Firstly, let me wish you all great things for 2009. And I mean that really sincerely. Even in these times of economic doom and gloom, we underestimate our resourcefulness and how we can adapt to difficult times. Nothing is forever. There are miriad ways we can continue to thrive in this climate by being resourceful and above all, by refusing mentally, emotionally and spiritually to be affected by all the misery that is promulgated through the media. Look at your own lives and decide how much has quantifiably changed. For many, a few things have increased in cost, but that hasn’t meant they have had to take out a second mortgage to live. Many areas of society are working just as they always have. But the nature of news is that we only hear the bad. Make a point of focussing on the good, on the positive. Write it down. Be grateful and thankful, if it is true for you, that despite economic meltdown, you are still ok.

If you have been unlucky through the downturn, consider what you could do to develop yourself. What skills might you consider learning. Look at the market. Which skills are most needed? Don’t put your head in the sand and continue doing the same things you did before. Look upon this as an opportunity to change track. Stop lamenting what has happened and start taking stock of what is. Start from this moment and work into the future.

Here’s an idea for you. Recycle books. Go to your local second hand book dealer or charity shop and search out any books that are to do with personal development. Personal development books are the best selling category on Amazon. Get yourself an amazon account and post them up for sale. Amazon will walk you through setting up an account online. Tap your book title into the amazon search function and see how many others there are of your title and how much they are being sold for. Pitch yours somewhere in there. At the last count Amazon will actually give you money for selling books through their service. This means that you should be able to make a profit from the books you are passing on. Some people that are committed to this kind of business can make many thousands of pounds a year dealing in books through amazon. The second hand book market will thrive on several fronts as people inevitably continue to panic about their economic fortunes so you may be able to make your own lives more comfortable by helping others get their lives together. This is where the upturn starts. When people stop mourning the past, and start being resourceful in the here and now.

If you have any qualms about making money from charity shops, look at it this way: those books are of no use to anyone if they stay in the shops. You are making them available to a much wider audience. The charity shops get the sum they asked for the book, and you are paid for making them more widely available. And people who really need those books, can buy them much more easily. It’s a win-win-win situation!