Heaven help you if you've been reading the newspaper or watching the evening news. By viewing life through the distorted lens of the media, it's easy to become one depressed little puppy.
There is huge scarcity everywhere. There's no money. No one is buying. There's no end in sight to economic troubles. Doom. Gloom. A little more gloom. The sky is falling.
But imagine for a moment that what you were being told wasn't totally true. What if there was something you could do about the economic problems impacting your business? What if it wasn't all hopeless?
One of the first steps in determining truth is to consider the source.
Has the news media ever lied before? Have they ever reported things that were not correct? Have they ever only told part of the truth or put a slant on a story?
Everything may seem hopeless to you because you are bombarded by negative messages every day. But, just because a lie is repeated many times doesn't make it true.
The next step in determining truth is to observe things for yourself and see if any of what you examine contradicts what you are being told.
– Tiffany & Co.'s second-quarter net income rose 19 percent on higher revenue as shoppers bought more of its high-end jewelry around the world.
–	Apple recently announced financial results for its fiscal 2010 third quarter. The Company posted record revenues of $15.7 billion and a net quarterly profit of $3.25 billion.
– McDonald's U.S. stores outperformed the industry by about 5 percent, and their second-quarter profit rose 12 percent, to $1.2 billion.
–	A dental client of ours just had more new patients start in the last month than in any other month in that past two years.
–	Sentium is having a record year.
So no, it's not true that everything is bad everywhere.
Hmmm…businesses doing well despite the economy? Luck? A fluke? A magic lamp with a genie?
Remember the cartoon "Popeye the Sailor?" Popeye used to get pushed around and beat up by Brutus, the big bad guy.
Finally, Popeye would have his "Popeye Moment" and say, "That's all Ize kin take and Ize kin take no more!" He would pull out a can of spinach and eat it.
Suddenly, he became powerful and strong. He would put a beat down on Brutus and win the day.
Feel the economy (like Brutus) is kicking you in the economic teeth? Here's what you can do.
1.	Grab your spinach and eat it. Shake off the overwhelming sense of helplessness that can happen.
2.	Decide that you can (and will) do something about improving the condition of your business.
3.	Stop listening to and watching the news.
5.	Get that offer out to as many prospective customers as possible.
6.	Deliver an exceptional value to the people who respond to help make them customers for life.
7.	Repeat steps 3 through 6.
8.	Repeat steps 3 through 6.
9.	Repeat steps 3 through 6.
The simple truth is that when you promote your business well, you get more customers. It doesn't matter what the economic reports say. It doesn't matter how well or poorly your competition is doing. It doesn't matter if it's raining outside.
Increase the amount of marketing you put out into the world and you will attract more business.
This is your antidote to a bad economy. Of course it only works if you actually do it.
Yes. It's time to businessman-up and go into action.
Almost any marketing activity is better than no marketing activity. It gets your business moving.
And yes, there are degrees of effectiveness. There's walking. There's running. And then there's driving a well-tuned sports car.
There's a technology to marketing and advertising. In the world of direct response advertising, there are many known success formulas.
Do them well and the phone rings off the hook.
Find a good copywriter who understands your marketplace and who can create effective advertising, and you have found a goose that lays golden eggs.
Not everything they create will be a wild success. Even the greatest copywriters have their duds. But by repeating promotions that get results and dropping the losers, you will soon have a marketing machine that produces a constant flow of new clients for you.
And that puts you in control over your economic destiny.
So, grab your spinach and get started.