Surviving Unemployment Stories

But the whole point of unemployment benefits is to aid us while we begin to move beyond what has to be a temporary problem.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes. - Marcel Proust

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. - Helen Keller

I love the contrast and that they both express the same sentiment for me.

I Survived By Looking In The Mirror

But once I recognize I'm the problem, the solution usually falls into place.

For me .. a bad attitude is usually the result of a bad trait I have. My cynicism.

I work hard to temper my cynicism by stepping back from it and letting reasonableness, tolerance and forgiveness prevail.

However, the technique worked so well, I ignored working on the solution to the same basic problem any .. and I do mean any employee has.

When working for others, cynicism should be a prompt to protect thyself.

Complete and total financial dependency on a at will employment is simply .. risky business. My bad .. for not trying to do anything to alleviate the risk until I was laid off at the age of 51 and while on and FML (family medical leave).

They called me while I was recovering from surgery. "Your position will be eliminated on your RTW date (return to work haha).

At that moment in time, it wouldn't be truthful if I were to tell you I wasn't giddy with relief. For some time, I knew in my heart I had moral objections about what I had to do to earn a living .. probably much like those unemployment witnesses afraid to testify on behalf of you, their former friend and co-worker.

Even I went back to work as a temp employee four and half months later doing the same thing morally objectionable or not and even though it was now minus the health benefits and the paid time off.

But we had to survive.

But, the whole damn mess, finally forced me out of my complacent attitude about remaining completely and totally dependent on only a job.

I resolved to take my first step in the direction of the only employment freedom there can be in this country which is one of six nations recognizing the doctrine of at will employment.

I had to do something else.

No employees for me .. I would be the lone worker bee and become self employed somehow, someway.

But what would I do?

I would learn how to create websites.

Little did I know that would be the easy doable part of what has become a six year journey.