This isn't just about acquiring additional income for your retirement or a way for you to quit your hated 9-5 job.

It's about your survival.

I learned about this nearly 20 years ago but it didn't sink in. I totally believed in getting a good job with the highest possible salary.

Silly me! What happened over the next 15 years was a roller coaster of good high paying jobs and long periods of unemployment. Every time I thought I was secure the bubble burst. Takeovers, downsizing, economic conditions - all took their toll. Not only did this affect my finances, it also affected my self esteem. Even though I tried network marketing I looked upon it as a single income source. In all that time I never gave a thought to finding multiple income streams.

I should have realized what was happening. This was all the result of CHANGE.

In 1970 Alvin Toffler wrote a book called 'Future Shock' in which he discussed the pace of change. He likened it to a snowball that rolled down a hill at an ever increasing pace, getting larger all the time. He predicted that the pace of change was going to cause huge disruption for the people living at that time and that it would cause an increase in emotional problems.

Correct on all fronts.

Today the pace of change is, of course, much faster. If you believe that you are secure in your job now, know that it will change substantially or disappear within 2-3 years if not 2-3 months.

If this last statement is true, and I believe it is, no one is secure in their employment. It doesn't matter what your job is the pace of change will alter it substantially within a very short time. Once we could start with a company and rely on them to always be there. Not so today, such is the pace of change.

The major change is in IT which can make jobs obsolete very quickly, whether you are a high flying executive or a mechanical engineer. You may need to move swiftly to keep ahead of technological changes. Your best chance of survival is to develop multiple streams of income.

Other major changes are happening.

Today we are seeing the demise of the large corporations. Once they used to be the most efficient way of doing business. But today it is more efficient to work in smaller units. This is the reason for much of today's unemployment. The dismantling of the major corporations is because the advantage they used to have of economies of scale are being undermined.

Today an entrepreneur can work at home with a laptop and make more than a decent income. With multiple sources of income she can become a millionaire.

Here's the thing. Just because the large corporations are dismantling and unemployment is rising, it does not mean the economy is not growing. It is still growing but the wealth is increasingly being earned by individual entrepreneurs utilizing multiple income streams.

What I am saying is that unemployment can be an opportunity or a disaster depending on your mind set. If you accept what I am saying here you can grab the opportunity and run with it. If you are finding it hard to gain employment this also applies to you.

And here's another thing driving this change. People have become increasingly disillusioned with the daily treadmill of commuting and working. The size of your pay check is no longer enough. You might earn plenty but if you are not seeing much of your family it can be depressing.

What we want these days is LIFESTYLE and you need wealth, time and health to enjoy it. Now we are demanding quality of life. And working for the company can't compete with working from home.

Don't get me wrong. When you start your own business working at home you'll still put in the hours - perhaps more. But you get to choose those hours. You'll have choice and flexibility.

And where are the opportunities for the individual entrepreneur today?

Answer. Technology - in particular the internet. The internet is growing at an alarming pace and with that comes a myriad of opportunities.

Notice something interesting going on here. Not so long ago, a hundred years or so, the economy was built by individuals using technology - mainly in agriculture.

With the dismantling of the large corporations we are once again building our economy by individuals using technology - mainly the internet. And this time our market place is the entire planet which gives an immense opportunity to build multiple streams of income.