My recent book, Young Longer, can be accused of being “Doom and Gloom”.

As a design engineer, I always think in terms of FMEA – Failure Mode and Effects Analysis. You can’t design something reliable without thinking of what can possibly go wrong.

We all have some concern about things that can go wrong in our lives. It’s why we buy insurance. But where insurance covers us generally when something goes wrong, FMEA is very specific in its purpose to PREVENT anything from going wrong.

Where FMEA has always been an implicit part of design, it has become more explicit over the past couple of decades. Customers are requiring a detailed, formal analysis of the probabilities of something going wrong.

And that’s what I do with my book.

I am neutral on my feelings for the future. Though I fear for those that are ill prepared, I am very optimistic about the reset that will happen and its impact on our children and grandchildren.

I understand that there is a great Normalcy Bias in our country. Most want everything to remain as it is or was. But if the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that staying the same is not an option.

Unfortunately, only those that are high in the personality traits of Conscientiousness and/or Openness will be able and willing to see what is coming and prepare. (A little Neuroticism may help.) Others will engage the more primitive parts of their brains to survive the situation, (just as this same primitive thinking got us into trouble in the first place).

Take the recent bank failures for instance.

If you understand how banks work, you would not be frightened at all by what has transpired over the past few weeks. Banks take deposits and either loan them out or buy secure investments with them, like Treasuries. If there is a bank run, NO BANK has the cash on hand to return it to depositors. NONE. The money is tied up with loans and investments. As long as the bank has assets (loans and investments) exceeding liabilities, it is fine.

But stupid people don’t know this. And there are enough stupid people in this system to bring it down.

I digress.

The point is that “knowledge dispels fear”. What some see as “Doom and Gloom”, I see as life-saving information.

With knowledge of what’s happening now, you can extrapolate to what’s coming in the future and make good decisions to protect yourself. You can do your own FMEA and make good financial decisions to protect yourself and your community.

Or you can follow the rest of the sheep in ignorance. Sure, it feels better not facing reality, but the consequences are much more severe.

Your choice.

Ron