This is spot on. The article and the whole "Opportunity" philosophy has had a profound effect on one of our UK clients. This is a highly successful and growing business. But they are in a sector that has been hit hard by the recession. Taking the time out to see recession as an Opportunity and not just a threat created a paradigm shift for this business. it is an optimistic story for us all. Here's what the client says ... "Sometimes in life you just need a bit of a push and that’s exactly what happened to me in early Feb 2009. I received a call from my Shirlaws business coach inviting me to a two day seminar hosted by Darren Shirlaw. I generally enjoy seminars but the two enemies are “time away from the business” and “cost”, both of which need to be handled with care, even more so in these troubled times but John convinced me and I am so glad he did. The first smile on my face came when Darren explained that a recession is just part of the business process, there have been many previously and there will be many more to come. He explained that a recession is an opportunity to “cleanse” the business of any waste and focus on what drives energy and profit. Opportunities present them selves that never would have done in the good times, in our case we have just completed our second acquisition in six months. Darren went on to talk about “Paradigm Shifts” that can have a profound effect on a business. This re kindled an idea of mine which, if successful could increase our productivity by around 40% and improve profits to an industry all time high. The idea involves “re packaging” our product and service offering in a way which would be an industry first. After leaving the course I started sharing my idea with the rest of the team who are on board with it and the wheels are in motion. God knows how long this idea would have been kept under the surface had I not attended the seminar."