You: The Next Great Re-Invention

"Let him that would move the world, first move himself." Socrates

Personally, I am getting tired of all the dire predictions about the economic upturn and the state of the economy. Every day we get the latest unemployment figures. It reminds me of the daily body counts we used to get on the evening news during the Vietnam War of how many soldiers were killed in that day, month and year. It was sad and tragic, and a daily reminder of what was wrong but without hope that things could turn around.

The media would like you to believe that the situation is dire, and until Corporate America decides to start hiring again, we are lost. That’s just not true. Every day, hundreds and thousands of people are waking up to what Socrates said almost two millennium ago. Instead of waiting for the world to move, or the “movers and shakers” to take action, we first can and must move ourselves.

While things are on hold for a lot of companies and career minded individuals, there is no better time to take stock and decide which path you want to take. Enough waiting for someone else to come to the rescue and lead you out of this mess. What can you do now to prepare yourself to take action now—to start a business, learn a new skill, start giving back, reinvent yourself, follow your dream? There is no time like the present.

Many businesses have failed, leaving gaps in goods and services that are needed in your neighborhood, state, country…the world. Find a need and fill it. And if you don’t have the skills, expertise or funding, start now to find a way to get them.

There is a sadness that comes with losing a job, whether it was of your own making or because the job had to be eliminated in a cost-cutting initiative. I experienced two downsizings myself in the last two years. It was a shock the following day to have no job to go. You feel unnecessary and as time goes on, hopeless to find something else. The truth is, the job you lost isn’t coming back and in many cases, may be gone forever. The job, the industry or business may be on its way out as well. Just look at how books online have affected bookstores and libraries. Email, texting and other forms of electronic communications have caused post offices to close.

It’s time to move yourself. Take some time and assess what skills, experience and education are still relevant in today’s workplace. Begin the process of reinventing yourself. You may find that you were settling for a job that wasn’t really satisfying for so many years. It may be time to strike out on your own. You may have the next great idea. You don’t have to create something as global as Facebook. But you may find fulfillment in opening a small organic grocery/spice/tea shop in your neighborhood. Start out on your own journey instead of sitting on the curb, waiting for a bus that may never come.

Mary Nestor-Harper, SPHR, is a workplace consultant, blogger, motivational speaker and freelance writer for BusinessWorkForce.com. Based in Savannah, GA, her work has appeared in Training magazine, Training & Development magazine, Supervision, BiS Magazine and The Savannah Morning News. When she’s not writing, she enjoys singing Alto II with the Savannah Philharmonic Chorus and creating original gift items available on http://www.etsy.spoolhardy.com/. You can read more of her blogs at businessworkforceblog.com and view additional job postings on Nexxt.