Make no mistake, this downturn is different. Don't believe anyone in the markets who says that they have seen it all before. No-one alive today has witnessed this. What we are seeing is not just a market correction, it will result in a major reassessment of how companies raise capital, how banks make money and how individuals choose to invest any surplus funds. Some say, in fact, that this is even the end of capitalism as we know it.

Working in the financial markets (or anywhere else for that matter) has never been so stressful. And it's not just about concerns over job losses, bonuses and career prospects. Seasoned professionals are watching the bond and equity markets and are paralysed, as they just don't understand what's happening. M&A bankers can't give away their services for free (unless they are doing restructures and work-outs), as company CEOs work through their own liquidity and capital worries, and put any thoughts of deals to the backs of their minds.

In the wider economy, companies are suffering as consumers pull in their horns like. Fear is driving many to rethink new purchases, put off going on holidays and review their spending habits for the first time in perhaps 15 years. The day of judgement is upon us - the bull run has ended, the years of living on easy credit are over - and the bill has landed on the mat with a mighty bump. Hell, even (former US Federal Reserve Chairman) Alan Greenspan admitted this week that he was puzzled about how we got to be where we are (so what hope is there for the rest of us ?).

All over the world, lawmakers and governments are pumping billions into the system in the hope of getting the cash flowing around to kick-start the global economy. So far, all this talk hasn't achieved much - save spooking the very people it is designed to ultimately help (ordinary Joe).

Make no mistake, there's a pink slip / P45 out there with your name in it - whether you work in an investment bank, a hedge fund, a gym, an auto plant, a fast-food business, in the sport and leisure industry, the media, the public sector, recruitment, advertising - no matter where you work or what you do for a (at least honest) living, you are vulnerable to losing your job at the moment. And you won't be able to rely on your bank to keep you going until things improve, or your family, or friends or any other source of funds you have looked to in the past when times got tough. In the final analysis, you will only have yourself to rely on. Are you up to it ?

Don't make the mistake of sitting back and relying on Brown, Sarkozy, Bernanke or Paulson to fix all this. In the end, the solution is with you. Sit on your hands and panic, and we will most certainly enter a deep and prolonged recession which could endure for years (some say even a decade). As hard as it is, you have to jump out of bed in the morning and go about your business. And you have to continue to have faith in the capitalist system and our way of life. Still go out to that restaurant, to the cinema, buy those new clothes, treat yourself to a visit to the West End / Broadway, etc. Don't be reckless, but keep spending, because unless you do, a recession is guaranteed. It's just a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Now is the time to step up to the plate. Times are hard, yes, but (for most of us) there's no war, no famine and no disease. It's just a challenge (a big one, yes), but one that we must all rise to. So, it's chin up, chest out and all about having a 'can-do' and positive attitude. We are still masters of our own destiny (at the moment), and how deep this downturn turns out to be is depends on each and every one of us. Do your bit - the global economy needs YOU.

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