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Opportunity Is All Around You

Sweeping Changes Can Open the Doors To Amazing Possibilities

Paradigms are shifting all around us - in business and the global economy, to theways we look at energy and the environment. Institutions and industries are beingforced to rethink traditional business models considered sacred. World leaders areasking countries and cultures to reevaluate their very ways of life. Never before

in our lifetime has there been such a tectonic shift in, well everything. Such ashift has indeed occurred before in the life of our nation though - and among thelessons it taught was that for the creative and the bold, these sweeping changescan open the doors to amazing opportunity.

A New Birth

Perhaps until now Americas most profound economic and cultural transformationoccurred in the Reconstruction era of the 1860s and 1870s. Then, a tattered nationemerged from the crucible of civil war into a new birth of freedom and anindustrial revolution of unprecedented wealth creation that Twain dubbed TheGilded Age. As Malcolm Gladwell says in his recent book, Outliers, This is whenthe railroads were being built, and when Wall Street emerged. It was when all the

rules by which the traditional economy had functioned were broken and remade.Then, as now, everything was changing. And, it was the age when nearly 20% of the75 wealthiest individuals in human history took advantage of those changes andbuilt their fortunes all in America. They are (by rank of wealth):

01) John D. Rockefeller: Oil Industry

02) Andrew Carnegie: Steel Industry

28) Frederick Weyerhaueuser: Paper Industry

33) Jay Gould: Railroad Industry

34) Marshall Field: Department Store

35) George F. Baker: Railroad Industry

36) Hetty Green: Banking

44) James G. Fair: Mining

54) Henry H. Rogers: Oil Industry

57) J.P. Morgan: Electricity and Steel Industries

58) Oliver H. Payne: Oil Industry

62) George Pullman: Railroad Industry

64) Peter Arrell Brown Widener: Tobacco Industry

65) Philip Danforth Armour: Meatpacking

Runaway Locomotives

These fortunes were made during turbulent times of boom and bust not unlike ourown. The Golden Spike connecting the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads

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was driven at Promontory Summit, Utah in 1869, creating the nations firsttranscontinental railroad and billions of dollars for the economy. America roadthe rails of success until 1873. Thats when European financial instability causedthe collapse of the Vienna stock market, then swept across the continent and on toLondon, finally hopping the Pond to crash upon American shores on September18th. Banking firm Jay Cooke, which was heavily leveraged in rail constructionloans, went belly-up, and ignited a financial panic in the railroad industry thatstaggered the country.

The railroad bubble burst. The New York Stock Exchange closed its doors for thefirst time, going dark for 10 days. One quarter of the nations 360 railroadcompanies declared bankruptcy, and a full one-sixth of the American workforce wasunemployed with dizzying speed (and without unemployment insurance). Yet, in thosedark days of uncertainty, great opportunity existed for entrepreneurs and businessleaders with the vision to see it, and the boldness to reach for it.

A Steel Err, Silver Lining

For steel magnate Andrew Carnegie the depression offered unexpected opportunity.The financial downturn resulted in decreased demand for labor and materials, whichtranslated into a 25% savings on Carnegies projected costs. Carnegie took

advantage of the opportunity to diversify beyond the railroad industry that hadbeen his bread and butter. Rather than bury his head in the sand, he boldlyinvested in additional labor and materials, expanding his operations into newsectors. Carnegie sought, and won, contracts to supply steel for buildings andbridges - including, eventually, all of the steel for the Brooklyn Bridge. Wheneverybody else zigged, he zagged. Instead of playing it safe to avoid failure, hemade daring moves to achieve success. Carnegie said it was one of the mostvaluable business lessons he learned: The best time to expand was when no one elsedared to take risks. In volatile economic times he risked it all, and he won.

Carnegie is a perfect example of creativity and imagination merging with strategyto achieve profound success. He and his contemporaries were in the right place atthe right time to make the most of their personal gifts, emerging technologies,

and shifting paradigms.

So are we.

Dj vu All Over Again

Today, we face similar economic uncertainties. We also find ourselves in the midstof a changing world rife with possibilities. Carnegies revolution was industrial.Ours is energy. Our new President campaigned on a promise to make energy a focusof his administration. We are moving to improve the ways we power our world, andthe government will marshal resources and money to advance research in this field.As part of the proposed economic recovery Americas energy infrastructure will bebeefed up. From wind to solar to smart grids and beyond, business opportunities

will blossom within, and because of, the expanding energy sector.

There will surely be opportunity created from the unexpected new technologiesdeveloped as a result of this energy revolution. Just as Cold War competition withthe Soviet Union inadvertently spawned the creation of the Internet (anaccidental discovery resulting from government-funded radar systems research),unintended and amazing technologies often unfold wherever government focuses somuch money and attention. All of this, combined with the changing paradigms ofbusiness practices, regulation, and finance, may be setting the stage for some ofthe greatest opportunities for innovation, business, investing, and wealthcreation in American history.

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What will your role be?

Embrace The Change, And Seize The Future

Change can be scary, especially when it is so profound, and occurring as rapidlyas it is today. Rather than be fearful, be grateful. We are fortunate to be herenow, and to be in a position to potentially take advantage of the changes

unfolding around us. Dont give in to the gloom and doom of the nightly news.History shows that even in the most volatile economic times opportunity aboundsfor business. Be prudent, while staying proactive. Dont bury your head in thesand. America will lead, and entrepreneurs with the vision to see theopportunities - and the boldness to reach for them - will fuel the engine thatdrives the economy forward.

Ken Peters. All rights reserved.

Ken Peters is the owner and Creative Director of nationally acclaimed NocturnalGraphic Design Studio LLC, a Phoenix-based strategic branding firm specializing inbrand development for companies of all sizes in all industries worldwide.www.nocturnaldesign.com.