hat history has taught us is that out of the ashes rise great opportunities. Challenge can be transformed when we know how to ask a new set of questions to shift our perceptions, and then create actions. For example, asking the question, “What have I learned to prepare myself for difficult financial times?” One thing would be having a higher value on your finances, and an action would be to conservatively save money, which increases the chances of accumulating future wealth. “How has chaos made a difference in the world?” Chaos can bring unity and awakening to a new order. This is exemplified in the way world leaders have united in their will to restore stability to financial markets.

Challenges & blessings
With the perceived challenges, asking new questions to reveal the blessings will alleviate fears associated with the temporary loss of money. When the veil of fear is removed, we reveal our creative actions.

Challenge: losing a job
Question: How can I use my special talents to create an income? What have I always wanted to do?
Blessing & action: Open the pathway to a new job you really love. It can also be the catalyst for going after a long-sought dream. You may find yourself generating new ideas that awaken your entrepreneurialism. Being free from the perceived ’security’ of your previous job may assist you in discovering the courage to start up your own company. A cutback package could actually become the capital for a new business.

Challenge: not being able to afford previous lifestyle
Question: How or where can I focus my energy to maintain a quality lifestyle?
Blessing & action: Become innovative with your new found time and create quality time with families and friends. Fathers and mothers can play sports with their children, to build bonds that wouldn’t take place when paying for a coach. Imagine the benefits to all family members learning to more deeply appreciate all they still have.

Challenge: limited or no money for a vacation
Question: How can I change my family vacation?
Blessing & action: Vacations bring their own stresses – overspending, busy airports, delayed planes, lost luggage, etc. Limited or no finances encourages us to take a less expensive local vacation, which in turn boosts the local economy, or compels us to stay home and get things in order, bringing a peace of mind all its own. Remember, peace of mind is in fact the definition of a true vacation. We also get to link up and deepen relationships with friends who find themselves in the same situation. Swapping homes or hosting friends, if we help others give and receive what they would love, we tend to give and receive what we would love.

Challenge: company restructuring
Question: How can the marketing campaign improve? What company basics have been ignored that can now be revamped?
Blessing & action: In good times, companies tend to become over-fed and overlook the decline of inefficiencies. Recessionary times force companies to become leaner. To streamline all areas of ineffectiveness, to fine-tune marketing campaigns, creates a well-oiled machine that prospers when the tide turns.

Challenge: difficulty getting start-up funding
Question: What do I need to do to ensure that I get financing for my new venture?
Blessing & action: With bank lending at a minimum this forces entrepreneurs to fine-tune business plans and present a financially sound strategy that ensures success and loan repayment. This gives you a level of certainty for your future business success. Easy money can be the recipe for complacency and failure.

Challenge: credit crunch
Question: How does not having money today affect my future?
Blessing & action: The credit crunch protects you from making foolish financial decisions today, affecting your tomorrow. It will make you prioritize your purchases, ‘trimming’ fat, making you more financially efficient and lean. This can certainly pay off, saving you more money in the future.  H&L

Dr. John Demartini is an international educator specializing in human behavior and social dynamics. Dr. Demartini will be speaking in Toronto on July 30, August 1 and 2. For more information on Dr. John Demartini and his offerings, visit drdemartini.com