It’s time to launch a You-Shaped Recovery!

Slowly and surely, we’re shifting our thoughts towards recovery. That’s good news. It means we’re moving from panic to power, from uncertainty to calculated risk, from rapid reaction to intentional action. To planning for the future, not just returning to the past. Just what we need:

Because recovery depends upon moving forward!

Yesterday I had a long chat with a friend. As expected, the discussion turned to when things would return to normal. “Everyone’s saying it will fast,” she said. "Pent up demand, you know, so the economy should come back strong - like a “V” shape or a checkmark. If the economy recovers, we’ll be all right. What do you think?”

"Why wait for the economy?” I said slowly, “You can create your own recovery now. Just pick a different shape: Not a V or checkmark or zigzag…"

But the shape of a YOU!

During the 2008 financial crisis, I remember staring at the arrows and charts and numbers all day. It didn’t help,l. As the recession lingered, I couldn’t figure what the hold up was: Everyone said we’d bounce back “soon." I was waiting for a sign - maybe others were too? - some magical indicator to tell me to “get going” again. But it was taking a long time to return to normal -

So I called my mentor.

“Maybe you’re looking for direction in the wrong place,” he said. "Life doesn’t work backwards. So why wait for some signal rooted in the past - like the economy - to take you back on a path that no longer exists?”

What you really want, he said, is to return to the “feeling" like things are normal: A sense of control, of certainty and all the satisfaction of doing something right because you were happily zipping along. And you don’t have to wait for anything or anyone to start back down that path today!

Recalling that story to my friend on the phone, I mentioned how I’ve been driving my own YOU-Shaped recovery. Two months ago I had 11 speaking events cancel on my calendar - but last week I booked five full-fee webinars. Last month I had one consulting contract cancel - this week I signed a new one at twice the rate. New conditions, new me, new terms and NEW GROWTH!

It has nothing to do with the shape of the economy - some V or a Z or a W - because -

The only shape that matters is the shape of YOU.

YOU can start your a recovery any time you want. You can change course, try something new, take small steps - or go all-in on a radical path to the next success. Never mind what others are doing, where the winds are blowing or whether the timing is perfect. Manage your mindset. Sharpen your skillset. Add value to your sphere of influence. You'll find plenty of opportunity for a recovery -

As soon as YOU get started!

During the financial crisis, someone started a company that became a global leader later.
After 9/11 someone started a family, bought a home and changed their lives. After the DotCom meltdown, someone reprogrammed plans and unleashed the gig economy. The real signal from history is that recoveries are started by people who don’t wait. Milton Hershey in the 1890s. General Electric in the 1930s. Top salespeople selling homes when mortgage rates were sky high in '70s.

A Recovery Is sparked by a clear mind and a desire to grow.
A Recovery is funded not by capital but optimism and creativity and disciplined action.
A Recovery doesn’t wait for someone to say go, but reaches out to others and says,

“Are YOU ready now, too? Let’s start together!"

The way out of any problem has always been clear:
If we want to bend a curve from crisis to power,
It won’t take a V or a Z or a W at all -
But a spelling change that’s possible, for one, for all!

Don’t just wait for some moment to push you through,
Success can begin any time, when it starts with
Y — O— U

#AlwaysInspiring