Dear Friend,
I’m sorry to hear you lost your job. It is a circumstance that is especially challenging. I know you worked hard to get the job, and always worked hard at doing it well. This must feel very unfair.
Undoubtedly this raises worrisome questions about how to pay the
bills, what to do next, and where to secure new work? Obviously I
don’t have a quick fix solution, but it’s my highest hope that the
following words will help in some way, large or small. They comprise
seven bits of advice I’ve encountered along the way that have proved
to be gems.
1. There is a job waiting for you to find it. Just as surely as
you are a good person, there is someone out there right now needing
to find someone exactly like you to help their company succeed. Where
one company sees a need to shrink, another sees an opportunity to
grow. That’s why there is a job waiting for you to find it.
2. Success always begins as an inside job, so your first task
isn’t to update your resume or find a job. Your first step is to
craft the right self-image. Instead of "unemployed," be "perfect for
hiring." This small change goes far beyond word crafting. It connects
deeply into the power of belief; the great truth that you become what
you think of all day, and you receive what you’re ready for. So begin
by knowing you are "ready for work."
3. You may be out of work, but you are not out of a job. On the
contrary, you have the very important job of seeking work, great
work; work that will be new and exciting, and more rewarding. In
other words, you don’t have a problem, you have a project. It’s the
most important project you could possibly be assigned to because it’s
focused entirely on your future. Each morning, get up at the same
time you did for your previous job, dress even better (because hey,
now you’re the CEO of You Inc.) and be fully engaged for eight hours
every workday. Work with the same power, creativity and enthusiasm
you would if you were helping to put a man on the moon. Your new
project, after all, is to launch yourself into a higher orbit.
4. Projects go best with the help of other people. The CEO of
Coca-Cola was once asked what makes the difference between those who
go all the way to the top, and those who fail to make it. His reply
was, "Those who go to the top are excellent at asking for help."
You’re not in this alone when you reach out to friends. Friends will
help you network, brainstorm, focus, prepare, mail, refresh, choose,
and celebrate. A supporter can help simply by making you a cup a tea
while you do paperwork. As Cicero, the first century Roman
philosopher said, "Friendship improves happiness and abates misery,
by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief." As The
Beatles sang, "We get by with a little help from our friends." Don’t
forget your friends.
5. People and the news may emphasize the negatives, like a "bad
economy" or "shrinking job market," but don’t buy into it. You future
is not tied to Wall Street, consumer confidence, or rising or falling
interest rates. It’s tied to your perception of reality. Those who
focus on the bad economy will feel self-pity, defeat, and bitterness–
negative emotions that crush motivation and repel opportunity. But
when you see the economy as needing a great person like yourself, you
benefit from a positivity that motivates and attracts. Success isn’t
the result of a hot economy, you set yourself on fire.
6. You are never a victim of circumstance. Many people out of
work will complain that "it was out of their control," "out of their
hands," "an unfortunate twist of fate," but when they do they are
calling themselves powerless over their own lives. It’s the greatest
lie ever told – that we can lose control of what’s happening in our
own life. When we can admit that our present level of thinking
brought us to our present place in life, then we are also confirming
our ability to change our thinking and create a better future for
ourselves. Begin by shifting from a negative not-knowingness to a
positive uncertainty. You don’t need to know what you’ll do to feel
positive. With this in mind, you can shift from positive uncertainty
to confident expectancy. Never forget, you can change your
circumstances by changing your thoughts, feelings and attitude. Yes
things will happen to you, but the greatest truth of all is that the
only things that really matter are the things that happen in you.
7. Now more than ever, give a lot. Keep giving, as a testament
to your faith in abundance, so that you remain in the abundant flow
of the universe. Don’t give in order to get, because that only
further separates you from the universe’s positive flow. Give to
deeply know that you always have abundance at your fingertips. Give a
good idea to someone in need, so that you see another idea take its
place. Give a hand to someone going it alone, so you can see the time
spent come back to you. Give a dollar to a person who needs bus fare,
so you can see a dollar attracted to you. Give so that you can see
for yourself that abundance is at your command, and that the
universal flow is based on giving.
The idea here is to not fall for the detrimental thinking of
scarcity. Scarcity and fear throw you out of the positive flow of the
universe. When you pay cash for something, don’t think, "This is one
of my last dollars going away!" Instead, notice the words on the bill
that say, "In God We Trust" and give the money gladly as a testament
to your faith in abundance. When you charge something, consider it
‘Giving Credit’ to principle of abundance alive and well in your
life. When you write a check, make it an act of "Paying to the Order
Of" the universe’s abundant flow. Now, without a paycheck coming in,
you may hesitate to even spend for a seminar, or a professional
service that could help you find work – but spend the money as
service to your project, and a confirmation in your faith in
abundance. The more you become conscious, everyday, of your belief in
abundance, the more prosperity will be attracted to you. It is a law
of universe.
Friend, those are the seven gems I had to share. I humbly
suggest you hang them where you will be working on your project, and
review them at the start of each day. May they serve you as well as
they have served me. Obviously they cannot make your journey pain-
free, so when things feel rough remember the ageless wisdom, "And
this too shall pass." But at the same time, remember some think
potentially more important. That this is nothing but a challenge
along your hero’s journey. A test of your resolve, and a dark hour
before the dawn. You’ve been on your hero’s since the day you were
born, and certainly what feels like a setback today, will reveal its
self to be leap forward once you’ve arrived.
Until we meet again, be great,
Patrick Combs
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"Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love."
-- Rumi
"If you accept the possibilities of the present, you will certainly improve in the future."
-- Paulo Coelho
"There is one final guideline I want to give you: gratitude. Gratitude is to your awakening what plutonium is to a nuclear missile. It is the spark that ignites hidden sources of energy and Light, lifting you to a whole new level of joy and peace. You have so much to be grateful for."
-- from the book Emmissaries of Light
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