So, You’re Quarantined from Coronavirus? Here’s a Silver Lining

Let’s face it, life as we know it is gone…for the time being.

Flights have been suspended from Europe.

Essentially every major (and not so major) sporting event has been canceled.

Bars and restaurants are shutting down.

Even Disney World is closed.

The Coronavirus is officially a pandemic, and things are going to get worse before they get better.

But you knew all that.

If your life is anything like mine, it’s been a non-stop topic of conversation.

There’s no escaping it.

But amidst all of the chaos there’s, a good chance there’s an opportunity in front of you right now for something positive – if you’re able to shift your mindset.

Hear me out on this.

A Quick Disclaimer

I want to preface this, with a disclaimer.

This threat is very real, and honestly, very scary.

Lives will change. Many lives will end. Money will be lost.

I don’t take that lightly, and this post isn’t meant to make light of the thousands, if not millions of people who will be negatively effected by this.

But at the same time, right now, the only thing I have control of, outside of sequestering myself in my house, is my attitude about it.

And if you’re one of the people who will simply be inconvenienced by all this, and you’re feeling angry or frustrated about that? This post is for you.

The Last Time Disaster Struck

There are a lot of similarities to July of 2007, and July 0f 2019.

The stock market was at an all time high.

The economy was in good shape.

People were blissfully unaware of the disaster that would strike less than a year later.

The Great Recession completely changed my life.

Scores of people lost jobs, and billions of dollars were lost in the stock the stock market and real estate investments alone.

I wasn’t immune. I got hit with a 20% paycut.  Backstory on that here:

Months later, I was out of a job.

But amidst all of that turmoil, I decided to do something for myself.

I started this blog.

A blog was simply an outlet for my feelings, and a way to try and make sense of my quarter life crisis I was in the midst of.

I had no idea where it would take me.

Jordan. Maldives. New York. Bermuda. Paris. London. Amsterdam. Bali. Hong Kong. Japan. Italy.

I never would have visited the Maldives were it not for the Recession that hit in 2008 and changed the trajectory of my life.

And those are just the tip of the iceberg.

I had no idea this would lead to a full time, lucrative business.

And I had no idea that I’d end up changing lives for the better because of it.

It still baffles me a bit.

But because I made the decision to build something for myself, the trajectory of my life changed.

The Recession was a horrible thing for so many, but for me? It put me on a new path, that simply wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

The Coronavirus Quarantine

As of right now here in Oregon, we’ve stopped just short of what feels like a mass-quarantine.

The streets feel empty in comparison to usual.

All large events have been canceled.

My wife’s work campus has been shut down for 2 weeks.

We were literally supposed to go to Disney World next weekend.

Canceled. Obviously.

And right now, it seems like we’re inevitably preparing ourselves to hole up at home for a few weeks, while we try and stop this pandemic, that is unlike anything I’ve seen in my lifetime.

Millions will be working from home, when they’ve never had to before.

Millions more, will be home, and unfortunately not working.

For so many, this is scary, frustrating, and anger inducing – honestly, it’s truly an experience that forces you to feel all the feelings.

But what you do over the next few weeks, if you’re one of the people effected by this could have ripple effects for a long time to come.

What to Do During Coronavirus Quarantine

So, let’s say best case scenario, your loved ones are safe. No one you know has had a major reaction or health scare with the Coronavirus.

And you’re forced to simply hang out at home, and wait it out.

Sucks, right?

Not necessarily.

I hear from people every, single, day:

“I don’t have time to start a business.”

“I don’t have time to learn a new skill.”

“I want to spend more time on my hobbies, but I simply can’t”

“I want to get in better shape, but I don’t know how it fits into my schedule.”

You get the idea. I’m sure there’s something you’ve not been doing, due to some variation of the above.

Well, here’s your chance.

If you’re sequestered at home stewing over the fact your favorite sporting event got canceled, and that you can’t work?

This is your chance to do all of those things you’ve never had time for.

Want to start a blog? Do it.

Want to start making YouTube videos? Do it.

Want to learn how to become a better copywriter? Do it.

Want to get into a better exercise routine? Do it.

This is your chance to do all of those things, if you can change your mindset and stop making excuses.

Yes, this whole situation sucks. It’s horrible for so many people.

Like I said, I’ve personally had vacations canceled, and just this morning I canceled a golf event in Bermuda that I was supposed to host in less than two weeks.

It’s frustrating.

I’m deeply concerned about my 90 year old grandmother.

One of my best friends going through chemotherapy.

But when it comes to my day to day life, there is only so much I can do. I can only control my actions and my mindset.

And just like I did during the recession, I’m planning to make the most of it.

What I’ll Be Doing During the COVID-19 Quarantine

So that begs the question, what am I personally going to be doing while I’m holed up at home ?

Not that this is that much different than my normal life, but you know…

For me it’s going to be a combination of business as usual, while making time for things I’ve been putting off.

One of the beauties of my businesses is that I can run them anytime, anywhere.

1) Working on Slightly Pretentious

Since holed up at home, doing less traveling, less social stuff – this gives me the opportunity to bank tons of content for my new cocktail niche site.

Creating new cocktails, photographing them, writing about the top 100 bars I’ve visited, from my huge backlog.

This is a side project that I’ve largely treated as just that, a side-hustle. I work on it when I have time and when I feel like it.

Now that I’ll have a bit more time on my hands? Let’s go.

2) Banking YouTube Videos

Most of my videos lately have been on the road. Well, if I’m home then it’s time to dust off that old basement set, and spend a few days doing nothing but shooting helpful videos for YouTube and our Academy members.

When I travel often the posts can be a bit more surface level, but if I’m setting up shop in one place, it gives me the chance to go into some of the details a bit more.

Check out the YouTube Channel if you haven’t already.

3) Taking the Gerry Kasparov Chess Masterclass

I recently joined the All-Access Masterclass pass.

And all I have to say is, WOW.

I’m super impressed not only in the production value, but in how useful and interesting many of the classes are.

I’ve wanted to learn the basics of chess for awhile. What better time than now?

Not to mention learning guitar from Tom Morello…

Cooking from Gordon Ramsay….

For under $200 for the year to have so much access to classes that will help both my business mindset, and allow me to dig into my hobbies more?

Pretty cool.

Check out the Kasparov Chess Masterclass

4) Playing Call of Duty

What can I say, it’s a guilty pleasure!

5) Exercising Every Day

I’m one of those bougie people that owns a Peloton. And you know what? I absolutely love it. It’s seriously the best workout I get in any given week. And I get to do it while listening to music, getting motivated, and tracking all of my stats so I can compete against myself the next go around.

6) Cleaning and Organizing My House

Finally, it’s amazing how much clutter can build up when you live in a house for 6 years.

If we’re going to be stuck here for the foreseeable future, it might as well be in a space that is clean and clear of extra crap.

So I’ll be purging my closet, deep cleaning and organizing my office, and then doing the same for every other room in the house.

So, What’s Next?

I have no idea what the future holds.

I don’t know when I’ll be able to travel again, or if our vacation will be able to be rescheduled.

And I have no idea how my businesses will do in the midst of an unprecedented public health emergency.

But I do know that there are things I can control.

And in a month or two at the end of this, if I can come away with:

• A clean and tidy house
• A library of content ready to post on all three of my sites
• A knowledge of Chess that I’ll enjoy for the rest of my life.
• Rock hard, six pack abs (ha!)
• A nicely elevated gamer score in Call of Duty?

Man, that sounds like a hell of a month!

Again, not to undermine the deeply serious nature of what is happening.

But there’s one specific thing that I attribute to ALL of the success in my life.

Everything comes back to this:

The glass is always half full.

And when the world is going mad and everything is on the brink of chaos?

That has never been more important.

Sean Ogle

Sean Ogle is the Founder of Location Rebel where he has spent the last 12+ years teaching people how to build online businesses that give them the freedom to do more of the things they like to do in life. When he's not in the coffee shops of Portland, or the beaches of Bali, he's probably sneaking into some other high-class establishment where he most certainly doesn't belong.