Unemployment is Life Giving You Lemons
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Long gloomy days. Feelings of eternal hopelessness. Cursing the world for being such a heartless place. This often describes the life of the unemployed. Unemployment is the depressing situation that approximately every 1 in 10 people are facing – and no one is 100% safe.
For the majority of the unemployed, they try to jump right back on the horse. Resumes exit e-mail outboxes at record pace. Networking calls go out to friends and past associates. In the current jobs climate, such mundane tasks have proven to yield unrewarding results. Their relentlessly failing attempts simply puts them back into the loop.
Others turned their backs to the idea of working for “the man”. They’re done with proofreading and refining their resumes. They’ve decided that unemployment is a glass half full. Released from the burdens of their jobs, some are given the opportunity to pursue their own interests – and more are doing it.
Making Lemonade
Here is a short documentary film (runtime of roughly 40 minutes) covering the experiences of 16 advertising professionals whose creative skills allowed to the pave their own paths after joining the unemployed population:
For the people in this inspirational film, unemployment was a fresh start, a blank page, and a clean slate. Life gave them lemons, so they made lemonade. Their stories showed the many possibilities opened without the restrictions of a 9-5 job obligation.
- Start your own business. If you know the industry inside and out, you probably have what it takes to become your own boss. Jeanne started her own business coaching firm and it grew nationwide. Tom went out, got his own clients, and vowed not to forfeit the independence that he’s attained.
- Catch up on your health. The daily lifestyle of a job leaves little room for maintaining physical fitness. The weekdays are occupied by work. The weekends are occupied by much needed rest. Exercise becomes a luxury. Mark chose to get back in the best shape of his life through cycling and simulating the Tour de France. Michelle left advertising to promote health wellness through yoga and proper nutrition.
- Make money with your hobbies, passions, and interests. Everyone has something on the side when that have some free time. It could open the opportunity for a source of income that you actually care about. Kevin turned his painting into a freelance income stream. Bob, a home-roasting coffee enthusiast, decided to run his own mobile coffee shop.
- Pay more attention to your family. The hard worker often deprives their family of their presence. More time at home means more time with family. Kurtis became more proactive in dealing with his daughter’s cystic fibrosis by shooting his own documentary covering the surf camps that improved the overall health of those fighting this chronic disease.
- Give back to your community. Philanthropy is something that not everyone has the money or the time for. But, volunteering and community service promotes self-worthiness and self-fulfillment. Jonathan felt that 3 hours per week, spent as part of an organization that delivered food to the hungry, allowed him to make a difference.
- Re-evaluate yourself. For many, their work defines them. Without the job identity, you have the chance to redefine your life and goals that could lead to a happier you. David Cohen (now Dana Morrigan) took a drastic route to find himself and elected to change his gender when he left his job.
Some motivational quotes from the film:
“If you had something you’ve always want to do, now is the time to do it.” – Steve Hall
“If you do what you love, the money will follow you.” – Kevin Kearns
“I got laid off and I’m finally doing something that matters.” – Kurtis Glade
Your ego and self-esteem may reach an all-time low but you now have so much more room on the upside. Take advantage of this brief period to explore new things and revisit past interests.
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