Clinging to the wall of life

I must admit that the amount of energy I put into creating ideas that are "outside the box" has drained my energy over the last months. I know that people who are not in this predicament think I'm either not trying or in some way not doing enough. I know this because when a employee, from the same company I worked for, was fired while I worked there, he remained unemployed over 9 months after the firing. He was the CFO. I too felt he just wasn't trying hard enough, he must have been to picky. In the past when a person became unemployed there was a period of attempting to return to work of at the most two to three months. Then, the person either had a job or was deemed by those of us just observing that the person was in some way not sufficient, not trying hard enough. I am humbled by this experience and realize that while I am trying harder then I've ever tried at anything before, I just might not succeed. But, I can't not succeed. There really is no alternative. I have to work.
I've thought of business plans, none of which I have any experience or financing for of course. I've applied for ED jobs, which I never wanted to begin with, and of course didn't get. I've applied for jobs I am way over qualified for and never even gotten a call back. I'v applied for jobs I do qualify for and not gotten them. I am experiencing rejection at a much higher rate then I ever have before. I must be building character like never before too. I try to keep positive each new day and keep thankful each evening when I go to bed. It is now almost 7 months. I've grown very tired of keeping my spirits up but when compared to what some others are dealing with ie. disease, illness, death, etc. I am filled with gratitude and shame that I would allow myself to sink into self pity. I'm not by nature a pity person, I am self reliant and forward looking. I'm just going through a "bad patch" I guess. At least there are over a million going through the same bad patch. I'm not alone in this and with that I take some comfort.