---
title: Whatever happened to happily naive?
description: You must be present to win. Naive is fine on someone else's dime; but in these times a team you must find. Go it alone? It's a tough row to hoe.
image: https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hubfs/Blog_Featured_Images/pexels-7577856-1.jpg
---

[Skip to content](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/whatever-happened-to-happily-naive#main-content)

[![Wes Schaeffer is The Sales Whisperer®](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/wes-header-lockup.png?width=1560&height=360&name=wes-header-lockup.png)](https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/)

- Work With Me
  
  Show submenu for Work With Me 
  
    - [Fix Your Follow-Up](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/follow-up)
    - [Best Day Ever](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/best-day-ever)
    - [HANK The AI](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hank)
    - [12 Weeks To Peak™](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/12-weeks-to-peak)
    - [48-Hour Fix](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/48-hour-fix)
    - [Start](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/start)
    - [Blog](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog)
    - [The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily)
- [Speaking](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/sales-keynote-speaker)
- [Podcast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast)
  
  Show submenu for Podcast 
  
    - [Podcast Guests](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast-guests)
- [About](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/about)

Open main navigation

Close main navigation

- Work With Me
  
  Show submenu for Work With Me 
  
    - [Fix Your Follow-Up](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/follow-up)
    - [Best Day Ever](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/best-day-ever)
    - [HANK The AI](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hank)
    - [12 Weeks To Peak™](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/12-weeks-to-peak)
    - [48-Hour Fix](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/48-hour-fix)
    - [Start](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/start)
    - [Blog](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog)
    - [The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily)
- [Speaking](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/sales-keynote-speaker)
- [Podcast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast)
  
  Show submenu for Podcast 
  
    - [Podcast Guests](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast-guests)
- [About](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/about)
- [Get The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily)

[Get The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily)

 Jun 13, 2025

# Whatever happened to happily naive?

![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer)

Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/whatever-happened-to-happily-naive) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/whatever-happened-to-happily-naive) [Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/whatever-happened-to-happily-naive) [pinterest-p icon](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/whatever-happened-to-happily-naive) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/whatever-happened-to-happily-naive)

Blissful ignorance was killed October 24, 1929. Her twin brother was shot dead September 6, 2008.

83 years ago this month the Great Depression began.

Oct 24, 1929 is known as **Black Thursday**.

The market dropped **11%** on the opening bell and panic ensued culminating in **Black Monday's** loss of **12.82%** and **Black Tuesday's** piling on of another **11.73% drop**.

Within two weeks the market was **down 40%** from its highs set less than two months prior.

Two and half years later—July 1932—the market had bottomed after a numbing **89% wipe out**.

My great grandfather lived well into his 90's and we hung out a good bit. He was in his early 30's when the Great Depression took hold of this nation and it impacted him for life. I remember working in his garage, which was chock full of jars choked to the brim with old nails, screws and bolts and the rafters were crammed full of **wood scraps** and reclaimed lumber he would never get rid of.

[![Score My Pipeline](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/443614/interactive-178194433547.png)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLJi7oyiQ91230fXafigrp%2FJVKPztsspz8zCRF3253Mln2LmmrIQ0rsKFwh09HcYlm8V%2Fh3s1HR9iskQtO4KzieXdUCZHBrUydFOX1qEXdqtcS%2FP%2BcrZAAZCU31MS29AqX4ClHuk9nMlRwO4cctAJxbedphIuMLkcpZBNW%2FWO0%2BE3rePqjd31q6moTM3lbT6TgB3wwSShVtH&webInteractiveContentId=178194433547&portalId=443614)

He had seen how everything he knew could be taken away in a moment so he was always prepared for the worst because he did not understand how it came about, so he **feared** it and expected it to happen again, at any time.

Being prepared for the worst is a good thing. Expecting and fearing for the worst, always looking over your shoulder, is not.

However, someone has to be vigilant.

As a father of six I must forgo certain pleasures and accept the responsibility to provide a blissfully ignorant environment for my children for their **frolicking, merriment and well-rounded development**. Yet, in time, over time, at the right time I must make them aware of the dangers lurking just over the horizon, across the street and maybe even next door.

**Devious parents** remove this naivete too soon. Neglectful parents send their kids into the world at the age of 18—or 24 or even 28 lately—with it fully intact.

**Paul Revere** is heralded for informing our nation of a pending attack. Consider me the Paul Revere of business & marketing consulting. Few listened to me in 2002 or 2004. I admit was a bit early, but I like building my ark before the rain comes and digging my well before I'm thirsty.

The Fall of 2002 is when I bought my first bit of physical gold. I still have those first coins and all of his siblings!

From December 2004 to March 2011 I rented my home in California because I knew we were in a real estate bubble. I warned anyone that would listen. A few followed my advice and made a lot of money selling their homes at the peak and renting.

Most didn't. **Then the second death occurred**.

[![Score My Pipeline](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/443614/interactive-178194433547.png)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLJi7oyiQ91230fXafigrp%2FJVKPztsspz8zCRF3253Mln2LmmrIQ0rsKFwh09HcYlm8V%2Fh3s1HR9iskQtO4KzieXdUCZHBrUydFOX1qEXdqtcS%2FP%2BcrZAAZCU31MS29AqX4ClHuk9nMlRwO4cctAJxbedphIuMLkcpZBNW%2FWO0%2BE3rePqjd31q6moTM3lbT6TgB3wwSShVtH&webInteractiveContentId=178194433547&portalId=443614)

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed on September 6, 2008. A week later so did Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch and panic struck the global markets.

By March 2009 the DJIA **lost 53.78%** and today's generation is learning what it's like to do without, while reading about it on their smartphones.

In March of 2010 I was forced to finally buy a house in SoCal because the homes we were renting got foreclosed out from under us—TWICE—just six months apart! Fortunately we were able to buy the home we were in and we picked it up at nearly **50% off**.

**\*Sidebar:** we're not out of the real estate mess yet. Not by a long shot. I was content to continue renting but the housing market is such a mess we couldn't find a single home that met our needs, price and location requirements and was owned by a financially-stable investor despite knowing there are literally thousands of homes in default in my little town. The housing games will continue for another 5 years if we're lucky. Another 10 if D.C. keeps its collective head up lobbyists' asses.

The previous owner of my house was blissfully naive. His naivete led him to buy multiple homes based on two faulty assumptions:

1. that nobody ever lost money on California real estate.
2. that his job was secure.

He found out the hard way neither was true. So have millions of others. And **school is still in session**.

There will be a test. You can ignore the fact the test is coming and hope you'll pass it when it lands on your desk. Let me know how that works out for you.

Or you can prepare.

To prepare you can do all of the studying yourself or you can find a tutor to help accelerate your learning and confirm you are studying for the right test.

If you decide to find a tutor, look for one that has not only ***"been there, done that, got the t-shirt,"*** but one who is currently **kicking ass and taking names**.

The world is changing faster than we can document it. **That's why you must be present to win**. Get in the game with a great team. Surround yourself with motivated doers who are blissfully informed, who are making things happen, who are getting bloodied and knocked down but have help and encouragement getting back up, who have great coaching and, in their own right, are becoming great coaches by doing.

Life—and business—is a contact sport.

You can be the bystander, the passenger or the driver. Either way, there will be bumps. But the most turbulence is created by the stone attempting to stand its ground in the middle of the raging waters.

Learn to navigate the rapids for the greatest safety, rewards, experiences and progress. **[Wanna learn fast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/30-day-sales-growth)**?

 Market like you mean it. Now go sell something.

[![Twelve weeks. Live deals. We start in 48 hours. Book The Fit Call](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/443614/interactive-184500196010.png)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLLathws%2BpBeqziQ38WhkExsA7pwMDKEGhS0lU5zHfb8n3KQWXcIKviq5L8HX5GI0Hh1E6Az3mNxZQsZCdm%2B1aY7yTnRu0wWEclXNw1BFHs%2B8w6WwSUV%2BarUYtKoYBbUntT4nNxrIuIb1VDu5q374z5uKM4JBfQAMoyP3GBWTG66EZ6San22wjZeczGio4hbA9d9Ne4Y7ch3g7lxkLOnohfz&webInteractiveContentId=184500196010&portalId=443614)

[custom AI solution development](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/custom-ai-solution-development), [Sales Training](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/sales-training), [ROI of AI](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/roi-of-ai)

## Related posts

[custom AI solution development](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/custom-ai-solution-development), [Sales Training](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/sales-training), [ROI of AI](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/roi-of-ai)

## [Merry New Year. Happy Christmas. 44 ways to be happy and fulfilled.](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/merry-new-year-happy-christmas)

![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) 

 Jun 13, 2025

Positive Quotes and Affirmations to Have a Merry Christmas...and Life Here's a list of 44 things to...

[Read more](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/merry-new-year-happy-christmas)

[![Build Your Digital Marketing Strategy: Growth Hacker, Nathan C. Brown — AI-powered sales insights from Wes Schaeffer, The Sal](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/_Podcast_Images/Nathan_Brown_on_The_Sales_Podcast_189.jpg?height=200&name=Nathan_Brown_on_The_Sales_Podcast_189.jpg)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/build_a_digital_marketing_strategy_with_nathan_brown)

[The Sales Podcast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/the-sales-podcast)

## [Build Your Digital Marketing Strategy: Growth Hacker, Nathan C. Brown](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/build_a_digital_marketing_strategy_with_nathan_brown)

![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) 

 May 02, 2016

Content is king, and tools are essential, but being a human and piggybacking on existing audiences...

[Read more](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/build_a_digital_marketing_strategy_with_nathan_brown)

[![Happy Easter & Chag Sameach — AI-powered sales insights from Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whisperer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Featured_Images/pexels-10874538.jpg?height=200&name=pexels-10874538.jpg)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/happy-easter-chag-sameach)

[custom AI solution development](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/custom-ai-solution-development), [Sales Training](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/sales-training), [ROI of AI](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/roi-of-ai)

## [Happy Easter & Chag Sameach](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/happy-easter-chag-sameach)

![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) 

 Jun 13, 2025

Today Christians celebrate Good Friday. (An innocent man is killed 2,000 years ago and we call it...

[Read more](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/happy-easter-chag-sameach)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Wes Schaeffer",
    "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2026-07-05T07:09:08.812Z",
  "datePublished" : "2025-06-13T14:35:44.000Z",
  "headline" : "Whatever happened to happily naive?",
  "image" : [ "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hubfs/Blog_Featured_Images/pexels-7577856-1.jpg" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/whatever-happened-to-happily-naive",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hubfs/wes-header-lockup.png"
    },
    "name" : "Fixer Wes"
  }
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#organization",
  "@type" : "Organization",
  "founder" : {
    "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#wes"
  },
  "legalName" : "TSW Group, Inc.",
  "logo" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%20The%20Business%20Fixer%20white.png"
  },
  "name" : "The Sales Whisperer®",
  "sameAs" : [ "https://www.instagram.com/fixerwes", "https://x.com/fixerwes", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesaleswhisperer/", "https://www.youtube.com/@TheSalesWhispererWes" ],
  "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/"
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#website",
  "@type" : "WebSite",
  "name" : "The Sales Whisperer®",
  "potentialAction" : {
    "@type" : "SearchAction",
    "query-input" : "required name=search_term_string",
    "target" : {
      "@type" : "EntryPoint",
      "urlTemplate" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-search-results?term={search_term_string}"
    }
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#organization"
  },
  "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/"
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#wes",
  "@type" : "Person",
  "alternateName" : "The Sales Whisperer",
  "image" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hubfs/wes-suit-forward.jpeg",
  "jobTitle" : "Founder",
  "name" : "Wes Schaeffer",
  "sameAs" : [ "https://www.instagram.com/fixerwes", "https://x.com/fixerwes", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesaleswhisperer/", "https://www.youtube.com/@TheSalesWhispererWes" ],
  "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/about",
  "worksFor" : {
    "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#organization"
  }
}
```