by John Waechter

A growing number of people are facing daunting situations these days. Whether it is a result of a relationship break-up, loss of a job, lack of retirement income, bankruptcy or any other of the myriad of possibilities, individuals of all ages and levels of experiences are going through massive changes in their lives. These periods of transition can be extremely unnerving because, in most cases, we are staring into an unknown future. Because we have never been in this position before, we have no experience to rely upon when it comes to “starting over”. There settles upon us a certain fog and we can’t stop asking ourselves endless questions like, “How did I get here?” or “What the heck do I do now?”
   

In this unsettling condition of personal uncertainty, however, one thing is most certain: nobody is coming to rescue us. Like it or not, we must pick ourselves up by our bootstraps and focus on a new mission of personal rescue. Even though there is no cavalry coming for us, a successful personal rescue cannot be accomplished alone. We must identify every possible resource available to us, determine exactly how that resource should be utilized and incorporate it into our personal rescue plan.

Identifying Our Resources
Resource identification may not always be as easy as it seems. There are many very obvious ones like family, former colleagues, mentors, previous clients or suppliers and many others. Those are typically going to be human relationships that have always been and currently remain within our comfort zone. We will also need to identify resources that may not be in our comfort zone at all.
   

We may need to reach out to others who will be significantly more direct with us. Having people with the capacity to critique us will be an important part of our network going forward. We will need resources that talk to us seriously about our own health and wellness, for example. We need the human energy to implement our plan—and lots of it. We need to make sure we are healthy and in shape to support that energy.
   

We will need resources that tell us point-blank about our lack of skill sets required for reinvention in this current technological climate. We may need sales training and business coaching, for example, two items that possibly we had never had to pay attention to previously in our lives. We also may need to pay attention to our appearance and how we present ourselves to the outside world, a situation that may also have been unimportant to us in the past.

Action is Critical
Every situation will be different except for one thing: we have to do it and do it ourselves. We have to get up each and every day and hit the streets running. We have to be out in the world. We have to be in front of people generating knowledge, formulating offers and creating action. We must have a renewed sense of urgency dedicated to our personal rescue.
   

Many of us currently, or will in the future, find ourselves in the precarious position of having to compromise in life unexpectedly. Encountering a situation where our needs are not being met adequately can be very unnerving and create a sense of confusion within. It is only up to us to get out of this situation and into a renewed life paradigm. Accomplishing this personal rescue can be done without question. It will take a solid plan that is fully actionable—actionable by every one of us.

John Waechter is Business and Operations Consultant at Waechter Advisory Network. He writes on various business-related topics. Connect at 520-370-8232 or [email protected].

Don Zavis offers business coaching services. Connect at 248-497-5869, [email protected] or DonZavis.com. See ad, page 18.