The simple secret is to throw out your prejudices, start with a clean slate and then follow your own common sense. Right now, that means taking a cold, hard look at the events swirling around you and recognizing that your money could be in grave danger.

It means accepting the reality that the value of your home, your 401k, and even some of your supposedly “safe” investments CAN fall a lot further. And most important, it requires the realization that you have the power to stop the bloodletting.

There’s no law, rule or ethic that requires you to sit quietly and accept financial punishment passively. You have every right — and every mechanism — to get your money to safety without remorse.

I have warned about this crisis repeatedly. I have nagged, cajoled and shouted this message from the rooftops. But it gives me no pleasure to see my dire warnings come true. I have dreaded this day as often as I have predicted it. I prayed it would not come to pass. But now that it’s here, I have a new prayer:

That you are, or soon will be, out of danger and ready for the worst …

That the worst will strike swiftly and end swiftly …

That, once we hit bottom, no matter how ugly the future may appear, you, me and many others will have the fortitude to reinvest, help get our country back on its feet, and move on to better times.

Just promise me one thing: No matter how dark this tunnel may seem, never forget it is not the end of the world. Our country has been through worse before, and we survived. We will survive this crisis too.

You hold your future in your hands. At this landmark turning point in our history, it’s the choices you make today that will determine your fate — and the destiny of everyone that depends on you — for decades to come. Your decisions now could make the difference between a successful career or a lifetime of struggle … retiring in dignity or becoming a ward of the state … enjoying wealth and health or risking poverty-stricken illness.

Whatever your choices may be, do not procrastinate. And whenever you take action, don’t do so in haste. Your response to the current crisis — or any new crisis that may ensue — should be both prompt and planned; both bold and prudent. I write to you each week to help you make that possible.

Here are your tasks in a nutshell:

Your first and most urgent priority is to survive the depression, while building the biggest pile of CASH you can. Whether it’s a molehill of pennies that you pinch from daily sacrifices or a mountain of dollars you squeeze out of asset sales, the more cash you can accumulate now, the better.

Your second priority is to make sure your cash is in the safest place possible. That may not be the nearest bank or the biggest insurance company. Short-term Treasury securities, despite their low yield, must be the primary vehicle.

Third, for the duration of this crisis, plus any new ones that may strike, your best friend and companion will be patience.

Don’t yield to the temptation of so-called “bargains” and “big discounts” from peak prices. Many of those peak prices were a fiction from a bygone era that may never be seen again in my lifetime or yours.

Don’t jump in too soon. You can afford to wait. Indeed, just by waiting patiently, you can build wealth tremendously.

Fourth, I recognize that not everyone is able to follow all my instructions to the letter.

You may have real estate you cannot sell or a pension fund beyond you cannot control.

You may have bonds that have no market or a business that continues to provide income.

All could be assets that you must keep; and yet, at the same time, all are assets that could be vulnerable to big losses in a continuing decline.

To untie that knotty dilemma, you may need a hedge — a protective shield that can help offset your losses. Alternatively, if you are a risk-taker, those same hedges can be turned into pure profit opportunities during a market decline. I hope you have already read and acted on the guide to hedging I sent you a while ago. If not, the latest rally in the market gives you a great time to start. (Click here to download the pdf file.)

Last, the big pay-off will come when we hit rock bottom and it’s time to buy the greatest bargains of the century. So recognizing the bottom can unlock the opportunity to boost your income, allowing you to buy some of the best assets in the world for a pittance and stake out the high ground for yourself, your children and generations to come. I will do my utmost to alert you when the time comes.

Just remember that nothing is predetermined. Right now, the tsunami of crisis seems unstoppable. But in the foreseeable future, there will also come a singular moment in time when the worst of the storm has passed and the tides of history have ebbed, opening a window for you, me and our leaders to choose our own destiny. Before then, let’s have a serious discussion about what the best — and worst — choices may be.

Good luck and God bless!