Good Times Start During Bad Times

When does the magic happen? Not in the good times, not when everything is perfect, not when the getting is easy. The magic happens when times are tough, when nothing seems to be going right, and when the struggle is realized.

Cars and airplanes were invented and invested in for military use. Who wants horseless carriages and rooms that fly? Before each, these were terrifying and seemingly pointless. But, as means of an advantage for a country at war, their value was worth a large and risky upfront investment. As Morgan Housel says in “When The Magic Happens,”

A broader point that applies to everyone is that the biggest innovations rarely occur when everyone’s happy and safe, or when the future looks bright. They happen when people are a little panicked, worried, and when the consequences of not acting quickly are too painful to bear.

That’s when the magic happens.

The bad times aren’t fun, but they are the soil the good times grow out of – if we want them to be. There’s a lot of opportunity in the unhappy, unsafe, and dark feeling moments. It takes a lot of mental strength to see it. It may not seem to be the case in the moment, but from the dark there’s a spark, and from the spark there’s a fire. Magic.