Lost Your Job? The New Mindset You Need to Embrace

[00:00:00] Curtis Zimmerman: In this episode of The Next 24 Hours, I’m going to tell you, if you lost your job, the number one thing before anything else you have to change is your mindset. And I’m going to show you how.

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[00:00:12] Welcome to The Next 24 Hours, where I’m going to give you real information you can really use to transform your life and work one day at a time. I’ll be your host, Curtis Zimmerman.

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[00:00:30] On this episode of The Next 24 Hours, I’m going to be sharing with you some of the conversations that I’ve been having lately about people that have been forced into new positions, people that have been forced into major change and the way they reacted to it and the kind of conversations we had in order to help them get through and to see things maybe with a new perspective to get them where, they want to go faster. So both of these are people that have called and I’ve talked with because they recently lost their job. And one of the gentlemen that I spoke with talked with, he’d been there for 30 years.

[00:01:11] He is very loyal to the brand. He loves the company who works for. But they had to let him go. It started with a furlough. And then finally, yes, sorry, but this position’s not available anymore. And it felt like his initial reaction to that was doubt, doubting himself, fear, maybe some anger, just kind of going through: “Oh, my gosh, what am I going to do now?” And I need you to understand that this person brought me in as a keynote speaker a few times, and he’s one of the most talented facilitators, one of the most talented speakers. And he does training that is world class for one of the biggest brands in the world. And he has so much to offer to so many people and so many companies that for me, it’s crazy for him for even for a second not to say, “oh, okay, well, this opportunity was great. I’m glad I get to spend 30 years there. But now I’m excited about going and taking all of these things I’ve worked on my whole life and sharing them maybe with a different audience and sharing them with somebody that’s never heard me or seen me before.” And so we had this conversation. And I want you to know if you’re in the position that you just lost your job, if you’re in the position where you are now in a brand new place, everything you’ve done up to the moment, they said “we’re so we have to let you go.” It’s still valid. You are still the same person. You are just as talented. You know, I tell people all the time that when a new performer shows up and they hit the big screen or they have a hit record, guess what? The week before the world found out about them, they were just as talented.

[00:03:01] They were just as talented before everyone knew about it. And I would say the same is true the other way. If for whatever reason, the organization, the individual, the place that you are now decides that you’re not the perfect fit anymore, you are just as talented. You bring just as much to the table that you did the day before that. So don’t ever stop for a minute and think, “oh, no, now I’m not…”

[00:03:26] Yes, you are. You’ve worked really hard to be so good at what it is you do. So don’t neglect all of that work. Don’t forget about who you really are and what you bring. I often tell people when they lose their job, “Great! This is a perfect opportunity because now what we’re gonna do is we’re gonna talk to you about doubling your salary.” And they’re like, “What? Double my salary?” I said, “Yeah! Well, if you’re gonna go and go get a new job, you may as well go and make twice as much as you made, because I know you were underpaid where you left. I know you’re more talented. Because you work there for 13 years? I think that you can go in the marketplace now and double your salary. Let’s make that happen.” It’s a different perspective. So another person called and they let me know that again, they were let go of their job. Actually, they were in a huge show and they were a performer and they’ve traveled the world as a World-Class performer. This gentleman is actually probably one of the best live performers in the world. He’s worked for giant companies like Cirque du Soleil and other touring companies. And he’s crazy talented. World-Class, Tap Dancer, Juggler. I mean, he’s he’s just so talented. It’s ridiculous. And what I talk to him about was just so it’s clear, it may be nine months, it may be 13 months before shows like the one you’ve been doing for the last nine years, 10 years, 15 years are going to be back and people are gonna be allowed to come and see big shows like the shows you’re used to doing. And I want you to think about the world class performer you are today, because 13 months from now, I don’t want you to think that you’re not that same person and that you’re not as talented because you are.

[00:05:11] And you take that with you everywhere. And I want you to say that to yourself right now. You know what? I am that same person. If you’ve been doubting yourself in any way, shape or form, I don’t want you to have shock and fear and self-doubt. I want you to have shock. Sure. But then I wanted to go to wonder I want you to wonder about what’s the opportunity, what’s going to happen now that wouldn’t have happened if I just stayed in the job I was. With this opportunity, what can I go and do that I’ve always wanted to do in a deep way?

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[00:05:46] Noah Zimmerman: Hello, everyone. My name is Noah Zimmerman and I’m the narrator of the audio book version of Life at Performance Level. I’m sorry to interrupt this episode, but I just wanted to let you know that right now at curtiszimmerman.com, the audiobook version of Life at Performance Level is being offered absolutely free. It’s right there on the center of the landing page. There’s a button that says free VIP experience. Just click that and you’ll have access to the audio book and lots of other content that will help you live the dream. Thank you so much for listening. And let’s get back to the program.

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[00:06:21] Curtis Zimmerman: I want to give you one last example before I let you go, because this is so important, we have a choice on how we react to any situation.

[00:06:32] So it’s probably been man, I don’t know, 15 years now, Doctor Will Keim and I my my great mentor Doctor Will Keim. I’ve talked about so many times on this show and I were doing a training for firefighters and he and I had the honor of doing lots of different fire stations all over the country and do some training and leadership training and leadership development and communication skills. And so one of the things we did was as an icebreaker, we had everybody kind of go around and share one of the most amazing stories about being a firefighter or something that happened to them or something they saw that was memorable.

[00:07:12] And…hoo! Ah! Got to build up for this. So finally comes to this gentleman. And we became really good friends actually as time went on. But he said, “So, my story is I’ve been a firefighter for years. And a beautiful home in a very, very nice neighborhood was on fire. And we arrived. And the whole back of the house was already pretty much up in flames. And we got out and we did the best we could. And there were several people in the home that all got out safely, family members. And the husband was at a job and he got the call and he was heading our way. And by the time he got there, it was basically just smoky. But the fire was out and all the firefighters were out on the on the lawn and they were taking their gear off and he arrived. And the foyer of the house was really the only part that wasn’t completely destroyed. And it was safe. And he came up and he came to the firefighters. First he greeted his wife and his kids and he hugged them. And he came to us and he said, ‘I was wondering if you could come to the front of the house for a minute. I have something I want to say.’

[00:08:34] And we all kind of looked at one another and we have all our gear, and you were sweaty and but we said, ‘OK, sure.’ And we all walk over there. And he did the most incredible thing that he’d ever seen in his career. And he got down on one knee. And he said a prayer. And he said that he thanked God for the safety of his family and he thanked God for the safety of all of the firefighters and how blessed he was to have this experience happen and to have everyone safe and to have his family intact and how he could never repay what the firefighters did to help get everybody out safe and and just how much he appreciated them.”

[00:09:25] And he said it was weeks and weeks that he thought about that every day. And if it he he considered himself a Christian and he is a Christian and a man of faith. And he shared the story that if it was his house on fire and if he arrived, what have he even thought of bringing everyone into a prayer and then thanking God for letting everyone be safe even though his house has burnt down?

[00:09:53] He said, “You know, obviously most people are thinking about, ‘oh, my gosh, I lost this and this can’t be replaced.’ And the gentleman didn’t do any of that. He just went to what was the most important thing was that everyone was safe and the things can be replaced.”

[00:10:09] And I just think that that is shock and then wonder and opportunity and grace. And that’s what the challenge is for all of us right now. There are some things that are happening that are out of our control, but how can we be thankful and have grace and lean into that feeling of, “Wow, this is happening and it’s an experience. But if I have my family members and I have my health, you know what? I’m pretty blessed.” So that’s what I wanted to share today on this podcast. I hope that you will take it to heart and I hope that you enjoy the 24 Hour Challenge.

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[00:10:56] Well, it’s time for the 24 hour challenge, and I’m very excited about this because I think it’s a great activity and I think it’s a great exercise and I want you to commit to doing it in the next 24 hours. And that is I want you to right at the top of the page. I lost my job or something else that was forced upon you, some other type of change that you’re dealing with. And then I want you to a line down the middle of the page and you’re going to do pros and cons. And what happens when we lose a job, what happens when something happens that we didn’t want to forced on us, we go right to the cons and boy, we can list those out, but we forget about all the pros we forget about. Well, now I’m going to have more time, now maybe I’m going to be able to spend more time with family, now maybe I’m going to be able to pick a different job that I really want, now I’m going to…

[00:11:43] So here’s the number one thing with this 24 Hour Challenge, the pros and cons list for every con that you write, you also have to write a pro. And I think that if you do this and you get past 20, that’s great, but I’d like to see about 20 pros and 20 cons, and then I want you to fold the paper over and just read those pros over and over and over again. That is your 24 Hour Challenge. Joy.

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[00:12:17] Noah Zimmerman: Thanks so much for listening to today’s episode of the next 24 hours. Don’t forget that to access the free audio book that’s available right now, go to curtiszimmerman.com And click Free VIP experience on the landing page. Have a great day and remember to keep Living the Dream.