We are starting the last week of October, and I keep hearing business women talk about the upcoming holidays in November and December, with the thought that no business gets done during this time of the year.

Well, if you've had a challenging year, as most entrepreneurs have had, maybe you don't want to give up your last two months of business development and sales because of a few holidays!

Truth is most businesses are open, most people are working, most business still gets done during "the holidays."  It's more our mindset about this time of year than an actual fact that we have to deal with.

I've written about overcoming fear of scarcity by learning to live in a culture of abundance. When times are flush, that isn't so hard. But the economy is weak right now, and many people are fearful. And if you or someone else in your household has lost a job, or taken a pay cut, or found yourself upside-down on your home mortgage, or lost a chunk of value in your IRA, you are most likely fearful about how you are going to manage.

But historically, when the traditional institutions fail us, entrepreneurship flourishes. Everywhere around us, people are starting new companies and launching new ventures, turning adversity into opportunity. Right now it's easier to listen to the market because it is not as crowded. There are new, unmet needs.

In my new book, Whale Hunting Women, I've written about three cultural transformations that will help people and organizations to be successful in the 21st century economy. One of these transformations is to overcome the culture of scarcity by adopting the mindset of abundance.

The 20th century business world cultivated a culture of scarcity. Because it was built on a model of warfare [that's where strategy comes from, right?], it implied winners and losers. The most dangerous attitude of scarcity was within a single company, where managers or VPs had to compete internally for resources. A corporate culture in which the parts are fighting against the whole is not a healthy or fast-growth culture.

Greetings! A Successful Woman invited me to do a 3-part series of guest posts on the topic of overcoming obstacles to a success mindset. So here goes!