How to Prepare for a Tough Life Ahead

In this article you can find the right strategies to deal with the chaotic world post corona-covid19

-49+ Tips for Healthy Mindset Changes at Personal Level

-11 Toughest Challenges You as a business head will face when your business reopens [especially if yours is a non-essential business]

-34 Tasks as a Business Head You Must Do Immediately

-24 tips on how to Reinvent and create new value through a far greater responsiveness to your end customers and users

-Please also read my previous 6 articles "What to do if you have lost your job", "CEO's biggest challenges", "Changing roles of top leaders" etc. - for additional DIY articles on all the major cliché-words used in this blog

How to Prepare for a Tough Life Ahead and a very long-haul of the toughest phase of your life ahead.

Believe it now or believe it later – BUT – every aspect of our lives is going to change SIGNIFICANTLY, DRASTICALLY, PAINFULLY.

The Choice is yours – would you like it to be a drastic OR a meaningful-well-planned change.

I can guarantee you - this is going to be a very-very long-haul - at least for many-people.

And only with your resolve, determination, relearning and pivoting - you may remain afloat.

You can remove the word "EASY" from your life's dictionary at least for the near future.

Earlier too - nothing profound, worthwhile and meaningful was easy to accomplish - now it has only become more tough.

There is a popular saying "prepare for the worst and hope for the best" – HERE I AM SAYING THAT – "Prepare for the worst AND be mentally ready for it to be worstest".

Sounds very pessimistic – but in today's approaching economic-catastrophe – this way of looking and preparing for the most unthinkable negative scenario - may turn out to be a great strategy to remain sane and in control of your life.

Even if you are among those businesses or professions – which seems secured – complete volatility, complexities, uncertainties and ambiguities of this world around you [which you depend on] – will impact you sooner or later.

Before this corona-covid19 hit us – maybe your life was good and it had its own charm, fun, joy and satisfaction.

Now because of this pandemic - you might have lost your livelihood, your business, your total financial-security, someone you love, your home and maybe even your health.

Financial-dooms to relationship-failures to business-bankruptcies to job-losses to education-becoming-redundant – are some of the possible chaos you may face.

The most-fittest of us too may succumb – but the bestest among the fittest would manage not only to survive and will become stronger but also will grow hugely.

If instead of getting rattled-shattered-devastated - Would you like to be among the survivors and trendsetters – then please read on.

49 Tips for Healthy Mindset Changes at Personal Level – given in random order

1.If you have been hit-hard and fallen-flat – naturally you would take some time to get up – don't fight with this urge to immediately rise and start fighting battles that you must fight to win this war.
2.Because even you get up and start running – there are circumstances beyond your control in the world – which may not support your speed.
3.Understand that nothing great will happen soon – so you have to identify and list all your reserves, energies, wits, skills, competencies, will-power, strengths, weaknesses, challenges, the support-network etc. etc. – then consolidate them together
4.Then look at the future – what best you can do – this can never be one choice – BUT – you need to generate long-lists of all possible actions which are within your area of control and influence
5.Sleep over all your options, possibilities, alternatives -again and again – till you find those which sets your heart running
6.Then do the soft-testing of your ideas with your loved ones – telling them to find holes-defects-flaws-lacunae in your concept, idea or dreams
7.Stop looking at the clock – because we are right now in a weird timeless zone – whether it is Sunday or Saturday - Does it matter - even if you are working from home
8.Also stop trying to figure out how long this crisis is going to last
9.This is not the time to have a hourly tracking of progress you are making
10.This is the time to set small, incremental daily goals to maximum weekly ones – only when you have accomplished successful and attained the milestones that you had set for this period – you go for the next stage
11.Share & celebrate even the smallest of your wins - with your loved ones
12.You need to accept the fact that You're not the only one who is going through this crisis – but THAT only You can create plans and execute-implement-act on your strategies to keep you going and also supporting your backers
13.The best way to handle the ambiguity and uncertainty is always to focus on the broadest view say looking from an eagle's eye while flying at the top and then contextualize – how you can create a specific niche for yourself
14.Stop going for perfect plans, zero-failure strategies – focus instead on action, execution, implementation
15.Pivot and improvise fast when something doesn't work - do this till you either find a new way or solve the challenges
16.Consider and focus on both the big and small picture - Differentiate between – End-goals, Means-goals, Outcome-goals, Process-goals
17.Increase your concentration and focus by meditating or reading a book.
18.Work on your discipline - to get into your ideal mental state
19.Take a full assessment of your present state and accept it
20.Do a SWOT your life
21.Wherever you are will not get even slightly impacted by any amount of worrying about things that may or may not happen in the future
22.Creating alone time to think and visually prepare for what lies ahead
23.Do nothing literally - spend the afternoon before your planned action-day for crucial and important goals - watch films -lying on the sofa- don't involve yourself in anything taxing
24.Go to bed early and wake up fresh
25.Know that you have an absolute choice over what you think about. Feed your mind with thoughts and images that make you feel strong, positive and confident
26.Develop your own recipe for success with mental and physical preparation in the days, hours, minutes before your challenge
27.Accept the moment as it is and you as you are
28.Do not waste precious energy worrying about the things that can go wrong or what you haven't done
29.Control the controllable. Anything outside your control is futile to worry about
30.Get SMART - Break it down into actionable steps - Take action

• Focus immediately for finding solutions whenever become stuck

I.Write down the problems involved. On paper they may seem more manageable than swirling in your head.

II.List as many solutions as possible. For now, silence your internal judge. You can reject options later.

III.Assess your list. Try asking yourself how you'd like this situation to end. Which options likely will get you there? You also can weigh pros and cons.

IV.Accept reasonably good solutions. Research suggests that searching for a perfect option breeds disappointment.

V.Once you pick some solutions, break them into reasonable chunks and make a concrete plan. You might set yourself some specific deadlines too.

VI.Don't get discouraged if the first solution you try doesn't pan out. Try another one on your list.

VII.Reframe and readjust Your Thinking

46.Ask yourself how realistic your worry is. Our imaginations can take us into situations that may never develop.
I.Set aside "worry" time each day. Then whenever a negative thought intrudes, tell yourself to wait until the set time. You may feel better by then.
II.Look at tough times as an opportunity to learn, grow or improve your situation. Maybe you've seen how supportive your friends are or learned how strong you can be in a tough time.
47.Go into 'survival mode' if necessary – minimum expenses, maximum joy, optimum exercise
48.Be Resilient - When Life Gets Hard
49.Throw your EGO - quit if it does not work after reasonable efforts, actions, time and expense - this type of quitting will make you happier, reduces your stress and help your health.
50.Make a clear distinction between denial about the situation and overconfidence in your abilities.
51.Prepare -Even If it is quite-late For Preparation - Focus ONLY on What You Can Control - and Not on What You Can't

11 Toughest Challenges you as a business head will face when your business reopens [especially if yours is a non-essential business]

1.Employees would be are nervous about their future if not about getting infected
2.How many and whom would you call and whom would you let go
3.Even if all these you manage to sort out – your customers are not likely to return en-masse
4.Then you will have the most important mother of all question - whether it is worth re-opening
5.How will you pay to employees, vendors, suppliers, utilities, your-debtors
6.How will you collect outstanding that others owe you
7.When it comes to certain types of businesses - of course, social distancing
8.It may make opening financially unviable -
9.Factories, for instance, may be able to operate at half capacity – would they make enough money to survive
10.For hotels and restaurant - opening up to serve say one-third the usual volume of customers would cost more than they can earn
11.On the other hand - there are risks to not opening – your competitors who choose to open can steal market share or be better positioned by the time economy bounces back PLUS your top talent may leave

34 Tasks as a Business Head You Must Do Immediately

1.Acquire knowledge – reskill – both for yourself as well as your team
2.Rapidly recover outstanding revenue - it will not be enough for companies to recover revenues gradually as the crisis abates- speedy action in this case is the most important aspect
3.Get into Start-up mindset- experiment, take-action and improvise
4.Understand what customers will value -post-COVID-19 and develop new uses - tailor and customize - the user-customer experiences based on these insights
5.Identify and prioritize revenue opportunities - This may include sustained campaigns to win and retain loyal customers - reallocating budget and spending to growth-engines
6.Reskill employees with the most in-demand competencies
7.Create flexible revenue generation models
8.Optimize digitization and automate processes
9.Create your positioning based on your competitive advantage - if don't have any - then built it
10.Develop an agile operating model - meaning putting robust operating model built around the customers changing preferences and priorities and support it by the right processes
11.24 tips on how to Reinvent and create new value through a far greater responsiveness to your end customers and users
I.Focus on growth and innovation to increase customer life-time value
II.Build a Business Continuity Plan based on your burn rate
III.Create vivid and crystal-clear business-model
IV.Revise your sales revenue goals and product timelines
V.Review Online Subscriptions - Offer incentives which appeal to the customers
VI.Renegotiate Supplier Contracts
VII.Use Invoice Factoring/discounting through banks
VIII.Reorganize around New Demands
IX.Accelerating end-to-end value-chain customization
X.Identify how might you use your existing assets to temporarily serve new market demands
XI.Brainstorm Survival Strategies with your team involving every level
XII.Apply for Government Grants – if available and applicable
XIII.Connect with your Key Clients
XIV.Review Your Marketing Spend
XV.Renegotiate Interest Rates
XVI.Collect Outstanding Debts
XVII.Consider Selling assets – in dire state and if you get reasonable value
XVIII.Introduce Pay-cuts and defer bonuses – to retain talent
XIX.Scale Back on Perks and Fringe Benefits
XX.Offer More Attractive Terms to Investors
XXI.Scale Back on Office Space
XXII.Offer Milestone-Based Payment plan
XXIII.Calculate and make your cash-flow forecasts
XXIV.Handle your own and your team's Burnout
XXV.Audit and adjust your customers' experience - Create innovative Customer retention strategies.

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