Getting Fired May Be Your Best Option

I got fired and it was the best thing to happen to me, here’s why

I was fired from my job in late 2022.

It didn’t come as a shock to me. I was to blame.

Not showing up is probably the easiest way to lose a job.

And that’s what I did.

Why would you do that?

It’s understandable that anyone in their right mind wouldn’t want to lose their job.

Especially when they have:

No savings
No back-up plan
No one around to help

With all of that stacked against me, I did it anyway.

I was 1,200 miles away from my family and friends. I still took the leap.

I did it because I felt like I had to.

Let’s talk about why this stupid decision was the best decision I ever made.

The Breaking Point

There comes a time in everyone’s life when:

You’ve had enough
Your patience has run dry
You can’t take it anymore

This could be driven by various external stimuli.

Think of relationships, jobs, cities, universities, etc.

Once you reach this point, change is inevitable. The pain of remaining the same becomes a pain comparable to a dagger in your stomach.

Being twisted, rearranging your organs.

If you’ve felt this before, good. So have I.

The worst thing you can do in this situation is stay the same. Think of this feeling as life telling you to MOVE!

You have important matters to tend to.

For me, I had no clue what those matters were. I just knew I had to tend to them.

Pressing Matters

In the 7 days preceding my relinquishment, I was lost. It was like my lifeboat took a detour over the Bermuda Triangle.

During this deeply depressing time, I took to my north star for guidance.

I asked myself:

What am I good at?
What can I help people with?
Who can I learn from?
How am I going to pay for dinner? (quite often)
What can I do to make $ in the next 30 days?

As I compiled this data, I got to work. I didn’t pick up my head from my laptop for weeks.

After countless attempts, exhausted and with calloused fingers, I made enough in the first month to pay for rent.

Barely. What a relief.

And somehow, by a significant stroke of luck, that persisted. I had made it out, for now.

Although I made half of what I made with the W-2, it was twice as exciting.

And 9 months later, the marketing & advertising company I built remains in good standing.

It’s truly remarkable how capable you become when you have your back to the wall with nothing to lose.

I can’t help but feel:

I would have never built a business without this lonely, dark and treacherous period.

Think of obstacles and tough times as the currency you need to pay for your success. Success comes at a cost. It’s not cheap.

Get out there and start collecting your coins.

The Crossroads

We reach a point in our lives where we question our future and the longevity of the routines we embark on.

As the case for a typical job, your routine consists of 8 hours of work for them, daily. That’s a third of your day.

Do you love your job enough to handle that reality?

For me, it surely wasn’t. And it didn’t take long to come to that conclusion. If you cannot handle that reality, consider this harsh truth:

Quitting your job will present enormous challenges

Unfortunately, the majority of people who get fired or quit will not be immediately happy with the result.

You will have short-term pain. But it will give you the best chance at obtaining long-term gain.

Read that again.

A few years of struggle to find your footing is well worth autonomy and joy 10 years later. Embarking on your jobless journey is difficult.

But it’s much more difficult to do something you have done daily, for decades.

The Lesson

I hope my words can resonate with the few who are currently fighting the tough fight with their W-2.

Consider the fact that I am not special.

My IQ probably isn’t higher than yours.

I was not born into money.

I just took a chance, locked myself in my office and I didn’t come out until I got results.

Sure, I have plenty of self-doubt. But the harder you work, the quieter your self-doubt becomes.

Outwork your self-doubt

You have matters to tend to!

I’ll leave you with this.

Live the story that you’d want to tell your future self.

Don’t disappoint.