Do you know what is the main event that precipitated my journey of stepping into my purposeful work, the work I do now?
It’s my layoff from Yahoo! 12 years ago…
As shocked and scared as I was when it happened, I was also relieved…
…relieved to leave work that was not in alignment with my purpose anymore.
…relieved to not have to constantly adjust to tasks that were getting further outside my zones of genius and excellence.
…relieved from second-guessing myself and wondering if I was smart enough.
…relieved from being able to use only 40% of my core strengths at work and having to leave the others in the shadow, unexpressed, unseen, and unappreciated.
After taking the time to feel my feelings and take care of myself, I started to see the layoff as the opportunity I needed to finally actualize my dream…
…the dream that I had been contemplating for more than six years.
…the dream to do work that fully aligns with my true talents, passions, and purpose.
….the work I do now: helping high-achieving professionals, executives, and managers create purposeful work that reignites their passion and makes a difference.
A layoff can be a catalyst to step into your purpose, the work that truly matters to you.
It can be a blessing in disguise to give you the push to finally go for your dreams and to stop postponing them to “someday.’ Did you notice that “someday” is not a day on the calendar? If you wait for it to come, I will probably never will.
A catalyst for purposeful work, this is what it is for my client too. Successful Senior Director in Product Marketing, she just got laid off.
Only the day after she was laid off, she came up with a BRILLIANT business idea that is so aligned with her purpose and so perfect for her. She is thrilled and I am too.
Why did she come up with this idea with so much clarity and confidence?
…Because of all the preparatory work we have done together in the past few months to help her clarify her core drivers, values, strengths, personality type, true passions, and purpose. The essential work to excavate her true self, purpose, and talents, buried under decades of climbing the corporate ladder and what a successful career is supposed to look like.
This is why she can use this layoff as a stepping stone toward her dream career, instead of a setback.
As traumatic as a layoff can be, I know she will look back at it as the day that accelerated her journey toward her purposeful work. And she will be grateful for it, as I am for my own.
Of course, it is important to first honor and feel all the feelings, the shock, the fears, the grief, all of it, and get support around it. This is how you move through it, by feeling it first, before moving into what is next.
But what if your layoff–or any challenge you encounter–was actually a stepping stone in realigning your career and life with what matters most, instead of a setback? Or maybe a helping hand the Universe is sending you to reach your next dream? This is what it felt like for me.
(Note: Feel free to replace “layoff” with any challenge that is happening to you. The same questions apply. You can also forward this email to someone you know–friend, relative, spouse, or coworker–who got laid off and may need to hear this.)
What if this layoff was happening FOR you and not AGAINST you?
When you are ready, after honoring the feelings and getting support, I invite you to ponder these questions and find the truth in them for you.
If you need a supportive, empathic ear, I’m here. So don’t hesitate to reply and share with me.
I’ve been in your shoes. And, on top of the layoff, losing my working visa to stay in the US was not easy. I can tell you. In one day, I was losing my work, my livelihood, and I was close to losing my home too.
You are not alone.
Reach out.
I believe in you. I believe in your dreams. I believe in your purpose.
With love,
Isabelle
P.S. If you doubt whether you have a purpose, I can tell you this: every single person on earth has unique talents and a purpose to offer the world, I know it after working with hundreds of professionals, including people who doubted they had a purpose when they started working with me. I’m naturally gifted in helping you see what you cannot see in yourself. This is the gift I was given, so trust me, even if you don’t yet believe it, I believe it for you.
(Photo credit: In Her Image Photography)
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