Losing your job is painful and unfortunately the current economic conditions have led to many layoffs and firings in companies large and small. However, we’ve learned though thousands of interviews over the years that job loss is one of the most common catalysts for massive life improvement. Below, we’ve shared stories and perspectives from some very successful members of the community around how they dealt with job loss.
Clarissa Matter
Somehow being an artist requires so much self esteem and “hard skin” that along the way, the many harsh challenges and obsacles in life almost succeeded in making me belief, that I would never be able to live from my art. And I`m still not quite there yet. But I believe in it being possible again and I believe in myself again- but let`s start a few months back. My income depended on two as-possible-as-normal jobs, one being a dance teacher in a local dance school and the other being a social educator in a correctional facility for minors. I was trying to fit in, but I never did. Read more>>
Christopher La Fleur
In 2018, I was laid off from a lucrative marketing manager job. It turned out to be one of the most important events of my career. The company I worked for at the time gave me a generous severance that allowed me six months to get my artmaking business off the ground. At no point in time did I feel like something horrible had happened to me. I hit the ground running immediately, with the acute realization that the clock was ticking and I had very little time to do a lot of foundational work. Read more>>
Amber Folasade Ogunsola
Overcoming a layoff or a firing is tough because you can oftentimes fall victim to overthinking. Thoughts come over you and you ruminate to think “was it the result of my actions or performance?” You wonder if only you would have put in a little more effort in this area and worked a little harder, then maybe you wouldn’t be in this predicament. But I’ve come to realize that this is not always true and that some things are actually out of our control. You could have been laid off simply due to your company’s budget cuts. Read more>>
Kelly Lansing
During the pandemic I saw the entertainment industry becoming more and more a business as layoffs were rampant and divisions were cut left and right. I knew I needed to do something to set myself apart from the competition so that if I did find myself back in the studio system on the exec side one day, I could be in the room making the decisions of who was getting laid off instead of being at the mercy of those decision. I went back to school to get my MBA and am so glad I did. Read more>>
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