I've been in the business since 1985 and I too have seen the good and the bad come and go.  The best have been the old timers who knew abstracting, but despite decades of business experience, they either did not anticipate the dynamics of the modern markets or adapt to the newest technologies.

I always look at both, because technology can create new opportunities for inexperienced dumbasses to come into our industry, and out-compete us.  We need to be smart every day, not just in abstracting, but in the economics of our day and of tomorrow too. 

I keep harping on technology in my posts.  Buy a laptop, find wi-fi, untether from land lines, discover portable scanners and digital cameras, use email, and watch tech blogs for new gadgets that will replace the above and more. 

My mentor, John Steinblooms retired from Ticor Title having spent his youth in a German concentration camp.  He was a good man with a great work ethic.  My point however is that title insurance, research and public records in his day were far different that the MARKETS of today.  While the underlying principles may be the same,  access and implementation are faster, clients are more litigeneous, and markets are more competitive with people in India researching title in central Iowa, Arizona or Oregon.