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With the coronavirus, times have definitely changed. People are staying home. Some have lost their jobs. A lot of business has moved online. How do you make the best of challenging times like this?

OPPORTUNITY

Let’s keep things in perspective. Yes, times are hard for some people. However, there are also opportunities.

The biggest opportunity is to prepare for the future.

The virus may go away in the next few months as weather in the Northern hemisphere gets warmer. It will probably take a little longer for the economy to recover. I can’t be sure. I’m not an expert in either space.

CONTROL

What I do know is that I am an optimist. I also like to control what I can control.

If you are going through challenging times, my heart is with you. Things will get better. We’ll get through this.

If you are on the other side, don’t get sucked down by association. Just because others are struggling, you don’t need to feel guilty for not struggling. We need to be empathetic rather than sympathetic.

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Sympathy is a feeling of pity and sorrow for another’s misfortune. Empathy involves lending a hand and pulling them up. Sympathy is all about living in the sorrow with them. Be empathetic and let your positivity rub off.

AVOID THE NEGATIVITY

Brian Dixon is co-founder of hope*writers, an online community of writers helping each other. He is the author of Start With Your People. Brian said, “Don’t write for your critic.” That is powerful.

Your tribe wants to hear from you in an authentic way. There may be a critic that hammers you for being positive and discussing something other than the crisis. However, most will appreciate it.

Over the past few weeks, my strategy calls with podcasters has actually increased. More podcasters are at home. There is less opportunity to be involved with activities outside of the house. This is a big factor driving my calls.

I have continued to deliver my regular e-mails with ways to make your podcast powerful. I have only received positive comments.

People want what you have.

If we look forward to July or August when we are all headed back to work and our lives have resumed to close to normal, will you be prepared?

TO DO LIST

Here are 9 things you can do during challenging times or whenever you find yourself with some downtime. This could be during slow times of the season, when you’re at home sick or if your business is seasonal. Use these steps to continue to move forward.

1. Be human. Understand what some people are going through.

2. Be positive. While some are going through really tough times, others are not. Be careful that you don’t pull the others down into stress and despair by only focusing on the negative.

3. Plan for the future. We will not be here forever. Market for the future. Keep creating your relationships for the future.

4. Keep publishing. People have time on their hands right now. They need to take their mind off off the stress. Keep going with your content.

5. Get ahead. Create some evergreen episodes that you can have ready in case real life hits you.

6. Book interviews. Many of your guests have some free time now that they are not visiting clients or speaking at events.

7. Start writing a book. If you have time on your hands, make good use of it.

8. Make your offers. Many people are looking for things to do.

9. Be generous. Offer some free resources for your audience.

NOW IS THE TIME

Now is NOT the time to put your head in the sand and think nobody wants to hear from you. During these challenging times, your people need you more than ever.

Many are sitting at home healthy and bored out of their mind. Adjust your approach to give them something to do. Highlight your older episodes, so they can catch up.

Then, use your free time to prepare for later in the year. Create your plan for the rest of the year. Create lead magnets and figure out how you will release them. Record some evergreen episodes. Book and record interviews.

Keep your focus on the future. If you get bogged down by the current state of society, you will come to a halt. You will find it hard to get started and catch up when things get back to normal.

Get through the challenging times by focusing on 6 months down the road. Where do you want to be? Start doing the work now to get there.

If you need help creating that plan or just getting out of your own way, reach out. Let’s get on a call and talk about it. The call is free. No charge. Book your time at PodcastTalentCoach.com/coaching. I’ll help you get through it.

Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.