Mickey Rourke

Many people in corporate America are dealing with a situation that people in show business have dealt with since time began.

Career uncertainty.

But we can learn a lot about overcoming adversity from the great entertainers and for that matter some of the not so great ones too.

One of my favorite showbiz sayings is... you were going to get your big break the day after you quit. It is so simple and so true.

No matter what roadblocks are in your way you can never give up.

Mickey Rourke had every reason to give up. Through some bad choices he made, his career that was so hot in the 80's fizzled for about 20 years. It got to the point where he sold most of his possessions and was living on a couple hundred bucks a week that a friend would give him.

But through hard work, determination, a little luck, and tenacity, he is one of the favorites to take home an Oscar for his latest movie. A movie about an over the hill wrestler that just won't give up.

You can let the career uncertainty get the better of you, or you can keep fighting. You can let the negative economic news, the office rumor mill, or the day to day crap bog you down.

But what good is that?

Keep fighting and know that you were going to close the biggest sale of your career the day after you gave up.

Of Vaudeville and Cyberspace.

As we look ahead to 2009 the only thing certain is change.

And while change isn't always comfortable great things can come from it.

During the depression era the Vaudeville houses were in trouble. New technology like radio and talking movies were taking the audiences away from the previously packed theaters.

The entertainers and the producers that embraced the change were able to capitalize on an environment that others were afraid of and were fighting.

The vaudeville performers like Bob Hope, George Burns, and Bing Crosby that were able to adapt to the the change did great.

Many of the silent film stars didn't fare as well.

Some of the bigger vaudeville producers started producing movies, or bought radio stations. The others held on by changing to Burlesk dancers. Eventually many of these theaters wound up closing.

As your industry goes through changes in 2009, don't be afraid to branch out and be a part of the change. People who sit around and complain about how "that's not how it used to be" are going to be like the theater owners that wound up shutting down the theaters or the silent film stars that were never heard from again.

Everything changes. Make the change work for you.