Maybe we've all accepted that either this, too, will pass or we will simply overcome. We've faced similar “game-changing” obstacles in the past — to use the overplayed buzz phrase — and we're still around. We've overcome the shock of last year's Congressional overreach and we've realized our world has certainly changed, but it hasn't ended.

It's also worth pointing out that the carriers seem to be more in tune than ever, too. I could be wrong, hearing only a certain side of the story, but it certainly seems like the carriers are not only equally upbeat, but more concerned than ever about the fate of brokers, which is encouraging to say the least.

Oscar Wilde, never much of an optimist himself, once argued, “The reason we all like to think so well of others is that we are all afraid for ourselves. The basis of optimism is sheer terror.”  And while Oscar's always been one of my favorites, I couldn't disagree more.

I didn't sense any terror this year. In fact, a lot of the anger seems to have subsided as well. It's time we got back to business — and maybe to basics, too. Otherwise, maybe it's time you just get out of the business.

Denis Storey Editor [email protected]