Hello Friends.
Albert Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
I need to change my life!
For friends just coming to know me. My name is Nick Wolff. Yesterday, February 28, 2013, I received news that for the 4th time I have become a victim of a layoff.
The first time I was laid off, February 14, 2003, I had a poor attitude, a huge sense of undeserved entitlement and a overvalued sense of self. I was concerned with doing well.
The second time I was laid off, February 1, 2009, I was older, had developed a better sense of delivering value for others and was trying to do good. Alas, the bitter downturn in my industry took it’s toll on my life. For the years leading up to the downturn, in an effort to provide for my family, I took unjustified financial risks that I am still paying the price for.
I was notified of my 3rd laid off, on February 27, 2012. I had been brought to a new city in an effort to help turnaround a struggling business. When I signed on, the true nature and extent of the problems were not revealed to me. Despite making great strides in helping to improve the performance of the office, the Board of Directors decided to close the branch office, leaving all of my employees in search for work. By this time, I had been so beaten up and humble, that I knew that I would survive and my concern extended to others who may not have had the same life experience. My last days were spent contacting all the people I had been marketing to over the past year–trying to find my employees new opportunities–trying to do right by them.
Yesterday, I was let go because there is simply not enough work to justify my salary. I can’t say that I wasn’t that surprised. When I was able to easily do all the work of a week in 1 day, it is clear that the company was losing money on me. I tried to take initiative to drum up more work, but after a month of meeting potential clients, I was told to curtail marketing efforts in an effort to be more billable. From that moment on, the guillotine was balanced precariously over my head. As a matter of fact, I somewhat welcomed the news. As a matter of personal integrity, I felt guilty about costing the firm more money than I was generating. I came to see my role as stealing from my employer. I am now concerned about doing right.
So to summarize my career arc…
2004 – a self-centered, entitled fool seeking to do well.
2009 – a family-centered, stressed family man seeking to do good.
2012 – a leader humbled by life experience seeking to do right by others.
2013 – a self-aware man with high integrity driven to do right.
Time will tell where I go from here. But I am definitely in need of a change to stop this recurring cycle. It is my hope that in the months and years to come. I will look back on this blog post as a demarcation from the era of cyclic losses to an era of abundance, self-worth, achievement and happiness. Good feelings and thoughts from all are welcomed and truly appreciated.
