Motivational Leadership Speaker, Bestselling Oprah Author

I just got a note from my insurance agent, a savvy woman who is trying to make sense of her own bout of career insanity. She writes policies for State Farm — in Florida. That’s not a good thing. Here’s her note:

I could use an emotional lift! An independent career girl for 20 years, worked hard, just started enjoying being able to coast a bit, and wham, State Farm says it is leaving the state.  Of course, there was eventual depression.   The company has my hands tied as a captured agent unable to write through other carriers.  Big political mess.  And I have no control; okay with that. But what next? I will be fine.  A survivor.  Just need to hone in on what I want, and what will pay the bills. 

The most significant line in her note is this: “…(I) just started enjoying being able to coast a bit…” repo the genetic opera divx It’s significant because it made me realize that, for the most part, all of us were coasting — and we didn’t even know it.

I thought I worked really hard. I think a lot of people did. But, faced with the challenges brought on by this disastrous economy, I’ve had to work harder than I have ever worked in my life. It’s paying off, but there is no way I can maintain my business by coasting or simply working hard. We’ve got to put forth Herculean effort or we will fail. These are times when we have to dig so deep into our reserves in order to perform at a level that can overcome these these enormous challenges.

Fortunately, we can do it. We can be quite agile if we quickly accept that what worked in the past won’t work now. Be smart enough to look at your industry and figure out what you can do to adjust and recalibrate faster than your competitors, then come up with a plan and execute. Be bold. Be smart. Be decisive.

We can all cuddle around the campfire and cry about opportunities lost, or we can get off our butts and work. There are so many people who are so shell-shocked by what has happened that they are just sitting on their rear ends, waiting for someone to tell them what to do.

Well, there isn’t anyone who can tell you what to do because we haven’t been through this kind of thing before. So, go figure it out! You don’t know where to start?

1. Figure out five things you want to accomplish in the next three, six and nine and twelve months.

2. Rank them from most important to least.

3. Break each goal down into the steps you will need in order to achieve them.

4. Now, look at those goals again and go deeper with your plan, anticipating the worst but making up your mind to achieve the best.

5. Huddle with your friends and mentors and get their input on what you should do — and what they can do to help.

6. See if it may be to your benefit to turn some of your former rivals into allies so that you can use your collective knowledge and experience to generate success together.

7. Come up with a plan with deadlines and milestones.

8. Believe you will get through this, and you will get through it.

9. Get off your a** and work. Work, work, WORK.