When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in full force earlier this year, it turned everyone’s life upside down. In an instant, the world shut down as the deadly new coronavirus rapidly spread across the world. Borders closed and major economies shut down as many countries went into lockdown. No matter where you looked or what you did, you couldn’t escape two-headed monster of an impending health disaster and an economic collapse. Nobody spoke about using the pandemic as an opportunity.
As many of you know, I am “glass half full” person. And having graduated college straight into the teeth of the Great Recession in 2009, I’ve been through my fair share of crises. As the weeks of painfully slow economic recovery from the Great Recession turned into months and the months turned into years, I had an epiphany.
Reject the Pandemic Negativity and Embrace Opportunity
People everywhere said that my generation was screwed. They would be the first generation to do worse off than their parents. They’re the new lost generation. They’ll never be able to afford to retire. It went on and on. My entire mindset changed when I realized that that entire notion was bullshit and wholeheartedly rejected it.
Instead, in addition to the pandemic, every crisis is an opportunity to either better yourself or take a step towards your goals that you wouldn’t have done had the crisis not occurred. Indeed, after going back to school and unable to find work in the years coming out of the Great Recession, I started my own business. It was the best decision I’ve ever made, and I wouldn’t trade the freedom and satisfaction of being your own boss for anything. If it weren’t for the Great Recession, I would likely still be struggling to climb my way up the corporate ladder somewhere.
Today, I’m going to teach you how to seize the moment and convert any crisis, including the ongoing pandemic, into an opportunity that could change your life. As Mac McAnally and Drake White put it, “Every day is once in a lifetime.”
1. Admit That There is a Problem or a Crisis
Look, we all have our pride. Admitting you have a problem is surprisingly hard to do, but if you can’t admit there’s a problem, you won’t be able reach a solution to it.
While it’s all well and good to admit to yourself you have a problem, I find it’s much more powerful if you can tell it to a close friend, family member, or other loved one. If you don’t want to go that far, then just write it down so you can hold yourself to it in the future.
2. Channel All the Negative Energy into a Positive Mindset
When constantly bombarded with all the negative news flying around these days, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you react like most of us and get angry. While it’s perfectly normal to occasionally get angry at certain things you hear on the news, it’s unhealthy to be angry all the time.
Instead of becoming angry, try to channel the negative energy into something positive for yourself. For example, if the politicization of everything these days gets under your skin, commit yourself to reject it and denounce it. If you can’t think of anything, look for ways to “pay it forward” and help somebody else. Don’t be afraid to use a relaxation exercise if you need to.
In fact, your actions and responses can be completely unrelated to the trigger. Sticking with the example of everything being politicized, you could commit to eat a healthier diet or go to bed earlier and get more sleep, both of which will make you feel better. If all else fails, rigorous exercise is a great way to blow off stress, frustration, and anger, plus you’ll feel good afterwards, too.
3. Focus on What You Can Control. Tune the Rest Out.
There is no better way to work yourself into a tizzy and really stress yourself out than worrying about things that are out of your control. Shift your mindset into how your actions and reactions can make the situation better.
For example if someone says something that you strongly disagree with, you control how you react, so diffuse the situation, tune them out, and walk away instead of escalating things and creating a confrontation. Surround yourself with positive influences, and take a hard pass on anything that could make you angry or sad.
4. Identify Your Goals and Dreams
Be honest with yourself, and don’t be afraid to dig deep to figure out what your true goals and dreams are, in both the short and long-term. Set realistic, achievable goals and dreams that are S.M.A.R.T. Don’t be afraid to dream big, as long as you can keep it within the S.M.A.R.T. criteria.
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-Bound
Setting these goals and dreams and the process of achieving them are investments in yourself. Investing in yourself is one of the best things you can ever do, regardless of the circumstance, and what better way to put yourself in a better mindset than to know you’re coming out of a crisis better than when you went into it.
5. Determine What You’re Willing to Sacrifice to Achieve those Goals and Dreams
In many instances, accomplishing your goals and dreams takes an enormous amount of sacrifice. Many of these sacrifices can also be considered investments in yourself, so your short-term sacrifice will pay off in a long-term return on investment. If you’re on the fence about something, look for ways to dip your toe in the water before fully committing to it.
When I started my business, I gave up the stability of receiving a paycheck every two weeks and all of the benefits that go along with it (such as paid time off), and took a very significant pay cut as I worked to get the business off the ground. I had to live off of a very strict budget for several years.
The long term return or trade-off is that I get to choose which projects I work on across several different industries. I can set my schedule and workload the way I want. I don’t need to ask permission if I need a day off. Best of all, I have the freedom to work from anywhere that has an internet connection. That freedom increases my happiness and motivation, which in turn increases my productivity. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
6. Put Together a Detailed Plan
I can tell you from my own personal experience that having an incomplete plan, or even worse, no plan, only ends in failure and dejection. Your short, medium, and long-term plans should include:
- What is the goal or dream?
- Are you willing to make sacrifices to achieve that goal or dream? Make a list of them. What are the long-term payoffs of those sacrifices?
- Are there any products or services that you need to purchase?
- How are you going to fund everything needed to reach your dream?
- What steps will you take to accomplish that goal or dream?
- What is the time frame to accomplish that goal or dream?
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. I also strongly recommend that you consider any actions that may be needed to “tide you over” as you work towards your dream. For example, if your dream is to start a business, would you need to or be willing to take a secondary job to pay the bills as you work to get your business off the ground, even if it’s a crappy minimum wage job?
7. Execute that Plan
You spent all that time writing your plan. Now get out and execute it!
8. Get Back on Track in the Face of Roadblocks and Setbacks
No matter how immaculately detailed your plan is, you will inevitably face roadblocks and setbacks. Unexpected things happen. It’s not your fault when they do. While you can’t control roadblocks and setbacks, you can control how you react to them. In my years of athletic coaching and other leadership positions, when things got derailed, I would always tell my team the following.
In times of adversity, mediocre teams whine, complain, and make excuses. Great teams find a way to overcome it.
When you’re faced with adversity or under heavy pressure, close your eyes and escape to your Happy Place. A happy place is a place in your mind you can go to relax and re-focus yourself, where all your worries will fade away.
Take it from the great coach Chubbs Peterson in Happy Gilmore.
9. Life sometimes gets in the way. Revise your goals, dreams, and plans regularly.
Life is constantly throwing us curveballs. This is especially true in the age of COVID-19. When you find yourself in this situation, don’t panic, and more importantly, don’t give up. The problem is often not as serious as you first make it out to be. Instead, follow these steps to get your dreams back on track.
- Relax. Take a deep breath, take a step back, and ask yourself how serious the problem truly is. Be realistic with yourself.
- Return to step 5 above and see if you can adjust your plan so you can both handle the curveball and execute your plan successfully. If you’re stuck, don’t hesitate to go for an outside-the-box solution.
- If the curveball and your plan have a really serious conflict, you may need to scrap your plan and create a new one. Go back to step 1 and work your way through this guide. Keep in mind that even in this scenario, there are likely parts of your original plan that can be re-used.
- Execute your new plan.
- Continue chasing your dreams.
Whatever you do, don’t ever give up. You don’t want to live the rest of your life wondering “what if”.
10. Have fun and enjoy the ride.
You only get one shot at this whole game of life. Go live the hell out of it.
How Am I Harnessing the Opportunity of the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Over the past two years or so, several flaws have emerged in my business model, so I am seizing the opportunity of the slowdown from the pandemic to correct those flaws, expand the business’ offerings, and set myself up for much better success in the future.
I recently read a fascinating article about working as a business owner. The author described the difference between working in your business, where you get paid for serving your clients and customers, versus working on your business, which consists of administrative work, planning, marketing, networking, and much more.
When done right, you don’t get paid immediately for work you do on your business. Instead, you see the payoff in the long-term, in the form of better clients, higher-paying projects, and more. I had spent way too much time working in the business, neglecting the business’ website, blog, and more, so everything was long overdue for a serious update.
Here are a few of my goals to accomplish during and after this incredible opportunity that the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic slowdown has presented. These goals all work towards one primary objective: setting myself up for happiness and prosperity in the future.
My Goals
- Re-brand the business and greatly expand the business’ product catalog and offerings to attract a more diverse group of clients.
- Diversify the business’ income. I was relying way too heavily on income from one client. Diversifying your income allows you to retain a reliable income should a project you’re working on suddenly end. Trust me, it happens from time to time, for a variety of reasons.
- Formulate a proper marketing strategy. Most freelancers, self-employed individuals, and one-man businesses struggle mightily with marketing. I am no exception.
- Create a new networking strategy. I want to reach beyond my network, as word-of-mouth referrals from friends and family only go so far.
- Launch new products and update existing ones. I launched my own COVID-19 Dashboard back in March. The Matt Gove Photo Scenic Drives Map got a major face lift this past spring, and now features stunning three-dimensional maps and a greatly improved user experience. Matthew Gove Web Development launched a brand new, greatly expanded product catalog in September. I am currently working on a world encyclopedia that will link my passions for photography, travel/exploration, and GIS into one beautiful web application. A preliminary version of the encyclopedia will launch this fall, and I expect the complete application to launch in early 2021.
- Expand to a global client base. Anyone with an internet connection is a potential client. I’d be stupid not to take advantage of that. Other economies will likely be back to normal before the US. A diversified global client base should help protect against economic downturns should one country plummet into a recession.
- Plan for expansion of the business. I would love to generate enough work to need to hire additional help within the next three to five years.
- Travel and explore. Once the pandemic is over, I want to get out, see the world, and reconnect with my love of photography.
Conclusion
Knowing exactly what you want and wanting it bad enough is an incredibly powerful mindset. If you’ve ever watched a playoff game in any sport, you have probably heard an analyst say that a victorious team “just wanted it more”. That’s the mindset you should be applying to your life. If you want something bad enough, it’s awfully hard for anyone or anything to stand in your way.
While the human and economic toll of COVID-19 has been horrific for so many of us, I encourage you to shift your mindset from seeing the COVID-19 pandemic as a crippling crisis to viewing it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is a once-in-a-century pandemic after all.
You are the only one in control of your own actions, reactions, and destiny. Are you going to settle for mediocrity by whining, complaining, and making excuses, or will you seize the moment, take advantage of this opportunity, and achieve true greatness?
Top Photo: View from the Top of Fish Creek Hill
Superstition Wilderness, Arizona – March, 2016