Motivational Leadership Speaker, Bestselling Oprah Author

I went out with three of my favorite people last night. We brought note pads. I’m going out tonight, too. Same deal. We are focusing on expanding our businesses at a time when others are giving up. We are doing something we could have been doing all along — bringing our individual strengths to the table and sharing what we know so we can achieve at a higher level.

We hooked up at 7:30 and I was astonished that, when I got in the car to leave, the clock said it was 11:24 p.m. I’ll admit that a part of that time was spent laughing and telling stories, but all of us clarified our goals and objectives a bit, too.

How cool is that? Tonight, I’ll be brainstorming the execution of my marketing plan with someone who could sell sand in the desert.

My friends have always been such a great source of entertainment and support, but now I am getting us to put our brains together so we can be even more successful.

Are you doing that? Or are you meeting with your friends to commiserate about how bad things are? Keep it positive. There is so much that you can do to grow your success at a time like this. Be creative. Bring together the collective energy of the people you know and you will be surprised by how much they will help you and how much fun you will have.

Fawn Germer is the bestselling author of four books and one of the nation’s most popular leadership keynote speakers. Her fifth book, “Finding the UP in the Downturn” will be released in March.