Some economic fortune-tellers are predicting a new round of growth for the American economy. Put on your shades, they are saying, and let the good spending roll.

And who knows, they may be right. Third-quarter gross domestic product, which measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States, skyrocketed, enjoying its biggest increase since 1984. And it seems that investors all over the country are even opening their mutual fund statements again.

That’s how good things look for the USA. But economic recovery is a temperamental thing, especially here in Maine. In fact, some say that we can even talk ourselves out of a recovery. You know those naysayers – the kinds of folks who say that a nice warm November day only means we’ll have to go out and mow the lawn again. The kind of folks who start to brood when the Red Sox have a six-game lead over the Yankees in August. The folks who, when stuck with lemons … try to return them.

And some of these people own or manage businesses. Economic recovery? They’ll tell you not to believe a word of it. We must stop hiring, they’ll say. Stop advertising. Stop smiling, for goodness sake – in front of the customers!

After so many quarters of bad economic news and rotten bottom lines, this is how many of us have learned to cope – perhaps even to thrive. Thrive? Well, it seems that it might be a lot easier to look down than to look up. Looking down reveals a whole bunch of familiar things – last year’s sales figures, the cozy-sized staff, some old familiar faces at the competition.

Looking up may reveal some unfamiliar, downright frightening visions. Who’s this new person in marketing? Where did that competitor come from? Who do those customers think they are, wanting new things?

Many organizations have unwittingly adopted comedian Steve Martin’s absurdist ’80s mantra “Let’s get small,” and even if the growth prognosticators are right, business owners and managers long used to the darkness of recession might be a little too comfortable in their small spaces. Have we unconsciously romanticized our hard times?

How can Maine prepare itself to share in the predicted growth of the U.S. economy? By first preparing our minds for growth. By believing that the Maine economy will grow. By promoting the Maine brand as a vital and vibrant participant in economic growth, and not as a hand-wringing prophet of doom and gloom.

The rest of the country – and the rest of the world – sees us as we see ourselves. Our brand identity as a state is made up of individuals, not symbols or slogans. Our brand identity is made up of students, entrepreneurs, business owners and managers; of writers, artists, fishermen and loggers.

The first individuals and organizations to benefit from new growth in the U.S. economy will be those that first believe that growth will occur. During every economic recovery, there is always a “swing point” – a time during which 90 percent of organizations are still enmeshed in a bunker mentality, and a prescient 10 percent are already planning for growth. And these 10 percent of companies aren’t necessarily brash start-ups or high- tech juggernauts. They might be third- generation family-owned businesses, or large corporations.

But they always reap the greatest rewards when the economic recovery begins. Why? Because when other companies are looking down, they’re looking up. Sounds a little too simple, doesn’t it?

Can we actually think our way to growth? Consider this. Economic growth never begins universally. It almost always begins in specific business sectors. Among certain consumer segments. Sparked by very subtle demographic trends. Casting a wide net never captures the early nuggets of economic growth. Casting a wide net is like the big firework that dazzles upon initial explosion, only to disappear in a cloud of dust.

Envisioning growth – believing in growth – requires us to take stock. Not just businesses, but every Maine entity that will stand to gain from our nation’s economic growth must take stock – our cities and towns, our higher education system, our research facilities and our state government.

In what industry sectors will growth first occur? Which areas of consumer demand will lead the early spending charge? What specific demographic segments will be on the move, and what will they be looking for on their journey?

And what assets do we have, as Maine individuals, business leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers and educators that can exploit – yes, exploit – these early signs of growth? What differentiates Maine – its people, its workers and its businesses – in a way that makes us uniquely qualified to serve these early risers of the U.S. economy?

And we mustn’t confuse this “enlightened aggressiveness” with the riskier and potentially catastrophic strategy of “build it and they will come.” We already have assets – as a state, as individuals, and as the hardest- working entrepreneurs in the country. We must find ways to discover the specific growth pockets that will be leading our nation’s economic recovery, and focus our assets on these opportunities with laser-like precision. We are now in control of our own fate. The door of economic recovery is starting to crack open. If we can just start believing it.

David Vazdauskas is president of Victory Branding, a marketing agency based in Newcastle. He can be reached by e-mail at david@victorybranding.com.