Fall Forward in 2021

I was recently wrapping up my goal setting for 2021 and surfing the web for some motivation. I came across this outstanding commencement speech by Denzel Washington: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENdVJTKy2Ds. His theme for the speech was “Fall Forward”. We can all agree that this past year was  difficult with many falls. However, what matters is how we respond. Denzel’s message of Falling Forward resonated with me and will be my slogan for 2021. I encourage each of you to take six minutes to watch this video. Below, I listed a few of the main points:

  1. If I am going to fall, don’t fall back on anything except your faith, Fall Forward.
  2. You must take risks in life. Inevitably you will fail. If you don’t fail, you are not even trying. Fall Forward.
  3. Reggie Jackson has the most strikeouts in MLB history, but nobody remembers the strikeouts. They remember him as Mr. October and the homeruns. Fall Forward.
  4. Did you know that Thomas Edison had 1,000 failed experiments and on the 1,001 experiment he succeeded with the light bulb? Every failed experiment is one step closer to success. Fall Forward.
  5. We all have the talent to succeed, but do you have the guts to fail? To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did. What are you going to do with what you have: your time, talent, prayers, and treasure? So get out there and give it everything you got! Fall Forward.
  6. Be open to people and new ideas. What will define you in your life is the chances you take, the people you meet, the people you love, and the faith you have. Fall Forward.
  7. Never be discouraged. Never hold back. Give everything you’ve got. And when you fall throughout life, remember this: Fall Forward.

Let me close by recapping my three bold CRE predictions for 2020 and making three more for 2021. I was wrong about Birmingham landing a 500+ white collar job regional headquarters. I was correct on construction prices and real estate values continuing to escalate creating an even stronger sellers’ market. I was also correct in that the Parkside district would continue its transformation from a warehouse district into the most dynamic, lowest vacancy, and highest priced real estate in the state.

Three Bold Predictions for 2021:

  1. Construction prices and real estate values will continue to increase, while interest rates will remain near all-time lows. This will create an even stronger sellers’ market.
  2. Birmingham’s technology and bio tech scene will take huge steps forward. We will see at least two major tech companies set up roots in Birmingham. I also think we will see 5-7 local tech companies announce major growth plans this year.
  3. The 2020 US Census will be announced sometime in 2021. I predict that the city of Birmingham and Metro Birmingham will have the highest population growth it has had in the last 70 years. Additionally, I think there will numerous articles/studies about positive job growth and population growth in our region in 2021.