I recently saw “Up in the Air” a movie about a man who tells people they are fired for a living. This is not dissimilar to the myriad of roles I have played in my own career. In my current life as an outplacement career coach I confront the angst and fear clients feel as they step into the abyss of unemployment. My job is to assist the willing through the “valley of darkness”. I have assisted hundreds of client through this place and I know life on the other side can be so much more than you can imagine in this moment. In one scene, Clooney speaks with a very upset 50 something man who is anguishing about how his children will perceive him as a failure. Clooney’s character asks him, “When did you give up your dream?” The employee looks at him aghast like he is crazy. “I see here you minored in French cooking. When did you give up on that dream?” The client wakes up and recognizes,” When I was 23 for $25k.” I have had these incredible moments with my own clients when they wake up and realize yes I’m in the right job or no it’s time to go back and rediscover the self I left behind. What are you dreaming about?
Posts Tagged ‘failure’
Are you “Up in the Air”?
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
Job Search: What Else Can I Do? Tip #8
Friday, March 27th, 2009Try something. If it doesn’t work, try something else. The NLP phrase, “There is no such thing as failure – just feedback”; is a good one to remember.