Building a business can leave you feeling lonely. Week after week, through all the ups and downs, you start to doubt yourself. You’re tempted to give up. When you’re frustrated, maybe you sign up for a webinar, or pick the most recent bestselling book on productivity, or buy a new tool that will help you improve your marketing funnel.

The state of the economy, and our country as we know it, is crazy at the moment. But I don’t want you to live in fear. I want you to take a deep breath, and know that you can control your financial future. Here are three things you should do with your money right now.

Kathleen contacted me because this baby boomer needed career assistance. Her husband had gotten an executive position in a new state, and they were moving halfway across the country for his opportunity. That meant that she was going to be leaving her program manager position behind as the job had was only part-time after the COVID-19 pandemic happened.

Have you been stressed during budget conversations? Are you anxious at the grocery store checkout when you hear the total? Do you seem to be buying more and more stuff to make yourself feel better about everything?

If you have a college-bound teen or current college student, you probably already know filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is one of the best ways to apply for scholarships and grants to help cash flow that degree. And let’s be real, the FAFSA is already confusing enough on its own, so having to think about COVID-19 on top of that just adds to the stress.

The stories we tell ourselves have a direct impact on what we believe about life. I don’t know about you, but I can easily get carried away by crazy thoughts running through my head—like one time when I was enjoying some much-needed alone time on a weekend getaway.

No one got career predictions right for 2020 since we didn’t foresee the pandemic happening. Everyone’s career has been impacted in some way since COVID-19 hit the globe. As we look ahead, we see with certainty some new trends and dramatic changes that will affect your career and any job search you might undertake. These predictions are broken down by topic.

I love this time of year. The holidays are my absolute favorite, but not just because of the lights and food and family time. I also love that we have the opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been and decide where we want to go. And if we’re being honest, we all need a fresh start after the craziness of 2020. Progress isn’t going to appear out of thin air, which is why I love teaching people the habit and skill of setting goals. Here are four steps that will help you make real life-change in 2021:

You’ve been there. You open up a holiday sale email, and the colorful images of trendy new items make you drool a little. You click into the store, ready to shop for Christmas gifts. There’s a gorgeous handbag that immediately makes you think of your best friend, but even the sale price is more than you planned to spend on her. You know what? Last year, your friend bought your daughter an animatronic Disney princess carriage. So, you kind of owe it to her to splurge on her gift. And the sale price on the bag is truly a good deal. You can just imagine the look on her face when she opens such a beautiful gift. Order now! Boom!

We need some extra Christmas cheer this year. 2020 took all of us on a chaotic roller-coaster ride, and many people in our communities are scared, broken, hurting, and hungry. They’re worried about the future. They’ve lost jobs, or even loved ones.

Okay, I get it. It’s easy to simply tell someone they should stop comparing themselves to other people. Talk is cheap. How do you actually stop comparing yourself to others? That’s the trick, and it’s an important one to learn. Comparison can become a bad habit that’s hard to break.

I was talking to a 58-year -old manager at Microsoft yesterday. I asked him if Microsoft is doing any hiring. He said, "I just hired two people. I've never met either of them in person. I did the interviewing online and decided that they were the right people to join the team. So I gave them job offers. One starts on Monday, and the other one starts next week."

Black Friday is coming! Everywhere you look there’s a good deal to be had. And this year, most people aren’t even going to the stores, but that won’t stop the sales from coming to you. They’re showing up in your inbox, just sitting in your pocket waiting for you. With the click of a button, items will magically show up on your doorstep.

Valerie, 59, is a human resources manager, working at a prominent company, who had asked for my help in writing her résumé. She said, “I think now is the right time to polish up my résumé. I see résumés all the time. Thousands have passed through my hands, but when it comes to writing my own, I have a difficult time doing it. A résumé is nothing more than a slick piece of advertisement. But an important piece, especially in today’s job market. I hate to admit it, but I need help writing mine.”

“I’ve been a chiropractor my whole working life. At 63, I’m unlikely to get another job. Being laid off now is really the end of my career,” said Thomas as he looked at the layoff letter. “I’m shocked and surprised. It feels terrible, and it’s a major loss to be forced out of doing something you love. I’ve helped over 20,000 people during my long career. It feels like such a tragedy and loss to the public too. I kept many people from a lifetime of pain and disability,” this chiropractor stated.

These are unprecedented times, you guys. There’s sad news everywhere you look, so I want to give you some hope today. Let’s talk about one thing that can help your specific situation right now, no matter where you’re at with your finances—an emergency fund.

Recognizing that the job search process has changed is the first step. Here are a few key things you need to know about.

Y’all, these are some weird times for business owners. For the past few weeks, you’ve been thrown a pretty big curve ball in the form of the coronavirus. No matter what size company you have, you’re left asking yourself some pretty hard questions like: How do we keep the lights on? How do we keep paying our team members? How do we adapt? How do we show that we’re sensitive and not out of touch? How do we still stay in business in this new world?

Writing a persuasive resume is challenging for most people. Yet, a top-quality resume that effectively sells your skills and accomplishments to an employer is essential to your success. Is yours good enough to grab a recruiter’s attention? As a result of the COVID-19 recession, many employers are being flooded with resumes that will likely never get through the Applicant Tracking System so no HR person or recruiter will ever physically see it. I have created this quiz, based on dozens of hiring surveys, hundreds of employer interviews, and nearly 30 years of resume writing experience. It doesn’t matter what generation you are from, I’ve worked with Baby Boomers, Gen Z every age in between to create eye-catching resumes that landed jobs.

As of mid-April, about 95% of Americans—or 306 million people—were placed under a stay-at- home order to stop the spread of the coronavirus. This means that in a matter of days we’d been thrown into the largest work-from-home experiment in history. But disruption is an opportunity for innovation. It’s critical that you stay as productive as possible during this time—for your own career, for your company, and for our larger economy. With that in mind, here are eight tips for working from home, whether you’ve been doing this for years or just a few days.