Instead, this is a time for action. It's not too late to build wealth and prepare for retirement. Even if your account has shrunk significantly in value, you can recover.

I'll show you how.

The first step is to acknowledge that there is a problem. Too many individual investors fail to realize that there is a problem. There is a problem, and it's a big one.

The professionals will tell you that this is just the market being the market. Volatility comes with the territory. I can just bet your plan administrator is full of warm fuzzy statements in your monthly 401(k) update. (See also: "6 Ways to Salvage Your Cracked Nest Egg.")

"Stay the course," they say. Or if they're really thoughtful, they're telling you to reallocate your portfolio. "This too shall pass" is a common hand-holding technique of plan administrators that are not equipped to deal with a true crisis like we are currently experiencing.

The second step in any plan to build an 801(k) is to take control of your own destiny.

The establishment of the 401(k) program was a well conceived response to the end of corporate funded pension plans, but 401(k)s are not the end-all, be-all that some may think. Although there are many positives, the negatives are now front and center with the credit crisis and market crash.

The biggest issue, in my humble opinion, is…