The economic problems impacting the United States and the rest of the world are taking a toll on ordinary citizens who are seeing their jobs vanish in the wake of the worst recession since the 1930s.  In the last 13 months alone, 3.6 millions jobs have been lost in the United States and the prognosis is that millions more will be lost before the economy starts turning around.

If you have been laid off recently it is natural to be frustrated and scared.  But don’t be discouraged – if history repeats itself, as it often does, many of the future company founders and CEOs will come from the ranks of today’s unemployed.  Many talented people will grow frustrated with the job search and will start their own business.  Even though many will fail, some may turn out to be the founders of businesses that will employ thousands of people.

As reported in the USA Today, Tom Stemberg founded Staples after being laid off from the supermarket chain he was working for.  Staples now employs 43,000 people.  Michael Bloomberg is another good example.  The current New York City mayor started a financial news service business that today employs 10,000 after being fired from Solomon Bros.

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the author of Firing Back: How Great Leaders Rebound After Career Disasters states that crushing setbacks are a critical element of success.  Campbell Soup’s CEO Douglas Conant says that being out of work for a year after losing his job in the 1980s was a turning point in his life.  Martin Brodley co-founded the wireless company Revolabs after being laid off from a director’s job with a Denmark based headset maker.  Here is what he has to say about his experience:

“There is life after layoffs.  If it weren’t for my layoff Revolabs would not exist.”

George Burke co-founded BookSwim after being fired in 2006.  He expressed his sentiments about how a layoff may be just the right push to get you on your way to success:

“Sometimes we need that extra push when a great idea is upon us, but we’re too comfortable to pull the trigger.  I’m not sure I would have launched BookSwim without being fired.  I probably would have continued to plan and plan some more until the concept got old or until I talked myself out of its feasibility.”

Steve Carley is the CEO of El Pollo Loco, a 386-store chicken chain that employs 4,000 people.  Carley has been laid off three times and shares his blessing in disguise:

“I wouldn’t have this phenomenal opportunity without those layoffs, and would have missed out on one of the most gratifying leadership opportunities of my career.”

USA Today requested two organizations to conduct a survey of CEOs or company owners about the impact of being laid off or fired in their careers.  According to the CEO organization Vistage International, 78% of its members said that, in retrospect, being laid off or fired turned out to be good for their careers.  SmartBrief found that 61% of 626 respondents said they had been laid off or fired and half of those said it was the best thing that ever happened.

As hard as being laid off may seem in these trying economic times, this may also turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to you.  Don’t become a victim of this recession.  The moment you take matters in your own hands and become independent from needing some large company, or heaven forbid, the government, to take care of you, you will never turn back.