This is a crazy time, there is no other way to describe it, but with adversity comes opportunity.
Fortunately, yes I said fortunately, I have been an executive search professional through 2 major downturns, 9/11 and the great recession; now it looks highly likely that I am entering my third. (perhaps I am bad luck and you don’t want to hang out with me) With each of these downturns I have learned that there is tremendous opportunity to be had, but not instantly ;a bit of patience, ingenuity, empathy and persistence are involved. (but in our instant gratification world, this is difficult), bear with me. There are a few things we can and should all be doing.
Communicating with those we care about. Many people are lonely and a quick phone call, face time, or even text can go a long way. It doesn’t just have to be family members or friends, but it can be colleagues, clients, vendors, etc…
Build a blog, create a voice, be an expert. This is an amazing opportunity to get your voice and expertise heard. We are all experts in something, be the expert, share your ideas and communicate. It has never been easier to do this. You can start with free accounts and templates at weebly.com or wix.com
Get outside your comfort zone. Regardless if you believe it or not, we are all outside our comfort zones right now. It is not a time to hibernate, but a time to expand. This is not a time to say you don’t have time, because all you have is time, embrace it.
Believe in yourself. For me this the hardest thing. Believing that I will make it through these tough times, or believing in my ability, or believing that others believe in me. When I really think about it, I have made it this far, what is going to stop me from the next part of the journey.
Life is going to throw curve balls, knuckle balls, and every ball possible. Sometime it will be hard ball and sometimes it will be balloon, no one ever said this was going to be easy. Let’s take advantage of the tough times, rather than the tough times taking advantage of us. Go outside, breath some fresh air, and sweat! We are all in the same boat, be the one who is rowing faster than the others. There is amazing opportunity to be had..
Ken