Human beings are emotional. And the economy is a human infrastructure.

Yet most of the experts who make a living by advising others about the future of the economy use false comforts. People want to think the market is rational and measurable. But that’s dangerous and unreliable, just like the human emotion that drives the economy.

Warren Buffett skyrocketed himself into the financial stratosphere mostly by following his Rule No. 1 “Never Lose Money.”

Stop loss investment tools are a good way to manage the inevitable emotional nature of the world of investing.

And that’s how we need to look at it from a construction perspective.

Here’s a recent Business Week headline concerning “Builder Sentiment”….

“Builder sentiment rises from record low”

Check out the article. What can we learn from it?

Well, first, we can learn a little bit about the emotional tides and undercurrents that swirl about to create the total economic environment.

Second, we can use our knowledge of the emotional and fickle nature of the market, and decide to do our best no matter what the conditions around us.

The emotional nature surrounding the market is not something we can control or predict. The only thing we can predict is that there will be ups and downs. Currently we are in the midst of being in somewhat of a downturn.

So, we ask ourselves…if builder sentiment were higher, would the market get better instantly?

What about the same question regarding consumer confidence? Consumer confidence rules the economy, right? So, can an attitude change improve the economy? Maybe. But not on an individual level.

However; worrying, being indecisive, and waiting are all destructive activities. The answer lies in being productive and working toward a bright future. Expect the best and prepare for the worst…and later on you’ll be happy you worked so hard.

So, what to do next?

Personally, I’m going to spend my time focusing on learning about and applying the things that have lead to success during downturns in the past.

[Grizzled Old Veteran - What Would Dick Winters Do?]

In many ways, the boom times prevent success in certain areas. For example, it’s difficult to buy cheap real estate during a boom time. So why not build your empire now, when there are good deals to be had?

In addition, when times were fast and furious, don’t you ever remember wishing for a little bit of free time to work on getting your business to run more smoothly, instead of just putting out fires?

Now is the perfect time for business improvement, education, and development. Get better at what you do. Use this time to your advantage. Get stronger. Better. Faster. Smarter.

Be one of the builders who makes it through this tough economic time. Then someday you can be that grizzled old veteran who can tell stories about the hard times you’ve gone through, and how you survived.

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