Oh my! Companies are laying people off left and right. Just yesterday (2009 March 12), a large Architectural firm laid off more people, the 2nd time in about as many months. While still thankfully employed, I’ve had to accept a pay cut and work less hours. Almost immediately, an adjustment in my lifestyle has changed dramatically, and maybe for the better.

I dread living paycheck to paycheck and have tried to find ways to get out of the ‘rat race.’ Obviously, I haven’t tried hard enough because I still live paycheck to paycheck. The fact that I received a nice stable income, month after month, I guess I didn’t have to try too hard. Now that it’s all changed, in the midst of the economic turmoil, I find myself more inspired to bring out the best of my talent and seize the countless opportunities that is available.

Every one of us has a gift and a talent, or two, whether it is what we do for a living or just for fun. Just because the economy is not doing well doesn’t necessarily mean that there are no opportunities to generate a little extra income (or a lot!). Take the Internet for example: there are endless possibilities on how you can earn some extra income, albeit it will take some work. There is a wealth of information right at your fingertips and it can lead to bigger things!

Architecture is my career and until about a year ago, I knew absolutely nothing about computer programming (C# and SQL Database). Lazily stumbling (stumbleupon.com) on the Internet I came across a few sites and forums about C# programming, read some articles and got hooked. Since then, I’ve had loads of fun programming and have written two applications, one as a custom Architecture Project Management database and the other a personal one. Through it all, I’ve not once bought a book nor taken a class. All the information I needed to write a program was on the Internet, through websites and forums such as codeproject.com, csharpfriends.com, and tek-tips.com.  The information is invaluable and people are more than happy to share their experience and knowledge with you. I could not have done it without the Internet. I cannot claim that I am now an expert in application development, but I can say that I have experience and can use it as a stepping stone to market my skills further and generate that extra income.

Although I speak quite a bit about finding opportunities on the Internet, there are definitely things that can be done outside of the digital world. The talents and skills we possess are learned from somewhere. It makes sense that others may want to learn as well, and since we’ve become experts with things that we do, why not take it a step further to teach and consult? That is exactly what I have done with the various computer programs I have used throughout the years. I have no teaching background, but I felt comfortable enough about what I knew and to share it with others. From there, the more I taught, the more it was like becoming fluent in a new language. Practice makes perfect!

This is just a little sample of what I have done within the past year, and what anyone can possibly do. These tough times will bring out the best in all of us. We’ll definitely try harder than we have. We’ll discover more about ourselves than we think we know and the skills we possess. The best part is when it’s the worst of times; it brings out the best in all of us. Not only will we make things better for ourselves, we’ll find ways to help each other out. I hope that we all make it through this crisis just fine.