After spending a great Thanksgiving and Christmas season reflecting on all the many things I have to be thankful for, I have to admit that I’ve truly been blessed in my life.  I’vvev always had all the things I’ve ever needed and more.  I’ve been blessed with talents and abilities that have enabled me to help others.  I’ve had a life rich with treasured experiences that have shaped who I am.  What more could one man ask?

As we approach the new year, I feel just like a kid on Christmas eve.  In fact — and you heard it here first — I’ve decided I’m going to leave the snowmobiles, the ATV’s, the fishing poles and all the other accouterments of retirement behind and re-enter the fray.  That’s right.  I’m going back into the business world I love full time.  I have to say as I’ve watched the economy worsen and the attitude of employees and managers darken, I’ve become almost giddy about the opportunities that exist out there.  

Never in my lifetime have the opportunities to “go big” been so plentiful.  I hear stories of layoffs and I see a pool of potential employees and managers the likes of which has never been available before.  There is no question, now is the time to build a team if there ever was one.  I hear stories of botched layoffs, botched discussions of why there would be no Christmas bonuses, how hours would be cut and salaries reduced, and I see competition that is on its knees — already having thrown in the towel (maybe the managers haven’t yet given up, but the employees of these companies are already gone.)   I see companies that got fat on the excesses of the last few years whose businesses have prospered, but who are now struggling to survive and I see a field that is ready for the harvest.

I want to be part of all that!!!

Make no mistake, these are perilous times.  I hold no illusions about that.  But I know these economic times require someone who is willing to adapt and capable of doing so.  While others will cling to their failing business models and go under with the ship, those who thrive on the chaos, and are willing to revamp the model to fit the times will grow fabulously wealthy.  

Now is not the time to hunker down and ride it out.  Mark my words.  Things are going to get worse before they get better.  Because of that, now is the time to strike.  While everyone else is wondering what to do, those who can bob and weave, shuck and jive, and make adjustments on the fly will thrive.  Now is the time to get more aggressive on marketing efforts, not cut back.  Now is the time to develop employees, not get rid of them.  Now is the time to think outside the box, not climb in and pull the lid shut behind you.  In short, now is the time to be optimistic.  Perhaps not in the economy.  Perhaps not in the outlook.  But now is certainly the time for optimism in the future you will create for yourself.  Never in the last 50 years has the opportunity been so good for those who will jump on board.

Where will you stand?  I have my resolutions made for the new year.  What are yours?