What Getting Fired Taught Me
The Conversation Went Rogue - Sometimes, You Just Need To Go There
Our Morning Coffee got waylaid.
Big Time.
On top of that, later that morning, it became apparent that my faithful little sidekick, Mitsy, a constant companion for almost 17 years, was not going to make it.
That day, Tuesday, February 21, 2023, she took her last breath.
We buried her out behind the house and planted a cedar tree as a grave marker. That took the wind out of my normal writing sail for the day.
So, I’m just now getting around to writing about our discussion.
Catching Up
The morning started as usual, but the conversation quickly turned to a couple of posts I had written the previous week concerning Paradigms and Providence.
As kids growing up, we miss much of what our parents go through as they maintain the (sometimes fragile) balance between family and work.
Younger kids just go with the flow.
It’s a little harder on the older ones, particularly when a major geographical move happens.
Friendships that have bonded over a decade or more get stretched to the point of snapping.
Some of what I wrote prompted questions from my son, Josh. Things of which he was either vaguely aware of or had no idea.
So that’s where the discussion went this morning.
I make no apologies for my Christian faith and believe with my whole heart that things don’t just happen coincidentally.
There’s always a purpose. Many times we just can’t see or understand it until later on. After the fact.
We talked about the times I was fired.
They were painful.
But, he never knew that.
Life did not change for him or his siblings.
All they were aware of was that they had food on the table, a warm bed to sleep in, decent clothes to wear, and a roof over their heads.
So, after reading my posts, he had questions.
The interesting thing is, I didn’t actually like the jobs or who I was working for, but the damaged ego happened anyway.
If you have ever been fired, let go, or laid off, then you know.
We get so wrapped up in jobs or careers that they become our lives.
I referenced this in the very first article I wrote for this newsletter -
You see it across all industries and career fields.
We see it with military veterans and retirees. In particular, those who were involved in heavy combat situations or special operations.
That was their life.
They could not seem to transfer their knowledge, skills, and abilities to other pursuits.
Many are dead, either by “natural” causes, drug addiction, or suicide within a couple of years.
So, yeah, getting fired is scary at the moment it happens.
Thankfully, in my case, each time I was able to separate who I was from what I was doing.
I learned something from these times -
Yes, the ego did take a hit.
But, after the initial shock, I was able to look back, assess and learn.
And to be truthful, each time, I could see it coming.
I was never good at faking happiness with a job I was dissatisfied with.
Anyone could read me like an open book.
There was one job, though, that I really enjoyed.
I strongly believed I was wrongly let go. I never saw that one coming. (My contract position ended when initially it was to be someone else’s).
But, even in that situation, my faith kept me strong.
I learned a lot of things -
I learned that we can choose our response to life’s curveballs
I had learned to be prepared financially for such an occasion.
I learned not to overextend our finances.
I learned that life will continue.
I learned to enjoy things I never seemed to have time for before.
I learned to appreciate people in my life who had previously been taken for granted.
During that time, I was out of work for approximately 18 months and it was one of the most rewarding times of my life.
Being a writer has always been my dream job. But, it was during this time that the writing bug really took hold.
I wrote and published two e-books on Amazon Kindle (since removed), and an autobiography which was rewritten into a live radio drama produced in 2 episodes by the Unshackled program, a ministry of Pacific Garden Missions in Chicago.
A very serious, yet entertaining message.
You can still listen to it online:
Since that time, I have worked on various formats of writing - blogging, fiction (novels/short stories), non-fiction, and sermons.
Yes, I even did some occasional preaching.
I understand the need for developing an email list of recipients, but I quickly discovered that I didn’t like the tediousness of building/maintaining a personal blogging website and then trying to attract a following.
Catering to the writing voice
At the same time, I was finding/developing my writing voice.
Who am I in this new role?
What do I want to accomplish?
Who do I want to reach?
How am I going to do that?
All valid and important questions that I needed to work through.
Several years before I retired two things showed up on my radar screen which helped me begin to answer those questions.
Medium
Copywriting
Medium appealed to my creative writing side.
Their About Page describes the format as -
. . . an open platform where over 100 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface.”
There are a lot of nuances to Medium, but the bottom line is that it is a platform that both writers and readers can utilize.
It’s out-of-the-box ready, so writers can write without the cumbersome work of setting up or maintaining a website.
It works by charging a minimal fee both for readers and writers. Writers can earn via algorithms set up to reward interaction between writers and readers.
Copywriting, on the other hand, appeals to my marketing side (which also utilizes creative writing skills).
The American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI) describes copywriting as -
. . . the process of writing persuasive marketing and promotional materials that motivate people to take some form of action, such as make a purchase, click on a link, donate to a cause, or schedule a consultation.
There are many forms of copywriting, depending on what action is being asked for.
Long-form articles, marketing materials, and call-to-action pieces have all been things I have done throughout my working life.
But, I never knew it was called copywriting.
So, these together fit my hands like a pair of gloves.
Falling in love
The goal has always been to make writing my “second wind” career after I retired -
To go “all out” and see where it led.
Then something interesting happened - I fell in love.
In late 2022, just a couple of months before that inevitable date (Retirement), I discovered Substack.
Love at first sight - I believe “smitten” would be an appropriate description.
I had heard of Substack before and assumed it to be primarily for independent journalists and writers.
Wrong.
Enlightened
In August each year, my wife and I celebrate our anniversary by spending a week or so at our family place on Edisto Island, just south of Charleston, South Carolina.
This past Summer (2022) during our time there, we invited our friends, Richard and Lisa Moore, to join us for dinner.
Richard and I had been childhood friends. We had lost contact for many years and became reacquainted several years ago.
For years now, Richard has been a successful author, a newspaper editor/columnist, and most recently a Substack writer.
Check out and subscribe to his newsletters, Richard Moore In-Depth and Mapping the Close Years.
From Richard I learned that Substack is designed to allow anyone to write and build a newsletter subscription base.
A virtual writer’s heaven.
I started learning everything I could about Substack. The more I saw, the more I liked it.
There is a lot to Substack, but here is their description in a nutshell -
A Substack combines a blog, newsletter, payment system, and customer support team — all integrated seamlessly with a simple interface. We handle the admin, billing, and tech so you can focus on your best work.
In other words, “You just write, and we’ll take care of everything else”.
Who can argue with that?
Substack is similar to Medium in its purpose.
The major differences are in how a writer reaches and/or builds an audience and the writer's revenue structure.
Until you initiate the paid subscription option, writing on Substack is free.
When you do go paid, Substack will deduct 10% of a writer’s revenue for site maintenance and tech expenses.
The beauty is that a writer can build a following on Substack and Medium without clashing.
And, they both allow and encourage cross-posting for reaching a wider audience.
At the same time, a writer can build a copywriting business for supplemental income.
At a minimum, acquiring good copywriting skills will help writers create eye-catching, clickable headlines for their newsletters.
Having written several Medium articles in the past and now being 26 articles (in 5 weeks) into my Substack journey, I am learning every day.
And having a blast . . .
Don’t let fear kill your dream - do it now.
Are you a writer or want to be one?
Do you have a dream of writing full-time at some point?
Are you afraid of making mistakes and blunders?
You will, of course, but so what?
Learn from them and keep going.
Every single writer who ever lived has had to deal with fear.
Overcoming the FEAR monster is not as hard as you think.
Unless you never start.
Then it becomes so huge in your mind (not in reality) that you cannot see a way to victory.
Once, I saw an acronym of FEAR as being False Evidence Appearing Real.
, a prolific and successful writer online today, recently published an article about this very subject.A quote in this article stuck with me -
The best stories are the ones you feel like deleting.
That article you are afraid to publish just may be the one that turns the corner for your writing career. But, you will never know if it never leaves your hard drive.
One, or both, of these platforms (Substack & Medium) is a perfect place for you to start and practice your writing, get comfortable with publishing, and learn the writer ropes.
Everyone has a story to tell. You never know who yours may have an impact on.
Remember also that your audience will be minimal at first, so that is the best time to get your feet wet, make mistakes, learn from them, and press on.
Your skills and confidence will grow exponentially each time you click publish.
As the Nike tagline says,
You can thank me later - Haha.
Until next time friends . . .
I was "let go" once - a legit move as I was in over my head. We parted well. That same day I stumbled into a more appropriate opportunity "out of nowhere". Hah. Last Friday I learned my current job is in question - not me vs the job, just me vs the company wanting us to all return to the office. Hmmm. So, I may be up for a change. But I'm used to that. Just wondering what it might look like. Nail-biting but kind of an opportunity for a better arrangement. We'll see. But I've been through enough zigs and zags to know Providence has it all worked out.
You said "The interesting thing is, I didn’t actually like the jobs or who I was working for, but the damaged ego happened anyway."
We all like to leave on our own terms, not get thrown out at someone else's decision.
I also got retrenched, "fired" if you will, from a job I hated, but could not find a way out of, so God let my boss to tell me to go... with a nice golden hand shake however- But I know I should have left way before... I just did not take the time to sort it out.
We all get to busy peddling to see where we are going!!!