A young acquaintance recently posted on Facebook that she has been going through some challenging times. She and the man in her life have been focused on getting their financial lives in order, but as chance would have it, they have their eggs in a controversial basket – making an honest living providing Uber services. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, something did and now they have to rebuild their finances again. This young woman came to mind this morning because of a question she put out into the universe: Who would hire a woman so far along in her pregnancy? I might have passed over this comment, however, there’s an important teaching moment in this.

You see, you and I, in fact, everyone has a negative mental default setting. Until we take the time to retrain our brains, they automatically go there whenever we face something new and unknown, or out of our comfort zone. It stops most of us from ever taking any risks or examining potential ideas that could bring a positive change into our lives.

Now, I’m not saying that there are plenty of employers looking to hire someone who is about to go on maternity leave. Rather, I am suggesting that she might recognize that she is going to a negative place without exploring what she could do to keep her financial life on track over the next 6 months or so. That would give her enough time to have the baby and a comfortable period with her new child before she decides what she wants to do next.

If you are in this kind of a position, the key question to ask is what product or service can I provide that is of value to others? What do I like to do – that I can do part time or at home – that others need? What am I willing to do just to have an income for the next 6 months? Are friends or neighbors telling me about something or are there classified ads in the free penny saver newspapers? Is there something online?

Put aside all your negative thoughts about money and work while you allow yourself to recognize that money and opportunity are everywhere if your eyes are open to see and your ears open to hear.

When I was facing economic challenges, I gave myself permission to take any kind of work I could that would bring an immediate source of income requiring no start up fees. For a very brief period of time, I provided telemarketing services for an hourly minimum wage, paid weekly. It wasn’t much, but it gave me money for food and gasoline in my car which then gave me enough to travel for other opportunities.

These jobs exist in any number of places. Think back to the women who provided simple services to people in town to earn money for their families. At the most basic, they might take in laundry, mend clothes, babysit, open a boarding house and provide personal services running errands for friends and neighbors for a fee. Now that we have phones and Internet, we are able to do so much more – telemarketing, network marketing and Internet marketing. You can open a virtual store from home and there are virtual job options like elance.com and fiverr.com where you can use your skills from the comfort of home to help someone else.

Who knows? The uncomfortable situation that caused you to explore these possibilities might be the beginning of a whole new line of work that is much more lucrative and pleasant that working for someone else. It is certainly gives you more options than collecting the small amounts available through government assistance.

The New Year is almost upon us. If you are looking for extra or any income, take these few days to think about it. Look at yourself. If money and opportunity are everywhere, how can you take advantage of that?

And while you’re at it, let’s develop a new, more positive thought routine for 2015.

To Your Success,

Susan