Navigating uncertainty amidst adversity with grit, resiliency, faith, and positivity

Observing what I’ve seen about people being laid off, it’s unfortunate across the board.? However, it’s times like this that define who you are as an individual.? Do you fight and persevere or do you buckle and fold?

I coached youth sports as a volunteer coach for several years and often noticed whether in coaching or other forums, that everyone’s kid was great at their respective sport.? Additionally, everyone gets a participation trophy now, which I personally don’t believe in because I’m a believer in competition.? Participation trophies doesn’t build the grit and resiliency you need when life throws curve balls at you.? You have to seek to be the best and be actively working towards it. If it’s meant to be things will work out in your favor because you put in the work and are being rewarded for it.? I often wondered wow if everyone’s great why doesn’t everyone make it to the next level?? As people move up in sports things work themselves out and then people get weeded out along the way as cream always rises to the top.? That’s athletically speaking! Once they get to the top you realize that it’s very select on who is actually great.? Less than 1% of the population makes it to professional sports and it’s even less of a number that are actually great! At that level everyone is athletic so that’s the equalizer.? What separates the great from average barring injury, is their off the field stuff.? Their preparation, film study, work outs, practice, and repeat!? Repeating what you do over and over is what gets you to become better at it.? The more you do it the more expert you become.? Unfortunately, athletes who may not do this bank on their athleticism thinking that that alone will get them through.? Then you see the stories of many who go broke because they didn’t know how to spend their money.? They weren’t disciplined there either.? However, there’s other athletes who are disciplined and not only know how to save their money, but realize their careers may be short, so they’re self aware.? Self awareness is huge, because it helps you plan for the inevitable.? Additionally some of these athletes go on to get degrees so they have something to fall back on in case sport doesn’t workout, or diversify money in investments.? Nonetheless, they’re showing agility and willingness to get out of their comfort zone.? You see one thing that is constant about life is change!

There’s a lot of parallels to sports that there is to life.

I’ve observed on LinkedIn, there’s many people across different industries who appear to have been affected by layoffs.? The following is what I’ve observed

A) Narrowminded:? People who are focused on absolutely getting a career in what they went to school for.? They’re not willing to shift or be agile even if it’s for the time being to get them through a period of uncertainty.? I don’t know what the statistic is today but most people don’t have careers in what they actually went to school for, unless it’s very specialized like doctors, lawyers, or engineers.

B) Comfort Zone:? Everyone is great at what they do.? So if 100 people are focused on getting a career in what they went to school for and only 3 jobs are available, 97 people will be frustrated, upset, etc.? This is why you must learn to get out of your comfort zone and learn something different along the way.? Be self aware of what’s going on and plan for the inevitable.

C) Lack of being resourceful: When you learn to think outside of your comfort zone, you will open your mind to a new world of possibilities on how to do things and not bank on one way.? Don’t just get comfortable on LinkedIn pressing the submit button for a job, or because you’re in touch with a recruiter.? Take time to go research the stakeholders at a company, much of which can be found on a website or linked in profile.? See what their interests including charities of choice are and determine if there’s some synergies with you and break the ice in a letter to that individual along with your resume and consider sending it priority overnight with the post office to get it in front of them.? Don’t just bank on recruiters.? Bank on yourself too!

D:? Humble yourself:? Keep God first in everything you do!? If you allow yourself to have faith in what you do, things tend to work out as they should.? Don’t just look for him in times of struggle, pray and be Thankful to him when things are good as well!? I recently saw a post where a gentleman commented a verse from scripture and to keep God first and he was ridiculed.? One person even responded to him that praying isn’t going to pay the bills.? Well apparently not praying isn’t paying the bills either! So if that strategy isn’t working and you’re not a person of faith and scripture and person who follows God, then what’s wrong with putting pride aside and humbling yourself with praying and trusting what you can’t immediately see, touch, or feel? When you pray and have faith and keep a positive mind, things will line up. Not praying but taking action and hoping may not work out the way you think because Hope is not a strategy! Hope is part of a strategy that requires more positivity, self reflection, great faith, and action. So have faith, stay positive, take action, and above all keep God first, and then you will see your Hope come to fruition!

How do I know this?? Because I have first hand experience with it.

I was hospitalized in December 23’ with Covid, in February, I suffered a setback and sent back to the hospital with pneumonia.? All this while dealing with pulmonary fibrosis.? So you’re telling me I battled Covid and pneumonia back to back on top of having pulmonary fibrosis? Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying!? Docs told my family on a few occasions I only had days sometimes hours to live.? I was on 100% oxygen on a ventilator when I had covid and then on a rotating bed in a medically induced coma for 3 weeks to alleviate pressure on my lungs.? Through the prayers and faith, and more importantly the grace of God I’m still here.? He defied science.? Science says I’m not supposed to be here.? One of the doctors commented to my family if I make it out I’ll be 1 in a million.? During this time I was inspiring nurses and therapists because it was noted to me a few times, you look motivated. Theres people dealing with 1/3rd of what you’re dealing with and don’t even have half the fight you have! It was noted to me along the way that I’m a miracle. One of my favorite cousins who has been religious all her life commented to me, “I’ve been in church all my life and I’ve never seen a miracle as big as yours!” -Melissa Torres

Then recently I was laid off as well due to a “restructuring”.? I was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ before the news.? When I got the news it felt a bit of shock but a sense of relief at the same time because I know I am going to be ok deep down inside.? Throughout my journey this year I was overcome with peace because some very prophetic and divine things happened that showed me that I’m in Gods favor!? It’s an experience I’m not sure many will get to experience if they don’t give themselves a chance too. It’s been very interesting to say the least, but Great! When you start walking close to the Lord he will eliminate things from your life that can no longer be a part of your journey.

Additionally, I can disconnect from there knowing I gave it my all whether it was in operations, finance, sales, or marketing.? I had colleagues reach out to me to express their disappointment. I always kept a positive spirit in the name of Lord and Savior and told them I’ll be good! One of the greatest compliments I received was from a sales person I worked with who’s also a person of faith. He told me, “You definitely speak with conviction because you know what you’re talking about. In all my years here, when people had questions the answer was always reach to Manny to help you and they weren’t wrong. You had an answer and solution for everything.” One of my strengths is not professing to know it all, that’s nearly impossible, but I was resourceful. Over the years and experience I know where to go find the answers I needed and peel back the onion on logjams in processes to help expedite things or simply let people know it’s not going to work out the way you think. I learned in this process that mostly every thing we do in life is a hit rate. You’re not going to score perfect on impacting People but if you can impact one or two you’ve done your job and every other impact you have on top is a bonus. My degree is actually in finance, but I learned to get out of my comfort zone going into sales and marketing, which are total opposites.? Nonetheless, these experiences are invaluable as they taught me how a company operates from left to right and top to bottom. To be able and to do so at a top fortune 50 company with the training, experience, and circumstances that comes with that for nearly 25 yrs and just being 43 yrs old is a blessing and a testament to my positivity and dedication on banking on myself with faith. I just didn’t do these jobs, I excelled at them because I allowed myself to fully immerse into what I was doing. I won’t allow any circumstances outside of what I can control affect who I am or how I go on about life!

• In Operations, I won supervisor of the month several times for performance and attendance
• In Finance, I helped save time on processes by building automated ways to calculate ROI for capital expenditures. I also learned cost modeling, data mining, procurement, and auditing!
• In sales I managed territories in the highly competitive MSA of Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas with accounts who spent $50k to $2M annually. My annual book of business was up to $13M. I was to able to grow and impact it as well by converting over $2M in new business and putting me on at 100% revenue plan. You realize pretty quick that it’s a great market and one in which businesses test product and service launches. As a result, I was recognized with winning sales performer awards ranking in the top sales professionals across the company
• In marketing, I executed on revenue generating initiatives. I did some data mining and reporting with MS excel, PowerPoint, and Access along with Tableau. I outlined plans, but I also got to gain a big understanding of different vertices like retail, automotive and industrial manufacturing, healthcare, and high tech to name a few. I was able to foster relationships with 3rd party software companies and have a deep understanding of the differentiation my company offered to leverage with clients as I supported sales in securing new revenue. This time as a marketer I got the opportunity to work in the same competitive MSA that I had in sales, DFW along with Oklahoma. However, the pool was a lot larger dealing with 50+ sales professionals and supporting an area contributing a very significant amount in revenue to the company (exponentially higher than the book of business I had as a sales person). I was also recognized a few times for being a top performer and helping drive initiative based results while bundling the mechanisms to track the impact of the initiatives to ensure we were getting what we set out to achieve!
• The discipline I learned in finance helped me speak to customers about how the company charged for certain items and why.? It also enabled me to help other sales people on the dos and don'ts of how to use their Amex, spend, etc.? to help the company achieve reductions in cost. The data skills I accumulated in finance and marketing also helped me be self sufficient as clients had a request for specialized reporting. It also enabled me to identify blindspots on how to help customers make a profit while streamlining costs and ultimately helping my company make a profit.
• What I learned in sales also helped me support the sales team with how to best position 3rd party software along with differentiators we offered based on vertical and understanding the industry we were speaking to.
• I was one of only a few individuals in marketing who had a perfect score of 100 on the Hogan assessment that tests analytical and critical thinking skills.
• The impact I really am fond of was helping businesses of all types including some very recognizable brands with their Omni channel, e-commerce and supply chain strategies including some that you would think already had it down.? What I realized is many businesses struggle with e-commerce even if they have a more recognizable brand and more resources.? I was able to leverage my knowledge on how things connect, differentiation, and 3rd party software we offered to help their brands and impact their growth in sales. It also helped save them cost by streamlining due to the knowledge gap about ecommerce and Omni channel i was able to provide. This was the trenches and this is where I thrived and I was committed.
• I recall one superior of mine asking me why I always worked like I had a chip on my shoulder.?The answer is simple, I’ve always been self aware that I’m not owed anything and life is a game of inches.? So not only did I allow myself to be agile, I immersed myself in striving to be great at everything I did knowing that if I fell short, I at least gave it my all. Additionally I’ve prepared along the way for moments like this.? Theres a quote I have hanging in my home that is my daily inspiration, It reads “Ambition: The World makes a way for those who know where they are going.” This where I get my quiet confidence from!

I’m currently being reset!? I’ve been battling moments like this my entire life.? From being run over at 2 to falling out of a moving car at 7, to having battled these illnesses.? I recall not making the baseball team at age 8 and how disappointed I was to going 0-10 my senior year in HS football. One of the things that resonates with me was coaches saying you will look upon this season and realize it’s made you stronger and if you can get through this you can get through anything.? How true they were.? I was never a great athlete, but that didn’t stop me from working hard and pouring into it. This paid off my senior year as the top 22 athletes were recognized based on a combination of metrics including 40 time, bench press, grades, etc. What I lacked in 40 time I compensated with grades (lol)!

There’s a lot of life lessons I learned from these experiences that made me more resilient. It also allowed me to focus on what I was good at which is education. When I graduated HS I really didn’t have a plan. My parents were just content with me graduating HS as they were not formally educated people themselves and were blue collar all their lives. As a result there wasn’t this grand expectation.

I enrolled in community college while I figured things out. I graduated from there with top honors and a transfer scholarship to the University where I had to maintain a 3.0 GPA. I graduated Summa Cum Laude as one of the top students in the program with a 3.9 GPA. I graduated with a degree, career, and no student loan debt! Additionally, I was humble because I didn’t have to go to a prestigious university for the accolades and praise, as long as it’s accredited all I need is a chance! I’ll bet on myself to make the rest happen. I was already defying the odds here based on my background. If you’ve followed my story so far you will notice that no matter how big the setbacks are or odds stacked against me I find a way! As long as there’s a greater than 0% chance I will bet on myself every time.

Success is interesting though because you will encounter people who may not have given you an opportunity to move farther than where they brought you in, but when you continue to go on your path an hit new levels all of a sudden they want to claim you as one of their own. That comes with the territory and I don’t frown on it because ultimately they gave me a chance and am thankful to them for that because if the rest is to be it’s up to me!

In the hospital I took time to note some invention ideas I have for things I’ve observed could really help people like myself suffering from certain disabilities.

Now that I’m early retired (jokingly) I’m taking time to enjoy my family while I seek to improve my health as it’s been a battle and will be for the foreseeable future.? However, I take it one day a time, and appreciate life for what it is. Thankful each and every day.? Ultimately we don’t know what tomorrow brings.? Yesterday is a thing of the past, so live in the present.? Fight and persevere, don’t buckle and fold.? There’s light at the end of every tunnel if you’re willing to find it.? If you’re not a person of God and things aren’t working out for you, try it sometime, it may overwhelm you with just how much favor he has for you but you truly have to believe! Feed your mental and spiritual soul, and things will work out as they should if you allow yourself to be humble, get out of your comfort zone, and be creative!

May God Bless everyone reading this and may he show you his favor if you kindly seek him out and remain committed to the process.? Remember there’s always someone willing to trade places with you!

“No matter how many times you fall, Proverbs 24:16 tells us that you can always get back up again. The righteous will stumble, but they will always find a way to get back on their feet. So if you're feeling lost and alone, never give up because help is always on the way. With faith, it is impossible to fail.” - corinthianscorner.com