In 2006, I had just gotten out of the restaurant business, and I took a year off to figure out what I wanted to do next. Katy, my daughter, had just started kindergarten, and I had this “free time”. I was totally stressed out. I needed to make money, I was afraid of the future, I was experiencing a crisis! I watched a lot of Law and Order, I played free cell constantly. And I was so, so bored! Then one day, I woke up in the middle of the night, and I knew that I needed to start A-list.

Last week, I was talking to my speech coach, Margaret Romney, about the COVID-19 crisis, I was discussing with her the fears that my clients have about the future. And then she said to me “Do you know what the criteria are for a crisis?”

My response was “There are criteria for a CRISIS?”

“Yes. There are five criteria for a crisis.”

According to Effective Crisis Communication by Ulmer, Sellnow and Seeger, here they are:

• It is unexpected
• It disrupts routine
• It produces uncertainty
• It is a threat
• It creates opportunity

Check out number five. As soon as I heard that, I thought, no wonder we have such mixed feelings about a crisis! There is opportunity in the middle of this mess!

We are in the middle of a crisis, and I find myself once again watching a lot of Law and Order and playing free cell. But I am also working with my clients, writing my second book, working on my speech writing, AND, I am working on a video series. I am confident that I will come out having created my next business opportunity. I have done it before; I am doing it again.

And, so can you. Focus and create!