Outta Work but headed for “Work I Love”

Last week I sent out a note in our weekly newsletter that mentioned if you are out of work right now you could send a brief note to [email protected] explaining how you lost your job and what you are moving TO.  And that we would be drawing a name each week for our Ultimate Fresh Start Package.

About 10 minutes after the newsletter went out, the messages started rolling in – and have not stopped.  While many are very sad and disheartening, I was also thrilled to see the optimism sneak in – even for those of you who are still in the process of clarifying the next step.  Here are just a few snippets:

First – the sad ones:

• I need new direction in my life but the bad part is that I am 65 years old. I have always done work to provide money for bills but did not love any of the jobs. Is it too late for me?
• I allowed the company I worked for to determine my career direction and now I want TO move but feel paralyzed because I do not know which way to go.
• With three kids and a pending divorce, the timing could have been better, to say the least.
• I am 52 and feel like I am burned out, washed up, whatever……
• After 4 months at a job, I was told it wasn’t working out and that day was my last day.
• I lost my union-protected job 27 months ago because I couldn’t meet the company’s sales goals for me.
• I have been out of work since Aug. 2012. When I went to the hospital for emergency gall bladder surgery, they replaced me with someone else while I was still in the hospital.
• I was 55 and got the shock of my life, having been a stay at home mom and wife for many years I found myself homeless, panhandling and sleeping in my car or couch surfing at friends for 6 and half months, Trying to figure out what’s next.
• I got laid off from from a coffee company over two years ago where I was a Regional Area Manager for nine years.
• It seems companies only want folks who specialize these days, a purple squirrel as they say, and I was taught to know something about many areas which is now not serving me well.
• I’ve been unemployed for 6 years in the last 9 years
• Four weeks ago I was called into the office and was told “Your position has been eliminated as a result of workload restructuring in IT.”
• My six-figure contract ended on 4/4/14 and I have been bouncing around like the little chrome ball in a pinball machine.
• I lost my job when the anti-trafficking non-profit I was working for experienced funding challenges.
• I started my day last Tuesday as normal, but this time, I got to work to be told, ” Michael, I’ve got some bad news. We’ve had a review of our operational requirements. You’re job here has been made redundant.”

And now the ones that let us know “work you love” is just around the corner:

• From now on, I am moving toward listening to my heart and soul.
• At first I was stunned, then upset, then I thought, wait a minute . . . this is really a blessing.
• I am so excited about the happy and prosperous times ahead for this year . . . Life IS Good!
• This “in-between” time has given me the opportunity to get started with launching an independent training and career coaching practice, which has been a dream of mine.
• I was a journalist for 10 years, and was laid off. But that’s okay. It’s truly turned into a great period of refreshment in my life.
• I had secretly wished that I would be the one to be released, but when it happened, I was still shocked….I recognize that we’re in the middle of a recession, but this was the kind of situation that always happened to someone else….not me. While it sounds cliche, this was truly a blessing.
• I was laid off on 9 March with no warning after working for a major manufacturer for 11.5 years.  When I told my wife, her response was, “Good.  Now you can go and do something you want to do.”
• I had a great interview today, and another with another company tomorrow that looks like it could be my dream job – onward and upward!!
• At first the loss of my job was very unsettling, however, in time I have come to believe that this is God’s way of getting me on to something bigger and better.
• I was a little surprised that they beat me to the punch, but I thanked them saying “I really appreciate this, I really do”.
• Thank you for encouraging all of us!  I am truly out of a paying job as of January 31st, 2014. I am certainly not out of “work” however because the fields are still ripe for harvest.
• I will have to do something creative to make a living where we want to be, but it will be worth it for us to leave this sin city.
• It has been 4 months since I lost my job and it has allowed me to fine tune my dream job wishlist, expand my network of colleagues, and practice my interviewing skills.  With the God’s blessings, I’m moving TO the best job of my career.

This week’s winner is Steve Adkins, who says “I was laid off two weeks ago from my catenary engineering job just after the birth of our first child.”  Check that out for a specific career path.  He receives the 48 Days Ultimate Fresh Start Package that includes:  

ULTIMATE FRESH START PACKAGE

• 48 Days to the Work You Love: Preparing for the New Normal (Autographed Hardback)

• Is Your Job Your Calling? Why Do We Work? (Motivational CD)

• No More Dreaded Mondays: Ignite Your Passion and Other Revolutionary Ways to Discover Your True Calling At Work (Paperback Book)

• Dream Job: The Resource for Releasing Rewarding Work In You (6 Audio CDs, Digital eWorkbook and new 48 Days Schedule)

• Rudder of the Day– Daily Doses of Workplace Inspiration! (Paperback Book)

• 48 Peppermints – a refreshing reminder of each day of your 48-day journey!

• 48 Days Personality Profile: Our best-selling product by far, this is the first thing all our coaching clients take to get a clear look at their unique personality style and how to best communicate with others!

You can still get your name in the hat:  [email protected]

I’d love to provide just the right help to everyone who is responding. It breaks my heart to read some of the messages – we’re looking at what we can provide for everyone.  The emails confirm that the workplace continues to be volatile and unpredictable.  They also confirm that people are often jolted into finding – or creating – work that is meaningful, purposeful and profitable.  It often comes not from a natural progression up in a company, but from an unwelcome “crisis” that prompts taking massive action.

What are you doing to find – or create – the work you love?  Is it knowledge, information, encouragement, connections, self-confidence or faith that you need most?