The Upside of Change in a Downsized Economy

Are you tired of hearing nothing but doom and gloom about the economy? Perhaps you’ve recently lost your job and all you’ve heard is how many other people are out of work and are now competing for the same job. Don’t you wish the media would start focusing on some uplifting practical solutions that would inspire and encourage us about the future? Oh wait. Silly me. Good news doesn’t sell. Sensationalizing the negative is what the media does. Duh!

Whatever we listen to has a powerful influence on how we think and what we do. Whether it’s a person, the TV, radio or something we read. When masses of people listen to a continual stream of negativity it creates mass fear. With mass fear comes a chain reaction of fearful behavior. End result: more of the same.

Let me challenge you to think differently and watch what happens when you shift your focus. Get creative. Ask yourself what you REALLY love to do. Is there something you’re good at that could be turned into a business? Did you actually like your old job? Perhaps you could take it to the next level with some new skills. Are you on the very hot social media bandwagon? If not, why not? Think opportunity. Think possibilities…

While living in my native country of Australia, I landed an administrative position in a major television production company that put me on Cloud Nine. I had moved to Sydney to be where the action was having saved every penny from every boring job during the past several years. Ever since I was five years old when I first started to play the piano, I’d wanted to be part of the entertainment world. I had big dreams to be on a professional stage of any kind and this job seemed like the perfect start. (In my head I was going to be a famous actress, date Brad Pitt and travel the world as a diva.) Suddenly after just six months I was laid off because of a nation wide recession. (Sound familiar?) It was the worst day of my life! I thought the world had come to an end. I remember that day clearly…I picked up the phone to call my parents in my hometown a thousand miles away but half way through dialing I stopped and asked myself, “What am I doing? If I tell them what happened they’ll say come back home and I’ll be right back where I started.” Are YOU at pivotal point in your life where you have to choose between moving forward with fear of the unknown or take ten steps backwards because it’s safe?

I hung up the phone.

The truth is the worst day of my life was the best thing that ever happened. It forced me to think about what I really wanted to do with my life. It fueled my passion for performing into facing my fear and doing it anyway. I became a professional piano entertainer by grabbing every opportunity to play in front of an audience and I did it afraid. (With less than 30 songs in my repertoire, my tummy was in a constant state of the collywobbles). As a result I eventually got to realize my dreams of working in the entertainment field, meeting numerous celebrities and traveling around the world performing in fabulous venues. Pretty cool for someone from my humble beginnings. Icing on the cake was when Coca Cola chose me to perform at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Ordinary person, extraordinary life. Something I’m very grateful for every single day.

What’s my point in telling you this? Change is really opportunity knocking if you have the right mental attitude. One door closes another one opens if you stay aware with an open mind. Sure we don’t like it when the door slams in our face but often that’s what it takes to get us going in the direction of our dreams. Don’t let fear stop you from moving forward. Doing nothing usually means settling for mediocrity. Fine for some people but how about you?

I love the story of a seventeen year old boy with a knack for drawing who got his first apprenticeship at an art studio in Kansas City in 1919. You talk about tough economic times! He earned $50/month drawing horses, cows and bags of feed for farm equipment catalogues and after just a short time on the job he was laid off because of the bad economy. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he grabbed the chance to form his own commercial art biz with another artist who had also been laid off. He went bankrupt several times before he built the largest entertainment company in the world…….

Walt Disney’s creations have since survived one Great Depression and no less tha
SEVEN recessions.

Think creative. Think opportunity. Carpe deim! There’s ALWAYS an upside to Change even in a downsized economy. Remember – for every downtu
there is an upturn. Keep the faith, open up your thinking, have a good attitude and be grateful for all you have right now. You’ll be surprised at the magic of the mind.