And yet, in the midst of a personal and financial crisis there is tremendous opportunity to thrive and create positive change. If you are out of work, this is your chance to transition into a new career and pursue a talent that might have gone buried for years until the timing was right. But guess what? Whether you have chosen it or not, the time is right. You have been given permission to examine your life and rediscover your latent passions. Perhaps lay the groundwork to start a business, to spend more time with loved ones, to learn a new language, to go back to school or take seminars that will develop new skills and augment your value as a professional. You are being forced to slow down and streamline your existence. Less money means having to prioritizing your activities and sort through what is important, what can wait and what can be let go of entirely.

People from all walks of life, and especially those who have been caught up in the professional success race, are being given the opportunity to reconnect with simple pleasures: spending more time with friends and family, dusting off a set of paintbrushes, volunteering for a cause you always meant to join or finding ways to bring balance into your life. These fruits are ready for the plucking. How many of us eventually get around to checking off those goals waiting patiently on our bucket list? Now is your chance to sit in front of the computer or pad of paper and explore your options.

On a historical and spiritual scale, we are faced with a much needed and a much deserved wake up call. This crisis is our nation’s spark for change. It is the financial ripple of a society that reeks of overwrought consumerism and absurd excesses. Though we are (myself very much included) feeling the aftermath of other people’s gross misconducts, it is nevertheless a necessary growing pain in our society’s evolution. We are being launched into the progressivism of the 21st Century. We are learning to be resourceful instead of wasteful. We are being given the chance to reflect upon our paths, our professions, our life’s choices and realize that we can change our minds. To leave behind jobs that have only marginally satisfied our potential, to seek new acquaintances in new spheres who can infuse richness of variety to our staled minds.

We can take calculated risks toward redefining personal success where once complacency and comfort reigned. Through force of circumstance we are reconnecting with our creative selves and remembering that we once aspired to take the road less travelled. We are awakening to our senses and our communities. We are participating in our own lives by being forced to slow down, to think twice about our actions and to appreciate what is instead of what could be. We are being jolted awake from our busying reveries into active consciousness. No longer the lifestyle designs of a few out-of-the-box thinkers, people in large scales are simplifying, de-cluttering and downsizing their existence. Awake we come to see that we are not our jobs, how much we earn, what we own or what we can afford. We realize our world is full of friendship, love, laughter, a bounty of small and delicate demonstrations of the wondrous and evocative beauty that is found within the palms of our hands: A rose blooming in the Spring light, a game of catch with the children after school, a mid morning walk with your dog in the park when others are stuck in traffic; a Friday night at home with friends laughing over beer and boardgames, a spontaneous excursion that will take you away from the expected; an opportunity to be a hero for another in more dire circumstances then your own. We are being granted the opportunity to invest more fully in a life of passionate involvement.

I am not preaching gratitude in the midst of disaster. But for those who are facing change yet maintain the ability and desire to puncture through the scorching earth and actualize your potential in the face of fear and uncertainty, I am saying, seize the day. Arm yourselves with all the support and resources at your fingertips: loved ones, connections and brainstorming materials. Consider hiring a life coach who can help you restructure your lifestyle to meet financial challenges; who will support you in developing alternate methods of job seeking that yield positive results. A coach can channel your energies and ideas toward the creation of your own business, or utilize your greatest strengths and qualities to assist you in transitioning between careers. Use this time productively. You have all the support you need to create a new life that is in sync with your greater goals and to find directions that truly excite you.

For more information on career transitioning and life coaching visit my site at

www.partneringtowardsuccess.com