I’ve survived 3 recessions and several major business upsets over the past 27 years of owning and running my own business. Here are 3 quick tips to turn things around if they start going wrong.

1) Focus. Stop doing 10,000 things and focus on ONE thing that has the greatest chance of producing great results. I wasted too much time in the beginning trying to work on too many activities. THEN, I focused on writing my newspaper column and calling potential clients and the business grew.

At this stage of my life, I focus as much on family as I do on business. I don’t want to lose what really matters while I seek business and financial success.

2) MASSIVE ACTION: A little action gets you a little result. Think of turning a huge ship around. The Titanic hit the ice berg in part because the rudder was too small for the size of the ship. Had the rudder been twice the size, it may not have crashed. Don’t make 10 calls a day, make 100.

Applying the concept to your personal relationships, don’t tell your spouse you love him / her, show it by changing, growing, hugging longer, smiling more and being better.

3) Eyes on the prize: Keep looking at your main goal. Everything in this world will try to distract you from your main goal. Email. Text messages. Low-priority phone calls. Keep your eye on the prize and spend 80% - 90% of your day working on achieving your main goal (business or personal)

I could share 100 more ideas for turning things around but if you don’t use these first 3, the rest is really wasted effort. Wishing YOU great success and happiness.

Smile Maker: A lawyer called a plumber to fix a leak under his sink. Fixing the leak, the plumber handed the lawyer a bill for $200.

The lawyer complained, “You were only here 15 minutes. That’s $800 an hour!. I’m a lawyer and I don’t make that much money!”

The plumber said in reply, “That’s why I quit being a lawyer.”

To your success and find out how Michael Podolinsky will help you and your organization by browsing through the links below:

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This week the message is short and sweet. Don’t give up.

If you think you are drowning, you will, if you stop swimming. It does not matter that the ocean is a kilometre deep or that land is no where in site. You are NOT drowning until you stop swimming.

In a fight? You may be cut, bruised, bleeding, aching and screaming with pain. You are not losing until you stop punching and kicking.

In debt? No problem. Stop spending and start earning more. You are not in trouble until you give up.

In marriage troubles? Start loving more. Stop blaming. Stop taking all the blame. Stop fighting. Stop punching or being the punching bag. PRAY NON STOP. Never give up.

In love? Never give up.

What ever you want in life… go for it. Just never give up.

Smile Maker: Many people want to serve God. But only as advisers.

I’m in Brunei this week. Our 30th country!!

To your success and find out how Michael Podolinsky will help you and your organization by browsing through the links below:

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For our long time subscribers, my personal apology for not writing our weekly newsletter since January 2008. The decision was made to switch to a Blog format to make it more responsive to our readers and with business up 335% in the first quarter, I just got swamped. So now, here we are in July and you finally get our first Blog commentary. THANK YOU for your patience.

For new readers... Welcome on Board Podolinsky’s Success Series!

Recessions: Don’t ya love them? I’ve survived 3 and actually thrived in the last one. This one, I suspect will be much the same only worse for those dependent upon USA business. $9.5 Trillion national debt, $50 Trillion debt owed to the American public in social security, medicare, etc. and the average American with $10,000 in personal debt , often with a 2nd or 3rd mortgage, means the population is “at the end or very near the end of it’s ‘plastic’.” The word I get from friends at The Economist, if China banks hold, we will have a normal recession. If they don’t… hold on to your economic socks as it will be a very bumpy ride.

SO… how to survive or THRIVE in this recession? Here are 3 Recession-buster Steps.

1) Grab market share or boost your career. In every recession, most companies and people cut back. So, be the one to take on more. Take on other people’s work and projects and ideally at a higher level. This not only guarantees you do NOT get fired, it positions you for the next higher job. Do not take on the ‘C’ work, take on the higher profile, higher level projects.

For the business professional, as companies cut back on your products or services, find ways to combine orders, save your clients money, start buying groups or do whatever you can to be the one REMAINING supplier of choice. They love you for it and YOU become the vendor who survives.

2) Cut your costs. During good times, we all get a little lazy about spending. We buy what we FEEL like and spend on a whim. Get ruthless. Cut what you do not need NOW. Share magazine subscriptions with colleagues where you pool the expense instead of you carrying it. Bury your pride and take lunch from home. Use public transport instead of driving and get work done on the bus or train. Sell off what you have not used in a while. Repair rather than replace. Find ways to economise.

3) Sell, Promote, Educate! Most companies and individuals cut back on that which is most needed in recession times. Spend the budget you saved in step 2 on more advertising or promotion, just make sure it is more targeting and FOLLOW-UP on every lead. Increase the quantity and frequency of your sales calls. (most sales people spend only 50% of their time selling)

Get an education. In slow times rather than twiddle your thumbs, go get the MBA when you have the time to do it. Learn what other departments do by volunteering your time to help them. These are awesome career moves for when times turn around.

Bottomline, life and business is a pendulum. It swings to bull, it swings to bear. BOTH can boost your business and your career if you learn to profit from a recession.

SMILE MAKERS for the week: Recession meeting definitions…

Committee: Individuals who can do nothing individually but as a group sit and decide that nothing can be done.

Conference: The confusion of one person multiplied by the number of those present.

Conference Room: A place where everyone talks, nobody listens and after they all disagree.

Conference: A place where delegates catch up on SMS and e-mail messages while a speaker drones on about his life’s achievements with a buffet lunch in the middle.

To your success and find out how Michael Podolinsky will help you and your organization by browsing through the links below:

Click Here to subscribe to  the “Success Series Blog” Tips