A Story for the Times

This story is adapted from a Q & A on LinkedIn (Saurabh Kumar). I've changed some of it, but the moral is the same.

"This story is about a man who was selling hotdogs by the roadside. He was illiterate. His ears and eyes had problems. He sold a lot of hotdogs. He was smart enough to offer some attractive schemes to increase his sales. His sales and profit went up. He ordered more and more raw materials and buns. He recruited more supporting staff to serve his increase in customers. He started offering home deliveries. Eventually he bought a bigger and better stove.
His son, who had recently graduated from a prestigious college, joined his father in running the business. Then something strange happened. One day the son asked, "Dad, aren't you aware of the great recession that is coming our way?" The father replied, "No, but tell me about it." The son said, "The international situation is terrible. The domestic situation is even worse. We should be prepared for the coming bad times." The man thought that since his son had been to college, read the papers, listened to the radio and watched TV, he ought to know and his advice should not be taken lightly.
The next day, the father cut down his raw material order and buns, took down the colorful signboard, removed all of his specials and was no longer as enthusiastic. He reduced his staff by giving layoffs. Very soon, fewer and fewer people bothered to stop by his hotdog stand. His sales decreased rapidly, as did the profit.
The father said to his son, "Son, you were right". "We are in the middle of a recession and crisis. I am glad you warned me ahead of time."
How many times do we confuse intelligence with good judgment? Choose your advisors carefully, but use your own judgment. A person or an organization will survive forever, if they have the 5 Cs Character, Commitment, Conviction, Courtesy, Courage."

I've always operated under the belief that we create our own economy. Yes, I read the papers, listen to the news and watch the evening news channels. I hear what they are saying, but I'm choosing not to listen to it. I would perfer, instead, to (metaphorically speaking) keep selling hotdogs as I have done in the past. With continued good service, quality candidates and affordable pricing, we will continue to do business as we have done. Am I being unrealistic? Depends on who you ask. If I react as the business owner did in the story, I may as well pack it in. Or, I can continue to offer clients the same, if not better, service/employees as we have done.
I am going to do my part to keep things rolling forward. I'm done listening to the dismal reports, and instead, will focus on the future of our community. Hotdogs, anyone?