Last week, I tuned into a talk from a former Finance professor of mine - Sergio Rebelo.​

He does these virtual events from time to time for alumni, usually with an unassuming title — this time: Understanding Current Trends in the World Economy — and I immediately RSVP and block my calendar.

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Why? Well, for one, the talks are not recorded. Tune in live, or miss out.

But also, he’s proven to be one of my most reliable sources of clarity on the state of the economy, which let’s face it, is always in some form of tumult.

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Through the course of an hour, he narrates a curated set of decidedly non-flashy slides and charts, while adding a subtle touch of humor to ease digestion.

This time, he covered:

• A brief history of 150 years of global tariff policy
• The under-appreciated benefit of massive defense spending
• The state of US debt and it’s impact on the dollar
• The macro impacts of AI adoption

You know — just a few casual topics 😉

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I left feeling informed, curious, and even reassured.

To the point that even this morning, nearly a week later, when I skimmed headlines of the market choking on tariff worries, I honestly just brushed them off.

Again, why? Because I’ve been provided with an objective context through which to see these things by someone I trust.

That context provides me calm and clarity, which then affords me to freedom to re-allocate my attention to other things.

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Now, I share this with you not to just encourage you to find these types of beacons for yourself.

(Though, yes, I do strive to be considered one of them for you.)

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But rather, to encourage you to BE the source of calm and clarity for your clients.

People don’t hire consultants when the waters are quiet.

They come to you when the rough chop has become too much to sustain.

So the choice then becomes…

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Are you someone who, in that first call, feeds into the agita of their situation by trying to rattle off everything you know?

or

Can you clearly and calmly telegraph a context for your client’s problem, and offer a glimpse of relief?

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Anxiety is contagious.

Calm is magnetic.

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💡

-Wes