Everyone knows that we are in a deep recession (albeit with some hopeful signs) and that unemployment is through the roof.  However, no matter your career status, you can take control of your life right now and achieve what you want to achieve.  You just need to buckle down and put forth the effort to obtain what you deserve.

This is America, the land of opportunity.  Yet every day I hear on the radio and read in the newspaper reports on how no one can get a job because no one is hiring, and that all they can do is sit at home and sulk.  How is this possible?  Everywhere I look new shops are opening with signs saying “Now Hiring,” and this is not just taking place where I live.  I am seeing this all over the country.  Also, the options for making money in nontraditional ways, such as online, are growing at a momentous rate. Therefore, to be honest, I believe that many are simply using the economic climate as an excuse to either be lazy or to draw sympathy

Now I know that may sound harsh, and I know that there are those that have truly tried everything and now have no way to turn.  But I also know that countless people want to sit on their couch and watch Jerry Springer, hoping that the government will give them what they need.  I want to say to those people, “Keep dreaming.”  The only person that can turn your life around is you.  So get up, get out of the house, and do all you can possibly do to improve conditions for you and your family.

In the case that it seems completely impossible to find work, find an activity in the meantime that will give you experience and that could build your character or even pat your résumé.  In other words, volunteer.  Work at a soup kitchen or at an animal shelter.  Help build houses for Habitat for Humanity, or help special-needs children.  The options are out there, and who knows?  By using the spare time you have from being unemployed, you might discover a new passion that could spark into a whole new career.

So in conclusion, if you apply yourself, you can achieve great things.  Sitting around waiting for people to help you will accomplish nothing.  Take control of your own life, and you will reap the resulting rewards.

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”    - Milton Berle