As a country, we find ourselves in the uncomfortable position of our private business sector showing strong signs of growth, despite the complete dysfunction of our federal government.

A recent report presented at the Texas Transportation Forum indicated that Texas could quickly become the most populous state in the country, passing California by doubling our population between 2010 and 2050. From a real estate development standpoint, this dramatic increase in population is exciting.

Last week marked the opening of the State of Texas’ 83rd Legislative session and the initiation of debates on economic development incentive programs, which currently give Texas and its local governments a competitive advantage over many of its competitors. I was honored to be among the industry stakeholders asked to testify, offering recommendations to improve economic development policies and incentives, and make recommendations on whether the state should adopt new incentives to better accomplish the state’s economic development policy.

Charles Atlas’ posters and comical advertisements promote a “secret to strength.” His theory of dynamic tension can be linked to our internal drive to rise above fear and indecision. The reality is, we make our own futures. We create our own pace; we carve out our own destiny. Our ability to overcome fear and anxiety is “our secret to strength.”

A recent front-page article in Investor’s Business Daily put the differences in the economic climates of California and Texas in sharp relief. Not surprisingly, California consistently ranks at or near the bottom in terms of business friendliness while Texas is in the top 5. The article cites various metrics for its conclusions, including the following:

Earlier this month, Stream Realty Partners held a Dallas State-of-the-Market event at the Nasher Sculpture Center. We hosted nearly 200 business leaders who gathered for insight into the current state of the North Texas commercial real estate market. Here’s a recap of the presentations.

Roger Staubach, executive chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle, hosted an insightful panel discussion last week at the Winspear Opera House. Sharing their frank opinions were energy icon T. Boone Pickens, Texas Instruments President and CEO Rich Templeton, Karen Katz, president and CEO of The Neiman Marcus Group Inc.; Stephen Mansfield, president and CEO of Methodist Health System; and Martin Cox, chief operating officer of Chase Commercial Banking’s middle market business.

So now the state of Texas has a group of people who “want out” and want to secede from the United States. What if Texas did secede? How would that affect commercial real estate? Here few important data points.

DFW is currently the fourth-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States. We are leading the country in commercial real estate activity, based upon net absorption of space—a common measure of success.

The United States economy continues to grow slowly, but uncertainty is constraining performance. Internationally, a number of European countries are struggling with major debt issues, tensions remain high in the Middle East, and the Chinese economy has cooled. Although U.S. firms are hiring, the pace of increase is too slow to make much headway in improving the job market.

There is an important but under-recognized resource for the business community in Dallas. It is the William J. O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom, based on the campus of Southern Methodist University.

Is America headed toward economic freedom—or the road to serfdom? That was the provocative title of a presentation made by W. Michael Cox, Ph.D., director of the O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom at SMU’s Cox School of Business, at a forum hosted yesterday by the North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors.

As our economy continues to take positive steps forward, we find ourselves leading the country in recovery. It is great to be among winners in Dallas. Let’s hold on with strength to this mindset. It is what has set us apart. It is what distinguishes us and it is what makes Dallas great.

When it comes to job creation, Big D stands for disappointment. Dallas-Fort Worth is reputed to be one of the country’s great economic drivers, a bona fide jobs machine. Every year, the region seems to lead the nation or be near the top in adding workers. But New York, Los Angeles, Detroit and the like make for easy competition.

The uncertainties of election-year gridlock, with its focus on national debt issues, coupled with international economic instability, has turned the corporate executive’s attention to what can be “controlled.” Among these are availability of working capital, inventory levels, efficiency gains, and cost-saving measures.

For decades, local leaders have promoted the value of regional cooperation. They point to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport as Exhibit A, and ask where we’d be without that economic engine. They tout Super Bowl XLV, which pulled together dozens of cities and corporations, and shared the bounty.

Out-of-state communities are getting more aggressive at the local level, with an increasing number offering cash grants and expanded tax rebate programs. For Texas to continue to outpace the others, it is important that its flexible incentive programs stay in play as relevant contributors to offset relocation and operational costs.

Yesterday, Downtown Dallas Inc. hosted its annual forum and luncheon, featuring Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings. Mayor Rawlings gave a state of downtown address to a record-breaking crowd of more than 900 people. He offered a quick update on all things downtown and asked each attendee to invest in the city’s revitalization.

I learned at lot as an invited guest at this year’s Bryon Nelson golf tournament, talking with friends, peers in the industry, and random people that I met and/or asked for their philosophical take on life, the real estate economy, and the recession. Here are some takeaways.

For the eighth consecutive year, CEOs across the country have rated Texas as the No. 1 state in which to do business. According to Chief Executive magazine’s annual Best and Worst States survey, released today, Florida came in second, followed by North Carolina, Tennessee, and Indiana.

In “Dallas-Fort Worth’s Cowboy Capitalism,” published recently in The Deal, author Matt Miller writes that although 20 Fortune 500 companies are based here, DFW’s economic strength is found in the “thousands of smaller companies, both homegrown and transplanted.” As UNT’s Terry Clower puts it: “The real action in job creation is in the middle market.

I recently came across the State of Metropolitan America, an enlightening assessment by the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program on the decade of the 2000s and the 2010 Census. The study discussed five new realities that have impacted, and will continue to impact, corporate location decisions, both in terms of workforce availability and real estate development.

The most frequently asked question of me last year was, “When will the commercial real estate market turn around?” By the powers entrusted to me by no one in particular, I am officially proclaiming this will happen in 2012.

Studies show that right-to-work states experience significantly greater economic performance than non-right-to-work states. All is this bodes well for economic recovery for right-to-work states such as Texas, where we don’t take well to discouraging words.

A number of factors will both drive and temper the North Texas commercial real estate market this year. From my vantage point, here’s what we should expect: