Are You Recession-Proof?

Are You Recession-Proof?
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Money doesn't buy happiness. But complaining about being broke doesn't pay
the rent or make you any happier either. In my newest book, The Bounce Back Book, I give many resiliency psychology techniques to help folks thrive in
the face of adversity. Below are some free tips from my book -- as well as
some new tips -- all of which will help to further ensure that you remain
as RECESSION-PROOF as possible during these challenging times.

1. The whole of world history is cyclical: Boom, overconfidence,
complacency, mini-collapse, recovery, then upward to boom again (or so we
always hope). What goes for the Rise and Fall of Civilizations can also go
for the rise and fall of YOU and Your Career -- if you're not careful. And
so if you want to protect yourself from A Rise and Fall In Your Career, you
must make sure that you avoid becoming overly-confident and
overly-complacent.
Become known in your industry as the "150% person" - the person who always
goes
above and beyond.

2. Don't think about yourself as having a specific job. Think about
yourself as someone who solves the needs and fears of today's customers.
Recognize: If you have skillsets which solve needs and fears, you will make
money. Keep asking yourself: How does your presence, talent, time, and
energy contribute to your company's growth? Recognize: Extra money comes to
those who know how to solve problems for a profit. The bigger the problems
you solve, the bigger the money you earn. The higher your
"remarkable-ility" the higher your marketability!

3. Subscribe to Craigslist job listing feeds. Use searches which match
positions you're interested in -- which will not only give you leads for
jobs, but simultaneously help you keep up to date on which skills you need
to amp up on -- and which jobs are in an upward versus downward trend.

4. Use compelling language so you stand out in a hoi polloi. (Note: Hoi
polloi means "crowd" -- but hoi polloi is far more compelling language!)
Brain researchers say that the way neurolinguistic programming of human
memory works - if you use unusual language, you have more of a chance of
being listened to while you're speaking -- and remembered after you've
spoken. In other words, too many employees talk about "needing to optimize
the personal brand identity yadda yadda yawn!" Start to pepper up your
office-speak, and that pesky hoi polloi will have nothing on you!

5. Don't let fear become inter-fear and thereby stop you from doing your
best work
, because you're to too anxious to be smart, innovative and
productive. To help you cut back on fear, cut back on your media exposure.
Limit how much you take in -- especially right before bedtime. Studies show
people sleep better when they have less news intake late at night. Also,
keep in mind that the media knows "Fear sells!" Nothing increases viewers
and readers like a good disaster story. So don't buy everything the media
is selling and telling.

6. Stop asking depressing questions. You will only get depressing answers.
For example, it does no good to ask yourself: "Why didn't I...? What if...? Why
me?" Would you accept some of the mean questions you ask yourself if they
came from an outside source? Doubtful! So you have to "stop 'em and swap
'em" for questions that bounce you upward: What can I do to move forward?
How can I grow from this challenge? What's within my control to change?

***

Karen Salmansohn is the best selling author of many books - her newest
being "The Bounce Back Book" - with a red rubber cover on the outside, and
inside resiliency psychology techniques to help you thrive in the face of
adversity, setbacks and losses. For more info, click here.

ARE YOU RECESSION-PROOF is an ongoing series of articles. Keep a look out
next week for more resliency psychology and business tips to help you
thrive in today's challenging times.

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