I was let go today
Today, January 27, 2021, I promoted myself to work full-time as The Chief Courage Officer (CCO) within my coaching practice. In this role, I will be helping my clients take more courageous actions so that they can make a bigger impact.
Last night I was feeling a bit under the weather, so I took today off. At 10:04 am, I received a call from my boss. My boss never calls me, so I knew something was up. I answered the phone, and my boss asked me to hold while his boss was connected to the call. His boss came on the line, told me that my job had been eliminated, spoke about the next steps, asked if I had any questions, and gave me his cell phone if I wanted to talk. My job would be gone in 30 days.
This was an organization that I worked at for 7 years. I was promoted twice within that timeframe and delivered every single year. I had a great working relationship with people, I was one of the go-to guys on the team, and I even had a fancy title. 2020 was the best year financially I ever had.
I hung up the phone and was immediately filled with excitement, "YESSSSSS!" I yelled out! I then said a prayer thanking God for opening this door. I had been working towards this moment all my life. I was finally free and able to do work that I loved instead of work that I liked.
I began to become more aware of my feelings.
I felt excitement. This move was something I'd been planning for over 5 years. In December of last year, I decided that I would be leaving in March of this year. I remember being on a mastermind call last week and telling the group that I was considering reaching out to my boss to see if I could get a voluntary severance. I got it!
I felt a sense of loss. Loss of a title that I worked really hard to get, loss of communication with my colleagues, and loss of being associated with a large organization.
I felt certainty. Everywhere I go, I make an impact. I can't help it. I was reminded of this on a community call last week. On that call, 3 people reminded me of how I helped them when I could have easily said no. They helped me look back at my track record of impact and forward to what is to come.
I felt anger and fear. I thought, "Why me?" and "What if I fail? As well as, "What if I'm unsuccessful?"
I felt hope. I remembered that God put me here and will be with me through this trial. One of my peers reminded me to "Draw near to Him."
I have been praying and working towards this moment for a long time, and here it is.
I decided to reach out to my peers and tell them that I have been impacted. Now I'm telling you.
If you take away only one thing from this article, leave with this:
Courage is found in the things you do after the unexpected happens.
When the unexpected happens:
Do you tell people about it, or do you keep it to yourself?
Do you blame someone, or do you own it and move forward?
Do you allow shame, guilt, and anger to take over, or do you find support?
What's your goto reaction?
How would you like to react instead?
Will you respond and let me know?
Be courageous.
God bless you.
Shermain
Initial publish date: 1/27/2021
