Are you in the Womb or the Tomb?

It’s a scary time. The novel coronavirus.  Government ordered shut down of schools and businesses. Massive unemployment. Social unrest. Remote everything. Change is in the air. It’s not the kind of change that is happening to someone else, it is personal, shifting your daily life in numerous ways.

Change creates uncertainty. It can feel like the ground beneath your feet is moving. Where to you go to find certainty? Stability? Peace?

Inside.

There are two possibilities for where we are today. You are in the tomb. You are being buried and this is the end.  You are in the womb, ready to be born anew.

What you believe about where you are is a choice. From that choice, womb, or tomb, you will walk through your life. This choice will give you one of two very opposite world views.  Choose wisely.

From the darkness of the tomb, to escape the fear you shut down, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, or maybe even physically. From the womb, you can seize the fear of the dark, convert it to the energy of rebirth and enter a time of extraordinary creativity, opportunity, and expansion in your life.

I choose the womb. I ask you to consider coming with me.

The path of rebirth calls us to look into our hearts and live inside out. I feel like I have been preparing for this time all my life. My heart, your heart, our hearts, hold our inner and collective wisdom.  Our inner knowing is our strength.  It is a guidance system that never breaks down and is never confused.  Now more than ever, we are called to find it and follow it.

My heart calls for a greener, less polluted, and more conscious relationship with my home, our home, this beautiful earth. To nurture her as she nurtures me. That plays out in my life as:

1. local food, so local in fact, that is it in my backyard

2. solar panels providing 100% of my energy

3. investing in companies that are moving to a carbon neutral footprint

4. purchasing green products

5. all the basics of recycling, reusing, tree planting, avoiding pesticides ,composting and more

As the business owner of the companies, MACKEY, and The Prosperity People, it means our team will continue to help business owners and individuals find their hearts calling. To help you find your own, very personal, way of walking through the world inside out and to live that in your business, in your life and with your money.

Right now, ask yourself, what is your heart’s calling? What will you choose?

I’d love to have a dialog with you about your choices.  Post your thoughts here, and/or email me at Mackey@MackeyAdvisors.com

How has the COVID-19 Pandemic Effected the Economy?

The year 2020 has been marked by extremes.  Through January 2020, the bull market, supported by strong corporate fundamentals, continued to move higher and investors appeared focused on record low unemployment and strong economic growth.  In mid-February, the major U.S. market indices hit all time highs.  But then, within just a matter of weeks, lost over one-third their values as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded.  Business closure and shelter in place orders rocketed through the nation causing unemployment claims to skyrocket to their highest levels in history.  The economy went into a recession within a very, very short time period.    

However, the COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented event, and the duration and full extent of the economic impact is unknow.  At this time, confirmed COVID-19 cases are rising steeply and many states are rethinking their plans to reopen.  But, when you look at past financial, political, and health crises with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, history has demonstrated that our economy and financial markets have always rebounded and recovered … eventually.  The economic recovery will be gradual and uneven, with full economic recovery likely not to be seen until 2022.  The possibility for a double-dip recession is not out of the question yet. 

The U.S. Government is utilizing both monetary and fiscal policy to a capacity never seen before.  Washington passed the largest economic stimulus package in history, providing $2.2 trillion to help business and individuals, and they stand at the ready to stimulate more.  The Federal Reserve has cut short-term interest rates to zero and has implemented its largest and most comprehensive asset purchasing program ever.  Modern medicine and human ingenuity will likely help save many lives and eventually find a vaccine. 

Historically, large stock selloffs as recently experience have presented buying opportunities for serious long-term investors.  Because of the uncertainty of the pandemic and the closing/opening/re-closing a variety of business sectors, the equity market selloffs will continue – there will be plenty of opportunities to buy back into the market over the next several months. 

Ask yourself what you wish you had done differently at the bottom of the 2015-16 cycle, the 2008-09 Great Recession cycle, or, if your firm was around, the 2001-02 or early-1990s cycles. While the drivers of recessions may differ, the fact that the US economy will ultimately recuperate, and rise remains the same. Do not fall victim to the pessimism of the moment and fail to position yourself for the future macroeconomic growth trend.