I made my Canada TV debut this week! During the interview, the hosts of The Morning Show asked me what getting laid off taught me about following my passion.
In a word? Nothing.
That advice wasn’t helpful then, or really at any other time. First and foremost when you leave a job (or it leaves you) is this: What do I ALREADY have in my bag of tricks that someone else would find immensely helpful to have access to?
The passion wasn’t something I chased; it was something that arose in the powerful synapse between what I could do AND what someone else wanted. And there was not a single someone else–there were lots of people and industries and opportunities.
In short: I never chose. I still haven’t. I don’t think you have to narrow or niche-ify to do something fun or lucrative or worthwhile. What I do is focus my time and attention on the people and opportunities that appeal–in that moment–the ones that draw on the tools I most like using.
So if you’re in transition, what tools can you tear the company or title label off of and repurpose for something else? Because you definitely can. And the passion comes when you realize how valuable what you’ve got already is.
