Alchemy and Chaos
Chaos and Fear:
Twelve thousand people are being laid off at Google. Microsoft is laying off ten thousand people. Vox is making a 7% staffing cut.
These are the first. They won’t be the last. Thousands and thousands of people are going to be looking for new jobs. If it’s not you now, it could be soon.
Do you feel it? Do you feel the chilly grips of fear starting to clutch at you?
What are you doing about it?
A Dare:
I dare you to say, “Fuck it.”?
I dare you to look at the part of you that’s wanted to create something, but life has gotten in the way.
I dare you to look at the part of you that’s been frustrated and scared to come out.
I dare you to look at the dark part of you that always gets hidden away.
I dare you to feed it.?
Pour yourself like gasoline onto the frustration and chaos. Fear becomes an ally.
You have to do this, or you cannot transform.
Lead cannot become gold if lead wishes remain lead.
That’s the second rule of alchemy: have no loyalty to yourself. You have to be willing to betray who you were, have to be willing to flip the table and walk out on the commitments you made.?
There’s no easier way to change than to look inside you, to see the things you resist and plot to give them power.
Here’s The Magic:
You don’t have to be a software engineer. You don’t have to be a product manager.?You don't have to be a teacher.
You don’t have to live in the city. You don’t have to spend hours driving to work every week.?
You can be someone else.?
You can be someone who gives a shit about what they do. Who loves what they do.?
You can be creative every day. Fulfilled every single day.?
The only cost is being willing to sacrifice the expectations you’ve had on yourself, To sacrifice the person you are now. Sacrifice all the hardships and successes you've had along the path you’ve been on.?
To just begin again.?
If you are one of the quietly desperate people, working and toiling at a day job they don’t love, I dare you to feed that desperation this weekend. Stoke the fire, blow on the embers, begin the slow transformation from inert metal to precious gold.
A Recipe For Change:
Take thirty minutes to write down an answer to the question: “What is the purpose of my life?” Scribble fast, the time is short!
Write down the easiest things first. Then, when you start to feel empty, write more. Let the well get dry, then dig beneath it.
Get creative. What would your childhood best friend recommend? What would you do if your work would be remembered forever? Forgotten immediately?
Write the same thing again and again if you must, but keep writing until you have 100 things.
You’ll know you are done when your heart leaps at something you wrote. When fear clenches your throat. When tears enter your eyes. Explore this idea, expand on it. Make it dangerous and exciting.?
This list is precious. Put it under your pillow and let its sink into your slumbering mind. Post it up near your computer. Above your kitchen sink. Send copies of it to yourself to open on your birthday. Hide it in your favorite book.
Return to this list over and over again. It has your purpose on it.?
What are you doing about it??
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You can find more of my work on personal alchemy at Day Job Alchemy.
Change Leadership - data driven, people centered, technology enabled
2 年I love what you're doing with this Christo! My career started in the US Navy from 1990 to 2000. No fear of layoffs and absolute security. But I jumped out of that world into the Dot Com bubble... 6 months before it popped. I worked for Sun Microsystems who had their first layoffs a year later. I was in round two of those layoffs, and it disrupted my whole concept of self. Also, I've bounced between companies/industries "that has never had layoffs" only to have them within a year. So for 20 years I've lived that cycle. High Tech, Newspapers, Education, Health Insurance. What have I learned? Be able to get to "F*@! it faster." I am not my job, I am not my title, I am not whatever my boss thinks I am. Come even with my employer every pay period, maintain my professionalism and keep their trust, but be prepared to move on. So, I have learned to choose employers based on their mission and values so that I can sleep at night, have it challenge me in new ways, and develop the people within my sphere of influence. Much of this looks like what you've been baking into your alchemy. I look forward to seeing more. :)
Women in STEM Advocate | Connector | Cultural Explorer | Lifelong Learner
2 年Love this! And recently lived it. Without regret.
Executive Storytelling | Director, Communications & Community | Speech + Persuasive Presentation Coach | Speaker | Teaches tech pros, HR, introverts, and advocates how to elevate strategy through stories
2 年So intriguing Christo Lute! The idea of not being loyal to everything that made you who you are up to now and beginning again. Kind of like asking why hang on to old furniture—that is dinged up and gives you splinters—because you hammered it together years ago. Gonna ponder your post for a while…and what it’s like to choose our own upgrades from zero. Eager for your next post.
Business Architect at Boeing
2 年I am in fear, not of losing my job but of retirement. I need this inspiration to get me over the fence. Maybe I won't be broke or bored to tears, maybe I will reinvent myself another time. I am impressed!!