By Enrique Rubio
I don’t know if you have ever been fired from a job, but just thinking about it sucks… Only by learning some important lessons from the experience itself may we make it hurt just a little less.
Almost ten years ago I was fired from the telecommunications company I was working for. Before getting fired, I already knew that I was at the end of my career there. So, I decided to create my own startup while keeping the full-time job (you know, we have things called “bills” that we need to pay!).
Well, my boss found out about my little entrepreneurial adventure and he was enraged. Without hesitation, he fired me. I was in a lot of debt at the moment.
I had just bought my first used car (which I was still paying for), I had invested some money in my startup, and I needed to help my parents with their bills too.
Going broke
There I was: no job, indebted, and with no income source (not even from my infant startup). I was broke. At the time, I had five years of experience in my electronic engineering career, but couldn’t find a job either. I didn’t know what to do… And then…
Driving a taxi
I realized that my only asset was my car. So, very hesitatingly, I gave driving my car as a taxi a try. At the beginning it was very difficult and scary (this was before Uber or Lyft, and in rural eastern Venezuela). But I did it for seven months. It helped me pay my bills, put some more money in my company and, more importantly, it taught me three lessons that I still carry with me.
The Lessons
This week I had the opportunity to be a keynote speaker in the welcoming of the new interns at my workplace. Since most of them are beginning their careers, I thought that sharing my story could empower and inspire them for what I think is coming ahead in their lives.
I shared with them three of the lessons I learned from getting fired, going broke and driving a taxi. And those lessons are to learn to overcome our fears (because they might not go away!), learn all the time from every single experience in life, and become more valuable by investing in ourselves.
Lesson 1: F…k my fears
The first lesson I learned was to never let my fears get in between myself ,my goals, and dreams.
Over the years I understood and became aware of the fact that it’s totally fine to have fears and be afraid of some stuff in life. I mean, really, if you don’t have fears about your life plans and goals, then do you really care about them? Are they really worthy? Would you cross oceans and walk on fire to achieve them?
From going broke and having to drive a taxi to survive I learned that I cannot remain paralyzed by fear. Today, the struggle between being stuck where I am for fear of my fears or moving on to pursue my dreams is real. However, believe me, in the long run, it is way more rewarding to suck it up and move on.
My devotion to my dreams and goals is stronger than my fears
Right now, at this very moment, there might be something that you really, really want to do, but you find yourself stuck because of fear. First, accept your fear and embrace it. Like in Aikido, use the power of your fears and find the way to use them for your benefit. Or, simply, suck it up. What lies beyond your fears is so awesome, so sublimely amazing that when you get there your only regret will be not having gotten there faster.
Lesson 2: Learn, no matter what
The second lesson is to always, always, always stay in learning mode, no matter the circumstances.
I didn’t want nor did I know how to be a taxi driver. You might say “oh come on dude. That’s easy stuff, just drive.” Well, no. Once, I was driving the taxi and saw this guy waving at me. I stopped and he asked “how much is it from X to Y.” I said something like “one dollar.” He responded: “you are new to this, aren’t you…? Because it’s never one dollar from X to Y. It’s usually like four or five… I’m going to give you four.”… So, even to charge my customers I had to learn.
Was driving a taxi my favorite thing? Absolutely not. Did I learn from it? Absolutely yes.
Let me give you another example.
Have you ever had a job that you disliked?
Or perhaps a boss that was mean to you and you kind of hated?
Well, since that happens in the real world, I’ve observed that most people remain frustrated about it. However, if you could only reframe the experience and think of it as a learning opportunity to make yourself better, then you are onto something real good for yourself.
I didn’t remain frustrated at driving my taxi. I tried to find the way to enjoy it. And the best way was to learn something out of it.
Next time, don’t remain frustrated by the circumstances, whatever they are. Think about what you can learn from what’s happening to you. Think about how what you learn will become a powerful opportunity for you to be better. Put the difficulties you are facing aside, and just learn, no matter what.
Lesson 3: Dude, billions of people are trying to get your job! Make yourself more valuable
The third lesson is to always be proactive, creative, and flexible about our lives and careers.
If I hadn’t been proactive, creative, and flexible about the way I thought about life back then, I wouldn’t have driven that taxi, and nor would I have had the opportunity to get the money to pay my bills and leverage my company. Without proactivity to take action, creativity to define that action, and flexibility to adapt to the changing circumstances, it will be very difficult for you to stay relevant and even survive.
You think you are safe where you work? Think about it again: there are 7.5 billion people in the world, a growing middle class that in the next five years will reach 5 billion people. If only 1% of them are trying to do what you do, well, you’d be competing with 50 million people! All I’m saying is that we can be very good at what we do, but we are not indispensable.
Our only option is to work incessantly to become more relevant by becoming more valuable. Jim Rohn, a prolific management gurus, said something that’s been in my mind for many years: “invest in yourself more than you do in your job or any other thing”. We have to make ourselves more valuable!
Take action for your goals and dream (proactivity), invent or reinvent your life and the actions you need to take in order to realize your potential (creativity), and always remain open-minded to adapt (flexibility).
Credit: Enrique Rubio(LinkedIn)
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