Motivational Leadership Speaker, Bestselling Oprah Author

I’m back after some travel, speaking and promotion. After all the flurry, there is one group of women I met along the way that hasn’t really left me.

It was a group of 20 college students, most of whom were back in school and trying to rebuild their lives after suffering huge setbacks. When I finished, some of them came up to me and told me how much they needed me at that moment. I don’t think they realized how much I needed them.

It was a pivotal moment for me because it put me on eye-level with people who aren’t worried about losing everything, but rather, people who have already lost it. Normally, when I hear people start rambling about their worries, I will say, “How long do you have before you have to live on the street and eat out of a garbage can?” The usual response is, “Well, that will never happen.”

But, when I asked that question of a mid-fifties woman in this group, the response was completely different. She was laid off months ago and still has not found work. Her answer was, “A couple of weeks.” She was not exaggerating.

What can I say to people who face these kinds of challenges? The one thing I tell people who have hope is to find hope by letting their spiritual connection take over. I don’t know if it will result in the seas parting and a job manifesting out of nowhere, but I do know that it is a place to go when there is nowhere else to turn.

The other to remember is that tough times do not last forever. We are all smart enough to rise again. The challenge is having the fortitude to do that after being knocked around hard.

These are such tough times for so many people. My heart is with you if you are struggling. Hang in there. Better days are coming.

Fawn Germer is the best-selling author of five books and a national corporate speaker.