What It Means to be Happy - Despite Difficult Economic Times

I love having a journal and putting down on paper my thoughts, ideas, questions. I recently wrote about what it means to be happy - even during difficult times.

Excerpt from my journal dated March 26, 2009:
I'm finally reading Tuesdays with Morrie. My daughter brought it to me while I was in the hospital a few weeks ago. Having just experienced a scary health issue, and having survived a life-threatening illness nearly three years ago, I have a different perspective from some as I read the book. I understand how it feels to lose control of your life, of certain physical abilities. I understand to a better degree how short life is and what we need to do to be happy.

Happiness seems to elude so many people and they continue to search for it in all the wrong places. Sure, having enough money to meet our needs contributes to an easier life. But true happiness comes from within each of us. Yes, it is possible to be happy in spite of any difficult circumstances. Much has been written on the subject of happiness. And I'm sure that anything I write has already been written. Yet I feel a need, am compelled, to write down my thoughts and feelings on the matter. Maybe the way I word it will change just one person's thinking. I don't need to change the world. But if I can influence even one person - that's enough.

Have you ever noticed that unhappy people are usually very negative? Often the more we try to reason with a person to try to help them focus on what's positive in their lives, the more they find to be negative about. It's as though they don't really want to be happy. On the other hand, there are those who seem happy, positive, and find the good side in every situation. Sometimes their attitude is so upbeat, it's hard to believe it's real.

Then there's me, and others, who do get down once in a while. We do get upset, angry, frustrated, sad, depressed. Sometimes it feels as though we just want to crawl in a deep, dark hole and never come out.

YET - we are usually happy, positive people. We don't allow our negative emotions to become our primary focus in life. We may have a bad day, week, or even months. But our overall attitude is happy, positive, upbeat. People around us know we have a positive, happy outlook on life. They understand that there are times we get down. But we don't stay down!

Read more...

The Time Is Now 11:59

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Build Your Business in Any Economy

The economic pendulum swings: first one way, then the other. When it settles to an acceptable spot, everyone heaves a sigh of relief. What can you do to ride out these swings so that your business can operate successfully? Three simple steps are:

1) Target your consistent buyers.

Your business has clients who need what you offer - no matter what the economy is like. Target your marketing efforts to them specifically to increase buying frequency. Then target prospects who need what you offer.

2) Educate your prospects and clients.

All your marketing materials should educate your prospects and clients. Give them valuable information they can use, whether or not they can use your services. Who do you think they'll call when they are ready: the person they found in the yellow pages, or you - the person who gave them all that free, valuable information?

3) Offer solutions to help ease their pain.

Once you identify your market's 'pain', offer solutions that provide relief. Then position your marketing to attract those people. Try to be very specific and focus on one particular issue and the solution you provide. When your service can provide a real solution to a pressing problem, you'll have no problem attracting business.

There are other things you can do to recession-proof your business. A great resource is Guerrilla Marketing. (http://www.gmarketing.com/)

What steps have you taken to build your business in this economy?