Jealous of others making a job change? Then it’s time to make your own.
I have mostly loved my career in advertising. I have always enjoyed the work I do. Advertising is an all-you-can-eat buffet of creative thinking and problem solving. Which is both fun and challenging. Plus, I met my wife Dawn at work. But there have been a couple of brief periods in my career when I didn’t like where I worked.
At one point in my career, at a prior agency, we decided to close one of our offices due to some business losses. Which meant that virtually everyone working in that location had to find a new job. There are a zillion movies in Hollywood that include that plot twist. Because it is most employees’ worst-case scenario.
But I had a very surprising reaction to the situation.
Under those circumstances, it is natural to feel lucky that you are not affected by the office shutdown. That while everyone else is losing their job, you get to keep yours. It should feel like a win. However, instead of feeling bad for that group of my teammates forced to find the next chapter of their careers, I found myself envying them.
I envied the fact that they had to make a change. Like Michael Jackson sang about in Man In The Mirror.
I envied that they got to stop what they were doing and find a new situation. That situation could involve a new company, mission, industry, a new set of coworkers, a new career path, a new level within an organization, or a new attitude. Like Patti LaBelle.
Meanwhile, I was going to stay in the same job, with the same shortcomings, the same cultural challenges, the same feeling that this place didn’t fit me. The same sense that I was better than this situation. The same feeling that the only reason I was still here was for the money and for the world-class snack room. And of course, I was still there for the false sense of stability that the salaried employee job offered me.
But something in the feeling of envy for those forced to move on and move forward in their careers changed something profound in me. I recognized that life is too short to spend it unhappy and unfulfilled at work, in a culture and climate that don’t fit you.
So my mind shifted.
I knew I needed to find my own next chapter that would make me feel all the things I wish I felt.
(Cue the movie montage music.)
Over the next couple of months, I spoke to several advertising agencies about joining their teams. I explored several different markets to live and work in. The exploration was energizing. And I knew I was on the right path.
Within a year of my profound mindset shift, triggered by envy for my teammates who had to make a career change, I discovered my new path. But in another interesting plot twist (all plot twists are inherently interesting), I started my own business. I launched the advertising and ideas agency The Weaponry. And my life changed in all the ways that I hoped it would.
The past 9 years at The Weaponry have been the most adventurous and rewarding of my career. All because I tuned in to what my envy was telling me. I was willing to make a dramatic change for the better. I was willing to risk the perceived safety and security of my situation for the control and happiness of an unknown adventure. And that has made all the difference. Like my fellow Vermonter, Bobby Frost said.
Key Takeaway
If you are jealous when others are forced to write the next chapter of their career, it means that you have to write your own next chapter. It is time for greater happiness and fulfillment. It is time to throw off the ropes of your current condition and sail for something new, better, more fulfilling, and more exciting. Something that matches your skills and vision for your life’s adventure. Get going. There is nothing stopping you but you.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.
Originally published at http://adamalbrecht.blog on March 3, 2025.