How depressing is this grind? I have spent the last 2 days calling, sending emails, sending my resume, and taking breaks so I won't go out of my mind. I keep thinking, 'damn, I'm unemployed!'. It certainly doesn't help to dwell on that so I take little breaks for a Harley ride (hey, it's great weather) or a good cigar (I won't be buying any more of those), or to call MaryAnn. She's having her own tough time at work, but she's doing really well and she's better than she gives herself credit for. I have several contacts that I'll be seeing in the next few days, so it at least feels better to be getting out with a purpose.
I have also been contacting anyone I know who can help connect me with someone who can get me into the presenting/speaking career that I want. There's numerous problems here - compensation will be the worst (I was paid very well running dealerships), and undoubtedly I'll be facing some travel (although I don't know that yet). Regardless, I will interview with ANYBODY and consider anything right now. We shall see...
Ok, gotta go. Tonight is dance class with MaryAnn. I actually enjoy it, although I need to be committed to putting more work into it. The Escape Velocity theory again. I'll explain that theory in a future post.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Terminated!!
I never realized all you had to do was start a blog and your dreams came true!! Two days ago I wrote that I yearned to start a new speaking career but was thwarted by the long hours and success I was having as a sales manager. Yesterday I was terminated!! A new corporation had just purchased the dealership where I was so gainfully employed. They had other plans. In hindsight, they weren't about to leave the running of their flagship store to a total stranger, so I should have seen the train coming.
The stated excuse for my inability to launch a new career now gone, I can move headlong into my dream of speaking for a living. One problem ... I am not independantly wealthy, nor do I have the financial strength to go for any period of time without substantial income. So I must find work, and find it quickly. I have family and debt, not unlike tens of millions of other hardworking people, and I must service both. Such is the grind ...
Still, I believe that I've been handed a partial victory, though future hindsight will be the only verification of that. I will now pursue employment that will accomodate my Toastmasters and NSA schedule, which means evenings and weekends available. Yes, that trims my options some, and as time goes by without work I will become less scrutinizing, but I must keep one eye on the ultimate career goal - becoming a professional speaker.
I had planned to sit this morning and pen everything I have felt in the last 24 hours, but that urge has passed. Suffice it to say that although somewhat terrified, I feel great! The thing that I could not do (quit) has now been done for me (terminated), so I am forced to move forward with my plans (talk about escape velocity, I feel like I've been shot out of a cannon!!). I will state for the record that of all the people I have personally fired over the last 20 years in the car business (that number is too high to mention, and anyone familiar with the business would understand that), a full 90% of them ended up in a better place. I plan to be no different. I now pray that I can take care of my finances and my family while moving forward. The great test now begins...
The stated excuse for my inability to launch a new career now gone, I can move headlong into my dream of speaking for a living. One problem ... I am not independantly wealthy, nor do I have the financial strength to go for any period of time without substantial income. So I must find work, and find it quickly. I have family and debt, not unlike tens of millions of other hardworking people, and I must service both. Such is the grind ...
Still, I believe that I've been handed a partial victory, though future hindsight will be the only verification of that. I will now pursue employment that will accomodate my Toastmasters and NSA schedule, which means evenings and weekends available. Yes, that trims my options some, and as time goes by without work I will become less scrutinizing, but I must keep one eye on the ultimate career goal - becoming a professional speaker.
I had planned to sit this morning and pen everything I have felt in the last 24 hours, but that urge has passed. Suffice it to say that although somewhat terrified, I feel great! The thing that I could not do (quit) has now been done for me (terminated), so I am forced to move forward with my plans (talk about escape velocity, I feel like I've been shot out of a cannon!!). I will state for the record that of all the people I have personally fired over the last 20 years in the car business (that number is too high to mention, and anyone familiar with the business would understand that), a full 90% of them ended up in a better place. I plan to be no different. I now pray that I can take care of my finances and my family while moving forward. The great test now begins...
Monday, September 28, 2009
Notes to Self
Does starting a blog mean you are out of the Dark Ages? If you are reading this you've lost your mind (welcome), as my blog is born to improve my skills, not to inform or entertain. If you're still reading this 5 minutes from now you should kill yourself, as you have no life.
I struggle with what is probably the same malady that engulfs so many of us; our success and our struggle to do something meaningful. I long to become a professional speaker, but my success in sales management keeps me well paid and working, unable to find the time to read, write, and speak. Working long hours, evenings and weekends (oh does my family love that), I do not "see" the bridge from here to there. Nevertheless, my next career will be as a speaker, hopefully with my wife helping to manage our operation and traveling with me . It is time to prepare.
So these writings will hold my stories, my thoughts, and my failures as I travel through time, and be useful as fodder for eventual product or practice for eventual success.
Damn, I'm late for work ...
I struggle with what is probably the same malady that engulfs so many of us; our success and our struggle to do something meaningful. I long to become a professional speaker, but my success in sales management keeps me well paid and working, unable to find the time to read, write, and speak. Working long hours, evenings and weekends (oh does my family love that), I do not "see" the bridge from here to there. Nevertheless, my next career will be as a speaker, hopefully with my wife helping to manage our operation and traveling with me . It is time to prepare.
So these writings will hold my stories, my thoughts, and my failures as I travel through time, and be useful as fodder for eventual product or practice for eventual success.
Damn, I'm late for work ...
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