We’re already in February and by the time you read this we’ll be over half through the first quarter in 2021. I think 2021 will be a good year and things will continue to pick up as it progresses.
What will help is the hindsight we gained because of all the things that happened in 2020. I think we can all agree it was a challenging year, but we persevered.
Let’s look at some of the things we learned and some of the changes that took place.
No one expects a worldwide pandemic. It affected every country and person on this planet. The fact is that no one really knew exactly how to handle the whole situation so there were a lot of things happening, at the same time, in order to survive in the literal sense of the word.
Of course, our lifestyles had to change. Travel came to a stop and still has not completely normalized. Just 12 months ago, I was on track to go to London, and then from London, I was scheduled to go directly to Singapore to speak at events. In a typical year, I spend a month to month and a half in London, speaking at different events and confer- ences. I was not able to do that in 2020, and I have no idea when I will be able to do that again.
The whole travel industry was turned upside down. No one was traveling. Some people, including Marketing University members, were stranded in other countries and it took weeks before they could go home.
All “service” related industries were hit hard—restaurants and bars were closed. In fact, in most countries, all businesses that were not considered “essential businesses” were closed. Grocery stores remained open but panicking people literally bought out everything.
In my wildest dreams I would never have imagined being worried about a shortage of toilet paper! Mundane products that people never gave a second thought to suddenly made the nightly news for months. Entrepreneurial companies cashed in on the sudden de- mand for masks and made a fortune.
In 2020, we became more divided than ever…whether it was about wearing masks, whether the pandemic is real or which side of the political spectrum that you are on, the divides became deeper and entrenched.
It’s time to get over all of these things, no matter where you live, or what you believe…we’re all human beings. We have to survive together. We need to learn how to cope with the differences.
