Most people talk about the recession like it's a terrible thing.

For some people the current economic crisis has been horrible. But for many folks there's never been a better time to discover how to make money in a recession than right now, when you're in one, which we officially are. Bucking the "herd" mentality trend and focusing on finding opportunities to make more money you will discover that this recession is not all bad.

Negativity is big business.

The media feeds the flames of pessimism and negativity. It's extremely hard to tune out all the talk about "global recession," "financial crisis," "layoffs," and "corporate bankruptcy." The best remedy for fighting this negative mindset and escaping the herd is to turn off your television. For the most part the businesses that are doing poorly right now are the businesses that haven't been taking care of people's needs. Ford, GM, Lehman Brothers, credit providers, and their ilk have been providing products and services that don't care for the needs of their customers for far too long. Do people like you and me really need gas guzzling SUVs and sub-prime loans? No, these are predatory business practices that spit in the face of the consumer and the economy.

While poor business practices have gotten the American people into this current financial crisis, only good business practices can get us out of it.

That is the surest way to discover how to make money in a recession: finding, investing, building, and developing businesses which take care of the needs of the customer, and ensure value is provided value first. Doing business this way organizations large and small develop raving customers and brand themselves as great companies.

As an individual, making money in a recession is much the same process. It's important to deliver value to your market first, before worrying about making a profit. Now I'm not encouraging you to not think about money, building a business is centered around it's ability to earn revenue. I am encouraging you to think of your customers first. How can you serve people by providing value?

Where do you come up with ideas to make money?

Look at the world around you and think, "who needs something"

• What portion of the population needs help solving a problem?
• Who is not being well represented in the media and needs an image makeover?
• Where are the pressing issues, causes and concerns occupying the minds of many people?
• When was there a time in history that most reflects today?
• Why do we have so many issues that seem to defy solutions?
• How can you make the world a better place?

Those are just some quick ideas to get you started down the right path toward making money. The biggest shift that needs to happen to get you out of the pessimistic "herd" mentality and in the mindset of making money is to think about the needs of others first.

When you can come up with a real solution to help people is when you move beyond the pessimism that is running rampant through the world today. It can be difficult. People do lose jobs, hours get cut, accidents happen, and people are struggling to stay afloat. But you don't have to be a victim.

By changing your perception of the world around you you can find many opportunities where before you found none. By tapping into the needs of others and creating real value for the people of the world you can live consciously and make a profit while doing it. There's nothing wrong with making money. Overcoming the "herd" mentality is the first step down the road toward a better more profitable life.