As a nation with a rich indigenous history, but still a relatively young, developed nation, only 200 odd years on from English settlement and a population of around 25 million, it’s sometimes difficult to imagine the potential for future greatness. Yet, on one side of the country to the west, you’ve got states with massive amounts of natural resources. While on the East, which was settled earlier, you have a financial centre and the heart of the nation’s industry. Is it possible for that same nation to emerge over the next 100-200 years as the world’s leading superpower?
Well, it did.
I just described the USA in 1850. Fast forward to 2022 and obviously the USA with a population of some 330 million is one of the wealthiest and most technologically advanced nations in the history of the world. So, what then could the future look like for Australia? How much potential does this nation have to not only be successful on the world stage; but to be a truly great economic power in the future?
This thought crossed my mind as I was on one of my early morning walks through The Rocks in the heart of Sydney. This area is where our early settlers and convicts worked some 200 plus years ago on the wharves. I imagine what their lives were like back then. Very tough. Even more, I wonder what they would think if they could see what has been created here in Sydney today. The Bridge. The Opera House. Circular Quay and the incredible beauty and lifestyle we get to experience here every day. I think they would be stunned.
We are so preoccupied with the very short term we don’t think about the very long term. Long term these days is considered around 3 years. You can’t build nations like that. Great nations are built on a vision of not only what is possible but on ambitions of what seems impossible and is pursued anyway. Truly great nations aspire to be more than anyone can imagine it to be right now. They are built on the back of people free to dream of creating greatness and a nation with the vision to help them do it.
In a world in as much turmoil as we currently have, it is easy to only see the negatives and decline. But that is not really our future. I see an Australia that will emerge in the decades, and century, ahead that outgrows its current status as a small but influential bit player on the global stage. This is merely a phase in our emerging growth, it is not our destiny. We need to think much bigger and realise we can create a truly great nation that one day grows up to become the world’s leading economic superpower. It will take more than a century. But the vision and actions required to do it can only start with the right mindset today.
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