In Problems Lie Hidden Opportunity

We’ve had some turbulent economic times lately, for sure. As I write, unemployment is at its highest level in twenty-six years. To give you some idea of how sales have softened: one of my dear friends was recently told by her employer that they were easing her out the door in three hours, after 18 years in the photocopy business. They had been bought out, and new, cost conscious management didn't think they needed her anymore.

Her case is just one among millions. Millions more have been laid off and furloughed. Whole industries have been almost entirely shut down, including the aircraft and timber industries. Shipping is in survival. Travel’s down, orders are down, construction’s down, there’s no work for people. And a lot of these people are middle-aged, in their late forties and early fifties, and life is not going to be the same for them anymore.

I would suggest it’s a good time to scramble. I would suggest you adopt as a positive affirmation the idea that in problems lie hidden opportunities, because that is the fact. Think about it: if there’s a problem, then it's crying for a solution, is it not? If you solve that problem, you rise to the top and enjoy the benefits that result, because benefits always come out of good solutions, especially if you harness and market them.

This is the entrepreneurial creed; we look for problems to solve. That's where progress is made. Face it: if you expect to get way ahead rather than just be one of the pack, it needs to be with an innovation - something new society embraces.

So start looking for problems that you can solve. If you’re stuck in this economic dis-stimulus, or recession, or depression—or whatever you want to call it—and you now have more free time, don’t waste away moaning, “Woe is me!” Get to work!

Here’s a simple question to ask yourself: what do people want now that I can deliver profitably, in a way that convinces them that I can deliver, so I can get more work from them?

Think along those lines. Those solution-oriented questions are far superior to whining, "The company had no right to do that to me!" Well, yes, they did have a right to do that—and they did it. They never promised you a job for life; that was an illusion. You bought into the idea of security. Even if they were leading you on, you should have known better.

The problem is not going to go away, because you’re never going to have security anywhere you go. You always have to contribute value, and until you begin to contribute value in whatever situation you’re in, you’re going to struggle.

Remember the Lord's Prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread." Stay alive in this moment, stay solution-oriented, and you’ll do fine.