Why Getting Fired Was the Best Thing that Ever Happened to Me
“If you keep having ideas, then this isn’t the place for you.” ― My ex-boss
Imagine how crushed I felt to hear this from my new boss.
I’d recently been hired for a full-time position by this company for my direct-response copywriting skills, marketing background, and social media know-how.
But within a few weeks, I was told NOT to speak any more during meetings unless spoken to… especially after I’d pointed out some glaring omissions in the company’s marketing.
Our website had no opt-in, for example; we could have used a few more prospect-nurturing campaigns, and we really needed to come up with some other ways to grow our email lists―just to start with.
But instead, my boss kept me busy applying for B.S. online awards―including bogus, pay-for-entry “awards”―and micromanaged every tweet and post I wrote.
If you’ve ever worked for a terrible boss like this, you know exactly how I felt: demeaned.
But I’d made a commitment to work for this company―I thought I owed it to them to be a team player and give it my best shot―so I kept my head down and did my work as best I could…
Until the day I was unceremoniously fired!
Picture this: just three weeks before my wedding to the man of my dreams, I found myself sitting in a brightly-lit, neon-green room being fired by a booming, talking head… a lot like Marty McFly in Back to The Future II.
I was at once relieved, hurt, and angry:
- Relieved that I wasn’t going to have to work with this toxic group of people any longer
- Hurt that I’d postponed my honeymoon out of misguided loyalty to accommodate their schedule
- Angry that I’d known this wasn’t the place for me, yet I’d stayed and compromised my principles to try and make it work
Did I learn some new skills at that job? Sure: I learned how to knock out 3 to 4 newsletters a month to different audiences, coordinate regular blog posts, and even how to write a little computer code.
Did I meet some cool people? Yep: some very cool, goodhearted folks who I enjoy seeing around town to this day.
Was it worth the pain of trying to fit into a square peg? Absolutely: some of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned in business―lessons I use to this day―came from the soul-sucking hours I punched that clock.
I’m very grateful, both for the experience AND for the way things worked out.
If I hadn’t been hired away by that company, I might not have left my previous job (which I LOVED―both the people and the work.)
But most important, I wouldn’t have been fired, which lead to the ultimate transformation of starting my own business, Good Harvest Marketing.
Now I’m my own boss, live by the principles I hold dear, and work only with clients I love!
My now-husband and business partner Grael had been begging me for years to start our own company, but I’d dragged my feet for one reason or another… and this dramatic moment helped us take the leap and start making our dreams come true.
It wasn’t easy getting started, but that’s a story for another time. The lesson for today is contained in this quote from Napoleon Hill:
“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”
Or as my mother likes to say, “Everything in life is either for our pleasure or our education.”
Amen!
