Sisters Go From "Layoff to Launch Pad" in this Bad Economy
Monday, February 09, 2009 (reprinted from iask, Inc. sister blog)
Weekly Message Week of February 9, 2009: How to Use Your Lay-Off as a Launch Pad for Success in 2009!
In the December 2008 issue of Essence Magazine writer Erin E. Whitlock explored the sensitive topic of losing your job in a weak U.S. economy and how to handle it so that you rebound better than ever. The article titled, "From Layoff to Launchpad": Four smart steps to get you back in the market and on your feet is one that all of us can learn a great deal from.
The premise of the article is a true one. I know because like many of you I lost my job to lay-off in the summer of 2008. I had two options, allow myself to become afraid, angry and depressed or I could use the "opportunity" to redefine my life, my goals, and forge a new path ahead that would get me where I wanted to be. I decided to be "launched" not laid off.
So many of us have been conditioned just to have a job, keep the job, pay the bills, and live outside of the hopes and dreams we had as young adults. Sadly, this breaks our souls and spirits in the deepest of ways.
When I faced a sudden layoff in the midst of the worst U.S. economy since the Great Depression, of course, I was afraid. I had a mortgage to pay, a car note, insurances, utilities, loans, credit cards, etc. I am a single woman, so I did not have a husband to fall back on (something that you really feel when crisis hits). I have family members who sometimes depend on me for financial support (a very common occurrence in the black community from what I understand when you have 1st generation professionals in a family tree that is still trying to survive day to day). It creates a lot of stress and anxiety to say the least. I was worried and fearful.
Yet, what I did was write out a plan and stick to it. First, I was blessed to have put away enough money in my IRA to sustain me for 6 months of running my household without cutting expenses. It was a last resort for sure, but after my severance ran out (most employers will give you 1-2 weeks for each year you are employed with them and in some cases more depending on your level, the deal you cut, etc.) and my savings was depleted I had no choice but to fall back on my nest egg. The markets had taken 35% of what I had in my 401K, it was scary for sure.
I cannot stress enough how CRITICAL it is for you to save money for a rainy day--cash money that you can access in an emergency situation that will give you breathing room in a crisis situation. Then you have to have a BUDGET that reigns in your finances. I immediately contacted my mortgage lender and asked them to cut my loan rate--they did so because I maintained excellent credit with them in the past. And most important, I focused my FAITH and started a personal PRAYER group that I could call on to uplift and encourage me when I was feeling low (and trust me you will have those days).
As was stated in the aforementioned article, after deciding what I could do with my talents and skills to make money quickly, I made valuable connections with my sorority network, legal network, my professional networks and my various online networks (e.g., linkedIn, Facebook, etc.). And most importantly, I took careful consideration of what it was I wanted to do with my life for the next 10 years or so.
When I realized that as one mentor put it, "Sophia, you have to see this as a blessing not as a curse--go and do what you were put here to do. Stop living for everyone else and start living for you," that it was an opportunity I took hold of it and I never looked back. And God has blessed me each step of the way.
I can tell you with a certainty that although I took a HUGE financial pay cut, I am now doing what I love. I get paid to write, speak, coach, and encourage others. I can now dedicate myself to the projects that are at the core of my heart and watch them take flight. My first published book should be in print late 2009 or early 2010.
I am more peaceful, and more centered now. I have started a new consulting company that has great potential, my first truly national magazine article will appear in Essence Magazine this month in the March issue with Halle Berry on the cover. I adore a wonderful man (my heart gets full just thinking about him), I am in the best physical shape of my life (since my glory days in high school running track), I have truly been blessed with awesome friends and sisters, and my life is going in the direction of my dreams. It feels so surreal at times that it frightens me.
What am I saying sisters: Not that such a journey will be easy. It will not be. Not that this economy won't challenge us all. It will. Not that we can all chase after our dreams and watch them unfold quickly--it usually takes time. I am 42 years old and my life is only NOW starting to look like the one I have hoped and prayed for since my 20s. All I am suggesting is that you use the hard times, the trying times to build your character and your life. Make it what you want it to be. It is NEVER too late to change a life and never too late to have one.
Perhaps your unexpected lay-off means you need to go back to college? Get that graduate degree? Go to Nursing school--become a teacher. Change career paths. Go to trade school. Apply for a government career service job. Join the peace corps. Open your heart to LOVE (ya'll know I am all about the love in 2009--see my personal blog www.sophiaanelson.com) and decide to ASK God for the desires of your heart so that you can SOAR.
The Bible says the power of life and death are in our words. I had no idea how true that was until the last 12 months or so of my life.
As always when I speak to you, I speak from first hand experience. No pie in the sky, sitting on high with me as you know. Take the challenges of today and use them as a launchpad to your tomorrows. Trust me if I can do it--so can you.
God bless and have a great week!
If I Have Not Love, I am Nothing!
Sophia
Weekly Message Week of February 9, 2009: How to Use Your Lay-Off as a Launch Pad for Success in 2009!
In the December 2008 issue of Essence Magazine writer Erin E. Whitlock explored the sensitive topic of losing your job in a weak U.S. economy and how to handle it so that you rebound better than ever. The article titled, "From Layoff to Launchpad": Four smart steps to get you back in the market and on your feet is one that all of us can learn a great deal from.
The premise of the article is a true one. I know because like many of you I lost my job to lay-off in the summer of 2008. I had two options, allow myself to become afraid, angry and depressed or I could use the "opportunity" to redefine my life, my goals, and forge a new path ahead that would get me where I wanted to be. I decided to be "launched" not laid off.
So many of us have been conditioned just to have a job, keep the job, pay the bills, and live outside of the hopes and dreams we had as young adults. Sadly, this breaks our souls and spirits in the deepest of ways.
When I faced a sudden layoff in the midst of the worst U.S. economy since the Great Depression, of course, I was afraid. I had a mortgage to pay, a car note, insurances, utilities, loans, credit cards, etc. I am a single woman, so I did not have a husband to fall back on (something that you really feel when crisis hits). I have family members who sometimes depend on me for financial support (a very common occurrence in the black community from what I understand when you have 1st generation professionals in a family tree that is still trying to survive day to day). It creates a lot of stress and anxiety to say the least. I was worried and fearful.
Yet, what I did was write out a plan and stick to it. First, I was blessed to have put away enough money in my IRA to sustain me for 6 months of running my household without cutting expenses. It was a last resort for sure, but after my severance ran out (most employers will give you 1-2 weeks for each year you are employed with them and in some cases more depending on your level, the deal you cut, etc.) and my savings was depleted I had no choice but to fall back on my nest egg. The markets had taken 35% of what I had in my 401K, it was scary for sure.
I cannot stress enough how CRITICAL it is for you to save money for a rainy day--cash money that you can access in an emergency situation that will give you breathing room in a crisis situation. Then you have to have a BUDGET that reigns in your finances. I immediately contacted my mortgage lender and asked them to cut my loan rate--they did so because I maintained excellent credit with them in the past. And most important, I focused my FAITH and started a personal PRAYER group that I could call on to uplift and encourage me when I was feeling low (and trust me you will have those days).
As was stated in the aforementioned article, after deciding what I could do with my talents and skills to make money quickly, I made valuable connections with my sorority network, legal network, my professional networks and my various online networks (e.g., linkedIn, Facebook, etc.). And most importantly, I took careful consideration of what it was I wanted to do with my life for the next 10 years or so.
When I realized that as one mentor put it, "Sophia, you have to see this as a blessing not as a curse--go and do what you were put here to do. Stop living for everyone else and start living for you," that it was an opportunity I took hold of it and I never looked back. And God has blessed me each step of the way.
I can tell you with a certainty that although I took a HUGE financial pay cut, I am now doing what I love. I get paid to write, speak, coach, and encourage others. I can now dedicate myself to the projects that are at the core of my heart and watch them take flight. My first published book should be in print late 2009 or early 2010.
I am more peaceful, and more centered now. I have started a new consulting company that has great potential, my first truly national magazine article will appear in Essence Magazine this month in the March issue with Halle Berry on the cover. I adore a wonderful man (my heart gets full just thinking about him), I am in the best physical shape of my life (since my glory days in high school running track), I have truly been blessed with awesome friends and sisters, and my life is going in the direction of my dreams. It feels so surreal at times that it frightens me.
What am I saying sisters: Not that such a journey will be easy. It will not be. Not that this economy won't challenge us all. It will. Not that we can all chase after our dreams and watch them unfold quickly--it usually takes time. I am 42 years old and my life is only NOW starting to look like the one I have hoped and prayed for since my 20s. All I am suggesting is that you use the hard times, the trying times to build your character and your life. Make it what you want it to be. It is NEVER too late to change a life and never too late to have one.
Perhaps your unexpected lay-off means you need to go back to college? Get that graduate degree? Go to Nursing school--become a teacher. Change career paths. Go to trade school. Apply for a government career service job. Join the peace corps. Open your heart to LOVE (ya'll know I am all about the love in 2009--see my personal blog www.sophiaanelson.com) and decide to ASK God for the desires of your heart so that you can SOAR.
The Bible says the power of life and death are in our words. I had no idea how true that was until the last 12 months or so of my life.
As always when I speak to you, I speak from first hand experience. No pie in the sky, sitting on high with me as you know. Take the challenges of today and use them as a launchpad to your tomorrows. Trust me if I can do it--so can you.
God bless and have a great week!
If I Have Not Love, I am Nothing!
Sophia
