The Opportunity in Job Loss

I was 21 when I lost my first job. After working my way through college at various departments in Michigan government—the administration that I was working for lost the election. It was a shock that a popular governor had lost—and even more so for me personally as my future plans had been radically altered.

Twenty years later, I have learned that life often throws you a curve because it has something better for you in mind. The key to recovering from the “setback” is being open enough to discover that “something better.” For me it was the opportunity to uncover my life’s passion and work—supporting leadership development in others through coaching, teaching and speaking.

When I was going through my job loss, I did not yet have the clear process I now take clients through and my recovery was bumpy because I didn’t have the kind of support a company like Leadership Connection provides. Instead, I tried to “work” my way through my “down time” by attending a few professional development seminars, networking and finally stumbling upon an idea that led me to co-found the Michigan Political Leadership Program at Michigan State University. Coming to grips with the fact that life doesn’t always work the way you think it should can be a bit disconcerting. For someone who had plotted out her professional life with precision, this time in my life was an emotional roller coaster.

The gift I took away from this experience was wisdom. I learned that when you are faced with job loss you have two choices:

Go out and “search” for another j•o•b that may or may not be what you want to do simply to earn money.
Go out and create an opportunity for you to do what you love to do, build a life that you want and be successful at both.
If you are like most people, you might find yourself saying: “It sounds good to create your job, but I live in reality and I can’t do it and make money.”

If you want to be truly successful, financially and personally, the ONLY way to achieve it is by identifying what you are good at, what you love to do and what you want to contribute and then find the best way to go out and do it. To put it another way: know your talents and skills, identify your passion and what you want to change in the world and then develop a plan for the best way for you to do it. That’s not only leadership—it’s success, because among other things, you will be happy and fulfilled by your work!

Working through this process isn’t easy. Most people will tell you it can’t be done. Leaders know otherwise, because once you are filled with this self-knowledge, you will be unstoppable in creating what you want because you will be the only person who can do it the way you can. Yes, it is lofty and anything worth achieving usually is.

For me, creating a life and work you love is a lifelong journey—one that I am constantly honing and refining. I have been able to develop a life that allows me to pursue my coaching, teaching and speaking, spend quality time with my family, take care of myself and enjoy financial success. Are there times when parts of it don’t go quite the way I would like? ABSOLUTELY. What makes the not-so-perfect times bearable is that in the end I truly love what I do and I feel good that my work helps others. There are days when making more money, having a greater impact, or wanting it to be “easier” capture my thoughts; but then I remember that given the choice I am so glad that I don’t have a traditional job any more.

While I’m not saying everyone has to be a business owner to be happy in their work, seeing yourself as the owner of “You Inc.” and having the self-employed mentality of a business owner will lead to the fulfillment you seek. Is it possible to find fulfillment in a traditional job? Yes, but it helps to see yourself as someone who is self-employed and serving one client (your employer). The same process we discussed above holds true. You must know yourself and make sure your talents, passions and goals align with the needs of the organization (client). If you choose to serve this one client because the relationship allows you to bring your passions, skills, and goals together, you can experience leadership in the marketplace.

Instead of looking “out there” for a j•o•b, look inside yourself and do what it takes to become a leader in your life. We need more impassioned people in this world who love what they do!