One of the most beautiful characteristics about America is the ability we have to fall, dust ourselves off and try again. Layoffs or firings may seem unsurmountable at first, but we’ve seen over and over again how getting laid off can often be the first step towards a significantly more fulfilling future. We’ve shared some incredible stories below.
Jennalee Butch
A few years back I was fired from a job I thought I loved. It was pretty much my whole life and I was absolutely devastated. In that time of my life I only painted once in a while since I was always at work. The day after I was let go however, I picked up my paint brush and started painting like crazy! With this new time on my hands I even started posting my paintings on social media and to my surprise people wanted to buy them! I had been so consumed in a corporate job that didn’t care about me, I was letting it drain me of my creativity and my dreams. I didn’t have the self esteem or confidence to pursue art before but once it became my only option for income I put my all into it and now it is my full time career. Read more>>
Andrea Rumschlag, Mba, Rdn, Ld
I was laid off from my full time job in the spring of 2023, when the start up I was working for made the difficult decision to discontinue operations. It was a strange feeling as I had never been laid off before, nor been part of a company that fully ceased to exist all together. While the situation was completely out of my control, it’s still easy to think “could I have done something differently?” Instead of looking back, I made myself look forward. I took advice from a close friend, and instead of diving headfirst into another similar position, I took the time to step back and truly decide what I wanted to do next. Do I stay in the industry I was in or pivot another direction? Read more>>
Sharee Collier
I was driving to Seattle from Los Angeles on a road trip with my husband and 4 kids when I took a work call on Zoom right before entering the Avenue of the Giants in the Redwoods. What I thought would be a quick recap meeting about upcoming projects or just a normal catch-up call turned into a fire Sharee call, with my whole family present. Read more>>
