It seems my “note” is being interpreted in a way that I didn’t expect. So, I’m going to take some time and explain why I wrote it.
But first, I need to apolgize to Shaema, she made the first comment regarding my original note and because of my ineptude with facebook, I deleted her comment by accident while correcting some typos. It was NOT intentional. At the time, I wasn’t aware that you could “edit” a note after it was published, I thought I had to delete it and then re-publish it.
Ok, so, I’ve received some feedback – via facebook comments and also verbally. The verbal comments were:
“…depressing…”
“…discouraging…”
On the other hand, the written comments were:
“keep your chin up, as you always have, and you’ll do just fine. You dah man”
“Hang in there–you always land on your feet”
Its these written comments that sum up what I was trying to say:
I’ve always kept my chin up – and because of that (optimism of mine), I’ve always “done just fine”, and it seems like I always “land on my feet”.
Each step I’ve taken in my career has led me to become the person I am today (in my life). Whether it was a forced decision or one of my own choosing. Whether it was my decision to accept a (out-of-the-blue) job offer from a former manager to move to California at the young age of 24, or a “forced” decision that “made” me move to MN, each move (or potential layoff) became a turning point in my life.
If the potential layoff in L.A. hadn’t happen, I would never thought of moving to MN. If I didn’t take the MN job, I would have never met and married . If I hadn’t met her, I would have never taken up skiing at age 30 and found a huge passion for this sport (and, in case you aren’t aware, I am not into athletic sports). I also wouldn’t have had the experience of living on a lake for 5 yrs, and I definitely would not have known the passion I have for boating. This, believe it or not, all due to my being almost “laid off” in L.A.
If I wasn’t about to be laid off while supporting RSVL BAMCS, in ’90, I might have not been offered a job in Eagan. If I hadn’t been almost laid off and placed in limbo when “Respond” left in 91, I would not have met the manager who thought I could “lead” people. That same someone, knowing how shy and introverted I was, “forced” me to give a presentation to some outside clients. And then, “forced” me (and others) to teach “informal classes” to our fellow co-workers. This was one of the best things that ever happpened to me, learning how to get up front of people without peeing your pants (thank you, Rob V.). If any of these “potential” layoffs didn’t occur, who knows how I would have turned out?
So, believe it or not, I am (mostly) glad of all those “threats of layoffs” in my career at Unisys. It’s made me the person I am. And, Like Rick K., said “I’ll do just fine”. I know this in my head and heart. I know it’s scary for the people this is happening to right now, and rightly so. But, whatever happens, when it happens, it’ll just be another step in a huge series of stepping stones in my life.
By the way, I’ve spoken to many of my former collegues (who’ve spent their entire career at Unisys and have recently left on their own or were laid off), and most, if not all of them have said: “you know, there is life AFTER Unisys and it’s great”. It may take a while to me to “land on my feet”, but I’m looking forward to this next move of mine.
B.
