I got laid off yesterday, nearly 11 years with the same online publisher ending with a two-minute phone call from the CEO.
It was one of the best days of my life, not because of the adrenaline-fueled euphoria you initially feel when you lose a job you loath, but because it gave me an excuse to start drinking in the morning. I’m kidding: I don’t need an excuse. (Double kidding!)
No, what made it great was how I responded: I stuck to the game plan I had inside my head for when that day might come. I expended almost no energy on anger, thoughts of litigation or fantasies of waterboarding. That I was looking at online porn when the CEO called surely helped cushion the blow. Whatever the reason, I kept my thoughts positive and forward-looking.
It helped immensely that I curbed the natural impulse to seek support, to tell others. Those conversations often increase your stress level because people react with such palpable concern and projected dread, they inadvertently signal to you that you’re absolutely fucked. Better to reach that conclusion yourself on Day 2. That way you own it.
The thing is, I’m not fucked. I have enough severance to last awhile. Certainly long enough to get some business plans off the ground. I prefer to focus my efforts on building my own things, as opposed to launching a futile search for employment in an economy where jobs continue to vanish and workers no longer have even the illusion of security. The new economy requires a different mindset, a bold formula for success based on self-reliance and entrepreneurialism. I believe the primary elements of this formula include:
Multiple revenue streams
Individual businesses
Leveraging social networks
Funny guy needs income
I call it the MILF System, and with it I intend to flourish in the new economy. I strongly encourage all of you to MILF it. You’ll be glad you did.
