Just before Christmas, I became a statistic. I was made redundant. Not a very memorable statistic granted, but it happened and it was real. There will of course be many people who will be and are in the same position as me and the question on so many minds is how does one survive in the 21st century with no job. The answer should spring to most people immediately. Be motivated. However as we all know this can not always be easy as we all motivate ourseleves in different ways and respond to different stimuli. Being the eternal optimist, I always try to see the best things in every situation that I find myself in. This is something that helps to keep me going. I always try to remember the saying that when one door closes another opens. But even I am grown up enough to know that this is not enough. I like many others like to run, and I try (although not always successfully) to run every week as it helps to keep me in the right frame of mind and stay alert.

The other thing that keeps me going,( and this may seem strange)is sites like this, as it gives me (the ordinary bloke in the street) the chance to communicate with the world and discuss with complete strangers ways to stay motivated in depressing times like these. In some ways it seems to me that it is my duty to openly communicate with other people about the difficult times in order to gain a better understanding of the problem and how to find a solution. I am also reminded about the saying that 2 brains are better than one. Therefore I would like to formally open this debate and throw the question to the world. "How do you solve the problem of the recession?" Answers on a postcard please.