2) It could have been MUCH worse — we’ll be prepared for next time.

Imagine if the COVID-19 virus had the mortality rate of Ebola (25% to 90%), or even SARS (11%+), while maintaining its high infectious rate. A lot of people treat this virus today as if it’s a death sentence. Yet it’s not for the vast majority of people. For many, it is a severe cold.

When Bill Gates and a multitude of scientists (e.g. Dr. Larry Brilliant) warned us about pandemics over the past decade, the majority of society ignored these warnings. We didn’t prepare… at all.

I think of COVID-19 as a “practice pandemic,” making us brutally aware of the failure points and weak links in our economic system, healthcare complex and communication channels. I remember in the year 2005 Bush called his executive team to prepare for pandemic after he read the book The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History written by John M Barry. I will write review on this separately.

Next time — and there will be a next time — we will be ready. A slew of exponential technologies, ranging from AI, networks & sensors, to CRISPR and gene therapy, will be there to detect it immediately, creating solutions and distributing them globally at lightning speeds.

(3) There are compelling opportunities ahead...

We are in the midst of a fear and virus-driven economic meltdown, yet once we make it through to the other side, there are going to be incredible opportunities for us. These opportunities take three forms:

First, countless outstanding employees are losing their jobs and the faster we digitize, the sooner one can harness this extraordinary talent, newly available in the near future;

Second, multiple assets are fast becoming available, many of which can be re-focused on higher-value applications; and,

Third, the stock market will soon be ripe with the best buying opportunities we’ve seen in a dozen years!

Bottom line, after the economic crash of 2008, what followed was a period of economic growth. What also followed was the birth and boom of revolutionary business models and startups (Airbnb, Uber, Groupon, WhatsApp, Venmo, Slack, Square...). We may well have another “Roaring Twenties” coming our way (once again), one that uplifts all of society.

The Vital Importance of Mindset

Your MINDSET is everything!

A negative mindset will never lead to a positive life. The human brain is wired to look for danger. And when we see danger, it puts us on red alert, clouding our mindset. So consider taking a diet from the news (or viewing it in moderation), and focus on the positive things, both gratitude and your ability to reinvent yourself and build new skills.

We live in a time wherein we can solve any problem, and our collective action in tackling this pandemic is giving rise to tremendous resilience.

In the weeks ahead, I hope you maintain your safety, health and an abundance mindset. I truly believe we are heading towards a hopeful, compelling and abundant future for humanity.

Please share this message of hope with your friends and family.