Its been over a year that I officially stopped being an employee.
No bitterness, because the journey got me here.
Wisdom can only come from experience and should be used to better those who come after.
Dawn SolerCourtesy
This, after all the hard lessons I learned about people and realizing how I didnt fit in there.
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This last year gifted me with perspective and such crazy, free joy.
So in celebration, heres some advice about and appreciation for what it meant to be an employee.
My friends and community made it a celebration for me.
When we returned on that Friday, my dear friend got the worst call a parent can get.
It was a bitter gift of perspective and definition of self.
So dont come with that pathetic How you doing like the world stopped because I dont commute anymore.
I want to laugh with you, not at you.
So from SVP to CEO of my life, dont let others define you by your job or title.
So from SVP to CEO of my life, dont let others define you by your job or title.
Its a definition that is fleeting and that which you have no command.
Find your definition in all your other layers, the way you treat life and people.
Cultivate and invest in layers.
Its like gardening the best flowers come from enriched soil.
Work colleagues are not your friends, sorry.
Corporations are the upside down where the real monsters come out.
Just confirm its an equitable relationship that feeds the real you, not your insecurity.
Beware of those who start calls or emails with hey my friend a red flag to trouble.
They have no capacity for real friendship and will drain and use you.
Dont share too much of yourself.
This was the hardest one for me.
Ive always been a pleaser and caretaker who wanted to fit in.
It will only be used against you.
Save yourself for those who matter and appreciate your essence.
Its not the number of friends you have, but the quality of them.
Like cream, the true friends float to the top, especially when you exit a job.
HR is not there to protect you, they protect the company.
Always keep important correspondence on a personal computer.
If you must take the job, negotiate exclusions that are most important to you.
Conversely, when you know something is wrong, it usually is.
Most will play like the emperor has no clothes.
Be the kid on the street who is honest, but then always does her best work.
Some of my biggest regrets were when I sacrificed my knowledge to fit in.
It always came back to bite me.
Form strong partnerships with them in the upside down.
Collaborate and exchange at every level.
This goes back to pushing back on defining people.
Diamonds come from every level.
An ex-colleague and I would always say no good deed goes unpunished.
True then, but not now.
Good deeds are mine.
I cant be punished by anyone anymore.
Spend what you have, otherwise they will cut you down in the next round.
Sacrifice a fast-burn work event for time with family and friends.
Mentor people, no matter what your level.
You always have wisdom and support to hand down that ensures a future of humanity and community.
Trust your instincts and the universe, God, or whatever you call it.
The truth is that work is work.
Thats why its called work.
Chase the dreams you could within their walls.
Walk away intact to create even more.
So while I wait for my chickens to hatch, Ill eat the cake I have.
