Mike Valentine
Texas, USA
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The job didn't change, I did.
The “countdown” clock I had purchased and hung in my office was dutifully ticking away the hours, minutes, and seconds until my departure date. July 4 was the date I had selected to quit my current job and return to my former consulting practice. I had bought the clock as a light-hearted reminder. Now, as I sat on the phone with a good buddy, the clock and what it represented seemed slightly ominous.
Hanging In There
My buddy and I talk on the phone about every 10 days and support each other in various aspects of our lives. I had just told him about my decision to leave the company I worked for in the petro-chemical industry. His question of me was simple: Emotionally, how would I handle the next few months working in a company that I would be leaving?
“I’ll just hang in there,” I said. Yet as I said those words, I knew that wasn’t really an option for me. I would be miserable simply showing up and surviving until my departure date.
My friend read my thoughts.
We had both done the Advanced Course and I knew what he was asking: What kind of possibility or opportunity would I generate in this situation? Who was I going to be under these circumstances?
I remembered the last day of Advanced Course, when participants have a chance to design their futures from a place that is unencumbered by past successes or failures. It is a very powerful part of the course. That was the day I really discovered my own ability to generate and create possibilities under difficult or challenging circumstances. It was the actual technology I learned from Landmark in terms of creating new possibilities, that had been of enormous value to me personally and professionally, and I knew that I could put it to use again powerfully in this situation.
Finish Strong and Leave ‘Em Loving Me
By the time I hung up the phone I had created a new possibility and a motto for myself: “Finish strong and leave ‘em loving me.” I would not merely survive the upcoming months, I would be a full partner in my job, I would be productive, and I would put my heart into my work.
At work the next day, my first step was to clear the air with a colleague with whom I had had some conflicts. By the time I left his office, not only had we handled the issues between us, but also we had begun to formulate a vision that would increase the revenue of my division from $10 to $186 million annually in a five-year period.
This was something worth getting excited about. Over the next few weeks, I found myself gaining the full support of management in this project and increasing the size and scope of my accountabilities. I began signing contracts with my clients that are unheard of in this industry both in terms of size and exclusivity.
Ultimately, my work became satisfying and fulfilling. The job hadn’t changed, I did. I decided to stay with the company.
The clock still hangs in my office, a reminder that a willingness to be responsible, to live life fully, and to create new possibilities for oneself can bring unexpected results.
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