When the crisis is around the corner, what do you do?

Finally the effects of the crisis are being felt all over the world. People are scared, they talk to other people and the fear gets bigger and bigger. Like a vampire, fear feeds on fear. It's all over you: in the news, at home, when you talk to friends and coworkers, when you hear that this or that company in your area laid off people.

I've been there before, in 2001 to be more exact. I was downsized, there were no jobs on the horizon except for slave labor (funny how people take advantage of desperation paying pennies to workers when they can get away with it), and the economy kept spiraling down. When were we going to hit bottom?

Eventually we did and everything became a lot worse.

But with doom also came opportunities. In a few months and despite the bad news being spread all the time, some people started seeing opportunities that hadn't been there before. They opened up thanks to the doom. Many of those people are still in business and have become pretty wealthy. When big names started running away and withdrawing, they saw a cheap entrance into a business they already knew about, saw the upcoming opportunities, and with very little capital were able to create profitable companies very fast.

What can you do then to be able to see these opportunities?

James Ray in his post offers some ideas to avoid fear as much as possible and being open to endless possibilities. I wish I had seen this list 8 years ago, it would have saved me many tears.

1.- Clearly define what inspires you.
There's a big difference between taking action out of inspiration versus desperation. Use this season as an opportunity to hibernate into the recesses of your own mind and define what you choose to create in your next spring.

2.- Control your focus.
Energy flows where attention goes. Are you focusing on lack or opportunity?

3.- Feed your mind.
What's your constant mental diet? Do you spend hours in front of the scare news or are you reading good books, attending more positive seminars, watching uplifting DVDs and listening to powerful CDs?

4.- Strengthen your body.
Your physical health and vitality have a tremendous impact on your performance as well as your mental and emotional fitness. Exercise releases stress as well as strengthen your body and mind.

5.- Inventory your friends.
Doom and gloom attracts more doom and gloom. Jettison those "energy vampires" around you and surround yourself with opportunity seekers.

6.- Quiet your mind.
Take time to meditate daily and to slow down if only for a few minutes. Ten to fifteen minutes of meditation will relieve hours of stress and increase creativity and resourcefulness.

7.- Rid your life of escapist activities.
Overindulgence in TV, sleep and alcohol only accelerate the problems you're attempting to avoid.

8.- Make a daily gratitude list.
Focusing on all the good, gifts and God in your life puts you in the right line of thought, feeling and their subsequent actions, which will attract and create more good, gifts and God.

9.- Change your attitude.
Realize that everything that's happened in your life thus far is here to serve you, teach you and help you grow. Find the lessons in your past results, forgive yourself for anything you could have done better and apply the lesson to move forward and create a better future.

10.- Get resourceful.
For the next three days, go to a place where you can have uninterrupted time... Come up with 20 new ideas to grow your income, create new results and improve your life. You cannot leave your spot until you have twenty. And no editing! All ideas are good ideas. Do this for three successive days with 20 new ideas each day.

I'm more prepared today for this crisis than for the last one. I learnt and if I lose my job again, I know that I won't go through the hardships I went through last time.

Be prepared. It's as easy as getting, right now, a Plan B. Think: if I'm laid off today, how will I survive? Then find your Plan B.