Getting Fired Was the Best Thing

Let's face the facts: I've been fired three times. Not laid off. Not "mutually parted ways." Fired. As in, "Pack your stuff and get out" fired.

Two of these blindside hits I never saw coming. Zero radar blips. One minute I'm planning next quarter's strategy with my team, the next I'm standing in the parking lot wondering what the hell just happened.

Being unemployed for over six months sucks. That's a lot of scrolling LinkedIn jobs, crafting "just checking in" emails to my network, and having awkward coffee chats with recruiters who really wanna know why they thought I was disposable. Both parties are desperate but they pretend not so.

The shame is real. Every time someone asks, "So, what do you?" it’s a gut punch. It's avoiding social events because you can't stand another well-meaning "everything happens for a reason" BS.

But there's a plot twist in every story: each walk-out was also the best career moves I never would have chosen to make otherwise! Because failure is your best mentor. It's the Harvard or MIT MBA you didn't pay for.

First time, I realized that I had bitten more than I could chew. Got promoted to the wrong role too fast. I learned to pace my career. Take risks, but not the stupid kids. Second time, I learned that I was naive enough to think that politics and power moves don’t have a place in the office. Those uncomfortable scenes from “Suits” and “Succession” aren’t a fiction.

Stop treating failure like it's a career STD. Own it. Learn from it. The most successful people are the ones who fail the most. Failure is the teacher who teaches you most about success.

Fail spectacularly. Learn magnificently. And play big to win big.