This is an incredibly important time in history. The world has gone through a massive shake-up. Industries have been tossed up and down and all around. The economic hurricane has blown over many existing structures and careers. The storm is over, and now the rebuilding has begun.

The economic tsunami that began picking up speed in December 2007 and swept around the world with devastating force from October 2008 to April 2009 has died down. What's left now are many organizations that have been devastated or destroyed and individuals who have huge gaping financial holes where they once had solid financial fortresses. The flow of credit that was the underpinning of consumer and business spending has largely dried up. We are at the starting point of a new way of life unlike anything we have seen in a very, very long time.

…and now for the good news. Consumers are paying off their credit card bills and saving money at a far better rate now. People are becoming savers instead of spenders. Obviously this slows down the economic rebound to a far slower rate than what occurred after the dot-com bubble burst and the disaster of September 11, but it also means that individual families will be far more financially stable than they were back in 2004-06. Just as a person who has had a heart attack develops better eating habits, people around the world are developing better spending habits.

Many large businesses are stockpiling money, money to be ready for the rainiest day imaginable. Again, this slows down spending and economic expansion, but it also increases the strength of these organizations for long-term success. While the short-term economy is still tough to operate within, the long-term economy is vastly more stable.

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