Founder's Message: Recession over?

I don't like to write about negative activities. Some great philosopher once said that the brain can only contain one thought at a time, thus we can think positive or negative. Our call. I choose positive. Rupert Murdock owns the Wall Street Journal. It headlines negative events everyday, a good way to start off your day depressed. It is the number one selling newspaper in the country. What does that tell you? He also owns Barrons. Have you looked at that newspaper lately? All positive stuff. Start your day with a smile. Can't there be a happy medium? Yeah. A drunk fortune teller. Last September the Red Sox were leading the division by nine games. They lost on the final day. Last month the Yankees were leading their division by too many games. Today they lead by one. Someone is thinking negative. They will play each other next week. We will then find out who is thinking negative. I decided to do my own survey and make a few phone calls to people I respected to see what they felt about the long recession. "Is it over?" I asked them. Here are some of the results; you can draw your own conclusions. Several CEOs are now playing miniature golf. A stripper was injured when she was showered by rolls of pennies when she danced. One McDonald's restaurant is selling a 1/4 ouncer. Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America. A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico. A picture is now worth 200 words. There's more, but you get the picture. The survey was about 50 - 50, but the positive answers weren't funny. What I really discovered is that many of us decided that since we had survived two to three years of hard times, the best plan was to think positive and go back to work. Study the market, reward the old customers, and then prospect for new ones. Recall how you began and copy that attitude. Smile until it hurts, and then smile some more. Recall the cliché: "Smile and the world smiles with you, cry and you cry alone." Negative energy is very contagious, so stay away from it. In my mind I choose to believe the recession is over so I still play on a regular golf course, hitting the ball as far as I can, looking for it, finding it, and then hitting as far as I can again. Sounds kinda stupid if you ask me. Tennis anyone? Smile. Roland Hopkins is founder of the New England Real Estate Journal, Norwell, Mass.