The Best Thing I Learned From the Last Job I Quit
Photo by Justin Luebke on Unsplash
“In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.”
‒ Eric Hoffer
Most people work a job without obtaining the greatest benefits from that job. They go to work every day, waiting for the paycheck that will keep them afloat.
Most people do not focus on the other things that they can get from a job. They focus on the short-term results from their daily work. They attempt to think long term, but they cannot get past the mental block of how to make it to next week or next month or next year.
The truth is that most jobs can provide an incredible education — if we know how to extract it.
The first step to obtaining an education from a job is to stop focusing on money.
I have many friends who left jobs that provided an amazing education. They could not see past the perceived “low pay.” They did not realize that the job actually built their network, professionalism, and business acumen.
There is more to a job than the money that you receive.
. . .
The Good Things I Learned
I left my last job eight years ago.
I quit.
I have written about the reasons for quitting elsewhere.
But that job taught me incredible lessons. I could not have learned the following without working in that job.
How to hire people
How to fire people
Managing people
Audio editing
Video editing
Motion graphics
Marketing
Sales
Accountability to C-level executives
Profitability
Event planning
Event Marketing
Web design
Interacting with lawyers
Interacting with owners
Interacting with millionaires
How to market a best-selling book
How to get a book on the New York Times bestseller list
How to conduct video and audio interviews
FTC rules and regulations
Exposure to complex business licensing arrangements
How to work with a demanding boss
How to work with employees
How to manage employees
I am so grateful for learning each of the above skills and abilities.
But none of those things was the best thing that I learned.
. . .
The Best Thing I Learned
“Every time man makes a new experiment, he always learns more. He cannot learn less.”
‒ R. Buckminster Fuller
The very best thing that I learned was this:
Stop waiting.
Stop waiting for other people to open the gate for you to move forward.
Stop waiting for someone else to give you permission.
Stop waiting for someone to line up all of the pins so you can knock them down.
Stop waiting for someone to give you the answer.
Stop waiting until your boss gives you the go-ahead to move forward on your dream project, or any project.
Stop letting administrative or bureaucratic processes stop you from moving forward.
Stop thinking like a child, waiting for everyone around you to feed you and take care of you.
If you want to do something, start doing it right now.
Always wanted to start a business? Do it.
Always wanted to play the piano? Or guitar? Or drums? Do it.
Always wanted to learn another language? Do it.
Want to get in shape? Do it.
Want to write that book? Do it.
Want to make a movie? Do it.
Want to do something different? Do it.
Any strategy that requires waiting for other people is a terrible strategy.
. . .
How Did I Learn to Stop Waiting?
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
In the last job that I quit, I truly believed in the vision. I previously was an independent contractor for that company. The CEO convinced me to become an employee by sharing a vision of what the company could be.
I loved the vision and direction.
I was in.
I became an employee. I worked in media and then later managed a media department.
Since I had completely bought into the vision, I geared my entire life around building this incredible future for the company.
I would read dozens of books a year — then immediately try to implement some of the ideas that the reading sparked.
Initially, the ideas were well-received. But over time I realized that very few of my ideas were going to be used by the company. Every time it was for a different reason:
Not enough money
No room in the budget
Wait until next year
Too busy now
Not enough manpower
Not enough resources
Need new equipment
No one will agree to that
“You don’t fully understand everything that is going on…”
And then even when some of my ideas were implemented, I ended up being criticized for part of the execution that may have failed.
To sum it up: it was all risk, no reward.
For years, I operated using this principle:
I am going to give my best ideas to the company, and the company will implement them and eventually I will be rewarded.
When I left, I promised myself this:
I will wait for no one. Any idea that I have, I will execute. If it flops, then I will accept responsibility. If it makes a million dollars, then I will be rewarded: no one else.
That is how I learned how to stop waiting.
But be careful — there was nothing wrong with the company environment. Most companies are like that.
There was something wrong with me.
I needed to learn the lesson. And I did.
(By the way, I still stay in touch with the now former CEO. He is an amazing guy and doing great things. Maybe he learned to stop waiting as well.
And another by the way: I still love that company. Great people work there. They do great work. The problem was I needed to learn to stop waiting.)
The Trap of Patience
“Never pray for patience. You will end up learning to wait a long time for something that you really want.”
Patience is an incredible virtue.
But most people get it wrong.
They think patience is waiting for other people to give them what they want.
That is not patience. That is passivity and laziness. That is a reactive mindset that will trap you and then slowly kill you.
I have learned that true patience requires you to be proactive.
True patience requires you to be actively engaged in what you are doing. You have to consistently act every day.
You cannot wait for others. You have to move forward.
True patience is doing the work in front of you while the rest of the world catches up to your frenetic pace.
Stop waiting.
. . .
Advice for Teenagers
“There is nothing we receive with as much reluctance as advice.”
— Joseph Addison
I have been asked a few times to give advice to teenagers — either high schoolers or young college students.
The best advice I have is to not wait.
One problem is that many high schoolers and college students have a built-in event that easily seduces waiting: it’s called graduation.
For some reason, most students are trained to believe that life starts after graduation.
I just met with a husband, his wife, and their two teenage kids. The parents and kids were starting a business together. They wanted their kids to learn the legal side of the business so they brought the kids to the meeting with me — both kids were under 15 years old. I loved it.
Stop waiting.
15-year old kids have millions of social media followers. They can’t even drive yet. They are starting clothing lines, Valuable brands are owned by kids.
Graduation is a great life event. But your life starts now. It does not start at graduation.
Technology and advances make execution of an idea easier than ever before. So much is available just by looking for it.
Do not wait for school to end to start dreaming. To start executing. To start something.
Certainly, get the education. But to get the most out of your education, you must apply your education.
Stop waiting.
. . .
The Lesson Is Repeated Until the Lesson Is Learned
“Learning is not compulsory. Neither is survival.”
‒ Dr. W. Edwards Deming
It is easy to forget the great lessons of our lives if we do not focus on them.
I recently re-learned the lesson of stop waiting.
Often, some environments can lull us into a place where our drive is tempered. We might reach a certain comfort level in an environment.
Most people crave safety and comfort.
And when they find those things, they retreat.
I did that for a while.
It is easy to look around you, in the moment, and think that the way things are at that exact moment is the way things will always be.
But nothing stays the same. Change is the way of the world.
You may love your job, but if your boss changes, will you still love it?
Your business may be growing, but is there something that could derail the growth? Could it grow faster?
Could a client or customer leave this year and cripple you?
Could a trusted employee or founder leave?
I had to re-learn and remember to stop waiting, even after I left that previous job.
I have endless gratitude for my previous job. The people were amazing and became great friends. The lessons and education were incredible. And the best lesson of all is transforming.
Stop waiting.
. . .
What Do I Do Now?
“It does not matter how you steer a parked car.”
Stop waiting.
But practically, what does “stop waiting” mean?
ACTION: Figure out what you are actually learning in your current job, position, or business. Make sure that you recognize the actual benefits you are receiving.
ACTION: If you have an idea, capture it test it as fast as you can.
ACTION: Test your ideas as fast as you can. Validation before intense execution is important. Learn how to do this with low- or no-cost ways. Don’t be afraid to spend your own money.
ACTION: Look for areas of your life where you are waiting for someone else to propel you instead of being proactive yourself. Change immediately: get proactive.
ACTION: Study great execution and make it one of your great passions this year.
ACTION: Find ways to spend time with other people who are not waiting.
ACTION: If you have always wanted to do something: do it. Or find a way to start doing it.
ACTION: Study how to transform effectively. Study reinvention.
. . .
Ready To Stop Waiting?
Are you ready to stop waiting right now?
Do you need to change and reinvent yourself? If yes, check out my ebook on the 3 Types of Reinvention, where I share:
Learn the unknown story of how Michael Jordan reinvented himself in order to become one of the greatest winners ever…
Learn why one of the men behind the original Star Wars is the greatest example reinvention I have ever heard…
Learn the amazing story of how losing a job was the greatest thing that ever happened to someone (and what he learned personally from Gary Vaynerchuk)