BB&T Chairman and CEO Kelly King assured a record crowd at the Chamber’s State of the Economy luncheon this afternoon that the sky is not falling. King cited the following as evidence:

*  We have geopolitical risk in the world but things have been stabilizing, especially in the past 6-8 months
*  The U.S. economy is growing at about 2.5%
*  Fundamentally there is nothing wrong with our economy – there are no fundamental resource issues, but we should be growing faster than we are (3-5%)
*  The biggest obstacle to faster economic growth is the failure for several decades of leadership in Washington, D.C. – and this, he said is not a partisan statement
*  We are moving toward bigger government that thinks it knows how to run people’s lives and businesses better than they do

King’s prescription for doing better is for individuals to take personal responsibility for the way they approach their businesses and their lives. He gave the 5 characteristics of outstanding achievers which, if followed, would significantly improve the lives of individuals and their businesses:

1. Believe absolutely in what they are trying to accomplish
2. Commit the time and resources to make it happen
3. Train themselves to have the best skills to accomplish what they want
4. Enjoy the journey
5. Have an enthusiastic, positive attitude about life

The State of the Economy luncheon was sponsored by BB&T, Bell Davis & Pitt, PA, Cook Medical, Dixon Hughes Goodman (DHG), North State, Wake Forest Innovation Quarter, and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.