To Those Striking Out on Their Own, Lessons Learned

Have you seen the movie Up in the Air, the one where George Clooney plays a hired gun whose job it is to fire people?

I watched it about a week before I was scheduled to leave Bizzuka and I must say it was a little unsettling. That is, until I watched the scene where Clooney's character, Ryan Bingham, fires "Bob," a character played by J. K. Simmons of Law & Order fame.

Upon hearing the news of his termination Bob regales against the notion, holds up his wallet which contains photos of his two children and asks something like, "What am going to tell them?" It was pretty intense.

That's when Bingham reminds Bob that, at the outset of his career, he trained to be a chef. Bingham then challenges him to view the firing from a different perspective, one where he is now free to pursue his life-long dream.

The First Lesson: Shape the Future

A number of years ago I was fired from a job and became a solo entrepreneur. It turned out that the worst thing that could have happened (or so I thought at the time) turned into the absolute best thing that could have happened. And here I am again. Even though this time I resigned (as far as I know Bizzuka had no intention of firing me), the result is still the same -- I'm flying solo.

Whether you've been let go from a job or have chosen to make an "escape from cubicle nation," allow me to share some advice I received after I was fired. It came from a counselor I went to see.

He said, "There is only on tense in life, and that's future. The past has passed and there is nothing you can do to change it. The present is like an arrow in flight. Once you reach up to grab it, it's already gone. Therefore, the future is all you have left."

The counselor went on to say, "There are two ways to approach the future. You can sit back and let it come to you and do with you what it will, or you can reach out an try to shape your future, and make it what you want it to be."

Up to that point, for much of my life I had rued past mistakes and tragic events that had occurred, some of which were not of my own making, some of which were. In respect to the future, I was guilty of taking the passive approach.

That is, up to that point. His words were transformational. From that moment on my life was forever changed. I made a concerted effort to embrace the future and shape it in the way I envisioned.

Now, I'm aware that may sound like new age goobledygook. I'm certainly not a big fan of "name it and claim it." For me, this was the unleashing of a vision combined with hard work to bring it to pass.

The Second Lesson: Put Things in Motion

In the course of things I learned another lesson, Newton's First Law of Motion: Objects at rest tend to stay at rest; objects in motion tend to stay in motion.

I realized that I had been "resting" when what I needed to do was put things in motion. Once I did, something phenomenal began to happen. Opportunities began to come my way that I had little or nothing to do with, so far as I could tell. At least in the natural realm that appeared to be the case. In the spiritual realm, who knows what was happening.

I am approaching this transition with that frame of mind. I'm believing that good things will come as I pursue my passion. I believe that I will open my email and find speaking invitations, consulting opportunities and things I don't even have a clue about.

And I don't think I'm any more special than you. If you're at a point of transition, be it a career change, loss of a family member, divorce, job loss, whatever...don't get stuck in the past. Focus on the future and take proactive steps to make it what you want it to be. If you need a little push, click here.