The stock market is up.  The stock market is down.  The stock market is up.  And then the stock market is down again.  You listen to one cable news program and they have you fearing the future.  You turn on another cable newscast and they believe the president is going to save us all.  You can’t even go to dinner without hearing at the next table over about how bad the economy is and how people are in fear of their financial future. 

There is so much confusion that it is hard to sort out fact from fiction during this recession.  Only a few weeks ago the president was telling the nation that the economy was in critical condition and Congress must enact into law the stimulus package and the bailouts because the country was on the brink of catastrophe.  Now the president says (and I paraphrase), “The economy is not as bad as we thought it was.”  Now the President agrees with John McCain (in so many words) that the American economy is “fundamentally sound”.

Who are you to trust?  Who are you to believe in economic times like these?Answer:  Trust and believe in yourself.

In running your business you need to use a skill that has been lost by many people: common sense.  You don’t get common sense by getting a degree, reading a book or going down to the local store and buying it off the shelf.  Common sense is based on rational thoughtful thinking.  Not fear, not acting like a scared little rabbit, and not letting the talking heads on network or cable news scare you with all of their speculation. 

By now everyone should realize that the economy is in a real mess.  But we are not talking about the economy.  We are talking about your business!  Yes, you have to re-invent your business.  Reduce wasteful spending and increase your sales and marketing efforts.  If you are using common sense you’ll make the right decisions.  If you are making your decisions based on fear your decisions will be counter-productive to your pathway to business success. 

Let’s go!  Let’s get in action!  Let’s rebuild those sales that we lost.  Let’s use this recession as a tool to make your business stronger.  Your business skills will be tested and challenged to the max during this recession.  But when you add common sense to your business skills, rather than just sitting there like a scared rabbit doing nothing, you’ll come through this recession just fine.