Crunch Time...

So, I'm probably not supposed to go into details here, but all that pining for the chance to do something else? The chance to translate my skills into an opportunity to make a difference while making friends with money? Well, I guess "the universe" heard my plea, and recently secured a speedy "divorce" from my last job. (It wasn’t me, it was them.) So then. Time? Check. Opportunity? Check. A smidgeon of fear and a dash of instability? Check. Temptation to find a factory job, pronto? Check. Wondering how we’ll pay these bills? Double check.

I don’t say these things as a means of inspiring pity: Everybody’s got their own problems, and mine aren’t anything special. But I want to get them out there to say, “Hey, I’m excited about doing something else, but it’s a scary proposition.” All of the stories we hear are centered around the “stable” job, one with a future, one that demands more than a third of our waking life (at least 10 hours a day with commute and mirror time, five days a week). Working our way up to a comfortable living, putting up with jerks at the office, careful not to make too big a stir for fear of what might happen next. And yet...

I'm sorry, but we're doing really well. Good-bye!

I worked at a big law firm a few years ago, and when the economy went sour, the company’s numbers were actually looking up. I smiled at the news, and was glad to be working in a “safe” place, my position secure, my five years a near-guarantee that I would be there for a long-- “Yes, David, we’re sorry, but we’ll have to let you go. They’re bringing their own people in for the merger, and...” In the end, some forty-five people were relieved of their positions at the company. And that was one that was doing well!

What positions out there are really stable? Which ones won’t cut you out when it comes to the bottom line? I understand their position somewhat, because when their money runs out, how can they pay you? But as the story above illustrates, even when a company is doing well, there are no guarantees. And even when you’re doing well, there’s still that chance that you’re messing up the books, or that someone up top doesn’t like you, or that...

I don’t tell you this to scare you, but to even the playing field a little. Companies operate (usually) according to a budget, and a plan, and when they let you go, it’s just “business.” However much they attempt at making you feel like family -- a commonly prescribed practice for companies looking to get more out of their employees -- when the numbers demand it, it’s going to happen. So doing something a little crazy, like opening up your own business, or finding a way to build/make/write something that people want to buy can be scary, yes, but in the end, if you’ve done well, who’s to say that it’s any less stable than this topsy-turvy economy?

All this to say that if you’re feeling weird about this, if what holds you back from doing something spectacular is fear, then now’s a good time to let it go. Take it from the jobless guy that’s writing late night posts for a blog he’s not sure anyone will read anyway. He presses on, deluded but happy, and searches for summat better.

Now, about those article ideas...