Assaf Kedem was laid off from his job at Morgan Stanley (MS) in November. In fact, he has been laid off from seven companies – including Citigroup (C), Merrill Lynch (MER) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) -- in the last six years.

Gulp. Are you picturing a guy curled up in the fetal position on his couch watching Law and Order reruns?

Don’t. There’s a real alternative to emotional distress, even during the holiday season. It’s called a positive attitude. Call me corny, but boy do I love an optimist. Kedem is all of that without being syrupy or New Age-y about it. It’s just who he is.

“I am looking at job listings,” Kedem told me at our recent meeting in Midtown Manhattan. “But I’m placing more of an emphasis on networking. I’m active in multiple associations.”

Originally from Brooklyn, Kedem spent 20 years in Israel and then came back to the United States seven years ago to try to -- just like the song says -- “make it here.” He is, as his resume states, an award-winning professional writer and communications specialist who is doing what he loves. After majoring in economics at the Israel Institute of Technology, he wound up on Wall Street through trial and error, but found a home there and is now looking “in the periphery,” i.e. consulting firms.

He recently penned an essay called “Perfecting a Layoff” and in it he calls himself “a headhunter’s most loyal client.” But in spite of the self-deprecation, Kedem said he is feeling confident.

“Maybe it helps after the seventh or eighth layoff,” he said. “I used to feel anxious. It really is in the mindset. Being a fatalist is not conducive to your job search.”

His former employers certainly appreciated his attitude right up to the end. When his manager at Morgan Stanley called him into a conference room to inform him of his termination, “I traversed a long path that runs through an open space where my colleagues sat. They realized where I was headed. It was a terrifying moment for all, since no one knew who would be next.

“Facing them, I straightened my jacked, tightened my tie and asked aloud whether my torso was sufficiently presentable for the guillotine. Chuckles reverberated throughout the office, and I could sense the levity of my comment affording some comic relief -- if only minor -- to a regrettably distressed bunch.”

Even once in the conference room, Kedem caught his manager and the human resources representative off-guard by saying, “Let me guess, gentlemen. You’re here to offer me a lifetime contract of employment, correct?” More levity.

But underneath the good sport is a man who gets at his core that he is still controlling his destiny.

“The journey of finding a new job starts at the loss of your current job,” Kedem said. “Showing magnanimity, generosity and grace sets the tone.”

And so the journey continues with some pro bono things, like writing an article for the Jerusalem Post offering his uniquely American view of what’s happening here and lecturing at New York University’s masters program on employee communications.

“Using my pink slip as a case study,” he said with a grin. “These students are the next generation of corporate leaders. I can share how I’ve been shaped by my experiences.”

Part of Kedem’s experience has been knowing when to draw the line in a job search. Some recruiters have suggested that he might have more success if he changed his name.

“When people hear ‘Assaf Kedem’ they don’t assume English is my mother tongue,” he said. “And I went to an Israeli school no one ever heard of.”

But he decided the name stays. The very name that is on the mortgage he took on just a week before his layoff.

“Maybe a different person would say, ‘oh my god,’” Kedem said. “But I feel better coming back home to a place of my own. I find solace in that.”

A single guy who calls himself an “average” saver – not too conservative, not too loose – Kedem had prepared for a rainy day. He is still living on his severance and, well, he’s optimistic about what happens from here.

“I love the city,” Kedem said. “My mother said recently, ‘you were always drawn to the epicenter.’”

That’s the place where it all happens. If you can make it there … yep, you know the rest.

Nancy Colasurdo is a practicing life coach and freelance writer. Her Web site is www.nancola.com. Please direct all questions/comments to FOXGamePlan@gmail.com.